[castlesteve]

i agree with a post above.... this car is only as good as it was operated from the previous owner.

If he cranked it up cold and floored it around... I can see it wearing quick. Mine takes 10 miles to warm up in the summer months... not many people ever wait that long.

Too many tuned M5's and M6's and X5s out there with this engine that run totally fine. I'm surprised and not surprised that BMW didnt even give you an answer to what went wrong. I've also heard this same exact noise from a previous Porsche and thought the engine was toast, where in fact the idle positioning sensor was bad... so really bad timing can sound the same way. BMW is also known for throwing their hands up and replacing things without any idea