Hello NAM, I have a question to propose to the group. What would you do in my shoes?

A little backstory: recently purchased a R60 S All4 6MT with 70k miles for really cheap from an auction site. Got the car, everything is great except the metal shavings in the engine . A mechanic friend has said he has had no luck with used n18 engines (0/5). A couple showed up with wiped bearings, the others only lasted a few thousand miles before kicking the bucket. The car is to be a daily for the wife with occasional spirited drives by myself, and also a recce car a few times a year for stage rally. So what to do?

Option 1) Part it out, sell it whole or just run away!!!

Option 2) Rebuild the engine myself, Sneed Speed rebuild kit with oversized pistons and complete head, oil pump, oil cooler and filter housing, turbo, and all the little stuff like thermostat, water pump, gaskets, plugs/coils, catch can, bigger intercooler, catless DP, tune, machine shop work on the block. Looking at around $10k and a decent time investment.

Option 3) Sneed Speed complete engine, and then add all the ancillaries above. Looking at closer to $11 -12k. With what I paid for the car, this option would still be less than the price of what I can find them for sale nowadays.

Option 4) Something I haven't thought of?

If you were to go with a newly built engine, would the JCW turbo be worth the extra cash? Anything else to add to the list? What say you?

 

What year is the car? If an earlier build than March 2012, then the N18 engine is slightly better than the N14, but still has the older style fuel pump. Later than March 2012, and the fuel pump was changed to a better, more reliable design. The N18 engine in my R55 Clubman has been pretty reliable. However, it sounds like the one you got was neglected pretty badly. If you want the engine to be reliable, sounds like a rebuild or remanufactured engine is in your future. Not sure I would give my wife a car with a used engine of unknown origin....

 

I would run away, personally.

 

I don't know about that, would depend on the overall condition of the car and how much he spent on it. Pulling the engine for a swap or rebuild would give the opportunity to add some other performance options, too. With a decent rebuild and refresh, you should be able to get another 100k miles out of the car.

 

The car is a MY2011 so sounds like the older style fuel pump. It was sitting for a year or so before I bought it. I drained the old gas, put in new gas and spark plugs and a battery and got it running for a bit. During that time I was able to verify that the clutch and brakes felt decent, low side and high side fuel pressures were within spec, and everything worked electrically that I tried. Everything looked clean and had no play when inspecting the suspension and steering.

I spent $3k and aside from the engine, it needs new tires and a windshield is all. No exterior damage, very minimal wear on the interior.

I hadn't thought of a reman'd engine. Looks like the long block is about $4500-$5k. So that would be about another $10k maybe less for the complete engine and upgrades.

 

You're more than welcome to have your own opinion!

I've gone down this road before, and it always seems to be more expensive and more time consuming than originally planned, but if it's a project car to tinker with, then that's great. If it's a car for my wife, as a daily driver, that she needs to rely on, then no, it doesn't seem like a great idea. If his wife becomes the beta tester for all the issues that always pop up after a huge rebuild, I'd imagine he wouldn't be very popular.