Dealer says 2018 X5 Paint Peeling Not Covered

[MikeLA]

My wife's 2018 BMW X5 40e paint is peeling on the rear-side roof panel. We bought it brand new. It has been in no accidents. There are no dents, scratches, marks where the paint is peeling. It's also bubbling to the right side of the peel, so more will come off. The dealer says they can't help cause the 12 year rust and perforation warranty doesn't cover paint on plastic, which this part is (so it won't rust). Is this true?

The car is also out of the normal 4 year warranty period.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Michael

[tfunk88]

Wow, that’s really bad. Dealer should go to bat for you with BMW to cover it under goodwill warranty. But that’s just my opinion.

[Plus1]

Paint looks swirled up. Probably damage from automatic car washes. Is it ran through those frequently?

[MikeLA]

Originally Posted by tfunk88

Wow, that’s really bad. Dealer should go to bat for you with BMW to cover it under goodwill warranty. But that’s just my opinion.

They just went to bat for me for a failed headlamp and stuck charging port door so they're hesitant to do it again... which is weird cause none of these are user error, just a failed build... car has 27,000 mi. How embarrassing for BMW.

I might go to the dealer I bought it from, it's just a little further away.

Originally Posted by Plus1

Paint looks swirled up. Probably damage from automatic car washes. Is it ran through those frequently?

Been through auto car wash maybe 5 times over last 5 years. Normally wash it myself or with a trusted mobile washer who we've used for 10+ years. Either way, from all my research it seems that when paint flakes it's usually a factory defect.

[Djhumvee]

even if a car wash somehow damaged the paint that wouldn't make it peel (adhesion failure)

[MikeLA]

Originally Posted by Djhumvee

even if a car wash somehow damaged the paint that wouldn't make it peel (adhesion failure)

Yes. That seems to be the consensus from my research.

Question I still have is does BMW 12 year rust and perforation protection really not cover this because it's a plastic part???

[jiggz]

This is terrible, sorry you have to deal with this. Completely inexcusable on a 5 year old vehicle with 27K miles.

If your local dealers won't go to bat for you, try contacting BMW North America directly, and don't take any push back or bullshit from them, this is a manufacturer defect based on everything you've shared.

[MikeLA]

Originally Posted by jiggz

This is terrible, sorry you have to deal with this. Completely inexcusable on a 5 year old vehicle with 27K miles.

If your local dealers won't go to bat for you, try contacting BMW North America directly, and don't take any push back or bullshit from them, this is a manufacturer defect based on everything you've shared.

They said they'd contact the dealer but made sure I knew that if the dealer already said "no" that they're not sure what can be done.

Another option, suggested by a friend, is to drive the car through the showroom door, toss the keys to an associate and say "keep it."

[Florida-X3]

In a semi related note ..... bought a new Malbec Black Infiniti in 2012. The car was really dirty at the dealer so they wanted to wash it before I brought it home. Knowing how filthy the rags/sponges are at dealerships car wash bays, I declined. Washed the car at home and noticed some cloudiness in area's of the paint. Car had clear coat failure (probably left the wrap on too long they are shipped with). I had to engage Infiniti of North American and not back down for a resolution, so moral of the story ... be the very squeaky wheel!

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by MikeLA

Question I still have is does BMW 12 year rust and perforation protection really not cover this because it's a plastic part???

What does it say in your warranty booklet? There should be multiple booklets in your owners manual binder…at least one of them should cover paint.

Good luck, and as suggested above…perhaps you can persuade a local BMW dealership to offer some Goodwill Warranty help.

EDIT: looks like paint is excluded from goodwill warranty.

[shimmy23]

Seems like bullshit to me and that Dealer would lose my business. Worst case, take it to a shop and have it repainted. That valance easily removes and is not a big part. I'd expect a shop to repaint it for $250-500. Not much and maybe not worth the hassle of dealing with the Dealership. Just leave them a shitty review and move on?

[Plus1]

Originally Posted by shimmy23

Seems like bullshit to me and that Dealer would lose my business. Worst case, take it to a shop and have it repainted. That valance easily removes and is not a big part. I'd expect a shop to repaint it for $250-500. Not much and maybe not worth the hassle of dealing with the Dealership. Just leave them a shitty review and move on?

Didn't realize it was that little top piece on the back. Yeah $200 should get that resprayed I'd think.

[Djhumvee]

I actually have one peeling now, think it might be the same color too. I bought a spare rear spoiler for a project I'm working on, this afternoon while I was sanding it the paint lifted like yours, I was able to take compressed air and remove almost all of it.

[suitedcboy]

Don't get mad. Use the same voice you'd use to shame your Shih Tsu that just crapped in the kitchen floor. Tell them that your only contribution to the problem with this 5 year old vehicle shedding its paint is deciding that a BMW was a vehicle that you should own over one from a competitor, doing that would have saved me from this experience. Ask if records show it had shipping damage and had roof repainted? " I see others have had this problem on their X5 models. Has BMW acknowledged a problem with paint application at the South Carolina Factory?"
BMW makes a LOT of profit on these vehicles and really wants you to buy many more.

[heifetz17]

For the record the perforation warranty covers rust damage to metal panels. Paint adhesion would fall under the basic warranty on a new vehicle, and sometimes is only covered 12/12k.

BMW would have to have a lot of reports to consider extending a paint warranty (see Toyota white). A few isolated cases out of tens of thousands of units produced will not get any attention.

[MikeLA]

It's complicated, cause the same dealer really helped me out with an out of warranty headlight + charging door error (I have the hybrid X5) and saved me $4k. Now granted, those things shouldn't have broken on a 4.5yr old car. Anyways, I'm currently talking to BMW iConcierge for goodwill on the paint. A highly reviewed body shop is asking $580 with lifetime warranty. I'm sure I could find one cheaper, I'm just over it. If BMW doesn't goodwill it, I'll go with that body shop. And I'm sure I'll lease another BMW in the future. I just probably won't buy one.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by MikeLA

It's complicated, cause the same dealer really helped me out with an out of warranty headlight + charging door error (I have the hybrid X5) and saved me $4k. Now granted, those things shouldn't have broken on a 4.5yr old car. Anyways, I'm currently talking to BMW iConcierge for goodwill on the paint. A highly reviewed body shop is asking $580 with lifetime warranty. I'm sure I could find one cheaper, I'm just over it. If BMW doesn't goodwill it, I'll go with that body shop. And I'm sure I'll lease another BMW in the future. I just probably won't buy one.

You will be rewarding BMW because of this since leasing is much more profitable to BMW than selling - in most cases.

However, $580 seems OK IMHO.

[Djhumvee]

Originally Posted by FCX5

You will be rewarding BMW because of this since leasing is much more profitable to BMW than selling - in most cases.

However, $580 seems OK IMHO.

Id say $580 is a deal honestly. The spoiler needs to be removed, all the paint/primer needs to be removed.

[P1]

Any other panels showing signs of paint adhesion failure?

[n713z]

Originally Posted by MikeLA

A highly reviewed body shop is asking $580 with lifetime warranty. I'm sure I could find one cheaper, I'm just over it.

Would you mind sharing the name of the body shop? (SoCal?) Sounds like a reasonable quote.

My '15 front bumper paint is peeling in a manner similar to yours. Two big-name body shops claim it's been previously repainted (it hasn't) and want $2k for the job ("just go through insurance, wink wink" the usual scumbags). Doubt I'll pay 20% of the vehicle's residual value for a bit of eye candy, but I'd pay a fair price for a decent enough job.