Is this too much to pay for swaps?

[5ickride]

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on this but want some feedback on whether its crazy ridiculously stupid money being thrown away.

I've been looking to get some Oomph out of my beloved so I've decided to go with the common S5X engine swap AND a 5spd tranny swap as well. Im told the engines have moderately low miles <75k and the 5spd is also in very good shape. My mechanical skill level is limited to light bulbs and oil changes so i'm having this done by the "Pros". Out the door and ready to burn up the streets is going to run me $7000. Mind you this is without my Jewish-ness negotiating skills so i'll try and get some more out of it with that price.

What do you think, too much? about right?

Also, which engine should i go with S50 or S52? OBD1 or OBD2?

Thanks

[FredK]

I would not be surprised if the labor runs around 20 hours.

What would be nice is an itemized list of exactly what will be done.

A wham, bam, thank you ma'am swap will be a lot cheaper than one that is methodically done, with all of the problem areas addressed properly.

There are plenty of places to cut corners, so know what is going into the sausage.

Some questions to ask would be,

- Is the brake booster going to a reman, or a used one?
- What brand water pump will be used (Genuine BMW is best, besides the $$$ Stewart)
- What are you doing to do for a clutch kit? This would be a great place for someone to cut corners. A new Sachs clutch kit is $300.
- What are you doing about the exhaust system?
- Are you going to use a new radiator?
- Are you going to use a new oxygen sensor

[5ickride]

Great, thanks for letting me know this. I wouldnt have even thought about asking half those questions. Good to know.

[flyboyx]

obd 1 is easier to install but the parts will be more costly unless you can find a good s50(which is getting hard to find these days)

since you are in jersey, do you have to pass emissions? ask what they are going to to for catalization. after market cats can suck especially cheap ones. in this case, factory is also best but pricey.

i personally think 7000.00 is a bit expensive for this swap, but then as mentioned above, it depends on the kind of job they do for you. how much is the cost of the engine/trans/parts? how much is the breakdown in labor? i think all the parts should these days cost about 3000.00 or less. i am going out on a limb here, but i think the labor for a good quality obd1 swap should be 2000 to 3000 at most.

has this shop done this conversion before? if not, move on to another mechanic. if they have, how many have they done? get a some phone numbers/references from them and ask the customers if they are happy.

in the end, the only thing that really matters is whether or not you will get 7000.00 worth of enjoyment from this conversion. certainly don't bother if you are intending to sell your car. you will lose your ass. think of this like installing a swimming pool in your back yard. you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it while you have it, but when you sell it will be worth about half what you paid for it.

in my case, my 46,000 mile s52 was less than free. i purchased a complete wrecked car, took what i wanted from it and sold off the rest of the parts. all i have invested in it at this point are the consumable/maintenance items that i replaced and the time to do my own labor.

[dannyb]

I got a quote very reputable shop in my area and its 2k just in labor, so add 2k for the engine (if your going S50/S52), now depending if you do the exhaust or not the end price will vary.

I would say everything done professionally and clean would be around 5k with the exhaust.

[nrubenstein]

If you're looking to pay someone else to do it, why not buy a nice, well sorted car for the same price and then keep or sell your current one. Unless you've got an amazing shell, it's probably not worth it.

[VacMan]

If you're looking to pay someone else to do it, why not buy a nice, well sorted car for the same price and then keep or sell your current one. Unless you've got an amazing shell, it's probably not worth it.

This x 1000. It will always be cheaper to buy a car completed by someone else. Well sorted, swapped E30's for sale are getting more common all the time and the price continues to drop as the novelty wears off. You can buy a complete swap car for less than $7k.

Here's one with 5 lug and coilovers, too. http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=169364

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=160718

[5ickride]

Yep, I'm talking to the guy "E30Turboboy" in the first link now...we'll see. I just have to get more info from him but this is really being considered.

[MIKe30]

Yep, I'm talking to the guy "E30Turboboy" in the first link now...we'll see. I just have to get more info from him but this is really being considered.

It's a good car, and in the end it makes MUCH more sense financially to buy someone else's completed project ESPECIALLY if you're going to pay someone else to do it anyway.

I've bought completed swap cars before, and done my own. I made money on the complete cars I bought then sold, and I absolutely lost my ass on the current one I have. Such is life...

[5ickride]

Thanks for the advice, i didnt even consider this option but looks like it might make the most sense. Hopefully the owner and I can work something out. Will keep you posted.

[328ijunkie]

I charge 1200-1300 for labor for the swap. Our last customer walked out the door after dropping off a Blown up M20 I and drove away with a M52/ZF/w some bolt ons around ~5K...

[F34R]

Contact White325is he is on here and will take care of you.