faulty bmw bought from garage

Money_Grabber13579

I think the main point to establish is whether or not the car was sold with a defective radiator. If so, it should have been fixed before being sold, however if it broke afterwards, then it's probably just classed as wear and tear. (Bit like the exhaust, brake pads, tyres etc.)

The point as to when it occurred might be hard to determine though.

jeannieblue

Money_Grabber13579 wrote: »

I think the main point to establish is whether or not the car was sold with a defective radiator. If so, it should have been fixed before being sold, however if it broke afterwards, then it's probably just classed as wear and tear. (Bit like the exhaust, brake pads, tyres etc.)

The point as to when it occurred might be hard to determine though.

Impossible to determine exactly, and as previous poster said, what if it was damaged by a stone? Hardly the dealers fault - unless they are responsible for road maintenance too... :rotfl:

Just fix the rad OP - it is not expensive.

vaio

SOG assumes that failures in the first six months are down to faults that existed when the car was sold UNLESS the dealer can prove otherwise.

Seems reasonable to me on an £11k car that has been owned for 19 days, it gets harder on a £400 car that changed hands 4 months ago.

jeannieblue

vaio wrote: »

SOG assumes that failures in the first six months are down to faults that existed when the car was sold UNLESS the dealer can prove otherwise.

Seems reasonable to me on an £11k car that has been owned for 19 days, it gets harder on a £400 car that changed hands 4 months ago.

True - but Op really does need to find out why the rad has failed - as said before, stone damage is a possibility - common one at that.

We don't want the OP to be ranting at the dealer to find that its a stone or something that has holed the rad - they would feel really stupid.....:o

thescouselander

What model of BMW is it - is it an E46? If so these cars have a tendency for the bottom of the radiator to bow under its own weight (its only supported at the sides) and eventually it will fail. Its easy enough to see if this has happened - you just need to have a look at the bottom of the radiator.

anne343

thescouselander wrote: »

What model of BMW is it - is it an E46? If so these cars have a tendency for the bottom of the radiator to bow under its own weight (its only supported at the sides) and eventually it will fail. Its easy enough to see if this has happened - you just need to have a look at the bottom of the radiator.

the mechanic did say that the radiator had bowed

thescouselander

anne343 wrote: »

the mechanic did say that the radiator had bowed

In that case it will have been like that when you bought it, its a gradual thing that happens over time. I think you have good grounds to make the dealer sort it out.

CFC

jeannieblue wrote: »

True - but Op really does need to find out why the rad has failed - as said before, stone damage is a possibility - common one at that.

We don't want the OP to be ranting at the dealer to find that its a stone or something that has holed the rad - they would feel really stupid.....:o

I think they would feel far more stupid paying up for something the dealer has a legal duty to fix! Now I'm wondering if you are you married to or a practising car dealer youself?

I must say I have never heard of a radiator going through 'stone damage', personally!

Bowdyjan18

Anything that goes wrong in the first 4 weeks the dealer has to sort it out .

trets77

Stick a can of Rad sealant in it . if it works you have saved yourself a few £100 for a while if it doesn't your out of pocket a few quid.