Warranty claims -- charges for diagnosis
09-10-2009, 02:55 PM
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My Ride: 2007 530i, white/black manual, sports package, nav, PDC, etc.
If a car is brought into a BMW Center for a problem that may be covered under warranty or BMW's maintenance program, is the customer entitled to have the issue diagnosed without cost?
My car developed a clutch chatter at 15k miles and the dealer wants to charge me $1,350 to diagnose the issue. Naturally, if BMW covers the repair, there will be no cost to me. But should I have to bear this risk just to ascertain if coverage applies?
There is no evidence of abuse or neglect, but the cause of the problem cannot be ascertained without a physical inspection of the clutch. It seems to me that a customer acting in good faith should be entitled to have a problem diagnosed without charge.
My car developed a clutch chatter at 15k miles and the dealer wants to charge me $1,350 to diagnose the issue. Naturally, if BMW covers the repair, there will be no cost to me. But should I have to bear this risk just to ascertain if coverage applies?
There is no evidence of abuse or neglect, but the cause of the problem cannot be ascertained without a physical inspection of the clutch. It seems to me that a customer acting in good faith should be entitled to have a problem diagnosed without charge.
09-11-2009, 05:36 AM
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Interesting - I see your point but in this case the dealer is on the hook for the diagnosis if they find out the clutch chatter was the result of abuse - thus not covered by warranty.
Maybe you should contact BMWNA regarding your situation.
Maybe you should contact BMWNA regarding your situation.
09-11-2009, 08:57 AM
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My Ride: 2007 530i, white/black manual, sports package, nav, PDC, etc.
I understand the dealer's point of view but the dealer is essentially an agent for the manufacturer, and I would hope that the two together would work out an arrangement. BMWNA customer service says that they don't pay for diagnostic work, so my only recourse is to go to another dealer, or to request a meeting with the local factory rep.
Originally Posted by pukka' post='1004792' date='Sep 11 2009, 06:36 AM
Interesting - I see your point but in this case the dealer is on the hook for the diagnosis if they find out the clutch chatter was the result of abuse - thus not covered by warranty.
Maybe you should contact BMWNA regarding your situation.
Maybe you should contact BMWNA regarding your situation.
09-16-2009, 04:15 PM
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If your car is under warranty then you should be covered even for diagnostic requests.
BMW's warranty claims to cover EVERYTHING for 4 years or 50,000 miles. I use to frequent Motorwerks BMW in Bloomington, MN and they never once tried to charge for any of the diagnostic work that needed to be done with my cars. Even the dealership in Milwaukee never once even batted an eye when I drove in and said that there was a squeak in the front of the car.....they had the vehicle for nearly 4 days (I had a loaner) and they pinpointed it to a loose section in the passenger footwell.....all free of charge
BMW's warranty claims to cover EVERYTHING for 4 years or 50,000 miles. I use to frequent Motorwerks BMW in Bloomington, MN and they never once tried to charge for any of the diagnostic work that needed to be done with my cars. Even the dealership in Milwaukee never once even batted an eye when I drove in and said that there was a squeak in the front of the car.....they had the vehicle for nearly 4 days (I had a loaner) and they pinpointed it to a loose section in the passenger footwell.....all free of charge
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