[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Better check with Mass DMV as they might deem the engine swap not legal.

Might say it requires an N55. Mass can be very much a butt pain hen it comes to modded cars. My 07 wagon had hard time getting a sticker again thy said its to low in rear on factory ride.

Don't even need the RMV phone call, its in the law plain as day. Guess that means I'm out on this one. Too bad whoever built this put the wrong engine in it!

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

Don't even need the RMV phone call, its in the law plain as day. Guess that means I'm out on this one. Too bad whoever built this put the wrong engine in it!

Out of curiosity… what would make the n54 illegal (via a swap) in Mass? I’m still trying to decide whether to do an N54 or N55 in my build…

[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

Out of curiosity… what would make the n54 illegal (via a swap) in Mass? I’m still trying to decide whether to do an N54 or N55 in my build…

State law passed in 2016 (iirc) states that you need to use an engine from the same model year or newer (regardless of if the engine comes from a donor or a crate) if you're replacing it with something not factory-offered. I'm not sure if you can bend this, I'm sure others know more about it than me, but as I'm looking for a daily that I won't need to do any hoop-jumping with come reg/inspection time, I'm going to steer clear.

[TyroneShoelaces]

Originally Posted by Fredo

The N54 E91 from Florida is in BAT, no reserve.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...orts-wagon-12/

That car just sold on cars and bids and it looks like it's the same seller so the sale must have fallen through. Since when did BaT take rebuilt title listings? I was surprised to see it on Cars and Bids.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36G...e-sports-wagon

I watched it close as my rebuilt title wagon I keep thinking I'll sell and mine is a better spec than this car so it helped me feel better about my price I'm thinking.

[TyroneShoelaces]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

State law passed in 2016 (iirc) states that you need to use an engine from the same model year or newer (regardless of if the engine comes from a donor or a crate) if you're replacing it with something not factory-offered. I'm not sure if you can bend this, I'm sure others know more about it than me, but as I'm looking for a daily that I won't need to do any hoop-jumping with come reg/inspection time, I'm going to steer clear.

How does the state even know? I N54 swapped my 2012 wagon and reused the CAS from the wagon. ISN matched the 335 DME. When plugged in my car reports that it's a 2012 with it's original VIN.

I suppose that if someone used the earlier cas, key, and DME it could be a problem.

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by TyroneShoelaces

That car just sold on cars and bids and it looks like it's the same seller so the sale must have fallen through. Since when did BaT take rebuilt title listings? I was surprised to see it on Cars and Bids.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36G...e-sports-wagon

I watched it close as my rebuilt title wagon I keep thinking I'll sell and mine is a better spec than this car so it helped me feel better about my price I'm thinking.

Yeah that’s the same car. I followed it closely too as I’m in the process of doing a swap on one my my e91s… I was (I suppose still am if the right car came along) considering buying one that is already put together.

IMO, I wouldn’t put a lot of weight to what that one sold for on CaB. It’s a pretty meh color combo (totally my opinion) and it’s XDrive (also just my opinion). To me what really kept that one low was the lack of details about the build and the donor drivetrain. Plus, there were some unanswered questions about the airbags and the gap in the hood/fenders.

Being deep in the planning process for my own build, unless an N54 (or n55) swapped car has serious issues or is a terrible spec, they’re worth at least something close to $20,000. I’ve heard of labor for these swaps (plus the cost of the donor plus whatever else you put on it while the swap is conducted) being $15,000+. Now if it’s a really good spec with lots of documention, etc? Value goes way up… at least to me.

I just sold my e46 touring and long considered doing an s54 swapped e46 touring. If you want to buy a completed car, you’d better bring at least $30,000.

[TyroneShoelaces]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

Yeah that’s the same car. I followed it closely too as I’m in the process of doing a swap on one my my e91s… I was (I suppose still am if the right car came along) considering buying one that is already put together.

IMO, I wouldn’t put a lot of weight to what that one sold for on CaB. It’s a pretty meh color combo (totally my opinion) and it’s XDrive (also just my opinion). To me what really kept that one low was the lack of details about the build and the donor drivetrain. Plus, there were some unanswered questions about the airbags and the gap in the hood/fenders.

Being deep in the planning process for my own build, unless an N54 (or n55) swapped car has serious issues or is a terrible spec, they’re worth at least something close to $20,000. I’ve heard of labor for these swaps (plus the cost of the donor plus whatever else you put on it while the swap is conducted) being $15,000+. Now if it’s a really good spec with lots of documention, etc? Value goes way up… at least to me.

I just sold my e46 touring and long considered doing an s54 swapped e46 touring. If you want to buy a completed car, you’d better bring at least $30,000.

I thought the complaints about the airbags and hood alignment were kinda silly. People with no real interest in the car chatting like it's a facebook page like a bunch of automotive white knights. But that's what the auction sites have become. It has a steering wheel airbag obviously. A 12 year old bmw heavily modified rebuilt title with a dash light on. Shocking. ISTA or Protools will likely clear it up and the seller was actively engaging. This isn't the car for them obviously if they think they're getting off the lot lexus reliability. That car was for sale for a long time in South FL and I chuckled when I messaged when they said "it's the only one that is coded correctly"

A user here was trying to get mid 20's for his bluewater metallic clean title N54 swapped wagon that was done way better than that car. I thought the 15k was fair.

[Serf27]

I didn’t read C&B comments so idk if the seller addressed the front end. It’s not silly to question it, especially if has been in a front end crash and is selling for $15k. At that price, it should’ve been aligned.

It was posted from one site to the other pretty fast. Maybe the seller got accepted to BAT and purposefully made the c&b sale flop?
Idk, I’m just here to chat about them, lol.

[ekimp]

Originally Posted by TyroneShoelaces

A user here was trying to get mid 20's for his bluewater metallic clean title N54 swapped wagon that was done way better than that car. I thought the 15k was fair.

That car was DCT. Maybe worth something to the right person but still a harder sell vs. manual on an E91, unless you're making huge power.

For what it's worth- I'm a friend the seller, I was the first person he called when he bought the car. I warned him in advance that this community would immediately be on his case about the origins of the rebuilt title stuff. No surprise, I was right.

That said, I think many of these comments on the accident damage are mostly overblown. Looking at the Copart photos, it looks like a fairly minor collision occurred, and the previous owner didn't realize how rare the car was as it sat and just totaled it off to insurance for sedan money.

If you know what you're getting yourself into, I think $15K is a pretty great price- that's probably about what it costs to replicate this build alone, and this car is also a factory 6MT. I think it'll do OK on BaT.

[M-technik-3]

Originally Posted by TyroneShoelaces

How does the state even know? I N54 swapped my 2012 wagon and reused the CAS from the wagon. ISN matched the 335 DME. When plugged in my car reports that it's a 2012 with it's original VIN.

I suppose that if someone used the earlier cas, key, and DME it could be a problem.

Because Massachusetts want to be the East Coast version of California.

Realistically this car might pass the inspection but to spend alot of money and it to be flagged in the system would not be fun.

Florida is quite liberal in it's inspection process. Mass the car would be plugged in to the obd port.

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Because Massachusetts want to be the East Coast version of California.

Realistically this car might pass the inspection but to spend alot of money and it to be flagged in the system would not be fun.

Florida is quite liberal in it's inspection process. Mass the car would be plugged in to the obd port.

If the engine has to be the same year or newer as the chassis…. You could theoretically put a 335is engine in a 2011 e91 I suppose. What a weird law…..

[TyroneShoelaces]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I didn’t read C&B comments so idk if the seller addressed the front end. It’s not silly to question it, especially if has been in a front end crash and is selling for $15k. At that price, it should’ve been aligned.

It was posted from one site to the other pretty fast. Maybe the seller got accepted to BAT and purposefully made the c&b sale flop?
Idk, I’m just here to chat about them, lol.

Same, and I think this is the place. I hate seeing people torpedo people's auction listings. If it's something critical like "I know this car was hit hard, or it has a sketchy ownership history" I think the post to the auction listing is warranted but not car chat. Buyers should do due diligence. I think BaT crowd is worse than cars and bids because it's basically a forum but we'll see.

Originally Posted by ekimp

That car was DCT. Maybe worth something to the right person but still a harder sell vs. manual on an E91, unless you're making huge power.

For what it's worth- I'm a friend the seller, I was the first person he called when he bought the car. I warned him in advance that this community would immediately be on his case about the origins of the rebuilt title stuff. No surprise, I was right.

That said, I think many of these comments on the accident damage are mostly overblown. Looking at the Copart photos, it looks like a fairly minor collision occurred, and the previous owner didn't realize how rare the car was as it sat and just totaled it off to insurance for sedan money.

If you know what you're getting yourself into, I think $15K is a pretty great price- that's probably about what it costs to replicate this build alone, and this car is also a factory 6MT. I think it'll do OK on BaT.

I suppose the dct hurt, I was surprised it took so long to sell. I saw the car in person and it was very nice with the M3 interior. Maybe the color plus dct wasn't enthusiast spec enough?

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Because Massachusetts want to be the East Coast version of California.

Realistically this car might pass the inspection but to spend alot of money and it to be flagged in the system would not be fun.

Florida is quite liberal in it's inspection process. Mass the car would be plugged in to the obd port.

Yeah I was worried doing the rebuilt title on my car N54 swapping at the same time the state would plug into the OBD port and flag it somehow for the vin coming up different to what's stamped on the car. So I had the 335 DME matched to my original N52 CAS. Turns out the state doesn't care about any of that. I obviously knew emissions wasn't an issue with the motor swap. They only care very slightly about the source of the parts for the rebuild being legit. Nothing about structure or build quality etc...which kinda sucks as it gives all rebuilt titles sketchy assumptions about safety. My car was like the one in the BaT sale, it was hit very light on the front right corner. Headlight, fender, bumper and lower control arm and she was toast.

As far as running the wagon CAS/vin the only time it gave me problems was when using protools for datalogging because the protools software sees the CAS vin as a 328 and doesn't default to the N54 options for logging. MHD doesn't seem to care and looks to the DME logs parameters fine.

[GA328iT]

Seems like a really good deal. 2011 BMW 328it 6 Speed Manual, RWD, Sport Pack, 111xxx miles. Around Atlanta, GA
$14,000

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...a-881adfee8e92

[Reverend_Wrong]

Originally Posted by GA328iT

Seems like a really good deal. 2011 BMW 328it 6 Speed Manual, RWD, Sport Pack, 111xxx miles. Around Atlanta, GA
$14,000

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...a-881adfee8e92

And I put a deposit down yesterday and should be picking it on Saturday! Seller also owned the shop that maintained it and all major maintenance is documented and up to date. I've been on the hunt for this elusive unicorn for years!



I'll be listing my silver 2010 AT xDrive E91 with sport package very soon.

[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by Reverend_Wrong

And I put a deposit down yesterday and should be picking it on Saturday! Seller also owned the shop that maintained it and all major maintenance is documented and up to date. I've been on the hunt for this elusive unicorn for years!



I'll be listing my silver 2010 AT xDrive E91 with sport package very soon.

Augh... you beat me to it! I reached out early yesterday as well and didn't hear back until today.

Glad to see its going to a good home though!

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

Augh... you beat me to it! I reached out early yesterday as well and didn't hear back until today.

Glad to see its going to a good home though!

Thought of you when this one popped up! I hope mine sells that quickly lol

[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

Thought of you when this one popped up! I hope mine sells that quickly lol

GLWS! If it were an MT, I'd honestly probably be considering yours too lol. If you do have a change of heart... let me know That GA one is basically everything I've been looking for... maybe save for the missing CWP.

I'm a little bummed since the car had been listed on another FB listing (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...65403057497763) for 2 weeks by another seller (employee of the owner afaik), and I'd been back and forth with him for the last few days... guess I just got unlucky. Here's to hoping a similar one with CWP comes up soon, maybe a little closer to me.

Enjoy that thing, it looks pretty perfect!

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

GLWS! If it were an MT, I'd honestly probably be considering yours too lol. If you do have a change of heart... let me know That GA one is basically everything I've been looking for... maybe save for the missing CWP.

I'm a little bummed since the car had been listed on another FB listing (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...65403057497763) for 2 weeks by another seller (employee of the owner afaik), and I'd been back and forth with him for the last few days... guess I just got unlucky. Here's to hoping a similar one with CWP comes up soon, maybe a little closer to me.

Enjoy that thing, it looks pretty perfect!

Oh my red e91 is mine for good! Someone’s gonna have to offer me more than it’s worth lol my white one is definitely going to go—that’s the one with the manual trans. It’s a pre-LCI, though. But still one of the unicorns! haha

Finding these things on Facebook marketplace is hard!

[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

Oh my red e91 is mine for good! Someone’s gonna have to offer me more than it’s worth lol my white one is definitely going to go—that’s the one with the manual trans. It’s a pre-LCI, though haha

Finding these things on Facebook marketplace is hard!

Yeah, I don't love marketplace and the tendency I'm seeing for people to exclusively list things there... searching it is a pain, and its incredibly slow. I'm going to have a rough time finding anything comparable to the deal you just got... but hey maybe when I find one, it'll have heated seats

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

Yeah, I don't love marketplace and the tendency I'm seeing for people to exclusively list things there... searching it is a pain, and its incredibly slow. I'm going to have a rough time finding anything comparable to the deal you just got... but hey maybe when I find one, it'll have heated seats

Both of my e91s were bought off marketplace… but both of them were sent to me by other folks. I frankly got lucky on my LCI. Offering over his asking price probably helped too lol

[H-Atkinson]

Originally Posted by CoralRed

Both of my e91s were bought off marketplace… but both of them were sent to me by other folks. I frankly got lucky on my LCI. Offering over his asking price probably helped too lol

Yup, a lot of this is just luck. Especially with how few of these there are. I don't doubt that I'll find the right one eventually, just a lil bummed that this one wasn't it. I'm just going to be ready to move fast when I find it...

[CoralRed]

Originally Posted by H-Atkinson

Yup, a lot of this is just luck. Especially with how few of these there are. I don't doubt that I'll find the right one eventually, just a lil bummed that this one wasn't it. I'm just going to be ready to move fast when I find it...

That’s how I was with my red one. I wanted red and since I’m doing an engine swap on it I didn’t care on the trans.

If you ever decide you want a pre-LCI unicorn, you know who to ask! lol