Z4 - First & Last BMW
- Thread starter Tenkujin
- Start date
south yorkshire
What did it fail on? Surely not bad enough to put u completely off the car!
Bradders75
Senior member
Unless you're a bit of a drama queen, I'm assuming it didn't fail on wiper blades...?
Wished it was the wiper blades, here is the story.
Wanted to get a decent second car to replace my Astra sports hatch, as i'd only done 1200 miles in six months so I started to look around and considered various SL Mercs and Alpina BM's. After 3 months found the Z4 and got a good deal last February.
Car was sold and seviced by the same garage from new with 2 owners, preperation work for sale to me included Inspection 1 service, replacing rear broken springs and refurbishing some alloys. Garage was very good, so good I joked to my wife about getting the car independently inspected (famous last words).
Car was pampered, did not go out in the wet and was used for pleasure in the summer months mainly. The one thing I could'nt get my head round was severe tramlining and a 'skittish' feel in general but there was so many comments about run flats I accepted this was the norm.
After 11.5 months went for my 'free' mot feeling confident. The guy on the service desk told me it failed due to 'rear lower suspension arm badly distorted' cost £695, and stated it was done though hitting a pot hole or debris in the road. I argued the case that it had'nt hit anything and the price was reduced to £600.
Next day I looked under the car and saw the left rear wishbone was bent upwards, I wondered if it was caused through being jacked up, spoke to service manager and put my case saying was it possible that the car was mot'd (checked) before the alloys were refurbished and did an outside firm do the alloys.
Reply was 'this car was mot'd on the day I picked it up (?) and that it had 2 checks and it did not leave the garage in that condition'. My reply was 'then i've done it then', his responce was it could have been jacked up by someone trying to steel the wheels (LOL). Two days later (Monday last week) the sevice manager called and reduced the price to £500.
I booked at my local BMW dealer as I could not give these **** money to profit from there mistake.
BMW UK were contacted, I did'nt realize they were bigger than god!
I have no proof I did not cause this damage, the local dealer said the car had been curbed and a badly damaged refurbed alloy was on the front nearside.
At first I was angry but i've calmed down and now feel stupid that i've been conned (the first time since I brought my first car privately 40 years ago
Wanted to get a decent second car to replace my Astra sports hatch, as i'd only done 1200 miles in six months so I started to look around and considered various SL Mercs and Alpina BM's. After 3 months found the Z4 and got a good deal last February.
Car was sold and seviced by the same garage from new with 2 owners, preperation work for sale to me included Inspection 1 service, replacing rear broken springs and refurbishing some alloys. Garage was very good, so good I joked to my wife about getting the car independently inspected (famous last words).
Car was pampered, did not go out in the wet and was used for pleasure in the summer months mainly. The one thing I could'nt get my head round was severe tramlining and a 'skittish' feel in general but there was so many comments about run flats I accepted this was the norm.
After 11.5 months went for my 'free' mot feeling confident. The guy on the service desk told me it failed due to 'rear lower suspension arm badly distorted' cost £695, and stated it was done though hitting a pot hole or debris in the road. I argued the case that it had'nt hit anything and the price was reduced to £600.
Next day I looked under the car and saw the left rear wishbone was bent upwards, I wondered if it was caused through being jacked up, spoke to service manager and put my case saying was it possible that the car was mot'd (checked) before the alloys were refurbished and did an outside firm do the alloys.
Reply was 'this car was mot'd on the day I picked it up (?) and that it had 2 checks and it did not leave the garage in that condition'. My reply was 'then i've done it then', his responce was it could have been jacked up by someone trying to steel the wheels (LOL). Two days later (Monday last week) the sevice manager called and reduced the price to £500.
I booked at my local BMW dealer as I could not give these **** money to profit from there mistake.
BMW UK were contacted, I did'nt realize they were bigger than god!
I have no proof I did not cause this damage, the local dealer said the car had been curbed and a badly damaged refurbed alloy was on the front nearside.
At first I was angry but i've calmed down and now feel stupid that i've been conned (the first time since I brought my first car privately 40 years ago
Sorry to here your news had the same thing happen with my Calibra MOT guy spotted they had twisted the front brake hose before refitting caliper so it was rubbing on front shock never failed the car but when i took her back to stealers would not accept fault and then they charged my £25 (few years ago ) for the same muppet who did it wrong in the first place to put it right :x :x
Re your Z yes they do use outside firms to refurb alloys Park Lane used a right bunch of cowboys to do mine sprayed clear coat over brake dust :x and through someone i know at BMW these firms do leave the cars sitting on stands not using jacking points not good when you have alloy suspension parts.
Re your Z yes they do use outside firms to refurb alloys Park Lane used a right bunch of cowboys to do mine sprayed clear coat over brake dust :x and through someone i know at BMW these firms do leave the cars sitting on stands not using jacking points not good when you have alloy suspension parts.
Liverpool
As you say, you cannot prove you didn't cause the damage, and you can't prove the damage was there when you bought it as it wasn't inspected independently. If the dealer is adamant the damage wasn't there when it was sold, and you're adamant that you didn't do the damage, then it must have been done by the wishbone fairy.
The best you can hope for is a contribution from the dealer for the repair, and I don't know how you expect BMW to arbitrate this matter when there's no proof of wrongdoing anywhere, in fact you were happy to drive a 'severely tramlining' car for almost a year.
While I feel sorry for your experience, I would not have lived with 'severe tramlining' for a year before getting it investigated. If you'd done that, you would have found the problem earlier and had more sway with the dealer/BMW.
The best you can hope for is a contribution from the dealer for the repair, and I don't know how you expect BMW to arbitrate this matter when there's no proof of wrongdoing anywhere, in fact you were happy to drive a 'severely tramlining' car for almost a year.
While I feel sorry for your experience, I would not have lived with 'severe tramlining' for a year before getting it investigated. If you'd done that, you would have found the problem earlier and had more sway with the dealer/BMW.
What got to me is the attitute that BMW dealers must be right because the checks have been completed, as a quality engineer for 17 years you realize that no matter how good the quality systems are it is the personel that make them work.
I will say though that the car is great now the suspension has been reset, in fact i've always liked the car anyway, now it's better.
T-J, I won't say who the dealer is as i've no proof but will say that the dealer who replaced the part was good, they are Knights in Stafford, I live in South Staffs, the culprits are within a 60 miles radius. Also T-J I have driven an sDrive 3.5iM - Incredible.
I did go back firstly I spoke to the salesman who said the tyres were prone to tramlining and secondly to have a rumbling noise checked (this was in October) and also re the tramlining,the service technician drove the car and said it was due to the run flats.
mmm-five, take your point but the only way for me to have proven my case was an independant inspection, if you need to resort to this then you may as well go to an independent dealer and save money.
I will say though that the car is great now the suspension has been reset, in fact i've always liked the car anyway, now it's better.
T-J, I won't say who the dealer is as i've no proof but will say that the dealer who replaced the part was good, they are Knights in Stafford, I live in South Staffs, the culprits are within a 60 miles radius. Also T-J I have driven an sDrive 3.5iM - Incredible.
I did go back firstly I spoke to the salesman who said the tyres were prone to tramlining and secondly to have a rumbling noise checked (this was in October) and also re the tramlining,the service technician drove the car and said it was due to the run flats.
mmm-five, take your point but the only way for me to have proven my case was an independant inspection, if you need to resort to this then you may as well go to an independent dealer and save money.
I suppose the moral of the story is when buying a 'new' second hand car drive several and get a feel for what a good one feels like on the road. Always worth getting an independent inspection but I've never done it and I suspect most of us don't bother.
I think you've just been very unlucky.
I think you've just been very unlucky.