[R3dn3k Flyby]

Bought my 2/2007 build 335i w/ 51k a little over a month ago. Did my research on the car. Pulled Carfax. Clean title/No accidents. Carfax shows a lot of maintenance which is a good sign. I called BMW Bellevue and BMW Seattle to confirm the work and get a more in depth list of what had been done. All maintenance was 100% up to date. HPFP had been recalled twice. Car was one of the first to receive the factory oil cooler as well.

So, based on all that, I pulled the trigger...

A month later, I've got an oil leak, a very noisy wastegate, and oil in the coolant.

Original factory warranty expired in 3/2011 - 50k miles. So, the car is just barely out of warranty.

Based on advice from those in the know, I called up BMW customer relations to see if they'd be willing to assist. Took the car into BMW Seattle based on their advice and an inspection was done.

I'm being told that the oil leak is on one of the turbo oil lines. Seattle claims that during the original owner's time with the car, it was taken to a dealership in California for maintenance. That dealership somehow messed up the oil line and it was never repaired.

I'm also being told that the wastegate actuator needs to be adjusted and that they have no explanation for oil in the coolant other than it was inadvertently mixed and that I just need to have the cooling system flushed.

I purchased a very solid aftermarket warranty, but due to the fact the oil leak is preexisting, they probably wont cover it. I doubt the wastegate actuator adjustment and coolant flush will be covered either.

Spoke with a 2nd level agent at BMW customer relations and she basically said they probably wont cover anything, not to get my hopes up, and that it'd take 3-5 business days to hear back from her. Even though the message she gave wasn't the best, her customer service and tone was downright rude in my opinion.

I'm cool if I have to come out of pocket to have the wastegate adjusted and do the coolant flush, but if I have to pay to fix the oil leak, I'm gonna f***ing lose it.

Anyone provide any insight or advice on what the best way to get this taken care of is?



UPDATE: 7/14/2011

After a bit of battling, I got word on Monday that BMW is stepping up and covering the repairs. The oil leak will be fixed and the wastegates will get the updated hardware and will be adjusted. From there, the turbos/wastegates will be tested and if they aren't within proper spec, they'll be replaced as well. I'm very pleased obviously. Tony at BMW of Seattle has been great to work with so far as well. Even when it looked bleak, he didn't give up and not once did he even hint at having me bring back the '11 335xi loaner that I've had for a few weeks now.

Also, they originally came back and said they had no explanation as to how oil got in the coolant, but offered to flush the coolant at my expense. I did some research on here and found a couple posts/threads discussing a faulty gasket on the oil filter housing that commonly goes out around 50k miles and leads to oil in coolant, but no coolant in oil. I contacted my SA and passed the info along. He contacted me yesterday (Wednesday) and confirmed that I was correct. BMW will most likely be taking care of that as well.

[Express]

do it yourself. the coolant flush too.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

Originally Posted by express705

do it yourself. the coolant flush too.

Not a valid option.

I have no garage. I have no tools. I purchased a well maintained 4 year old vehicle with a warranty so that I wouldn't have to do any of my own work.

I'd like advice concerning what I should do and who I should talk to in order to get BMW to cover all the issues, or at the very least cover the oil leak.

[Express]

you dont need many tools for a coolant flush...

a friend, some wrenches (1 adjustable wrench might even work), a few beers, maybe some italian food.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

Originally Posted by express705

you dont need many tools for a coolant flush...

a friend, some wrenches (1 adjustable wrench might even work), a few beers, maybe some italian food.

Again, not the option/advice I'm looking for.

If I have to pay BMW Seattle to do the flush, then so be it. I'd rather do that so that if oil shows up in the coolant again, I have documentation showing it was flushed once and that a more in depth problem may exist.

[tibra1]

Ask for peoples recommendation on a "cool" BMW SA in ur area.. and explain to him what happend..that u just bought the car and its barely outta warranty..most likely they will cover it.

[Express]

its not up to the SA whether or not something is covered under warranty. if they clearly see there was a mistake and there is documentation proving this, then yes, it should be repaired under warranty.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

Originally Posted by tibra1

Ask for peoples recommendation on a "cool" BMW SA in ur area.. and explain to him what happend..that u just bought the car and its barely outta warranty..most likely they will cover it.

I'm working with Tony at BMW Seattle. Hopefully he's a good SA, cuz I doubt I can just up and change SA's at this point. I dropped the car off on Thursday. He's supposed to have more info for me on Tuesday, but he advised that BMW probably isn't going to cover it and he's pursuing it with my aftermarket warranty company. After that conversation, I called BMW customer relations again and spoke with a higher level rep as mentioned in my original post. She wasn't very pleasant.

[tibra1]

^ its ALL about the SA..if hes a douche and wants to follow the letter of warranty he can but there is some wiggle room if he wants to put it thru..I had my Vanos replaced for free 2 months after warranty and my SA use to cover all my warranty work even w all my mods.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

Originally Posted by tibra1

^ its ALL about the SA..if hes a douche and wants to follow the letter of warranty he can but there is some wiggle room if he wants to put it thru..I had my Vanos replaced for free 2 months after warranty and my SA use to cover all my warranty work even w all my mods.

Good to know. I guess I'll wait and hope that some locals chime in with opinions on SA's at BMW Seattle. Thanks for the advice and info.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

Heard back from 2nd tier customer relations at BMW today. She called me and left a voicemail advising that she has a resolution for me. I returned her call and she informed that BMW would not be participating in the repair of the vehicle, but the resolution is BMW Seattle has offered a 15% discount on all the work. I found this laughable...

I requested she transfer/put me in contact with her superior. She declined and advised that I'm not able to speak to anyone above her. Apparently only SA's and dealership personnel can speak with people above her in consumer relations. Mentioned to her that it's absolutely ridiculous how many people are having issues with various parts of a car that was almost $50k only 4 years ago. I've bookmarked thread, after thread, after thread of people complaining about wastegate issues, turbo issues, oil leaks, etc. I believe it may be time for the vast majority of those with issues to pursue legal options. I'll be contacting an attorney to see if I have any legs to stand on...

Anyway, left a message for my SA at BMW Seattle to see what our next step is.

[hun77777]

i would do it at reputable indipendent bmw shop rather than a dealer. you will most likely be able to do them all at cost of actuator and coolant. labour for actuator won't be cheap since they have to physically get to the actuator which is basically to the turbo. as far as i know of, it'd be 10 hours or something... anyways, if you need of a indipendent bmw shop, i'd contact broad stroke associate and few others. just get a quote to start with and go from there. good luck!

[R3dn3k Flyby]

It sounds like BMW consumer relations has agreed to cover the wastegates and turbos if they are in fact faulty/toast. They currently aren't willing to cover the oil leak or wastegate adjustment. Both of those items need to be fixed before the wastegates/turbos can be tested/checked.

I've got one more phone call to make on Tuesday to another person at BMW consumer relations. It sounds like they may be the key to getting the whole situation resolved.

I'll report back.

[98005xi]

Originally Posted by R3dn3k Flyby

I'm working with Tony at BMW Seattle. Hopefully he's a good SA, cuz I doubt I can just up and change SA's at this point. I dropped the car off on Thursday. He's supposed to have more info for me on Tuesday, but he advised that BMW probably isn't going to cover it and he's pursuing it with my aftermarket warranty company. After that conversation, I called BMW customer relations again and spoke with a higher level rep as mentioned in my original post. She wasn't very pleasant.

Tony is also my SA. He's OK...not exceptional, not terrible. I do believe he tries his best.

[R3dn3k Flyby]

UPDATE: 7/14/2011

After a bit of battling, I got word on Monday that BMW is stepping up and covering the repairs. The oil leak will be fixed and the wastegates will get the updated hardware and will be adjusted. From there, the turbos/wastegates will be tested and if they aren't within proper spec, they'll be replaced as well. I'm very pleased obviously. Tony at BMW of Seattle has been great to work with so far as well. Even when it looked bleak, he didn't give up and not once did he even hint at having me bring back the '11 335xi loaner that I've had for a few weeks now.

Also, they originally came back and said they had no explanation as to how oil got in the coolant, but offered to flush the coolant at my expense. I did some research on here and found a couple posts/threads discussing a faulty gasket on the oil filter housing that commonly goes out around 50k miles and leads to oil in coolant, but no coolant in oil. I contacted my SA and passed the info along. He contacted me yesterday (Wednesday) and confirmed that I was correct. BMW will most likely be taking care of that as well.

[Sodex101]

Op, did you buy aaron chans car?