Bought a car with a faulty ECU - garage ****ing me about!
Discussion
Bought an E90 320D for a family friend at the end of September. Told him to take the car to a BMW specialist for a check over to make sure everything was good with the car under the pretence that if it wasn't the car would be fixed under the garage's 3month warranty.
BMW specialist has said the car has had an engine rebuild (wasn't told this when buying) and that the ECU is faulty and throwing up a ridiculous amount of errors, they said to either refurb or replace. Car is also hard to start sometimes, although he said this could be down to the ECU, and is missing engine/sump/gearbox covers underneath.
Phoned the garage I got the car off and they have said that the ECU doesn't come under their warranty and can't pay to fix it...
Do I have a leg to stand on in terms of getting it fixed? Should I contact Citizens Advice or similar?
Thanks
BMW specialist has said the car has had an engine rebuild (wasn't told this when buying) and that the ECU is faulty and throwing up a ridiculous amount of errors, they said to either refurb or replace. Car is also hard to start sometimes, although he said this could be down to the ECU, and is missing engine/sump/gearbox covers underneath.
Phoned the garage I got the car off and they have said that the ECU doesn't come under their warranty and can't pay to fix it...
Do I have a leg to stand on in terms of getting it fixed? Should I contact Citizens Advice or similar?
Thanks
Biker 1 said:
How many people carry diagnostic equipment when purchasing a secondhand car?
- ECU is faulty and throwing up a ridiculous amount of errors - Car is also hard to start sometimes,
- missing engine/sump/gearbox covers underneath.
Shouldn't need diagnostic equipment to spot this.
Car ran fine on the test drive, started first time, when I was driving the car home the tyre pressure light came on but that was all. Even now there's no warning lights on the dash, they only show up when the cars plugged in. Didn't get underneath the car to check for undertrays etc when buying it...
t warranty. Nearly all third-party warranties are sE90 320d. Engine rebuilt. I wonder why...
The natural follow-on is to wonder how well it's been rebuilt, and whether everything on the engine matches up with the ECU in it.
Now, indulge me while I polish my crystal ball here.
Timing chain's gone ping. Cheap "recon" (pressure wash/blowover) lump dropped in. Might not be QUITE the same spec, and the ECU's having a bit of difficulty figuring out some of the fripperies. Maybe there's still a slightly bent valve in there. They've given up, lobbed it into an auction... and here it is.
The natural follow-on is to wonder how well it's been rebuilt, and whether everything on the engine matches up with the ECU in it.
Now, indulge me while I polish my crystal ball here.
Timing chain's gone ping. Cheap "recon" (pressure wash/blowover) lump dropped in. Might not be QUITE the same spec, and the ECU's having a bit of difficulty figuring out some of the fripperies. Maybe there's still a slightly bent valve in there. They've given up, lobbed it into an auction... and here it is.
I do trust the specialist, I've took my own car there for a while and my dad takes his car there too. Went to him on a recommendation from another forum and he's always working on proper M cars (had a CSL in at one stage when I was there) so it appears other people trust him too.
When he first plugged the car in it came up with 17 faults, he cleared those and had us bring the car back 2 weeks later. 3 more reappeared but he has said there isn't actually any problems with the parts the ECU is flagging...
What are the dealers legal obligations so I can quote it to them to try and get them to play ball?
Cheers
When he first plugged the car in it came up with 17 faults, he cleared those and had us bring the car back 2 weeks later. 3 more reappeared but he has said there isn't actually any problems with the parts the ECU is flagging...
What are the dealers legal obligations so I can quote it to them to try and get them to play ball?
Cheers
TooMany2cvs said:
E90 320d. Engine rebuilt. I wonder why...
The natural follow-on is to wonder how well it's been rebuilt, and whether everything on the engine matches up with the ECU in it.
Now, indulge me while I polish my crystal ball here.
Timing chain's gone ping. Cheap "recon" (pressure wash/blowover) lump dropped in. Might not be QUITE the same spec, and the ECU's having a bit of difficulty figuring out some of the fripperies. Maybe there's still a slightly bent valve in there. They've given up, lobbed it into an auction... and here it is.
It's actually an M47 engined 320D... 2006 model. The specialist said he was surprised at the rebuild on that engine. He has said whoever rebuilt it was a bit trigger happy with the sealant but apart from that he says the engine seems to be working fine.The natural follow-on is to wonder how well it's been rebuilt, and whether everything on the engine matches up with the ECU in it.
Now, indulge me while I polish my crystal ball here.
Timing chain's gone ping. Cheap "recon" (pressure wash/blowover) lump dropped in. Might not be QUITE the same spec, and the ECU's having a bit of difficulty figuring out some of the fripperies. Maybe there's still a slightly bent valve in there. They've given up, lobbed it into an auction... and here it is.
Joeguard1990 said:
"3 more reappeared but he has said there isn't actually any problems with the parts the ECU is flagging..."
So this is a non-issue then surely? What do you expect the garage do fix if nothing is broken?
If the car has a faulty ECU throwing up faults that aren't really there, and the car is now getting hard to start, surely the ECU will need replaced? No warning lights on the dash at all now...So this is a non-issue then surely? What do you expect the garage do fix if nothing is broken?
Joratk said:
If the car has a faulty ECU throwing up faults that aren't really there, and the car is now getting hard to start, surely the ECU will need replaced? No warning lights on the dash at all now...
The lights might have been painted black/had tape put around them to hide any lights.Biker 1 said:
How many people carry diagnostic equipment when purchasing a secondhand car?
3 months ago I would have agreed with you but after having my fingers burnt buying a mini with undisclosed engine faults I’m sure as hell going to from now on.Almost essential bit of kit these days
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