Hello guys, long time no see :o)
Disaster struck the BMW 320D Auto (03 reg) late yesterday afternoon on the way home from a weekend away. The AA man suspects the Turbo...I suspect huge hole in bank balance imminent.
Anyway 6 1/2 hours after calling the AA at the roadside in Moreton-in-Marsh, and two broken down tow trucks later, we were finally taken 100-odd miles home by taxi, and the car was taken to the local main dealer (where it was bought 2nd hand 2 years ago) about 4am this morning.
But I digress. I called the dealer this morning and a friend has dropped the key to them. Apart from being told this morning they were very busy but they try to proritise recovery cases, I haven't heard from them again so of course I'm just about to chase them up.
My questions are - is a dead turbo a long job and how long do you think I'll be without my car?
And
If a main dealer service section is fully booked do you think recoveries can and do jump the queue?
And
I see the turbo is mentioned in the car by car breakdown on here. Mine was first registered in June 03. HJ's comments imply that BMW acknowledged there is a turbo problem, how can I find out if that was the case and whether that has any bearing on how much I end up paying for this repair?
Thanks for any insight. Please bear in mind my continued lack of mechanical knowledge in case your reply gets technical!
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Does it have a full BMW dealer service history - if not, forget any help from BMW, and take it to an independent BMW specialist who will charge you 50% of the dealer's price.
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Yes it does have full BMW history which is something.
It also has a service department that is too busy to take my call.
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Have a quick Google for local BMW independents - the main dealer is now depending on you to make his entire monthly service and parts target....
Edited by oldnotbold on 01/06/2009 at 17:10
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Being completely honest, I would be surprised if BMW would contribute anything on a six year old car, however good its history. You should ask the question of course, but I reckon your best bet will be a good indie who will charge half the hourly labour rate.
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Thanks. I'd have to get the car to another garage of course (advised by AA not to drive any more than getting on to the tow truck)
I've just heard from the dealer, they will look at it tomorrow and call me with their verdict.
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This isn't likely to be cheap, but i would suggest having a read of the ongoing threads on this subject at 'bmwland'.
Your car is in the frame for having the inlet manifold problem too, it may be worth getting the inlet manifold replaced at the same time for future peace of mind.
Agree with the above posts...unless BMW are going to give some goodwill towards the cost you will be quids in with a competent indie...and you may well find recommendations from that very good site too.
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Follow up:
£1903 later and the car is back with a new turbo and new exhaust system. The list price climbed to over £3200 *faints* - I'm not sure if anyone ever pays those rates - but with discounted labour, a goodwill payment from BMW UK of £625, various rebates for parts 'sold' back to BMW and some other credits, they came to the final price.
The inlet manifold was not the issue apparently, but worn bearings in the turbo causing it to fail. That's what BMW paid up for anyway.
Thanks again for opinions and advice.
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£1,903 seems a lot of money, but it wouldn't surprise me if the turbo and exhaust parts came to that.
Looks like you've got a main dealer job for less than what an independent would charge.
Quite a good result, if spending nearly two bags of sand on repairs could ever be described as 'good'.
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Quite! Although the car is mine, my employer has agreed to foot the bill, so I will only need to pay tax on the benefit. Still a lot of £££ but that helps soften the blow.
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nice employer!
thanks for updating the thread - its always nice to find out how things went, even though it is painful for you financially.
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Very heartwarming to hear that your employer is paying for you - no doubt you're a terrific employee!
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