Problems. Poll: Keep or sell?

[1MEAN4.8IS]

i personally have encountered jb weld on a vehicle that had an aluminum head bolt pop, someone decided jb weld might conceal it.. well that cant conceal oil that has gone into the coolant!! lol anyway i at this point if you go through all the trouble to fix it do it right make sure it is in tip top shape and keep it! just because of the sheer fact that you know what kind of shape it is in.

[biomimetic]

1Mean - Did the head hold up or did it need to be replaced? With the over-drilling I don't know if this one is salvageable. I expect to get the money back in small claims and the process is forcing me to dig deep - an extra 8 grand on a car over 4 months is ridiculous. I can handle it, but if it keeps nickle and diming me afterwards... I dunno.

The car seemed solid actually and even a deeper inspection after purchase didn't reveal any of these things until the valve cover popped again under my ownership - I don't know how they even got it back on there - maybe one guy holding it down while the another torqued it in. Which does not sound like one bad apple at the dealership who knew he had screwed up breaking a bolt and tap in the head and tried to hide it.

[bcredliner]

Sounds like a real Debbie Downer that will be very difficult to get the verdict you would like.

The dealer could easily believe or take the position that could never happen at my dealership and hang their hat on what someone else could have done in the 11 months since purchase.

On the positive side, I think if you hang in there you will get at least some consideration.

[Bmwtvboy]

Have you filed formal complaints with the Attorney Generals office in CA? Have you posted on the Santa Rosa BBB website and filed a complaint? You don't explain mileage or warranty issue with the dealer upon purchase? Who changed the water pump? When did the X show smog codes? Remember you can post on various website about this dealership. As for BMW NA I had very positive results with my x5 3.0 days after Carmax purchase and I discovered torn boot. BMW Nashville claimed it was under warranty and changed it free of charge. Perhaps a 3.0 would have been a better choice, have you discussed exchanging the X for a different X at the dealer? If all else with the car is solid and you can afford a rebuilt head (BMW Recycle-Sacramento area) keep it and plan on the expense at a later date. If not dump it. BTW, when did you discover the warped head?

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by Bmwtvboy

Have you filed formal complaints with the Attorney Generals office in CA? Have you posted on the Santa Rosa BBB website and filed a complaint? You don't explain mileage or warranty issue with the dealer upon purchase? Who changed the water pump? When did the X show smog codes? Remember you can post on various website about this dealership. As for BMW NA I had very positive results with my x5 3.0 days after Carmax purchase and I discovered torn boot. BMW Nashville claimed it was under warranty and changed it free of charge. Perhaps a 3.0 would have been a better choice, have you discussed exchanging the X for a different X at the dealer? If all else with the car is solid and you can afford a rebuilt head (BMW Recycle-Sacramento area) keep it and plan on the expense at a later date. If not dump it. BTW, when did you discover the warped head?

I don't see how the damage described could be covered under any warranty as it was caused by improper work. With that said I'm not clear on who is alleged to have performed this work. Is it the assertion it was the dealer or someone else?

[biomimetic]

It was a 1 owner car trade in - I am the second owner. With a carfax of 84/81. It appears the X5 was traded in when the waterpump failed and was replaced at that time. It did not show up on a list I requested of work performed on the vehicle - but it was the carfax listing not the internal BMW dealer listing of work however. Which makes it hard to explain why the car has the wrong anitfreeze in it - red not BMW blue - the dealer deciding to save all of $12. on fluids to make sure I knew they did a crappy job. Or why there is antifreeze residue all over the inside of the engine bay. Which leaves it as done under the dealer's time with the title - it is not possible that give how warped the valve cover was that the car had performed for any length of time before trade-in (unfortunately, this is my opinion, not something empirical). I am trying to get ahold of INPA software which should have time/date stamps and have logged the overheating which should finger whoever is responsible on the timeline. More irritatingly, as I said, the head is not warped: it is damaged at the bolt flange beyond normal helicoil type repair. Probably a bolt pulled out when the valve cover warped - plastic garbage. The Z4 had an actual metal valve cover at least. I am a little afraid I am going to find helicoils in the lower engine when I remove the head and that at least one of the heads had to be replaced. I'm in the process of filing legal complaints, yes, and will be posting this over on bimmerforums and BMW CCA as well.

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by biomimetic

It was a 1 owner car trade in - I am the second owner. With a carfax of 84/81. It appears the X5 was traded in when the waterpump failed and was replaced at that time. It did not show up on a list I requested of work performed on the vehicle - but it was the carfax listing not the internal BMW dealer listing of work however. Which makes it hard to explain why the car has the wrong anitfreeze in it - red not BMW blue - the dealer deciding to save all of $12. on fluids to make sure I knew they did a crappy job. Or why there is antifreeze residue all over the inside of the engine bay. Which leaves it as done under the dealer's time with the title - it is not possible that give how warped the valve cover was that the car had performed for any length of time before trade-in (unfortunately, this is my opinion, not something empirical). I am trying to get ahold of INPA software which should have time/date stamps and have logged the overheating which should finger whoever is responsible on the timeline. More irritatingly, as I said, the head is not warped: it is damaged at the bolt flange beyond normal helicoil type repair. Probably a bolt pulled out when the valve cover warped - plastic garbage. The Z4 had an actual metal valve cover at least. I am a little afraid I am going to find helicoils in the lower engine when I remove the head and that at least one of the heads had to be replaced. I'm in the process of filing legal complaints, yes, and will be posting this over on bimmerforums and BMW CCA as well.

I wish you the best with this. You have a very good reason to be upset with this situation.