[oliyaoe93]

Hi everyone,

Had this noise problem with my E93. There's a crackling noise coming from the rear of the car when the roof is up, possibly the boot, or the parcel shelf or the pillar of the roof.

Took it into my local BMW dealers (Cooper Croydon). They investigated (£99), and then stripped panels on the o/s/r, and completed full roof adjustment and completed programming schedules, replaced Circlip and Collar nut.

So the bill was just under £360 inc. VAT.

BUT! Soon as i picked up the car the noise was still there.... they have not fixed it AT ALL!

So i rang them and they said they will have to strip down the roof as a next step, and that may be even more costly... So i've paid £360 for absolute nothing.

What would you guys do in this situation? The noise is quite severe, i have to get it fixed.

[themanthatcan]

Originally Posted by oliyaoe93

Hi everyone,

Had this noise problem with my E93. There's a crackling noise coming from the rear of the car when the roof is up, possibly the boot, or the parcel shelf or the pillar of the roof.

Took it into my local BMW dealers (Cooper Croydon). They investigated (£99), and then stripped panels on the o/s/r, and completed full roof adjustment and completed programming schedules, replaced Circlip and Collar nut.

So the bill was just under £360 inc. VAT.

BUT! Soon as i picked up the car the noise was still there.... they have not fixed it AT ALL!

So i rang them and they said they will have to strip down the roof as a next step, and that may be even more costly... So i've paid £360 for absolute nothing.

What would you guys do in this situation? The noise is quite severe, i have to get it fixed.

Call them up and be polite about it, but tell them that their diagnosis was incorrect and as such you're not happy about being charged for a fix that didn't fix anything.

If they're not willing to do anything about it then get in contact with BMW Customer Services

[timp7748]

Is it under warranty?

[xenon]

I doubt it's under warranty; if it was why would he be paying for anything?

As to whether you have been "conned" to put it simply - no you haven't. You complained about a noise and such a thing could be any one of a hundred different reasons and it would be impossible for the dealer without the benefit of clairvoyance or an x-ray machine to say exactly what the problem was.

They suggested carrying out a full adjustment, replacing any obviously worn or missing components and updating the software in the hope that this would either cure or identify the issue and you (presumably) agreed to have that work carried out. As it happened it didn't fix the problem. That's a severe pain-in-the-arse admittedly but should the dealer give you that work for free? No chance.

[BMWChap]

Did they actually say that they had fixed the issue ?

[joeyt]

"Hi I have a rattle caused by hardware"

"Of course sir ill fix that with some software"

Wtf are bmw garages doing now days. They are becoming worse than backstreet garages.

[xenon]

You could argue that an issue had been identified with a rattle and the solution was to stop the tonneau cover in a different position which could be achieved by changing software parameters. It's not impossible.

I take your point though....

I'm not defending the dealer but noises are difficult things to track down I would imagine.

[richk84]

If your trying to identify a specific problem which is hard to identify i would always ask to drive the car with one of the mechanics and replicate it with him inside.

[WonderBang]

Cooper Croydon.... LOL!

Sorry but I wouldn't even let those conmen touch my car even if the work to be done was covered under warranty. I would rather travel 100 miles to another garage before having to leave it with those idiots!

Try the BMW garage in Bromley, they will at least have SOME understanding of where to begin looking for this sound you describe.

[David c]

Ive had a bad experience with cooper in the past.

[Kassim786]

Iv had this experience there's like a little creaking noise

It's in the pillars nears the passenger seat belt or the hooks that latch onto the roof

I can get confirmation to what mine is when I get home

Sytner leicester diagnosed it very quickly and well

[JesseJames]

Id go to the bmw garage where you got it done.and burn 1 of there cars out

[335d Rocco]

Originally Posted by JesseJames

Id go to the bmw garage where you got it done.and burn 1 of there cars out

it wouldn't be a creak in his roof he'd have to worry about after doing that

[335ier]

Originally Posted by xenon

I doubt it's under warranty; if it was why would he be paying for anything?

As to whether you have been "conned" to put it simply - no you haven't. You complained about a noise and such a thing could be any one of a hundred different reasons and it would be impossible for the dealer without the benefit of clairvoyance or an x-ray machine to say exactly what the problem was.

They suggested carrying out a full adjustment, replacing any obviously worn or missing components and updating the software in the hope that this would either cure or identify the issue and you (presumably) agreed to have that work carried out. As it happened it didn't fix the problem. That's a severe pain-in-the-arse admittedly but should the dealer give you that work for free? No chance.

I think the thing is, if any other trade did stuff like this it wouldn't be acceptable would it?

eg. If your boiler was not working properly or the shower was leaking & you were invoiced £360.00 big ones but it still wasn't right, would you pay the invoice in full for a failed job? then pay again for it to be re-done?- doubt it.

If the noise was present straight away when using the car again then clearly it wasn't checked properly, so the job wasn't completed properly. No aspect of it.

The job was to find and diagnose the issue and they failed. I'm sorry but they should have tested the job before they passed it as completed, they certainly aren't getting any kind of defence from me.

Yes for sure if the work was agreed first then he doesn't have a strong argument with the dealers but we take our cars to the dealers for a professional diagnosis & fix not to stand there nodding reassuringly at random proposed process of elimination works as if we know all about the mechanics of our vehicles ourselves!!.....

[blues n twos]

My roof rattle was eventually fixed under warranty. It was a faulty locking mech which damaged the seal and roof lining and the total bill....... wait for it.......



£3500

£1500 in parts and 9 hours labour at £160 plus vat per hour.

Thank fook for the warranty

[AlanQS]

Under the sale of goods act, the dealer is actually obliged to take it back and fix it with no further charge. Consult trading standards and they will confirm this (the picture is a little more vague in Scotland) and I'm quoting the rules in England.

Thing is, has anyone ever successfully pursued a garage for fixing something tricky like this, especially if the final cost is far greater than the amount they charged you?

None the less, you have still paid out good money for nothing and they are supposed to be the experts. If taken to extremes, the situation is that an honest customer could end up paying time and time again while they get paid for on the job training!

It's not fair.

[oliyaoe93]

Originally Posted by themanthatcan

Call them up and be polite about it, but tell them that their diagnosis was incorrect and as such you're not happy about being charged for a fix that didn't fix anything.

If they're not willing to do anything about it then get in contact with BMW Customer Services

I called them straight away when i drove the car home as i noticed that the problem had not been fixed on the way home. The lady said she'll speak to the Technicians and then get back to me. Apparently the technicians did test the car after the work was carried out but they didnt hear anything but it was apparently chucking it down so maybe the rain covered up the noises....

What she suggested is bring the car back in they ll have to strip the roof down which will cost more, but she spoke to her manager they can probs sort some kind of discount out for me...

[oliyaoe93]

Originally Posted by timp7748

Is it under warranty?

Nope

Originally Posted by xenon

I doubt it's under warranty; if it was why would he be paying for anything?

As to whether you have been "conned" to put it simply - no you haven't. You complained about a noise and such a thing could be any one of a hundred different reasons and it would be impossible for the dealer without the benefit of clairvoyance or an x-ray machine to say exactly what the problem was.

They suggested carrying out a full adjustment, replacing any obviously worn or missing components and updating the software in the hope that this would either cure or identify the issue and you (presumably) agreed to have that work carried out. As it happened it didn't fix the problem. That's a severe pain-in-the-arse admittedly but should the dealer give you that work for free? No chance.

What can i do in a situation like this?

[oliyaoe93]

Originally Posted by M3KingUK

Did they actually say that they had fixed the issue ?

YEP...... They said they tested it but coz it was raining heavily and thats maybe why they thought they'd fixed it....

[oliyaoe93]

Originally Posted by blues n twos

My roof rattle was eventually fixed under warranty. It was a faulty locking mech which damaged the seal and roof lining and the total bill....... wait for it.......



£3500

£1500 in parts and 9 hours labour at £160 plus vat per hour.

Thank fook for the warranty

I'm not sure about letting them strip my roof now ... But this noise is driving me absolutely nuts. No pleasure in driving what so ever coz of it, sounds like a bus

[oliyaoe93]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

Under the sale of goods act, the dealer is actually obliged to take it back and fix it with no further charge. Consult trading standards and they will confirm this (the picture is a little more vague in Scotland) and I'm quoting the rules in England.

Thing is, has anyone ever successfully pursued a garage for fixing something tricky like this, especially if the final cost is far greater than the amount they charged you?

None the less, you have still paid out good money for nothing and they are supposed to be the experts. If taken to extremes, the situation is that an honest customer could end up paying time and time again while they get paid for on the job training!

It's not fair.

Can i call up BMW and mention this to them? I mean i could ask for a refund for the job they DIDN'T do, and pay the actual bill when they do manage to fix the problem if they do.

[ukbeemerboy]

I would say the clue is in the fact it was raining, the noise wasn't there. Could it be the seals between the panel creaking when dry, but when wet they stop and go quiet?