Thread: BMW rejection - faulty on day of purchase

Hello everyone,

Firstly i'd like to say how impressed i am with all the responses people seem to get regarding their problems on this site.

Here's the storey in brief - I brought a BMW november the 1st and from the day i drove the car home, it appeared to be faulty. the car is used ( 10 months old and approx 5000 miles)

Below is correspondance which i've forwarded to the dealership which i think would be more useful than me re-writing it ....

As you will see below, i have rejected the vehicle and have also recieved a response from the dealer saying they don't accept my rejection (7 days from date of my letter)

Anyway, i'm currently talking to Trading Standards and also waiting on a response from BMW financial services because the car is on a PCP agreement. I'd like any advice in order to help me with my case for rejecting the vehicle....

Halliwell Jones Chester
Sealand Road
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 4LS

For the attention of: XXXXXX

Dear Sir,

Further to our telephone conversation today at 11:00am please accept this as formal correspondence with regards to rejection of the BMW 330i m-sport auto I purchased from Halliwell Jones Chester on Saturday November 1st 2008.

I would like to reiterate the reasons for my rejection below, as already discussed:

On the day I collected the vehicle and drove it home to Worcester, it was apparent the car had some sort of problem because at speeds above 80mph on a smooth road surface, such as a Motorway, the steering/car would shake – a very similar experience to when the balancing on the wheels is very far out. Secondly when parking the vehicle and moving the steering wheel from one direction to another there was a bang/clonk noise, which was confirmed as “not a normal characteristic” by a BMW assistance technician the following morning, Sunday 2nd November 2008. I had made your Paul Swales aware of the situation on the day of purchase, after getting home via text message due to it been outside of your opening hours and not wanting to disturb him, he confirmed receipt of this message Sunday 8th when I called him in the morning at approx 11:00am.

Following the BMW Assistance Technician’s diagnosis the car was booked into Cotswold BMW of Hereford who later the following week (06/11/2008) confirmed the steering rack needed to be replaced in order to solve the bang/clonk issue and that 3 of the wheels on the vehicle were buckled. After speaking with Paul Swales and Jeremy of Cotswold I was told Hereford were not carrying out the work as they felt Halliwell Jones Chester BMW needed to inspect the vehicle because the issues were apparent the day I bought the car from Halliwell Jones Chester BMW. This was confirmed by Paul Swales who then referred the situation to you. At this point I made you aware that was unhappy with the quality of the vehicle and as a result wanted to reject it and either swap for another or be refunded. I confirm that as a result you requested I waited for you to collect the vehicle on Saturday 8th Nov at 9am so you could assess its condition and get back to me Monday 10th November with your verdict on how the situation would be dealt with.

Monday 10th November early afternoon you contacted me and confirmed the vehicle was on your premises but had not yet been assessed, therefore you were going to contact me the same day close of play of at very latest Tuesday 11th November morning after your Technician’s had assessed it. This did not happen and despite several attempts to contact you I did not hear back from you until Wednesday 12th November at approximately 4pm. You then confirmed you had repaired the vehicle and that 3 wheels had been replaced due to been buckled and the steering rack was replaced and that you wanted to return the vehicle to me because you did not accept my rejection. Once hearing this confirmation from you I’m sure you can recall my disappointment and my comments, which related to my lack in confidence with owning a 10month/5000 mile BMW, which needed a replacement steering rack and 3 new wheels. I understand that you confirmed the wheels were not severely buckled, however considering the vehicle has only covered 5000 miles and also needed a new steering rack I can only assume that it has been subject to a reasonably harsh bang or its previous driver misused it in some way. To me if a wheel is buckled, no matter how severe the buckle is, the wheel must have been subject to a big impact. Now considering 3 wheels were buckled, what kind of impact must have caused this? And what effect could it of had to other parts of the vehicle which haven’t yet shown recognisable faults? This together with my previous experience owning a BMW which Paul Swales and possibly you were aware of, has completely shattered my confidence with ownership of this vehicle and I certainly do not intend on feeling like this with such an expensive car for the next 4.5years.

Since return of the vehicle to me I can also confirm the steering, although it works, does not feel certain and smooth like it did before you replaced the steering rack, it in fact feels worse. The issue now is that when driving round any size corner at relaxed (not aggressive driving) speeds I can feel a very light shaking through the wheel when in the corner and steering back out. This shaking can occasionally be felt and seen on the steering wheel when driving in a straight line at approx 50mph. I can confirm this isn’t a normal characteristic after been fortunate enough to have driven between 10-15 different 3 series (the same age as my current vehicle) when my previous car was having work done under warranty at BMW dealerships. As a result of this I’m sure you can imagine it further adds to my dissatisfaction with the product and my feelings towards still wanting to reject it.

As discussed on the phone I can confirm after explaining this issue to fellow members on www.BMWland.co.uk I have had a private message from a forum member who says his vehicle (320 diesel) seems to have had an identical issue to G17 NON, which still has not been resolved even though his steering rack was replaced. He has also confirmed that approx 1000 miles after the new steering rack was replaced the clonk/bang noise has returned and appears to be getting worse as time goes on.

I would like to part on good terms with yourselves and avoid having to get into any heavy disputes therefore I again request you accept my rejection and refund the balance of my £500 deposit (approx £110 has been refunded and the rest to pay for 3 years Shortfall policy) and arrange for my cherished registration to be held on retention. I will continue to pay for the separate negative equity loan which you arranged for me through BMW financial services.

Please find enclosed the V5 registration (YC55 WBD) document for the vehicle I part exchanged for your vehicle. I did leave this in my current vehicle when it was returned to you for diagnoses, however it was had been put in the glove box when the vehicle was returned.

I look forward to your comments on the above. Should you feel that I have not described any of the above fairly please respond with your comments/alterations to the chain of events. As discussed I expect to hear from you within 7 days of today’s date with your response.





Yours Sincerely




XXXXX


C.c. XXXXXX– BMW Financial services Quality Standards department
XXXXXX - BMW Financial services Quality Standards department

The response from the dealer was short and sweet and as follows...

"Dear Mr XXXXXXX

Further to your rejection letter dated 18 November 2008, I am writing to confirm that following a thorough investigation of the faults you have registered and our subsequent rectification we do not accept your rejection request.

You may wish to seek an independant vehicle inspection if you still feel the vehicle does not meet your expectations"


I approached my local BMW dealership yesterday (25/11/08) which is the day this response was dated. My local Dealership have confirmed there is still an issue with the Steering of the vehicle and that based on the Wheel alignment data sheet sent to me by Halliwell Jones (dealer i purchased the vehicle from) the Steering was clearly not repaired to BMW specification.

I get the feeling Halliwell Jones and BMW financial servies are going to request the vehicle is returned to them for repair which is something i don't want for 2 reasons:

1. I still want to reject the vehicle, especially after the independant review has shown halliwell didnt rectify the faults on their 1st attempt (a repair that would be easily repaired had they spent the time and effort to carry it out effectively).

2. I wouldn't feel confortable this dealership carrying out the work again if they didnt rectify something so simple the 1st time!

Hopefully someone will bear through all of the above and be able to offer some sound advice?

Thanks in advance

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1st of all: STOP driving the car if you still are! Every mile you use that car weakens your case for rejection.
2nd, where does this guy get off? He can't refuse a rejection, it is a STATUTORY right!

You are quite right to have got TS involved ASAP, I doubt they'll be too impressed by the reply you got.

May I suggest you edit your post and remove all the personal names and info, please? They don't help and put someone's name on the Internet, which is really not necessary. ;-)

My suggestion is to write back to the chap and remind him that accepting an attempt to repair does not diminish your right to reject the car under SOGA, that he is breaking the law by stopping you enforcing your statutory rights, and that the next communication from him should detail how he plans to come and collect his rejected car at his expense, or face a court case to force him to comply, and also mention that you have got TS involved and they are following the developments in your case with great interest. ;-)

To put it in the words of the statute:

Implied Terms

Implied into all contracts for the sale of goods whether the normal purchase from a retailer by the consumer or within commercial sales are the following terms:

• That the seller has the right to sell the goods and that they are free from encumbrances or charges and that the buyer will enjoy quiet possession.
• That the goods will correspond to their description.
• That the goods will be of satisfactory quality
  
• That where the buyer makes known the purpose of the purchase, that the goods will be fit for that purpose - or fit for the normal purpose.
• That where goods are sold by sample, they will comply with that sample.

All the above are classed as conditions and any breach of them, for example, in the sale of defective goods, would amount to a fundamental breach of contract and could entitle the purchaser to reject the goods and seek reimbursement of the purchase price or claim damages.

Can't get much plainter than that.

You don't need a solicitor dg, you have regulation on your side and they will crumble if you threaten them with court action.

When you contact them again tell them you have rejected it as is your right under SOGA and that you wont be messing around any longer and the next letter they receive will be a court summons.

If they still don't act positively then send them a letter detailing the faults and dates and in bold type at the top of the letter write 'letter before action'.