[Arsonism]

Originally Posted by David70

Since you are about to leave I would park it in a garage, have minimal insurance for theft and fire (value as it sits isn't very much). Leave it and deal with it when you get back. I don't see a quick, easy solution.

Have you ever considered a used engine like this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2006-BMW-S54...25.m3641.l6368

Then you have 30 days to return it which also comes with costs.

This would be ideal and I did consider buying whole engines to kick this off. Between these options and the option I chose originally, there was only a 1-2k difference in price, and there weren't any Z4 S54 engines up at the time.

Originally Posted by David70

Thoughts on what to do -

Car's value with no engine is $4k (guess but anyone have other thoughts)?

Put $9k into it with used engine ($6k for engine, $3k to install it?) and value is then $18k at worst?

I really don't know if the values above are correct but think these are the type of options you have to look at. Money spent in the past is gone and irrelevant.

This is where my concerns were in trying to sell the rolling chassis. I feel that there is more than $4,000 in parts for the chassis and the rest of the power train. I was curious to see how others would value this, so I would know what to expect if this was the next course of action.

I think that if I went through the hassle of putting another motor into the car and I saw it running... I'd just keep it. To me putting that $9,000 into the car is better than spending it on a down payment for a car that wouldn't really bring me the same level of happiness and isn't going to be paid off. Outside of that there's only one car I know that I can obtain for $9,000 that I'd love to drive, but it would have some miles and require attention soon I'm sure. I do realize that your equation above helps net around $5,000, I just don't know what to put that towards other than a DD to try to get my hands on another M Coupe.

Originally Posted by Reborn_

Damn, just spent last night and this morning reading this thread for the first time. I went on a roller coaster of emotion on your behalf. I obviously have formed an opinion on what you "should" have done, but I'm sure you've had the same opinion at some point or even now, and it's not going to add any constructive value to second guess past decisions or have an outsider such as myself do that for you, so I'll focus on the now/future. Here is my 2 cents on what you should do:

Yeah I've made quite the mess around here. I appreciate you taking the time to read the thread, it's accumulated quite a lot in-so-far, but it does allow others to hopefully learn from the experience that I've undergone. But I did want to take a moment to say thank you for taking the time to go through it.

Originally Posted by Reborn_

Throw up a sale ad on here/Craigslist/wherever you feel comfortable for a purchase as is for a price you would be comfortable with. This is to just get out of the financial liability while you are away. However, chances are that it won't sell in 1-2 weeks, so this isn't a real option anyway (or maybe you don't want to do it), so onto the more realistic approach in which you keep and store the car while you are deployed, and then come back:

Buy a cheap, reliable daily driver. Think Japanese, old, and boring. This is to tide you over so you aren't in a rush to do anything. I see 4 options after that:

1. Sell rolling chassis as is (see above, but now you have as long as it takes) and buy another M coupe. Keep DD so you have options in the future for big repairs, etc.

2. Sell rolling chassis as is and buy a new(er) car. If the car is more on the reliable side, sell DD.

3. Have Andrew Lang crate ship you a prepped and ready to drop in motor for the Z4M (built to whatever specs you feel comfortable with). Drop the motor in yourself as a learning opportunity. Part out the shoddy motor in place (yourself) to recoup some money. You will be doing inspections of each component because you are a stand up guy and won't want to sell bad parts, and it may lead to that closure you want of determining the root cause of the ongoing issue. Keep DD so you have options in the future for big repairs, etc.
* This option assumes you have the desire to do your own work, the desire to get your hands dirty and learn, as well as the space, etc.

4.) Same as #3, but then you sell the repaired M coupe and buy a new(er) car. If the car is more on the reliable side, sell DD.

5.) Fix existing engine in car - I would not consider this an option.

I would personally do option number 1.

I quoted David70 first simply because it lead into your thoughts above. The sale of the rolling chassis, if it yields enough to get out of the financial burden (which isn't that great) then I would consider doing it. Otherwise it would be difficult to justify for me at least... I need a storage unit and it will be paid for by the military while I'm away, so there isn't a whole lot of burden there. The debt on the car isn't a whole lot, and I can handle the payments, it'll be paid off by the time I return from the deployment. I'm most certainly not opposed to letting go of the chassis if it yields a segue into another vehicle; in which case it just would have to sell for a good chunk of change. However, I worry that it's just not worth what I think it is, pride an emotions aside... I'm not sure others will value the usable parts into the car as much as I would.

I like the idea of sending it off to Andrew Lang, I'd have to speak with him to see what he'd like to do for me before chasing after this option. I have spoken with him before and he was very receptive of trying to help me out, the shipping costs were the only thing that deterred me the first time around. I really should have gone with him the first time, and I do have some regret for not doing so at this point. This is not something I had considered and definitely a very good option. I'm unsure if the motor is salvageable or not and if it was if it would be worth selling. I could more than happily part that motor out for whatever was in good shape, it may take a 3rd party to ensure that those parts were ok to use in another vehicle, but it would be a fun experience and you're right that it would definitely bring me closure to tear it all apart.

Whether that motor was fixed or not, I'd probably still spring for a newer motor from another option and likely have someone pass over it (like Lang) and spend the money to really guarantee a product. This would mean selling the motor or it's parts that is currently in the car now.

On option one, what do you feel a good price for the rolling chassis would be? I'm not afraid to be fair, but I want to make sure that my thoughts on the price aren't so outlandish no one would consider it either.

Originally Posted by Reborn_

I'm unclear though, it sounds like the car is maybe drive able (if you baby it)? Might help with the towing, etc. I guess I wouldn't worry too much about really screwing the engine up, as I agree with what someone said above - I would consider the engine in the car non-functional.

Also, wanted to extend my regret and sorrow for what you've had to deal with. It's truly heartbreaking. Good luck with the deployment, and whatever you decide is best with the car.

The car is drive-able to an extent. I don't know how fast or at what rate it's eating the piston heads (I believe that's what's happening because it is pre-detonating, or so that's been told to me), and because of that it's obviously not very safe assume it will make it far. Damaging the components in the motor can also damage other new parts like the oil system and other tertiary engine support systems. Items I'd be better off not replacing as I've already had to go through them once.

Thank you again for investing your time here Reborn_, I do sincerely appreciate you going through the thread and offering your thoughts. It has been a great help and it has offered me new hope for getting something sorted for this absurd ordeal.

Originally Posted by Vanne

Just thinking about the Andrew Lang thing.. Would it be possible at all to pull the engine and ship that off to Lang? Maybe as a show of ... fellow enthusiasm, he will do you a good deal? and i know for sure as heck we are all hanging to actually find out whats wrong with this engine..

The forum hype alone over this thread might be of some good advertisement for them?

The other plus point on this is that if Lang DO fix the current engine, and determine the root cause of the problem, then you'll have some legs to stick it to whomever bodged up the repair in the first place and hopefully recoup some of your lost funds.

I for one would LOVE to find out what on EARTH actually happened here over the last year or so. Anyways, just a thought.

Deployment will go fast while you are there, you will be back before you know with your loved ones.
Still in awe about where we actually are now in this thread.

Nice bike btw.

It is certainly possible, I just hadn't considered it before. I'm for the idea, it's just a matter of the cost in removing the motor and sending it to him and then what the bill would be on both ends. I remember shipping a crated motor to him originally was around $800 at the cheapest. I called around for about a week and a half trying to work with different carriers to get it from Austin, TX to California.

I more than stand with y'all in wanting to know what is happening with this motor and where they kept going wrong. I think even the mechanic would like to know that at this point. Two motors and the same issue? I'm fairly certain that's cause for interest even at the lowest points of professionalism. It really just comes down to the upfront cost that it will take to get it there.

You're not wrong on this forum hype thing... I'm still blown away by it.

Also, sometime over the next 12-14 months I may try to come visit you and take you up on that cold one. It'd be awesome to come see you and your coupe in Dubai if you're still in that area. We'll just have to exchange some contact info offline you're still game for it. And as always, I can't thank you enough for your words of kindness Vanne.

Thanks on the bike it's pretty fun. (I've got some plans for it too............... )

Originally Posted by 86Zed

What a nightmare. It's clear you have serious love for the platform and want to end up with a Z4M at the end of the day.

I vote cut your losses with the current engine & shop and launch a serious social media and legal battle to get some funds back. This Lang idea is appealing no doubt - why not make the best of a crummy situation!

So uh, halfway there, details will come at a later date. I'm sure it's unwise to spill the beans on some of that until further actions have occurred.

Originally Posted by wdb

Crowdfund it? I'm in for $100. Serious.

... I don't know what to say to this. I like the idea, I've never done one. Would y'all really help me out on this? I never expected something like this to come from the thread but I would most certainly put my best effort forward in getting this accomplished if even just a few of y'all were up for the ride.

Originally Posted by Vanne

Sure, 100 from me no worries.
Thanks for your service, it's the least we could do.

I'm gonna eat my words before I can even get them out. I'll think about it over the weekend and try to reach out to LangRacingDevelopment to see if this is something they're also interested in. I wonder if his ears are burning yet

I have to move the car sometime early next week, and I'm already working with the shop to move it out of its current location. It would make for a good opportunity to get it to a shop that would crate the motor for me and send it off to Lang. The other consideration is, should I just ship him the whole car? That may be something only he can answer.

I've said it more than once here and it never goes unconsidered whenever I visit this site and this thread, I seriously can not thank you all enough for everything, and I appreciate the support more than you know. That goes for both the military work and especially everything y'all have read, considered, and advised on in this thread. I can't say it enough though.