Bought a faulty used car :(

BMWWN

Hi

I'll try to keep this brief but I'm gratefully looking for any advice as this issue progresses.


3 weeks ago I purchased a 2009 BMW318i used with 50k miles. It was purchased from a private (Not BMW) dealership which is reputable and deals in the higher end of the market so I felt confident purchasing from them. The dealer is approximately 60 miles from me.


After a few days I noticed the car was idling very rough when cold, misfiring and hesitating to accelerate. The next day after leaving work the engine management light came on and the car went into limp mode (lost all power and engine very noisy). I pulled over and waited a while, restarted and all was 'OK'. I continued home after filming the car in limp mode as evidence.


The next day I contacted the dealership who advised to get a diagnosis done and report back. This took around 5 days due to the garage I used (BMW independent specialist) being fully booked. Once done they advised the problem is the fuel injectors failing and all 4 should be replaced along with coils and spark plugs, estimate cost of approximately £1000.


I contacted the dealer immediately who said bring it over and we will look at it and see what we think. The dealer has a Bosch approved garage attached to them So again I'm confident they will diagnose the same and repair. They however after 4 hours said the issue lies with the coils and plugs on 2 of the 4 cylinders so they will replace those two but It is advisable to change all 4 so I agreed to pay for the other 2.

Unfortunately after returning home the problem is still evident. I still believe the issue is with the injectors as advised by the specialist. I will be contacting them tomorrow to advise the issue still persists and if they will repair.


I think what I want to know is after doing a fair amount of research already...


Is it reasonable to ask them to conduct another repair?

If they refuse for any reason would I still be able to reject the car under SOGA 1979?


The car is part financed through Halifax Car Finance so should I complain to them?


I have kept logs of everything that has been done up to now including emails, call logs, photos etc am I doing the right thing?


I understand buying a used car is always a gamble but the vehicle is not in a satisfactory condition, I like the car I just want it to be a Good buy and to work properly!

The car came with a 3 month 'RAC PlatinumWarranty' which has a claim limit of£300 so essentially useless for this problem which would cost around £800 to fix.

Any advice or insight appreciated on how to proceed next!

forgotmyname

Your independant wants to replace everything that maybe the cause, not just fix the problem with the bare minimum of costs.

The garage want an econimical repair that will ensure they still have a profit at the end of it.

The fault still exists so take it back.

arcon5

Take it to another garage who aren't doing guess work then adding a few more parts for good luck.

It's unlikely all injectors, all plugs and all coil packs have failed at once. The suggestion they have is laughable.

scaredofdebt

It does sound like the injectors from what you've described (although it could be a host of things) as I had similar issues with my Mondeo and replacing 2 injectors fixed it. Howeer, 50k miles is very low for injectors to start failing, mine went around 200k miles. They do often fail around the same time, I would have needed the remaining injectors replacing but the fuel pump went at 205k before I got round to doing that and meant the car wasn't economic to fix after that.

I'd get a second (or third) opinion and ask them to put the fault in writing in case you need that as evidence should it go to court.

BMWWN

Guys I'm grateful for the advice. Spoke to dealers today they've arranged for me to go back next week and they're giving me a loan car until they can fix it, I think it's going to go well, they seem to be following their obligations without question and it's reassuring that they are taking it seriously. Will keep you all updated hopefully with a happy ending!

captainawsome

With this engine a blanket repair of all coils, plugs and injectors is generally accepted as a feasable repair due the the issues that have been had with coils and injectors. If your car had the original injectors fitted (very unlikely) then they have done extremely well lasting this long. The good news it the very latest batch seem to have done the trick and be much better

There is a quality enhancement for the coils on this engine, if it's applicable you will get a new modified set fitted free so ring a dealer and check.

BMWWN

Many thanks

I did call BMW dealer and they said there is nothing outstanding on my vehicle, I also spoke to their UK customer service who advised the same. Could this mean it has already been done? Am I speaking to the right people to see if this is the case?

Thanks again

arcon5

Maybe it would be if op was paying... but if this got messy I doubt very much a court would award op any money for parts that had not failed.

gary_jules

excuse my French but why buy a car (which WILL be expensive on repairs) on finance? Expect things to fail down the line whether it be the DTC unit, injectors, cool packs, door lock actuators etc. these cars are very expensive to run without warranty.

captainawsome

BMWWN wrote: »

Many thanks

I did call BMW dealer and they said there is nothing outstanding on my vehicle, I also spoke to their UK customer service who advised the same. Could this mean it has already been done? Am I speaking to the right people to see if this is the case?

Thanks again

No you have asked the right people. It seems the QE must have already been done, or more likely wasn't applicable to your car in the first place (usually based on build date and specific chassis numbers). No harm in asking though. Good luck with the fix

arcon5

gary_jules wrote: »

excuse my French but why buy a car (which WILL be expensive on repairs) on finance? Expect things to fail down the line whether it be the DTC unit, injectors, cool packs, door lock actuators etc. these cars are very expensive to run without warranty.

They haven't failed in due course though have they!