The sad demise of a good car

[BarkingGhostar]

So, our 2004 BMW 325i sedan is on its way out. Was bought way back in October 2003 and the wife drove it as her daily commuter car up until October 2016 when the got clipped at a red light. It was a hit and run and it was the only time we filed an insurance claim to repair the body work (no mechanical damage). The BMW dealership service department handled or regular, and accelerated maintenance and any repairs until November 2018, then a local chain did the rest. Back in July I noticed a leak coming from under the car. Not water-base. Took it to a shop and claimed it was the oil pan gasket. BMW's of age are known for leaking and this first leak this summer was a sad state of affairs. Anyway, the gasket got replaced but another leak was spotted and this time its the transmission.

The transmission is sealed. No filler-tube or dipstick on these transmissions so it isn't something I can really 'live' with. Body is perfect (Pewter colored) and everything in the interior is perfect except the center console lid where the material has been cracking from years of elbow pressure. Has 188K miles on it and the M54 motor is still smooth and strong. Now I just need to find a good second owner. I was thinking of Craig's list or Autotrader but I have never sold a car before (traded in and donated). Still, it is sad to see this one go, but the 8.5-10 hours of shop time to fix a $10 part is just too much. I think it is best left in the hands of some 'yute.

 

[repoman0]

The transmission is not sealed on the E46, manual or automatic. I’ve done the fluid myself on both varieties. Where is it leaking from? The drain plug or filler (yes, it has both of these)? That’s fairly normal for it to leak slightly so it gets a film on it, but it should not be dripping. You can more than likely change the fluid and both drain plugs and be fine. $50 or less diy or an hour plus parts at a shop.

edit: my mistake, the automatics have an oil pan and gasket as well — however if it’s leaking from there that is also easy to remove and replace the gasket, nothing needs to move out of the way including exhaust. Add 30 mins of work. Sounds like you need a better shop either way.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

What I meant by sealed was that one cannot pop the hood and place a funnel to simply pour additional transmission fluid in. If you stand outside the car on the driver's side the leak hits the ground between the rear edge of the front wheels and the gear shift knob.

This is about five minutes on a fresh painter's rag. That tiny spotting will become mostly covered in 2-3 days. I think I have a more recent picture from when I took the car out for a wash yesterday.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

The orientation on this rag is that the bottom faces the garage door/back of car. Top faces the engine.

 

[repoman0]

Correct, the car has to be jacked up or put on a lift, and the transmission drained and filled from underneath. It would probably take a good shop 20 minutes, twice that for a pan gasket replacement in addition. I would recommend finding a good German-specific independent shop and paying them the $200 this job will cost, whether you keep the car or sell it. This is in no way 8 hours of work and is not the end of the car, unless the transmission has a hole in it

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Well, they are going by whatever the BMW shop book reports as billable time. With that said, I've not yet met a mechanic that can truly be trusted.

 

[repoman0]

Well, they are going by whatever the BMW shop book reports as billable time. With that said, I've not yet met a mechanic that can truly be trusted.

BMW says the transmission fluid is a lifetime fill, so they have no idea what they’re talking about in this case. Good mechanics are out there, I have a few around here that I trust completely. Independent performance and racing-oriented shops generally take pride in their work. Try this to locate one: https://www.bimmershops.com/

 

[manly]

Generally speaking, there are a lot of questionable mechanics out there. It has to do with asymmetry of information; they have it all and the typical consumer knows very little about repairing cars. They can especially "prey" on women and the elderly.

Having said that, there are certainly good independent shops out there for foreign cars (at least in most metro areas). The last thing I would do is have service done at a BMW stealership. That would add an incredible amount to your TCO.

For example, I need to have a "vehicle check" done on my F30 4-banger. At my last oil change, the SA quoted about $220 for this. The indy shop I've used said this is a pretty minor inspection and they'll do it for free with an oil change. I eventually looked up the vehicle check in the BMW service and warranty guide, and indeed there's little actual work to it. Whatever the stealership charges is pure profit and if they were lazy, they wouldn't even have to do anything but reset the condition in the onboard computer.

 

[ISAslot]

Wow, the thought of small leaks being the demise of a car is so foreign to me. Though, my 2 cars are 34 and 53 yrs old.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

It is a demise not because of the car or its leaks but the fact that so many crappy mechanics and garages out there give everything a bad/raw deal. I've never had the perfect triad (time, money and place) to work on my own cars and that sucks a bit. But the fact that a lot of places cater to biting a customer once and living on just 'new' customers is sh!tty, even for a place called Christian Brothers. That name alone should have sent sirens aloud.