VANOS - Ugh

[Claymore]

Off to VOB I go! I had Dan Martin do a valve adjustment on my '06 M Coupe because it's at 66K miles and I thought the valves were rattling a bit. Dan called me up a few hours later and said it wasn't the valves.

Upon further investigation, it appears that the VANOS unit is the culprit. According to Dan, a metal tab had sheared off (presumably one of the two which connect to the exhaust-side cam) and was rattling around in the unit. I'm damn lucky it didn't get into the timing chain.

Now for the fun part. The car is out of warranty at 66K miles and I'm the second owner. I'm anticipating a large fight with BMWNA over why a car with only 66K miles is eating itself. All services have been performed, so there's no issue there, but I'll be damned if I'm paying $4K-plus to fix this. I spoke with BMWNA this afternoon and they want a dealer to look at it, so I'm taking it down to VOB this evening.

Any insights or help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

My old '04 M3 had a tab get caught in the timing chain. It occupied a lift at Sterling for something like 10-12 weeks.

The exhaust tabs fail relatively frequently, unfortunately.

[1996 328ti]

And you are taking it to VOB of all places?

[Claymore]

They're the closest dealer, and I didn't want to drive any further than necessary.

[1996 328ti]

They're the closest dealer, and I didn't want to drive any further than necessary.

I don't know if their work has improved over the years, but Tischer isn't that much further. Then again, I don't haven't had any experience with Tischer for several years.

[Claymore]

VOB just said that they won't cover it. Time to call the area rep. Anyone know who that is?

[Claymore]

Well that was fun. BMWNA insists that the exhaust hub is a "wear and tear" item, which makes absolutely zero sense, and won't cover it. VOB gave me an estimate of $7K (replace the VANOS and the exhaust hub), but offered a "reduced" price of $5900. I had them button up the car and towed it back to Dan Martin while I await parts from Tischer; I just can't afford to lawyer-up on this.

[Bob]

Well that was fun. BMWNA insists that the exhaust hub is a "wear and tear" item, which makes absolutely zero sense, and won't cover it. VOB gave me an estimate of $7K (replace the VANOS and the exhaust hub), but offered a "reduced" price of $5900. I had them button up the car and towed it back to Dan Martin while I await parts from Tischer; I just can't afford to lawyer-up on this.

"wear and tear items" ,tires, brakes pads,wiper blades, and camshaft hubs!