10 days of ownership

Jeverson28

Member
 Somerset
Bought my Z4 last Tuesday to replace the old E85 with the suspected blown head gasket and within 3 days the roof started telling me "hardtop not latched" when I was driving. Thought that was strange so took a look at everything in the boot etc. and all seemed fine. Hmmm ok lets see what happens when I lower and raise the roof then, maybe it just needs to reset itself somehow? Now the roof won't raise/lower smoothly - it kept stopping briefly and complained about "roof movement impaired".

Right time to get on the forum... Looked like it was probably a microswitch issue so I thought I'd take it to BMW to confirm. They took the car in yesterday and I drove off in their new 330e courtesy car and awaited their diagnosis. Yep, just as I thought they confirmed the microswitch is the issue so I got onto the dealer I bought the car from and they've kindly said they'll pay for it after talking to BMW. "Great!" I thought that's pretty good of them since it's not covered by their warranty anyway.

BMW then give me a call telling me they've found the rear offside coil spring is snapped and needs replacing and the original dealer won't cover the cost. They want £390 to replace just the one spring which I politely declined... Found the appropriate Suplex springs which appear to be well recommended here for £130 and will get the local indy to fit for around £100 ish, maybe less. So £170 cheaper in total - yikes!

I can safely say it's been an eventful 10 days of ownership so far. Here's hoping it's smooth sailing from here on out! I plan to replace the salmon relays as soon as I get the car back as I really don't want any more roof issues!

Side note: Dick Lovett in Bath while expensive do seem to have really good service. They've communicated really well and are very polite. They seem to have looked after my car too, but I'll let you know for sure when I get it back later! Even the original dealer I bought the car from have been amazing (Reyland Car Sales), just somewhat annoyed they wouldn't pay for the coil spring but I understand since they're already paying for the roof repairs on good will.
 
The car’s under warranty if you’ve only had it for a week or so, the dealer should be paying for the repairs not you.
Rob
 
I had my E89 in at my local BMW dealer for an oil change and they spotted a rear spring broken, they wanted £190 to replace and fit. I managed to buy 4 springs off a car that had done 400 miles (owner was customising the whole car and these were surplus) for £80 and my mechanic fitted it for £30. Ive replaced both rear springs now and Ive got two spare front ones. I'd ring another BMW dealer and ask them for a quote £390 sounds wrong, maybe for both sides.
 
Even £100 for a suplex rear spring sounds expensive. I can get one for my 35is for about £50/£60 on Autodoc.
 
Smartbear said:
The car’s under warranty if you’ve only had it for a week or so, the dealer should be paying for the repairs not you.
Rob

Totally agree - the car has to be able to serve the purpose it was bought for, if the dealer refuse to replace the spring, tell him you are returning the car and want your money back.

Hate dealers who try to fob people off with that crap - read up on the sale of goods act and spout it off to him and mention trading standards if need be, see how he reacts
 
I’d be asking the dealer to have two salmon roof relays ready for you when you pick the car up. Circa £30 for the pair.

Hopefully that’s your issues behind you and you can enjoy your new toy :thumbsup:

Also as others have said, don’t see why the supplying dealer won’t cover all repairs. What I think he’s actually saying is the springs aren’t covered by warranty so they’re not prepared to pay themselves
 
That isn't a great start to your E89 ownership experience. :(

Maybe the selling dealer's warranty treats springs as a consumable item? At least they have agreed to cover the roof issue.

Hopefully once you get the issues sorted you will have many happy miles. :driving:
 
Argyll Andy said:
What I think he’s actually saying is the springs aren’t covered by warranty so they’re not prepared to pay themselves

Yeah that's right. Apologies I wasn't especially clear there!

I bought the suplex springs from Autodoc and they were £60ish each. Hopefully I can get this sorted soon, a little frustrated right now!
 
Jeverson28 said:
Argyll Andy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 5:44 pm
What I think he’s actually saying is the springs aren’t covered by warranty so they’re not prepared to pay themselves
Yeah that's right. Apologies I wasn't especially clear there!

That makes sense I suppose, rear springs seem to be pretty much a consumable on most BMWs of this era. :(

But it does make you wonder what preparation they did before putting it up for sale!
 
Mr Tidy said:
Jeverson28 said:
Argyll Andy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 5:44 pm
What I think he’s actually saying is the springs aren’t covered by warranty so they’re not prepared to pay themselves
Yeah that's right. Apologies I wasn't especially clear there!

That makes sense I suppose, rear springs seem to be pretty much a consumable on most BMWs of this era. :(

But it does make you wonder what preparation they did before putting it up for sale!

Or was it a fresh MOT at point of sale Iain? If so how did they miss this?
 
Argyll Andy said:
Or was it a fresh MOT at point of sale Iain? If so how did they miss this?

It does make you wonder Andy!

But then a year or more ago my E90 3 Series started clunking from the OSR every time I hit a bump. I got Ross at RBM Hampshire to look at it next time it was there and he found the damper didn't damp! But it never had even an advisory for a leaking damper, although it must have leaked.
 
Marcoose said:
Bring More Wallet. Never fails.

Funny you hear quotes like this all the time but over the past 27 years of owning various BMWs I have hardly ever had any expenses that weren't related to periodic servicing. Have I just been lucky? :)

As for the OP, the springs should be paid for by the selling dealer!
 
Mr Tidy said:
Jeverson28 said:
Argyll Andy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 5:44 pm
What I think he’s actually saying is the springs aren’t covered by warranty so they’re not prepared to pay themselves
Yeah that's right. Apologies I wasn't especially clear there!

That makes sense I suppose, rear springs seem to be pretty much a consumable on most BMWs of this era. :(

But it does make you wonder what preparation they did before putting it up for sale!

What mileage has been done in 10 days to make a spring fail - thats an MOT failure to start with so should have been seen.

Its not about what warranty they put on the car - its about the fact the car must be fit for purpose and springs failing at ten days clearly means the car was not fit for purpose IMHO, the supplying dealer should cover the cost of the springs as well as the roof
 
Interesting first ten days. I tend to agree the dealer should be relaxing the spring too. But if your happy with the service they are providing. That is what matters.
 
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