Crago's Independent BMW & MINI Specialist

Crago's Independent BMW & MINI Specialist Independent BMW & MINI specialist in Dartford Kent
01322 294404
Unit i1 Riverside Industrial Estat

We are an Independent BMW & Mini Specialist in Dartford, with several years background within a Main BMW dealership. We pride ourselves on our product knowledge, honesty, and we aim to provide excellent customer service.

BMW 2 series with the   3 cylinder engine in for a replacement timing chain kit.Suffering with the usual symptoms, Drive...
28/05/2026

BMW 2 series with the 3 cylinder engine in for a replacement timing chain kit.

Suffering with the usual symptoms, Drivetrain warning, rattle on cold start and a lack of power.

Now back on the road with all new genuine BMW parts installed with a 2 year warranty.

A simple 1hr DIY job for this customer turned in to a 14 hour nightmare 🫣The new spark plug installed in cylinder 6 was ...
07/05/2026

A simple 1hr DIY job for this customer turned in to a 14 hour nightmare 🫣

The new spark plug installed in cylinder 6 was snapped clean off, and required removal of the cylinder head to extract the broken plug.

This is now reassembled with all genuine BMW parts and new spark plugs torqued to factory spec.

Surprise visit from Steve this morning in his brand new 750e.Steve has been a loyal customer of ours since 2010, many th...
01/05/2026

Surprise visit from Steve this morning in his brand new 750e.

Steve has been a loyal customer of ours since 2010, many thanks for continuing to support the business.

We look forward to seeing this stunning 7 series for its first service.

BMW X5 E70 50i in for our popular valve stem oil seal service. This super rare X5 is powered by the incredible N63 engin...
22/04/2026

BMW X5 E70 50i in for our popular valve stem oil seal service.

This super rare X5 is powered by the incredible N63 engine. Unfortunately this particular engine is plagued by high oil consumption from the valve stem oil seals. Over time the excess heat generated by the “hot V” design causes the valve stem seals to harden, allowing oil to pass from the cylinder head in to the combustion chamber.

We are able to carry out this service without a full strip down of the engine, but due to the complexity of the engine it still requires removal from the chassis.

While the engine with front axle was removed we also carried out a few extra leak repairs.

Valve stem seals ✅
Rocker cover gaskets ✅
Breather hoses ✅
High pressure fuel pump gaskets ✅
Chain tensioner cover gaskets ✅
Lower sump gasket ✅
Upper sump gasket ✅
Rear main crank oil seal ✅
Engine oil and filter ✅

BMW 420d in for some maintenance after just passing 100,000 miles. Genuine BMW full chain kitGenuine BMW rocker cover Ge...
31/03/2026

BMW 420d in for some maintenance after just passing 100,000 miles.

Genuine BMW full chain kit
Genuine BMW rocker cover
Genuine BMW EGR cooler
Cylinder head de-coke
Replacement Vibration damper
Replacement vacuum hoses
A/C recharge
Engine oil and filter change

With the above work carried out there’s no reason why this powered 4 series won’t see another 100,000 miles.

BMW 335d Xdrive in for a full engine rebuild after a lower timing chain failure.Quite possibly one of the most catastrop...
18/03/2026

BMW 335d Xdrive in for a full engine rebuild after a lower timing chain failure.

Quite possibly one of the most catastrophic chain failures we have seen, nearly all of the rocker arms were either bent or broken. Both camshafts bent and the majority of the valves contacted the pistons.

This has now been rebuilt with new bearings, valves, camshafts, rocker arms and all required gaskets and bolts.

We offer various preventative maintenance packages for your N57 powered .

Get in touch with our reception team to find out more information 01322 294404

    in for a suspected total engine failure. We do like a challenge at cragos and are happy to rebuild most engines. But...
06/02/2026

in for a suspected total engine failure. We do like a challenge at cragos and are happy to rebuild most engines. But unfortunately this engine was a little too far gone to economically repair it.

This N55 had already been rebuilt previously, we were able to measure the journal of crankshaft that was loose in the sump pan and it was 0.25mm smaller than standard size. Due to excessive damage to the block, crank and head we had no choice but to do a complete replacement.

Using BMW’s major unit intervention scheme we were able to get an incredible deal for the customer on a brand new N55 straight from the factory. Now fully installed with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

Beautifully kept one owner from new Z3 3.0 in for some maintenance. Engine oil service ✅ MOT ✅ Bonnet badge ✅ Washer bot...
05/12/2025

Beautifully kept one owner from new Z3 3.0 in for some maintenance.

Engine oil service ✅
MOT ✅
Bonnet badge ✅
Washer bottle clean out ✅
Headlight switch ✅
Headlight restoration ✅

The majority of work we do now days is often on the newer F and G chassis cars. However we still love to see the older E chassis vehicles.

It was an absolute pleasure to work on this modern classic and keep it going for another year.

Long time loyal customer Dax with his BMW i3 in for some maintenance last week.Front brake pads and discs ✅ Front suspen...
11/11/2025

Long time loyal customer Dax with his BMW i3 in for some maintenance last week.

Front brake pads and discs ✅
Front suspension top mounts with bump stops ✅
New tyres ✅

BMW 428i in recently for a Drivetrain fault diagnosis. This B48 powered 4 series was logging the dreaded “exhaust camsha...
05/11/2025

BMW 428i in recently for a Drivetrain fault diagnosis.

This B48 powered 4 series was logging the dreaded “exhaust camshaft installation” error code. On the early b38/b48 power plants the exhaust camshaft phase flank is heat pressed on to the camshaft. Unfortunately over time and heat cycles the phase flank can shift position. This causes an incorrect camshaft position to be relayed back to the engine control unit, giving the cam installation fault.

This particular engine timing chain was showing excessive slack, so a complete genuine BMW chain kit was replaced.

All parts fitted hold a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

Address

Unit I1 Riverside Ind Est
Dartford
DA15BS

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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