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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > Regional Forums > Canada > 12 year corrosion warranty is bs



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      12-04-2018, 06:51 AM   #1
Fb2017
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12 year corrosion warranty is bs

Hello everyone.

Living in a city where the use of road-salt is prevalent the 12 year corrosion warranty on BMW cars ended up being one of the decision making factors on purchasing the car.

12 years unlimited miles they said..
When you see rust bring it in they said..

All of this is absolute bs. After checking with BMW Canada, some reps did not even know the cars had such a guarantee where as others after days of looking were able to tell me that the cars both new and old need to have a rust inspection completed every year. Apparently such an inspection is separate from the yearly maintenance and is at the owners cost. This tidbit of information is not mentioned anywhere. I have checked with 5-6 dealerships between Ottawa and the GTA and nobody can give me a straight answer. Funny thing is that if you ask one for a rust inspection they have no idea what you're talking about.


To sum it up..
-In terms of the literature for the car it tells you to get more info from the dealers
-the dealers have zero info on rust inspections and only offer to take pictures to send to bmw canada for approval on repairs
-bmw canada on the other hand will deny claims for cars that have not had a rust inspection once every two years (which no dealership will do even if you ask

The amount of misinformation I have received is absurd. I personally have 3 cars. A 2009 328i, 2011 328i and a 2017 X4. By this logic according to bmw my X4 that isn't even 3 years old for which I paid over 85k for is no longer covered by the rust warranty according to the phone representatives. How this makes sense is beyond me.

As for my other two cars, I do my own work. I don't need a dealer to change my oil and filters as I do them myself. If they need to inspect the car this should be laid out in black and white for the customers to know which it clearly is not. I am thinking of taking BMW to small claims over this as one of my cars (2008 328) has rust forming under the hood (clearly not from stone chips) and they have told me that the car was never inspected. My other 2011 has rust starting at the exact same spot. (Proof that its a flaw in manufacturing) And I assume I'll be given the same treatment.

Please share your experiences so we can collectively get clarification and coverage for this part of the warranty which is extremely useful for those of us here in Canada.
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      12-04-2018, 06:55 AM   #2
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Wow that's not something I wanted to hear. I decided to not Krown my car, it's my first winter with it, because of this rust protection. That's not fun to hear.

But I thought for rust, it was only perforations.
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      12-04-2018, 06:56 AM   #3
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This is what I read from BMW website in warranty section. And you tell me dealers don't know what to say lol. This is fantastic.

Quote:
Limited Rust Perforation Warranty
BMW Canada warrants that this vehicle shall remain free of defects in materials or workmanship that result in rust “perforation”* of the vehicle body.

The warranty for perforation due to corrosion is for a period of 12 years / unlimited kilometres.

This warranty begins on the date of first registration, or the date the vehicle is first placed in service as a demonstrator or company vehicle, whichever occurs first.

Please see your authorized BMW Retailer for additional information on coverage and limitations.

*“Perforation” means the rust or corrosion of any components of the automobile body from the inner surface, through to the outer surface.
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      12-04-2018, 07:02 AM   #4
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Yeah.. I'm pretty annoyed about it myself. If you can reach out to your dealer/bmw and post your findings maybe we can figure out a way to get bmw to 'change their mind' or clarify the policy?
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      12-04-2018, 07:04 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fb2017 View Post
Yeah.. I'm pretty annoyed about it myself. If you can reach out to your dealer/bmw and post your findings maybe we can figure out a way to get bmw to 'change their mind' or clarify the policy?
I can call my 2 local dealers but not sure if you have already you mentioned you check in Ottawa already?
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      12-04-2018, 07:10 AM   #6
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Yeah. I checked with
-Elite BMW Ottawa
-Ottos BMW Ottawa
-BMW Kingston
-BMW Markham
One more in the GTA that I forgot

I'll post my findings later in the day today.

When you talk to your dealers/head office ask for clarification on the warranty and limitations. Ask dealers about how it works when you find rust etc. We have the right to work on our cars. After the warranty its bs that the dealer needs the car to be serviced yearly at BMW just to keep the rust warranty intact. If this was the case it needs to be clarified to customers.

Really leaves a sour taste after having so much love for this company for so long.
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      12-04-2018, 07:17 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fb2017 View Post
Yeah. I checked with
-Elite BMW Ottawa
-Ottos BMW Ottawa
-BMW Kingston
-BMW Markham
One more in the GTA that I forgot

I'll post my findings later in the day today.

When you talk to your dealers/head office ask for clarification on the warranty and limitations. Ask dealers about how it works when you find rust etc. We have the right to work on our cars. After the warranty its bs that the dealer needs the car to be serviced yearly at BMW just to keep the rust warranty intact. If this was the case it needs to be clarified to customers.

Really leaves a sour taste after having so much love for this company for so long.
Ok I'll give it a go tonight or noon.

Thing is though I bought it used from Parkview BMW, with safety but non CPO in Toronto and nothing was mentioned at all about rust warranty so I can't really claim some things were left out, but I'll ask and see what they tell me.
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      12-04-2018, 07:26 AM   #8
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Yeah but the website/service dept should give the info when you talk to em
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      12-04-2018, 10:59 AM   #9
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The annual rust inspection is not just a BMW thing. Was the same for a Japanese car that I used to have, and similarly they too didn't ever mention that an annual rust inspection was required in order to keep the warranty valid.
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      12-04-2018, 11:13 AM   #10
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Yeah.. the annoying part is that nobody knows the process to even request an inspection.

Anytime I asked about an inspection I was answered with confused looks from the service advisors.

This is a premium brand that were dealing with. It is sad that they use shady language to sidestep honouring their guarantee to the customers. Sure if there is damage or an improper repair void the warranty on that part of the vehicle but to void it over information that is unclear to even their own head office reps and dealer staff is just pathetic if you ask me. It took head office a week to find out about the process for the rust warranty. Even after that much time they couldn't even tell me the process of getting the car inspected. I asked for a brochure outlining this and got nothing in writing. If all it says is get additional information from your local dealer and all the dealer is telling me is to bring the car in for pictures when rust forms I am doing exactly what is required of me as per the bmw documentation. Its not my responsibility to educate their dealers and head office staff on how to conduct an inspection that for the most part doesn't exist.

If they plan to charge an inspection fee every two years or if they need to have the car in for service every two years to have it done, they need to mention this to customers. Maybe I'd have paid to get an oil change from them every two years instead of krowning (rustproofing) the car? Would have been cheaper for me doing it that way.

I had a 2001 B5 Audi S4 that I drove for 360000kms.
When it was 11.5 years old it started to form rust behind the license plate. Guess what Audi did.. new trunk, painted the whole rear end of the car and they even gave me a loaner for the week. That car never went to audi after the warranty was up but they never made an issue about it.
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      12-04-2018, 12:14 PM   #11
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... I had a 2001 B5 Audi S4 that I drove for 360000kms.
When it was 11.5 years old it started to form rust behind the license plate. Guess what Audi did.. new trunk, painted the whole rear end of the car and they even gave me a loaner for the week. That car never went to audi after the warranty was up but they never made an issue about it.[/QUOTE]


Return policy from the Gap is like this. I had a girlfriend return some pants to the Gap after she had them for a few years. She said they shrank, but the truth is she got fat.

On a serious note, mad props to Audi for that.
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      12-04-2018, 12:29 PM   #12
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I agree with you on that analogy.. but at least their policy is laid out in print. In terms of BMW you cant even get head office to give you a straight reply about how to keep your warranty intact.

If it was common to offer a corrosion inspection they should be able to tell you what it is, how to get it done and what to do if the dealers give you a hard time. Instead i was made to talk with someone who was arguing with me that BMW does not even offer such a thing past the 4yr warranty.

If the gap has a policy that their pants will last 12 years else they replace them damn right I'll hold them to it. If I get fat of course its not the pants fault so in that situation deny my claim.

Same way if the car rust is caused by stone chips or other damage due to driver error/wear and tear. then thats on the owner but if it clearly is happening due to manufacturing issues then why should they not live up to their warranty. My hood is rusting from underneath. If I take care of my car and and even go out of my way to rustproof it and do my best to prevent the rust why is it on me?

If it was a honda civic (not hating on anything those are still great cars) sure I get it you get what you pay for but having a company weasel their way out of a legit claim over bs is infuriating. I'm sure many people think 'oh I'm covered for rust.. bmw has my back' the damn dealerships tell customers that they don't need to rustproof their cars for that exact reason.
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      12-10-2018, 03:07 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donutz View Post
... I had a 2001 B5 Audi S4 that I drove for 360000kms.
When it was 11.5 years old it started to form rust behind the license plate. Guess what Audi did.. new trunk, painted the whole rear end of the car and they even gave me a loaner for the week. That car never went to audi after the warranty was up but they never made an issue about it


Return policy from the Gap is like this. I had a girlfriend return some pants to the Gap after she had them for a few years. She said they shrank, but the truth is she got fat.

On a serious note, mad props to Audi for that.

I second this. MY friend had an OLD 2004 Audio A4. They replaced all 4 of his doors..
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      03-01-2019, 03:21 PM   #14
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Pfaff bmw has a body shop in vaughan. They have helped me with the rust warranty in the past.
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      03-19-2019, 02:23 PM   #15
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Can you post pics of the rust, I rarely see BMWs with rust with the exception of E46.

Audi had a known rust issue, so they've been pretty good at replacing components but really they had to because of a design flaw. They rusted almost as bad as Mazdas.
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      03-20-2019, 12:00 AM   #16
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VW swapped out a hatch on my '05 Jetta wagon due to rust, 410,000kms on it. Not even a question, lol.
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      01-25-2021, 09:19 AM   #17
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OP you never did show us your rust.

Also update, I went to the dealer to fix my panel gaps a few months ago and at the same time on my invoice it talks about that 2 year required rust inspection.

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      01-26-2021, 04:34 PM   #18
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My car is an 07, and now I'm starting to see a bit of rust bubbling on the trunk.

Considering it's age, i gotta say it has held up well.

Location of the rust illustrated below.

Name:  rust.JPG
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      01-26-2021, 06:03 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fb2017 View Post
Yeah. I checked with
-Elite BMW Ottawa
-Ottos BMW Ottawa
-BMW Kingston
-BMW Markham
One more in the GTA that I forgot

I'll post my findings later in the day today.

When you talk to your dealers/head office ask for clarification on the warranty and limitations. Ask dealers about how it works when you find rust etc. We have the right to work on our cars. After the warranty its bs that the dealer needs the car to be serviced yearly at BMW just to keep the rust warranty intact. If this was the case it needs to be clarified to customers.

Really leaves a sour taste after having so much love for this company for so long.
Did you go to the dealer or their body shops? The body shop for Elite (Beside Camco Acura) replaced my drivers door on my old E90 without any fuss.
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      02-18-2021, 08:01 AM   #20
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I went in to ask them to check my hatch as I noticed a small bubble near the handle.
Before even looking at the car, they said:
Dealer: we don't have any records of you completing your 2-year rust inspection
I: well, I only owned the car for 2 years and the dealer who serviced it before refuses to give me service records due to privacy issues:
Dealer: Oh, they should give you the records.
I: Well, they refused twice.
Dealer: Sorry, we cannot help you without those.

That was the end of discussion.

Is the rust inspection free every 2-years? And if they find some surface corrosion, will they fix it?
I understand they did it for free above, but they were also doing other work. I doubt the dealer would just do this inspection for free on its own.
Because if one must pay for an inspection every two years and then must pay to fix anything that is found to be rust starting, but not perforating under the warranty, then the whole thing is useless and you might as well wait 15 years and pay a body shop to fix something.
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      02-18-2021, 08:27 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eljay View Post
I went in to ask them to check my hatch as I noticed a small bubble near the handle.
Before even looking at the car, they said:
Dealer: we don't have any records of you completing your 2-year rust inspection
I: well, I only owned the car for 2 years and the dealer who serviced it before refuses to give me service records due to privacy issues:
Dealer: Oh, they should give you the records.
I: Well, they refused twice.
Dealer: Sorry, we cannot help you without those.

That was the end of discussion.

Is the rust inspection free every 2-years? And if they find some surface corrosion, will they fix it?
I understand they did it for free above, but they were also doing other work. I doubt the dealer would just do this inspection for free on its own.
Because if one must pay for an inspection every two years and then must pay to fix anything that is found to be rust starting, but not perforating under the warranty, then the whole thing is useless and you might as well wait 15 years and pay a body shop to fix something.
A little trick that might work about the records, I always asked to speak to their boss/manager or whatever and that I am now the owner of the car. 2 dealers I tried with they sent them after I mentioned that. I also think one dealer wanted me to go in person to check them, but when I told them I am in Ottawa vs Toronto they were like ok.

And yeah pretty sure it's for perforations only. https://www.bmw.ca/en/topics/owners/...arranties.html

Quote:
*“Perforation” means the rust or corrosion of any components of the automobile body from the inner surface, through to the outer surface.
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      02-22-2021, 03:35 PM   #22
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I never trust warranties or promises from dealers or government. Nice to fall back on but I try to be proactive and address things on my own. I Krown my cars driven in winter every year and so far all is good. I don't take stock on rust warranties. About as good to me as lifetime fluids (which had their "life" cut short by my request to my indy as I'd rather be wrong about needing to be proactive than wrong about trusting BMW). Everyone has their own motivations and not all are aligned to taking care of you.
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