£1,600 for front headlamp! E93 335i
Discussion
(including VAT) I had a front dipped headlight warning (and no light from dipped beam), so took it into BMW as access is tricky and I was told that it could be just the Xenon bulb or a fault 'control' until. It turns out that due to water ingress (true - inside of glass has been very wet for a few weeks) there is corrosion and everything (including bulb and control unit) needs to be replaced.
Not covered under Mondial warranty as fault caused by water ingress. Does this sound reasonable?
Not covered under Mondial warranty as fault caused by water ingress. Does this sound reasonable?
Edited by wax lyrical on Wednesday 3rd February 18:01
Try here:
http://www.eurocarparts.com/headlight?awc=3997_145...
http://www.eurocarparts.com/headlight?awc=3997_145...
Edited by helix402 on Wednesday 3rd February 18:34
I'd say the water ingress was caused by a fault, I presume whatever seals the headlight, and argue that's warranty work.
Only argument against it would be that the relevant faulty part is one of the excluded parts in the terms and conditions of warranty and/or failure was due to wear and tear, but I don't see it's a typical wear and tear item. It's ridiculous that such an expensive unit could not be protected long term.
Other arguments against warranty to cover, I suppose were that the damage was your fault, or some other cause other than a faulty part. But otherwise it seems very unfair.
Only argument against it would be that the relevant faulty part is one of the excluded parts in the terms and conditions of warranty and/or failure was due to wear and tear, but I don't see it's a typical wear and tear item. It's ridiculous that such an expensive unit could not be protected long term.
Other arguments against warranty to cover, I suppose were that the damage was your fault, or some other cause other than a faulty part. But otherwise it seems very unfair.
I'm going through the same drama with BMW myself at present!
Apparently my headlight seal has failed - which in turn has fried the bulb and igniter the AUC warranty does not cover seals according to the terms and conditions. The car "only" has 27k miles and they want £2300 for a new headlight...
Taken it up with BMW HQ. Will update once I have a response.
Apparently my headlight seal has failed - which in turn has fried the bulb and igniter the AUC warranty does not cover seals according to the terms and conditions. The car "only" has 27k miles and they want £2300 for a new headlight...
Taken it up with BMW HQ. Will update once I have a response.
Which model is it and how old? Let us know how you get on anyway - these seals should not be a 'wear & tear' item! 
NK51XXX said:
I'm going through the same drama with BMW myself at present!
Apparently my headlight seal has failed - which in turn has fried the bulb and igniter the AUC warranty does not cover seals according to the terms and conditions. The car "only" has 27k miles and they want £2300 for a new headlight...
Taken it up with BMW HQ. Will update once I have a response.
Apparently my headlight seal has failed - which in turn has fried the bulb and igniter the AUC warranty does not cover seals according to the terms and conditions. The car "only" has 27k miles and they want £2300 for a new headlight...
Taken it up with BMW HQ. Will update once I have a response.
How do they break that figure down into parts and labour ? Not familiar with your car exactly, but a quick search says you can buy complete genuine BMW headlamps for between £750 for the most expensive one and down to around £640 for the basic unit.
http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-ersatzteile/#!lang=&a...
http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-ersatzteile/#!lang=&a...
wax lyrical said:
Which model is it and how old? Let us know how you get on anyway - these seals should not be a 'wear & tear' item
It's a 2011 M3. A successful outcome in the end! After a couple of calls to BMW HQ this morning they have agreed to replace the headlight under AUC warranty.
Mr_B said:
How do they break that figure down into parts and labour ? Not familiar with your car exactly, but a quick search says you can buy complete genuine BMW headlamps for between £750 for the most expensive one and down to around £640 for the basic unit.
http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-ersatzteile/#!lang=&a...
According to that website the M3 adaptive headlight is around 900 eur delivered, not sure if that includes the bulb or igniter though. BMW quoted the price I stated as an all in figure including labour and vat and said that it was a bumper off job to change the headlight and coding. http://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-ersatzteile/#!lang=&a...
Congrats - that's a great result! Perfectly reasonable given it's a low mileage M3 (and only 5 yrs old). Mine's a 2008 335i with 113k miles on the clock so I doubt I'd get a similar goodwill gesture, despite my car having full BMW service history and the Mondial warranty.
A successful outcome in the end! After a couple of calls to BMW HQ this morning they have agreed to replace the headlight under AUC warranty.
NK51XXX said:
wax lyrical said:
Which model is it and how old? Let us know how you get on anyway - these seals should not be a 'wear & tear' item
It's a 2011 M3. A successful outcome in the end! After a couple of calls to BMW HQ this morning they have agreed to replace the headlight under AUC warranty.
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