Car fault

[Rowley92]

I'm not sure how to go about this as I have never been in this scenario before but if anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. Back in May I purchased a used M135i ( 2 years old ) from a well known dealership in Edinburgh. The salesman had mentioned a few faults that would be rectified prior to purchase, mainly a gearbox leak, two alloys needing refurbished and a rattle to be investigated. I was happy with the deal and the purchase went through a couple weeks later after the work had been carried out. The car was a low mileage example (12k) and the purchase price was £22k.
A few months later a fault developed with the speaker and I wanted a noise from the gearbox investigated so I booked the car in for inspection. The noise was a very loud whirring noise when accelerating through 1st, 2nd and 4th (many owners have the same noise from the auto box) however the garage diagnosed this as a common trait of the auto box so nothing was changed. They did notice that it was leaking oil again from the same place and the gearbox oil sump was replaced. I thought this would be the last of it but...

I had the car booked in again to investigate a clunking noise from the steering wheel (possible steering rack issue) and yet again they have found the gearbox leaking! This will be the 3rd time it is to be repaired.I feel completely let down with the car and I genuinely feel it has been missold. I have lost all faith with the car and I literally just want rid as I feel the car is a lemon. What added wear has been put on the gearbox with oil leaking out?! Am I being unreasonable to ask the dealership to buy the car back taking into account the depreciation since I have owned the car?

[Smuler]

Rowley92 said:

I'm not sure how to go about this as I have never been in this scenario before but if anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. Back in May I purchased a used M135i ( 2 years old ) from a well known dealership in Edinburgh. The salesman had mentioned a few faults that would be rectified prior to purchase, mainly a gearbox leak, two alloys needing refurbished and a rattle to be investigated. I was happy with the deal and the purchase went through a couple weeks later after the work had been carried out. The car was a low mileage example (12k) and the purchase price was £22k.
A few months later a fault developed with the speaker and I wanted a noise from the gearbox investigated so I booked the car in for inspection. The noise was a very loud whirring noise when accelerating through 1st, 2nd and 4th (many owners have the same noise from the auto box) however the garage diagnosed this as a common trait of the auto box so nothing was changed. They did notice that it was leaking oil again from the same place and the gearbox oil sump was replaced. I thought this would be the last of it but...

I had the car booked in again to investigate a clunking noise from the steering wheel (possible steering rack issue) and yet again they have found the gearbox leaking! This will be the 3rd time it is to be repaired.I feel completely let down with the car and I genuinely feel it has been missold. I have lost all faith with the car and I literally just want rid as I feel the car is a lemon. What added wear has been put on the gearbox with oil leaking out?! Am I being unreasonable to ask the dealership to buy the car back taking into account the depreciation since I have owned the car?

I've always found this organisation to give good advice. If it's a BWM Main dealer, and they don't play ball, involve BMW customer services. Also make sure you get the AUC report, to see all of what was known about the car at the time of sale.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/...

[Rowley92]

Smuler said:

I've always found this organisation to give good advice. If it's a BWM Main dealer, and they don't play ball, involve BMW customer services. Also make sure you get the AUC report, to see all of what was known about the car at the time of sale.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/...

Thank you, I will have a look at this now. I have sent an email to the citizens advice serivce however I am awaiting a reply. I have also this minute involved the dealership by making a formal complaint through their contact us section on the webpage. The stupid text box in the contact us page only allowed for 254 characters so I couldn't detail the problems however I have asked for someone to phone back. Hopefully it does not escalate to BMW UK. I just can't tell if what I am doing is excessive? My reasoning for this is that they have had the chance to rectify the fault several times and failed. What further damage has been done and will this come to light when the official warranty runs out in june next year meaning I will have to foot the bill!

[Smuler]

Rowley92 said:

Thank you, I will have a look at this now. I have sent an email to the citizens advice serivce however I am awaiting a reply. I have also this minute involved the dealership by making a formal complaint through their contact us section on the webpage. The stupid text box in the contact us page only allowed for 254 characters so I couldn't detail the problems however I have asked for someone to phone back. Hopefully it does not escalate to BMW UK. I just can't tell if what I am doing is excessive? My reasoning for this is that they have had the chance to rectify the fault several times and failed. What further damage has been done and will this come to light when the official warranty runs out in june next year meaning I will have to foot the bill!

I'm not a mechanic, but if they cannot fix the leak in the gearbox, then surely one option is to replace the gearbox under warranty?

As AUC is interchangeable warranty, have you considered seeking an opinion of another dealership, if there is one in the local?

I have only one problem with a dealership, they withdrew from sale a car that it turned out did not have FSH; I had travelled to see it and wanted that cost covered. I went straight to BMW Customer Services and got compensation

If you are truly unhappy with the car, then I don't think it's excessive. Whether you are successful will depend on the merits of the case, for example if the gearbox is the issue, replacing that may be deemed far more reasonable than a buy back.


When my father's friend, X3 62 plate 30d had a repetition of niggling problems, I'm not sure how long into ownership but over 12 months (on a new car), they extended his warranty by 18 momths beyond the Manufacturer's 3 years so this and all other issues were covered. That could be an option.

[Rowley92]

Having contacted the dealership in order to speak to someone they were busy and advised someone would phone back. Needless to say I'm still waiting...

So I have went down the route of contacting BMW directly with my complaint. I have outlined my complaint with dates and what how I think it should be resolved.

I knew it wouldn't be a quick response but I'm still yet to hear anything from them! I'll keep the thread updated once I hear back from BMW.

[Smuler]

Keep the pressure on, this is very rude : not responding at all!!

[Rowley92]

Eventually the dealership responded the day before the car was booked in for repair. I'll keep it short just now until I pick the car up and speak with the sales manager.

So car was dropped off last Wednesday and I was told the fault lies back with the original "o" rings within the oil cooler lines that must be faulty. When they took the rubber cabling off, the o rings visually looked fine so they have replaced the entire oil cooler pipes from the gearbox to the oil cooler. The car was then road tested and after inspection the leak was still there. Including the "repairs" already carried out this is now the third repair and the fault is still present.

The technician then advised that the sump would be replaced...again... as he didn't believe the bolts had been tightened in the correct sequence. So the gearbox oil sump has been replaced again and after a >50 mile round trip the car no longer shows signs of a leak. Hooray after 4 attempts the fault has now been fixed (supposedly). Needless to say I'm frustrated at this whole situation. I have asked to speak to the sales manager tomorrow morning when I collect the car however im not holding my breath. The sales advisor seemed peeved that I couldn't drop the courtesy car off at 6pm tonight, so I was advised to bring it in sharp tomorrow before 9am as it is booked for another customer tomorrow at some point.

When I do drop it off part of the courtesy car agreement was to replenish the fuel I have used (which I have) however with my car being in the garage they have definitely road tested it on at least two occasions. Am I entitled to fuel back since the car was in for repair or am I losing that fight?

Will update on what the sales manager says i.e. Rejecting the car

[Smuler]

I'd never consider asking for compensation for fuel used whilst they legitimately test drive my car. Would get my back up if j was Sales Mgr. they should be more flexible with return of courtesy car, given your repeated problems. If outcome is not rejection, then a further years' warranty is something to push for and/or compensation as its been a crapp AU buying experience. And that can never be excusable'