BMW

I also told them that my 16-year-old daughter drives the vehicle to school (around 5-10 miles a day) and that I was having it repaired because she wanted to drive it to a school dance the following day. 10 days later and less than 100 miles following the $1,250 repair, the vehicle was towed to the private garage of a retired BMW technician due to a coolant leak. After he inspected the vehicle, he told me that there was nothing wrong other than the radiator hose clamp had been removed and slid down the hose at the heater core. This could be seen easily by a BMW technician. He repaired the vehicle by reconnecting the hose/hose clamp and replacing the coolant.

I called Birmingham BMW 6 times without a return call over a 10 day period and went by the dealership in-person once to speak with them about my issue and no one would talk with me. When I asked to speak with a manager and for a business card for the manager I was told that everyone was in a meeting and that they did not give out business cards. I persisted for a contact in writing for management and the wrote a name and number on a post-it note.

I shared this with BMW of North America and asked for help contacting the dealership. I received a call from a service advisor the following day, who proceeded to make excuses when I shared my concerns then he transferred me to a service manager who acted in disbelief when I told him what happened to me. I shared my concern that the service department was pushy about the need for service with urgency to do it quickly before something broke and rendered the car undriveable.

I question this culture within the dealership and asked the service manager how a technician could miss something as obvious as a clamp that had been disconnected and slid down the hose? I was told that the technician would not see an issue with the cooling system since he was working on the battery/coil pack/electrical system. To which I replied, then how did they find issues related to an oil leak and the belt and belt tensioner? And they had no response other than they would check into it. I have had no further response and feel that I cannot trust BMW Birmingham, Alabama to service my vehicle.

After reviewing it in the service, they came to the conclusion that the two rear tires had to be changed, but that the insurance only covered one, and the other would not be covered because it did not have a hole or a nail. Irresponsible situation on the part of them, taking into account that if I had continued with that car because of that bad physical formation of the tire I could have exposed myself to having an accident that could possibly have generated death or physical damage.

I explained the situation and obtained the advice of both mechanics, lawyers, and BMW employees, who concluded that they did not know why I had not covered the insurance. Finally pay to be able to withdraw my car. Now I receive a bill where I have to pay the dealer's fee in addition to a remaining payment. I think BMW irresponsible, because in my case I was forced to deliver the car before the time because I did not feel safe driving a car in which I had no guarantees. Because of this, I am in the process of sending a complaint to the BBB or consult it having illegal process initiated. Thank you.

Take in mind, two of my friends who got this recall done, BOTH of their starters went out at the SAME time. So I told this guy, Cody, that if my starter goes out... I'll be back, he goes "that's interesting, but definitely let me know if the starter goes out." So I have the car for one day... I pull up to a gas station, turn the car off to get some gas. Try and turn it back on. Wow turns out my starter went out.

Called BMW to get it looked at, they tell me my starter is out and that it's going to be a whopping $1,400 to fix my starter and regulator for my window. This is ridiculous, so the manager called me and basically said that I'm WRONG over and over and he had to be right. I asked him if it were a possibility that the starter got too much power to it? From this new cable. NOPE I'm wrong, there's no chance at all. Just because the starter is somewhere else doesn't MEAN that this recall defected my starter. Weird cause my car was in perfect condition before that recall, and before the power went out. Will never be doing business with this corrupt company ever again.

Here is how it began: BMW Series 1. On 17 September 2017 my daughter Sam stopped at traffic lights to turn right into the Esso garage. When the lights changed, she moved slowly away, at this point the wishbone arm snapped causing her to catch the car in front. A passing mechanic who has his own garage examined the car and said it had issues. The only marks on her car was a small dent and scratch as the photos show. We sent photos to an online mechanic, he said that slight knock would not have caused the wishbone arm to snap.

Her insurance company transported the car to their garage in Ashford. A couple of days later BMW asked Sam if they could take it to BMW Arden to undergo repairs as it was still under warranty. When she collected her car a month later, she was shocked when she had to pay her insurance excess of £395.00, she’d been told it was being repaired under warranty.

It is apparent that at no time Ageas the insurance company inspected the vehicle. A letter dated 6th March 2018 states “I have reviewed our Audatex report from Arden Maidstone repairers who have not advised in their comments on the engineers report that the drive shaft snapped due to wear and tear or due to being faulty. Had they seen the car then they would have known it was the wishbone arm and not the driveshaft. They also wouldn’t have had to ask BMW what caused it to snap!

We wrote and complained to BMW Arden, BMW Customer Services and the Ombudsman. They all said the insurance company carried out the repair so you have to pay. Her authorized repair company in Ashford did not do the repair, BMW Arden did and then invoiced the insurance company for £4550,09. Our mechanic said the cost should have been no more than £500. A solicitor advised me the onus of responsibility lay with Arden BMW, she said the insurance company was just doing their job.

On July 6th, 2018 I wrote a final letter to Gary ** the assistant service manager at BMW Arden, His last email said, “The possible cause of the broken wishbone arm was wear and tear.” At the time my daughter’s car was 18 months old with under 7000 on the clock, so how could it have been wear and tear? We believe it had a faulty wishbone arm from new or it was in an accident when it was delivered to Arden Maidstone.

9) Valve cover and gasket replaced with 89000km (55000 miles), 10) Hole in the valve cover, 11) rust coming through under the rear hatch door. Told by Georgian BMW, Service Manager, who never worked in a body shop I was told, nor his manager, This I was told was due to a alteration. Car has never been in an accident, no record of an accident is apparent. BMW Canada told me to get the dealership to take pictures of the rusted area, Georgian BMW refused. (I won’t step foot in that door ever again and make it a point to tell anyone of the troubles I have with both car and dealership.)

12) Doors locked with car running, 13) side plastic plate at bottom of door pops off. Had to use $4.00 tube of silicon on a “fine piece of German Engineering”. 14) Front cowl is plastic and broke off while hitting a pothole in the cold... Did I say...plastic front cowl like in the same plastic in the toy cars my Grandchildren play within the bathtub...but obviously more resilient. 15) Intermittent wipers are stuck on one speed. Told by Georgian BMW this was due to an aftermarket windshield. Odd in the corner of the windshield it reads BMW and I had never replaced it from when I bought the car. Funny that whenever I go into a BMW Shop to repair my car, continuously try to sell me a new and improved model of crap.