Advice : BMW warranty claim
Discussion
Ok I need some serious advice here people.
I took my car on a trackday at Silverstone last weekend.
It is a 4 month old M235i with 2,000 miles on the clock.
Unfortunately after a few laps the engine went bang. A con-rod has blown through the side and a complete engine replacement is required. £13,000 has been quoted.
BMW have immediately refused the warranty claim as it was used on a track.
I have asked them to email me the terms of the warranty that apply. They supplied :
"The purpose for which your BMW was designed and built was as a passenger carrying vehicle under normal driving conditions.
This BMW Retailer Warranty does not extend to faults that arise as a result of the vehicle being used for racing, rallying or similar competitive sports."
Of course, the day I was on was in no way competitive and I don't think its unreasonable to assume that a brand new M car can manage a few laps of a racetrack.
I have tried to contact someone useful via BMW customer services today but have been completely stonewalled.
Thoughts please
>>>>UPDATE
Now resolved. BMW acknowledged that the car had not been in a competitive event and the fault was covered under the warranty.
It took a carefully worded letter to the MD Graeme Grieve in order to get it resolved.
I took my car on a trackday at Silverstone last weekend.
It is a 4 month old M235i with 2,000 miles on the clock.
Unfortunately after a few laps the engine went bang. A con-rod has blown through the side and a complete engine replacement is required. £13,000 has been quoted.
BMW have immediately refused the warranty claim as it was used on a track.
I have asked them to email me the terms of the warranty that apply. They supplied :
"The purpose for which your BMW was designed and built was as a passenger carrying vehicle under normal driving conditions.
This BMW Retailer Warranty does not extend to faults that arise as a result of the vehicle being used for racing, rallying or similar competitive sports."
Of course, the day I was on was in no way competitive and I don't think its unreasonable to assume that a brand new M car can manage a few laps of a racetrack.
I have tried to contact someone useful via BMW customer services today but have been completely stonewalled.
Thoughts please
>>>>UPDATE
Now resolved. BMW acknowledged that the car had not been in a competitive event and the fault was covered under the warranty.
It took a carefully worded letter to the MD Graeme Grieve in order to get it resolved.
Edited by fourspoons on Wednesday 4th February 18:09
Edited by fourspoons on Wednesday 4th February 18:10
Crusoe said:
Was it an over rev miss shift type event that caused it or just driving normally and the rod broke? Driver error causing an over rev I could see not being covered but sure the car computers can probably prove it one way or another though you might need an independent report to say it wasn't driver error on track that caused it.
No error, its an auto so can't really over rev it. Just normal driving really.Crusoe said:
Guess the computer history showed lots of high speed running prior to the issue with obvious wear on brakes and tyres. As long as it wasn't a competitive event (and you can prove it was a standard open pit lane type track day) they should back down based on the thread linked above. Get some evidence and send it to someone high enough to make a decision at bmw uk.
Getting contact details for someone at BMW is not proving easy (or even possible) at the moment....GetCarter said:
Hi O/P
I just got your mail and thought I'd post the reply here as there is nothing 'sensitive'.
First up... this was the end result of my spat:
I didn't employ any lawyers, but a friend of mine was one, so every letter I wrote to BMW, I cc'd him as 'my lawyers'. Autocar just mis-reported that the letters were from my lawyers - they were from me. Just including layers in the communications really concentrated the minds of BMW as they knew I wasn't going to be fobbed off.
And fobbing off was what they did for several months. I started with the dealer, who was rubbish, so I went to the franchise, who were rubbish, so I went to head office, who were rubbish, so I went to the top (the M.D.), and suggested that if I didn't get complete satisfaction I would write a press release, and send it to every motoring magazine and TV programme telling them the sorry tale, and that BMWs were not up to track days.
That was when they realised it would be cheaper to shut me up than suffer the bad publicity, and credit where it's due, the MD just decided enough was enough. I got all repair costs refunded and offered a free trip to the Nurburgring as a 'good will gesture (in one of their BMWs), or a bunch of cash.
The more noise you make, the more chance of satisfaction, but I have no idea if BMW have actually changed their minds re-track days, as they are so much more popular these days.
Good luck.
Many thanks for your reply. I hope your case will help me!I just got your mail and thought I'd post the reply here as there is nothing 'sensitive'.
First up... this was the end result of my spat:
I didn't employ any lawyers, but a friend of mine was one, so every letter I wrote to BMW, I cc'd him as 'my lawyers'. Autocar just mis-reported that the letters were from my lawyers - they were from me. Just including layers in the communications really concentrated the minds of BMW as they knew I wasn't going to be fobbed off.
And fobbing off was what they did for several months. I started with the dealer, who was rubbish, so I went to the franchise, who were rubbish, so I went to head office, who were rubbish, so I went to the top (the M.D.), and suggested that if I didn't get complete satisfaction I would write a press release, and send it to every motoring magazine and TV programme telling them the sorry tale, and that BMWs were not up to track days.
That was when they realised it would be cheaper to shut me up than suffer the bad publicity, and credit where it's due, the MD just decided enough was enough. I got all repair costs refunded and offered a free trip to the Nurburgring as a 'good will gesture (in one of their BMWs), or a bunch of cash.
The more noise you make, the more chance of satisfaction, but I have no idea if BMW have actually changed their minds re-track days, as they are so much more popular these days.
Good luck.
Did you just address correspondence to 'The MD, BMW UK' or do you have some useful address I could use?
Thanks again
OK, thanks everyone, your encouragement has really inspired me to fight.
I have written to Graeme Grieve and also the service manager at my dealership who originally informed me of the refusal.
I referenced Mr Carter's case and my disappointment in the car and the brand.
I told them I'll be getting the press involved and that people will be interested to know that BMW M cars are not suitable for even light track use and that BMW is not standing behind its products, in spite of the previous case.
Thanks for your support
I have written to Graeme Grieve and also the service manager at my dealership who originally informed me of the refusal.
I referenced Mr Carter's case and my disappointment in the car and the brand.
I told them I'll be getting the press involved and that people will be interested to know that BMW M cars are not suitable for even light track use and that BMW is not standing behind its products, in spite of the previous case.
Thanks for your support
Gtom said:
Found it. Not a offic one like I thought but it does seem as if BMW are fully aware of what the car is being used for. On a sensible place like a race track!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-LpPc8qutCA
Indeed, ironically that was one of the videos that convinced me to buy the thing in the first placehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-LpPc8qutCA
BlackLabel said:
+1
Twitter is great for this kind of stuff. Perhaps someone with a reasonable number of followers can get the ball rolling by tweeting the link to this thread. If the OP agrees to it of course.
Permission granted! The more publicity this gets the better as far as I am concerned. It seems that huge amounts of negative publicity is the only way to get BMW to do anything these days...Keys, cracking wheels etc etc. Unfortunately I'm a bit ugly to go on TV so they are probably safe from WatchdogTwitter is great for this kind of stuff. Perhaps someone with a reasonable number of followers can get the ball rolling by tweeting the link to this thread. If the OP agrees to it of course.
M3CS said:
Good luck OP. Putting aside all other considerations, BMW should see sense and help you here. PR, the need to appear consistent with GetCarter's case and common sense should prevail.
In the interests of balance, I would like to challenge a few things I have read in this thread however:
1. The hate for BMW along the lines of 'same old BMW, screwing over the little guy' seems a bit unfair, given they don't seem to be alone amongst similar manufacturers of motorsport-inspired cars in their warranty stance.
2. 'M', might stand for Motorsport, but an M235i is plainly designed for road use. It doesn't come with slick tyres, a sequential box or a roll cage. It comes with road tyres, comfy seats, cruise control, etc. Let's not be silly....do you guys think drinking Red Bull is going to allow you to fly? It's a marketing ploy: establish a tenuous link to motorsport success in order to sell more road cars. Using this point as something to win over BMW is a bit of a red herring, in my opinion.
3. I expect that like many who go on track days, OP will not have been insured while on track - most insurers will specifically state that this is not covered (and won't say "unless you have an M car, because everyone knows they are basically the same as racing cars"). What would've happened if he'd binned it? We wouldn't be castigating the insurer for not paying out.
I realise the warranty in question won't specifically talk about track days but it's not a million miles from it in wording...i think the spirit of it would apply to track days.
[OP, apologies if you did in fact have track day insurance!]
Trackday insurance does not cover mechanical breakdown. I knew the risks, or at least, I thought I did. I read the wording of the warranty as above and since the driving I was doing was not covered by the exclusions, I went on believing I would be covered in the event of a breakdown.In the interests of balance, I would like to challenge a few things I have read in this thread however:
1. The hate for BMW along the lines of 'same old BMW, screwing over the little guy' seems a bit unfair, given they don't seem to be alone amongst similar manufacturers of motorsport-inspired cars in their warranty stance.
2. 'M', might stand for Motorsport, but an M235i is plainly designed for road use. It doesn't come with slick tyres, a sequential box or a roll cage. It comes with road tyres, comfy seats, cruise control, etc. Let's not be silly....do you guys think drinking Red Bull is going to allow you to fly? It's a marketing ploy: establish a tenuous link to motorsport success in order to sell more road cars. Using this point as something to win over BMW is a bit of a red herring, in my opinion.
3. I expect that like many who go on track days, OP will not have been insured while on track - most insurers will specifically state that this is not covered (and won't say "unless you have an M car, because everyone knows they are basically the same as racing cars"). What would've happened if he'd binned it? We wouldn't be castigating the insurer for not paying out.
I realise the warranty in question won't specifically talk about track days but it's not a million miles from it in wording...i think the spirit of it would apply to track days.
[OP, apologies if you did in fact have track day insurance!]
tumble dryer said:
OP, please wait a day or two before blasting it all over Facebook etc..
Give senior management a bit of time to realise the implications first; I'm sure you'll get a more reasoned response.
48/72 hours won't really make that much of a difference to your plight; after that, well...
TD
Agreed, I will give them chance to respond to my letter before going much further. Give senior management a bit of time to realise the implications first; I'm sure you'll get a more reasoned response.
48/72 hours won't really make that much of a difference to your plight; after that, well...
TD
But if the first response is not timely and favourable I will be going both barrels. As of tomorrow, I will be paying for a hire car out of my own pocket and my former P&J is sat outside not being repaired so I can't wait for months....
OK I'm turning in for the night but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has contributed with great help and information and (just about!) universal support for my case. It has certainly given me hope that a sway of public opinion might get BMW to see sense...
I will update the thread with any response I get.
I will update the thread with any response I get.
Driver101 said:
Not good to hear dealers are snooping about to find out if the car has being tracked.
Why would they have done that when they could have just stayed quiet and be paid by BMW to carry out the repair under warranty?
That is a very good question right there. The service manager actually sounded pretty smug when he told me his mechanics told him it looked like it might have been on track and then he tracked down some evidence. It sounded like the dealership had actively offered this information to BMW when presenting the warranty claim.Why would they have done that when they could have just stayed quiet and be paid by BMW to carry out the repair under warranty?
Why they would take it upon themselves to do this to a customer that has purchased 3 new cars from them in the last 7 years I will never know.
The Turbonator said:
How did it break op? Did it just go bang all of a sudden or were there any warning lights, strange noises, first?
No warning at all, thought I felt a loss of power, then it cut out completely. Ironically there were no warning lights or error messages in iDrive afterwards either. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff