E46 Has the shakes at highway speeds

[seadzz]

Picked up a CPO 325Ci a few weeks ago and have noticed at 65 MPH the car gets the shakes. You can feel it both in the steering wheel and throughout the entire car. Shakes so bad the rear view mirror is useless.

I brought the car back to the $tealer and had them balance the wheels. Shakes still there.

A few details:

Car has new brakes and rotors

New Tires all around, alignment OK balance OK

Car has 42000 miles on it

If I travel below 65 no problem

Above 80 MPH problem goes away more or less

Any advice would be helpful so when I visit the dealer I can sound semi educated and hopefully get them to resolve the problem. I am getting tired of being treated like a poor step child by this dealers service department for buying a CPO and not buying new.

Bigger question is why doen't the $tealer find these problems when they do the CPO thing?

I would think ball joints, tie rods and the like would not be the cause at such low mileage...your thoughts?

Thanks folks.

sdz

[The HACK]

I would think ball joints, tie rods and the like would not be the cause at such low mileage...your thoughts?


You thought wrong. BMW designed their lower control arms, ball-joints, control arm bushings, and tie-rods to bend and break instead of causing structural damage. If the previous owner had ran over a large pothole, it could easily have damaged any of those components to create a problem with high speed stability.

Since the car is CPO'ed, why not take it to another dealership and describe the symptoms, and tell them the wheels and tires have been checked and re-balanced and you suspect damage in the suspension assembly?

Have them check the alignment while they're at it.

[Artslinger]

Possible causes... bent rim(s), bad control arm bushing(s), defective tire(s), out of balance tire(s).

Take the car back and don't give up untill they fix the problem the car is a CPO and should have been delevered to you with out any vibration problem. The only thing that could go against you is if they try and pin a bent rim on you being careless.

[seadzz]

Thanks for the input. I will get on these guys and have them make good on the CPO.

The dealership I purchased the car from has a real problem turning their nose up on folks that purchase CPO's from what I can tell. Make you feel like 2nd class citizens. I feel had I gone with a new car or even a lease these guys would be treating me better.

Paid cash for the dam car as a gift for the Mrs and you would think these jokers would treat you the same as a finance deal. Really torqued.

sdz

[Artslinger]

Why would the dealer look down on you for buying a CPO?
They probably make more profit off a CPO than a new car.

There are good and bad BMW dealers, sounds like you need to find a new one that has better customer service.

[seadzz]

Problem Solved-

Dealer balanced all four wheels a third time and they managed to get the vibration out of the car.

Based on the witness markes left by the old weights tech had to move the new weights 25-40 degrees to get the wheels to run true. Shows me that some techs are better than others and perhaps dealers are only willing to put the absolute minimum time and money into CPOing cars.

I would be willing to bet the car had never been test driven prior to being put on the "for sale" lot.

Anyway, thanks for the tips folks.

sdz

[Bonezilla]

Are BMW rims notorious for bending or breaking more easily than any other manufacturer? My wife told me her friends 325Xi had three rims replaced on her car.

[Gary@Tirerack]

No, but many BMW cars use lower profile tires which leave less protection for the wheel from pothole damage. I'd also guess that more BMW owners choose sport package options that include the larger wheels/lower profile tires more often than buyers of other makes of cars.