Legal advice - Consumer rights - Used car

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Hi,


I have purchased an approved used BMW X1 from the dealer, in July My car comes with one year approved used car warranty and service pack valid until June 2019


I purchased BMW approved screen wash from same location on 20th January 2018 after getting warning indication for empty screen wash, after one week of topping up the screen wash my front screen wash stopped working – this is in about 6 months of purchase


I booked a service with the dealer where they gave me an estimate of nearly £200 for a clogged up screen wash filter claiming that bacterial build up is not covered under warranty, I also called up BMW customer service and they also told me same thing


Therefore I would like to know

1. Is it correct for BMW to consider it acceptable and normal for an approved used car to develop such fault within 6 months of purchase?
2. Is it correct for BMW to claim it outside of warranty?
3. Is it correct for BMW say it acceptable to sell approved used cars that may develop such faults within 6 months of sale and use and following manufactures instruction in using approved parts?

Can someone tell me what my rights are and it is OK for BMW to charge me more than people who have not followed the warranty instructions whereas I did?


https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/442...ty-axed-supermarket-screen-wash-instead-bmws/

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Thanks everyone for replies
Looks like previous owner may have done wrong mix but that kinda puts a question mark on "approved used car"
Went to another BMW dealer and he quoted £40 less and also said they will usually do it for free if any car sold by them had similar problem in 6 months but the original dealer is saying they don't even cover this problem under warranty even for new car

On the subject of cleaning myself, do I need to take out washer bottle by removing wheel and Wing cover?

Any detailed step-by-step instructions will be much appreciated

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Legal advice over £200?

It is about consumer rights as BMW dealers seem to apply policy arbitrarily

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Had the same issue many years ago with my 1 series. Cost me a few £100 as I hadn’t been using BMW screenwash. Bought a big container of the stuff and that listed until I part exchanged the car.

To quote the BMW service person from Vines Guildford "using BMW approved liquid is baloney, he himself uses supermarket liquid and no BMW warranty covers clogged washer bottles they don't even cover this for a brand new car, if washer bottle gets clogged and even if they use BMW approved liquid"

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

You say it i was time consuming, at £80 - £90 an hour labour charges at some garages I have seen, and time consuming meaning couple hours work, plus parts, that could easy rack up close to a £200 bill.

yes the labour charge is for 1 hour 5 minutes

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Unfortunately you'll likely be fighting a losing battle with the dealer.

In the short-term if you want it to start working, you could remove the washer tune running to the jets and put some air down them to blow the gunk from the filter. In the long term, watch a couple of YouTube videos and DIY it as it isnt difficult at all and requires no special tools.

Thanks, have decided to visit another dealer Barons and they are doing it for lesser amount as I do not want to mess with my warranty (if put too much pressure then there's a risk of leakage) and service pack
But have complained to both BMW customer service and Motor Ombudsman
This looks like a common problem with BMW will try to get more people on board and also share this communication with rivals for BMW so that they can use it to their advantage and counter BMW sales pitch

It is not about money but about principles

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Unfortunately it's a fairly common problem with BMWs and clogged screenwash filters. My old E91 320d used to clog all the time (but I only every really used supermarket premixed screen wash). That was a company car but I just used to throw it at BMW and they fixed it...never got a bill. After a bit of research I found that no-one using BMW's own screen wash had the problem, so I bought a 20L bottle of concentrate from the dealer parts department for £56. I had no problems with blockages in nearly three years on the M135i, and I've still got almost 7L of the concentrate left...pretty decent VFM if you ask me!

looks like it is kinda discretionary application of policy, dealer may have decided against ******* off a business account so decided not to bill you, in my case looks like previous owner did not take care, so I have to bill for now - but still have sent out email to BMW customer service and motor ombudsman about the meaning of "approved used car"

 

[Iqbal Mohammad]

Filters are wear and tear items, I personally would never expect wear and tear items to be covered under a warranty.

Also "approved used car" means the same to me as MOT certificate, the car is ok on that day at that moment, but even one week later the situation may change, let alone 6 months later, you can never hold a garage liable for things 6 months after purchase in my humble opinion.

If your mot analogy is correct then BMW claim of providing one year warranty is clear case of miss selling or misrepresenting, they also provide mot failure warranty (they do provide clear list of exclusions though)
There are other dealers who fix this type of problems free of cost if encountered in 6 months, also honestjohn website is of same opinion that the garage is liable as I have followed instructions to the letter

Anyways I'm not going to pursue it beyond a certain point but I am going to make sure that vines of Guildford do not get any business from my acquaintance, and I'll also make sure more and more people know this and avoid same dealer

I am also waiting response from BMW customer service about the quality of their "approved used cars" once I get response where they wash off their hands then I will share that response with their rivals to use that as they see fit!