Talk me out of (or into) a 25 year old high miles BMW m47 powered car

jcramsey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Location
Marion, NC
Probably a long shot since it was already pending 3 hours after posting, but dude said he would let me know if it falls through. 2001 2.0 m47 diesel swapped bmw with a zf5 manual transmission and 272,000 miles. Swirl flaps deleted. Everything I’ve read says it’s a very reliable combo but 25 year old BMW makes me feel like it will be a money pit replacing old worn out part even if the engine might be bulletproof.

Any BMW gurus on here? @jeepinmatt @orange150 @CasterTroy @jeepin' jen
 
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jcramsey said:
Probably a long shot since it was already pending 3 hours after posting, but dude said he would let me know if it falls through. 2001 2.0 m57 diesel swapped bmw with a zf5 manual transmission and 272,000 miles. Swirl flaps deleted. Everything I’ve read says it’s a very reliable combo but 25 year old BMW makes me feel like it will be a money pit replacing old worn out part even if the engine might be bulletproof.

Any BMW gurus on here? @jeepinmatt @orange150 @CasterTroy @jeepin' jen
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I highlighted the reason to run. ;)

I love diesels. I'm fine with BMW's. I owned a diesel BMW and loved it. I would love to swap a newer 3.0 BMW diesel into something cool and if the car in question is actually an M57swap, it should be a 3.0, not a 2.0. With that said, I don't think I would never buy someone elses swap unless it was unbelievably clean and nice and well sorted, and even then I would want to test drive it for like a week before committing.

But you should totally get it because it sounds cool! :D
 
jeepinmatt said:
I highlighted the reason to run. ;)

I love diesels. I'm fine with BMW's. I owned a diesel BMW and loved it. I would love to swap a newer 3.0 BMW diesel into something cool and if the car in question is actually an M57swap, it should be a 3.0, not a 2.0. With that said, I don't think I would never buy someone elses swap unless it was unbelievably clean and nice and well sorted, and even then I would want to test drive it for like a week before committing.

But you should totally get it because it sounds cool! :D
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You’re right, I misspoke, its an m47 not m57. Agree that a week long test drive would be ideal lol. It looks clean and pretty well sorted…and it’s a wagon.


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My BMW experience is very specifically related to a (very) base model Z3 that was given to me for free because it is/was falling apart and not worth anything even when it's in good shape:laughing:

That being said, IMO a 25yo car is going to need work, BMW or otherwise. Suspension bushings, hoses, wiring, etc.

Can't speak towards diesel, but the cooling system on this generation are failure prone and the rule of thumb is to replace at a minimum all the plastic components and water pump at 60k miles. I would assume all that is done with a swap.
Seat sliders wear out but it's a super cheap part you can get off amazon, just takes an afternoon to do it.
Window sliders wear out (not sure how universal that issue is?). If you force the windows after the slider is worn out they can potentially tear the door.
My car has the getrag (I think), but the shifter rides on an arm that uses bushings that wear out along with all the other shifter components. Again not sure how universal all that is and hopefully it's been taken care of with the swap.
BMW also uses a bushing between the trans and driveshaft which wears. Again, assuming that has been taken care of when they did the swap.

Pelican Parts has some good info on some BMW models. https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/tech_main.htm
ECS sells "maintenance kits" that may be worth browsing just to see what they've taken the time to kit up. Should be a good indication to what are consistently being replaced/repaired
 
I've owned several cars and 2 BMW motorcycles. The cars were all due to my wife, but I WILLINGLY went into motorcycle ownership 🤦🏾‍♂️

I still own a 2011 e92 335xi and daily drive it, but there won't ever be another one in my garage.
They're GREAT cars...right up until they're not.

Everything is $1000. Every tiny sensor, every bushing, every coolant part...nothing is $950 or less.

Hell the OIL is even $90 a quart if you buy theirs 🙄

German engineers design to precise specifications. Assuming German owners. Not taking in account of 'Muricans. I.e. At this mileage you adjust this bolt to the spec...at this mileage you change this fluid..etc
If you don't do it.. catastrophe!!!

Whereas Japanese engineers assume for lazy ownership and design their cars to run 80k on the same oil 🤷🏿‍♂️
As a result you can run a Toyota 100k and never do a damn thing but put gas in. Do that with a BMW and the engine will have long locked up, the suspension bushing dissolved and all the interior buttons will be under the seats.

Oh...and germans apparently do NOT drink beverages in their cars.
 
CasterTroy said:
They're GREAT cars...right up until they're not.
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This.

I've had a 97 M3 that was built in various stages. Loved it, fun car, would own another one now that I'm at a point in life to properly enjoy and care for one but the analog BMW tax has them priced in C5 Z06 territory.
Currently own a 2015 228xi M Sport. Its been great but just went through doing coils, plugs and injectors which is actually a really easy job in BMW speak...HOWEVER...the ECU needs to be calibrated to the flow rates by cylinder and you need the proper scan tool to do this. It needs to leave before it does more "great until its not" issues.

@jeepin' jen rode the BMW rollercoaster as well.

An E46 Chassis car like the one the OP is considering is probably the last generation of the ones I would own, but it absolutely wouldn't be someone else's swapped car.
 
Is this to be your primary DD?
If Yes: then NO
If no: Is this a toy project?
If yes: Do you want it? Will it be fun for you? are you ready to sink money into it?
- If Yes: go for it
- If No: Run
If Not a toy/secondary/project: Why consider it?

I'm going to assume that this is not for your DD. You're asking so obviously you know why you're asking.

Everyone is saying money pit, while most everyone on here is dumping thousands and tens of thousands into their offroad toys. :rolleyes: If this is to be your toy/project, and you want it and can afford it, Sure, why not.
 
NCJeeplover said:
As the proud owner of a Volkswagen and Mercedes, I don't think there has been a sentence I've agreed with more this week. I have fought cupholders for 3 damn years in both.
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The spicy beetle I owned for a while validated my claim for sure

Screenshot_20260515-094833.Facebook.png


It HAD cupholders, but they were an afterthought, and could hold a can beverage at best 🤦🏾‍♂️
 
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