Sheared bleed nipple - front caliper

[Nictrix]

The problem is dealers really only have parts fitters nowadays and cannot actually fix anything.
Or they can fix it but dont want to as its too much hassle when they could just bolt on a brand new part and charge you for it.
Wonder what happens to all the stuff they swap out for new?

 

[ekimj10]

Nictrix wrote:

The problem is dealers really only have parts fitters nowadays and cannot actually fix anything.
Or they can fix it but dont want to as its too much hassle when they could just bolt on a brand new part and charge you for it.
Wonder what happens to all the stuff they swap out for new?

You're absolutely right in what you say and there is no way they would give any warranty on something that had been repaired.
Never thought of it before but all part of our 'throw away society' I guess.

 

[Scooba_Steve]

£70 budweg callipers on ebay. New.

 

[Fastatv]

I think the sheared bleed issue could go about either way. They do corrode and are sometimes difficult to remove....and break. Having said that, a good garage with experienced mechanics should be able to avoid such a break. Hasty removal, using a wrench instead of the correct size six point socket and applying force at the wrong angle, not soaking in PB Blaster or some sort of "pre-soaking" lubricant. Additionally, the caliper can be bled rather well using the brake line.......Anyway, hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Anonymous]

Update to this and to answer a few points raised by Tom etc.

I've told BMW I'm not happy for a few reasons - they told me it was over tightened, it's only been to BMW in its life. They then went down the corrosion route which I questioned why a loosening agent wasn't used first and why, if this was so common, the service person did not check all nipples before pumping new fluid into 3/4, they haven't really come back with an answer. I mentioned I live in London and this was a Cheshire based dealership so have told them I will not be back up until at least December to redo the fluid change and there was no quibbling over payment.

I'll be writing off to BMW to try my luck with an argument of poor service standards (should be told of the risks, should be checking all four loosen before changing fluid in three out of four, should not be telling customers they've done the job when that's impossible/not true). I'll see where this gets me. If it is a regular occurrence, due to corrosion, I accept that. I can afford the bill, but I'm not a moron, blindly accepting a £1k bill...!!

- car is fine to drive - no spongey brakes.
- I've been in touch with a few garages; some quoting £100 for it to be drilled out or £250-400 for new caliper fitted and full bfc service, so will be going down that route.

 

[TomK]

Update to this and to answer a few points raised by Tom etc.

I've told BMW I'm not happy for a few reasons - they told me it was over tightened, it's only been to BMW in its life. They then went down the corrosion route which I questioned why a loosening agent wasn't used first and why, if this was so common, the service person did not check all nipples before pumping new fluid into 3/4, they haven't really come back with an answer. I mentioned I live in London and this was a Cheshire based dealership so have told them I will not be back up until at least December to redo the fluid change and there was no quibbling over payment.

I'll be writing off to BMW to try my luck with an argument of poor service standards (should be told of the risks, should be checking all four loosen before changing fluid in three out of four, should not be telling customers they've done the job when that's impossible/not true). I'll see where this gets me. If it is a regular occurrence, due to corrosion, I accept that. I can afford the bill, but I'm not a moron, blindly accepting a £1k bill...!!

- car is fine to drive - no spongey brakes.
- I've been in touch with a few garages; some quoting £100 for it to be drilled out or £250-400 for new caliper fitted and full bfc service, so will be going down that route.

I think you're quite right to write to them, I agree with where you're coming from though I don't hold out a lot of hope that it will achieve much. Poor service standard is one of their fortes. As teamemmenracing pointed out, they should have inspected and warned you, on the other hand though there is always some kind of risk working on old parts, that's why the guarantees don't go on that long.
I'd love to see how they arrived at a £1000 bill though, even for BMW that's pretty insane!
Personally I'd be looking at a decent 2nd hand caliper like one I linked earlier and fitting that.
It just goes to show really imo that any work that doesn't need to be done by bmw (i.e. other than oil & inspection services assuming you want to keep FBMWSH) is far better done at your specialist of choice.

 

[Anonymous]

Update to this and to answer a few points raised by Tom etc.

I've told BMW I'm not happy for a few reasons - they told me it was over tightened, it's only been to BMW in its life. They then went down the corrosion route which I questioned why a loosening agent wasn't used first and why, if this was so common, the service person did not check all nipples before pumping new fluid into 3/4, they haven't really come back with an answer. I mentioned I live in London and this was a Cheshire based dealership so have told them I will not be back up until at least December to redo the fluid change and there was no quibbling over payment.

I'll be writing off to BMW to try my luck with an argument of poor service standards (should be told of the risks, should be checking all four loosen before changing fluid in three out of four, should not be telling customers they've done the job when that's impossible/not true). I'll see where this gets me. If it is a regular occurrence, due to corrosion, I accept that. I can afford the bill, but I'm not a moron, blindly accepting a £1k bill...!!

- car is fine to drive - no spongey brakes.
- I've been in touch with a few garages; some quoting £100 for it to be drilled out or £250-400 for new caliper fitted and full bfc service, so will be going down that route.

I think you're quite right to write to them, I agree with where you're coming from though I don't hold out a lot of hope that it will achieve much. Poor service standard is one of their fortes. As teamemmenracing pointed out, they should have inspected and warned you, on the other hand though there is always some kind of risk working on old parts, that's why the guarantees don't go on that long.
I'd love to see how they arrived at a £1000 bill though, even for BMW that's pretty insane!
Personally I'd be looking at a decent 2nd hand caliper like one I linked earlier and fitting that.
It just goes to show really imo that any work that doesn't need to be done by bmw (i.e. other than oil & inspection services assuming you want to keep FBMWSH) is far better done at your specialist of choice.

Couldn't agree more, Tom - on all points.

I've just had a call from a lovely lady at Halliwell Jones Wilmslow asking how my service went. I explained and she's setup a case with BMW uk to investigate as agreed there have been massive shortfalls in service. Mainly the part where they didn't check all four bleed nipples first and then the telling me it had been completed.

Still working on the £1k quote. It's a single line - not even split out by parts and labour!

 

[ekimj10]

Still working on the £1k quote. It's a single line - not even split out by parts and labour![/quote
Are you sure they are not quoting you for four new calipers?

 

[Anonymous]

Still working on the £1k quote. It's a single line - not even split out by parts and labour![/quote
Are you sure they are not quoting you for four new calipers?

///M tax... my backside.

Anyway, a further update - after a call from their feedback lady yesterday evening, during my drive back from the Lakes to London, and after my careful explanation of the exact events (labouring the lied to etc point), I've had a case raised to BMW UK. Today, that resulted in another call back - albeit with zero info passed to the lady who called me from the call yesterday.

They are finding out where the £1k quote has come from, specifically what the part cost is, with a view to fitting FOC and redoing the BFC. Again, I've laboured the "How can I trust you" point so will see what comes back. At least they are reacting to this in a positive way. I have come to expect this from BMW as they've been brilliant on other bits and bobs. Can't say the same for Audi!!!!

 

[TomK]

Good stuff. Yep bmw UK are generally very good, the less said about bmw dealers the better.
Sounds like you should get a result, well done.

 

[Anonymous]

So final update in the discussion part of this; BMW have agreed to fit a caliper free of charge. They also admitted (Halliwell Jones directly) that they had misquoted me for the caliper part. By my calculations, around 120%... One hundred and twenty percent...!!

Anyway, it's getting booked in for December, I'm paying for the part (pushed them to match the cost of the discounted part from Harry Fairbairn on bmwforums.info and just waiting on confirmation of this - another £50 cheaper for the sake of a quick post on that forum).

So while it has been a frustration, left me with a further lack of confidence in main dealers (Renault and Audi have been far, FAR worse in the past) and a few more quid out of my pocket than the initial £60 value servicing, at least I know my car will be in better condition than when this whole episode started.