Subframe floor cracked NO goodwill warranty

[leaded]

Boot floor has cracked in two places, BMW dealer has put in the warranty request and it has been denied. Car over the 10 year goodwill period. Registered Sept 03.

Spoke to customer services and escalated the claim and explained my case 'not fit for purpose' 'US civil case' 'Problem since new that they knew about since 2003' etc etc but got no where.

I have the contact for BMW UKs legal team and the managing director.

What to do next? Any ideas?

1. Suck it up, pay to have it fixed and move on
2. Get solicitor to write a letter to the legal team stating my case 'not fit for purpose case' and take the UK MD to small claims court?

I know two dealers well, one of which has done over 30 subframe floor repairs, another 10. Has there been or can we put together a private list of all cars that have had a repair done, the chassis number and mileage.

I presume there is a legal reason why BMW chose 10 years and I'm sure their legal team have got this covered.

It's rather frustrating having to pay the bill for BMWs design flaw that should have been rectified when they first discovered the problem in 2003.

Sadly many other people are now going to find themselves in this position in the future.

[Brendanmck]

Although my own car is showing no sign of cracks to its subframe I've had this conversation with my local dealer and all the signals from them was they ere not interested goodwill guesture or not they just state that cars registered pre 04 have 6 year corrosion warranty(which the subframe repair falls under) cars after that have 12 year cover a bit shit I know even though all cars where built in 03.

[Neil M]

Originally Posted by Brendanmck

they just state that cars registered pre 04 have 6 year corrosion warranty(which the subframe repair falls under) cars after that have 12 year cover a bit shit I know even though all cars were built in 03.

That's the case when it comes to the legalities of 'Lawful' and 'Unlawful' on a Manufactureres liability. As all the cars were built at the same time between July and December 03, it seems ridiculous to me that they are using the registration date of the vehicle 03/04 as an arbitrary bench-mark to mitigate their losses.

However this does nothing to address the fundamental nature of the issue that being; 'Fit For Purpose' which was known to the manufacturer since 03. This could be deemed Professional Negligence, for continuing production in the same manner, despite knowledge of an inherent design fault.

I rest my case!

[Brandtner]

I know this doesn't help you but if I went to the 10th year anniversary I would had stern words with BMW reps about this.

[Alx]

Originally Posted by Brandtner

I know this doesn't help you but if I went to the 10th year anniversary I would had stern words with BMW reps about this.

We tried to talk about this, but they were not "aware" of the problem...

I also contacted BMW Switzerland and they state that the problem does not exist. Yeah right...

[Chrisc]

Do you know how bad it is? Two cracks, but have they spread over 3-4". As catch it while you can, as seen one normal M3 which people like Redish just could not repair. So whole new carrier panel

[Neil M]

Originally Posted by Alx

We tried to talk about this, but they were not "aware" of the problem...

I also contacted BMW Switzerland and they state that the problem does not exist. Yeah right...

Alex, next time your speaking to your Dealership, remind them of the BMW memo that was issued World-Wide dated: October 03, subsequently updated in December 03, and followed by a further update issued in April 04.
A total of 3 memos to ALL dealerships advising them of the problem! Ignorance is no excuse in Law!

You will also note that the original memo predates the Manufacture of the CSL. The second was issued at the commencement of the CSL production, so despite being aware of the fault they chose to ignore it and continue production without addressing the underling problem.

If this were any other industry, they would be hung out to dry!
The amount of anticipated claims obviously didn't stack up against the costs of re-gigging the assembly line!

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by leaded

Boot floor has cracked in two places, BMW dealer has put in the warranty request and it has been denied. Car over the 10 year goodwill period. Registered Sept 03.

Spoke to customer services and escalated the claim and explained my case 'not fit for purpose' 'US civil case' 'Problem since new that they knew about since 2003' etc etc but got no where.

I have the contact for BMW UKs legal team and the managing director.

What to do next? Any ideas?

1. Suck it up, pay to have it fixed and move on
2. Get solicitor to write a letter to the legal team stating my case 'not fit for purpose case' and take the UK MD to small claims court?

I know two dealers well, one of which has done over 30 subframe floor repairs, another 10. Has there been or can we put together a private list of all cars that have had a repair done, the chassis number and mileage.

I presume there is a legal reason why BMW chose 10 years and I'm sure their legal team have got this covered.

It's rather frustrating having to pay the bill for BMWs design flaw that should have been rectified when they first discovered the problem in 2003.

Sadly many other people are now going to find themselves in this position in the future.

How many miles has your car done? Any modifications?

[jibm]

Originally Posted by leaded

Boot floor has cracked in two places, BMW dealer has put in the warranty request and it has been denied. Car over the 10 year goodwill period. Registered Sept 03.

Spoke to customer services and escalated the claim and explained my case 'not fit for purpose' 'US civil case' 'Problem since new that they knew about since 2003' etc etc but got no where.

I have the contact for BMW UKs legal team and the managing director.

What to do next? Any ideas?

1. Suck it up, pay to have it fixed and move on
2. Get solicitor to write a letter to the legal team stating my case 'not fit for purpose case' and take the UK MD to small claims court?

I know two dealers well, one of which has done over 30 subframe floor repairs, another 10. Has there been or can we put together a private list of all cars that have had a repair done, the chassis number and mileage.

I presume there is a legal reason why BMW chose 10 years and I'm sure their legal team have got this covered.

It's rather frustrating having to pay the bill for BMWs design flaw that should have been rectified when they first discovered the problem in 2003.

Sadly many other people are now going to find themselves in this position in the future.

just out of interest has your car been under warranty/extended warranty all of its life?

[leaded]

No extended warranty. No modifications and in good condition as per dealer report to BMW UK.

96K miles.

Has been fine for the last two year of heavy usage and regularly checked for cracks.