Before we go any further, everyone needs to first know that my car is 28 years old.

Anything inside of a car this old is prone to mechanical failure if it isn't properly maintained. Fortunately, the last two failures (which were pretty significant) occurred within several blocks from home and I was lucky enough to avoid a disastrous day waiting for the tow truck.

Let's start with the first failure

The fuel line cracked and started ejecting pressurized gasoline everywhere

Just 3 weeks ago, during the last mile of my drive back from Ocean City NJ (which was 3+ hours due to traffic), the cabin of my car was suddenly filled with the sweet smell of gasoline. In fact, the smell was so intense that it almost seemed like it was coming from INSIDE the cabin. Luckily, I was only several blocks from my house, so I drove hastily and parked the car on my street, which was on a slope. A puddle of gasoline below the car began to emerge and upon closer inspection, it seems as though time has taken its toll on the fuel line.

It was a cheap fix that involved just swapping out the existing fuel line for a new one, but the potential for a catastrophic fire was extremely high. I was really lucky to have been near my home despite the distance I was traveling!

Here's a photo of the fuel leak:

Let's zoom in a bit more.

You can see the fuel escaping the pressurized line. Can anyone scream FIRE!!!!! Luckily, nothing happened and the car was back on the road quickly.

But the car didn't even make it to the next trip because the transmission gave out just a few days later.

The Automatic Transmission is a slushbox waiting to blow up

For BMW's of this vintange, standard equipment was either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. I happened to end up with an auto because manual versions are significantly more difficult to find.

The automatic transmission in mine is a 4 speed auto that happens to have a fatal flaw. The main drive shaft has a weakened seal that allows hot transmission fluid to enter the clutch which results in lower operation pressure and overheating. It takes a while for this flaw to appear and even longer for the transmission to experience complete and total failure. Despite having only 130K (which is rather low miles these days), my transmission kicked the bucket and I'm left with a car that can't get anywhere.

One of the first things that can be done to try and revive the transmission is to perform a fluid change, and that's when I realized that the oil in my transmission has probably never been changed, EVER.

When I dumped the oil out, the old oil was thick, burnt and hardly resembled transmission fluid. Desperate for results, I spent $35 and picked up new transmission fluid hoping it would alleviate the problem. No joy. It seems that my transmission is in fact, completely dead.

What now?

I can replace the car with something newer, but the reality is that cars these days suck. Something about the BMW, the E30 specifically, makes it a superbly fun car to own and drive. And despite the maintenance that is necessary to keep the car going, it's still cheaper than buying a moderately used car.

And because I'm a bit nostalgic for machines of the past, I've settled on repairing the car (even though the repair will cost more than half of what the car is actually worth). This is where the decisions become tricky.

OPTION 1: REPLACE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WITH ANOTHER ONE

This is by far the cheapest option since I can simply remove the existing and chuck it into a scrap machine and replace it with another one. Unfortunately, the replacement would also be a ticking time bomb since all automatics of this vintage have the same design flaw. I would however, get her back on the road quickly and cheaply. This option ranges from $200-$400, assuming you do the work yourself.

OPTION 2: SWAP TO A MANUAL TRANSMISSION

This is the most common option since the manual transmission for this car is robust and readily available. Unfortunately, swapping to a manual means I have to also install the clutch pedal, a new shifter, new drive shaft and purchase another flywheel and clutch. With this option, you also have no idea what you are getting since you are buying a used transmission. It also takes time to piece together all the components and several weekends to complete the modification and work. While its unlikely that a used manual transmission is faulty (due to its robustness), the chance of buying a lemon still exists. In all, a manual transmission swap can run you approximately $1500, also assuming you do the work yourself.

OPTION 3: REBUILD THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

This is the middle ground option.

Rebuilding the automatic means you can correct the original design flaw, and as a result, you have a known healthy transmission. This is the best choice when it comes to reliability, but you don't get the pleasure of owning a manual (which is ear to ear grinning fun!), but you get the comfort of knowing your transmission will outlast the car. This option cost $1000, also assuming you do the work yourself. I can do this in just a few hours since its a simple matter of bolting off the old, having it rebuilt and bolting it back on.

WHICH OPTION WOULD YOU CHOOSE?