It Started With a Phone Call
I pulled up and saw the BMW just sitting there. Lifeless.
No cranking, no sputter, no signs of life. The cluster read: DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION.
I grabbed my OBD scanner, hoping for a clue.
Seventy-two codes. Engine. Transmission. Fuel. CAN bus. You name it. The car had a full-blown meltdown.
I cleared the codes. Nothing. Jumped it. Still nothing.
Tried to get it into neutral, only to find out you have to crawl under the car to do that. Who designs this stuff?
Eventually, I gave in and called a tow truck. I hate doing that. It feels like turning in my man card. But the car wasn’t going anywhere and it was partially blocking traffic.
As I watched it get dragged up onto the flatbed, one thought hit me for the first time since buying this car: This might be the beginning of the end.
Towed. Twice.
The first shop was highly recommended, but as soon as they got the car, the driver says, “I’ll have to drag it off the flatbed. Just have to figure out how to do that without damaging your front bumper.”
Yeah… no. This car has been damage-free for over ten years and I wasn’t about to break that streak. So I said, “What if I use my truck to pull it off?” #TruckStuff
Was I nervous? Absolutely. But I was also out of options.
The next day, I get a call. “It’s throwing tons of codes. We don’t really work on BMWs.” Perfect.
They recommend a place called C and G Motorsports. Cue the second tow truck. But right before the flatbed arrives, the car starts just long enough for me to drive it up onto the truck myself. A small miracle. Of course, by the time it gets to C and G, it’s dead again.
The Bad News
Alan, the owner of C and G, clearly knows these cars. But his shop is packed, and he won’t be able to look at it for a week.
A week later, he calls, “It’s probably the timing chain. You’re looking at a $4,000 repair.”
That hits hard. Especially for a car that’s maybe worth $7,000 to $10,000. And especially when I just booked a family trip to Disney World.
But the truth is, this car has been solid for 11 years. No payments in years. It’s got 88,000 miles and every time I drive it, I think,“This is a really nice car.”
So I said go for it.
The Twist
A few days later, my phone rings again. Alan says, “Hey Rob, how’s it going?”
I reply, “That depends entirely on what you’re about to tell me.”
He pauses, then says, “You’re not gonna believe this.” They pulled the car in, started tearing it down, and found the problem almost immediately: A loose ground wire.
No timing chain issue. No teardown. Just a single loose connection, hidden behind a plastic cover. Total cost? Zero. Well, okay… Two tows for $38 and $60 in beer money for Alan and the team for being stand-up guys.
The Takeaway
After all the codes, the tows, the stress, and the $4,000 scare, it turned out to be a wire. And honestly, I’m not even mad. Because this car has been incredibly reliable. If a loose ground is the worst thing it has thrown at me after all this time, I’ll take it.
The car is back, running perfectly. And I still love it. People love to say that BMWs are great until 100,000 miles. Maybe that’s true. But I’m looking forward to proving that wrong, one mile at a time. Because if you maintain them and drive them the way they’re meant to be driven, these cars can be some of the most rewarding out there. Even if they scare the hell out of you sometimes.
