Need some opinions on dealership delima

[X535D]

2014 BMW X5 35D - 101,000 miles

Driving on the highway the X5 dies and will not start again. Get it towed to BMW dealership, they take a look at it and tell us needs a new high pressure fuel pump, couple EGR items and that it's all covered by recall. Couple weeks later they call and those parts are in but still won't start, needs something else costing $560. I tell them ok because we need to get it back. Couple weeks go by (they've had the X5 for about a month) and I get a call that the engine is toast and the X5 is not fixable. Their diagnosis is "Unsure of what failed inside the engine. All we know is when the engine is turning the camshaft is not spinning. No camshaft signal the engine will not start.". They gave me a quote for $34K to replace the motor. They did mention the timing chain may have broken. I'm not all that super techy when it comes to cars, any help/thoughts/ideas are greatly appreciated. We love the X5 and really don't want to have to part with it.

THANKS!!!!!

[turboawd]

The crank turns the camshaft via a chain. If the chain did break, then engine definitely would not run.
If the diesel is a non-interference engine, then you could probably just put a new chain in. Though it won't be cheap. But a lot cheaper than a new engine.
If the diesel is an interference engine, then the valves would have hit the pistons and you would need a lot more work done.
But chains snapping is not something I've heard happening to bmws.

[-c-]

BMW dealers are really good about wanting to replace motors lately! It's like that have no idea so it's easier to swap the motor.

My 2016 40e just got a call stating it needs a new motor. Darn motor barely gets used as it's mostly ev driven.

And my e70's engine recently blew up because the dealer didn't prime it well enough after an oil filter housing gasket.

They need to be better mechanics and take the head cover off and do some real diagnosing

[turboawd]

It seems dealers avoid taking apart engines transmissions transfer cases etc to repair. They'd rather just replace the whole thing.

[RED_Y_]

I would look for second opinion from the independent shop. Just a quick search on e-bay shows that you can find a used engine with lower mileage for $4000-5000. $34K is a joke, you can get a different car for that amount of money.

[sj22]

Buy a used engine and find a shop who will install this for you. You will waste $1k on diagnostics, $1k on fixing and still will take a gamble with your existing engine otherwise.

[andrewmr]

First things first...... find a new dealer.

Diagnosing a broken timing chain is as simple as pulling the valve cover to determine if the chain is still on the cam sprocket. So..... I'm guessing they diagnosed the camshaft is not spinning/turning by another method as they clearly would have been able to tell if they had pulled the valve cover.


As Red mentioned, it may be time to call an independent service center.