old.user4556
Has a sexy sister. I am also a Bodhi wannabee.
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2003
- Messages
- 16,163
Dear Freddies,
I bought a 2007 BMW Z4 3.0si in December 2008, it had done around 5000 miles when I bought it from a main BMW dealer and was very happy with it (and their customer service). It had it's first service in November 2009 nearly one year since I bought it when it had around 18000 miles on the clock. At that service, the brake fluid was changed and items such as the brakes were inspected for their quality and wear. Everything excellent with no problems as expected - the car does mostly motorway miles.
I had only covered around 300 miles (about ten days of driving) when the bad weather started to blow in and I drove my car less. The longest it went without being driven at all was probably about two weeks max before I attempted to dig it out and move it. Once I started to drive it again, there was a noticeable "pulsation" through the brake pedal that was really quite bad at high speed along with vibration through the steering wheel. At first it felt like warped discs, but clearly that wasn't possible given the fact I never drove it.
I phoned my local BMW dealer in Edinburgh who provisionally booked it in but advised it would probably be fine after a hundred miles or so as the surface corrosion wore off. The problem was still there, so I dropped it off today. After two road tests and an attempt to clean the discs, BMW phone to say:
"your front discs are knackered, it'll cost £300 to fix".
I said "you are aware it's under warranty?"
They said "yes sir, but brakes aren't covered, particularly since they're wear and tear items - your brakes are corroded by environmental factors since you've not driven the car for an extended period of time".
I said "lolwat ? It sat there for two weeks maximum, what happens if I go on a two week holiday? Do I need to replace the disks again at £300? Surely the discs aren't fit for purpose if they can't handle a couple of weeks of no driving?".
He said "it's just one of those things".
I said "Not acceptable, I'll need to speak to BMW UK - my car had done less than 20k miles, it's only two years old, it's only just had a service at which you said the brakes were immaculate, now you're telling me they're done?".
So I phoned BMW UK who said there is nothing they can do unless the dealer escalates it to them via their service manager, so I phone the dealer back and ask to speak to the service manager. They're sending out their "technical area manager" to look at it who will decide if it can go to BMW UK for a "goodwill gesture" as the brakes (particularly for corrosion) are not covered by the warranty as they are not a manufacturing defect. They cleaned the discs up for me and the problem is almost completely gone.
I had a 1 series prior to this that did nearly 50k miles on the original brakes and it still had plenty of life left in them - that same car sat doing nothing for over two weeks when I was away on holiday, so this "you don't drive it enough" nonsense is a load of fucking pish.
Any advice? Any grounds for a strongly worded letter of complaint?
I bought a 2007 BMW Z4 3.0si in December 2008, it had done around 5000 miles when I bought it from a main BMW dealer and was very happy with it (and their customer service). It had it's first service in November 2009 nearly one year since I bought it when it had around 18000 miles on the clock. At that service, the brake fluid was changed and items such as the brakes were inspected for their quality and wear. Everything excellent with no problems as expected - the car does mostly motorway miles.
I had only covered around 300 miles (about ten days of driving) when the bad weather started to blow in and I drove my car less. The longest it went without being driven at all was probably about two weeks max before I attempted to dig it out and move it. Once I started to drive it again, there was a noticeable "pulsation" through the brake pedal that was really quite bad at high speed along with vibration through the steering wheel. At first it felt like warped discs, but clearly that wasn't possible given the fact I never drove it.
I phoned my local BMW dealer in Edinburgh who provisionally booked it in but advised it would probably be fine after a hundred miles or so as the surface corrosion wore off. The problem was still there, so I dropped it off today. After two road tests and an attempt to clean the discs, BMW phone to say:
"your front discs are knackered, it'll cost £300 to fix".
I said "you are aware it's under warranty?"
They said "yes sir, but brakes aren't covered, particularly since they're wear and tear items - your brakes are corroded by environmental factors since you've not driven the car for an extended period of time".
I said "lolwat ? It sat there for two weeks maximum, what happens if I go on a two week holiday? Do I need to replace the disks again at £300? Surely the discs aren't fit for purpose if they can't handle a couple of weeks of no driving?".
He said "it's just one of those things".
I said "Not acceptable, I'll need to speak to BMW UK - my car had done less than 20k miles, it's only two years old, it's only just had a service at which you said the brakes were immaculate, now you're telling me they're done?".
So I phoned BMW UK who said there is nothing they can do unless the dealer escalates it to them via their service manager, so I phone the dealer back and ask to speak to the service manager. They're sending out their "technical area manager" to look at it who will decide if it can go to BMW UK for a "goodwill gesture" as the brakes (particularly for corrosion) are not covered by the warranty as they are not a manufacturing defect. They cleaned the discs up for me and the problem is almost completely gone.
I had a 1 series prior to this that did nearly 50k miles on the original brakes and it still had plenty of life left in them - that same car sat doing nothing for over two weeks when I was away on holiday, so this "you don't drive it enough" nonsense is a load of fucking pish.
Any advice? Any grounds for a strongly worded letter of complaint?