BMW pulling to the left...

Casdawer · 27 Jan 2017 at 10:49

Morning guys,

My wife and I bought a 2nd hand BMW from BMW themselves and since we've had it, we've noticed it pulls to the left every now and again for no reason. It does happen when we brake too.

We bought it in October so we've not had it long and my wife did tell them this a week or so after and we ended up taking the car back due to it not being valeted properly and again my wife told them about the problem. They've not taken a look at it so we took it to a friend of ours who has his own Garage and he said there was some rubber worn on some part of the car (the wife forgot to note down what it was so we've messaged him to get the part that's worn).

He's quoted us £300 for the parts and labour but I feel like BMW should be doing the work and paying for it!

I've asked the wife to call BMW today so hopefully they'll ask her to bring it in so they can inspect it themselves.

Dis86 · 27 Jan 2017 at 10:54

Have you spoken to bmw?

Burned_Alive · 27 Jan 2017 at 11:08

If you've bought it from BMW then you should have an "Approved Used Car" warranty which would cover the work.

adolf hamster · 27 Jan 2017 at 11:46

Does this happen on bumpy roads? I know mine and some other models can "tramline", fitting bigger wheels (ironically) helped a lot.

Although thats the e90 era, cant speak for newer models.

Gaygle · 27 Jan 2017 at 11:49

Burned_Alive said:
If you've bought it from BMW then you should have an "Approved Used Car" warranty which would cover the work.

How old is the car, how many miles does it have and what BMW is it?

With something like this, if it is worn bushes, you have to spin the "BMW warranty roulette wheel".

They may say "Sorry sir, bushes and other items which have worn instead of failed are not covered - that's £500 please", in which they would be quite right. But they may say "No problem sir - all fixed under warranty". They're more inclined to say this if you have the approved used warranty and the fact you only bought it from them 3 months ago, but it's still hit or miss as to who you get.

Before I booked it in anywhere I'd make sure I had done everything I could to fix it at home. Check all the tyre pressures are spot on what they are meant to be, check the condition of the tyres to look for abnormal wear and ensure all of the tyres are all the same brand/model. No offence to your friend, but I've had a mechanic tell me my rear trailing arm bushes were worn - literally 2 months after they were replaced so either they don't know what an excessively worn bush actually looks like, or it's a way of making some quick money.

[TW]Fox · 27 Jan 2017 at 12:00

Why would you be getting quotes for work on an approved used car? Just book it in and let BMW do it. Warranty covers rubber bushes if it's that.

Gaygle · 27 Jan 2017 at 12:01

[TW]Fox;30443543 said:
Warranty covers rubber bushes if it's that.

Do they really? I thought it would be something they'd exclude if they had gone bad through standard wear and tear.

Scania · 27 Jan 2017 at 12:02

I'd be inclined to take this out of wifeys hands and deal with this yourself.

Although why you'd notice the problem in October but not think about sorting it until nearly February is beyond me,it should have gone back immediately.

Casdawer · 27 Jan 2017 at 12:25

Once I've got the part details, I will be contacting BMW on behalf of the wife.

I've asked if the rubber bush sounds familiar and she said it was something to do with the suspension so it sounds about right! But I'll wait to confirm 100% before confronting them.She only went to her friend because she was getting fed up with waiting for BMW.

It's a BMW 1-Series, 14 plate and had around 14,000 miles on it so it's barely been on the road!

I know we have a 12 month unlimited mileage warranty and looking at their 'not covered section', I can't see it mentioning suspension anywhere..

*The following are not covered by the BMW Approved Used Car Warranty: brake and clutch facings, discs and drums, bulbs (except Xenon), fuses, channels and guides, weather strips and seals, handles, hinges and check straps, trim upholstery and cosmetic finishes, wheels and tyres, wiper blades and arms, glass, auxiliary drive belts, coolant and fuel hoses, the cleaning and adjustment of any component and all service items or items that will require periodic replacement. Corrosion is also not covered by the warranty.

The reason why it's taken so long to get this far is because BMW have not been calling us back and with Christmas and a very hectic few months for us, it's not been on the top of our list!

fezster · 27 Jan 2017 at 12:45

Is the dealer you will be taking it to the same one you bought the car from? That will make things a lot easier - ring the salesman who sold the car to you and get them to sort it asap! If you dont get anywhere with him, escalate to the used car sales manager.

I had a similar issue recently, but the dealer I bought from was miles away from me. Booked it into my local and asked the dealer who sold it to take care of any warranty/non-warranty issues. To be fair to them, they did just that, and even assured me they would pay for any work if it wasn't covered under warranty (it was, though).

[TW]Fox · 27 Jan 2017 at 13:45

I'd be amazed if a 14k mile car has worn bushes.

Presumably you've had the wheel alignment checked properly yes?

Dis86 · 27 Jan 2017 at 13:46

Maybe by rubber thing he meant tyre?

Burned_Alive · 27 Jan 2017 at 14:04

Not exactly sure what you're waiting for a call back on? Just book it in with the dealers service department explaining the issue.

Gaygle · 27 Jan 2017 at 14:15

[TW]Fox;30444107 said:
I'd be amazed if a 14k mile car has worn bushes.

Exactly what I was thinking. Unless it's been used as a rally car - it won't be worn bushes. Sounds like you may had a similar experience to me when it comes to mechanics not knowing what a worn bush looks/feels like.

[TW]Fox;30444107 said:
Presumably you've had the wheel alignment checked properly yes?

This is what it'll be, or crap tyres.

Gaygle · 27 Jan 2017 at 14:16

Casdawer said:
Once I've got the part details, I will be contacting BMW on behalf of the wife.

I've asked if the rubber bush sounds familiar and she said it was something to do with the suspension so it sounds about right! But I'll wait to confirm 100% before confronting them.She only went to her friend because she was getting fed up with waiting for BMW.

It's a BMW 1-Series, 14 plate and had around 14,000 miles on it so it's barely been on the road!

I know we have a 12 month unlimited mileage warranty and looking at their 'not covered section', I can't see it mentioning suspension anywhere..

The reason why it's taken so long to get this far is because BMW have not been calling us back and with Christmas and a very hectic few months for us, it's not been on the top of our list!

Have you checked the tyre pressures and condition of the tyres to see if they're wearing away unevenly? What tyres are they on the car?

Casdawer · 27 Jan 2017 at 17:12

[TW]Fox;30444107 said:
I'd be amazed if a 14k mile car has worn bushes.

Presumably you've had the wheel alignment checked properly yes?

We were told that the car has had a comprehensive vehicle inspection before hand and that everything was fine, so it should have been performed as part of their test, no?

Dis86 said:
Maybe by rubber thing he meant tyre?

I'm sure!

Burned_Alive said:
Not exactly sure what you're waiting for a call back on? Just book it in with the dealers service department explaining the issue.

We want it to booked by the sales guys / Manager due to the issues we've had with them since we've had the car.

Gaygle said:
Have you checked the tyre pressures and condition of the tyres to see if they're wearing away unevenly? What tyres are they on the car?

Tyre pressure has been checked and is fine and in line with the recommendations on the inside of the car. I can't comment on the tyres so I'll take a look tomorrow morning and will let you know.

The wife has tried to call them but as per usual, there is no answer on the phone

[TW]Fox · 27 Jan 2017 at 17:22

Alignment is never checked as part of the AUC check though you'd have hoped someone might have noticed on the test drive.

However it's the key cause of a car pulling one way so really should be your first port of call.

paradigm · 27 Jan 2017 at 17:43

Whilst I would agree that the most usual cause for a car "pulling" to one direction or the other, this would usually manifest itself as a consistent pull, not something that comes and goes sporadically.

The whole intermittent thing lends more weight to the worn bush argument.

[TW]Fox · 27 Jan 2017 at 18:04

An alignment check is free of charge at most tyre places though so why wouldn't this be the first step especially on a 14k mile car?

paradigm · 27 Jan 2017 at 18:06

Absolutely, I'm not saying don't get it checked, I'm just saying that given the problem is intermittent, I don't expect it to be the tracking.