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RE: Aluminium V8 bmw engines



>BMW is facing a potentially huge problem.  Over 50,000 5, 7 and 8 series cars >are affected by the faulty V8s.

>I just got our '95 530i 5-speed back from the dealer last night.  We had
>complained about performance degredation after the EEPROM and thermostat>modification.  The dealer said they could find nothing mechanically wrong with the car.  I asked if they would put the car back to its original state, but  the answer was no because it is costing BMW about $6,000 to replace each failed>aluminum V8 engine block.  Since we are still not satisfied with the performance the next step is to talk with the BMWNA area service rep.  Evidently he has the>authority to authorize additional repairs or modifications to satisfy unhappy customers. 

>BMWNA extended the warranty on _all_ the modified engines to 6yrs/100K miles"on all internal engine components lubricated by engine oil" so that all cars have the same warranty, and so no car would suffer a value deduction if it were to be sold.  These last two points are from my warranty paperwork.

WHAT IS THE EXTENDED WARANTEE:

What are the technical specifications of the wear limit in the extended 
warantee?
Is it Cylinder compression?
Is it Oil consumption per 1000miles?
Is the Warantee intentionally  vague on these points?
( So that only the loudest  whining/litigious victims get the "improved"           
engine replacement?)

What happens if you want to go to Mexico or Central America? 
What about their gasoline?

THE FIX IS IN : 
These points occur to me as I read  this  :

> Much of the discussion on the list was about the affects of the 'fix',
>a new ICU & thermostat that raises the engine temp to 'burn' the sulfur.
>This isn't as much of an issue for the 540i as the 530i, where the
>performance is marginal anyway and any degradation is noticable.

            Another negative fix: Less performance and less durability.
Increasing the operating temperature of the engine to burn off the sulfur
in the gasoline will affect the durability of other components. The 
automatic transmission will run hotter(definitely not good). The engine oil 
will be hotter,the air conditioner will have to work harder, cooling system 
will have less operating  temperature range etc..........
Aluminiun engines of the past have been very intolerant of overheating.

RESALE ISSUE :

Resale value of  these cars is surely to be severely impacted  at 
6years/100000miles.
What well informed  buyer will want a car with a potentially worn out
complex aluminiun engine for $20000?

for  example: Purchase price: $50000 
at  6years /100000miles  the car is worth approximately $20000
because most cars(most BMWs) depreciate at about 10% per year.
The above assumption was gleaned from Edmunds used car prices.
 
The market will value these cars less the cost of a  new engine
($6000-$8000) which  will be $12000-$14000.

Perception will be more powerful than reality with these cars, 
when these cars hit the used market, they will be perceived as distressed.

Opposing arguments and facts encouraged.

Sincerely,
Henri Baccouche
Los Angeles in the Smog (April in Paris)