# £1,100 paid for Dodgey motor **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** bmw, 320\ **Created:** [January 28, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747 "2018-01-28T11:07:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/41 "2018-01-29T19:33:39Z")
A bad valve cover gasket will not put oil in your tailpipe, it will only put it on the outside of your engine. Oil in the tailpip ir rings or valve guides or seals. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/42 "2018-01-29T19:47:22Z")
Water and steam from the tail pipe is normal during rainy weather. Without a promise of no oil leaks it doesn’t seem reasonable to me to take the time to go to court over a valve cover gasket. ---
**Author:** ![Jake-Snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/da6949/32.png) [@Jake-Snake](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Jake-Snake)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/43 "2018-01-29T20:02:15Z")
The car is booked into the garage tomorrow to be examined. I’m not taking anyone to court unless I have a expensive repair bill and a refusal to acknowledge responsibility. The symptoms my car is showing could be a major repair or could be a cheap repair just don’t know which yet… ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/44 "2018-01-30T02:29:04Z")
> [@Jake-Snake](#): > > my dip stick test of the oil looked light brown so I’m unsure if it’s contaminated or not A light brown color is a sign of healthy oil. Dark brown or black, it’s time for an oil and filter change. If you see a sort of thick cottage cheese effect on the bottom of the cap where you pour the oil in, that’s a sign of a problem, so check for that. Good idea to take it to a shop for a diagnosis of the issues. The coolant level shouldn’t drop much over the course of a few thousand miles. . If you are certain about that, one thing your mechanic should focus on is why it is happening. Hopefully it is just a hose connection leaking. Liquid water and white smoke coming out the tailpipe is normal when first starting a cold engine, especially in damp cold weather. Best of luck, thanks for clarifying the MOT. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/45 "2018-01-30T15:48:52Z")
With such a limited budget, a very used BMW would be one the last cars I would consider if I needed reliable transportation, especially if I was unwilling or unable to fix it myself. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/46 "2018-01-31T02:13:48Z")
The economics of BMW ownership might be a little different in the UK vs USA. There’s a higher % of German cars on the road probably, so UK owners have the benefit of economy of scale in finding a repair place. The BMW repairs places in my area, the mechanics seem to all wear clean & pressed white uniforms. There’s very few older BMWs to be seen still on the road. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/47 "2018-02-02T00:29:09Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > The economics of BMW ownership might be a little different in the UK vs USA. There’s a higher % of German cars on the road probably, so UK owners have the benefit of economy of scale in finding a repair place. The BMW repairs places in my area, the mechanics seem to all wear clean & pressed white uniforms. There’s very few older BMWs to be seen still on the road. This may be true, but reliability and parts cost are undoubtedly the same. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/48 "2018-02-02T01:06:56Z")
In the U.S., used car sales are covered in each state by its own statutes. Most have words to the effect that used car sales are all 100% “as is” unless otherwise stated in writing or fraud can be proven… which is usually just about impossible, even though the burden of proof is far more lenient in civil court than in criminal court. The statutes are written the way they are to prevent clogging the civil court systems up with “he said” “no, he said” arguments without evidence on either side. I have absolutely no idea how British law handles used car sales. It may be as different to our system as day is to night. But I wish you justice. And I hope you learn from this experience the importance of never trusting anything said by anyone trying to sell you something. Trust only what you can see, feel, and verify via a third party. And know that even if you fail to get justice this time, you’ll get past this. Life will go on. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 12:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747/49 "2018-02-03T12:23:08Z")
Hmm? No report on what the mechanic said? [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1-100-paid-for-dodgey-motor/111747.md?page=2)