Maintenance help!!!

[B777flyboy]

Long story short. Took car in for routine work along with winter wheel swap. Bmw Dealer asked who put my summers on. It was another Bmw dealer. They reported over torqued lugs. They had to break all locks and a bolt on one wheel to get it off. Dealer who screwed work up says they won't cover the $400 in work/parts because they weren't contacted by dealer who found problem. Am thinking going to have to go through NA for assistance. Best recommendations for route to take in regards to contacting would be helpful.

[Gangplank]

So your saying the dealer tightened the lugs so tight they had to beak them to get them off? Hard to believe to be honest.... easy solution though, have the one dealer call the other.

[JimD]

This doesn't sound entirely right to me either. I don't buy tires at the dealer, I buy nothing there I don't have to, but get them at a local tire place. Their prices are good and they will plug and rotate for free. But they pretty regularly have reinstalled my wheels with their air impact. I broke a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter before getting a 1/2 drive socket. My little battery impact is only good to a little over 200 ft lbs but would not budge them. I took the car back in and made them remove the wheels and use a torque wrench to tighten them. But more recently I've used a ratchet and a long pipe (five or six feet long) for extra leverage to get them off.

I said all that to say my experience is that BMW lug nuts/bolts will withstand considerable over torquing well over twice what they are supposed to be tightened. If a dealer went higher than that, it was a serious mistake. One reason I don't go to the dealer for things like oil changes and tires is I think they give that work to the least experienced person they have. Leaving an impact at it's maximum setting while tightening lug nuts seems like something an inexperienced person might be more inclined to do. The threads on my oil drain plug where also a little messed up after dealer oil changes when they were "free". I think there are good mechanics at the dealership but I don't think they do things like oil changes.

[________]

Suck it up and pay because you made a mistake.

If they called you to ask, you said it was the other dealer and approved them to do the work without telling them to contact the other dealer, tough tomatoes...

[NorthernDancer]

Do you have a work order from that other dealer showing they did the work?

I've had my own torque wrench for many years and usually always check other peoples work. And yes, usually the youngest most inexperienced "tech" gets this work.

[B777flyboy]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Suck it up and pay because you made a mistake.

If they called you to ask, you said it was the other dealer and approved them to do the work without telling them to contact the other dealer, tough tomatoes...

First of all I didn't approve anything. Second of all the work happened to it be done yet. Third, I don't understand how one dealers sop's are my responsibility to know. Turns out I have to bring car back to other to get work fixed. Also to your point they wouldn't contact them.

[B777flyboy]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Do you have a work order from that other dealer showing they did the work?

I've had my own torque wrench for many years and usually always check other peoples work. And yes, usually the youngest most inexperienced "tech" gets this work.

Yes. Spoke to same SA.

[________]

Originally Posted by B777flyboy

First of all I didn't approve anything. Second of all the work happened to it be done yet. Third, I don't understand how one dealers sop's are my responsibility to know. Turns out I have to bring car back to other to get work fixed. Also to your point they wouldn't contact them.

If you didn't approve it, you don't have to pay for it.