Took my car in for a few warranty bits...

[mmm-five]

Wow, you're on the original clutch at how many miles? Surely it can't be 'right' and you are just accommodating the slur and slip?

127,000 miles.

Haven't found it slipping/slurring, but I do notice it's quite high up the pedal now. Still got the CDV in too, as I didn't want to remove whilst the car was under Mondial warranty. It's scheduled for replacement (along with the DMF) some time this year. I want to get my suspension replacement done before my next track day/Ring trip, and then I've got a set of Alcons to put on (Alcon calipers on OE discs). I've also got an Insp.2 in the next 2 months.

Just hope the current contract continues to at least the end of the year, otherwise I'll be skint

 

[mmm-five]

I assume a new engine needs to be run in again, and the 1200 mile oil change completed.

Yes, but I was very cautious with the running in, and kept it below BMW's RPMs for about twice as long. That was such a boring 1000 miles - although it only took me a week.

Doesn't use a drop of oil between services.

 

[Bing]

PVR made me drive my car that way when I first bought it, and I still keep it at 2,000 RPM or less up to 50 degrees, then under 3,000 until it's at temp. Takes about 10 miles, but it hasn't used a drop of oil since I bought it in April last year, it's done 12k miles and quite a few of them have been proper hooning so it's not been cosseted. Says a lot about the benefits of even a small amount of mechanical sympathy, especially the evidence of yours mmm-five

 

[Anonymous]

Putting potential buyers in the future off the car? Would you even list that it has had a new gearbox?

If it were me looking at an advert and it read "new gearbox replaced under warranty" I'd do some digging, as my mind would feel unrest at what else is potentially wrong, is it a lemon, what if it goes again out of warranty etc...

Naturally, if you sold to a forum user, it might not be the case above, but giving you an opinion

That's a very bizarre perspective you have on that??? So, an 8 year old car with a brand new gearbox installed by BMW main dealer is a bad thing? When it comes for sale in a few years time and it's competing with your/another car and it's 10 year old gearbox and 70k miles on it....pretty sure which car I'd feel more confident with! If in 3 months time they say I need a new engine I'd jump at the chance (f*ck it replace all the mechanical bits)...there's no voodoo lemon thing, they are just mechanical parts which wear out! Reality is lot of people who buy M cars can't really afford the running costs, so never get the bits replaced which really ought to be ("it's just a quirk of the gearbox mate, they all do it, blah, blah"). I'm lucky enough to have spent the money to buy an AUC and can afford all the bits to run the car properly.

I would imagine most owners on here would love to have a few parts replaced under AUC warranty if they had one on their car?

I disagree. Granted I t's my opinion. But it's shared by my father and a lot of my friends. Something major has gone wrong, are you sure it was the gearbox? Not anything engine, drivetrain, clutch related? If the gearbox is at fault, what else did the BMW monkey who built it do wrong?

Ali off here, long timer on Cliosporters forum, didn't enjoy his Z4M as his was a lemon. One problem
After another. My old clio had engine issues in warranty, replaced many parts. Out of warranty it became quite clear the entire thing was put together badly. A neighbour had an identical car. No issues other, just consumables being replaced in the six years he owned it.

 

[original guvnor]

There's probably nothing wrong with it but the dealer is a bit thin on servicing turnover this month.

 

[pvr]

PVR made me drive his car that way when I first borrowed it, and I still keep it at 2,000 RPM or less up to 50 degrees, then under 3,000 until it's at temp. Takes about 10 miles, but it hasn't used a drop of oil since I bought it in April last year, it's done 12k miles and quite a few of them have been proper hooning so it's not been cosseted. Says a lot about the benefits of even a small amount of mechanical sympathy, especially the evidence of yours mmm-five

And where was the gratitude he?

 

[Angelus666]

There's probably nothing wrong with it but the dealer is a bit thin on servicing turnover this month.

Ha, my mate (who runs a VW garage in Essex) just said exactly the same thing! His view, if they can get it passed by BMW, then you'd be crazy not to do it!

 

[Bing]

PVR made me drive his car that way when I first borrowed it, and I still keep it at 2,000 RPM or less up to 50 degrees, then under 3,000 until it's at temp. Takes about 10 miles, but it hasn't used a drop of oil since I bought it in April last year, it's done 12k miles and quite a few of them have been proper hooning so it's not been cosseted. Says a lot about the benefits of even a small amount of mechanical sympathy, especially the evidence of yours mmm-five

And where was the gratitude he?

I'm very grateful now, everyone needs to learn their own way - and let's be honest, you do come out with some shite sometimes

 

[pvr]

Now re-read what you just quoted … The whole thing

 

[Angelus666]

Putting potential buyers in the future off the car? Would you even list that it has had a new gearbox?

If it were me looking at an advert and it read "new gearbox replaced under warranty" I'd do some digging, as my mind would feel unrest at what else is potentially wrong, is it a lemon, what if it goes again out of warranty etc...

Naturally, if you sold to a forum user, it might not be the case above, but giving you an opinion

That's a very bizarre perspective you have on that??? So, an 8 year old car with a brand new gearbox installed by BMW main dealer is a bad thing? When it comes for sale in a few years time and it's competing with your/another car and it's 10 year old gearbox and 70k miles on it....pretty sure which car I'd feel more confident with! If in 3 months time they say I need a new engine I'd jump at the chance (f*ck it replace all the mechanical bits)...there's no voodoo lemon thing, they are just mechanical parts which wear out! Reality is lot of people who buy M cars can't really afford the running costs, so never get the bits replaced which really ought to be ("it's just a quirk of the gearbox mate, they all do it, blah, blah"). I'm lucky enough to have spent the money to buy an AUC and can afford all the bits to run the car properly.

I would imagine most owners on here would love to have a few parts replaced under AUC warranty if they had one on their car?

I disagree. Granted I t's my opinion. But it's shared by my father and a lot of my friends. Something major has gone wrong, are you sure it was the gearbox? Not anything engine, drivetrain, clutch related? If the gearbox is at fault, what else did the BMW monkey who built it do wrong?

Ali off here, long timer on Cliosporters forum, didn't enjoy his Z4M as his was a lemon. One problem
After another. My old clio had engine issues in warranty, replaced many parts. Out of warranty it became quite clear the entire thing was put together badly. A neighbour had an identical car. No issues other, just consumables being replaced in the six years he owned it.

Do you honestly think one man/monkey pieces a BMW all together....? It's a conveyor belt at a zoo I'm afraid....our cars aren't that special!

Your clio, was a clio...it cost £8k brand new, did you expect it to be built like a Golf? The whole lemon thing is nonsense, so, let's say the robotic machines all went out on the piss the night before making your Clio and didn't quite pay attention in those first few hours of Friday....but managed to get themselves together for your neighbours car later in the afternoon. Reality is you probably drove/looked after the car differently to your neighbour...or he wasn't as fussy about the build quality on his car.

 

[pvr]

When the M's were new, there were a lot of them that had gearbox replacement. Common fault for the 2006 year model.

During that time, I know of at least 3 that had a replacement due to that issue.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you honestly think one man/monkey pieces a BMW all together....? It's a conveyor belt at a zoo I'm afraid....our cars aren't that special!

Your clio, was a clio...it cost £8k brand new, did you expect it to be built like a Golf? The whole lemon thing is nonsense, so, let's say the robotic machines all went out on the piss the night before making your Clio and didn't quite pay attention in those first few hours of Friday....but managed to get themselves together for your neighbours car later in the afternoon. Reality is you probably drove/looked after the car differently to your neighbour...or he wasn't as fussy about the build quality on his car.

Of course not. I'm well aware of how cars are manufactured my friend.

Three engine wiring looms, a new throttle body within 4k miles and various other issues versus an identical car and very similar use experiencing nothing? That's a poorly made single/batch vehicle. BMWs are more complicated with more expensive parts but still rely on a good day at the factory and decent manufactured parts, regardless of final sale value. My S3 didn't put a foot wrong in six years - book price was circa £25k when new. Lots of forum members experienced bent rods, MAF failures and various other issues on one car. I'm amazed you don't feel the lemon idea isn't true?! I have honestly never met a petrol head/forum member that doesn't.

 

[Anonymous]

Amusingly, there is actually a "lemon law". Google it. If you honestly still feel knackered from new cars don't exist, there is not going to be anything else I can do to change your mind, if facts don't do
It!!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_%28automobile%29

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/lemon-law-used-cars-30107.html

 

[Bing]

There's always a human element in manufacturing somewhere, or a computer at a supplier's facility that goes wrong, or a bad batch of base materials / parts. That's some reasons things fail. Then there's inherent design flaws (roof motors anyone ?). Or poor maintenance. The conditions the car is kept in. The way it is driven. And so on. Any of these things can make a car a lemon, either from new, or after a bit of a life. They are complicated, with thousands of parts, miles and miles and miles of wires, and a bunch of independent but interdependent computers. And a monkey at the wheel. What could possibly go wrong, right ?

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed.

Angelus, if it helps, as per my original reply, it would appear the majority of forum members feel it would only be a good thing and help sales. But I hope my post highlights that some non-forum goers would see it as a negative, chap.

Either way, let us know how you get on buddy!

 

[Angelus666]

If you watch any of those cool production videos BMW sticks out then you'll see how little influence a human has on the quality score of any of their cars. In my mind, it's probably the lack of human appreciation of the mechanicals after manufacturer which can create a 'lemon' car. So, if my gearbox is kaput, i'd say it was probably driven sat in 1st gear in London traffic for too long of it's life and it's more about that owner not changing the gearbox fluids often enough which caused this problem. Having checked through BMW HQ before buying, it had very little warranty work done prior to this. Either way it'll get sorted and it'll have a new gearbox, and to my mind that's a really, really good thing. If there was a way for them to change the brakes, suspension and exhaust I'd be a happy man.

My general point, you never know truly about a car's previous life when buying 2nd hand, so it's a calculated risk and with performance cars things cost more to replace and happen more often. Buy an AUC and you're minimising your risk to some extent.

 

[Anonymous]

If you watch any of those cool production videos BMW sticks out then you'll see how little influence a human has on the quality score of any of their cars. In my mind, it's probably the lack of human appreciation of the mechanicals after manufacturer which can create a 'lemon' car. So, if my gearbox is kaput, i'd say it was probably driven sat in 1st gear in London traffic for too long of it's life and it's more about that owner not changing the gearbox fluids often enough which caused this problem. Having checked through BMW HQ before buying, it had very little warranty work done prior to this. Either way it'll get sorted and it'll have a new gearbox, and to my mind that's a really, really good thing. If there was a way for them to change the brakes, suspension and exhaust I'd be a happy man.

My general point, you never know truly about a car's previous life when buying 2nd hand, so it's a calculated risk and with performance cars things cost more to replace and happen more often. Buy an AUC and you're minimising your risk to some extent.

BMW released a video which shows no BMW monkeys making mistakes on cars? How many times have you seen forums/friends/family complain that dealerships have mucked something up and "should have taken it to an Indy in the first place"? Call me skeptical, but dealerships make money out of warranty work. It's just Mondial paying (or whoever does the AUC warranties these days) rather than Joe Public.

I completely agree with your last sentence, but warranties are not for everyone.

 

[Angelus666]

So, new gearbox ordered with the car due to have it fitted next week. Interesting chat with the master tech at the dealership....basically the view was that the notchy 1st/2nd was pretty similar to a number of the Z4M's they have seen, but it was sticking just a bit too much when cold (they ran the same tests over two mornings). They've replaced a couple of these in the past (not for a while though) and the new box will significantly improve that smoothness of that 1st to 2nd...and these cars shouldn't have any stick within the gearbox at all. I'll wait to see whether that's fully true, but looking forward to seeing the results.

Can't imagine the cost of fitting a new box at a main dealer....got to be £000's

 

[markos]

Sounds a great deal, keep us posted

Is this Elms in Cambridge? They're very well respected amongst many owners inc many CSL owners. I did hear the main tech (Gareth?) has now moved on but hopefully they maintain their levels of service and standards