Faulty 2002 BMW 5 series - My rights

themac1977

Hi all,

Advance appologies for the length of this post!:o

first post here, and as with many people, looking for some advice.

Bought a new (to me) 2002 BMW 530d SE Auto on Friday 15th January and had nothing but problems with it since. Was going to post link to a forum I'm discussing the technical side of the issues on, but cant as just a new member.:(

Brief outline:
Battery went flat on car due to **FSR being faulty and fan staying on at low speed, charged battery now being asked by On Board Computer to input immobiliser deactivation code

Tried the Emergency Bypass Procedure as detailed in the manual, but instead of getting a count down timer, it gets as far as 09:59 then stops counting down.

Spoke to BMW Assistance, who were actually very nice, and tried their best to help, despite the car not having been bought from a BMW dealer, being 8 years old and me not being a member, they still spent the best part of half an hour detailing a few things to try, none of which worked. They advised it was probably a fault with the immobiliser system

The (non-BMW) dealer I bought it from has apparently applied for the code from BMW, and it's "showing on their system as released, just need to wait for it to come through"

Dealer then advised (after ME calling THEM) that there actually wasnt a factory code.

Then dealer apparently found someone who can reprogram / diagnose / repair all the faults. Then a phone call, actually FROM them, saying, oops, no, actually, he cant do it!

Now they are refusing to pay for recovery and repair as "someone else has worked on the car". This "someone else" is a proffesional diagnostics expert, who runs a legit, registered business, and whos sole "work" on the car was to do a diagnostics check and reset the (many) fault codes!

Other issues with the car: (over and above the no-start issue)
Traction control warning light is on. Traction control innoperative, (Dealer has agreed to fix)
Clunking from NSF suspension, (Dealer has agreed to fix)
Full tank of diesel(£82!!!), fuel gauge only shows 3/4 tank,
Fault with glow plugs,
Fault with auxillary heater,
Air-con fan is siezed. (Dealer has agreed to fix)

I just want to know where I stand with these guys, they are an independant used car dealer, not a main dealer, and I'm just getting the runaround off them :mad:

Sick to the back teeth with it, I just want my money back, or the car fixed! The amount if money I have lost due to this is ridiculous, I'm a self employed mobile IT Engineer and have now lost contracts and jobs that are worth literally tens thousands of pounds (would have been over the next 12 months), struggling financially and have a new baby due in May, so any advice would be great!

Thanks in advance,

Mac.

goldspanners

sorry i can't really help you but note to rev henry, look away rev,stick to your hyundai!

themac1977

The annoying thing is, I got rid of a 1999 Vauxhall Omega V6, asit was STARTING "to get a bit unreliable"!

It was just a lazy fuel pump, and only bothered me when it had been lying for a while (12 -14 hours or so), and I thought it would be nice to treat myself to a nicer safer car before the baby came along!

harveybobbles

Well............. You have to by law, give the dealer a few attempts at fixing it.

I cant say I've ever come across the immob code problem on them.

Other issues with the car: (over and above the no-start issue)
Traction control warning light is on. Traction control innoperative, (Dealer has agreed to fix)
Clunking from NSF suspension, (Dealer has agreed to fix)
Full tank of diesel(£82!!!), fuel gauge only shows 3/4 tank,
Fault with glow plugs,
Fault with auxillary heater,
Air-con fan is siezed. (Dealer has agreed to fix)

Clunking will be bottom arms - dealer has agreed to fix.
Tank sender wants tweeking a bit. simple fix.
Duff glow plug somewhere - simple fix too.
Fault with aux heater - could you describe this?
Air con fan seized - common on these. The wax in the middle dries up. simple fix.

So to conclude, it's basically not much all really. Not for an 8 year old car.

themac1977

harveybobbles wrote: »

Well............. You have to by law, give the dealer a few attempts at fixing it. .

He's had over 2 weeks, and still not even so much as looked at the car.

harveybobbles wrote: »

So to conclude, it's basically not much all really. Not for an 8 year old car.

"Not Much"???? The car is IMMOBILE, cant be be used, wont start??? I'd hate too see your idea of a major fault.:eek:

anewman

Officer_Dibble wrote: »

Why didn't you spot these faults on inspection/test drive before you bought it?

Harsh but sadly true - although this doesn't help with the OP's current situation.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Write to the trader, list the faults, give him 7 days to respond. When he doesn't, or still refuses to budge, take it to a BMW dealer, have it repaired, pay the dealer, then send the invoice to the trader. Give him 30 days to pay the invoice, he won't, then proceed to small claims court. Get the electronics expert to write a letter for the court, detailing his expertise. Also get a report from the dealer, which explains the list of faults in detail, and which hopefully confirms that you took the correct course of action.

You've given him the opportunity to repair it, he hasn't (the "someone else worked on the car" is no excuse), he'll have to find some pretty good excuses to not pay up.

themac1977

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Write to the trader, list the faults, give him 7 days to respond. When he doesn't, or still refuses to budge, take it to a BMW dealer, have it repaired, pay the dealer, then send the invoice to the trader. Give him 30 days to pay the invoice, he won't, then proceed to small claims court. Get the electronics expert to write a letter for the court, detailing his expertise. Also get a report from the dealer, which explains the list of faults in detail, and which hopefully confirms that you took the correct course of action.

You've given him the opportunity to repair it, he hasn't (the "someone else worked on the car" is no excuse), he'll have to find some pretty good excuses to not pay up.

Thanks PewPew,

thats the sort of constructive answer I was hoping for!

I DID notice the traction control and suspension clunk when I bought the car, and the dealer agreed to fix them the following week.

The other problems didnt show up till I got the diagnostics done, which I tried as a last resort due to the dealer not returning calls, not being in, having to talk to his manager..... etc. etc. etc.

Anihilator

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Write to the trader, list the faults, give him 7 days to respond. When he doesn't, or still refuses to budge, take it to a BMW dealer, have it repaired, pay the dealer, then send the invoice to the trader. Give him 30 days to pay the invoice, he won't, then proceed to small claims court. Get the electronics expert to write a letter for the court, detailing his expertise. Also get a report from the dealer, which explains the list of faults in detail, and which hopefully confirms that you took the correct course of action.

You've given him the opportunity to repair it, he hasn't (the "someone else worked on the car" is no excuse), he'll have to find some pretty good excuses to not pay up.

The dealer has agreed to fix the faults. Intrigued as to why he hasnt. I would imagine though the above wouldnt necessary work.

We need to bear in mind it is an 8 year old car, the dealer has agreed to repair and that the OP has an obligation to mitigate losses.

Getting someone else to work on the car does to a degree give the dealer the chance to dispute the faults being present at purchase and instead caused by the OP.

OP - why exactly is the car not at the dealers being fixed?

albionrovers

Purchase date was Jan 15th right?
Was there no 1-3 months warranty, like most independent traders?
Check your paperwork.

themac1977

The reason the car is not at the dealer is because the car cannot be started, and dealer will not send someone out to pick it up, keeps saying he will, but nothing ever materialises.

And due to the money I've lost, I CANT cafford to pay someone to move it for me.

All I have to show for everything is an expensive ornament!