Dealer Blows my 4.8is engine!

[Bnagy4.8]

Update: The engine was two days delayed from leaving Germany due to all the computers crashing which also delayed all back order shipments etc. I Haven't herd yet whether or not it has arrived but I did ask them what type of engine they purchased (short block, long block) and the service manager said it is a complete engine replacement ready to drop in. They are putting a 2 year unlimited mile warranty on the engine which is nice. As of yet I am still just waiting for the news for which it is ready for me to pick up!

They contacted me and asked if there was any other work that I would like them to do while it was in there. So why not, I asked them about a couple of jobs (replace my rear air bags and compressor with parts that I will supply) and of course they quoted me $800 for the work which was 6 hours @ $125/hr + tax, better yet, they aren't giving me any kind of break on the work but he said he might be able to work with me on the cost. LMAO! Give me my truck back!!!

[Bnagy4.8]

Update: So I guess the engine was 2 days delayed leaving Germany due to the computers crashing at the facility in Germany (so any one who was waiting on parts that were back ordered etc. they will be late too). Not a big deal though.. still waiting. the engine should have gone through customs and should be at the dealer or almost to the dealership by now.

I spoke with the service manager and asked him was part of the engine i was receiving (long block, short block as shown on real oem) as a request by a few users on here, and his reply was that i'm receiving a brand new replacement engine. The engine is complete and ready to drop in, 0 miles-0 hours. 2 year warranty unlimited mile warranty. no complaints there.

After the conversation he asked me if there was any more work that I would like them to do while it is in there. So of-course I asked him if they could replace my rear air bags and compressor (with parts i have ordered from home). So he gives me a quote of $800+ for 6 hours of labor at $125/hr. REALLY?!! after all the shit they still arent going to try and make good on there screw up. So I was able to talk him down to 85.95/hr based on an advertised coupon a few months back (while my truck was waiting in there shop) that will still be 600+. what blows my mind is that i paid $390 to have my 2 front air struts replaced (just the bags) at a independent shop. Stealership defined!

Any ways I told him if they make it $500 then they have a deal, we will see if they buy it. In the mean time i cant wait to update all on my new and improved engine.

Also thank you for every ones input on oil changes I completely agree with all the comments made 15k miles per oil change is a ticking time bomb, im a believer of 7000-8000 miles per oil change on fully syn.

Ill keep every one up to date though.

[Bnagy4.8]

Update 7/09/13:

So as if nothing more could go wrong in this nightmare, the drama continues. After speaking to the service manager last week to get an update on the engine that should have shipped last month on the 17th along with the issue with BMW and the customs of in Germany preventing items from entering the USA I thought the engine should have arrived by now, but I was wrong.

Today I called my service manager to find out that he has taken on another job within the company and a new service manager has taken his place. He was however up to speed on the issue but I don't think anything tops living it. I spoke to him about bringing in my suspension part (which was discussed with the previous manager) to have them installed while my truck was in the shop. He agreed and told me to bring them in and he would "take care of it" (at the agreed price of $500? not sure.) I told him I would bring them in on Wednesday but I paid a visit to them a day early since I was in the area and the first thing I noticed was that my car was no longer in the shop. After I spoke with the service manager (who looks like David Cross in a way) who seems to be very apologetic toward my situation I asked him where my car was. He then asked a service tech and the tech pointed to the end of the garage (outside).

After walking through the shop which had about 7 bays open I see me truck out side next to the wall of the garage. Now the first thing I notice was my flat tire on the right front tire, rim on the ground (that one stewed with me for a while) he will be looking into my tires and rims when the service manager gets back from vacation. The tech hooks it up to the battery charger to unlock my doors (because my battery is unhooked) he pops the hood and with out the engine, daymnm, that engine bay is HUGE!!

Now the estimated time of wait isn't till the end of July sometime. Bare-in-mind my truck has been in the shop since 4/2/2013 so that will make 4 months. The service manager did say that I "will be getting all kinds of goodies" and I "will come out of this smelling rosey". I will let all of you decide on that.

[Doru]

Well, I guess: "Patience is a virtue" and honestly, I would have lost it a looong, loooong time ago.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by Bnagy4.8

Update 7/09/13:

So as if nothing more could go wrong in this nightmare, the drama continues. After speaking to the service manager last week to get an update on the engine that should have shipped last month on the 17th along with the issue with BMW and the customs of in Germany preventing items from entering the USA I thought the engine should have arrived by now, but I was wrong.

Today I called my service manager to find out that he has taken on another job within the company and a new service manager has taken his place. He was however up to speed on the issue but I don't think anything tops living it. I spoke to him about bringing in my suspension part (which was discussed with the previous manager) to have them installed while my truck was in the shop. He agreed and told me to bring them in and he would "take care of it" (at the agreed price of $500? not sure.) I told him I would bring them in on Wednesday but I paid a visit to them a day early since I was in the area and the first thing I noticed was that my car was no longer in the shop. After I spoke with the service manager (who looks like David Cross in a way) who seems to be very apologetic toward my situation I asked him where my car was. He then asked a service tech and the tech pointed to the end of the garage (outside).

After walking through the shop which had about 7 bays open I see me truck out side next to the wall of the garage. Now the first thing I notice was my flat tire on the right front tire, rim on the ground (that one stewed with me for a while) he will be looking into my tires and rims when the service manager gets back from vacation. The tech hooks it up to the battery charger to unlock my doors (because my battery is unhooked) he pops the hood and with out the engine, daymnm, that engine bay is HUGE!!

Now the estimated time of wait isn't till the end of July sometime. Bare-in-mind my truck has been in the shop since 4/2/2013 so that will make 4 months. The service manager did say that I "will be getting all kinds of goodies" and I "will come out of this smelling rosey". I will let all of you decide on that.

Grrrrrrrr on the front rims, they better get the mobile wheel guy to refinish all rims to like new condition! Did you have a flat when you went into the shop??


Also, if the only other job is to have them replace your rear bags and compressor while its out of service, and their best offer is to replace them at 500 bucks, save your money. I replaced my compressor in my garage in an hour with no more than a few metric sockets and a flat head screwdriver, and that included taking the spare tire out and putting everything back together.

As for the rear airbags? No more than an hour for both, the most amount of time is taking the panels off the spare tire trunk area so you can loosen the banjo bolt on the air reservoirs to bleed off the air. After that's done, its one clip on the bottom of the bag, and clipped up top. Literally if you pay for these things to be replaced I think its a ripoff, for the ease and for all your troubles, I would expect them to replace them for free.


Good luck on the engine, you are a more patient man than I am (I'd at least be asking for covered parking in the meantime while I wait, can't they park it indoors in the corner of the sop at least? Your Black sapphire gets dusty, rained on, birds crapping on it, etc just sitting outside, would drive me crazy!) Mine is garage kept though, not sure if yours is used to being outside.

[BigBlack48is]

I would shoot for a brand new battery also.... they obviously killed yours!

[TerminatorX5]

Also, bear in mind that parking a car for 4 months is not the same as driving the same car for 4 months - when the car is parked, it develops flat spots on the tires, the hoses start to dry rot along with the tires that are not flexed, many other problems may occur.. I had my car parked for a couple of years and even the paint started to peel... it happened to the E39...

[TwinTurboGTR]

Well atleast it is moving in a forward progression But I concur with the others... you have WAYYYYY more patience than most of us on the board. While it is nice to get a brand spankin new Motor in the beast... the run around is completely ridiculous.

Its not uncommon for the dealer to leave your car outside. Its not making them any money and every square foot of the shop costs the dealer money. Even thought there are empty bays... it cost less money to set a car in the bay right away than to have to move your car then put in another car that needs work done now. I mean if it was me... I would have set the car in the bay, on the lift and just left it.

I don't know how accurate I am on the price but I believe a new motor is North of 30K, right? The dealer is hemorrhaging cash on your job and them asking you to pay shop rate to install bags... just their way to recoup costs. I guess in the regular world if anyone else walked in and said, "I got the parts, you drop em in." I'm sure the dealer would say no because the parts weren't purchased by them. Perfect world... they should drop em in for free.

I hope when they drop the motor in, they will be replacing all the hoses in the bay. You know when the tech pulled the motor... probably had some aggression and just started yanking and pulling at things. Hopefully when you get it back... You dont see a slew of scratches on the panels from the tech rubbing against it. Before I started wrenching on cars and had no choice but to take it in... it always came out with scratches that left you scratching your head, "How the $*%& did that happen?"

Praying for ya!

[AquilaBMW]

I'm not one to shout "Law Suit" at anything, but in your case I would be seriously considering it. I have known of two cases similar to yours that ended in complete replacement of the cars.

This Dealer sadly seems to be taking your patience for granted. While they may appear to be doing what they can to rectify this issue, there are more things they should be doing or taking into consideration when dealing with you.

I would at least be in touch with BMW NA about this if you haven't contacted them already. In the cases I mentioned, BMW NA took the reins of the issue for the customer and brought about an expedient resolution.

Flat tires, dead batteries, what next? They should install those parts for you for free at this point. Did they provide you a loaner of equal status while you are dealing with this? Not sure if you mentioned one yet.

Good luck with this and I applaud your patience. I can say I would not have been this patient.

[bcredliner]

If this had happened to me, I would have gone ballistic when they blew my engine. If I calmed down enough to hear their original plan I would have called BMWUSA that same day. If somehow I managed to get to where you are now and I saw my X5 sitting outside with a flat tire, regardless if it wasn't garage at home, if there is something beyond ballistic that would be me. If you can garage your X it would be on a flatbed today, headed to my house or immediately in a safe indoor place at the dealer, no exception. If you are not comfortable demanding what is only reasonable than call your attorney now and have him deal with the dealer and BMWUSA. This is absolutely ridiculous and shameful treatment of a customer. It is way past time that you give them an ultimatum, a drop dead date, after which you will file suit against the dealer and BMWUSA if you don't have your X back in a condition that meets you approval. In the meantime, you will be dealing with my attorney. I will no longer accept you lack of consideration and urgency. If you don't think or want your attorney to take it over you should still give them a drop dead date.

I'm not sure it/what they gave you to drive but if it is compromising to you I would immediately demand what you feel is acceptable to you. They can make a set up a new demo for you to drive easily enough.

I have dealt with product coming from overseas for many years and very seldom had significant delays due to customs.

I can't believe they don't have the capability to get the engine through customs in a timely fashion they must deal with customs on a daily basis.

If they can't change the oil without blowing your engine it is not likely they could figure out how to fit a 2014 5.0 but at least that could be shipped from the US plant. May not sound as good but that would be lots of goodies.