Dealer performed bad alignment, wants to charge me to fix issues it caused

Krew_Guap · 03-20-2018, 12:52 PM

I own a 2015 BMW M4, and about 1 month ago I took my M4 to the dealer to check this weird humming noise coming from the front left side of my car. This noise only happens when I am going about 15 MPH or slower ( if someone has any thoughts on this plz let me know). anyway so I take it to the dealer and they can't reproduce this noise but they did find that my lower control arm was bent and my wheel baring broken. So I get it fixed and that's that.

fast forward to March 19th, 2018. I take my car in for the same noise and leave it there to see if they could reproduce the noise again. So now its March 20th, 2018 and they call me telling me they couldn't reproduce the noise but that my front tires are splitting because I had a bad alignment.Now I'm here thinking to myself "but yall aligned the car about a month ago when yall replaced the lower control arm and wheel baring". Any thoughts on whether I should pay for the new alignment and new set of tires or they should.

damageprone · 03-20-2018, 12:56 PM

Did they actually do the alignment per the work order? I'm assuming the humming may be from the control arm issue from before, and once they replaced the arm and bearing, the tire could have already been screwed up. Even if they did align the car properly, the tire could have been off balance from the bad control arm.

Did the noise go away once they fixed the control arm and bearing?

In the end, these are "wear and tear" issues IMO and you'd be sucking up the cost.

Krew_Guap · 03-20-2018, 01:02 PM

Yes, they did the alignment it is stated on the receipt they gave. The humming has been going on for a number of months now way before the control arm was bent and no the humming hasn't gone away.

jmg · 03-20-2018, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krew_Guap

Yes, they did the alignment it is stated on the receipt they gave. The humming has been going on for a number of months now way before the control arm was bent and no the humming hasn't gone away.

Show them the work order. If they don't agree that they should correct the issue for free, then show the work order to BMWNA.

Krew_Guap · 03-20-2018, 03:39 PM

Alright, will do thanks guys.

gatorfast · 03-21-2018, 12:18 PM

Are they suggesting you need another alignment because it is currently bad or that, due to the alignment being bad before they fixed it, the tires are now splitting? If they are suggesting you need another alignment then obviously you can point to the fact that they just did it.

BzsBimmer · 03-27-2018, 12:11 PM

How do you have a bent arm and bad bearing? Rare for such a new model and year, maybe not the bent arm.

Bad tires can cause a hum or rumble. Hard to say without a sound clip.

A lot can contribute to bad alignment

FirstF80InSpace · 03-28-2018, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

How do you have a bent arm and bad bearing? Rare for such a new model and year, maybe not the bent arm.

Easy. If you drive on roads with so many potholes that it looks like a bombed out airport runway in Syria, you can mess up your suspension rather quickly.

BzsBimmer · 03-28-2018, 01:35 PM

If roads are that bad, he should consider 18” wheels with beefier sidewalls or a truck

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirstF80InSpace

Easy. If you drive on roads with so many potholes that it looks like a bombed out airport runway in Syria, you can mess up your suspension rather quickly.

JibSTir13 · 03-30-2018, 03:14 PM

My understanding is that there is no warranty re: alignment. Generally, aside from aligning the car, they need to provide you with an alignment sheet showing you the car was properly aligned.

The reasoning is that there is no telling what caused the alignment to go out of spec since you could have hit something, or did something else to cause the alignment to be off again.

Kinda crappy - if anyone knows this is not the case, please share.

corbs09 · 04-05-2018, 04:41 PM

If I were the dealer I wouldnt warranty your tires. As long as the car is still in spec alignment wise, I agree with them.. you're on the hook for the tires as you were driving the car with a bent control arm. They didnt say your current alignment is bad, they are most likely stating your alignment WAS bad, just as you said, and they they arent responsible for any damage done while you were driving the car in that state.

I would also be willing to bet your tires are what is causing that noise.

03-20-2018, 12:52 PM	#1
Krew_Guap Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M4 (MT) Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: South Carolina iTrader: (0)	Dealer performed bad alignment, wants to charge me to fix issues it caused I own a 2015 BMW M4, and about 1 month ago I took my M4 to the dealer to check this weird humming noise coming from the front left side of my car. This noise only happens when I am going about 15 MPH or slower ( if someone has any thoughts on this plz let me know). anyway so I take it to the dealer and they can't reproduce this noise but they did find that my lower control arm was bent and my wheel baring broken. So I get it fixed and that's that. fast forward to March 19th, 2018. I take my car in for the same noise and leave it there to see if they could reproduce the noise again. So now its March 20th, 2018 and they call me telling me they couldn't reproduce the noise but that my front tires are splitting because I had a bad alignment.Now I'm here thinking to myself "but yall aligned the car about a month ago when yall replaced the lower control arm and wheel baring". Any thoughts on whether I should pay for the new alignment and new set of tires or they should. Last edited by Krew_Guap; 03-20-2018 at 12:57 PM..
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03-20-2018, 12:56 PM	#2
damageprone Major 581 Rep 1,055 Posts Drives: Tesla Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Casino iTrader: (1)	Did they actually do the alignment per the work order? I'm assuming the humming may be from the control arm issue from before, and once they replaced the arm and bearing, the tire could have already been screwed up. Even if they did align the car properly, the tire could have been off balance from the bad control arm. Did the noise go away once they fixed the control arm and bearing? In the end, these are "wear and tear" issues IMO and you'd be sucking up the cost.
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03-20-2018, 01:02 PM	#3
Krew_Guap Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M4 (MT) Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: South Carolina iTrader: (0)	Yes, they did the alignment it is stated on the receipt they gave. The humming has been going on for a number of months now way before the control arm was bent and no the humming hasn't gone away.
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03-20-2018, 03:39 PM	#5
Krew_Guap Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M4 (MT) Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: South Carolina iTrader: (0)	Alright, will do thanks guys.
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03-21-2018, 12:18 PM	#6
gatorfast Major General 4995 Rep 6,862 Posts Drives: 718 Cayman Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SoFla iTrader: (4)	Are they suggesting you need another alignment because it is currently bad or that, due to the alignment being bad before they fixed it, the tires are now splitting? If they are suggesting you need another alignment then obviously you can point to the fact that they just did it.
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03-27-2018, 12:11 PM	#7
BzsBimmer Major General 3271 Rep 6,723 Posts Drives: '23 G80 FO M3, M3 & MY Tezzy's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nor. Cal iTrader: (32)	How do you have a bent arm and bad bearing? Rare for such a new model and year, maybe not the bent arm. Bad tires can cause a hum or rumble. Hard to say without a sound clip. A lot can contribute to bad alignment
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03-30-2018, 03:14 PM	#10
JibSTir13 Major 603 Rep 1,038 Posts Drives: F80 / FJ Cruiser Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: California iTrader: (0)	My understanding is that there is no warranty re: alignment. Generally, aside from aligning the car, they need to provide you with an alignment sheet showing you the car was properly aligned. The reasoning is that there is no telling what caused the alignment to go out of spec since you could have hit something, or did something else to cause the alignment to be off again. Kinda crappy - if anyone knows this is not the case, please share.
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04-05-2018, 04:41 PM	#11
corbs09 Lieutenant 355 Rep 478 Posts Drives: 09 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Dallas iTrader: (1)	If I were the dealer I wouldnt warranty your tires. As long as the car is still in spec alignment wise, I agree with them.. you're on the hook for the tires as you were driving the car with a bent control arm. They didnt say your current alignment is bad, they are most likely stating your alignment WAS bad, just as you said, and they they arent responsible for any damage done while you were driving the car in that state. I would also be willing to bet your tires are what is causing that noise.
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