Reasonable dealer maintenance time?

CrossyN · 03-15-2019, 08:04 AM

I booked my 18 M4 Convertible (currently 4k miles) into a UK main dealer a few weeks ago to have them look at a few trim rattles around the roof area.

They had the car in for a total of 8 days, and handed it back still rattling.

They also handed it back with a gap in the rear window seals, so its now p!ssing water through the roof onto the back seats as a result of their work.

I booked it back into the same dealer earlier this week, and as of today they've had the car for a further 5 days, and if I don't get it back today, on Monday they'll have had the car for 14 days for a trim issue!

I'm finding it difficult to justify to myself why this is OK and reasonable, in my mind this is horrendously incompetent and inefficient. I don't know enough about maintenance to engage in a dispute though, are trim issues really this time consuming to troubleshoot?

G4BR13L · 03-15-2019, 11:33 AM

As always you have to also look at it from a different perspective: you as a customer bring your car in because there are rattling noises coming around the roof area. If this is still under warranty it might cost the dealer a lot of money and to be honest they cannot possible estimate upfront what it will cost nor what is wrong with it. They should first try to find the cause of the noises and then give you a quote for repairs or when under warranty inform you have long they are actually going to need the car so you can still decide when would be a better time to bring your car instead of keeping the car for days and days so that a tech guy can spent two hours per day on your car instead of 2 consequent days.

Have you asked the dealer why they needed the car for so many days? Maybe they had to bring in a specialist? Maybe they had to wait for parts which took longer than anticipated?

When you got your car back they should have checked the gap dimensions and carry out a leak test.
Is this at an official BMW dealer?
In all honestly it is kind of hard to say anything about this dealer because we don't have all the facts.
Have you considered the possibility that there is more going on with the car and these are 'atypical' noises that any dealer can resolve with the 'typical' solutions?

CrossyN · 03-15-2019, 01:16 PM

The noise I reported was coming from the area above the drivers sun visor, there's no atypical issues that can arise from that area that I can fathom, it was just a straight forward question whether it's reasonable to lose your car for 2 weeks for a trim issue.

Either way I've just received it back, they weren't able to tell me what their mechanic had done, and it's still creaking. Not sure if it's still leaking, I'll have to hose it down another day.

I think if the creaking noise gets progressively worse again, I'll just trade this in. I've fell out of love with the F83 somewhat because of this, it makes the car feel cheap. They gave me a M140i as a courtesy car and it was worryingly nicer to drive than a F83 due to the weight of it. I think this is par for the course with a hard top convertible and it's not something I want to live with.

Cheers anyway.

03-15-2019, 08:04 AM	#1
CrossyN Private First Class 81 Rep 176 Posts Drives: M4 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: - iTrader: (0)	Reasonable dealer maintenance time? I booked my 18 M4 Convertible (currently 4k miles) into a UK main dealer a few weeks ago to have them look at a few trim rattles around the roof area. They had the car in for a total of 8 days, and handed it back still rattling. They also handed it back with a gap in the rear window seals, so its now p!ssing water through the roof onto the back seats as a result of their work. I booked it back into the same dealer earlier this week, and as of today they've had the car for a further 5 days, and if I don't get it back today, on Monday they'll have had the car for 14 days for a trim issue! I'm finding it difficult to justify to myself why this is OK and reasonable, in my mind this is horrendously incompetent and inefficient. I don't know enough about maintenance to engage in a dispute though, are trim issues really this time consuming to troubleshoot?
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03-15-2019, 11:33 AM	#2
G4BR13L Major 523 Rep 1,105 Posts Drives: BMW M4 Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Hasselt (Belgium) iTrader: (0)	As always you have to also look at it from a different perspective: you as a customer bring your car in because there are rattling noises coming around the roof area. If this is still under warranty it might cost the dealer a lot of money and to be honest they cannot possible estimate upfront what it will cost nor what is wrong with it. They should first try to find the cause of the noises and then give you a quote for repairs or when under warranty inform you have long they are actually going to need the car so you can still decide when would be a better time to bring your car instead of keeping the car for days and days so that a tech guy can spent two hours per day on your car instead of 2 consequent days. Have you asked the dealer why they needed the car for so many days? Maybe they had to bring in a specialist? Maybe they had to wait for parts which took longer than anticipated? When you got your car back they should have checked the gap dimensions and carry out a leak test. Is this at an official BMW dealer? In all honestly it is kind of hard to say anything about this dealer because we don't have all the facts. Have you considered the possibility that there is more going on with the car and these are 'atypical' noises that any dealer can resolve with the 'typical' solutions?
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03-15-2019, 01:16 PM	#3
CrossyN Private First Class 81 Rep 176 Posts Drives: M4 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: - iTrader: (0)	The noise I reported was coming from the area above the drivers sun visor, there's no atypical issues that can arise from that area that I can fathom, it was just a straight forward question whether it's reasonable to lose your car for 2 weeks for a trim issue. Either way I've just received it back, they weren't able to tell me what their mechanic had done, and it's still creaking. Not sure if it's still leaking, I'll have to hose it down another day. I think if the creaking noise gets progressively worse again, I'll just trade this in. I've fell out of love with the F83 somewhat because of this, it makes the car feel cheap. They gave me a M140i as a courtesy car and it was worryingly nicer to drive than a F83 due to the weight of it. I think this is par for the course with a hard top convertible and it's not something I want to live with. Cheers anyway.
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