A BMW owner was saved by a smart mechanic who gave him a second option after he received a $28,000 quote to replace his car’s engine.
In the video posted by the automotive experts at M-Spec Performance, the manager Steve begins by explaining that the BMW owner decided to ask for a second opinion after receiving a quote of over $27,000 from the BMW dealership to replace his engine.
According to the dealership, the BMW 235i 2015 was overheating because each cylinder had very low or no compression, and a leak test supposedly returned 20%. Therefore, the recommendation was to replace the entire engine.
“We proceeded with our testing processes and procedures to determine whether the dealership’s recommendation to replace the engine was correct or if there was another problem,” said Steve in the clip.
When M-Spec received the car, they re-diagnosed it, finding compression readings of 180 psi and a leak index of 0%. This meant the engine was in good condition.
During the process, they found loose hoses and clamps, a damaged seal on the expansion tank cap that allowed the oil to mix with the coolant, and other defective components in the cooling system.
Instead of replacing the entire engine, the technicians replaced the thermostat, water pump, two oil coolers, flushed the system several times, and eliminated the oil contamination in the coolant.
After a 64-kilometer test, the car no longer showed overheating or oil mixing with coolant.
“We went from a potential engine replacement, which would have cost between $27,000 and $28,000, to replacing some components of the cooling system, which cost one-fifth of the engine replacement, saving the customer a lot of money.”
The video, which has already accumulated over 1 million views, raises the importance of getting a second opinion when faced with a major mechanical quote.
“There’s a reason BMW stands for ‘Big Waste of Money,'” commented a TikTok user in the comments section. “Moral of the story: don’t go to a dealership,” said another. “Wow, honesty is hard to find in this industry, so thank you very much,” commented a third.
@mspec.performance Want to know what’s funny… We found a couple coolant pipes that weren’t properly in place. We also found a blown O-ring on the coolant cap which caused the coolant to leak. They believe that was caused by a blown head gasket. Did they even do a compression test??? We’ll never know. Get a second opinion everyone especially from the dealerships. #mechanicproblems #bmwdealership #bmw230i ♬ original sound – M-Spec Performance
Photo and video: TikTok @mspec.performance. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
