FSH rant....!!

J

john-e89

Lifer
Ok, I’m being petty but the bloody stealers strike again.

When I bought the 35is new I knew I’d have to toe the dealer line for 3yrs whilst in warranty, ok fine. Took it for its first service last autumn @ 7624 miles. Today I had a bit of a wipe over under the bonnet and thought I’ll just check they’ve changed the air filter expecting it to be the original and hey presto, it’s the original filter, to which BMW Chesterfield relieved me of £37.42 for doing precisely nothing. Its just clocked 7700 miles as I don’t use it over winter so after 80 miles the air filter should look sparkly new, plus I’m no stranger to engines etc and I know what a used filter looks like. Look at the pic, the tell tale signs of the darker area that has the most air pulled through it, It’s not particularly dirty but I’ve been charged for it, it’s in the service sheet for changing to keep the warranty and it’s not been changed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the oil filter is the original too. I’ll be changing these and the oil myself so I know they’ve at least been done. Not much point going to them as I’ll spend the day arguing the toss with them as they stand there arms folded saying “I can assure you sir the service items have been changed”. Plus I’m down one block on the oil level gauge, after 80 miles, they’re just complete idiots that don’t do a good job then charge £251.70 for the privilege.

This, boys and girls, is what a full service and ‘health check’ means from the stealers. Precisely f**k all, and the exact reason I hate them and don’t trust a damn word they spout. :x

Rant over...... :roll:
 

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Shocking - I'd be kicking off and demanding a refund!

One of the reasons I always offer the old parts back to a customer, then they know the've been changed...

Mike
 
It's why all my M cars had interim services - and why I'd always pay the absolute lowest price for a dealer service - as I knew I'd be doing it again myself.

I even documented on here a period where I UV-marked service parts that were already on the car. I found them re-using the air filter, micro-filter, rocker gasket (or not taking it off at all - and probably not doing the clearances), charging for screenwash (when it was already full), claiming it needed discs/pads/tyres when they were almost new, etc.

BTW, you don't have to take it to BMW to maintain the new car warranty (just a VAT registered garage that uses OE/genuine parts and carries out the service to the same standard), but it may affect any 'goodwill' maintenance/repairs.
 
How hard do you want to push it?

If you want to make a point I'd suggest writing to the dealer and if they give you any crap go down small claims route for refund of air filter and book time to change it at a minimum.

You could report to the police as fraud as well.
 
Sorry,i could not let them get away with that,as you say ,you have no confidence the rest of the work has been done.I would start off with a full refund so that you could take it elsewhere for the work to be done correctly. :headbang:
 
You can't trust main dealers John regardless of Brand , I've run DD company lease cars for over 33years you just know they do the bare minimum and rob the lease company.
As per DLV insist on all old parts returned.
 
Grumpyowl said:
You can't trust main dealers John regardless of Brand , I've run DD company lease cars for over 33years you just know they do the bare minimum and rob the lease company.
As per DLV insist on all old parts returned.
Click to expand...

The bonus is also, less rubbish for me to get rid of!!!

That unfortunately doesn't apply to [ref]jamie_z4[/ref] who seems to be taking up more and more space in my garage with driveshafts, wishbones and exhaust boxes :)

Mike
 
Nothing above p1ss poor, it doesn’t surprise me though.

And to think people look for dealer stamps when they buy used :headbang:
 
Sorry to here this John its a disgrace the way the stealers treat customers and charge big bucks for it :thumbsdown:

I am lucky the fella that looks after my Z and previous/family cars works for a BMW main agent he used to do private jobs at work but BMW decided that was to stop so now sorts my car on the drive he recently did an inspection 2 on my drive spent around 4 hours on the car removing engine covers checking the plugs the condition of the ignition coils the fuel rail ect ect changed fluids filters basically the works but said that other techs at BMW would not bother with a lot of this plus they have a set time for each service and get grief if not keeping to that time scale.
 
:D more air & gas John :P i'm sure there are reasonable main dealers but after being flushed out by every main agent ive ever dealt with (MB Audi VW & Bmw ) i simply don't trust any of them .
OK i get no coffee , mags or pastries but i do know the guy i pay is the guy who does the work & above all else i trust him implicitly :wink:
 
srhutch said:
Are you sure they charged you for an air filter and not a cabin micro filter?
Click to expand...

Micro filter was £16.67 Steve.

It’s a first world problem but these service items take minutes to change including the oil, if they indeed did change that, and £250 is more than enough to pay. The irony is if I traded it in they want a full BMW service history.... now that’s funny.... :lol:
 
Actually I’m going to take the car back to them, ask to see an air filter, which will be cleaner than this one, then let rip, also how has it dropped a block on the oil level in 80 miles. I’ll also demand to see the oil filter in situ on the ramp if it’s dirty after I’ve seen it in my garage.

Bollocks to them, why should they get away with it, robbing shitehawks... :x
 
john-e89 said:
Actually I’m going to take the car back to them, ask to see an air filter, which will be cleaner than this one, then let rip, also how has it dropped a block on the oil level in 80 miles. I’ll also demand to see the oil filter in situ on the ramp if it’s dirty after I’ve seen it in my garage.

Bollocks to them, why should they get away with it, robbing shitehawks... :x
Click to expand...

+1!

Mike
 
Typical main stealers. The same sh!t different day. I remember manchester audi charging half an hours labour on top of the service charge to fit a wiper blade without permission to one of my company cars once. I couldn't be bothered to challenge it as I wasn't paying, but I guess that's what they're counting on.
Charge the max and do the min is the mantra of all main dealer and their trained monkeys. Personally I don't trust any of them unless they been at an indie for a good long while and had that attitude beaten out of then. That way you get the best of both worlds. A mechanic that has actual experience of the specific brand/vehicle without the mercenary attitude.

John-e89 you can use indie/specialists for servicing etc when inside the warranty period. As long as they use Oem parts your warranty is valid but obviously I appreciate this will probably have residual value issues.
 
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