XSeries-forum

Hi all

I bought an 08 30sd msport about 5 weeks ago , all seemed well and I love the car apart from the reversing camera not seeming to work ::), but then last week the front brake service light came on.  I booked the car into Clayton Cars in Bristol to have the pads checked.

Turned out the front pads needed replacing, as did the front discs.
Also the rear 20" tyres were both worn totally smooth on the insides and are illegal.
There is some movement in one of the rear top control arms.
A small oil leak from the turbo pipe also.
Reversing camera does not work.

The car was purchased from a large bmw/volvo dealership in the midlands, so would have expected better, the dealership have tried to shrug me off with its all happened since I bought it, so I am now giving them 7 days to respond before I report the matter to trading standards and take them to the small claims court. 

My plan is to get them to take responsibility and pay for the issues to the rectified, I know the 20" tyres are sensitive to wear, but no doubt the geometry needs checking and the top arm replaced, I am sure this has had an effect on wear.  I am considering going to conventional tyres, but has anyone done this and noticed wear rate reductions, as I have read that the wear is a combination of the extreme geometry set up and run flats.  So with no run flats and some geometry tinkering can this be improved or eliminated?

Apart from that the car is lovely ::) No seriously it is, I am disappointed with the dealership rather than the car as I don't believe they checked the car over before handing it over and trying to blame me just makes me determined now to push them all the way.

Terrible! Really hope you get it all sorted by them plus some goodwill gesture for the trouble you've been put to.  Well done for keeping faith with the car - they are brilliant!

Hope they sort it out for you. The X5 is a great car.

Just got mine back today after a couple of warranty jobs.

It's great that you've been able to distinguish your annoyances with the garage from your enjoyment of the car. Hope it gets sorted and that you have many trouble free miles in it.

Hi Tortuga,

Sorry to hear of the issues.  Out of interest, is the warranty you have a BMW one or dealer only?  If its a BMW warranty I'd take the car somewhere else and let them know how your dealer has treated you.  This should put them in a position that they want to look good to you compared to the selling dealer.

If not an option then go in at a busy time, such as this morning or when the dealership is open late and don't hold back making sure all around are aware of how you are being treated once they have purchased the car!

Don

I would expect them to back down once a small claim notice served as defect(s) found within 6 months down to them unless they can prove otherwise.

Any court settlelement in your favour may be subject to offset due to bettrmentt.........then again you probaly knew that. 

You could also offer them chance to buy back car for cost you paid - assuming the maths stacks up.

The way I read this post and the info that is given, is that the OP did not buy the 'X' from a Main BMW dealer.

Partly because of the tyre issue. The AUC check requires all tyres to be at least 4mm across the whole tyre and they are very particular on this. I would also have expected the salesman to have demo'd the reverse camera at the handover. I would also comment that IIRC the reversing camera was not a factory option at this agealthough happy to stand corrected. If I'm right its got a retro fit it and wouldn't be covered by the AUC warranty.

The break pads are the biggest worry here to me. We all know e70's eat break pads. Thats why they have sensors and a 'mileage left' indication that can be brought up via the iDrive, again this feature should have been shown at the handover!!!

I hope the OP gets all these issues sort asap and with out cost to him. If it did come from a main BMW dealer they should be  :rant: shot and should be named and shamed.

EDIT: After looking around it looks like the reverse camera was an option so scrub above comment. it should still have been demo'd 

Fundamentally, the garage won't have a leg to stand on, given the nature of the tyres and the fact that you bought the car so recently. As said, I'd say the onus is very much on the garage given the timescales and issues with the car.

Completely agree with ^ however I'm concerned that OP took the 'X' to a non main BMW dealer to get these faults diagnosed.

Even if the selling garage is trying to fob the OP off he could still take it to another BMW dealer to get the problems sorted under the AUC warranty. They would then deal with the warranty work and original selling dealer to sort anything that was not covered.

More clarification needed here I think.

Thanks Guys

The dealer is an off shoot of a Coventry BMW dealer, they basically sell a selection of trade ins from the Volvo dealership they own and the BMW dealership they own.  When I test drove the car the service warning was showing and they said they would sort this, however it looks like this was just an oil service as prior to handing the car over they put it into BMW and they carried out the oil service, mircro filter and pollen filter. 

If the car had been checked properly I would of thought, brakes would have been noticed, upper arm play noticed and maybe the turbo pipe.  On checking the tyres (rears specifically) and noticing the inside wear, I would of thought it prudent to check geometry and arm play.  I am not a mechanic, but the car I traded was an E91 33OD MSPORT, last year I had outside tyre wear, so had the geometry and suspension checked out as soon as the new tyres went on, it was the geometry that was out.  And after that mpg went up and tyre wear was normal.

The car does not have a BMW warranty on it, just a 6 month private one, but to be honest I am quoting the 6 months buyers rights from citizens advice, it quotes your rights and I have quoted it to then word for word.   
I started off emailing them and told them of the issues I had discovered this week, I said I would like to sort it out with them in first instance and would like to know to what extent they were going to cover some of these costs, their response was to blame me, then I changed tone to the legal routes and gave them 7 days  to allow them to change their mind.  I have told them that I think it best they address these issues otherwise I will make it very public and that's not going to be what any of us want. 

To be honest I could live with the reversing camera issue, I could also accept the oil leak job as it does not appear to be a big deal.  But when you get this attitude from them it makes me gun for the lot to be covered.

I don't accept the top arm fault, tyre issue and front brake replacement.  They would have known if they had checked.
The rear pads and discs will need replacing in 5000 miles, and I accept this as that is what I would call a reasonable time and mileage lapse since purchase.  I don't think I am unreasonable, in fact I know I am not, but I can be stubborn when I know I am right, VERY STUBBORN.  And as a layman buying a car from a dealership, and not a back street garage or private seller I have a right to expect certain levels of recourse.  Otherwise I could have spent less and took my chances.

There have been hick ups with them from the start, first they were not forthcoming in returning £1000 deposit until reminded, I still have not received the log book from DVLA, and so the week before last had to ask if they had sent it off to DVLA, they still have not come back to me on that one, and now this little lot.

Like I say I love the car, not looking to give the car  back, get a refund or anything like that as the rest of the car is good, as confirmed by Clayton cars when they found this lot.  They said its a very good car, you just need to get these issues sorted by them as they are liable and have not shown you due care before handing it over.  They have until Wednesday to give me an answer either way.  After that I will name and shame, if people have not worked out who it is already

Brakes will be very expensive too being the SD

Yes camera was an option

Tyres do wear on the inner edges and can be difficult to spot, unfortunately that is normal and doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong - the price for having a decent handling car I'm afraid

The I-drive shows the mileage that the pads have left so this should have been checked by them if they didn't want to get their hands dirty !

[quote="535dboy"]
The I-drive shows the mileage that the pads have left so this should have been checked by them if they didn't want to get their hands dirty !
[/quote]

Yes I didn't know this when I bought it, my last car did not have i drive so it takes a while to find these things out, + I brought the car back to Somerset with the flue, then went to bed and did not get up for a week.  So had no opportunity to play, since then my mother in law has been rushed to hospital with in operable brain tumour, so you could say the car has been driven with no time to play.  I have to say I amazed how much is in the idrive, even the oil level!  No dip stick!

[quote="TORTUGA"]
[quote="535dboy"]
The I-drive shows the mileage that the pads have left so this should have been checked by them if they didn't want to get their hands dirty !
[/quote]

Yes I didn't know this when I bought it, my last car did not have i drive so it takes a while to find these things out, + I brought the car back to Somerset with the flue, then went to bed and did not get up for a week.  So had no opportunity to play, since then my mother in law has been rushed to hospital with in operable brain tumour, so you could say the car has been driven with no time to play.  I have to say I amazed how much is in the idrive, even the oil level!  No dip stick!
[/quote]

Sorry to hear of all of your hassles

Where in Somerset are you?

Portishead.

Front pads and discs cost me £646.20 that was including a vehicle check as it was showing as being needed as well, OM parts because Clayton cars are a BMW independent, all staff are BMW trained techs, I have always used them as they usually know whats wrong when BMW don't, BMW tend to stop seeing cars after 3 years old in the main, so don't have a clue about issues that arise later in a cars life, or that's my experience anyway.