uncleb

First off, hello to all. I have replied to a couple of posts but in general have not participated in this forum to this point.

I am a first time BMW owner. I bought a 2006 530i in May. I have put approx 10K miles on it. So far, it has been a blast owning this car. I love it. It is by far the best car I have ever owned.

I took it in for maintenence today. The brake fluid was due for changing. My service rep calls and says they recommend a "smooth ride" alignment (alignment and road force balance) due to some unusual tire wear. Also recommended a fuel injector flush (clogged filter?). Neither under warranty. Cost around $500-$600. I declined.

My question.

Should I expect issues like this after only 10K miles? Am I off base in expecting that these things would have been addressed when the car was prepared as a CPO? My expectation of a CPO is that it is prepared as much like a new car as possible. Or is this just a dealer trying to make a little money off me since I have the full maintenece warranty?

What say the experts.

Thanks,
B

BIMMERTIME-07

No i don't think you should expect these types of charges especially only after 10k miles this is terrible. I did not have any problems after 10k miles. I don't think the alingment is a problem, they jjust want you for your money. If i were you I would take the car back and argue with them until they fix it. Tell them this is a cpo car and it only has 10k miles on it. and that this should be covered i know they don't cover tires but still the fuel injector flush should be covered, you should defenitly argue and have them fix it. good luck

PraiseTheLowered

Dont listen to the above, its not good advice.

Just because you want it covered doesnt mean BMW covers it. Im am going through hoops with my CPO and I can tell you that my dealer is following the letter of the BMW law for it.

If you are getting uneven tread wear then you need an alignment. The other thing they are telling you to get you dont need.

My my dealer foreman told me was when they CPO a car, they check to see if the parts are still working, not if they are old and "MIGHT" need to be replaced.

Putting 10k miles on your car is enough to cause somethings that were fine when they CPOd it to now require attention

firewired

I agree that uneven tire wear may indicate the need for an alignment which might not have been there 10k ago. I would definately ask about the cpo, because it doesn't hurt. Though I think they would be going beyond what they were technically obligated to do.

If all else I would take it to an independent dealer that specializes in BMWs to get it done. Here in San Antonio we bave Rhine west It has got to be cheaper to have it done at a place like that rather than the dealer.

uncleb

Thanks for the input.

One thing I should add. The dealer I am taking it to is not the dealer I bought it from. the dealer I bought it from is too far away.

On the alignment, I don't see uneven tire wear so I am skeptical. I guess my main concern is that they are just trying to recoup some money becuase I have the maintenence warranty.

chamilun

consider the roadforce balance only if youre getting any shimmy or shake at speeds of say 55-60, 75-80, etc. If the car is driving smoothly,
you *do not* need the balancing.

alignment is same question: is the car pulling to left or right? if not, probably good to go.

if you see the inner or outer tread wearing, that could be alignment issue, but not balance.

good luck!


does anyone on this site do their own maintenance?

uncleb

That's the thing. I don't see any unusual tire wear. Also, I drive around 80 all the time and hit 90-100 on a fairly regular basis and it rides great. no pull. no shimmy. That's why I think they are just trying to make some $$$ off me.

I figure I will start doing some of my own maintenece once the maintenence warranty runs out.

Agian, thanks to all for the great feedback. This site is a great resource.

PraiseTheLowered

I would only get a an alignment done if you have hit a curb really hard, or if you lowered your car and are getting vibrations.

noonehome

What does the dealer consider uneven tire where? The insides of our rear tires will always wear faster than the outside due to the camber that is supposed to be there. In general though BMW recommends an alignment once per year.

subarashi

Where did you get this alignment info from??????? as far as I am aware, BMW has no position on alignment intervals....