First Service Big Unexpected Bill!!!

[JerezBlue!]

So, I'm driving down to the dealer in anticipation of my first service (and also the top-spec X5 they were lending me for 3 days - I wasn't going to wait for the service to be done) and I get a 2 inch nail stuck in my front left tyre just before I park up. It was unrepairable - I saw the tear - all the air came out of the tyre within 2 minutes.

Then I get a call from the dealer saying that my right rear brake disc had a deep half inch groove going all the way round it and the pad had been worn away. Apparently, they found a stone stuck between the pad and the disc that caused enough friction for this sort of damage. I saw the disc and pad and they both looked done.

New tyre only available from BMW. New disc. New pair of pads. Parts and labour total bill of £700!! At least the first service was free and I can now open the engine up. Although, it is of some concern that the tyre pressure warning did not engage? Apparently, it was because of an immediate flat?

[swiss_cornholio]

Originally Posted by JerezBlue!

Although, it is of some concern that the tyre pressure warning did not engage? Apparently, it was because of an immediate flat?

The pressure warning only works when driving as it doesn't measure the pressure but only the wheel speed.

[phoenixbmwlife]

Sorry to hear that. Look at the bright side, now you can step on it :d

[lvwirelessguy]

Originally Posted by swiss_cornholio

The pressure warning only works when driving as it doesn't measure the pressure but only the wheel speed.

The new system has sensors in the wheels and the pressure is measured.

The old system relied on the differences in wheel rotation

[southlight]

Originally Posted by lvwirelessguy

The new system has sensors in the wheels and the pressure is measured.

The old system relied on the differences in wheel rotation

European cars don't have the new one, so here it's still based on wheel rotation.

BTW: Does anybody have a description on the TPM?



Best regards, south

[Niro]

£700!?! Yowzers! More bills for this expensive toy...

How much is the insurance on you E92M, and with which company?
What car did you have before, and what was the insurance on that?

[JEllis]

That sucks man... a solid run of bad luck

[lvwirelessguy]

Originally Posted by southlight

European cars don't have the new one, so here it's still based on wheel rotation.

BTW: Does anybody have a description on the TPM?



Best regards, south

Thats pretty retarted of BMW , I would think it would be easier for them to adopt one system worldwide

[heyimsexy]

stone in between the pad and rotor???

if bmw's are anything like benz's you'd have trouble fitting a sheet of paper between the rotor and pad...and if it did somehow get in there, the damage described sounds fishy.

seems like you got ripped off.

[kingmonkey]

Ouch! I never trust dealers they always tell something is worn when it doesn't neccessary need replacing.
The disc maybe scored but if the stone was removed then a new set of pads maybe all you need, I don't think it would affect the braking that much.
To change the disc and pads is a straight forward job and wouldn't have taken more than an hour, so I don't know how they've charged you £700 including parts...

[heyimsexy]

a score in the rotor will cause noise and vibrations, and if deep enough can reduce the strength of the rotor and possibly crack it.

at my benz dealer we charge:
1.0 hour for front pads only (in reality takes only 10 minutes)
2.5 hours for front pads and rotors (takes 11 minutes)
5.0 hours for all pads and rotors (takes 25 minutes at most)


at $150/hour labor, youre best off buying a jack and learning to do it yourself...

[edgarj]

Originally Posted by heyimsexy

stone in between the pad and rotor???

if bmw's are anything like benz's you'd have trouble fitting a sheet of paper between the rotor and pad...and if it did somehow get in there, the damage described sounds fishy.

seems like you got ripped off.

That was my thought, exactly. Must have been a very small diamond that lodged in the gap and caused this amount of damage. I had a similar issue with one of my front rotors on my 01' M (grooved and warped, set the brake service sensor off) at 20K miles/2yr and they covered it without contention. In my experience, they usually warranty this type of highly unusual damage as it's a sort of gray area in terms of the 'normal wear and tear' clause. It's probably very subjective on the part of the SA.... he may suspect related damage due to the tire issue if they coincided on the same wheel. I'd press the SA to cover the brakes, but the tire's definitely coming out of your pocket... I'm sure they'll mention the novelty of the extra tire warranty.

As for the TPMS retrofit mentioned above: Its weird that the euro e92 M3's don't have the TPMS sensors. I always thought that it was a performance oriented safety feature which would be a must for safe autobahn speeds. I'd imagine that it would be impossible to retrofit. You could easilly add the (Beru sourced, about $300 a set) sensors to the wheels, but the car-side sensor would have to be added and the computer would have to be reprogrammed, probably with a US spec program...... and that's if the sensor input exists on the euro ecu.

[GarryF]

Personally I'd write a stern letter to BMW UK asking them to refund, hinting that this kind of bill for first service would make very bad press and question the quality of engineering on a £55k car that allows this to happen.

I got a 328ci in 2000 and it was an import from ireland, when the delivery driver dropped it off it had to sit in the garage for 2 weeks.

When I finally drove it the pads had been stuck to the disks and they were badly damaged and needed replaced, local dealer did it under warranty no questions asked.

[termigni]

sorry about your situation, but at least you got a e92m3 and now can WOT all you want.

i don't know what it is with BMW or the tires, but with my e46 m3, I get crap trapped in the wheels from time to time, making very annoying scratching sound.

I had a piece of metal trapped in there once, it sounded like someone screaming in horor on the highway.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by Niro

£700!?! Yowzers! More bills for this expensive toy...

How much is the insurance on you E92M, and with which company?
What car did you have before, and what was the insurance on that?

For M3 V8: around £1100 fully comp after 7 years NCB Insured at £58k including business driving and around 10k miles a year, no excess, free windscreen.

Previously for Audi S4: around £800 for the same deal. Oh, and the company is Bell Direct.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by heyimsexy

a score in the rotor will cause noise and vibrations, and if deep enough can reduce the strength of the rotor and possibly crack it.

at my benz dealer we charge:
1.0 hour for front pads only (in reality takes only 10 minutes)
2.5 hours for front pads and rotors (takes 11 minutes)
5.0 hours for all pads and rotors (takes 25 minutes at most)


at $150/hour labor, youre best off buying a jack and learning to do it yourself...

The problem is I'm no mechanic, I'd mess it up. I wish I'd had my camera at the time. The disc was quite damaged though and the pad was as well. Disc would have cracked eventually.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by lvwirelessguy

The new system has sensors in the wheels and the pressure is measured.

The old system relied on the differences in wheel rotation

Where did you get this information. I don't recall seeing that.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by kingmonkey

Ouch! I never trust dealers they always tell something is worn when it doesn't neccessary need replacing.
The disc maybe scored but if the stone was removed then a new set of pads maybe all you need, I don't think it would affect the braking that much.
To change the disc and pads is a straight forward job and wouldn't have taken more than an hour, so I don't know how they've charged you £700 including parts...

Tyre was £300. Labour around 1 hour. Disc and pads and VAT was the rest.

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by GarryF

Personally I'd write a stern letter to BMW UK asking them to refund, hinting that this kind of bill for first service would make very bad press and question the quality of engineering on a £55k car that allows this to happen.

Yeah, but what would I say? The puncture is a puncture and the tyre was unrepairable. As for the disc they're likely to argue wear and tear, no?

[JerezBlue!]

Originally Posted by heyimsexy

seems like you got ripped off.

Hey, although I love my car, I got ripped off when I paid £57461 for it!!!

[Voltigeur]

Originally Posted by heyimsexy

a score in the rotor will cause noise and vibrations, and if deep enough can reduce the strength of the rotor and possibly crack it.

at my benz dealer we charge:
1.0 hour for front pads only (in reality takes only 10 minutes)
2.5 hours for front pads and rotors (takes 11 minutes)
5.0 hours for all pads and rotors (takes 25 minutes at most)

First, @JB: that sucks out loud. Well, wince and get back to some fun driving fast

@heyimsexy Thanks for confirming what I had thought ... dealers know how to make money off ignorance like mine (unhandy).

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

Where did you get this information. I don't recall seeing that.

Greg, all US E92/E93, and all US E90/E91 from March '07 onward have the new in-wheel TPMS sensors.

IIRC, BMW actually prefers the wheel speed system (uses DSC sensors), but due to upcoming US regulations, they were forced to implement the other system also. In any country where it is not required, BMW will stick with the former system.