Have i been scammed?

[welshnobby]

History....over the winter my 535D touring e60 began to labour on start up. This became progressively more noticable over the period of about a week so i popped it into a local Formula 1 type place for a battery check. It came back that the battery was a bit low on juice so recommended a replacement which was duely done. The car started fine for about a week then the laboured starting came back. This didn't get any worse for about a month and at a recent service at a main dealer i asked them to investigate (cost of £70) this slow cracking issue. They came back saying that the battery was not a BMW battery and hadn't been "registered" to the car meaning that the OBC didn't know the true charge of the battery and was at risk of shutting down some less essential systems to conserve power. They also said that the slow cranking was probably due to the starter motor which would be £530. They suggested they try and register the battery (£45) to the OBC as the battery had the correct power output. However this was unsuccessful as it didn't have a registerable code that official BMW batteries have. So a new battery was advised at £215! Now this seems like a scam to me, i can understand the registration to the car issue but it appears you can only have a battery changed at a main dealer at their extortionate prices....is this right? Could they not have just pulled a code off another battery and used that as the one i had fitted was like for like in terms of ampage etc?
When replacing the battery they found water in the battery well and said that this was due to a blocked drain from the panoramic sunroof???? This would require 3hrs labour to fix at a cost of £330. Does this sound right?
This along with the £560 i have just paid for the service is just getting a bit silly. I don't have a warranty as the car had lapsed for more than a month when i bought it from a BMW dealership so wasn't eligeable.
Are there any recommended third party warranties that provide decent cover for these sort of things?
Regards
WN

[Rabbo]

welshnobby said:

History....over the winter my 535D touring e60 began to labour on start up. This became progressively more noticable over the period of about a week so i popped it into a local Formula 1 type place for a battery check. It came back that the battery was a bit low on juice so recommended a replacement which was duely done. The car started fine for about a week then the laboured starting came back. This didn't get any worse for about a month and at a recent service at a main dealer i asked them to investigate (cost of £70) this slow cracking issue. They came back saying that the battery was not a BMW battery and hadn't been "registered" to the car meaning that the OBC didn't know the true charge of the battery and was at risk of shutting down some less essential systems to conserve power. They also said that the slow cranking was probably due to the starter motor which would be £530. They suggested they try and register the battery (£45) to the OBC as the battery had the correct power output. However this was unsuccessful as it didn't have a registerable code that official BMW batteries have. So a new battery was advised at £215! Now this seems like a scam to me, i can understand the registration to the car issue but it appears you can only have a battery changed at a main dealer at their extortionate prices....is this right? Could they not have just pulled a code off another battery and used that as the one i had fitted was like for like in terms of ampage etc?
When replacing the battery they found water in the battery well and said that this was due to a blocked drain from the panoramic sunroof???? This would require 3hrs labour to fix at a cost of £330. Does this sound right?
This along with the £560 i have just paid for the service is just getting a bit silly. I don't have a warranty as the car had lapsed for more than a month when i bought it from a BMW dealership so wasn't eligeable.
Are there any recommended third party warranties that provide decent cover for these sort of things?
Regards
WN

First off, if you bought from a BMW dealership did it not come as an approved used car (AUC)? If not, why not?

[E30M3SE]

Someone gave you duff info on BMW insured warranty eligability.

The batteries do need registering especially if a different type size is fitted, starter can cause the labouring issue on start up, there is a known 'water under the battery tray' issue.

You should have gone nowhere near Formula One or this type of place with this car.

Pay up, chalk it down to experience and get a warranty on it.

Edited by E30M3SE on Friday 30th March 14:08

[c7xlg]

water in battery tray is most likely blockage in the one way valve at the bottom of the tubes that drain the pany sun-roof. However 3 hours to fix it is total bks. Get the car to a BMW indy and they will be able to remove the valves from the tubes which solves all the problems. about an hours work....

DO NOT leave it though... my car had 'total electronics' failure due to it...

[c7xlg]

water in battery tray is most likely blockage in the one way valve at the bottom of the tubes that drain the pany sun-roof. However 3 hours to fix it is total bks. Get the car to a BMW indy and they will be able to remove the valves from the tubes which solves all the problems. about an hours work....

DO NOT leave it though... my car had 'total electronics' failure due to it...

[mondeoman]

WTF?? Registering a battery?? Seriously??

[Nigel Worc's]

If it isn't too far for you (Wolverhampton), I recommend this chap :

http://pwebdesign.brinkster.net/bmeuroservice/defa...

He is in my opinion, superb, and very good at cutting through both BMW, and silly outlets bullst !

[welshnobby]

Thanks chaps, after some looking around i found this thread on the m power section regarding this common problem with blocked roof drain and simple fix http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/49784-i-drive-proble... I am going to take this up with the dealer as a quote for 3hrs to do this simple fix is outrageous. They had better have a good explaination or they will be losing my future custom. It just sits really badly wondering if every time you go in they are going to over charge. Am i right in thinking these drains should be flushed at the major service which i have just had. It seems a coincidence that after a very dry period the water is present however it has had a power wash recently after it's service....mmmm. Fortunately no electrical problems so i have avoided that, apparently their was only a bit of water so caught it early. What a stupid design, why have they not done a recall or offered a retro modification? I have accepted the battery situation and have learnt that even something as simple as a battery change needs to be done by a dealer/specialist and the starter motor has fixed the slow crank problem. I will ask re warranty availability, if the car has been recently serviced and has met all the service requirements can i not re start the bmw warranty. Even Porsche will let you put a warranty back on a car if it has an inspection and comes up to scratch. Thanks for you help, any recommendations for a specialist in Nottingham?

[E30M3SE]

welshnobby said:

I will ask re warranty availability, if the car has been recently serviced and has met all the service requirements can i not re start the bmw warranty. Even Porsche will let you put a warranty back on a car if it has an inspection and comes up to scratch.

The BMW warranty is a lot easier to set up and live with than the nonsense Porsche put you through, just phone
0208 6669204, no need to involve the dealer with it.

[rb5er]

The joys of bmw ownership.

[Nigel Worc's]

rb5er said:

The joys of bmw ownership.

I'm actually glad, when I read these threads, that I can only afford the extremely good value older ones.

OP, I know it's a drive for you, but the service and expertise of Paul at BM Euroservice, is in my opinion well worth it, I live in Worcester, and I drive to him, I've sort of been through what you're going through ...... only with older cars.

[welshnobby]

Nigel Worc's said:

OP, I know it's a drive for you, but the service and expertise of Paul at BM Euroservice, is in my opinion well worth it, I live in Worcester, and I drive to him, I've sort of been through what you're going through ...... only with older cars.

Thanks for the recommendation and i hear what you are saying about being worth traveling for a good indie but on an already busy shedule i cannot justify the distance especially as i would have to sit and wait for works to be done. Re warranty are you guys saying that what i have been told re having lasped out of warranty meaning i cannot restart it is twoddle?

[E30M3SE]

welshnobby said:

Re warranty are you guys saying that what i have been told re having lasped out of warranty meaning i cannot restart it is twoddle?

Hell, yes.

Unless your car has missing official (done at a garage as per BMW service schedule) service history of course.

If it's a FSH car then warranty is not a problem, phone that number on monday and you can commence cover.

If you wish to get a quote today, see here, in fact you can buy it online.