Rebuild it or leave it alone
 

Like many people here, I would love to have a M3ti. I have looked at the general price of a engine/trans/wiring package and obviously it's pretty expensive, with no real guarantee that the advertised mileage is true and of the running condition of the engine itself. I purchased the swap guide from J!m and read it cover to cover. I decided that getting a parts car would make the most sense as all of the little odds and ends would be available instead of having to hunt and order stuff. The problem is that the cars are also very expensive, even for crashed and salvage ones. After a lot of hunting, I found a 96 M3 that I am going to try and buy but it has 220,000 miles on it. The car is hit but the rest of the car, including the interior and paint, looks to be in great shape. This would make me believe that the previous owner took pretty good care of his car. I am told that the car does run and drive but have not been able to inspect it in person yet.

Now here's the million dollar question. Assuming that the car runs well with no smoke or funny noises, would you break open a "perfectly good" high mileage engine to refresh it? (Gaskets, and bottom end bearings)

I know that BMW engines will run forever if taken care of and I don't want to finger an engine up and possibly cause a problem that wasn't there before. On the other hand, it would stink to install the engine and then have a head gasket, timing cover, or oil pan start puking oil or even worse, have the bottom end start making some noises. Then I could be pulling the engine back out to make the repairs.

Right now, I'm leaning in the direction of just installing it and seeing what happens. Just wanted to see what you guys would do or what you have done is the past. Thanks.

you can always have it professionally rebuilt if you don't trust yourself.

Id say better to be safe than sorry and rebuild it since it does have 220,000 miles on it unless the owner has a complete service history. Also if your not sure you really want to drag the motor to the dealer and have them inspect it.

I'm not sure I would go with a full rebuild--it's just a matter of time for me.

However, I'd certainly go for a full set of gaskets, which will allow you to inspect what you need to while the engine is on a stand and have the peace of mind that you did something for its longevity.

Engine stands can be had for around $100.

I do trust my myself but there is just something about a virgin engine...

i personally would wait til you find a lower mile motor. that is very high for an m3 most have a lot less miles. but with a good service history i would feel more comfortable.