E70 Purchase Horror Story; bought a E70 from a BMW dealership without air filters!

E70Fan · #1 03-08-2012, 12:14 PM

Wow, I'm still in shock. I don't know where to begin.

I went to purchase a 2007 BMW X5 from a BMW Dealership. Took a flight and arrived this past Friday. Finally finished the paperwork and started to drive back home on a 4 hour drive. There where pretty strong winds that day with a good amount of dust. Around 10 pm at night, 3 hours into my trip, the orange check engine light comes on. I call the salesman on his cell phone and let him know. He states that as long as the light is orange, and not red, I should be fine until I get into my destination. Well, I get to my destination, and the light is still on. I wind up having to fly out of town for 2 days for an emergency for work. I get back, and the light disappears yesterday, but I still went and setup an emergency appointment with another local dealership in town. I still have another 12 hours to go on this trip to get home, and this is just a temporary destination. They find out that the purchasing dealership took out the 2 air filters. So, I was driving for at least 4 hours in a ton of sand without any air filters! I have serious concerns that the engine may be dusted. The servicing dealer recommended that I definitely keep an eye out for the check engine light again. The service advisor didn’t think any damage occurred, and that we caught it early enough (driving for only 4 hours in dusty conditions).

I called the purchasing dealer immediately. Unfortunately, the general manager had left for the day, but I was able to speak to the Service Manager. He admitted that they had taken out the 2 filters during the inspection, and threw them away. They were supposedly in the process of replacing them, but that was not communicated to sales. I then came to pickup the vehicle at that time. He seriously downplayed the possible damage to the engine. I told him that the only option was for me to return the vehicle for a refund, since this whole fiasco was there fault. He stated that since the registration was probably sent out already, then the chances of that happening are small. They are still waiting to get the VIN inspection and smog test from me, so I assume it hasn't been sent out yet. I got livid in my mind when I heard this, but I kept my cool. He eventually stated that the general manager would have to get involved, but thought the chances of return were small.

I also purchased a Fidelity extended warranty. The service manager stated that although the other dealership documented the lack of air filters in the BMW service history, the warranty company would not have access to that. I told him that regardless of that, if the engine was toast later on down the line, the inspector from the warranty company would most probably deny the repair due to dust and dirt getting past the MAF sensor. I was getting the feeling he was trying to protect himself since it was really his department who messed up. I'm just glad I didn't take it back to them. They may have covered up the mistake, and just told me that all they had to do was reset the light. Of course, that’s just speculative, and I would like to think that they would never do that.

This morning, the service manager stated that he spoke with the GM, and that they would be willing to cover any repairs for the duration of the Fidelity warranty ( 3 years, 36k miles) as a direct result of this incident if any engine repairs were denied from the Fidelity warranty. They would provide this in writing. He also recommended a oil change immediately, and an induction cleaning (never heard of that).

I am reserving final judgment until I speak to the GM, but I wanted to get opinions on how to deal with this. I'm prepared to get an attorney involved, but I would prefer not too. I’m not sure what to do. Should I take the offer, or demand a refund? My understanding is that it could be hard to get a dealership to accept a return, unless it’s a lemon. Talking to a neutral service advisor and to the purchasing service manager, if there’s a problem with the engine, it would probably occur within the first year.

Thanks for any advise. Hoping to give them an answer today.

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Price · #2 03-08-2012, 12:21 PM

On how many forums this story has been/will be copy-pasted, anyone wants to guess?

E70Fan · #3 03-08-2012, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Price

On how many forums this story has been/will be copy-pasted, anyone wants to guess?

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're insinuating. This is the first and only forum I was planning on posting this on. Would you like me to delete this thread?

Price · #4 03-08-2012, 12:57 PM

Your text look like a copy-paste from another source, and this was your first post. You haven't mentioned what were the error codes, any names, locations, and the "having to fly out of town for 2 days for an emergency for work" sounds a lot like "My wallet was stolern, could you spare a bus fare".

Anyway, in my opinion unless you went on a dune quest at some desert, not enough crap got into the engine to call it a horror story. Have you ever replaced and air filter, did you see how much was on it? Span it over 15...30 k miles, and you realize not much dust would've got in in 4 hrs.

E70Fan · #5 03-08-2012, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Price

Your text look like a copy-paste from another source, and this was your first post. You haven't mentioned what were the error codes, any names, locations, and the "having to fly out of town for 2 days for an emergency for work" sounds a lot like "My wallet was stolern, could you spare a bus fare".

Anyway, in my opinion unless you went on a dune quest at some desert, not enough crap got into the engine to call it a horror story. Have you ever replaced and air filter, did you see how much was on it? Span it over 15...30 k miles, and you realize not much dust would've got in in 4 hrs.

I hear you. I didn't want to slander any dealerships, since I'm still trying to negotiate a good resolution to the situation. So, I'm trying to refrain from mentioning names. I didn't bother asking the SA what error codes were stored, I just assumed from our conversation that it was directly attributed to the lack of air filters. I will ask. Thanks for the response.

Chillioil · #6 03-08-2012, 06:27 PM

You will be fine, but if I were you, I will get the dealer to do a free oil change as soon as possible

JCL · #7 03-09-2012, 12:25 AM

Take the oil change and the written guarantee. It isn't a big enough issue to worry about IMO

E70Fan · #8 03-09-2012, 12:44 AM

Well, the general manager gave me 2 options. The first was to allow me to return the vehicle and get my money back. The second option was to extend the Fidelity warranty I purchased another 12 months 12k miles. They refuse to give a written guarantee. They will only pay for the oil change, and also removing the air intake manifold and cleaning any dust that may be there, along with inspecting and cleaning the valves. That would be about 5 hours labor they will foot, along with replacement gaskets. Leaning toward returning the vehicle.

x5mad · #9 03-09-2012, 02:02 AM

I would return it. Plenty of cars to choose from.

ard · #10 03-09-2012, 02:56 AM

I am always amazed at how people think they can trust BMW dealerships-

They listen to the salesmen give them advice on driving, they 'talk' with service managers, other people- who just make up crap left and right. Promise you a guarantee, now the GM says no... they are scumbag used car salesmen.

They lie, they know that can just spin you around over the phone as nothing can be proven.

Odds are you paid way too much anyway.

Tell them to send a truck to pick up the car.

Lemme guess, nothing in writing from the GM at all right? They can still screw you. return it then post the VIN.

A

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