Hi, I appreciate that this topic may have already ben covered previously, but was wondering if anyone have any particular advice here.

On 23rd Dec 2023 I bought a 2017 BMW X3 M Sport with 47,000 miles on the clock from an independent dealer. Took it for a test drive beforehand, seemed ok. Paid via bank transfer - £18,000.

Soon after (literally driving home), I could feel a vibration upon harder acceleration that I have not felt before in previous cars. I am annoyed that I listened to people for a while saying , "it's a new (for me) car, you'll get used to it / it's a diesel, they are more rattle-y" etc...

After driving it for a few weeks I could still sense that it wasn't a normal thing and that a 2L diesel shouldn't feel like it's struggling to accelerate. The car was sold to me with an RAC warranty and so I booked it in with an RAC recognised mechanic. I actually also realised that the MOT had run out (I think I may have been misled on the dates actually for that, but that's another story). I took it for an MOT with the same garage that I had found with RAC warranty. It passed with minor fault "Nearside Rear Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot severely deteriorated. There was oil around the joints in the drive shaft.

I asked the garage if this could be the reason why I am getting the vibration and they said it could be possible, and so they took the car in for the day to do diagnostics. They said that the rear n/s drive shaft needs replacing and that there is a problem with the rear diff. They called RAC who wanted to take the rear diff out for independent review. I called the dealer and told him that I wasn't expecting such a problem so soon after buying the car (but now we are almost at 3 months post sale) and he was not very helpful, just said that he's never had a problem with an RAC warranty.

I decided to get a second opinion from a local BMW specialist, who has confirmed that the rear drive shaft needs replacing, rear diff needs new seals and that the thrust arms need replacing as are completely worn out. Quote for the works £2350

The dealer has been ignoring me since before Easter. I have now sent him yet another email (he reads his emails as he did respond to me initially) stating that I require him to act under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and that he has the choice to repair, or take back the car. The RAC warranty has a clause that any faults found within 6 months that could be deemed to have been present when the car was sold, would be the liability of the dealer. So I doubt I will get anywhere with them.

I know I won't hear from the dealer, he is hoping I will just go away. I assume my next option would be small claims court? I don't have the money to repair the car at the moment, it would probably take me a couple of months. For now I have been avoiding driving the car, only using it when absolutely necessary.

Any advice would be most gratefully received.

Thanks for reading this long post :)