Late run-in service and warranty

[derin100]

Oil and filter change i believe.

BMW sometimes sell cars that for one reason or another ended up not having their 1200 mile service done on time. I would imagine that they sell such cars on having first checked them comprehensively and have taken 'on risk' that they should still be perfectly good cars in the future so long as they are maintained thereafter.

If you have a fully comprehensive BMW warranty and they have taken your policy premium then i am sure they would be bound to honour any claims. If a particular dealer didn't for any reason i would take it to a more 'warranty friendly' dealer before resorting to complaining.

Many thanks indeed, Glendog...that's what I wanted to hear, really. For them to say anything else under the circumstances, on a car that has never been out of BMW Warranty, has also previously sold under the umbrella of AUC when it cannot be denied that it must have been known that the running-in service (which amounts to an oil and filter change) and for which they have consistently continued to take the premium would duplicitous in the extreme. Frankly, I doubt they'd have a leg to stand on.

I'm not planning on trying to 'taking the Micky' out of the warranty...I never have done on a car with a warranty in place that I have owned before [I mean, I even successfully de-bobbled some slight bobbling steering wheel with a jumper 'Fuzz-off' yesterday although I believe claims of that nature might only be of a historical nature now from my reading :hahaha: So, I'm not averse to doing my 'bit' and being reasonable].

But it's more a point of principle and also a guide to what I do in the future with re-newing the warranty when it's due at the end of September.

[shimmy]

When I needed a big response from BMW on my warranty they demanded I photocopied my service book and emailed the pages over to them, along with proof of value of purchase. It was all they cared about. This suggests that should the car have had a service record not within their parameters they would have not paid out on my warranty or at least they would have negotiated a compromise.

I agree that the fact they sell cars with full BMW warranty second hand that have both incomplete service history and aftermarket parts fitted is a contradiction to this stance and I wonder how they can do this.

I personally think that if you car has been sold used by BmW ith warranty advertised and as part of the sale since the gap in history then you'd have a very good case why they should honour the warranty in full.

Pointless speaking to the general guys and gals on the BMW Mondial desks, I would ring the Manager at both BmWuK and Mondial and get two separate responses

[derin100]

When I needed a big response from BMW on my warranty they demanded I photocopied my service book and emailed the pages over to them, along with proof of value of purchase. It was all they cared about. This suggests that should the car have had a service record not within their parameters they would have not paid out on my warranty or at least they would have negotiated a compromise.

I agree that the fact they sell cars with full BMW warranty second hand that have both incomplete service history and aftermarket parts fitted is a contradiction to this stance and I wonder how they can do this.

I personally think that if you car has been sold used by BmW ith warranty advertised and as part of the sale since the gap in history then you'd have a very good case why they should honour the warranty in full.

Pointless speaking to the general guys and gals on the BMW Mondial desks, I would ring the Manager at both BmWuK and Mondial and get two separate responses

Good advice. I think I'll do it in writing.

[azrael]

I've got a copy of a letter from BMW stating the following.

We can confirm that for a M3 to be sold as an approved used car the running in service has to have been carried out before 1700 miles. This ensures the waranty is valid.


In your case I would imagine the BMW dealer (Hexagon) that sold the car took the risk on themselves. As you have bought subsequently from an independent trader, I doubt that dealer (Hexagon) would take any liability, nor would BMW.

Worth trying to get something in writing from Mondial if you can, you might find they cancel the policy as they have for others due to modifications.

Not trying to be negative, just tell you what I know, and hope you can use it to your advantage and sooner rather than later.

[derin100]

Ok, here's an update.

After much discussion and research on the part of my wife over the week with Mondial, Hexagon, Consumer Direct (and the person I bought it from):

Essentially, Mondial have agreed to continue to maintain and honour the warranty with the possible exception of covering the failure of anything that could be deemed to be directly attributable to the late run-in service and have put this in writing.

One has to say though that when one reads the small print of even the 'Comp Warranty' that the car has one wonders what IS actually covered anyway!? :hahaha: There are so many exclusions or items that would be deemed to be 'wear and tear' etc?

An interesting fact though that I didn't know and that was confirmed to my wife independently by both Mondial and Hexagon is that if one buys a car from an 'Independent Trader' the BMW/Mondial warranty is immediately null and void anyway! In my case, they are accepting that this car was his personal car as he had other documents in his name. But an interesting 'warning' for the future?

Anyway, I've been faced with a dilemna all week of what to do (I haven't even driven the car once except for bringing it home over a week ago).

Essentially, do I:

1) Accept the above situation? At least it does still have a warranty albeit with a slightly 'grey' caveat or

2) Try to force the vendor to take the car back for a refund on the basis that it was misdescribed under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. As in the actual wording of the advert it technically was misdescribed. He's having none of it at the moment and thus I would be forced to pursue this through a legal route and all that that entails.

He has said (for what it is worth) that he is prepared to put in writing that for the continued duration of the warranty which is until the end of September, he is prepared to pay for any work that might occur due to any failure that might occur due to something that might be attributable directly to having had the late running-in service i.e covering the 'grey caveat'. This was something Consumer Direct said I could 'force' him to do. Again though, if it really came to such an event would he without being dragged through a legal route??? Also that would obviously only be for the time term of this current warranty.

The problem for me is......Firstly, the car really IS very nice and I really like it! It has low miles, an otherwise complete and on-time service history, the next service (Oil Service) is not due for over 9K miles, it has four virtually new PS2s etc etc. Secondly, If I go down the legal route of trying to force him to take it back and win I have a) a huge amount of hassle and b) No CSL ! :bigcry:

Am I making a mountain out of mole-hill over this late running-in service as the car is never going to be tracked by me, it'll probably never be driven hard and is likely to just be a garage queen doing very few miles per year? (e.g my 840Ci Sport has only done about 1000 miles in the last 4 years and my E34 540i probably only about 300 miles in the last 2.5 years).

Many thanks in advance for advice and opinions.

[shimmy]

I think warranty is a grey area, but tbh BMW have been absolutely spot on with mine so far. I think them not covering directly attributable failures makes sense, simlar to having mods, they don't blanket refuse warranty cover but relate it to the mods in particular.

Unfortunately not having a running in service means you won't be covered for Hg or engine failure, however unlikely but if the seller has warrantied it I would take him up on that, get a letter drafted yourself and then if needed small claims court would be an easy route.

Good news is you are covered for all common issues. I'd be happy

[Sailorbaz]

Personally, I would say yeah, storm in a tea cup mate.

My CSL I bought with 17K miles on it, in 2006 when knowledge of these cars was somewhat limited. I never realised that the running in service was so important then (even now, I think it's a technicality) and mine had been done at 2100miles (suppose I could say it was s Typo lol) I did however, and this information was given freely receive a letter from Broadoak Ashford BMW stating that any Warranty work would be covered regardless of late M Power running in service. I can scan this in and forward it on when I get home next weekend, PM obviously just for your perusal.

I've had the Vanos replaced, diff replaced and various other smaller items including exhaust parts despite having a Milltek on at the time.

The previous owner had a New G/Box, Clutch and Flywheel and Diff all replaced under warranty at about 8k miles, with the exception of the Diff everything has been perfect since. 46k miles now.

Now, when I ask about Warranty work they check what level of cover I have (FC with no Excess) and get on with it, no questions asked. Then again, when it was is for an InspII recently and I asked about the Clutch, I was told it wasn't covered. I'll be digging out that thread Mark made a while ago and having a good read before I head back in during the summer.

[derin100]

Thanks guys!

Good suggestion Shimmy i.e that I draft the letter myself for him to sign.

Yes thanks, that would be good sailorbaz, although Mondial were quite categorical in that respect i.e a cliam that might be related to the late run-in would have to be judged on its own merit.

So Shimmy, would I be right in thinking stuff like the diff and gearbox etc as described by sailorbaz should still be covered anyway?

[s.mac]

Baz, I was told my clutch had excessive wear and wouldnt be covered by warranty, the garage said they would try, I sent an email to them that they sent on to BMW, sorted some info from Shim and some tech stuff from Tom (NZ) :thumbs:

[md23]

I think warranty is a grey area, but tbh BMW have been absolutely spot on with mine so far. I think them not covering directly attributable failures makes sense, simlar to having mods, they don't blanket refuse warranty cover but relate it to the mods in particular.

Unfortunately not having a running in service means you won't be covered for Hg or engine failure, however unlikely but if the seller has warrantied it I would take him up on that, get a letter drafted yourself and then if needed small claims court would be an easy route.

Good news is you are covered for all common issues. I'd be happy

Is the seller really going to fork out £25k for a new engine though? That said, if it's going to be a garage queen probably little chance of this happening as it seems more common on heavily tracked cars... On balance probably best just to get on with it! :thumbs:

[glendog74]

Just take it to Murketts when warranty work is required - easy!

[derin100]

Just take it to Murketts when warranty work is required - easy!

Warranty friendly dealership?

[Bounce]

Warranty friendly dealership?

One of the best.:thumbs::thumbs:

[derin100]

One of the best.:thumbs::thumbs:

Excellent!

With these thoughts in mind I took it for my first little drive... notwithstanding the drive home when I bought when I was returning mid-30s mpg (you get the picture! :hahaha: ).....

OMFG!!! :119:

Now you have to bear in mind that as my daily drive I drive a Mercedes 190E 2.0L which I love, is absolutely fine in normal traffic, actually not the slowest thing on the road but it IS the slowest car I've ever owned.

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spgmGal=Mercedes_190E_Sportline

Also, my only other experience of driving a CSL was when my friend lent me his for a week (and I took it back after 3 days because I was so paranoid about it being damaged whilst in my care) and because it was someone elses car never really open it up. I've also driven a couple of E92 M3s of his...a manual one (which I liked) and he now has the Alpine Edition one which is almost too smooth?

These things are fantastic! Absolutely vicious! :thumbs:

Not that I'll admit it to my wife but I have probably bitten off more car than I can chew! :hahaha: Maybe I should have progressed 'through the ranks' a bit first like a normal E46 M3? :hahaha:

[glendog74]

Not that I'll admit it to my wife but I have probably bitten off more car than I can chew! :hahaha: Maybe I should have progressed 'through the ranks' a bit first like a normal E46 M3? :hahaha:

You'll be fine - i came from a Honda Civic Type R piece of FWD dog doo!

Take her on a CAT driver training day to learn the car better - well worth it :thumbs: