[xenon]

I'm indebted to my learned friend.

[pjs]

Latest update, got reply from court yesterday to the effect that bmw are defending all the claim. They now have 28 days to lodge the defence which I'm sure will make interresting reading - no doubt it'll be full of technical babble to sway a judge in their favour.

I should then have an opportunity to reply to the defense, before it goes before a beak

Dont think I'll be getting an Xmas card from BMW this year..

[E92 LeMans]

Do you think that if you had sworn statements from other people on here that there wheels are faulty to so cant get out of it by saying pot holes or kerbing?

Just a idea

It is shame because I was going to buy some of there wheel maybe I wont now.

I wish you luck.

[Exotica]

Good luck, they will aways defend to the last minute hoping you will pull out.

I have used the scc before with an issue with comet. We both had our day in court and they were forced to pay up.

[AlanQS]

I suspect that BMW will have to defend the claim. Although no legal precedence is set, a win by you will spread like wildfire and everyone suffering the same problems on this forum will be encouraged to do the same thing plus anyone else who has heard of it - and that will include chancers.

Have you been to small claims court before? BMW will have their lawyers there and, if it's the same as in Scotland, you get to make a statement but you don't get to add things you forgot about later and you may not get the chance to rebut anything they say.

Anything BMW or their agent has put in writing which is stupid - like blaming the roads, have it with you and refer to it. Without identifying whose car it was, I would try to slip in the MIRA report - without saying it was "provisional" because it suggests that there is the potential for a manufacturing fault and I would definitely refer to the other people on the forum with the same problem to show that you are not an isolated paranoid person. - again no names unless you have permission.

Has anyone established if the defective wheels were all manufactured by the same company at similar times? You need facts to take with you, the judge will not be impressed by hearsay and "I think".

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

I suspect that BMW will have to defend the claim. Although no legal precedence is set, a win by you will spread like wildfire and everyone suffering the same problems on this forum will be encouraged to do the same thing plus anyone else who has heard of it - and that will include chancers.

Have you been to small claims court before? BMW will have their lawyers there and, if it's the same as in Scotland, you get to make a statement but you don't get to add things you forgot about later and you may not get the chance to rebut anything they say.

Anything BMW or their agent has put in writing which is stupid - like blaming the roads, have it with you and refer to it. Without identifying whose car it was, I would try to slip in the MIRA report - without saying it was "provisional" because it suggests that there is the potential for a manufacturing fault and I would definitely refer to the other people on the forum with the same problem to show that you are not an isolated paranoid person. - again no names unless you have permission.

Has anyone established if the defective wheels were all manufactured by the same company at similar times? You need facts to take with you, the judge will not be impressed by hearsay and "I think".

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.

Good points, would be interesting to hear when these damaged alloys were manufactured. Would be pretty easy to find out from those on here.

[xenon]

I would even print of this and the other threads as evidence that it is not an isolated problem.

[big pimp]

i still have my 2 cracked rims at home also...... but i had to pay for my new wheels and tyres - albeit at a discount also.....

BMW know they are wrong on this - surely it's more than mere coincidence that it has happened to so many of us?

pisses me off so much.

a friend told me her brakes were squeaking - turns out her discs were cracked!!!

WTF is up with these new E92s?

[pjs]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

I suspect that BMW will have to defend the claim. Although no legal precedence is set, a win by you will spread like wildfire and everyone suffering the same problems on this forum will be encouraged to do the same thing plus anyone else who has heard of it - and that will include chancers.

Have you been to small claims court before? BMW will have their lawyers there and, if it's the same as in Scotland, you get to make a statement but you don't get to add things you forgot about later and you may not get the chance to rebut anything they say.

Anything BMW or their agent has put in writing which is stupid - like blaming the roads, have it with you and refer to it. Without identifying whose car it was, I would try to slip in the MIRA report - without saying it was "provisional" because it suggests that there is the potential for a manufacturing fault and I would definitely refer to the other people on the forum with the same problem to show that you are not an isolated paranoid person. - again no names unless you have permission.

Has anyone established if the defective wheels were all manufactured by the same company at similar times? You need facts to take with you, the judge will not be impressed by hearsay and "I think".

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs.

Thanks for the advice, and to all other posters also.

The next action is for BMW to file a defense, they have 28 days, and I get a copy. [The beauty of this route is that each side is responsible for their own legal fees so it's going to cost them a lot more than me]. When they do file it, I have chance to formally reply before it even goes to court. If it goes that far, I have to convince a judge on 'on balance of probabilty' - and it'll be here are the facts Mr Judge, what do [I]you[I] think?. If I lose, so be it, but rather I have a go for the sake of my £60 to moneyclaim

Likey there will be a few twist and turns, for example either party can ask for a hearing at their local court (at the moment it is listed at Northampton Court as all claims are initially) and may or may not get it granted

If it does go to court, I will have done every bit of prep possible, could even take the wheels along. The company I work for regularly takes numerous poor payers to task via this methods so I have plenty of advice on hand, oh, and good legal advice for free from my companies lawyers. I'll try and find out if other people experiances will help.

If I dont post for more than a week, assume I've been taken out by the German Mafia...!

[Exotica]

Exactly £60 pound will be well spent whatever happens.

[Speedtrap]

Good luck mate Hope u win

[AlanQS]

That's good to hear pjs. Ironic that BMW will spend more on these court costs than fixing your problem but, even if you lose, you will have had your pound of flesh.

[kend]

I would suggest that you keep your formal reply quiet until you have to lodge it with the court.
No point giving away information before you have to, it only helps the opposition with their defence!

[330cdsport]

Good Luck PJS

As of today, I am now in the same boat!!
Went to get new back tyres this morning and was told there was a crack in one of the rear 19" 225's.
I then took it to a local alloy repair engineer and he said that it is not pothole damage but stress damage and said that he would not recommend fixing it because of this as it will prob crack again.

He then showed me another alpina 19" wheel which looked perfect and then when you turned it round there were 4 similar cracks all round the wheel.

He also said that he get's loads of bmw wheels in that have similar cracks.

Right - off to phone the dealer - wish he luck

The car now looks funny with an old MV2 18" wheel from my E46 coupe on the back.

[330cdsport]

Update:

Bavarian BMW, Belfast - have got back to me and said that they get loads or rims in with similar cracks and when the test them they are always ouside the tolerances which inidicate a hard knock.

I can't be arsed fighting with them so am gonna get the wheel welded and hope that it doesnt crack again.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by 330cdsport

Update:

Bavarian BMW, Belfast - have got back to me and said that they get loads or rims in with similar cracks and when the test them they are always ouside the tolerances which inidicate a hard knock.

That's rubbish. I can't believe BMWs attitutde to this. When (not if) this happens to me I shall complain to every consumer program I can find. I have owned five BMWs, four from new, but having read this appalling treatment I don't think I'll buy another.

[Mark II]

Seriously worried about my 225 M's now - I checked them before and they were OK but if BMW are going to dodge the whole issue like this.....

I do my best to drive around potholes and I always park miles out from the curb to save scuffs but the roads around here are pretty rough in places and I'm not sure now whether I've just been lucky so far or what to think.

Did we ever tie down the problem to a specific batch (of wheels) or build period for the cars?? If so, when?

[330cdsport]

I now have the rim back with the alloy repair company and they are gonna weld it and fit the tyre for £57. Tis worth a try I think considering a new rim is £508 - OUCH!!!

The alloy guy also laughed when I told him about the 0.3mm tolerance. He said that this may be a valid tolerance for manufacture but defo not for normal use.
They are just using an easy get-out statement that is bollox.

Spot the difference

[scooba0010]

Has anyone had a brand new wheel checked for this 0.3mm tolerance ?

[AlanQS]

I don't think any one has yet! Great trick to demand the next time someone gets fobbed off with this excuse. I suspect there is a good chance that a new one would fail too.

[dxb335d]

whats this 0.3 mm thing then?

[Mark II]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

whats this 0.3 mm thing then?

It's the maximum radial run-out that BMW allows for a wheel to still be considered 'true'.