[mistry]

Any news PJS?

hope German mafia haven't moved in.

[Lady Topaz]

I have posted on the other thread as I am now experiencing exactly the same proiblem. Usual "pot hole" response. Keen to know how the OP is progressing.

[dxb335d]

Welcome lady Topaz.



Carlos.

[Lady Topaz]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Welcome lady Topaz.



Carlos.

Hi Carlos and sorry for coming on here new with no introduction. I am a long term member of Pistonheads and recently gone from 2 TVR Tuscans to a more user friendly for every day use BMW 335i.
This is my 3rd BMW and my other half had a 6 series so until the current prob we are big fans.
I guess this issue incensed me so I dived in. Not usually so bad mannered.
So Hi to all and I hope this current problem can be resolved.

Di

[BigBanana]

Originally Posted by Lady Topaz

I have posted on the other thread as I am now experiencing exactly the same proiblem. Usual "pot hole" response. Keen to know how the OP is progressing.

Don't hold your hopes up...


A colleague is now on his SECOND replacement set of rear 19" wheels on '07 330i.
BMW assessor over Xmas, concluded the damage was due to driving over potholes / curbs again.

There was also wear on the inside edge of the tyres which formed a chamfer down to the canvas on three sets of tyres on the rear. Total mileage now ~25k. Only done 5k on the last lot!.

Now on his 4th set of rear tyres!!

So another £1700 to BM.

Like Gordon Brown, they just don't care.

[PeteJ]

Did anyone else think when they bought there cars "German cars, what could go wrong!"

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by PeteJ

Did anyone else think when they bought there cars "German cars, what could go wrong!"

Not quite like that but I'm a natural born cynic and am not surprised by 'faults' on any car, be it Germanic or not. Although I would still like to believe that the faults are/should be less than other marques. That said, my father had to have a new engine on his 328i because of the 'old high sulphur content in the fuel' story. Somehow all that was kept pretty quiet from the general public.

This alloy situation though is rather disturbing and as usual, the 'establishment' that is BMW and their legal team will be very reluctant to admit any liablility and set any kind of legal precedent as to claims. I would have thought that the lawyers should be balancing the possible long term costs of extremely bad publicity versus a flood of claims if a precedent should ever be made.

[E92 LeMans]

I would all club together and do a class action it is the only way ! Has this happened to of our friends in the US ?

[Mark II]

Originally Posted by E92 LeMans

Has this happened to of our friends in the US ?

I did read some US threads dealing with this issue a few months back but I don't have the links to hand now - from what I remember BMW USA were also suggesting 'external factors', such as impact damage, as the likely cause but they did seem more willing to help the customer with the cost of replacement: Probably in the knowledge that if a case was brought in the US, the outcome would cost them a lot more than in Europe.

Unfortunately I've seen this sort of disparity in treatment (US/Europe) many times in recent years.

Originally Posted by beemerbird

... my father had to have a new engine on his 328i because of the 'old high sulphur content in the fuel' story.

Ahh yes, the old Nikasil liners issue.

BMW Dealer: "Ahhh well there's the problem Sir. It's the fuel you see. Best not to drive em really but they do make a wonderful ornament".

[pjs]

Ah ha, no sign of German Mafia, and a development of some sort today.

Got home to find a letter from the court asking me to fill in an 'Allocation Questionnaire' to be returned to my local court (Wakefield) where the claim will in theory be heard. Got to be back by the 26th January.

The sections in this include the opportunity to call witnesses, experts, other info etc, so depending on the advice I'll get it may help to get a few letters from some of you out there with the same problem

I must admit I thought they might have thrown it out, because to give you a taster of BMW's defence " BMW (UK) Ltd denies that a manufacturers warranty exists concerning the claimants vehicle" .

Oh, and a word of advice - my earlier dealings with customer services included emails signed of as from 'BMW Group UK' - This does not exist as a legal entity. Even so, it seems to have some legs.

So time for some more advice from my (free) legal beagle to see what the implications are for both parties on returning the allocation questionnaire.

In the frame of mind of nothing to lose now, and happy to be a thorn in their side.

[MEGA]

Good luck sorting it all out pjs. Just read this thread. Fortunately I don't have the wheel in question! But ridiculous that they'd treat so many customers this way. I would love to see it resolved positively.

All the best

[E92 LeMans]

Good luck with this PJS

Dont worry about the court thing I went to small claims court and the judge just hears both sides of the story and makes a desion there will be a bit of legal stuff but not a huge amount but they try to keep it simple because you are not expected to be a legal eagle but I would read as much as you can about your rights, as regards to warranty and if you have replaced these items already.

I think one thing you do have to say is if you are going to call any witnesses.

Go and get them mate !

[oldnickers]

A couple of comments that may prove useful:

1 The court environment is not at all intimidating. I sued a courier some years ago in Birmingham and they attended the hearing with their lawyer; I was on my own, deliberately. My case was supported by an expert's statement (it concerned an antique). I felt a distinct empathy towards me from the judge - a sense of "you are the honest one here, and the big company bullies are on the other side"...but you do need to ensure you have evidence to support your assertions. The judge asked me to think very hard about whether there had been any other costs associated with the whole process (he hinted at travel costs to court when I looked puzzled) and then found in my favour. The bullies on the other side left with their tails firmly between their legs. Dress appropriately for court, not too flash, not to scruffy.

2 I've been watching your thread for a while and I think the Mira report - even if it's still in draft form - is highly relevant. A preliminary report from an expert is worth more than - forgive me everyone - a bunch of car enthusiasts who may be perceived as wanting new wheels. If you haven't had a (contradictory) final report then I would focus my explanation to the judge on (a) your history of similar problems with other vehicles [presumably none]; (b) the care you take of your car; (c) the corroboration of that care [absence of damage] by Mira; (d) the fact that wheels offered as an optional extra should be capable of meeting the requirements of the markets for which they are addressed [after all, suspension tuning is often different for the UK market]; (e) you know from research on the internet that others have had what appear to be similar problems to you though you haven't had the resources to determine whether they are exactly the same [a bit of hearsay is fine but don't overdo it]; (f) your belief is that BMW is very concerned about this issue and the potential costs associated with a safety recall...indeed the reluctance of them to take responsibility for their product has only served to deepen your resolve in seeing a fair outcome.

Finally, I nearly didn't post this...as BMW will be watching it. They know they have a problem. They know they will need to resolve it. And as someone who has had 6 BMWs, I'm watching their response to this with great interest.

Good luck, Nick

[F31-340i]

^ the above advice is very intelligently thought out and spot on. Good luck.

[five50]

Went to pick up my girlfriends 335d from a service today from Sytner BMW - was told that the two rear wheels were cracked - 19" 230's.

All seemed highly unusual - dealer said that they have come across this multiple times before:

Blamed potholes or even tried to imply tyre pressures could have been run low - i would have thought that this is something of a non argument with runflats
Dealer said that it is a well known UK problem for BMW (less of a problem in other countries) - they are well aware of the problem
They claim that BMW UK will not accept liability, although the dealer said that they (BMW UK) are reviewing the situation - they stated that they themselves are not allowed to replace the wheels under warantee
The customer service rep we spoke to said that her brother is having the same prob, but even given her position, she has not been able to achieve a result with BMW Customer Services
We bought the car 9 months old with 16k miles on it (from a different dealer) - we questioned whether we had been missold the car- the dealer said that no way would a UK BMW dealer compromise safety in this way (selling a car with cracked alloys) - which means that the issues must have arisen in the last 12 months / 8k miles - which surely cant be 'fit for purpose' under the sale and supply of goods act
That it is both rear wheels and neither front wheel - sounds to me much like a manufacturing default than a pothole issue
We were quoted £630 + vat to replace the two rear wheels

Thought I'd have a look online and see who else is having a similar issues - v interesting to see that this is a well covered issue...

We left the car with the dealer as the door handles are being replaced under warantee (no arguments on this) and have not paid the bill for the service. But i got the feeling that they would have let us drive off on the wheels - the service manager only decided that it might be a bad idea when my pregnant girfriend pushed him as to whether or not its safe to drive.

Seems really wierd that bMW are aware of this issue, but are not warning people in advance - seems like this could be a massive liability issue if wheels fail on moving cars...

Interested to know how people get on with their various legal actions as this is the way we are thinking of going.

[Exotica]

BBC Watchdog if this is a common problem.

[E92 LeMans]

Originally Posted by Exotica

BBC Watchdog if this is a common problem.

+1 They dont want bad publicity BMW are so into there brand,

A lot of car makers are having problems there is a massive recall on vauxhalls at the moment.

If this happens to me I have a friend at the BBC and I would write to every car mag going.

[dinesh]

Hey all and Five50, i've just joined - partly because of this thread - pretty much same story as Five50 - 2 rear cracked alloys - no loss of pressure yet. BMW GB coming to look at the car.......

Five50 - did sytner refer you to bmw gb?

[five50]

yeah - i joined the forum for this issue too! Sytner referred us to BMW GB. Sytner basically said that they have dealt with this numerous times before and BMW GB simply say that this is not an issue under which they can fit replacement parts under warrantee - if we want to take it forward, we need to speak to BMW GB as their hands are tied. It is something that they (Sytner and BMW GB) are well aware of tho.

This was yesterday - so not had the chance to speak to BMW GB yet - that will be a fun call / follow up letter tomorrow.

Interested in any correspondance you have / who you speak to / how you get on.

Good luck.

[willhollin]

Someone is even selling cracked alloys on Ebay!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...E:B:SS:GB:1123

[tyler durden]

this tread is shocking. Esp when I have a e93 with the same wheels.
My thoughts are

1. Is there any way of finding out how many times these wheels have needed changing due to this problem in the UK market?

2. Are people from other country's getting the same issue?

3. Is there any government dept responsible for ensuring vehicle safety. They need to know. What if an alloy crumpled at speed!

4. Do you think this is a specific batch issue?

Good luck with things and hope justice is done

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by Exotica

BBC Watchdog if this is a common problem.

Definitely!

This is the kind of story they LOVE covering - when the manufacturers 'bury their head in the sand' and claim no responsibility when clearly they DO have responsibility to sort this problem out without expecting the customers who paid tens of thousands for their cars, to dip their hand into their pocket and shell out for unnecessary wheel replacements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

It would be best to all post seperately to watchdog so they have multiple complaints on the same issue. I would say there is a very very high chance they would cover this and be very interested in the court case.

What is there to lose guys???