Bloody bmw

[rf065]

I'd handout factual flyers and invite all customers entering their site to view their goods and make their own mind up on quality, customer services and the actions of the dealership.

I was in the local MB dealership for a few hours last Saturday & they never had any customers, so I'm not sure that would work in this financial climate.

Russ

 

[Mudster]

I was in the local MB dealership for a few hours last Saturday & they never had any customers, so I'm not sure that would work in this financial climate.

Russ

That'd save me the hassle if they're going bust anyhow......

It's the principal though, the big corporation is shafting the little guy. I dislike it intensely and the only thing these people recognise are bad publicity or something effecting the bottom line.

 

[Smiley]

That'd save me the hassle if they're going bust anyhow......

It's the principal though, the big corporation is shafting the little guy. I dislike it intensely and the only thing these people recognise are bad publicity or something effecting the bottom line.

Even more effective are summons to appear in a small claims court - it costs them time away from the business, hire a lawyer and so on. Makes them motivated to settle on reasonable terms instead of big business fobbing you off.

Several years ago a very big oil company tried to fob me off after I shredded a tyre and damaged an alloy on one of their forecourts that had a damaged and dangerous kerb edge. They got their legal team on to it all for the sake of a couple of hundred quid. Instead of settling they argued against the claim first of all citing local authority regulations and the fact the forecourt had passed an inspection xx months previously; after exchange of 4 or 5 letters I gave up and sent them a letter with a copy of a small claims court summons which I would issue within 7 days if they did not settle up. At that point they claimed they needed more time and that they now had CCTV footage of me speeding on to the forecourt. What they did not know is that it would be impossible to speed onto that forecourt because of the design of the entrance. I suggested that they should bring the video to court and we could have a good laugh. In the end they backed down and agreed to pay £100 compensation on top of the tyre and wheel for having messed me around unnecessarily. What I learned was that even a large company will go to extraordinary lengths (telling lies actually) to avoid paying a claim.

 

[Mudster]

Small claims is now operated on line mostly (see money claim online.)

It's something I use once or twice a year with bad debts and has the facility to tie you up in litigation for some time without even having to visit a court.

However, most are simply not worth defending and they often pay up in a "Without prejudice" payment etc....

That doesn't still make them stand up and be counted, it's not a test case simply uneconomical to defend....very different.

They actually need to be taken to court and having read the threads on this so far a class action suit (using US terminology) would probably be the best way to go...trouble is that's a lot of money,

 

[pjs]

todays update

Right then, here goes, with a Mercedes issue to boot

Rang bmw cust services re the cracked alloys, told that the decision on if it is warranty is down to the dealer, and I may want to try another dealer! Clearly, they have had this problem many times before as the phrase "external influences" was trotted out Alistair Darling style.

So, back to dealer, to the service manager, who revelaed there is another test they can do to investigate further, called a 'run out' test, however there is no way this can be deemed to be independent. So tomorrow my wife will be taking it in whilst I'm at work, so I'll update when I can.

As for the previous advice from other posters, thank you; I once threatend to parade outside Carperwright naked and screaming when they fitted a carpet that was half a foot too short and left the gripper strips up for my kids to stand on. I'll keep the crazy stuff up my sleeve for later. As for small claims, can be done on line and would cause them massive inconvenience so I'll keep that in reserve as well.

Now, todays Merc Rant. Bought the c230k mid April from Huddersfield Main dealer, and they kindly did the A service which was due. Now 500 miles from B service, rings up to book it in. Turns out it wil cost just under a GRAND. Approx £400 service, then the rest for stuff that needs doing every four years - atf fluid, fuel filter etc. The car was 4 years old on 28th july, just 3 months after I bought it. My gripe with the dealer is that this 4 year stuff should have been either done, or at least warned me.

My salesman (who incidentally reveresed a smart car through their glass window the day I picked my car up) says he will try to get a resolution for me]

So all in all, my 2 german cars are potentially going to cost me £2200 this week. *******os.

My next installment probably in Wednesday unless I get a break tomorrow.

 

[pjs]

This is unbelievable. There is less hassle involved in changing a punctured tyre on an old fashioned wheel without run flat than all this business about buying new wheels. The BMW tech guys have lost sight of the wood for the trees.
I hope you are not going to pay up without pointing out the error of their ways?

I WILL FIGHT THEM WITH A PASSION

 

[gIzzE]

Did you read that post in that link I put up??

You need to print that out and take it in.

 

[pjs]

Did you read that post in that link I put up??

You need to print that out and take it in.

I did, been very helpful thank you, and found others with the same issue, so going to escalate the situation until I get satisfaction. Even toyed with the idea of trading it in if I dont get free replacements and getting one over bmw that way; however, when enquired about a 05 535d I was told mine only worth £13k! FFS in the trade, perhaps £16 privatley - not many people with £16k in cash though.....so not an option after all

 

[Smiley]

Right then, here goes, with a Mercedes issue to boot

Rang bmw cust services re the cracked alloys, told that the decision on if it is warranty is down to the dealer, and I may want to try another dealer! Clearly, they have had this problem many times before as the phrase "external influences" was trotted out Alistair Darling style.

So, back to dealer, to the service manager, who revelaed there is another test they can do to investigate further, called a 'run out' test, however there is no way this can be deemed to be independent. So tomorrow my wife will be taking it in whilst I'm at work, so I'll update when I can.

As for the previous advice from other posters, thank you; I once threatend to parade outside Carperwright naked and screaming when they fitted a carpet that was half a foot too short and left the gripper strips up for my kids to stand on. I'll keep the crazy stuff up my sleeve for later. As for small claims, can be done on line and would cause them massive inconvenience so I'll keep that in reserve as well.

Now, todays Merc Rant. Bought the c230k mid April from Huddersfield Main dealer, and they kindly did the A service which was due. Now 500 miles from B service, rings up to book it in. Turns out it wil cost just under a GRAND. Approx £400 service, then the rest for stuff that needs doing every four years - atf fluid, fuel filter etc. The car was 4 years old on 28th july, just 3 months after I bought it. My gripe with the dealer is that this 4 year stuff should have been either done, or at least warned me.

My salesman (who incidentally reveresed a smart car through their glass window the day I picked my car up) says he will try to get a resolution for me]

So all in all, my 2 german cars are potentially going to cost me £2200 this week. *******os.

My next installment probably in Wednesday unless I get a break tomorrow.

Oh; Carpetright - another of life's rich experiences about how to be ripped off - they get you hooked on a reasonable deal for the carpet then fleece you (or try to in my case) every other way. After fitting - which was part of a separate direct agreement between me and the fitter - but sent by Carpetright - he then presents me with his bill which was all in order except for a HUGE amount for gripper rod - charged at £1 PER FOOT It came to about £300 just for gripper rod. Young lad fitter then tells me that he is forced to buy his gripper rod from Carpetright and sell it for that price. Called Carpetright who confirmed his story. I told them I was not born yesterday and they can take the gripper rod up again as I am not paying a quid a foot. It was a mother of a battle but their gripper rod is still in place and they did not get the money.

re the C230; How can a used approved MB need a grands worth of servicing after 3 months. They are having one heck of a laugh arent they. I mean thats why you pay full retail used price - otherwise you would buy privately or from a car auction and save the grand and more. ANyway it will not COST them a grand - most of that is labour and that does not COST them the amount they will charge you.

You are having a week of it - I should have a stiff drink. I would avoid going out too much you dont want anything else to happen.

 

[pint6x]

Now, todays Merc Rant. Bought the c230k mid April from Huddersfield Main dealer, and they kindly did the A service which was due. Now 500 miles from B service, rings up to book it in. Turns out it wil cost just under a GRAND. Approx £400 service, then the rest for stuff that needs doing every four years - atf fluid, fuel filter etc. The car was 4 years old on 28th july, just 3 months after I bought it. My gripe with the dealer is that this 4 year stuff should have been either done, or at least warned me.

My salesman (who incidentally reveresed a smart car through their glass window the day I picked my car up) says he will try to get a resolution for me]

So all in all, my 2 german cars are potentially going to cost me £2200 this week. *******os.

My next installment probably in Wednesday unless I get a break tomorrow.

Er, I think I would be going the independent specialist route if MB don't come good.

There's also a valuable lesson there - when buying a car, enquire as to what will need doing in the next couple of services, be they mileage or age related. If there's a biggie coming up, negotiate it into the deal.

 

[pjs]

todays saga

Good (Merc) today, bad (bmw) today.

BMW wheels then. Tuesday they did the run out test and 1 wheel 3mm out, the other 4mm out, should be max 0.3mm. Surprise surprise. Last 24hours involved their Regional Technical Manager, Aftersales Manager, Service Manager, Customer services - outcome - I'm still getting shafted in my opinion, for example, and I quote

"It is not possible for us to determine the cause of the cracks however under inflated tyres can make wheels more venerable to damage.
I do examine many wheels and the warranty guidelines are very clear as to how a manufacturing defect can be identified. My opinion is that the damage is caused by an external influence and not a defect.
It may be a benefit to gain the opinion of another BMW dealer on the warranty status of the wheels."

So given the choice of risking my family with a wheel collapse I'll be shelling out and then going for BMW via the small claims route. Scothalls at least promised to do them for cost -now just waiting to see if they are happy to use the tryes as they still have a good 6mm on them.

As for Merc and my C230k, the Service Manager finallly clarified I can expect by bill to be £525 for the B service, Spark Plugs, Fuel & Air Filter. Apparanly the atf fluid doesnt need doing ever...

the last half hour I've been on Autotrader looking at CLS320CDI's for £21-22k, could be the 330d replacement

thanks to all posters for advice, I'll update after the wekend

 

[BTB 500]

Apparanly the atf fluid doesnt need doing ever...

Definitely not true. M-B changed their stance on that some years back.

 

[Smiley]

Definitely not true. M-B changed their stance on that some years back.

yep agreed atf ought to be done; they are back tracking to save themselves some money + potentially causing you a very esxpensive gearbox repair in the future. Even stinging you for a £525 service 3 months after paying "top dollar" is a rip off imho. Find a good indi and stuff 'em if thats their approach.

re the beemer enitirely agree with you. I would argue that the wheels can not be fit for the intended purpose if thats their position. When you have the wheels replaced tell them verbally on the day that you are paying under protest in order to keep your car on the road and in a safe condition. Then immediately follow up with a letter confirming that position and a request for a refund - or its the summons chum.

 

[BTB 500]

Even stinging you for a £525 service 3 months after paying "top dollar" is a rip off imho.

Well no, he bought the car just over 6 months ago. He had an A service done FOC then by the suppying dealer, the '4 year' items would just get flagged for action at the next service (not on the anniversary of the car being 4 years old).

The question is really why it's come up with another service so quickly ... unless it's covered a LOT of miles since April?

 

[Rory]

Definitely not true. M-B changed their stance on that some years back.

Depends on the age of the car - they wouldn't do an ATF change on my Oct 04 W203 under ServicePlus as the requirement to change the ATF only applies to cars slightly later than mine.

Obviously it's a good idea to get it done, but if you're not keeping the car for many years then it isn't essential.

 

[BTB 500]

Yup I'm aware that it's only 'advised' hence it doesn't show up as a service item on all cars (with attendant implications for Service PLus). But as a general point M-B did move away from their original stance that all autoboxes were 'sealed for life'.

 

[pjs]

Well no, he bought the car just over 6 months ago. He had an A service done FOC then by the suppying dealer, the '4 year' items would just get flagged for action at the next service (not on the anniversary of the car being 4 years old).

The question is really why it's come up with another service so quickly ... unless it's covered a LOT of miles since April?

Since April done 13500 miles in it, no idea wether thats a good or bad distance between services, Fyi, bought the merc as sick of losing big money on cars. I do approx 35000 miles a year and my bmw dropping in value like a stone so by buying a £12k 04 merc with 25k miles on it i reckoned it would cost a lot less in depreciation. My wife now using my bmw as a bloody runaround

 

[Smiley]

I have an idea for you. If you do lots of miles most people assume that they need to buy something newer - so its not going to break down. Logical but costs an arm and three legs in depreciation. How about get a solid car that can take lots of miles like a merc e class diesel, volvo s60/ s80/ v70 diesel beemer diesel - but then buy one that is three years old with 100 - 130k miles on it - but with a good service history. Pay about 5 grand tops and then put another 150k on it. Would it work? I have not tried it. But if I were doing 35k miles pa I would be very happy to start doing it in my 200k miles w124 estate, and the depreciation would be close to zero.

 

[pjs]

I have an idea for you. If you do lots of miles most people assume that they need to buy something newer - so its not going to break down. Logical but costs an arm and three legs in depreciation. How about get a solid car that can take lots of miles like a merc e class diesel, volvo s60/ s80/ v70 diesel beemer diesel - but then buy one that is three years old with 100 - 130k miles on it - but with a good service history. Pay about 5 grand tops and then put another 150k on it. Would it work? I have not tried it. But if I were doing 35k miles pa I would be very happy to start doing it in my 200k miles w124 estate, and the depreciation would be close to zero.

That is very sensible, but I do like a buy a car that goes well and drives well, and the volvos dont. I get some decent exes from work to pay for the miles, but with recession mindset, I'll be buying £10-£12k cars in future, not £30k ones

 

[pjs]

Right then, the update

Friday saw me robbed of £500 by bmw for two new alloys, pictures of cracked ones should be below. Campaign to get my cash back starts now. Email from BMW cust services below

Thank you for your email dated October 23, 2008 and would like to apologise that you have had to contact us under such circumstances.

I have logged your photographs and email under case number xxxxxx. In light of the issues raised in your email I have spoken to Mr Phil Clark, Service Manager at Scotthall Leeds. Mr Clark has confirmed that no manufacturing defect was identified by the investigative work carried out at the dealership. Having discussed this matter with Mr Clark and based on their diagnosis, I feel that no further action can be taken by BMW UK.

As you are aware the results from Scotthall Leeds tests determined that the off side rear wheel had a radial run out in excess of 4mm and the near side rear wheel had a radial run out in excess of 3mm. The warranty tolerance for a wheel run-out is 0.30mm and anything above this is considered to be due to impact damage. Impact damage can be associated with kerbing, pot holes or damaged roads. However this is not always the case for example, if the vehicle hits a speed bump at an excessive pace.

I appreciate that this is not the response that you had hoped for but I trust I have clarified our reasons for this.

Yours sincerely

BMW Group UK
Siobhán de Búrca
Customer Service Executive
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell RG12 8TA
Tel: 0870 5050160
Fax: 0870 5050205

That's that for now then

As for todays C230k service, came in at £510, I even fell for that old chestnut of paying for sodding screenwash when I looked at the bill when I got home - thought that practice went out with the Ark. A150 courtesy car - dangerously slow machine. C230k has averaged 29.1mpg and 39mph in 13500 miles since bought it, now reset it. Dealership deserted mid afternoon, litte surprise there