BMW warranty diagnostic fee... Normal?

[Trevor555]

A friend has just called me.

His tailgate won't open on his recently purchased Bmw.

They've asked him to pay £160 diagnosis fee.

Refundable I guess, but are all BMW dealers doing this now?

Edited by Trevor555 on Tuesday 15th June 15:07

[Ussrcossack]

New to him or Brand New

If Brand New I'd be having a word with them

[Richard-390a0]

Just a normal part of their "duty of care" informing you that there maybe costs to bear if it's not a warranty matter.

[Trevor555]

Ussrcossack said:

New to him or Brand New

If Brand New I'd be having a word with them

Sorry, I should have stated that.

A used approved 5 series, but under three years old, from the main dealer he's taken it back to.

He's owned it for 5 months.

[Trevor555]

Richard-390a0 said:

Just a normal part of their "duty of care" informing you that there maybe costs to bear if it's not a warranty matter.

Ok, thank you.

I'll tell him that.

But he's not happy.

[mmm-five]

Suggest he offers to pay at the same rate as BMW Warranty gets away with - if he has to pay

You could understand it with a customer coming in and wanting a free diagnosis on a car they bought privately, only to take it to a local, cheaper indy for the actual job to save a few hundred £££.

But for an AUC/dealer car with a warranty, there should be an hour or so of allowed diagnostics before needing to worry the customer or BMW Warranty for approval.

Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 15th June 15:17

[Trevor555]

mmm-five said:

Suggest he offers to pay at the same rate as BMW Warranty gets away with

I just think it's a bit silly making him pay anything up front for a fault that the warranty will surely cover.

I asked him if he'd spilt any fluids in the boot and he said no.

[MGirl]

It’s still under the new car warranty so the cost should be nada. I’ve had the cost to diagnose before on their extended warranty but the cost isn’t paid when they diagnose and are given the go ahead to resolve the issue.

First I’ve heard of this being asked for under new car warranty. Clearly the tailgate should open.

[MDMA .]

Workshop time isn't free. Costs got to come from somewhere. I presume the fee will be reimbursed if the warranty work is approved?

[Dave Hedgehog]

so the cars under its original 3yr warranty, this is just more german dealer monumental piss taking IMO

so glad EVs are making them obsolete

[Trevor555]

MDMA . said:

Workshop time isn't free. Costs got to come from somewhere. I presume the fee will be reimbursed if the warranty work is approved?

Yes, I told him they'd refund it once the warranty repair's done.

I recently put a bike into Motorrad, twice even, and there was no mention of diagnosis fees.

[Court_S]

Has he taken the car back to the supplying dealer? If not perhaps that is why.

I’ve never been asked to pay for a diagnostic fee for any of the warranty work on the new or a AUC’s I’ve bought from BMW / MINI.

[Trevor555]

Court_S said:

Has he taken the car back to the supplying dealer? If not perhaps that is why.

I’ve never been asked to pay for a diagnostic fee for any of the warranty work on the new or a AUC’s I’ve bought from BMW / MINI.

Ah, thank you.

Yes, the dealer that supplied the car.

[Mattt]

Standard IME, had a knock from my steering - asked them to take a quick look to see if they would replace under my BMW Extended Warranty, but they wanted £120 to even book it in.

Won’t be buying another BMW again, hate the attitude of the main dealers.

[Trevor555]

Mattt said:

Won’t be buying another BMW again, hate the attitude of the main dealers.

He's feeling the same now.

A bit silly as it's the third car he's bought from them, I doubt there'll be a fourth now.

[Sheepshanks]

Trevor555 said:

I just think it's a bit silly making him pay anything up front for a fault that the warranty will surely cover.

I asked him if he'd spilt any fluids in the boot and he said no.

I suppose that's the issue - if it does turn out to be something not claimable on warranty then the dealer will want to be paid and there's likely to be a pretty big argument if the fee wasn't mentioned in advance.

That said, I was slighty dismayed when my indie charged a separate diagnosis fee (£60+VAT) recently which let to £400 of work. May well be down to him operating like a dealer now, with a girl on the front desk whose job it is to get as much money out of people as possible.

[Fat hippo]

Mattt said:

Standard IME, had a knock from my steering - asked them to take a quick look to see if they would replace under my BMW Extended Warranty, but they wanted £120 to even book it in.

Won’t be buying another BMW again, hate the attitude of the main dealers.

I stopped buying BMWs about 10 years ago because I didnt like this attitude.

[imperium]

Must be a very thorough diagnostic for £160.

I moved on from BMW after the stealership experience. Audi on the other hand spent an hour or so diagnosing a fault and didn’t charge me for it (approved used 6 months in)

[Spleen]

My experience (BMW and LR) has been that if the car is still under manufacturer's warranty, normally around three years, then no diagnostic fee. If over three years and on an Extended Warranty then fee still applies but if it's a warranty item then it's waived. If not, dig deep and prepare to grumble.

[Trevor555]

imperium said:

Must be a very thorough diagnostic for £160.

I moved on from BMW after the stealership experience. Audi on the other hand spent an hour or so diagnosing a fault and didn’t charge me for it (approved used 6 months in)

Ive had quite a number of VW's and Audi's over the years.. Personal cars as well as stock.

They've had a surprising amount of faults, but like you, I've never been charged a diagnosis fee for a warranty repair.