Problem with Service Advisor and his comments about Non-Working A/C & Motor Tic

[ski_rush]

I called my service adviser today to discuss the issues I'm having with my Z since bringing it out of storage yesterday. Here's what he said:

Issue 1
The A/C and Heater do not work. I checked the fuses and they seem fine. He said that it's normal since the battery died during storage. He said he would need to reset the computer and that it's not covered under my CPO warranty. He said he would have to charge me for it.

Issue 2
N52 motor knock. Again, he said it's normal especially since it came out of storage. I told him that I drove it for about 30 minutes and the sounds is less, but still there. He said they would likely not do anything about it.

What shall I do?


thanks,

[Gary07110]

Either go over the a**holes head or go to another dealership for service. I had an issue once and wasn't satisfied with the answer I got so I took it to another and they worked quickly to solve it and covered it 100%. They're not all worthless.

[ski_rush]

Originally Posted by Gary07110

Either go over the a**holes head or go to another dealership for service. I had an issue once and wasn't satisfied with the answer I got so I took it to another and they worked quickly to solve it and covered it 100%. They're not all worthless.

It's gets worse. I just called the original dealership where I bought the car and he said they won't help me either since the battery died over the winter. He said it's going to be 2-3 hours of a labor charge for resetting the computer!

this all seems pretty f*ed up to me.

[Finnegan]

The car has gone into "transport mode" because the battery died. It's 30 minutes labor to fix it. They are correct, it would not be covered under warranty. (Get a CTEK next year and use it less than the cost/hassle of programming). A really good dealership might just deal with it under goodwill, but those are rare birds.

I would have a good indie shop take it out of storage mode. Have them clear the battery fault and shadow fault or anything else that would tip off a dealer you'd stored the car or the battery had died. You need to eliminate the "storage" excuse potential. While they're at it, and since they're programming anyway, have them set up things like triple flash single, lock on 5MPH, window up down, etc. Might as well do those since you're paying for it. See this thread, posts 11 and 12, for details.

Then, I'd find another dealership and bring it in for the lifter issue. Not the original dealership, clearly they're a bunch of crooks (3 hours labor = stealership). Do not mention storage. Do not give them an excuse to say it's related to that. Just say there's a noise, sounds like a lifter, do your homework and have the SIB and etc. in hand, and have it fixed under warranty.

[Pheonix]

what Finnegan said +1. By the way, i asked my local dealer to program those things (when my car was in the shop for warranty services) and they told me my 2007 Z4MC does not come with those options. They actually wrote it in the service report. Needless to say, that was the last time I brought my car there.
Good luck with the situation! Also, don't forget to use online review websites such as Yelp and write your reviews. You will be surprised how fast they will try to contact you to "correct" the problem. Use the power of the internet and let others know how they treat their customers

[ski_rush]

And the situation continues to worsen by the minute. I call my original dealer. He said that he will help me out but it's going to cost a minimum of the CPO warranty deductible for the service. I then called BMW USA to find out how much that is. They said it's up to the dealership because each one is independent and they can charge whatever they want for the CPO deductible. Again this all seems really really f*ed up to me. All this for job on the computer that will take them a few minutes to clear. I'm hating BMW right now and the CPO warranty is as worthless as a bag of sh*t

[Huz-Z]

This is just amazing. If BMW is trying to get customers to buy a competing manufacturer's car, this is a good way to do it.

Re programming, I know this is way out of your way, but I think the BMW dealer up in Maine will do programming for a great low price. I spoke to them last August about doing some programming for a friend of mine so he could import his car to Canada. I think that was Bill Dodge BMW

[Finnegan]

As for the warranty, what the dealership, BMWNA, or anyone else has to "say" doesn't matter one bit. What do the terms of the CPO warranty language itself say?

For coding one option is to find a forum member who could help you out. I have such a tool that could do it, but I'm no help as I'm on the west coast.

Worst case, it's like 50-60 bucks to have an indie code it, which may be less than the deductible. Plus, you really want them to clear the whole thing out before addressing the main issue here, which is the lifter. I wouldn't want the BMW system to know the car was in storage (an easy conclusion to draw given time of year and dead battery/transport mode).

Since the dealerships in your area seem to excel at finding BS "reasons" to not look at things, I wouldn't want to risk having the hassle with a potential lifter issue that would cost a hell of a lot more than 50 bucks to fix.

As for coding, you can buy a head unit for about 20 dollars on Ebay. If you're good with a computer you can set up the software to code it yourself going forward. It's great for reading codes and etc. as well. If you plan to work on the car yourself, or just want a leg up on the dealer, it's great to have around. I've used it to change the flasher intervals, speed the cars locks at, DRLs, cleared codes, etc. Kind of like having a wrench in many ways.

[Huz-Z]

Finnegan has an excellent point about referring to the printed contract for your CPO warranty. I would expect that it should clearly state the precise dollar amount of any deductible.

And I don't know about your local weather, but if its anything like mine, the fact that Finnegan is out in California is not much of a deterent to me thinking about driving out there for a visit to borrow his programmming doodad!

[chickdr]

I have never heard the comment a dealer can charge whatever deductible they want. There has to be a set amount. Four our Q7's CPO it is $85/visit.

[ski_rush]

Originally Posted by chickdr

I have never heard the comment a dealer can charge whatever deductible they want. There has to be a set amount. Four our Q7's CPO it is $85/visit.

I called BMW USA directly and spoke with a customer service agent and that's what he said. Each dealer can charge whatever they want for the deductible. Obviously this makes no sense, but it infuriates me that I'm getting the total run around for this "premium" car. I have a 2004 Malibu with 180k miles on it and never ever had any issue with it.

[Z4MLover2012]

When I had my 2007 3.0Si with CPO, the deductible was $50 per occurence through BMW, no matter which dealer I took it to for service. I had work done at a few dealers and that is what they charged me.

[v3.2mc]

CPO deductible here in des moines is $50. i consider that to be fair.

[chickdr]

It sounds to me like the deductible is $50. That is the most I would pay or I would find another dealer. Have you actually asked YOUR dealer how much the CPO deductible is?

[Finnegan]

You guys are correct, the deductible is 50 bucks. I found the terms are on the BMW website, specifics are here.

The rest of details, including coverage, and exclusions can be found there as well.

To Ski_Rush and and Huz-Z's point about BMW customer service, it looks like they have some work to do. A simple question about the deductible for a CPO should be answered correctly consistently. That said, as a consumer, it seems the best policy for us is to refer to the contract itself and not trust what folks say.

[wonton180]

Originally Posted by ski_rush

And the situation continues to worsen by the minute. I call my original dealer. He said that he will help me out but it's going to cost a minimum of the CPO warranty deductible for the service. I then called BMW USA to find out how much that is. They said it's up to the dealership because each one is independent and they can charge whatever they want for the CPO deductible. Again this all seems really really f*ed up to me. All this for job on the computer that will take them a few minutes to clear. I'm hating BMW right now and the CPO warranty is as worthless as a bag of sh*t

The stealership is jerking you around. BMW of the Mainline? Why waste your time with them? if you are in the philly area, look up Bavarian. Mike will treat you right and probably tell you the reprogramming cost over the phone.

http://www.bavarianspecialties.com/home.shtml

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by wonton180

The stealership is jerking you around. BMW of the Mainline? Why waste your time with them? if you are in the philly area, look up Bavarian. Mike will treat you right and probably tell you the reprogramming cost over the phone.

http://www.bavarianspecialties.com/home.shtml

^ Recommendations of decent dealers and good SAs are invaluable. Good stuff.

[ski_rush]

The end of the story is the tic sound seems to have gone away. They said that they wouldn't do anything about it since "it's normal".

As for the AC. They fixed it under the CPO warranty. Said it needed some part, like a transistor or something. I only paid $50 for the CPO warranty deductible. Not sure why BMW USA said the deductible is variable. I don't believe it is. AC/Heater work fine now.

thanks to all who replied.

[rsutoratosu]

did they list the part on receipt, i like to know what that "part" is..

[kklin]

Originally Posted by wonton180

The stealership is jerking you around. BMW of the Mainline? Why waste your time with them? if you are in the philly area, look up Bavarian. Mike will treat you right and probably tell you the reprogramming cost over the phone.

http://www.bavarianspecialties.com/home.shtml

Another shop in the western Philadelphia suburbs is BimmerWorks where I get most of my BMW work done.

Another tip is - if you know of a good tech at the dealership, ask that he work on your car. I used to ask for Steve before he left the dealership and opened BimmerWorks.