BMW Warranty Issues - Leaking Trans

[ScrewedByBMW]

I purchased a used 2007 328XI from a BMW dealer in a different city (USA) than I live. The car recently developed an transmission leak. I took it in for warranty work (at Edmonton BMW) and they told me it is leaking in three places (pan, where wire probes enter, frost plug). I was told work had been done on the car and they would not cover fixing it under warranty. I said the car is almost new with two registered owners (other BMW dealership and myself). Only work would have been performed by BMW. BMW records show no work was ever done. They still refuse to do the warranty. They told me they can tell when the pan was dropped by the screws. Even in the highly unlikely event that someone did work on the pan (1) it would have been by BMW and (2) how come the other leaks are not covered.

This does not make sense to me as to why this car would not be covered under warranty - its crazy.

I was wondering if any others have had leaking transmissions in 2007 328XI (Automatic Trans)? Also has anyone ever heard about the frost plug leaking? By the way, Edmonton BMW says they have to replace the entire transmission because the "frost plug" is not a part available from BMW - it will cost me $14,000.

Thanks
Darryl

[Redlyne_mr2]

Did you buy the car from the US? Many canadian dealers are not friendly to those who have bought their product in another country.

[Destinova403]

i dont really understand... this is a debate that has come up a lot lately but please excuse me for my ignorance... does BMW transfer their warranty over from the USA to Canada? because as far as i know a lot of brands dont. you said you bought your car in the states could that be part of the problem?

[blinkme_210]

Did you check if the warranty could be transferred over or not? BMW USA operates differently than BMW Canada.

[ScrewedByBMW]

I contacted BMW Canada and BMW NA before purchasing the car and was told by both the warranty is transferrable. I am sure this has everything to do with them not wanting to honor the warranty here in Canada. I paid my $500 to Edmonton BMW for the recall letter (even though I had a recall letter from the dealer in the US). I assumed it was a small price to pay to start a relationship with the dealer here (even though I understand money does directly to BMW Canada to offset warranty claims).

So my thoughts are that I have 100% warranty, Edmonton BMW is denying to honour the warranty due to some claim that does not seem to hold water.

I would have bought the car without warranty, although I likely would of attempted to get a deal $500-$1000 less. But then BMW Canada takes my $500 and asks screws me again later.

I am now simply looking for advice / information regarding any elses similar experiences with either warranty denials or general service on the transmission. Maybe something is happened before I owned this and the denial is valid, but if this is true - I have not been shown proof. No one is going to mess with a small frost plug on a brand new BMW Steptronic automatic transmission.

If anyone can shed some light about similar experiences or problems with their auto trans, I am happy to listen.

[rage2]

I too have heard that BMW dealerships refuse to honor US warranties, even though BMW NA says the warranty is fully transferrable. I know of 1 person who brought in an M3 from the US, and the motor blew from the bad rod bearings. BMW up here refused to honor the warranty. Took about 6 months and involved lawyers before any work was done on the car.

This is why I choose to import a low mileage M3 that's out of warranty. Save a few extra grand (off warranty cars are quite a bit cheaper) and not have to worry if BMW will bother helping me out.

[88CRXGUY]

Could you get the records from the BMW dealer you bought the car from in the USA. It would show BMW Canada that the work was done. They're aren't going to take just your word for it if there is no documentation stating that the work was done at the dealer. For all that BMW knows is that you tried to fix the problem yourself and fucked it up. If I were you I'd try to get a hold of the USA dealer and see if you can get some documentation that the work was done at the BMW dealer.

[DoubleLP]

Is this not the exact reason there is a class action lawsuit that has developed? People go and buy a nice car from the US because as Canadians we are being screwed over by being charged way too much for the same car compared to the US, and now the warranty is being denied because the car is from the US?

So stupid. I hope that you get this figured out quickly.

[JRSC00LUDE]

That sucks, crooked car industry strikes again! :thumbsdow

I guess you'll have to get a lawyer and then drive the dealers reputation as far into the ground as you can. Pretty easy to make a few grand of refused coverage cost them significantly more in lost business you'd think. With all the attention on cross-border imports right now, it would be very easy to attract media attention once you've gone about it the right way (legally I mean) and established a rock solid case for yourself.

Good luck.

[ScrewedByBMW]

Rage2: Do you have the name of the M3 buyer?

I am trying to put together as much information as possible to start a small claims court case. I am sure I am not the only one in this position. It amazes me how few the options I have available.

88CRXGUY: BMW Canada has been in contact with the US dealer. An agreed upon fact is that no warranty work has ever been performed by a BMW dealer. What is in question is did someone else work on the transmission. It would seem there would be a high burden of proof on them to prove this. It does not make sense that anyone work do any work on a new car under warranty. Especially one as complex as a BMW steptronic transmission. I have crawled under the car and see no obvious signs of tampering.

JRSCOOLUDE: I agree. They hold all the cards and are not willing to help. Everytime I as for information I am stonewalled. It is either get it from another party. The other party says its confidential.

For those that dont know about the BMW transmission, this will make you smile. The transmission (made by GM - I think same as Corvette), is a completely sealed unit. I cannot check the level of the transmission oil, nor can I add more. I thus cannot drive the car until I get the matter resolved (even though I believe only a small amount of oil has drained out).

[Weapon_R]

For something that expensive, you should invest in a little bit of legal advice. If you are successful in trial you may be able to get some costs involved. In most cases, when BMW sees a lawsuit they will be more inclined to avoid trial.

Did you take it to another dealership for a second opinion yet? I would suggest you do that but don't tell them the circumstances, and get it in writing. Do not take it to an independent shop. Keep the quote BMW provided that states you need a new transmission; If you're successful in court, you want to force them to replace the unit instead of "repairing" it since they'd be paying for it.

Too many BMW automatic transmissions have been problematic. A quick search on E46fanatics will reveal the widespread issue of faulty auto transmissions on cars with relatively low mileage.

BMW seals their units and claims they are zero maintenance, but many people have found ways to service their transmissions privately and cheaply. If you are not successful with a suit or through the dealership, you may be able to have a shop open the pan and install a new filter and gasket kit.

[ScrewedByBMW]

Thanks for all the responses.

I went under the car today to see what I could see and take some pictures. From what I can see ...

Leak 1 - Tranmission Pan. Definitely oil on the pan screws but I cannot tell where the oil is coming from. I looked very hard for signs the bolts had been tampered with. I could see black markings on some of the bolts. They did not appear to be "wear" markings. Some of the markings were in the middle of the bolt - not on the edge where you would expect. What was also interesting is that you can see the top of the bolt where it screws through the transmission. The threads show no sign of wear that you would expect if the bolts were removed. I looked for other signs of the pan being removed. The most obvious is the drain pan. It is an allen bolt, so difficult to see markings. I looked very hard and could see no signs that it was ever removed. You would have to drain the oil before dropping the pan.

Leak 2 - Wire housing. I could see the wire housing and it did appear to have oil around it. The housing is so far up in the transmission that you cannot even touch it with your fingers. The only way you could do something with it would be to drop the transmission. I looked for signs the transmission was dropped. There are many large bolts and covers that would have to be removed to drop the transmission. None of those bolts showed the slightest sign of wear. I am 100% positive the transmission was never dropped.

Leak 3 - Frost Plug. I could barely see and touch the plug with my fingers. I could tell that the plug was not in square. It is quite small (1/2" diameter), I do not know what it would ever be used for (not a block heater - there is not even one in the engine block). Again, you could never do anything to this plug without dropping the transmission. It is in a very tight place. You could not even put a tool on it to attempt to knock it out even if you wanted to.

From what I can see is the worst that could ever have happened to the tranmission is that someone tightened the bolts. It does not appear that the pan was ever taken off. The other two leaks had to come from the factory as you could never do anything with them without dropping the transmission.

It was ironic that on Friday, I recieved a welcome letter and package from BMW Canada with my service card. The same day they denied to honor warranty on the car.

On Monday I will go to a couple independant BMW shops and get their opinion.

Regards
Darryl

[95EagleAWD]

Hi Darryl,

I would respond to this, since I was the Service Advisor that took your car, showed you the transmission that we had lying on the floor (not your car, but the exact transmission) explained the problem, had the technician that worked on it explain it to you and saw with my own eyes that the transmission has been taken apart, but since I'm no longer employed there, it seems that it isn't my concern anymore.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by rage2
I too have heard that BMW dealerships refuse to honor US warranties, even though BMW NA says the warranty is fully transferrable. I know of 1 person who brought in an M3 from the US, and the motor blew from the bad rod bearings. BMW up here refused to honor the warranty. Took about 6 months and involved lawyers before any work was done on the car.

This is why I choose to import a low mileage M3 that's out of warranty. Save a few extra grand (off warranty cars are quite a bit cheaper) and not have to worry if BMW will bother helping me out.

BMW dealers in Canada will honour any US Warranty.

[rage2]

Originally posted by ScrewedByBMW
Rage2: Do you have the name of the M3 buyer?
Yes I do. I've shot him a link to this thread via email, and told him to PM you if he wants to.


Originally posted by 95EagleAWD
BMW dealers in Canada will honour any US Warranty.
You mean BMW dealers in Canada is SUPPOSED to honour any US Warranty :). In practice, it's a little different based on what I've heard from others. Like I said earlier, I bought an off warranty car just to avoid the hassles haha.

I've been to BMW service twice now for non warranty work, and surprisingly, I'm actually happy with their service. I guess it's like going to a shitty movie with low expectations and coming out happy lol!

But ya, based on others I've spoken with, they all hate BMW and have nothing but problems with the service dept.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by rage2

Yes I do. I've shot him a link to this thread via email, and told him to PM you if he wants to.


You mean BMW dealers in Canada is SUPPOSED to honour any US Warranty :). In practice, it's a little different based on what I've heard from others.

We never, ever denied a warranty issue on a USDM car when I worked there.

If warranty is denied, it's for reasons like the one the OP has posted, not because the car is USDM.

If Darryl chooses to take this to small claims, that's his choice. Is he a mechanic? A licensed technician? Because our Tech could tell within ten minutes that the tranny had been tampered with and opened.

[w_man]

Hmm .. so to avoid problems, i suppose we all have to be a licensed technicians?!

Sorry and I dont want to come across as a prick but just like BMW financials wouldnt give me a loan based on a hand shake ... there's no reason for a customer to believe BMW's technician ... specially when the claim is around $14,000. What surprises me is that there really are no checks and balances in this industry.

There is no way to find out (from a third party) if this tranny was taken apart or not? If I was the OP, i wouldnt care where the 'licensed technician' learned about cars ... let alone bmws!!

Unfortunately, I would suggest taking BMW to court. I hope you win and get ur legal fees paid by BMW as well.

Me having similar problems with Infiniti, I have zero tolerance for automakers who dont stand behind their cars!!! I know how it feels to be on this side of the fence.

[tentacles]

The transmission (made by GM - I think same as Corvette)

The BMW uses the 6L50, same as the CTS/STS. Corvettes use the 6L80/6L90.

6L50 can only take 334ft/lbs torque. :)

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by w_man
Hmm .. so to avoid problems, i suppose we all have to be a licensed technicians?!



Absolutely not, but in small claims court, I would hope that the person with no knowledge has more proof than what the person with formal licensed training does in acertaining that the transmission was tampered with.

Why wouldn't he believe the technician? He doesn't get paid on the amount of money the transmission costs.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by w_man


Me having similar problems with Infiniti, I have zero tolerance for automakers who dont stand behind their cars!!! I know how it feels to be on this side of the fence.

BMW would stand behind their car 100% if the complainant could prove that the tranny wasn't touched.

It was.

Not by Edmonton BMW and not by the US Dealer. So who?

[ScrewedByBMW]

95EagleAWD, thanks for responding. I have never thought the licensed technician (or you) were lying to me -- but it does not mean he was correct. Please if you saw with your own eyes that the transmission was taken apart, please explain it to me. What did you see?

From my side:

1) The story just does not make sense that someone would open the transmission outside of BMW. I believe they owe me a better story than the pan bolts had marks on them. How much do you want to bet that when I get the gasket replaced that it is a genuine BMW part?

2) I believe it is more likely that this leak occured at the factory or within BMW than someone else working on it. Odd things can happen at a factory, it is bull to think the tech knows what every transmission looks like coming out of factory.

3) Although you did show me a transmission on the ground, you did not show me my transmission. You did not show me these telltale markings that prove my transmission was opened. You showed me only the locations of the leaks on a different transmission. I came to the dealership with a camera after you told me you would put it on the hoist. I arrived no more than 10 minutes after talking to you, yet you were then too busy to put it up.

4) My untrained eye tells me the following: While there are black colors on some of the bolts, they may or may not be wear marks. Most of the bolts have no markings. The markings are not always on the edge of the bolt where the pressure would be from untightening or tightening. The bolt heads are smooth, I can feel no wear on any of them. Also the tops of the screws threads show no sign of wear (you can see the end of the bolts sticking out of trans). I believe if you took those bolts out, you would see signs of wear. Finally, the drain bolt shows no sign of wear. If you removed the pan, you would drain the oil.

5) We are only talking about opening the bottom of the pan, not dropping the transmission (no way was that transmission dropped). It seems impossible that the three leaks are related. You cannot access the other two leaks without dropping the transmission. I looked very hard to see any signs that the transmission was dropped. This would be easy to see and I saw none. If the pan leak is not covered because it was removed, I was not given an explanation as to why the other two leaks were not covered.

6) No explanation was given regarding the leaking frost plug. Even the sevice technician admited to me (you were standing there), that he could not figure out how that happened and it could of come from the factory like that.

At most - yy untrained belief is the transmission pan bolts were tightened. This may have been a temp correction to solve an already leaking transmission. It was not something that caused the leak. I dont know where to look to see that 100% the transmission pan was removed.

Again, please explain these tell-tale signs you saw. I could not get an explanation from BMW Canada. They told me they had pictures but would not share them with me. I imagine you took the pictures. I believe you were a decent guy when I talked to you before - if I am missing something, show me where to look.

I certainly hope this does not come across as rude. I have not been able to get satisfactory answers. I hope you can help explain better.

Regards
Darryl

[Weapon_R]

Do you have any pictures of the bolts that were supposedly tampered with?

[95EagleAWD]

Hey Darryl,

As I said in my first post, I'm no longer working there. If you want more answers, I suggest that you call service, ask for the manager, and talk to him. They do have pictures that they should be willing to share with you.

As for the "telltale signs".... I'm no mechanic, but the bolts do have marks on them. For that I rely on what the technician tells me.

I wish you the best of luck. You're a decent guy and didn't get rude or upset when I was talking to you, and for that I thank you. But just be forewarned that you undoubtedly face an uphill battle. BMW sure isn't going to suck up a new tranny unless they have to. And unfortunately, it looks like the burden may be on you to prove that the tranny was never touched.

I'm not saying it's right, but that's probably how it's going to be.

[ScrewedByBMW]

Ryan, thanks again for responding and your honesty.

I have a few other questions that maybe you know the answer to or overheard discussions about.

Was the black marks on the bolts the only sign that the transmission was tampered with?
Was there any proof that the pan was actually removed?
Did anyone look at the top of the threads of the pan bolts that do not look like they they have any marks?
Did anyone look at the drain plug which does not look like it has any wear marks?
Why was it determined that the other two leaks would not be covered?

I understand it was not your call not to void the warranty. I have no desire to shoot the messenger. You were courteous and treated me fairly while I was there. I think that all the issues I currently have were not under your control. Norm (Edmonton BMW Service Manager) on the other hand was very rude to me when I first met him. He was arrogant and talked down to me the first time I brought the car in (to get the $500 Recall Letter). He told me "guys like me are going to ruin the entire industry by bring in US cars".

[cisco88]

Hmmm....

How many miles/km's were on the car when you bought it?

There has to be something else to this story, did you try to take it to Bavaria BMW?

Tell them your situation, and if they give you the same grief then may I suggest Eurasia in the southside.

I have a '06 330i that I bought at Edmonton BMW that has been in for some service but I have been treated well. I even had a 335i for a month because it took them a month to get a resolution to a bent rim.

I did contemplate buying a Bimmer from the US and importing it thinking I'd have no problems with it. But my better half said if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'd better have the piece of mind. Told the salesman my situation, and they gave me a deal since I gave them the chance to get my business.

I hope your car gets fixed in the end, they are so much fun to drive!

[ScrewedByBMW]

I have some great news. I met with Edmonton BMW Service Manager yesterday and they are going to fix the leaks for me under warranty. I believe that they still think it should not be their problem but they are stepping up to the plate for me. The work is scheduled for October 18th.

I think they see my side of the issue and I understand their concerns. They could continue to fight this but I believe they doing this to satisfy a customer.

As long as nothing changes between now and the 18th, hopefully I will be reporting back with a new screen name.

[95EagleAWD]

Good to hear, Darryl.

How'd the talk with Norm go?

[ScrewedByBMW]

It has been a couple of months since I last posted. I thought I would update on my pain with dealing with BMW.

My last update I stated that all was well and after meeting with Norm (Service Manager at Edmonton BMW), they would cover the repairs to the transmission. That was Oct 4th. At the time I was told the parts were in as a result of the original service.

The first available appointment was Oct 18th. On the day before, I was told some of the required parts were not in yet (I thought parts were in on the 4th). The next appointment was set for Nov 7th.

On the 7th, I dropped off the car. I was in for the day when I was told to come and pick it up - but unfortunately they were unable to work on it because they did not order one of the required parts. The next appointment was scheduled for Dec 11th.

I dropped off the car and was surprised when I was told the car was fixed an to come and pick it up. When I picked it up I was presented a bill for $750.00. I told them I had an agreement with Norm that the work was going to be covered. She left and came back a few minutes later stating she had no knowledge of this agreement and Norm was gone. I would have to leave my CC# to take the car. She was not going to enter the transaction until she discussed with Norm.

I never did hear back from Edmonton BMW. Three days later I had an invoice on my visa for $750.00. I have not yet been able to contact Norm. I am sure he is going to say he never agreed to cover the work. Obviously I should have gotten something in writing.

Edmonton BMW has been incompetent and untrustworthy. BMW has been ignorant and useless. I cannot see how they can stay in business.

I noticed three days after getting the car back the oil light came on to add one quart - coincidence???

[phrozen]

Wait so you bought a BMW!?!?!

Not saying it's your fault, but you should have seen
something like this BS...

[Toms-SC]

Because people are fucking stupid and will continue to support BMW for the 'prestige'. The shit BMW is doing at the borders should be enough to tell you to stay away.

[95EagleAWD]

:thumbsdow

[RickDaTuner]

I feel I need to Say that this is only a result of not being careful enough when buying a used VEH, as a consumer sure we want to be taken care of when we have the right to it, and a dealer they want to avoid unnecessary costs when ever possible.

Problem is, you bought a used car, was unable to have it inspected, and are now suffering the consequences of that. yes its not fair to have an expensive broken new car that is not being covered under warranty, but you would be surprised how much of this happens. people buy new cars abuse them, find the quickest, cheapest solution to mask the problem, and then sell the car to an unsuspecting buyer. its not really beemers fault, They are only looking to cover their asses.

Any all warranty that a dealer performs is subjected to random audits from BMW Canada, and if the parent company suspects any sort of discrepancy they charge the dealer all warranty claims in a set period of time, which in some cases can come out to over 500k dollars, which in turn leads to the tech who performed the work for that claim to loose his job and so on.

So you see this is a matter of a consumer unfortunately getting hosed, you are finding out the hard way, but I'm sure you wont make this mistake again.

[Bimmer88]

They loose money when they do warranty work I can see why they want the $14 000.

Well here is a TIS of the oil sump as it's called in the TIS.

I think this is your problem?

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3673/tisqh0.jpg

That's the image but tell me if it's not I don't really understand where the leak is coming from.

[rc2002]

It sucks that the dealer didn't keep their word about not charging you, but personally I would be ecstatic to pay the $750 as opposed to the quoted $14000 amount. Did they actually replace the tranny? Or did they just repair it and send you the full bill for it?

I've been wary of importing a BMW for this exact reason, be it brand new or used. There are enough stories of poor service in Calgary for BMWs bought locally - I'd imagine that bringing one in from the US would be that much more of a headache. It's one of the risks of importing a vehicle. I bet if you had tried this at a Calgary BMW dealership, it'd be the exact same result if not worse.

At the end of the day, you probably came out on top financially by importing the car, but this is probably what you're going to have to expect for any warranty work in the future. It's one of the main reasons why US cars can't command the same price as CDN cars in the used car market.

[Redlyne_mr2]

If youre buying a car in the states you pretty much have to be ready to accept any and all consequences. The USA is all about buyer beware... so many shady dealers down there looking for Canadian suckers.

[urban.one]

Did you get an answer from Norm as to why you were charged?

Is he denying the initial agreement he had with you?

You can do a chargeback on your Visa.

What did you sign when you dropped off and picked up your car?

Whats the $750 charge for? Why was the rest of it covered?


Originally posted by ScrewedByBMW
It has been a couple of months since I last posted. I thought I would update on my pain with dealing with BMW.

My last update I stated that all was well and after meeting with Norm (Service Manager at Edmonton BMW), they would cover the repairs to the transmission. That was Oct 4th. At the time I was told the parts were in as a result of the original service.

The first available appointment was Oct 18th. On the day before, I was told some of the required parts were not in yet (I thought parts were in on the 4th). The next appointment was set for Nov 7th.

On the 7th, I dropped off the car. I was in for the day when I was told to come and pick it up - but unfortunately they were unable to work on it because they did not order one of the required parts. The next appointment was scheduled for Dec 11th.

I dropped off the car and was surprised when I was told the car was fixed an to come and pick it up. When I picked it up I was presented a bill for $750.00. I told them I had an agreement with Norm that the work was going to be covered. She left and came back a few minutes later stating she had no knowledge of this agreement and Norm was gone. I would have to leave my CC# to take the car. She was not going to enter the transaction until she discussed with Norm.

I never did hear back from Edmonton BMW. Three days later I had an invoice on my visa for $750.00. I have not yet been able to contact Norm. I am sure he is going to say he never agreed to cover the work. Obviously I should have gotten something in writing.

Edmonton BMW has been incompetent and untrustworthy. BMW has been ignorant and useless. I cannot see how they can stay in business.

I noticed three days after getting the car back the oil light came on to add one quart - coincidence???

[max_boost]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
It sucks that the dealer didn't keep their word about not charging you, but personally I would be ecstatic to pay the $750 as opposed to the quoted $14000 amount.

:werd:

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
It sucks that the dealer didn't keep their word about not charging you, but personally I would be ecstatic to pay the $750 as opposed to the quoted $14000 amount.

I disagree. If what the OP says is true, why should he have to pay any amount at all?

[ScrewedByBMW]

Thanks for the replies.

RickDaTuner: Although I understand buyer-beware. There is only so much a consumer can do. I admit that I wish I would have got a independent inspection. I dont know if it would have helped in this case. I did a visual inspection and there were no signs of oil leaks when I purchased the car. Someone might have noticed the crooked frst plug - but they would have had to be looking for it. I bought six month old car from a certified BMW dealership that was the only legal owner of the car - I thought that would me some protection.

Bimmer88: Sorry I cant really tell from your pictures. It looks like the engine pan. My problem was a leaking transmission. I actually could not tell where it was leaking. It only leaked once. I was told there were three leaks. After I cleaned up the oil from the trans - there were never any oil spots again.

Richardchan2002: They never replaced the trans. They repaired two gaskets and straightened the frost plug. The frost plug is the only reason the repair was $14000 (new trans) - they could not order the frost plug. One odd thing is that they charged me for replacing the pan bolts. That is very odd - why would they need to replace those????

Urban.One: I did talk with Norm and he denied making the agreement with me. He said he only agreed to "fix" the car. Maybe I misunderstood him, but (1) He was going to fix the car anyway. One of the reasons I met with him was that the parts were in, likely ordered by Ryan from my original visit. I told them that I was not going to get the work done yet and the parts should not have been ordered. (2) The second reason I met with him that day was because I had an interview with Julie Mathews (Global Trouble shooter) the next day. I was to be part of a 3-part series with Phil Edmonson. My segment was not on importing a car - but on dealers denying warranty service. Edm BMW was aware of this as I forwarded all coorespondance. My understanding of the agreement was they were going to fix the car and I was not going to do the interview.

Darryl

[ScrewedByBMW]

Attached is a picture of the frost plug (before repairs). This is the part that could not be replaced thus BMW wanted to charge me for a new transmission.

The plug is on the left side. Next to it is the front drive shaft. You can barely touch the plug with your fingers. I cannot see how this plug could be crooked unless originally installed that way. I could feel no scratches or marks on it from a tool. You would have to remove the driveshaft to get a tool on it. I looked very closely at the bolts on the driveshaft and it appears they were never touched.

Darryl

[Bimmer88]

Really sorry about your incident once again. Have you tried calling BMW Canada and complaining? I would imagine their closed for the long weekend but yeh please let us now what's going on. We always love to hear the outcome of these situtations.

[canuckcarguy]

I don't think the OP deserves any blame here. Even if he had arranged for an independent inspection, it wouldn't have indicated tampering from outside a BMW shop, if that's actually what happened. Even if said inspection had uncovered a transmission leak, one could reasonably assume, in the absence of any signs of abuse / collision / etc, that these leaks would be covered under warranty.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that the original owner noticed a transmission leak, wasn't able to immediately report to a BMW dealership, and went to a lube shop or an independent mechanic for a quick peek, where they tightened the pan bolts (a reasonable course of action under the circumstances), and recommended he monitor the transmission for any further leak problems.

When pressured, the dealership managed to repair the frost plug and replace 2 gaskets, even though it sounds as if they'd originally claimed that this was impossible, and the only way to fix the car was with a brand new $14K transmission.

I'd be filing with small claims court immediately for your $750 back (I doubt VISA will help you if you signed the slip), and asking them, in court, how the frost plug could possibly have been your responsibility. How much credibility will they have, when they have to explain to the judge that they managed to fix the car for $750 despite their earlier assertion that a minimum $14K would be required, and this miraculous discount only appeared after they were threatened with media exposure for their shady practices?...

OP, if you've never filed in small claims court before, PM me, I've done it many times, and can give you some simple directions.

Good luck, and Merry Christmas.