If you own a VW, BMW, Mercedes or Mini
Discussion
On Friday I put some normal petrol in my M3. It has always had V Power from new but I got caught out with no shell garage in sight.
I then drive onto a dual carriageway and nailed it in 2nd hitting 8000 revs and the car cut power, limited revs and put up a big warning about engine power, fuel pump etc
So I rang B&M in Pudsey and we decided it might be covered under warranty even though the car is 3.5 years old now. So I booked it into my local main dealer.
I got there this morning and they wanted to charge me £90 an hour over 2-3 hours just to tell me what the fault was. Not to repair it. Just to tell me what was wrong and the cost.
I complained politely that paying them to tell me how much the work would cost was a bit much and all I got was arrogance. So, I picked my keys up and walked out.
That was 9:10am this morning. At 9:11 I rang Richard at B&M Pudsey. He took the car immediately and told me to grab a cuppa. 10 minutes later he appeared, smiling (always a good sign) and said he had reset the car, checked all its systems and it was fine. He took it for a test drive too (he also has an E92 M3) and testified to the car being fine. Recommended I filled it up with V Power and took it easy till the petrol mixed and sent me on my merry way. Wouldn’t take a penny.
I cant recommend B&M enough. Their new site is superb. Their service is excellent. Their work is top notch and costs very reasonable. They look after my Tiguan and Works Mini as well as my M3 and have never let me down. Its just a pleasant experience throughout.
Post edited to keep the the bad dealer experience not quite so specific.
I then drive onto a dual carriageway and nailed it in 2nd hitting 8000 revs and the car cut power, limited revs and put up a big warning about engine power, fuel pump etc
So I rang B&M in Pudsey and we decided it might be covered under warranty even though the car is 3.5 years old now. So I booked it into my local main dealer.
I got there this morning and they wanted to charge me £90 an hour over 2-3 hours just to tell me what the fault was. Not to repair it. Just to tell me what was wrong and the cost.
I complained politely that paying them to tell me how much the work would cost was a bit much and all I got was arrogance. So, I picked my keys up and walked out.
That was 9:10am this morning. At 9:11 I rang Richard at B&M Pudsey. He took the car immediately and told me to grab a cuppa. 10 minutes later he appeared, smiling (always a good sign) and said he had reset the car, checked all its systems and it was fine. He took it for a test drive too (he also has an E92 M3) and testified to the car being fine. Recommended I filled it up with V Power and took it easy till the petrol mixed and sent me on my merry way. Wouldn’t take a penny.
I cant recommend B&M enough. Their new site is superb. Their service is excellent. Their work is top notch and costs very reasonable. They look after my Tiguan and Works Mini as well as my M3 and have never let me down. Its just a pleasant experience throughout.
Edited by _Leg_ on Thursday 2nd February 13:13
Post edited to keep the the bad dealer experience not quite so specific.
Edited by burriana on Thursday 2nd February 16:36
I suspect mine was just shocked to find crap petrol in its belly and, as demonstrated by the fact there wasnt actually anything wrong with it, the computer just panicked.
Much like blended whisky wouldnt kill you but upon taking a dram you would still pull a face like a bulldog licking p
s off a nettle after years of drinking decent malt.
Anyhoo, the main point is B&M are excellent. Coupled with Fenton Motorsport in Kippax who look after my Indy, Im pretty much covered.
Much like blended whisky wouldnt kill you but upon taking a dram you would still pull a face like a bulldog licking p
s off a nettle after years of drinking decent malt.Anyhoo, the main point is B&M are excellent. Coupled with Fenton Motorsport in Kippax who look after my Indy, Im pretty much covered.
While BM care are good, I can't recommend them personally, after an issue last year.
Had a turbo replaced on a 5 series by them. Plus, 2 oil and filter change / services. A little over a year since the turbo was installed, it failed. I Had a replacement put on. As it was so new, the damaged turbo was to be sent to Garret for a warranty claim. BM care sent the wrong turbo. (Given they are a BMW specialist, how is it possible to send one from a Landrover?) Eventually, they sent the correct one back.
Ray Jones at Garret Turbos, did a warranty claim and inspection report and sent it back to me. The turbo had failed because: "The oil has carbonised resticting flow to the bearings and back to the engine. This has caused over heating and bearing wear resulting in the rotor assembly hitting the housings". The unit wa sonly good for scrap.
Garret said that it had come off a car that hadn't had an oil change in 80k, or, the completely wrong grade/type of oil had been used in the vehicle. Given that it had only done 20k since it had been put on, either:
a) BM care had sent the wrong turbo to them (unlikely, as serial number on it matched the approximate age of the turbo they originally supplied)
or b) BM Care had failed on 2, possibly 3 seperate occasions to change my oil with either new oil, or the correct grade, despite me being invoiced for it. Twice.
I never got a response from Richard, despite leaving numerous messages with the secretary there. Gave up eventually, 900 quid out of pocket, all in. Garret were fantastic though, and gave me the new unit at cost price.
If at all possible, I won't be using them again. Can't have potential corner cutting by any garage, on your pride and joy. I'm not saying that everybodies experience would be like that, just my personal one.
They are good on the code reading front though - had a similar experience, and much cheaper for everything than main dealer.
Since being disappointed, I've invested in a full BMW diagnostics system, built onto a spare laptop I had. It's got DIS & SSS, that will let me read codes, reset issues, reprogram and trouble shoot all models of BMW/mini. It's exactly the same as a dealer uses. (Not as expensive as it sounds...cheaper than having your codes read!)
Had a turbo replaced on a 5 series by them. Plus, 2 oil and filter change / services. A little over a year since the turbo was installed, it failed. I Had a replacement put on. As it was so new, the damaged turbo was to be sent to Garret for a warranty claim. BM care sent the wrong turbo. (Given they are a BMW specialist, how is it possible to send one from a Landrover?) Eventually, they sent the correct one back.
Ray Jones at Garret Turbos, did a warranty claim and inspection report and sent it back to me. The turbo had failed because: "The oil has carbonised resticting flow to the bearings and back to the engine. This has caused over heating and bearing wear resulting in the rotor assembly hitting the housings". The unit wa sonly good for scrap.
Garret said that it had come off a car that hadn't had an oil change in 80k, or, the completely wrong grade/type of oil had been used in the vehicle. Given that it had only done 20k since it had been put on, either:
a) BM care had sent the wrong turbo to them (unlikely, as serial number on it matched the approximate age of the turbo they originally supplied)
or b) BM Care had failed on 2, possibly 3 seperate occasions to change my oil with either new oil, or the correct grade, despite me being invoiced for it. Twice.
I never got a response from Richard, despite leaving numerous messages with the secretary there. Gave up eventually, 900 quid out of pocket, all in. Garret were fantastic though, and gave me the new unit at cost price.
If at all possible, I won't be using them again. Can't have potential corner cutting by any garage, on your pride and joy. I'm not saying that everybodies experience would be like that, just my personal one.
They are good on the code reading front though - had a similar experience, and much cheaper for everything than main dealer.
Since being disappointed, I've invested in a full BMW diagnostics system, built onto a spare laptop I had. It's got DIS & SSS, that will let me read codes, reset issues, reprogram and trouble shoot all models of BMW/mini. It's exactly the same as a dealer uses. (Not as expensive as it sounds...cheaper than having your codes read!)
I'm sure people have different experiences of everything Marty as you say, we can only express our own and the overall should give a balanced view of any product or service eh.
The kit you mention sounds interesting. Could you post or send me details please? My M3 and JCW are keepers so it would be a worthwhile investment.
Cheers
Rich
The kit you mention sounds interesting. Could you post or send me details please? My M3 and JCW are keepers so it would be a worthwhile investment.
Cheers
Rich
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