Cam seals need to be replaced

[PA135ii]

I have an '08 135i with 125,000 miles. Original owner, good condition but is now worth maybe $9,000...if sold privately. Had a yellow engine light come on and had it checked. Dealer and Indy shop says it needs the cam seals replaced. It's a $3,500 job.. Trying to decide what to do. Any advice.. thanks.

[PA135ii]

Guess nobody cares,,, but you will because they WILL fail. BMW upgraded the seals to Teflon, because they knew they were prone to leakage.

Dealer $3,500
Indy shop: $2,300

[gjm120]

If you like the car and is it in good condition otherwise, I'd fix it. Being the only owner you have a good idea if other problems are bubbling to the surface.

If you've been considering another car - different story.

[PA135ii]

Originally Posted by gjm120

If you like the car and is it in good condition otherwise, I'd fix it. Being the only owner you have a good idea if other problems are bubbling to the surface.

If you've been considering another car - different story.

Decided to get it done at the Indy shop.
Also having the headlights refinished and few other maintenance items done.
Will be about $3,000 for everything including tax.

Will keep the car for now and may sell it next spring.
We will see... I do like the new Mustang GT.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by PA135ii

Decided to get it done at the Indy shop.
Also having the headlights refinished and few other maintenance items done.
Will be about $3,000 for everything including tax.

Will keep the car for now and may sell it next spring.
We will see... I do like the new Mustang GT.

These are always personal decisions like whether to buy extended coverage. Unless the car gives you further problems, you can look at it like for $3000 got a car you like.

[PA135ii]

Had this job done as indicated in August 2018. THEN.....last weekend... Nov. 17, 2018.
The yellow check engine light came on again. Driven it about 1500 miles since the cam seal job was done. The light cam on in late October and I called the indy shop that did the job and they looked at it right away and found a vacuum hose that had been split.
He replaced that and thought that was it. Not the case. Light came on again this past weekend. Not sure what to do. this is depressing.... I just pour money into this car and it's getting old.

[02Pilot]

It's a ten year old car - stuff is going to fail. The cheap way to deal with it to get your hands dirty, but that's not for everybody. With a Bentley manual (E9x - most of it is the same) and the internet you can tackle a lot of stuff and save some money, even without much experience.

If that's not your choice, then it's down to two options: buy something newer or suck it up and pay the man. How much do you like the car, and what's out there that could replace it and satisfy your requirements?

[PA135ii]

Originally Posted by 02Pilot

It's a ten year old car - stuff is going to fail. The cheap way to deal with it to get your hands dirty, but that's not for everybody. With a Bentley manual (E9x - most of it is the same) and the internet you can tackle a lot of stuff and save some money, even without much experience.

If that's not your choice, then it's down to two options: buy something newer or suck it up and pay the man. How much do you like the car, and what's out there that could replace it and satisfy your requirements?

All true but I have had BMW's in the past and none of them were as problematic as this one. My first BMW had 155,000 on it when I got rid of it.
My second had 92,000. I think the car is problematic. I am going to visit my mechanic tomorrow morning. I did notice a sucking sound when I accelerated. That should be a clue to this latest issue.

[02Pilot]

Having run BMWs out to 260k+ miles, and currently owning one that is into its fifth decade, I can say that you can have a run of time where everything seems to be going well, only to have it all come crashing down in a flurry of problems that happen all at once. There are failure points on any car, but the timing of those failures varies for non-interrelated systems. If you like the car enough you deal with the problems; if you don't, you move it on. It's all just a cost-benefit calculation in the end.

[PA135ii]

Driving to a relatives house an hour away on Thanksgiving day and .."bing"... yellow engine light comes on. car drives fine and I reach my destination. Drove it home no issues. I then decide to use the car for work until I'm off for the year on the 11th. testing the issue. On day 2, on the way home from work the yellow engine light comes on again AND the "service engine soon" light comes on. Now I have both lights on and I'm 45 minutes from home. I did make it home and made another appointment with my independent BMW shop. Dropping the car off this weekend. I'm a patient guy but after a while .... I'll post again when and if there is a solution.

[PA135ii]

Was the wastegates throwing the codes. Had the job done under warranty at 49,900, But now I have 127,000. I guess I need another dump truck full of $100's. Indy shop said that they will install upgraded wastegates that should not fail again.
Hopefully, I am trouble free for a while now. **fingers crossed**