[JamieA]

David, has Mr Shift key deserted you recently??

Jusk joking...

Broken1, glad to hear it will all be resolved soon. It is horrible to hear of your drama.

[icedragon]

Never trust people who work at dealerships.
Most of them cannot afford BMWs and don't really care.

[thrill30]

Broken1, I'm so sorry to hear about your problem. Anyway, at least you were able to go to Springs and back, without further trouble.

The incompetence at some BMW dealerships is really shocking and dangerous :mad: . Luckily you went for a second opinion from other dealerships.

I'm sure JSN will fix your car properly. I've only heard good things about them. I hope all goes well for you on Monday.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by JamieA

David, has Mr Shift key deserted you recently??

Jusk joking...

Many posts are from my PDA late at night while resting in bed. I just couldnt be bothered with caps, punctuation and the like. sorry.

[mowog]

Broken1,

I haven't had this specific problem on a modern car, but I had a 1962 Mini once upon a time which had its 850cc engine replaced with a 1100cc one. That engine developed significantly more torque, and therefore exerted lots more force on the upper engine mounts.

Cutting a long story short, after a while the sole upper mount actually tore away from the firewall, leaving the engine to swing freely on the drivetrain axis, supported only by the lower mounts. Without fine (and I mean really fine) control of the throttle, the engine would literally slam into the firewall, and actually broke the exhaust and its mounts several times before I could get the engine mount fixed. I remember driving the car with a blue exhaust haze in the passenger compartment.. if I didn't keep the windows open, I probably would have suffocated.

I wouldn't drive your car an inch until they fix it. 200km roundtrip? Braver man than me.

--m

[1er120i]

hmm... it seems that most low-end BMW models are sort of faulty. take the 116i for example... some of you may have heard that owners are bitching about it a lot. entry level buyers are ending up looking like second class citizens. not good at all

[Tierfreund]

Originally Posted by 1er120i

hmm... it seems that most low-end BMW models are sort of faulty. take the 116i for example... some of you may have heard that owners are bitching about it a lot. entry level buyers are ending up looking like second class citizens. not good at all

That´s about as bad of an oversimplification as I´ve ever read.

[1er120i]

i'm not starting a flame war here, but thats how the way I see it right now really. but then again its probably the dealer's fault most of the time (not doing thorough check up, etc.)

[David328M-Sport]

hey broken 1,

we are thinking of you and hoping that the dealer got it right for you and the problem is now history.

i hope you are feeling better when you read this post and respond with good news.

all the best b1.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by 1er120i

entry level buyers are ending up looking like second class citizens. not good at all

well it seems like broken 1 was treated like a second class citizen and no one should be treated that way.

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by 1er120i

i'm not starting a flame war here, but thats how the way I see it right now really. but then again its probably the dealer's fault most of the time (not doing thorough check up, etc.)

I don't think I was treated as a second class citizen because I bought a 320d. A 116i is entry level, a 320d is not in my oppinion. 320's and 320d's are probably the most common 3's here, because cars are so expensive. I just can't afford or justify spending nearly $70 000 for a 330i and I'm sure neither would you!

If I was treated second class, it would be because I am young (20) and the service advisor who probably can't afford a BMW was just plain jelous or my fine car (which he probably gets to see all day long, and drive sometimes, but will never own).
Also, I don't believe my problem is because I bought a "lower" model - if anything, it's just a fact of life - and if we blaming something, it would be that it is a very early production model - before the problems were ironed out!

On a lighter note:

I took my car to JSN this morning, I was treated like gold - the service advisor took all my details and she has been updating me all day long via SMS (txt msg) as to what is happening with my car. Now that is real service...

They even offered to do a once over on the car as when I was bitching about the other dealer, I mentioned my drive down to the coast for a holiday - and they offered to check the car - all fluids, pressures etc..so that all goes well on my trip.

Excellent service. I think it is in need of a letter of thanks to BMW South Africa, and there dealer principle.

I pick up my car at 5:30 - in 2 hours!!

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by Broken1

and she has been updating me all day long via SMS (txt msg) as to what is happening with my car. Now that is real service...

Club Motors have also started doing that recently

Wonder if its a new BMW thing being introduced to all dealers ??

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Club Motors have also started doing that recently

Wonder if its a new BMW thing being introduced to all dealers ??

I donno, but I like it. I like it alot :-)

[Broken1]

Okay, so I got my car back an hour ago...and I'm happy to report that there are no dirty marks on my headliner or lemon seats (thank g-d)

They replaced the vibration dampner (P 11 23 7 801 977) at a cost of R1917.85 for the part, and R294.36 for the labour. This virbration dampner thing apparently is a "belt" pully kind of thing, which counter acts the vibrations made by the other belts (Layman explanation given to me). I hear it's quite important duuhhhh

They also carried out a "campaign" which was retrofitting corrugated tubing on the breather line - the layman explanation was that it's the tube connected to where you fill your tank up - apparently there have been some reports of them wearing down and there being some fuel leaks so they changed it. This was done at a cost of R11.50 for the part (P 16 12 4 390 434) and labour of R107.40

All in all their service was pretty good. They kept me up to date the whole day, and delivered the car at the time they promised with a friendly smile. They even filed up my oil (was about 1/4 above min).

One thing they slipped up on:

As I was driving to JSN this morning, I got a windscreen washer fluid low warning...but I though they would pick that up on test drives, moving the car etc. so I didn't say anything, and thought i'd "test" them. Well, they didn't fill it up. No biggie - i just poured some BMW washer fluid in mixed with the right amount of water...but surely they should clear all warning lights and that?

Anyways, my car is back...sounding normal again and I'm a happy guy!!!

Now...I need to phone the other schmuck dealer and cancell the appointment for 2 weeks time.

[E90Fleet]

Broken1 forgot to say al the work was done for free ( costs just for reference )

[E90Fleet]

The damper that was replaced is No1 in the picture.
The number you gave is for the new updated part

[thrill30]

Broken1, it's great to hear that your car is back on the road, with the reported problem fixed . Thumbs up to JSN .

I know exactly what you are talking about when you refer to your headliner being returned clean .... some dealership left grease on my beige E46 roofliner after servicing the car.... I was absolutely mad :mad: .

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

The damper that was replaced is No1 in the picture.
The number you gave is for the new updated part

Thanks for the pic.

As E90Fleet said, everything was free (well paid for by BMW) unless my signature is worth that much :rocks:


I just wanted to ask... (for sake of)... this problem (vibration dampner) surfaced over a week ago or more (when my father mentioned the car didn't sound right) and then only last thursday I started feeling the clutch "shudder" (which promted me to take it in)

Well, I got the car back - but there is still a little bit of a shudder in the clutch. Could the harsh vibrations in the engine (due to the dampner not working correctly) have caused uneven wear on the clutch - which would cause this slight shudder (right at the engagement point of the clutch)??

When I say slight, I mean it's taken 2 other drivers (for 2nd oppinions) 10-15 minutes to "feel" it.

I figure I don't want to bother BMW service with this, and if it will go away on it's own in a few hundred km's when the clutch wears a bit more - I'd prefer them not to mess with my car anymore!!

Oppinions?



Just another funny thing I noticed tonight,
JSN Motors took of the "Hyde Park Auto" sticker from my rear window and replaced it with a JSN sticker. (I don't mind as the JSN sticker happens to be alot cooler looking than the Hyde park one...but it's funny they just changed it - like they have a person who goes around changing the stickers? Odd. hehe )

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by thrill30

Broken1, it's great to hear that your car is back on the road, with the reported problem fixed . Thumbs up to JSN .

I know exactly what you are talking about when you refer to your headliner being returned clean .... some dealership left grease on my beige E46 roofliner after servicing the car.... I was absolutely mad :mad: .

And it's a B I T C H to clean the headliner too! :P It's all good though...did a full check before I left...

[bimmer4me]

[Broken1]

hehe you mean they fucking fixed it

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by Broken1

oppinions)
I figure I don't want to bother BMW service with this, and if it will go away on it's own in a few hundred km's when the clutch wears a bit more - I'd prefer them not to mess with my car anymore!!

Oppinions?

i dunno,

if the shudder wasn't there to begin with until very recently, then perhaps you may still have a problem. i know you just got your car back and maybe, just maybe it needs a few kms to free itself up as you already stated, but if the problem persists or if it gets even a little more pronounced, don't hesitate to have it attended to by your new friendly bmw dealers service department.

no one elses does so neither should yours. however if it is so hard for a 1st time driver of your car to pick it, then it may need to getvworse before it can be properly diagnosed. on the other hand, lets be positive and trust it will disappear altogether.