BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 2 Mar 2023 23:21
BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue - Seebook

I bought a 2011 BMW 1 series ran around 100000 miles from a dealer in Dec last year. Since it is my first car, I recorded the dealer description as below.

"So like I said, sometime you will see this sign on the, on the dashboard. You see that? So that, that doesn't mean like the oil pressure is low. It's just a sensor. Okay? So this is need to be replaced from the BMW because they are the only one to replace it. So apart from that the car is absolutely good to go....For replace the sensor, so around £200, something like that. Not much...I'm happy to obviously to adjust it in the price. But because as a seller I must tell you if there is any problem with the car because then obviously I don't want later on you can come and be like obviously. So this is the only thing that needs to be done by the BMW. The rest of it is all checked, everything is good to go. It's not going to stop anywhere. This is only the sensor need to replace that's it because some people don't tell honestly the things to the obviously the buyer."

Finally, the car engine timing chain guide broken on 27th day of purchase after 300 miles. Dealer refused to repair and I find a local garage checked it is unrepairable. Dealer refuses to refund or pay any repair fee since he reduced the price for the engine issue and noticed me there is a potential issue.

- The car and repair fee cost me 6,300. Is it worth to go to small claim court for this case?

- Can I use the recording as evidence in court to proof the car is not as dealer described?

- Garage suggests scrapping the car. Should I tow the car and storage it with extra cost or scrapping the car before legal procedure complete?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Mar 2023 13:31
BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue - Adampr

Yes, you could take the dealer to court, but you probably won't get any money out of them even if you win, because these sorts of dealers make sure they have no personal liability.

I can't see why you couldn't use the recording but, again, winning the case probably isn't the big issue.

I would be a little wary of even bothering with court, given that you apparently purchased a car with a warning light on, then drove around. It would have made more sense to book it in with a BMW specialist immediately to investigate the 'sensor'. If it turned out to be something major, you could then reject the car. You can still reject the car, and the dealer was.obviuslt aware of a problem, but ignoring a warning light does weaken you can somewhat.

If it's a good car other than the engine, I wouldn't scrap it. One of my local car dealers basically buys used cars with broken chains for peanuts, sorts them out and sells them on. Easy money, so he tells me. If you can afford it, it's probably worth a repair. If you can't, you can sell it as spares or repair for more than scrap.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Mar 2023 13:58
BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue - Seebook

Thank you for your suggestion. I booked BMW service once I purchased the car before Christmas. Unfortunately, the engine failure before my booking.

I still want to keep it, if possible, try not to total loss.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Mar 2023 14:56
BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue - sammy1

The car and repair fee cost me £6300? Sorry but it sounds as though the car has been repaired? What size is the engine and is it petrol? Please clarify and perhaps someone could advise you... If the car was repaired how much did the repair cost?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 4 Mar 2023 00:12
BMW 1 Series - Faulty car - engine light issue - Palcouk

Sorry, but first car 100K mile BMW 1, AutoTrader shows about £3k or less, its not worth a £6k repair.

I dont wish to be disparaging, but you need to be sensible with a 1st car purchase

Reply | Report as offensive | Link