HELP!:engine went bad, Foreign Motors West are trying not to cover or help

[kglesq]

Originally Posted by DIAZ

JohnD could you please help me out by giving me the name of the owner, or how you contacted him. To my understanding the dealership was employee owned. I would like to take this approach before I try to get a lawyer involved, as if I get a lawyer it would be a clear declaration of war.

Do whatever you want, but you can only hurt yourself talking to the dealer. What you say will likely be used against you to suggest you are lying, and the dealer has already made clear that they are not interested in helping.

Further, getting an attorney is not a declaration of war, it is simply a declaration that you want it fixed and you're not kidding. Again, dealers understand one language: Money. Let them know it will cost them more to hassle with you than to fix it and they will play ball. Besides, on a CPO car this sounds like BMW's problem anyway--I can't understand why the dealer hasn't sent you to BMWNA and washed their hands of it.

[DIAZ]

Well I just spoke to the service manager and he is not willing to help me out, His deal he was offering me was only charging me $11,200. I asked for a prinout or proof of the overrev code, and se says he doesnt have it, and that this cars computer doesnt store the overrevs, which I find very hard to believe so I need to do some research. Furthermore he claimed he spoke in great detail with BMW NA about the accelerator pedal being broken, and he gave me this whole complex explanation about how the accelerator is not on a cable, so regardless of the accelerator pedal being broken it was impossible for the car to keep accelerating,m which makes no sense because the accelerator was broken, wobly and would get stuck when accelerating. So as of now Im gonna go pick up all the paperwork on my case, and Im gonna demand proof of the overrev. He told me that he didnt need proof as the only way the engine valves would bend was due to an overev. I need to do my research on all of this. Furthermore they told me that theres about $1600 worth of labor already in the car for diagnosing the fact that the engine was damaged, so I am going to ask for proof to what they did hour by hour, as that sounds way too high.

[hayaku]

the last time i did a scan of the ecu i did not remember seeing a storage area for over-rev's/top rpm reach and time at that rpm like they have in the e46m3 ecu. different models use different electronics and their features aren't the same.

the service advisor is correct that the throttle is a drive-by-wire system. its a control unit that is connected to a computer to control gas input. there is no direct cable like in old cars. however, if the pedal was functioning normally with a notchy/stuck hinge, it would still send data to computer to tell it to feed the engine gas. getting the actual pedal that malfunctioned would be a good idea. also, get the work history on them replacing it.

typical labor rates at a dealer are around ~$90 an hour. It sounds like they have about 2 days worth of work on your car so far. That could mean they removed the head and saw the bent valves... i don't know. getting the detailed work history would be a good idea also...

you may have to engage legal help to get those work order histories at this point...

[Dave@CustomAngelEyes]

Take it to BMW of Peadbody, they just put a brand new engine in my truck fully covered under CPO warranty without any issue. They have always done an amazing job with service...regardless of what service advisor you talk to...they are all great, and willing to help, not scam you for the monetary benifit of the dealership.

[DIAZ]

HOW can I find out for sure if in an 03 X5 there is an overev code thrown when there is an overev

[JohnD]

Diaz,

It sounds like Lance is giving you the same run around he gave me. To answer the question of why not go to BMWNA - because they are useless. The person who inspected my car from BMWNA was one of the rudest people I have ever met.

As I said before, you need to hit these guys where it hurts, the wallet..

The Foreign Motors West is Fred Tierney - send him letter or give him a call - he will do the right thing.

JD

[JohnD]

One other word of advise, mention to Fred that you puchased the truck there only 4K miles ago and are surprised that something like this wasn't detected during the CPO process.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by DIAZ

Well I just spoke to the service manager and he is not willing to help me out, His deal he was offering me was only charging me $11,200. I asked for a prinout or proof of the overrev code, and se says he doesnt have it, and that this cars computer doesnt store the overrevs, which I find very hard to believe so I need to do some research. Furthermore he claimed he spoke in great detail with BMW NA about the accelerator pedal being broken, and he gave me this whole complex explanation about how the accelerator is not on a cable, so regardless of the accelerator pedal being broken it was impossible for the car to keep accelerating,m which makes no sense because the accelerator was broken, wobly and would get stuck when accelerating. So as of now Im gonna go pick up all the paperwork on my case, and Im gonna demand proof of the overrev. He told me that he didnt need proof as the only way the engine valves would bend was due to an overev. I need to do my research on all of this. Furthermore they told me that theres about $1600 worth of labor already in the car for diagnosing the fact that the engine was damaged, so I am going to ask for proof to what they did hour by hour, as that sounds way too high.

Diaz; Did you get this in writting on their service report? You can proceed as you wish but all this he said she said isn't going to amount to much if it isn't in writting. Were talking $11,000.00. It's clearly a legal matter when money is involved. PLEASE GET ALL THIS IN WRITING. You lawyer will require it.

[Chris F.]

I'm really surprised to hear all of this from Foreign Motors West. We've always had a great relationship with them regarding service. It's a shame they are handling the situation this way.

I did have good luck calling BMW NA customer service, but it depends upon who you talk to. I also would consider taking it to a well known BMW mechanic in Boston. Boston has lots of great shops that handle BMWs, you are lucky in that event.

Regardless, I agree with everyone else, get a lawyer, spend the money and do what you have to do. It's not fun at all, it stinks, but unfortunately life is very good at throwing curveballs just at the wrong time...

Good luck.

Chris

[UCrewX5]

FYI, here's a used 3 liter engine on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...97064145QQrdZ1