[baccocafe]

Hey guys,

quick question since I have never experienced something like this

I have purchased 2012 X5 35D about 5 weeks ago,

and since day one it made strange noise from B-pillow, and it wasn't loud enough to bother me too much, however, as it gets older it start to make louder and louder

so on my 3rd week, I took my X to the dealer service center even before I have received my license plate.

and they had it for 2 weeks now by replacing seat belt to everything possibly they can,

and today, they called me said on the B-pillow the weld was not properly seated from the factory and told me they can fix it by taking it to the body shot and get it welded.

and I told them HELL NO!!! it is a brand new car that I have leased about a month ago, and it needs to be welded?

so I told them to buy it back because I don't want it, especially by taking the whole panel off to find the cause and getting it welded.

Service manager called today and said they can't do anything unless BMW NA takes it back..

but he said it still needs to be welded weather I take it or not, and I told me do what you wana do, cause either way I am not taking the car back at all...



So, at this point what should I do? what should I do if BMW NA does not buy it back/

should I hire lawyer if they won't take it?

I want your opinion.

thank you

 

[ard]

Simple questions:

1. How many days has it been in their possession?

2. What is the lemon law in WA? (How many days until you can file a claim.)

I've become somewhat knowledgeable in this.... you cannot just demand this of the dealer, it is BMWNA that does it. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE THREE PARTIES INVOLVED.

Your dealer is dancing a fine line- they cannot act on your behalf, AND they cannot overtly help you, but if they just drag their feet a bit, they can give you the trigger YOU need.

Let me know the answers above

A

 

[ard]

Edit. 30 days. Lay low until day 30. Stall. Tell them you want a BMW TEchnical Rep to meet you and go over the cause and proposed repairs. You want to know precisely what will be repainted- each panel, and what will be clearcoated. Every piece of glass and molding that will be removed- IN A WRITTEN WORK ORDER, for your review and approval,,BEFORE you meet wih BMW. Whatever you do, stall.

Then you will inform BMWNA that you want a lemon buy back. You may need to go to arbitration, but I bet BMW jsut buys it back.

Actually on day 30m you should call them and say "I am NOT filing a lemon claim, but I will give you 24 hours to confirm you will repurchase my car" and do not budge. They will ask for a week, they will stall, they will call the dealer and try and get out of it...they will offer you 10k to keep it- on top of fixing it...they will avoid a lemon at all costs.

But don't be insulted, do not get angry...they will not be helpful or nice or gracious. Just make them buy it back,, it's just bizness

 

[baccocafe]

Thanks,

It has been there about 2 weeks now, but it was second attempt.

first it was there for 1 week and they said it is fixed, as soon as I drove out, it was not fixed,

so it got back in the next day and stayed there another week.

WA lemon law is 31 days

but what really gets me is that, it can not be welded in house instead they said they have to send it to the body shop.

I hope I can stall for 30 days, but I am not sure it is continued 30days or 30days total in the shop with same cause

thank

 

[ard]

Thanks,

It has been there about 2 weeks now, but it was second attempt.

first it was there for 1 week and they said it is fixed, as soon as I drove out, it was not fixed,

so it got back in the next day and stayed there another week.

WA lemon law is 31 days

but what really gets me is that, it can not be welded in house instead they said they have to send it to the body shop.

I hope I can stall for 30 days, but I am not sure it is continued 30days or 30days total in the shop with same cause

thank

It is 30 total days..i dont think it need to be the same issue, either. But in this case it sounds like it is..

I strongly recommend that people do NOT start making 'buyback noises' too soon, the dealer might start circling wagons. Just FYI

Now focus on the body work aspect of this..BUT you should put in place a writtten letter that modifies the agreement you signed when you dropped off the car- specifically they must get written approval from you to do ANY work whatsoever, AND they must get written approval to move the car and to operate it off dealership property. Write it up, drop it off with your SA, make him inital a copy. Dont drive there with the loaner either.

If they want the loaner back, ask them to confirm the car is repaired- do all this in writing, fax them letters. (NOT EMAILS). Play this part by ear, if the SA is cool about stuff (mine let the car sit for two weeks knowing I wnated to lemon it) and he/she needs the loaner, bring it back.

If they cannot fix it, and want to subcontract it, tell them you need a complete written estimate. (Body work estimates are now standardized- every molding, panel, window, trim strip has a labor and part code...it will appear cryptic, but at the core you will see they need to open it up, weld it, pretty it up, paint, clearcoat and reassemble. (I am making an assumption on paint....)Once you get the estimate, ask- again, in writing- how they will avoid increasing the applied paint thin=ckness so a paint meter would not indicate the new car had been You will be quite surprised at how invasive and dramatic the fix needs to be, as I recall. Heck, just getting them to verify that the repairs will be done in compliance with BMW approved repair procedures ("Could I get a copy please?") so that BMWFS will be satisfied, will take two days.

etc
'etc

You can easily stall them. You will want immediate answers and will be driven to call and demand... but legally written communications are fine- force them to put it in writing. Their innate avoidance of written documents will grind this to a crawl. If they call you let it roll to voicemail, listen to it, write a note saying "I got your message saying XYZ, my response is ABC"...ABC can be an actual response, OR can be "I'll need you to put XYZ in writing".

I would not refuse to let them do it, I'd just make them jump through hoops to start- they can claim that you refused the work, and the clock shouldnt run.

Or, you can try and run at them from the get go for the buyback... I think there have been a few 'B pillar weld buybacks' reported. Might be easier than all the above:angel:

Finally, it's a lease..it isnt your car. WHo cares???

 

[BenF12400]

Hey guys,

quick question since I have never experienced something like this

I have purchased 2012 X5 35D about 5 weeks ago,

and since day one it made strange noise from B-pillow, and it wasn't loud enough to bother me too much, however, as it gets older it start to make louder and louder

so on my 3rd week, I took my X to the dealer service center even before I have received my license plate.

and they had it for 2 weeks now by replacing seat belt to everything possibly they can,

and today, they called me said on the B-pillow the weld was not properly seated from the factory and told me they can fix it by taking it to the body shot and get it welded.

and I told them HELL NO!!! it is a brand new car that I have leased about a month ago, and it needs to be welded?

so I told them to buy it back because I don't want it, especially by taking the whole panel off to find the cause and getting it welded.

Service manager called today and said they can't do anything unless BMW NA takes it back..

but he said it still needs to be welded weather I take it or not, and I told me do what you wana do, cause either way I am not taking the car back at all...

So, at this point what should I do? what should I do if BMW NA does not buy it back/

should I hire lawyer if they won't take it?

I want your opinion.

thank you

Can you describe the noise? Is it constant, only on rough roads, etc.?

 

[Billyraymallard]

Interesting problem. What's the downside on a rental? Seems to me BMW owns the car no matter what.

 

[ard]

Interesting problem. What's the downside on a rental? Seems to me BMW owns the car no matter what.

Arguably, if he was contemplating a lease end buy out, he has lost that option... (or that option is much less attractive)

If he had a replacement to lease he would theoretically preserve the option to buy a perfect, lightly used- 'known history' car at the end of that lease.

Just saying...

 

[AutoUnion]

I vaguely remember someone else here or on xoutpost had a very similar issue.

Good luck OP!