How is Fair Wear and Tear defined ?

bobferg49

I bought a 2007 BMW 3 series (with 40K on the clock) 3 weeks ago. On the first longish journey, the day after collecting the car, it became apparent that there was an irritating high-pitched whistle/whine from the rear of the car. The next day there was a "rattle" from the engine bay when starting from cold. I rang the dealer, who advised me to contact a local garage (we were now on holiday in the Isle of Wight) to get a "safety check". This I did (and the dealer paid the bill), and the local garage decided it was safe to drive, but that the auxiliary belt tensioner, the timing chain and the differential were all making noises. Whilst these are "issues" they are not covered by the warranty the dealer "gave" me with the car as nothing has actually failed. My query is can this be described as fair wear and tear, given the relatively low mileage (and relatively high price) of the car ?

loskie

It can be defined as wear and tear but not in the period you have owned the car. IMO the car has been sold with an existing fault and the dealer is liable. A known problem with these engines and long periods between oil changes. Low miles is possibly worse than regular decent runs with a warm engine being well lubricated.
Is the noise at the rear a wheel bearing?

bobferg49

The noise from the rear has been identified as coming from the differential. Initially the garage doing the diagnostics said it was probably a wheel bearing, but that was before they did their checks.

I've been trying to research this, looking at various BMW owners forums, and the differential bearing wear appears to be a result of a design flaw on the E90 - but that is just talk on the forums. The dealer has been reasonable upto now (they paid for the diagnostic check) and the car is due to go back next week for them to have a look. (Mind you - they are part of the RAC Buysure scheme and their 82-point check didn't find any problems )

My worry is that faced with fairly expensive repairs on the car, the dealers attitude might change and I would prefer to know where I stand when things get nasty. Nowhere in my research have I found a proper definition of "Fair Wear and Tear".


Conversely -is there a definition of "Abnormal Wear and Tear" ?

colino

There isn't a legal definition of fair wear and tear (try being a landlord!) but the BVRLA gives a broad guide as, "Fair wear and tear occurs when normal usage causes deterioration to a vehicle". Age and use deteriorates anything.
Get it back to the original trader for inspection and then negotiate the options on any issues, if any.
You might want to do your homework in the meantime as how an eight year old 3 series has such an unbelievably low mileage.

bobferg49

The car's going to the dealer soon anyway, so I'll have to wait for their response and take it from there.


Not sure why you think the mileage is unbelievable - an aged friend of mine has had a 6-year old Fiesta from new and has only 9K on the clock. My previous car was a 2004 3-series which only had 12K when I bought it (2 years ago) and 28K when I traded it in. The only signs of wear on that were on the interior trim next to the electric window controls !


The mileage readings on the MOT certificate tie up with the service stamps so I guess I could try contacting the one and only previous owner about any problems he/she had with the car.

dannyrst

I'd mention to the garage that the RAC 82 point check that they conducted (bear in mind the garage does this, not the RAC) is supposed to include a Road Test, where they specifically listen for abnormal noises.

Also covered, unsurprisingly, is the auxiliary drive belt. So depending on what the garage are saying is the issue with that, I'd have expected the garage selling the car to have found that issue and report it to you before they sold you the car.

If you provide this information to them, chances are they will agree to fix it for you.

motorguy

bobferg49 wrote: »

I bought a 2007 BMW 3 series (with 40K on the clock) 3 weeks ago. On the first longish journey, the day after collecting the car, it became apparent that there was an irritating high-pitched whistle/whine from the rear of the car. The next day there was a "rattle" from the engine bay when starting from cold. I rang the dealer, who advised me to contact a local garage (we were now on holiday in the Isle of Wight) to get a "safety check". This I did (and the dealer paid the bill), and the local garage decided it was safe to drive, but that the auxiliary belt tensioner, the timing chain and the differential were all making noises. Whilst these are "issues" they are not covered by the warranty the dealer "gave" me with the car as nothing has actually failed. My query is can this be described as fair wear and tear, given the relatively low mileage (and relatively high price) of the car ?

If its a 320d and it has timing chain rattle that is something that needs addressed IMMEDIATELY. The chains are prone to snapping and costing around £3K worth of damage when they do.

bobferg49

It's a 318i (petrol). From what I've read on specialist forums there's a chance of the timing chain skipping a tooth or two and causing the same sort of damage.

bigjl

Forget about fair wear and tear.

This is a SOGA issue or fit for the purpose it was intended issue.

There is no way a dealer was unaware of the camchain issues relating to the 3 series BMW.

Though in fairness they are more common on diesels.