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BMW's continued... Maryann’s 325 (e) Nearby our previous rent-house there was a repair shop that had a blue Sedan that just sat and sat. I had looked at it and it was really very nice, so I figured it was mechanically broken, and they couldn’t fix it. One day I asked about it and found out it ran, was for sale, and going to the Auction in two days. But I was right, it had problems: the engine had broken a rocker arm and they tried to fix it. They had botched the job terribly and the valve train sounded like a threshing machine. Consequently, they only wanted a $1000 for it, so I rushed home and talked Maryann into it. That afternoon, the car was ours. The cylinder head was trash, but sure enough the rest of the car was near-perfect. Even the A/C worked. Electrical problems abounded, but that’s no problem for me. The head was another thing. My physical limitations in mind, I opted for the head to be done by our local Independent enthusiast-oriented BMW shop to replace it. They do excellent work, and charge fairly for it. The job went well, even though requiring a replacement head, and scrapping the original. The car runs beautifully, and Maryann loves it. I feel better for her being in a solidly built car as well. We use it together as our road trip car, and it has never let us down, even with 188K mi. on the clock. These "eta" engined cars are well known for their longevity, well into the ¼ million mile mark. This one might make it there, too.
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