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To sue or not to sue... Updated result

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To sue or not to sue

Accept their offer
10
23%
Take BMW UK to court
34
77%
 
Total votes: 44

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Pastry
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To sue or not to sue... Updated result

Post by Pastry » Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:47 am

After much correspondence my anti corrosion claim for the roof of my E89 has come to a head with BMW UK. They have said that "due to the convertible part being separate to the shell" it is not covered under the corrosion and their good will gesture is their final decision. They have offered to replace the roof panels at a cost of £3100 split £2400 by them and £700 by me. At the risk of losing this offer, do I take on the big boys in the small claims court.... what would you do?!
Last edited by Pastry on Thu Aug 25, 2016 7:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by PerryGunn » Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:55 am

Before making that decision, I'd have a word with a decent bodyshop to see what they'd charge you to rectify the problem.

If it's substantially less than £700, which I would hope it would be, then you've nothing to lose by taking BMW through the Small Claims Court process.
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Post by 85genius » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:00 am

Do you have any other warranty information that came with the car other than what is on the BMW website?

It clearly states on the site:
Anti-Corrosion Warranty

All new BMW cars registered from 1st January 2004 are covered by a 12-year anti-corrosion Warranty against perforation by rust.

All repair work carried out under the anti-corrosion Warranty must be carried out by an Authorised BMW Retailer or Authorised Repairer. The Warranty covers corrosion which occurs from inside the metal panels or box sections of the car.
So the argument that it is separate to the shell is a load of crap based on that reasoning as it states "metal panels" and makes no specification that it is only the metal panels that constitute the shell of the car. Unless there is a more detailed warranty information that is supplied with the car and makes that assertion then you appear to be on very firm legal footing to peruse a court claim.

You may also find that once the court claim is issued through the MCOL service that they will just offer a settlement to foot the bill on a without prejudice basis on the proviso you drop the claim and shut up.... It will likely cost them a lot more than £3000 to try and defend it in court.

Obviously there is there is the chance they could try and fight in in court and whilst I think that would be unlikely and given the evidence available to me I am guessing a judge will agree with your claim should it come to that, there is also the chance you have missed something in some terms somewhere and could possibly lose? So its a decision of do you just spend the £700 and have done with it.

Personally I'd probably fight it in court it's dead easy to issue proceedings online and they have to respond to the claim before it goes to court and in my limited experience of suing a big company they played hard until they got the proceedings and then just settled. But I have only seen the warranty info on the BMW website so could be missing something in the more detailed warranty terms you could possibly have with the car that could harm your claim
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Post by pvr » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:04 am

I am surprised there is no precedent. Are you really the first one to have corrosion on the roof and no one has ever posted about this and the response from BMW???
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To sue or not to sue

Post by Pastry » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:11 am

PerryGunn wrote:Before making that decision, I'd have a word with a decent bodyshop to see what they'd charge you to rectify the problem.

If it's substantially less than £700, which I would hope it would be, then you've nothing to lose by taking BMW through the Small Claims Court process.
Im going to do that when I get back off holiday but my concern is there are 3 small spots in the aluminium that have corroded and it has corroded from the inside so will it just keep doing it if the roof isn't changed :?
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Post by Pastry » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:15 am

85genius wrote:Do you have any other warranty information that came with the car other than what is on the BMW website?
I only have the standard warranty book that has the same wording as their website.
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To sue or not to sue

Post by PerryGunn » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:15 am

Pastry wrote:
PerryGunn wrote:Before making that decision, I'd have a word with a decent bodyshop to see what they'd charge you to rectify the problem.

If it's substantially less than £700, which I would hope it would be, then you've nothing to lose by taking BMW through the Small Claims Court process.
Im going to do that when I get back off holiday but my concern is there are 3 small spots in the aluminium that have corroded and it has corroded from the inside so will it just keep doing it if the roof isn't changed :?
If you're concerned about that, also look at the cost of a new roof panel plus painting by the bodyshop - this would have the advantage that you could have it painted off the car and then swap it over so less time with the car off the road....
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To sue or not to sue

Post by Pastry » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:24 am

PerryGunn wrote: If you're concerned about that, also look at the cost of a new roof panel plus painting by the bodyshop - this would have the advantage that you could have it painted off the car and then swap it over so less time with the car off the road....
The figures from BMW are as follows Parts £1423, paint and materials £396, Labour £786 all plus VAT. I assume the parts are the roof panels and they want me to pay half the materials and labour
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Post by paddy wright » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:26 am

It depends if you have the time for the hassle. You would most likely get a full settlement out of court so as not to set a precedent. I'd be most likely to take the deal as the added stress and time would out weight the £700.
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Post by markplant » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:33 am

Would that mean that the doors, bonnet and boot aren't covered, an haven't coupes had boot issues done under warranty
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Post by 85genius » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:35 am

Pastry wrote:
85genius wrote:Do you have any other warranty information that came with the car other than what is on the BMW website?
I only have the standard warranty book that has the same wording as their website.
I'd sue em then, they can't just change the terms of the warranty, and it looks as thought they have admitted the warranty claim would have been accepted if it was any other part of the car
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Post by 85genius » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:36 am

markplant wrote:Would that mean that the doors, bonnet and boot aren't covered, an haven't coupes had boot issues done under warranty
Exactly! They are taking the piss
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Post by sars » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:37 am

Sorry to hear about your troubles, have you been advised that there is corrosion of the Aluminium under the paint? Pure aluminium self passivates in air, an alloy of Aluminium may not but is dependent on grade, which we have no idea of. Even so, I would find it unlikely that it has without prior damage to the paint (stone chip etcetera). Why I say this is that it may not be a corrosion issue rather a paint bonding issue which may help your cause, however you would need to seek professional advise/analysis from a paint specialist.
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Post by Ducklakeview » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:39 am

As has been said, by their reckoning, bonnets, doors and boot lids are therefore not covered by the warranty, which is utter bollo**s!

Might be worth a post asking for members who HAVE received corrosion repair under warranty to the above parts, and if possible getting copies of repair invoices, as faced with these, any judge would be ruling in your favour.

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Post by mattwaltersz4m » Tue Jul 26, 2016 12:01 pm

For the sake of your sanity and time as the court process will drag on I would swallow the £700 and have it done or as suggested above get it done privately for less than £700.
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