What are the mechanics telling you regarding the source of the oil loss/consumption? It could be one or more sources.......worn valve stem seals (possibly identified by blue smoke after lengthy idling), bad valve cover gaskets (leaking), bad alternator bracket gasket (usually results in a substantial leak). In general, this is a well-designed engine by BMW. Some of the gaskets and seals they selected are indeed questionable (in terms of composition/material). Owners adhering to the BMW-recommended oil change intervals may experience more issues than those adopting a more frequent schedule. In any event, you could likely spend far less than $9K (at the right shop) to get it fixed.

 

the mechanic wrote the following:


On inspecting the vehicles power unit it’s the bmw v8 n62 version with 168000k miles (I explained to the customer what this means, he recently bought the car from auction)on it. The engine is causing multiple misfires it has oil leaking pretty badly (see pics) from the valve covers which is not uncommon and has low oil pressure high oil temperature. Due to the nature of the customers issue an engine re build/replacement is advised and at the very least an inspection to determine if the engine is salavagable.
Correction
Engine inspection more than likely going to lead to a re build/replacement.

 

BMW did not do a bad job designing and manufacturing the N62 engine. There are several common failure points that are very well documented. Overall, the engine is very stout and, although some N62s do require fairly complicated fixes over their lifetime (for example, the valve stem seals that ABCarr mentioned), the block and head are very stout and rarely require rebuilds.

However, you did a bad job researching and performing due diligence before purchasing a vehicle that, as most N62 E60 owners would agree, is not a good car to own for people who either cannot perform a majority of the maintenance themselves, or have deep pockets to pay a competent mechanic to perform repairs. As you had a purported "specialist" out to look at the car, it sounds to me like this car may not be a good fit for you. That doesn't mean it's a bar car with a bad engine, as you assume.

There are several red flags in the assessment you posted. How is the technician determining that the oil temperature is high? Did they come with a scan tool or INPA and view oil temperature values? Are they aware that the car has a 105 degree thermostat from the factory? Why did they not mention coolant temperatures? The only reason I can think that the oil temperature would be high is if the car was overheating, which would obviously cause the coolant temperature to be high as well. Did they check the quantity of oil in the engine using the iDrive system? Low oil could cause low oil pressure, and your car doesn't have a dipstick. Did they do any basic diagnoses to determine why the engine may be misfiring? It could be something as simple as one or more bad coil packs.

Valve cover gasket leaks are common on the N62, as they are on many engines from many manufacturers. They are actually a huge pain to change on the N62, although your engine will be a little easier than earlier models as there is no dipstick tube on the left bank to get in the way.

ABCarr is right. You need someone who actually knows what he or she is doing to take a look at this car. Alternately, you could read up on the N62, get INPA up and running, and perform more a more thorough assessment yourself. I personally doubt that the engine needs to be rebuilt. It is of course possible, but the poorly written, vague "diagnoses" your "specialist" provided leads me to believe that they know little about these engines and aren't interested in actually helping you figure out what is wrong.

 

I just did a quick search on car-part.com and N62s are all sub 2k in my area so totally agree with @ABCarr

N62s leak and burn oil. Not abnormal and something to factor in when buying/fixing cars with these motors. What's scary in that write up is the low oil pressure reading. If that is the case then your motor isn't worth saving. But whatever you do, don't spend $9000!! I would look into the low oil pressure first and see if your current motor is worth it (to fix, not rebuild). If it's toast then look for a salvage one but be prepared to do the VSS on that motor too (unless you know they've been done).

 

I just did a quick search on car-part.com and N62s are all sub 2k in my area so totally agree with @ABCarr

N62s leak and burn oil. Not abnormal and something to factor in when buying/fixing cars with these motors. What's scary in that write up is the low oil pressure reading. If that is the case then your motor isn't worth saving. But whatever you do, don't spend $9000!! I would look into the low oil pressure first and see if your current motor is worth it (to fix, not rebuild). If it's toast then look for a salvage one but be prepared to do the VSS on that motor too (unless you know they've been done).

Thank you Ed

 

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Find a new mechanic. Also, major fault of your own for lacking basic research. Good luck.

 

👎🏾

 

I had a 2005 545i and at at 100,000 miles got rid of it due to many things I had going wrong and everything I had read others had go wrong around that mileage. The basic problem with the BMW V8’s is heat. I had early on been told to change oil frequently and not follow BMW‘s schedule. I changed it every 4-5k miles. It didn’t help because the real culprit that caused seals to harden and leak is heat due to the unusual engine design. By 100k, many of my seals were hard and it was leaking oil badly. The worst issue was likely the dreaded left engine mount leak, but I’m sure the valve covers and others were leaking as well. The VVTI was also getting increasingly noisier and I had odd bouts of unexplainable misfires even though I had replaced all the spark plugs. I think it would also have not been too long before the dreaded valley pan coolant leak would appear. On paper it’s an interesting engine, but in reality the execution is not great for durability. I traded it in toward a 535d inline 6 diesel that has a far better quality engine, better drivability due to the higher torque, similar 0-60 time, far better fuel mileage, and virtually no longevity issues. Unless you have a lot of time and enjoy doing your own engine repairs, I think you probably bought a bottomless pit of problems you’ll regret and recommend unloading it before you get in too deep. Search the internet for recalls and issue with the the various incantations of the BMW V8 and you’ll probably agree you made a mistake. BTW, Autotrader lists similar year and mileage 550i‘s for $7-10k so be sure to consider that before you invest too much in your own 550i. Good luck!