The Man From Sytner - He Say Yes!

Pondrew · Post by **Pondrew** » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:48 pm

Every photo I've seen of this corrosion is the same issue; "worm"-like tracking from underneath like you get on alloy wheels when the paint is broken.
I've had a look at the underside of the panel on mine (I don't have an issue yet) and there is a visible fold line in the ali where this has got to start from. It could be happening for a number of reasons, but that isn't the point.
If this becomes a common issue and dealers/ BMW start to wriggle out of claims like the full dealer history nonsense, or they will only cover cars that were made on a Sunday this is where a list of cars with photos would be very useful, as evidence.
If every affected car has exactly the same photo evidence I can see the dealers/ BMW having a hard time dismissing it.

obelix54 · Post by **obelix54** » Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:56 pm

Stash36 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:20 pm 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

Mine was there when I bought the car in Apr 2018 and has not deteriorated at all since then but I will give it a try with BMW before September.

tim03 · Post by **tim03** » Tue Apr 27, 2021 3:07 pm

Pondrew wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:48 pm If this becomes a common issue and dealers/ BMW start to wriggle out of claims

Its already started so be mindful its not a 100% guarentee they will cover it.

Mine was exactly the same as shown in the photos, worm track in the front near side corner. Took it into BMW and they wriggled out of it by saying it was probably caused by lowering springs and that probably the harder ride probabaly lead to water ingress because of the roof paint thinning on the underside . . blah . . .blah. . . .blah long story, mucho emails and conversations held with BMW all fruitless.

The old non standard parts get out of jail card.

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:07 pm

.... and my claim has been REJECTED

Took my Z, which is six years old, in for roof corrosion inspection two weeks ago and Ocean BMW came back today to say that my claim has been rejected. Attached three photographs below showing the usual 'worm like' corrosion and underside of the panel in this area. I haven't spoken to the dealer yet, but he left me a message saying that on the underside of the roof panel near to the largest area of corrosion the paint is worn down to the primer in a small thin 'strip' - see top photo. This has caused damp to track round underneath the laquer and caused the corrosion. The very small worn down 'strip' closes against the rubber roof seal and is apparently likely to have been caused by dirt rubbing as the car flexes. The corrosion is therefore down to me

However it's NOT over yet. As my photo shows there is also a small area of corrosion on the other roof panel and the underside of that panel has absolutely no wear. No explanation has been given for that so far, so I'm pursuing. I will update when I know more.

Stash36 · Post by **Stash36** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:27 pm

That's not a good response is it. Clearly a manufacturing fault, why else is it always driver side? Good luck with the next

Pondrew · Post by **Pondrew** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:10 pm

Mojito wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:07 pm However it's NOT over yet. As my photo shows there is also a small area of corrosion on the other roof panel and the underside of that panel has absolutely no wear. No explanation has been given for that so far, so I'm pursuing. I will update when I know more.

The first picture does show wearing of the paint; however I would be more inclined towards rubbing from a manufacturing fault with one or other panel or a bad paint job than dirt. The second two (It's difficult to work out where they are) are clearly the "usual" corrosion from underneath tracking up onto the panel and lifting the paint. I can't understand how different dealers are coming up with different decisions for the same issue, unless some are not following it through properly with BMW UK.

Gwest44 · Post by **Gwest44** » Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:48 pm

Mojito wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:07 pm .... and my claim has been REJECTED

Took my Z, which is six years old, in for roof corrosion inspection two weeks ago and Ocean BMW came back today to say that my claim has been rejected. Attached three photographs below showing the usual 'worm like' corrosion and underside of the panel in this area. I haven't spoken to the dealer yet, but he left me a message saying that on the underside of the roof panel near to the largest area of corrosion the paint is worn down to the primer in a small thin 'strip' - see top photo. This has caused damp to track round underneath the laquer and caused the corrosion. The very small worn down 'strip' closes against the rubber roof seal and is apparently likely to have been caused by dirt rubbing as the car flexes. The corrosion is therefore down to me

However it's NOT over yet. As my photo shows there is also a small area of corrosion on the other roof panel and the underside of that panel has absolutely no wear. No explanation has been given for that so far, so I'm pursuing. I will update when I know more.

Struggling to see how they can reject your claim when the issue is clearly identical to mine which Sytner aceppted without issue.

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:14 am

Thank you Stash36, Pondrew and Gwest44 for your comments and support - appreciated.
I know I'm not the only one battling this issue. Will post update when I have further response from BMW in the hope that it will help others.

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:09 pm

Update:
My dealer Ocean Falmouth has advised that both their Bodyshop and Workshop Controller have said it is not a warranty issue and this has also been confirmed by their Area technical manager who makes their final decision. The only way forward if I wish to peruse this issue is to log a complaint with BMW Customer services.
I am in the process of logging a very detailed complaint and request for reappraisal of my claim. Not a happy man

Vonlipvig · Post by **Vonlipvig** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:24 pm

Mojito wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:09 pm Update:
My dealer Ocean Falmouth has advised that both their Bodyshop and Workshop Controller have said it is not a warranty issue and this has also been confirmed by their Area technical manager who makes their final decision. The only way forward if I wish to peruse this issue is to log a complaint with BMW Customer services.
I am in the process of logging a very detailed complaint and request for reappraisal of my claim. Not a happy man

Interesting that they are saying it's up to the dealer workshop. Mine was checked with Ocean Plymouth and went straight to BMW from them for authorisation, at least that is my understanding

Gwest44 · Post by **Gwest44** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:32 pm

Mojito wrote: ↑Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:09 pm Update:
My dealer Ocean Falmouth has advised that both their Bodyshop and Workshop Controller have said it is not a warranty issue and this has also been confirmed by their Area technical manager who makes their final decision. The only way forward if I wish to peruse this issue is to log a complaint with BMW Customer services.
I am in the process of logging a very detailed complaint and request for reappraisal of my claim. Not a happy man

I'd go elsewhere to get it assessed - is there a Sytner dealership near you?

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:55 am

Hi Gwest44, I live in Cornwall and alas the nearest Sytner dealership is a very long drive. Ocean are the only BMW dealership in Cornwall, but I may well end up taking it to another dealership which is inependant of the first - nearest alternative would be Devon - a nice 1.5hr drive

Hi Vonlipvig. Just to clarify as I have some earlier posts on this thread, detailing the process I have gone through, which I think was the same as for your car. I live equal distance between Falmouth and Plymouth - as you know both dealers are BMW Ocean. As lockdown eased my wife and I fancied a day out in Falmouth while car was inspected. A twist of fate as had we opted for Plymouth and based on your experience we probably wouldnt be in the situation we are now with a rejected claim

They inspected the roof corrosion ( which they advised they had never seen anythink like before) put in a request to BMW for repair authorisation under warranty and it was rejected. I went back to them and it was then they they advised they would not fight my corner and effectively washed their hands of it. They advised only way forward was to raise a complaint with customer services, which I am doing.

Stash36 · Post by **Stash36** » Wed May 12, 2021 4:49 pm

Hi, so I have also had my claim rejected by BMW today. The reason given was the roof has had paint damage, it has not rotted from within.
The paint guage was used and confirmed it has never been resprayed, so this is a completely different excuse than heard elsewhere. The car that had gone in with the exact same fault the day before had also been knocked back.

Absolute BS really given the same state of many many Z4s. Tbf to Williams, the guy seemed a little embarrassed by it, and said they could do the repair for around £900.
I won't be taking it further, I've got more important things going on. Hope others get a better response though.

ronk · Post by **ronk** » Wed May 12, 2021 8:59 pm

I had a similar experience with Mercedes Benz years ago - The car had had a recent service at a MB specialist and they (MB)didn't seem to appreciate that. The claim for the defect was rejected as the car had not had the appropriate paint inspection at service.

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Thu May 13, 2021 7:03 am

Update on my Roof corrosion saga

So having had my warranty claim rejected I did as my dealer suggested and contacted BMW Customer Service with a very detailed email with photos requesting that they re consider my claim.

I received a prompt ’stock’ reply and I quote from it - “The best thing to do is to have your car looked at by your local BMW Approved Centre. I can’t guarantee we’ll help with the repair costs, but I can promise you we’ll look into this fully and fairly for you”. Sounds good doesn’t it, but they were just sending me back round the circle, because of course a dealer had already inspected my roof corrosion and suggested I contacted Customer Services! I’m absolutely convinced BMW Customer Services hadn’t even bothered to read my complaint properly.

I replied setting out my claim again ….. and they might just have detected a note of irritation in my response. Once again I received a very prompt response and I quote:

"BMW UK don’t make decisions on repairs under warranty, our Approved BMW Centres are factory trained and are given the autonomy to make decisions on behalf of BMW UK. If needed, BMW UK will review claims, but we only do so on the information provided by the BMW Centre. With that being said, from looking into the details of your case I can see a claim was sent across to BMW UK for review with BMW UK confirming the corrosion on your roof panels has not been caused by a manufacturing defect. While I can appreciate your frustration with the situation, as no warrantable defect has been confirmed BMW UK are unable to support with the repair costs.”

So, it’s down to the individual dealership to approve a claim. My advice to anyone who is about to embark on a roof corrosion claim is to make sure the dealer who is assessing the damage is familiar with the problem - mine had never seen the problem before. Based on various threads on the forum, some dealers seem to welcome roof corrosion claims and they are approved. Having said that, with the number of claims building, I can see it's going to be much harder…..at the end of the day BMW are Judge and Jury.

As for me, alas like others, I have more pressing concerns than an ongoing argument with BMW that is going nowhere and one I won’t win. Yesterday morning I had my roof inspected by a high end bodyshop I have used previously and agreed their quote for nearly £1,000 to sort my roof corrosion.

Frustrated and very irritated…. but it was a great drive to the bodyshop.

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