Please Help!!

What a terrible situation ..

I would argue until I was blue in the face about the dealer bill, bring it up with BMW UK .

I think then I would be looking for a good second hand S54 and getting it fitted, think that maybe the cheapest option
 
Absolutely - you paid to have a problem fixed not for "preventative maintenance". I don't think you should pay them a penny as they've failed to rectify the problem. The might as well have changed the brake discs since I expect they're showing signs of wear too!
 
Might to worth getting a little bit of legal advice about this to be honest. Im not sure you will get anywhere, but at least you will know where you stand.

Gutted for you mate to be honest.

I think it should be a warning to everyone who has a warranty to be very careful about taking it to the dealers, and letting them diagnose the problem and running up these stupid bills. Seems mmm-five had the same problem when he had issues.
 
CornishRob said:
Might to worth getting a little bit of legal advice about this to be honest. Im not sure you will get anywhere, but at least you will know where you stand.

Gutted for you mate to be honest.

I think it should be a warning to everyone who has a warranty to be very careful about taking it to the dealers, and letting them diagnose the problem and running up these stupid bills. Seems mmm-five had the same problem when he had issues.
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Some very good advice there. Get on to CAB and see what they say, there is probably groups set up for garages that mis-diagnose problems and a fair amount of information/help available for those unfortunate enough to find themselves in your position.

Not sure if this is any use to the OP?

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

And some FAQ's...
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/courts/mcol-quickstart-guide.pdf
 
I haven't got time to read it all, but might be something helpful:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/cars-and-other-vehicles/garage-repairs-and-services/
 
I'd be speaking to BMW Customer Services and the dealer principle if i got no joy then i'd go down the trading standards route/citizens advice Bureau.

1) If the "modifications" caused the failure they should be able to prove it, if not then your warranty should be valid.
2) As part of identifiying the cause of the failure they should have been able to fix it or quoted to fix it prior to carrying out the work. I'm guessing they provided no idication that a bill for £3k for "diagnostics work" would be falling in your lap.

They would happily take your money for the warranty if it was invalid then surely they should refund you the money you paid as you are effectively paying for a product that is of no use to you. Additionally if they took x number of hours to diganose the problem and didn't fix it i'd argue their mechanicacs are incompetent.

I would pay a penny and i would raise an issue against both the dealer and Mondial with trading standards. Alternitively it may be worth trying to speak to another dealer and see if they are more helpful in getting your car fixed under warranty :)
 
It depends on the wording of the warranty...

If it says modifications will make the make the warranty invalid then that's that, BMW do not have to " prove" anything..
You could try and prove they didn't cause the problem I guess.. If that did any good ..


I would still try and get them on incorrect diagnosis, even though the op gave the go ahead for them to do the bottom end,with a price already quoted I presume
 
FR08MEE, Thank for the advice mate - I am totally with you but unfortunately it is my fault as Z4M-2006, is correct because it does say that mods will invalidate the warranty and I suppose they are technically modifications no matter how small.

CornishRob, I am based in Ipswich mate - it is at cooper Ipswich.

There is an update however: After sending my email I received a call today from BMW Customer Service (the same ones that I had previously been told several times were not "customer facing").

After careful consideration they agreed to pay for the work that has been done and the rebuild of the engine. At least now I can take it to a specialist for a top end rebuild.

Unless anyone would like to purchase it in its current state for a potential profit after fixing?

Thanks again everyone for the help - any ideas on the best specialist to do the work? I have had a quote from Geoff Steele and Munich Legends. Any other recommendations?

Thanks again to everyone for all the help and kind words up to now - it really does help.
 
thats GREAt news btw but i fear this experience has ended your love affair with the car :-( :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: Tbh i don't blame you either.
 
Brilliant news Andrew... That's a result even though your back to square one, but with a rebuilt bottom end.. Not altogether a bad thing ..

If you have had a quote under £2000 off one of the Indys then go that way and get your car back on the road..

It will be great once again and you can be confident that all engine woes will be behind you
 
AndrewZ4MC said:
FR08MEE, Thank for the advice mate - I am totally with you but unfortunately it is my fault as Z4M-2006, is correct because it does say that mods will invalidate the warranty and I suppose they are technically modifications no matter how small.

CornishRob, I am based in Ipswich mate - it is at cooper Ipswich.

There is an update however: After sending my email I received a call today from BMW Customer Service (the same ones that I had previously been told several times were not "customer facing").

After careful consideration they agreed to pay for the work that has been done and the rebuild of the engine. At least now I can take it to a specialist for a top end rebuild.

Unless anyone would like to purchase it in its current state for a potential profit after fixing?

Thanks again everyone for the help - any ideas on the best specialist to do the work? I have had a quote from Geoff Steele and Munich Legends. Any other recommendations?

Thanks again to everyone for all the help and kind words up to now - it really does help.
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Andrew,

That's a GREAT result!

I know you've had a stressful couple of weeks over this, but if I were you, I'd put it all behind you and let the BMW dealership rebuild the engine for you: that way, you've still got a guarantee for the repair from BMW should it not prove satisfactory, which gives you "comeback" backed by BMW UK in the future. I'd then begin to enjoy the car again as you always intended. :thumbsup:
 
That's good news. I would expect a refund on the warranty or evidence that a CAI is responsible for the cam lobe wear if they refuse the claim.

If you're looking to get an Indy to rebuild the top end, Phil at CPC Performance Engineering has swapped out cams and followers on quite a few E46 M3s in the past and recently carried out exactly the work you require for several forum members. He does all the work on my ///M and I can't recommend him strongly enough. http://www.cpcpe.com

The cheapest solution for you would be to fit a pair of good secondhand camshafts and Schrik followers. The problem seems to be caused by the case hardening of the followers failing leading to knock-on wear of the cam lobes. The Schrik followers are OEM with an additional coating so should prevent the problem reoccurring. They're also cheaper than OEM.
 
Thanks again all

exdos, that would be god but i really cant afford it exdos.

zmaster007, thanks for the recommendation - I am waiting for their quote

BMWZ4MC, I have contacted Chris mate, he is on holiday so I will call him on Monday - thanks for the recommendation.

mr wilks, If someone were to offer me £12K for it at the moment I would take it.

Beedub, I still love the car mate but cant really afford to keep it as I am in the process of moving house - which is why this has come at a really bad time! - I will def be back though - cant stay without a zed long!
 
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