The Man From Sytner - He Say Yes!

[Pondrew]

Be interested to hear what they say caused it

I think they made some reference to it being due to the paint not bonding properly but to be honest I can't recall the detail.
What I do remember is them saying the warranty is not valid if the paintwork fails their original paint test or if the corrosion is found to be due to a stone chip or similar impact.
They also said they love this type of work and welcome any customer who brings in their car for assessment - obviously BMW pay top money to Sytner no questions asked.

It might be an idea to start a list of these on here and ask the management to pin it under E89 problems. If this is a common fault which starts occurring on many 10 year old plus E89s, I can see BMW not wanting to replace thousands of roof panels and trying to wriggle out of claims, or just doing a quick sand and respray.
If we have a list and possibly get numbers of affected vehicles to date from BMW UK under freedom of information act any claims going forward will have more weight behind them with data from the "owner's club"?

[Stash36]

Does anyone know when this roof problem starts and if it will deteriorate further over time. I'm loath to take mine in if I'm honest but very short of time, 2009 car

[JimP]

I'm glad I happened upon this thread, because only last week I noticed a bubbling of paint on the roof. Picture hopefully attached. The car is a 2009 35i and we've owned it for six years. It is kept outdoors and except for a rear light cluster which leaked and I replaced, has been a reliable car. Except for 19" wheel's cracking - but that's another story.....
So if I understand correctly, these cars have a 12 year warranty against corrosion? Ours was registered September 2009 so should be eligible then. The paint problem is confined to a 1cm area on the front corner of the roof above the drivers head.

IMG_2794.JPG (38.4 KiB) Viewed 598 times

[Vonlipvig]

I'm glad I happened upon this thread, because only last week I noticed a bubbling of paint on the roof. Picture hopefully attached. The car is a 2009 35i and we've owned it for six years. It is kept outdoors and except for a rear light cluster which leaked and I replaced, has been a reliable car. Except for 19" wheel's cracking - but that's another story.....
So if I understand correctly, these cars have a 12 year warranty against corrosion? Ours was registered September 2009 so should be eligible then. The paint problem is confined to a 1cm area on the front corner of the roof above the drivers head.

IMG_2794.JPG

12 year corrosion warranty yup. Mine is an August 09 and was signed off. Not the original owner and kept outside, no debating either just a straight up accept from BMW. As long as you haven't had any respray done on the roof (that wasn't done by BMW) you should be fine

[JimP]

So to proceed with this do I contact BMW directly, or just a local BMW Dealership? I stopped using the dealership some years ago when after charging me an arm and a leg for a service on our 5 series estate, I got half way home and the oil warning light came on. I discovered they had not refilled the engine with enough oil........not very satisfying really.

[Vonlipvig]

So to proceed with this do I contact BMW directly, or just a local BMW Dealership? I stopped using the dealership some years ago when after charging me an arm and a leg for a service on our 5 series estate, I got half way home and the oil warning light came on. I discovered they had not refilled the engine with enough oil........not very satisfying really.

Local dealer for it. Also worth noting it doesn't have to have been serviced by BMW, mine certainly isn't

[JimP]

So to proceed with this do I contact BMW directly, or just a local BMW Dealership? I stopped using the dealership some years ago when after charging me an arm and a leg for a service on our 5 series estate, I got half way home and the oil warning light came on. I discovered they had not refilled the engine with enough oil........not very satisfying really.

Local dealer for it. Also worth noting it doesn't have to have been serviced by BMW, mine certainly isn't

Many thanks - I will get onto it in the next few weeks.

[Gwest44]

Be interested to hear what they say caused it

I think they made some reference to it being due to the paint not bonding properly but to be honest I can't recall the detail.
What I do remember is them saying the warranty is not valid if the paintwork fails their original paint test or if the corrosion is found to be due to a stone chip or similar impact.
They also said they love this type of work and welcome any customer who brings in their car for assessment - obviously BMW pay top money to Sytner no questions asked.

It might be an idea to start a list of these on here and ask the management to pin it under E89 problems. If this is a common fault which starts occurring on many 10 year old plus E89s, I can see BMW not wanting to replace thousands of roof panels and trying to wriggle out of claims, or just doing a quick sand and respray.
If we have a list and possibly get numbers of affected vehicles to date from BMW UK under freedom of information act any claims going forward will have more weight behind them with data from the "owner's club"?

Good idea this when you listen to the story that the staff at Sytner recounted to me on collection of mine this week - it is lengthy so bare with me.

A few years ago they started getting a lot of 3 & 5 series cars coming in for a warranty repair on the headlight washer jets. The issue was down to the feeder pipe freezing and an inability to deactivate the washers. So when the windscreen was washed the headlight washer activated but due to the frozen pipe couldn't retract back in the bumper and subsequently broke. Sytner were repairing loads under warranty at a cost to BMW of £150 a corner - doesn't sound much but they were doing loads. Anyway BMW didn't like this and tasked someone with finding a solution to their problem. Enter the analysts - they found that they were selling hardly any BMW screenwash through their associated dealerships. As a result they introduced the need to evidence receipts for genuine BMW screenwash to qualify for the warranty - if this wasn't possible they claimed the after market product didn't offer the same protection to freezing and hence the warranty was invalid. Apparently almost overnight this resulted in the cessation of all the associated warranty repair work.
Can't help but think they have someone working feverishly to defend all the Z4 roof panel claims so get in quick while you still can.

[Pondrew]

A few years ago they started getting a lot of 3 & 5 series cars coming in for a warranty repair on the headlight washer jets. The issue was down to the feeder pipe freezing and an inability to deactivate the washers. So when the windscreen was washed the headlight washer activated but due to the frozen pipe couldn't retract back in the bumper and subsequently broke. Sytner were repairing loads under warranty at a cost to BMW of £150 a corner - doesn't sound much but they were doing loads. Anyway BMW didn't like this and tasked someone with finding a solution to their problem. Enter the analysts - they found that they were selling hardly any BMW screenwash through their associated dealerships. As a result they introduced the need to evidence receipts for genuine BMW screenwash to qualify for the warranty - if this wasn't possible they claimed the after market product didn't offer the same protection to freezing and hence the warranty was invalid. Apparently almost overnight this resulted in the cessation of all the associated warranty repair work.
Can't help but think they have someone working feverishly to defend all the Z4 roof panel claims so get in quick while you still can.

Exactly. New roof panels are not going to be cheap, are they? BMW will be well aware by now if there is a problem. As above, they could come up with a myriad of reasons why they won't be covered. This could be a major problem in it's infancy (I hope it's not obviously).

[obelix54]

I had thought it was a 10 year paint warranty and being a Sep 2009 car, I had missed out. I am off to North Oxford BMW bodyshop tomorrow morning as with 12 years I have got a few months to go !

[Pondrew]

Does anyone know when this roof problem starts and if it will deteriorate further over time. I'm loath to take mine in if I'm honest but very short of time, 2009 car

It definitely won't get better! Why are you loathe to sort it?

[Nictrix]

I think they made some reference to it being due to the paint not bonding properly but to be honest I can't recall the detail.
What I do remember is them saying the warranty is not valid if the paintwork fails their original paint test or if the corrosion is found to be due to a stone chip or similar impact.
They also said they love this type of work and welcome any customer who brings in their car for assessment - obviously BMW pay top money to Sytner no questions asked.

It might be an idea to start a list of these on here and ask the management to pin it under E89 problems. If this is a common fault which starts occurring on many 10 year old plus E89s, I can see BMW not wanting to replace thousands of roof panels and trying to wriggle out of claims, or just doing a quick sand and respray.
If we have a list and possibly get numbers of affected vehicles to date from BMW UK under freedom of information act any claims going forward will have more weight behind them with data from the "owner's club"?

Good idea this when you listen to the story that the staff at Sytner recounted to me on collection of mine this week - it is lengthy so bare with me.

A few years ago they started getting a lot of 3 & 5 series cars coming in for a warranty repair on the headlight washer jets. The issue was down to the feeder pipe freezing and an inability to deactivate the washers. So when the windscreen was washed the headlight washer activated but due to the frozen pipe couldn't retract back in the bumper and subsequently broke. Sytner were repairing loads under warranty at a cost to BMW of £150 a corner - doesn't sound much but they were doing loads. Anyway BMW didn't like this and tasked someone with finding a solution to their problem. Enter the analysts - they found that they were selling hardly any BMW screenwash through their associated dealerships. As a result they introduced the need to evidence receipts for genuine BMW screenwash to qualify for the warranty - if this wasn't possible they claimed the after market product didn't offer the same protection to freezing and hence the warranty was invalid. Apparently almost overnight this resulted in the cessation of all the associated warranty repair work.
Can't help but think they have someone working feverishly to defend all the Z4 roof panel claims so get in quick while you still can.

Im sure someone on here a few years ago had issues with the paint on one of the roof panels, cant remember the outcome but it went along the lines of the garage knocking back the claim under the excuse that the roof didnt come under part of the bodywork.

[SV8Predator]

the garage knocking back the claim under the excuse that the roof didnt come under part of the bodywork.

Well that obviously not the case as evidenced by the posts above!

[Nictrix]

the garage knocking back the claim under the excuse that the roof didnt come under part of the bodywork.

Well that obviously not the case as evidenced by the posts above!

Like I said I cant remember the outcome but they were trying to wiggle out of the claim and this was the excuse.
Something to do with it being a moving part but I think it was pointed out that the bonnet, boot and doors also move.

Found this, it mentions it here
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=105429&p=1539525&h ... y#p1539525

[Stash36]

Does anyone know when this roof problem starts and if it will deteriorate further over time. I'm loath to take mine in if I'm honest but very short of time, 2009 car

It definitely won't get better! Why are you loathe to sort it?

Lots going on and dont need the hassle, plus I currently have a working roof .
However with JimP having only just noticed this in his car which he has had for years, mine must also have only come through recently, so yes it will deteriorate further.
I went into Williams body shop in Bolton today they have taken pics and will submit the claim. He did warn depends on partial or full service history which has been debunked here previously.
Interestingly they had put a claim through yesterday, another blue car with exact same fault, made me wonder if it is someone else on here.
Said it would be three weeks to get a response.