[STC]

My 08 335i's water pump broke on 12/26 (same day my extended warranty expired). It happened at 5pm, service center closes at 6, tow truck couldn't come until 6:30. Car was towed and left over night.

SA called me next morning and said yep water pump broke, but your extended warranty just expired. I said it expired yesterday and I called while you were open so you guys can document it and I tried to bring it in but the tow truck could not make it in time. He says well technically my warranty expired 2 days ago as you need an open work order from the day before (dec 25), but they were closed obviously so the warranty expired 2 days ago. I said the paperwork says 12/26. He said your car came in today technically so it's 2 days after the warranty expired.

He said he would reach out to the rep and help me out. We'll today he calls me and said BMW will pay for the part, but I will need to pay $350 for labor. I don't mind paying for service, but the day of (or 2 days based on what SA) after the warranty expired.

Anyone know any higher ups at BMW I can plead my case to? This is ridiculous that stuff breaks less the day the warranty expires and the way BMW handled it makes me not want to one another.

Pls help. Thx.

[Agentphish]

Rough luck man, especially on a part that is so prone to failure (from what I understand).

Most companies are pretty strict with warranties. But give BMWNA a call and see if they can help you directly. Good luck.

[Potty_Pants]

$350 out of pocket and your done...

dude man take it and run.

ppp

[Fortyb]

Yep set the appt. up and and still call Bmw NA to see if they will recompensate you for the money paid. but that's cheap as hell.. Make sure they are changing out the thermostat also.

[Karbon]

BMWNA will probably pay for the part and repair.

They're usually really good with things that fail within a short time or few miles after the warranty expires.

[STC]

I called regarding the thermostat and will be paying $150 for the part. That's a good idea to call BMWNA. I'll call them ASAP. Is there someone I can ask for specifically who's maybe sympathetic. To these cases?

[DJtoad]

$150? The retail price for the thermostat is only $120 and many places, including dealerships like Tischer / BMW of Silver Spring (www.getBMWParts.com), sell it for well under $100. They have to remove the thermostat along with the water pump so there's no additional labor for them to replace it. Even at $100 they'd be making a profit on the part. BTW, I agree with the other poster -- always replace the thermostat when replacing the water pump.

[mike3000fl]

There should be stored codes. See when the dates are.

[pruettfan]

I actually think they are being very generous. I know it sucks but they are not legally required to do anything. They are basically doing this job for about a grand less than they normally charge.

[Potty_Pants]

Off on a tangent...

OP has a failed water pump and we're all telling him to replace the thermostat.
we all know it "should be" replaced with the pump... but not always is.

why isn't it mandatory ... duh costs... but still. it's like replacing a clutch and keeping the pressure plate.

and why aren't dealerships advising customers to replace thermostat with waterpump, for full warranty repairs (even at owner cost) or out of pocket ? Is it because they want to rape you 3 months down the road when it fails ? is it because they don't want to get into a discussion with customer why they should pay for a part not covered... or are they just lazy and cant work for the 100k of their salary ?

just saying if your not savvy on the parts, or do your research your going to have grief.

ppp

[John 070]

I had the opposite experience which frankly surprised me. Limped in 1 day before the warranty expired, no appointment, 15 minutes after they closed on a Friday evening (the Friday after Thanksgiving). SA said let me get a foreman to take a look and I'll write it up now and I'll put you into a loaner for the weekend (here's where I got that F31 4 cyl. that cost 52k, brand-new). They didn't even work on my car until it was 3 days out-of-warranty, so it does seem that the "write-up" determines whether a car is in or out-of-warranty.

I think the way to go about it is to call the 800#, understand that your car broke out-of-warranty. DO NOT TRY TO DENY THE FACTS. But take the attitude hey, I made my best effort to get the car in while it was under warranty. Was it BMW Assist that couldn't get it to the dealership in time? If so, they should consider that fact. Good luck.

[m@rco]

Sorry to hear... But yeah, end-of-warrantee is end-of-warrantee. If BMW picks up the part and you can negotiate on the number of labor hours... I think BMW offers you a good gesture. Imagine that this had happened a month later. Would BMW still be so generous? I'm not sure, so suck it up and enjoy your car. It is a fact of life: maintenance costs money. And if you can keep your annual average maintenance cost well below the annual depreciation of a new car, you're doing great!

[John 070]

Originally Posted by m@rco

Sorry to hear... But yeah, end-of-warrantee is end-of-warrantee. If BMW picks up the part and you can negotiate on the number of labor hours... I think BMW offers you a good gesture. Imagine that this had happened a month later. Would BMW still be so generous? I'm not sure, so suck it up and enjoy your car. It is a fact of life: maintenance costs money. And if you can keep your annual average maintenance cost well below the annual depreciation of a new car, you're doing great!

Funny but understandable, we're all human. But most human processes understand that we're human. I bought a Samsung 6350 2013 LED TV for $799, and was happy with the price. 3 days later, I was in Costco, and it was $629? WTF? Costco had no problem issuing me a $170 credit on the spot. But it's the process, we have 90 days anyway to return the tv. So what if it were on the 91st day?

A baby is born on 12/31/13, he can be claimed as an exemption (for this forum probably worth 28% of $3900 or $1092. The baby is born 1/1/14, and no exemption until TY 2014. Now I'd be pretty sure no doctors or husbands will be screaming for the mom to push harder so the baby can be born on 12/31, but it wouldn't surprise me if people today have it in the back of their mind, that if only the baby could be born today, and not tomorrow, it's worth over $1k more.

There is also a $1k credit, but nobody who has a BMW should qualify for it based on their income...

[pk_]

They wanted $1700 for parts and labor when mine gave out. Took me almost 2 weeks to hassle them to bring it down, finally settled at $900.00. By technicality, you are out of warranty.

Also like everyone else is saying, change the thermostat.

You've got a case brother, it's just a matter of how patient and flexible you are.
I rented a car for 2 weeks, cost me about $350 because I have a corporate discount. It's more or less how far you're willing to go, my car was parked at BMW, I purposely didn't answer their calls right away so that we were leaving voicemail(s) back and forth (for documentation sake) and I made it clear that I don't care my car is in their lot, they are going to work with me because I was right.

I was 5 days out of my warranty date. They're in the market to make money, and these business have allowances and budget for these things, but the squeeky wheel gets the grease. If they don't hear it, they wont fix it.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by pk_

They wanted $1700 for parts and labor when mine gave out. Took me almost 2 weeks to hassle them to bring it down, finally settled at $900.00. By technicality, you are out of warranty.

Also like everyone else is saying, change the thermostat.

You've got a case brother, it's just a matter of how patient and flexible you are.
I rented a car for 2 weeks, cost me about $350 because I have a corporate discount. It's more or less how far you're willing to go, my car was parked at BMW, I purposely didn't answer their calls right away so that we were leaving voicemail(s) back and forth (for documentation sake) and I made it clear that I don't care my car is in their lot, they are going to work with me because I was right.

I was 5 days out of my warranty date. They're in the market to make money, and these business have allowances and budget for these things, but the squeeky wheel gets the grease. If they don't hear it, they wont fix it.

I told the story before, but when I was in college I had a couple of nice cars for the summer as I had rich friends who went home for the summer. One time a Porsche dealer told me a cooling issue was under warranty, then when I went to pick it up they said it wasn't, and wanted something crazy like over 4k. I told them to call me back when it's covered by warranty, like you told me it was when I came in (I don't remember the exclusion they were trying to use, because the vehicle was barely over a year old). I thought of this case because you said you didn't take their calls, I did the same thing, and like 4 days later they were begging me to come get the car it's all covered.

[pk_]

Originally Posted by John 070

I told the story before, but when I was in college I had a couple of nice cars for the summer as I had rich friends who went home for the summer. One time a Porsche dealer told me a cooling issue was under warranty, then when I went to pick it up they said it wasn't, and wanted something crazy like over 4k. I told them to call me back when it's covered by warranty, like you told me it was when I came in (I don't remember the exclusion they were trying to use, because the vehicle was barely over a year old). I thought of this case because you said you didn't take their calls, I did the same thing, and like 4 days later they were begging me to come get the car it's all covered.

Haha for your sake I'm glad you weren't out 4k. Jesus.

Oh OP, forgot to mention. Make sure when you get them to replace the pump, it's the LATEST version. I know they're always supposed to, but you never know if they've got a NEW but previous version and put it in.

[vrmoreno3]

I am close to 100,000 miles and no failure, but am considering getting an indie shop to replace it anyway, as I drive long distances. Has anyone ever had BMW replace it as a pre-ventative measure and possibly pay for a portion of it?

[catcher22]

Straight up ask for a good will repair.

When I was under warranty, sometimes I would offer to pay for additional (non warranty) services and I noticed the dealership was more inclined to side with me for warranty repairs. that way they're straight up making a profit for the out of warranty services they rendered, while also eventually getting reimbursed for the warranty service they performed.

[John 070]

It just dawned on me in the OP's case.

BMW Assist was so slow, they couldn't get the car to the dealership in-time to be written up that day. That's all it is. If it got written-up, it is covered.

If they try to say well the call didn't come in until blah blah blah, well I was on hold so long and got disconnected twice.

Whatever the case, OP pays nothing.

[Thrakos]

It broke on the last day of warranty so I wouldn't pay five cents towards a repair that is covered under the warranty. You called, it was documented and you had the car towed there the same day. I would fight that tooth and nail; it's not the money, it's the principle. If it's covered by warranty, it's covered until midnight the day of, not until the shop closes.

[bimmer_335]

Take it on Twitter. I'm sure their SocialCS will respond.

[STC]

I did actually post on twitter to @ bmw, @ bmwusa, and @ bmwgroup. Got a reply to email them my Vin and phone number. Someone named Jody called me back, but couldn't pick up. I left her another message. Hope it works out.