Main BMW Dealer failed to diagnose engine fault under warranty

[jd2000]

Hi

 

Today I just found out that the cost of a part to fix my 56 plate BMW 320SI will cost £3000. I would like to know where I stand from a legal poiny of view wether I am liable to pay for this. A bit of history:

 

1) I bought the car directly from a BMW dealership last year in July 2009 - they always owned the car from new, it was a demo car. The extended warranty ran out last month July 2010.

 

2) I reported an engine fault on the 17 Aug 2009 (the engine light came on), this was about three weeks after I bought the car in July 2009. Eventually they took the car in and said they found no faults and reset the computer to make the engine light disappear. (I nave an email to the dealership informing of the engine fault)

 

3) On the 4 Sept 2009 again I reported slugish behaviour and the exact same symptoms that they reported today ( i have an email informing the dealership of the exact symptoms). I took the car in again and they said they found nothing wrong.

 

4) The symptoms in point 2 continued and i kept mentioning it to them about the symptoms, although I have no record to prove this in this occasion.

 

5) I took the car in more recently to have the break oil changed, and mentioned the symptoms again and they said found nothing wrong.

 

I believe they should have identified the problem when I took the car in twice for the same symptoms, when the car was under BMW extended warranty.

 

Current situation is as follow:

 

The dealership said that they got in touch with BMW yesterday to see if BMW can part-fund the part, but I believe I shouldnt have to pay a penny as the dealership should have identified the problem when it was under warranty, and they had two opportunities to pin point the problem.

 

My questions are:

 

1) what should I do? If they say I have to pay for the full price of the labour and parts, or pay for whatever is left, should I pay for it and try to claim later through courts for costs and damages? How successfull will I be?

 

2) This part is part of the engine, and since its an SI model, its more powerfull than a standard 320i - can i claim that since this model is not standard, it has not been build to withstand the extra power? Apparently, according to the service guy, this same part for a standard 320i model would cost around £50, but for the 320SI its made of carbon fibre so it costs £3000.

 

3) The engine light came on almost 3weeks after I bought the car - can I claim that they sold me a faulty car?

 

Just wondering what my options are. At the moment I am waiting for the dealership to find out if BMW will part-fund the part. I will post more news.

 

Thank very much for your help.

 

Jitesh

[sailor sam]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

As I see this providing that you can prove that the fault is on-going and existed within the period of the manufacturer's warranty then indeed you should not have to pay. In addiotion to that, if the fault originated within the first 6 months of ownership (in respect of used cars), it is assumed present at the point of purchase under the SOGA. However, you would have to show that the fault had not been rectified and is subsiquently is the same fault. So potentially your question (3) could well be yes.

 

Lets us see how the dealer responds but remember that your claim would be against them (as the seller) and not the manufatcturer.

 

Please Note

 

 

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Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[jd2000]

Hi Sam,

 

Thanks for you speedy reply

 

This is the email I sent after the car had been in the garage for the engine light, which they did nothing about:

 

A few things I forgot to mention about the car:

 

1. There is something wrong with the ignition. Sometimes I have to press the start button twice because the engine dies at first attempt. Things happens a lot more in the mornings. I wouldn't expect this to happen especially with button starts.

 

2. There seems to be a lot of vibration comming from the engine since the engine warning light came on

 

3. Don't forget the rear, driver side, door lock needs to be changed.

 

4. The power seems to be reduced and gear change seems to be very jerky and uncomfortable. Maybe the gear box oil? I'll leave that to the experts.

 

Points 1,2 and 4 in the email quote are the exact same symptoms I quoted when I informed them of the engine light. These symptoms have also been diagnosed today by the service center. Dont know how else I can prove it? Lets wait for the Dealer to come back.

 

Thanks

Jitesh

[heliosuk]

JD,

 

Can you post what the faulty parts they want/need to replace are as I have a bit of a problem with the price difference. For info and bear this in mind, the Si version is usually just a trim varient as opposed to the i and any power difference is usually governed by the calibration in the engine ECU. The base engine and parts are usually the same. Unless of course we are talking an Alpina varient? If it's not an Alpina, which is also meant to be serviceable by BMW dealers, then you have a standard BMW.

Both Alpinas and standard BMW's are covered by the used/extended warranty which incidently is pretty damm good compared to most we see posted on this forum so you need to be a bit carefull in the way you structure your complaint. On the balance of probabilities and being rather well qualified with BMW's and their processes I'm not so sure it's the original fault you complained of. Can you give an indication of whereabouts you are in the UK?

BMW's brought with full histories with them I notice, do tend to do quite well with goodwill claims.

[jd2000]

Hi Helios

 

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I dont know what the part is - I will find out tomorrow and post it here. Its not an Alpina variant, but a 320Si. I agree, I am not putting down BMW for their level of cover, their extented warranty is excellent, arguably the best around.

 

How do you think I should structure the complaint? I have never been in this kind of situation before, so I would be very grateful for some guidance. I am based in South London, and the car was bought brand new by the dealership and it was their main showroom car and used for passenger drop off's etc. I bought it from the dealership last July with an extended warranty, so it has full BMW history.

 

Going back to the original engine fault alarm back last August, the service centre only had it for a day, couldnt find any problems, reset the computer to switch off the engine fault light and took it for a test drive, signed it off straight away. I took in for a second time in September complaining of sluguish symptoms again. Again it was in the service centre for less than a day, was taken for a test drive and nothing came back and was signed off. I am a bit surprised that nothing was picked up both times when they knew of the symptoms I complained- I sense a bit of neglection on their part that they could have done more at the time. At the end of the day I have to take their word for it, but now it has came back to nite me and I have no proof!

 

Lets hope BMW covers for the part, but I doubt it. If the dealership decides that I should pay for the repair, what should I do? Should I give them a letter and give them the opportunity to rapair the car within 7/14 days? If they refuse to repair the car, should I pay for it and then claim costs through court? I need the car! What are my chances of winning this in the courts?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

This is such a pain!

[jd2000]

Hi Helios

 

Just spoke to the service desk. The part they are talking about is the Rocker Cover aka Cam Cover, which needs to be replaced. According to the service desk there is a hole in the Rocker Cover which is allowing two much air to go in - I dont know if it makes sense to you, I know nothing about cars

 

Thanks for your help.

Jitesh

[Darzen]

How the hell did the rocker cover get a hole in it ?

Do you have a list of the work done previously ? Apparently there have been problems with valve clearances so they may have removed the cover to check the valves.

 

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7628413

[heliosuk]

Hi JD,

 

Wonder if it's the BMW dealer at Vauxhall? I think someone there or whichever dealer is telling a few porkies. As Darzen says how the hell did it get a hole in it and even then why did it take so long to find it. Next thing is that you won't get any help from BMW or even the warranty co for a fault like this unless it's porous.

Personally I'd have a little trip up the A12 to a place where it can be sorted out once and for all and where you will get all the advice you need if they feel it's worth pursuing with BMW. As it's improper to put the orgnisations name here I will pm you with who to contact. I worked with this guy for a few years with BMW and is someone I rate as being amongst the top guys for BMW in the country.

[aaz911]

hi, i have a similar problem with my 320si.

would you be able to PM me with the contact details?

[dannysport]

just fit a std spec rocker cover

[aaz911]

hi folks, i need help, my 320si is stuck in the garage.

Cylinder 2 is cracked.

ive been told to get a new engine, or repair this one.

need some help asap

[sailor sam]

hi folks, i need help, my 320si is stuck in the garage.

Cylinder 2 is cracked.

ive been told to get a new engine, or repair this one.

need some help asap

 

Cannot possibly advise you on this sparse information. You need to start a new thread and tell us the full circumstances; date of purchase, price, age, mileage, purchased from a dealer or private etc.

[heliosuk]

Internal crack by any chance??? Cam journal??