[Stück]

I think you meant "break"

and why are you rolling your eyes? It is not my fault you're grossly ignorant to fair pricing on a labor operation.

$4k for a dealer at assumed dealer rates is an absolute gift!

[johnhva]

To the OP -- Congrats on a reasonable settlement with BMW. Yours must have been one hellofa good letter to corporate. Did you invoke your upcoming newborn? If so, it didn't hurt your appeal.

[gulfstream69xr7]

Originally Posted by bar6755

I wrote a letter to BMW corporate stating my case. Everything was handled through an escalation supervisor. BMW USA corporate came back with an offer to cover the parts to replace the engine. Since this was the bulk of the cost, I am more than happy with their token of good will.

Currently, the car is at the dealer being repaired. Labor costs were estimated to be around $4k. We shall see. The service manager hopes to get me the car back within the week.

A new motor and 2-year warranty: I am more than okay with that.

That is a heck of great outcome. Think about it this way. You now have a zero mile motor, and two years worth of additional warranty on your car, for about $4K.

If someone knocked on my front door right now and offered to put a new engine in my car and extend the warranty for another two years for $4K, I have checkbook our faster than you can count.

Good for you!

And good for BMW for stepping up.

[BMWKLR]

Well Done BMW. Give praise when it is deserved.

[SchillerM]

Glad BMW stepped up for you!

Did the dealer do anything to help or did you have to take it on yourself? If dealer did nothing, are you using that dealer for repair or going to another?
Matt

[bar6755]

Update: 2017

So I paid the $4,300 in labor to get my car. They replaced the engine (refurbished), turbo, battery, and fuel injectors. This was on a Friday afternoon.

After getting a nice little packet of papers documenting all the work that was done from the service department I finally go to sit in my car for the first time in 5 months.It was full of pollen. It looks like the service department left the windows down and the car outside. If anyone has lived in SC or GA, they would understand the levels of yellow dusting inside. Everywhere everything was coated. Except for where the tech was sitting that drove my car around for pickup.

With a sigh, I look at my phone and see that Friday afternoon traffic is building and the service department is locking up. My 9-month pregnant wife is waiting to follow me home. i tell myself screw it, I'll just clean the damn thing when I get home. At least I have a free bottle of (warm) water as a courtesy from BMW of Columbia.

I hit the interstate. The car feels a lot more powerful, but then again I have been driving a 4cyl SUV for the past three months. Within 10 minutes of driving at interstate speeds, the check engine light comes on. Great. And the sunroof does not auto open or close. Wonderful.

I make it back to Augusta and check my fuel mileage. A new engine should be doing well right? Nope. I pulled a steady 20mpg on the interstate with cruise control. Something is f'd up still. Goodwill parts or not, if I pay $4,300 for something to be fixed, I expect it to work.

The next day I clean the interior and reprogram the sunroof. Simple. I take the car to a parts store to get the codes read. I make an appointment at Taylor BMW of Augusta for the next day.

Fast forward and I get a call from a rather rude service assistant at Taylor requesting approval to charge $500 to diagnose my out of warranty car. IS SHE INSANE? I quickly tell her no and call back up BMW of Columbia.

Columbia tows the car back. After several attempts to re-program the engine and the service manager taking the vehicle home to better understand wtf is going on, the fuel pump is deemed to be the culprit. BMW will not be covering the cover parts since this happened "after it was repaired." I am looking at around another $1,700 for the fuel pump installed, but they are trying to work with me on the price.

With all that said, who wants a 2013 535i? This thing has eaten more in parts than the KBB.

Recently replaced:
- Engine ($15,000)
- Turbocharger ($1,200)
- Battery ($250)
- Coolant expansion tank ($130)
- Injectors ($1,800)
- Fuel pump ($1,300)
- Tires ($900)


I want to finish by saying I am very grateful for how BMW stepped up. Also, a big thanks to Mike at BMW of Columbia. This guy has been awesome. If you are in the Columbia area, he is the guy you want to deal with. If you life in Augusta like me, to hell with Taylor BMW. Make the drive to Columbia. Apart from the whole pollen thing, Mike seemed to do his best to help me out.

[bar6755]

Originally Posted by johnhva

To the OP -- Congrats on a reasonable settlement with BMW. Yours must have been one hellofa good letter to corporate. Did you invoke your upcoming newborn? If so, it didn't hurt your appeal.

It was a real tear-jerker. I'll expect BMW group to use it as a commercial at some point.

[bar6755]

Originally Posted by SchillerM

Glad BMW stepped up for you!

Did the dealer do anything to help or did you have to take it on yourself? If dealer did nothing, are you using that dealer for repair or going to another?
Matt

I contacted BMW directly through customer relations. There was an 800 number I called. Also, I sent a message through their website. I'm not sure which department finally came through, I went for the shotgun approach with each message tailored to the department.

[flamelauncher14]

Fuel pump? Have you checked the recalls? The 535i I was going to buy from BMW Las Vegas is currently replacing the fuel pump because there's an active recall on it. Not sure if it applies on 2013 models but it never hurts to check.

Edit: Looks like it's only '07-'11 models.

[SilverRevlis]

Get it working an SELL it ASAP. Lease one within the terms of the warranty period and enjoy no stress!!!

[bar6755]

The saga continues. On 6/3, I picked up the car again. $2,000 for the fuel pump. The dealership cut me a "deal" and took off the tax. Better than nothing I suppose.
Ambient temp was 92F so I pressed the "MAX AC" button while putting updated tags on the back pump. The car had not been washed so it took some cleaning. There was also an alert on the dash for low tire pressure. Shouldn't they check such things before releasing a vehicle to a customer?

The fuel tank was empty so I drove a couple miles on the interstate to the nearest Shell station. In that time the car never cooled down since since the AC never cooled off.
I immediately called the dealer, they had me return the car and gave me a loaner. At least I had wheels.

Nearly a month later, I get hit with a quote: $6,400. They want to replace the DME/ main control unit ($2,800) and replace the evaporator due to a leak($3,600). I am attempting to push back, highlighting that these things should have been found during the "multi-point inspection."


Are these guys bleeding me dry? Are they tying to recoup the "goodwill" costs earlier?
Thoughts? 3rd party? 2nd opinion?

Needless to say, I am pretty much done with BMW. I have been out of a vehicle for almost 7 months now. I have owned this car for just over 14. Are all repair centers this bad?

[BlackBear]

I don't know why you are praising this dealership: BMW of Columbia

Their mechanic is a total idiot and basically destroyed every part he had to touch during the install.

This is not a BMW brand quality problem. This is a hiring/training problem with your dealership and mechanic. That guy should be picking up litter along the highway.

On a second note: How can a dealership not detail your car after the super expensive repair. Most dealerships wash your car even after a simple oil change.

Based on your experience BMW of Columbia should loose their BMW resale contract.

[AMT92]

It's a lemon, find yourself an attorney and get the damn thing out of your life for good.

[Pierre Louis]

Could this be a flood damaged car that was put up for sale in GA?

[Kyngofpop]

Whatever happened with this? Did the op wise up and dump the car or crushed it?

[bar6755]

Update:
The dealer gave the car back on 7/4. Completely detailed with a wash and wax. The ac was recharged. It was suggested not to spend the money on any additional repairs. There was no charge for the diagnostics and the car was delivered 60 miles from the dealership.

Since then, I have moved to the Tampa Bay Area. Needless to say I’ll not be returning to Columbia or Augusta unless someone pays me $$$$.
Car is still for sale but no one wants a 6-speed 5-series with the service engine light on. Offers have been around the $10k mark. I’ve put another 6,000 miles on the vehicle with minimal issues. My real hope was that Irma would f*** it up but I was very fortunate and my neighborhood didn’t get any damage.

The car originally came from Ohio I believe so it was not a flood damaged car. It was a clean title car with one owner purchased through an auction and transferred to Marietta, GA where I stupidly traded my E46 M3.
Classic case of a Dad attempting a family car but failing miserably. The wife prefers the kids to be in an SUV so the whole venture has been pointless.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I especially appreciate you telling it to me straight. It has helped: I think this thread is done now with me (the idiot) stuck with the car but at least it is currently operational.

During the fuel shortage, I used ethanol free 89 to fill up. During that tank, the check engine light went off. I’m experimenting with the same fuel again. If the light goes off, I’ll just sell it with a caveat to “only use Wawa ethanol free fuel or the check engine light will go on” plus transfer of all the service records of course.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by AMTF10

Depending on how long he's been out of warranty (maybe 6 months or less), I've seen BMW do goodwill cases with enough pressure.

I think it's worth seeing a lemon law/auto attorney.

The only a lemon law attorney will do is increase his losses to $30,000.

If your Attorney is Johnnie Cochran and the gloves don't fit, and you go to trial and you prevail, BMW Is going to appeal.

Let's say you win the appeal, everything goes your way, you will be out $46,000 even after adding in your $23,000 win.

Oh, the lemon lawyer is going to take a contingency you say?

Okay, five years later, you win big: $23,000. Now, your lemon law contract says your attorney gets his share of the $23,000, after you deduct cost for five years of litigation, two trials, (the first one had an inconsistent verdict because the Jury foreperson wanted to give you everything and they accidentally checked too many boxes on the verdict form. ) Then combine those costs for the two trips to the appellate court (one for each trial) and now your court costs skyrocket to cover your attempts to obtain depositions of witnesses that won't show up. And, let's not forget the two expert witnesses at trial that cost you $15,000 a piece.

So, while you "won" $23,000 you are out mountains of money.

Meanwhile, over the course of five years of litigation, your wife leaves you because you're obsessed with your recovery of winning the lawsuit for this damnable car. Your wife accuses you of burning $1000 logs to keep the litigation furnace burning and she ends up with the house, the kids, and half your 401k.


Yeah, you go right on and call that lemon lawyer now, lol.

[ezaircon4jc]

Check your Lemon Law rules. They generally apply only to the original purchaser and have a certain time limit. I'm pretty sure if one (original purchaser) tried to use the lemon law on a 10 year old car they would be laughed out of court.

[535_BiTurbo]

Originally Posted by bar6755

I need a little help here. When all else fails: ask the internet.

Last week on a drive from Georgia to Penn State for capstone/graduation, my 2013 535i with less than 65,000 miles threw a rod. I was driving normally on I77, in no particular hurry to conserve fuel and avoid any speeding violations. Just outside of Columbia, SC I began to hear a chatter followed immediately by a "clunk" and then the "Drivetrain Malfunction: ..." message on the iDrive screen. 5:00am, 23F outside, still dark, 550 miles from my destination, oil and smoke everywhere. Good times.


BMW stated the vehicle is out of warranty so there is nothing to do from their standpoint.
Insurance will not cover the damage since I didn't crash.

I am looking at a +$23,000 bill from the dealership for an engine replacement.
The main question I have is: what do I do with the thing?

Also, has anyone else had issues with their N55? I streamed the threads and it seems like mostly good things to say apart from the oil filter housing leak. I love BMWs and I understand with mileage there are risks, but this is a big turn off and a very difficult pill to swallow without a grudge.

What was your oil level?
How did your oil look?

[hawkjr1]

Glad to see you did get some help from BMW. I also have a 2013 535i but it's a CPO car and I now have about 50,000 miles. The first sing of of trouble it's gone.

[F30lolz]

Welcome to FL OP and sorry for your misfortunes. Seems like the dealer was bleeding you dry. I’d say get rid of the car and get your e46 M3 back! I have been thinking of getting rid of my e90 for a f10 for the room factor, however, hard to find f10’s with a stick and M-Sport as I cannot give up driving a manual.