Stratstone BMW won't repair Alloys, what's my rights?
Discussion
Hi,
I bought an X5 in August 2017, within two months two alloys started to corrode, I took the car back and they repaired the alloys under warranty. In April 2018 they started to corrode again, but between us we chose to wait until the next service to have this looked at (in hind sight not the best move on my part). The service schedule dragged out longer than anticipated and my car only went in today and now they are saying that they won't repair the alloys due to the alloys having been refurbed. They said that as soon as they do any work on them, even if it's part of the approved used BMW scheme prior to sale, this then voids the warranty.
Can this be right? So basically they're saying if you've bought an approved used BMW you won't have any warranty on your wheels if they've done some work on them prior to selling it to you and you are purely relying on good will
Have I any rights, or is it a case of tough luck and lesson learnt?
I bought an X5 in August 2017, within two months two alloys started to corrode, I took the car back and they repaired the alloys under warranty. In April 2018 they started to corrode again, but between us we chose to wait until the next service to have this looked at (in hind sight not the best move on my part). The service schedule dragged out longer than anticipated and my car only went in today and now they are saying that they won't repair the alloys due to the alloys having been refurbed. They said that as soon as they do any work on them, even if it's part of the approved used BMW scheme prior to sale, this then voids the warranty.
Can this be right? So basically they're saying if you've bought an approved used BMW you won't have any warranty on your wheels if they've done some work on them prior to selling it to you and you are purely relying on good will
Have I any rights, or is it a case of tough luck and lesson learnt?CSK423 said:
Was it the original BMW warranty or an approved used BMW warranty ? The later offers lesser cover.
If this is still within the original BMW warranty they wouldn't have been repaired but replaced with new.
Thanks, it was used. I can’t find anywhere on the Approved Used Warranty that specifically mentions wheels tbh. If this is still within the original BMW warranty they wouldn't have been repaired but replaced with new.
My Stratstone experience was with a Range Rover and they were absolutely useless, they argued that the damage was done after it was sold until i whacked them with their brochure pictures of the vehicle with the damage clearly showing , they have since lost the franchise in Gloucestershire , good riddance
Precisely why I dropped the excellent if vulnerable mondial / Allianz warranty. The warranty itself is solid but the dealers at least where I live (south wales) were troublesome to deal with. In the end I cancelled it. I can well imagine an AUC being similar, in that it's at the mercy of your local dealer.
I had a similar issue with Stratstone a few years ago. Bought an AUC 320i xDrive from them and one wheel needed repairs at the time of sale. This was carried out by them at point of sale then about 2 years later all 4 wheels started corroding around the centre cap (common problem). When they searched through their history they found this and were only going to replace 3 wheels under warranty and repair the wheel that they had previously repaired, clearly ludicrous. After a few exchanged emails and phone calls the service manager came to his senses and all 4 wheels were replaced, invoice for around £2600 to prove that they were changed. I would just keep going at them until they realise that it's senseless.
I used to sell used cars for Stratstone and whilst they would put any AUC car through the workshop and get it right, wheels were regarded as a cosmetic. As long as they are sound and look okay they took the view that it's a used car and not a new one. We'd get the bodyshop to tidy up kerbed ones but it was only ever a quick job.
You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
iSore said:
I used to sell used cars for Stratstone and whilst they would put any AUC car through the workshop and get it right, wheels were regarded as a cosmetic. As long as they are sound and look okay they took the view that it's a used car and not a new one. We'd get the bodyshop to tidy up kerbed ones but it was only ever a quick job.
You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
This. They’ll be done properly for not much outlay really and you'll have learned a valuable lesson about BMW service levels. Or lack of. You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
They were probably very cheaply and poorly repaired in the first place to only last 8 months. No surprise there.
iSore said:
I used to sell used cars for Stratstone and whilst they would put any AUC car through the workshop and get it right, wheels were regarded as a cosmetic. As long as they are sound and look okay they took the view that it's a used car and not a new one. We'd get the bodyshop to tidy up kerbed ones but it was only ever a quick job.
You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
Thanks, very interesting info. BMW said they could send them off (as they're diamond cut) and get them done for about £140/wheel You can try to get somewhere with BMW but I wouldn't bank on a result. I'd bite the bullet and get the wheels blasted and powder coated for a proper job at about 50 quid a wheel. BMW won't be doing this!
TBH I know they sent one away for me in the past (albeit within my same Town) and I was really impressed as they were also diamond cut and looked as good as the 'untouched' ones but unfortunately I don't know who the firm was as I wouldn't mind contacting them directly. I'm sure they'd be a lot cheaper than getting BMW to do it on my behalf.Lepsons will do a good job on diamond cut wheels and that price is in the right range for them. The problem with diamond cut wheels is you can only refurbish them once or twice, each refurbishment takes something off the face of the wheel, you can't fill any imperfections as you would with a painted or powder coated wheel. Also, if you are fussy, the depth of any features on the wheel will be different after refurbishment, things like the step between painted and unpainted parts, depth of the well for the M logo etc.
bmwmike said:
Precisely why I dropped the excellent if vulnerable mondial / Allianz warranty. The warranty itself is solid but the dealers at least where I live (south wales) were troublesome to deal with. In the end I cancelled it. I can well imagine an AUC being similar, in that it's at the mercy of your local dealer.
Was this a recent thing or something that went back a few years?I had the same scenario when buying a 2011 X5 4.0D.
Car was from a BMW dealer - AUC.
Before collecting the car - they agreed to repair the corroded wheels (which was very common on these).
They were sent away for diamond cutting.
When I collected the car - all was well.
6 months later - they had all started to corrode again. Took it back. They tried to blame the wheel cleaner. I said that was nonsense. I said surely the wheels are faulty and could be replaced under warranty - they said yes - if they hadn't been refurbished (by themselves)...
Long story short - dealer were useless - have never used them since and have bought 3 other BMWs.
I just took the wheels to a refurb place myself who confirmed that the wheels are really bad - they could re-do them but would only guarantee the work for 6 months as they know they would suffer again. So in the end I had them stripped and painted grey!
There was a huge post about this on the X5 forums - lots of owners with wheels corroding.
I think BMW diamond cut wheels from this era all suffered - I recall many scabby looking M3 wheels of similar age.
Thankfully all the new stuff tends to last longer.
Good luck
Steve
Car was from a BMW dealer - AUC.
Before collecting the car - they agreed to repair the corroded wheels (which was very common on these).
They were sent away for diamond cutting.
When I collected the car - all was well.
6 months later - they had all started to corrode again. Took it back. They tried to blame the wheel cleaner. I said that was nonsense. I said surely the wheels are faulty and could be replaced under warranty - they said yes - if they hadn't been refurbished (by themselves)...
Long story short - dealer were useless - have never used them since and have bought 3 other BMWs.
I just took the wheels to a refurb place myself who confirmed that the wheels are really bad - they could re-do them but would only guarantee the work for 6 months as they know they would suffer again. So in the end I had them stripped and painted grey!
There was a huge post about this on the X5 forums - lots of owners with wheels corroding.
I think BMW diamond cut wheels from this era all suffered - I recall many scabby looking M3 wheels of similar age.
Thankfully all the new stuff tends to last longer.
Good luck
Steve
hertfordshire1 said:
I had the same scenario when buying a 2011 X5 4.0D.
Car was from a BMW dealer - AUC.
Before collecting the car - they agreed to repair the corroded wheels (which was very common on these).
They were sent away for diamond cutting.
When I collected the car - all was well.
6 months later - they had all started to corrode again. Took it back. They tried to blame the wheel cleaner. I said that was nonsense. I said surely the wheels are faulty and could be replaced under warranty - they said yes - if they hadn't been refurbished (by themselves)...
Long story short - dealer were useless - have never used them since and have bought 3 other BMWs.
I just took the wheels to a refurb place myself who confirmed that the wheels are really bad - they could re-do them but would only guarantee the work for 6 months as they know they would suffer again. So in the end I had them stripped and painted grey!
There was a huge post about this on the X5 forums - lots of owners with wheels corroding.
I think BMW diamond cut wheels from this era all suffered - I recall many scabby looking M3 wheels of similar age.
Thankfully all the new stuff tends to last longer.
Good luck
Steve
Thanks, appreciate the info Car was from a BMW dealer - AUC.
Before collecting the car - they agreed to repair the corroded wheels (which was very common on these).
They were sent away for diamond cutting.
When I collected the car - all was well.
6 months later - they had all started to corrode again. Took it back. They tried to blame the wheel cleaner. I said that was nonsense. I said surely the wheels are faulty and could be replaced under warranty - they said yes - if they hadn't been refurbished (by themselves)...
Long story short - dealer were useless - have never used them since and have bought 3 other BMWs.
I just took the wheels to a refurb place myself who confirmed that the wheels are really bad - they could re-do them but would only guarantee the work for 6 months as they know they would suffer again. So in the end I had them stripped and painted grey!
There was a huge post about this on the X5 forums - lots of owners with wheels corroding.
I think BMW diamond cut wheels from this era all suffered - I recall many scabby looking M3 wheels of similar age.
Thankfully all the new stuff tends to last longer.
Good luck
Steve
Just to give you some more balanced information Diamond cut wheels in GENERAL are rubbish, doesnt matter who is it from, Porsche, BMW, Merc Citroen. They all suffer. In fact BMW actually might be some of the better versions.
Acidic wheel cleaner will demolish a dimond cut face within days, small stone chips on the surface of the lacquer is ALL it takes to start the process and after that its like wild fire.
I understand your point regarding them being a poor show but THIS is not the dealers fault. This is BMWs fault and many others who used this finish on alloys. Main dealers will really have no choice but to take the look back to OEM!
However even this is crap has it lasts 1 year max and further to this the alloys can only be cut max 3 times, usually twice.
Your better off getting the alloys refurbed and getting them powder coated or painted.
Ps BMW won't do nothing now what so ever because they have been refurbished. outside of the first 3 years just forget about it.
Acidic wheel cleaner will demolish a dimond cut face within days, small stone chips on the surface of the lacquer is ALL it takes to start the process and after that its like wild fire.
I understand your point regarding them being a poor show but THIS is not the dealers fault. This is BMWs fault and many others who used this finish on alloys. Main dealers will really have no choice but to take the look back to OEM!
However even this is crap has it lasts 1 year max and further to this the alloys can only be cut max 3 times, usually twice.
Your better off getting the alloys refurbed and getting them powder coated or painted.
Ps BMW won't do nothing now what so ever because they have been refurbished. outside of the first 3 years just forget about it.
Edited by Chamon_Lee on Friday 25th January 14:08
Chamon_Lee said:
Just to give you some more balanced information Diamond cut wheels in GENERAL are rubbish, doesnt matter who is it from, Porsche, BMW, Merc Citroen. They all suffer. In fact BMW actually might be some of the better versions.
Acidic wheel cleaner will demolish a dimond cut face within days, small stone chips on the surface of the lacquer is ALL it takes to start the process and after that its like wild fire.
I understand your point regarding them being a poor show but THIS is not the dealers fault. This is BMWs fault and many others who used this finish on alloys. Main dealers will really have no choice but to take the look back to OEM!
However even this is crap has it lasts 1 year max and further to this the alloys can only be cut max 3 times, usually twice.
Your better off getting the alloys refurbed and getting them powder coated or painted.
Ps BMW won't do nothing now what so ever because they have been refurbished. outside of the first 3 years just forget about it.
Thanks for the info Acidic wheel cleaner will demolish a dimond cut face within days, small stone chips on the surface of the lacquer is ALL it takes to start the process and after that its like wild fire.
I understand your point regarding them being a poor show but THIS is not the dealers fault. This is BMWs fault and many others who used this finish on alloys. Main dealers will really have no choice but to take the look back to OEM!
However even this is crap has it lasts 1 year max and further to this the alloys can only be cut max 3 times, usually twice.
Your better off getting the alloys refurbed and getting them powder coated or painted.
Ps BMW won't do nothing now what so ever because they have been refurbished. outside of the first 3 years just forget about it.
Edited by Chamon_Lee on Friday 25th January 14:08
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff