Some of you may have picked up that I recently advertised my E89 35is for sale on the forum. The car was advertised on the usual sites and within the first week I have four very interested parties one of which was Sytner BMW. At the time I’d put a deposit down on an A7 so the dealer appeared to be the best way forward with what sounded like a genuine deal from one of their main buyers, hassle free shall we say. Under the sale I’d promised to get the car serviced to ensure the book was fully stamped and up to date with the dealership so I’d agreed to take the car to Sytner’s in Birmingham and get the annual vehicle check, oil and filter change done. At the same time the vehicle would be inspected by the buyer, deal done and car sold! Simple? Here’s where the fun starts!
I dropped the vehicle off at 8am and met with the service rep. I advised them of the impending sale and inspection planned by their buyer that day. The key was dropped into their magic bucket and the screen lit up with a whole host of things they wanted me to do, air con, screen wash, anti freeze, spark plugs!!! The list came to £490 and I politely advised the service rep I wanted just what was indicated on the iDrive, namely engine oil, filter and vehicle check. After a brief exchange of words I managed to convince her that I only wanted the basic service, reluctantly I had to pay a further £69 for brake fluid top up that took my bill to just under £300!
I left the car and headed into the office fully expecting to head home on the bus having sold the vehicle to the dealer. However, around an hour later I received a call from the service engineer advising that my engine warning light was on and the vehicle had a number of faults recorded! My first reaction was that they’d got the wrong car as I knew my car was running perfect with no warning lights or advisories displayed? Few phone calls later I managed to speak to the buyer who advised that it was my car and he would be unable to purchase the vehicle unless they were ‘sorted’. I spoke again with the service engineer and explained my concern that a car dropped off earlier with no fault lights was now displaying a series of errors? Another exchange later I gave in as I remembered my car was covered by and extended BMW warranty I’d purchased in 2018 after the existing warranty had expired. I explained this politely to the service engineer and she advised me that I still needed to pay £90 for a diagnostic check and then I had a further £250 excess on the policy should anything that was wrong with the car. It’s now coming towards the end of the day and I’m a tad agitated at the service provided and I just want to pick the car up and head home. I get one last call from the buyer at this point who’s inspected the car and seen it’s condition and is frustrated that he cant do the deal. He admits during this conversation that he has no power over the antics of the service team who are, in his words, mercenary when it comes to service work!
At this point I’ve decided I’d sooner sell the car at cost to a forum member than deal with BMW again. I go to the service desk pay my £290 bill and collect the car. I wait over 10 minutes for it to be delivered and low and behold when I get into the car not only has it got the engine warning light on but they’ve not even reset the service lights on the iDrive showing me it’s still requiring a service. I was asked if I could come back the next day to get the lights reset but at this point I was speechless and just headed home!
Once back home I plugged my diagnostic tool into the car, identified the faults (all very minor and insignificant like changed light bulb and wheel rotation from new tyres) and reset it. Bingo, all lights now gone!
The only positive thing to come from this debacle is my decision to keep the car. On reflection I realised that there’s not a lot out there that puts a smile on your face like a Zed with the roof down on a hot summer day. I’ve covered some decent trips over the past couple of years in this car and enjoyed every mile. The car is therefore still in my ownership and wrapped up for the summer.
Ironically I had a letter from BMW last week asking me if I’d like to renew my warranty when it expires in March?....now let me think?
Anybody else experienced this level of service?
after a time out he set up Hippo again not far from me , this place is crammed with motorporn 