Horror story!!

[AyJay88]

Went in to a stealership to have a new battery put in and a low beam bulb for my 135is...
They put the battery in, fine.

They place the bulb in and proceed to tell me the bulb is fine but the light needs a new control unit, and that I will have to pay for the bulb since they took it out of its packaging, bs but I go along with it and tell them to get the control unit.

They put the control unit on and tell me they still don’t know what the problem is and that there’s another $600 unit for the stepper motor.
I can either purchase that, or just purchase the entire assembly, which they quoted at almost $2000 for one right side assembly!
This is on top of the almost $1000 for the bulb and control unit, which are useless now since they weren’t at fault.

What should I do guys?
I feel like I can buy a pair of assemblies online for the price they’re charging for one!
And if I do buy the assemblies online, I can at least finally customize the halo rings with bright leds

[Gray_Panther]

It may be the ballast isn't igniting the bulb. Replace the HID/xenon ballast.

Edit: you can replace the ballast yourself if you choose to do so. It is a plug and play kind of deal.

[AyJay88]

Car is at the stealership and I did mention the ballast to them...
Funny thing is, before the low beam bulb went out, all the adaptive functions were working flawlessly so I’m not sure if the dealership messed up something when they were replacing the bulb?

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by AyJay88

Went in to a stealership to have a new battery put in and a low beam bulb for my 135is...
They put the battery in, fine.

They place the bulb in and proceed to tell me the bulb is fine but the light needs a new control unit, and that I will have to pay for the bulb since they took it out of its packaging, bs but I go along with it and tell them to get the control unit.

They put the control unit on and tell me they still don’t know what the problem is and that there’s another $600 unit for the stepper motor.
I can either purchase that, or just purchase the entire assembly, which they quoted at almost $2000 for one right side assembly!
This is on top of the almost $1000 for the bulb and control unit, which are useless now since they weren’t at fault.

What should I do guys?

Wait, you have to pay for non-repairs?

They just bolt stuff on, hope it works, and give you the bill?

I'd find a mechanic that actually diagnoses what the problem is and doesn't charge you for parts and labor you never needed.

[AyJay88]

Yes, they’re charging me for the bulb, and a control module, and since the bulb lights up now (but adaptive is gone) they want to charge me for both the new bulb (old was fine according to them) AND the control unit....
Along with battery, I’m looking at $1600 total

[ShocknAwe]

If you haven't signed authorization for them to do that work, then you only owe them what youve previously authorized them to do. If you signed the work order and estimate, then... I'd try to sit down with the service manager and have them waive the parts of the bill that don't apply to your real repair. Their fault for not doing proper diagnostics.

Don't let them rip you off. That's way too much money.

[AyJay88]

I hit up bmw north america...
I have never, dealt with anything like this!
Six years of Bmw ownership, and this is a first

[NorthernDancer]

poor workmanship. When it's all said and done, be polite and if they charge you for a bulb, control unit and stepper motor [or more] tell them you want to speak to the service manager. If no satisfaction, tell them again politely that you'll be contacting BMW North America or BMW USA which ever is applicable.

Now if you are a member of BMWCCA, you can contact one of their ombudsman to help you.

[AyJay88]

Thank you, I have already contacted Bmw na and they thought the dealer was acting strange too.
Told me to hang on to the loaner and not pay the dealership until they complete their investigation.
Fingers crossed

[blackberryq10android]

I would stay away from having a dealer do any work on a car due to Covid-19. Before they were greedy but now they are desperate to do warranty fraud to bmw or break customers parts to then charge them to fix it. Bring it to a honest Indy garage unless it is an engine or transmission problem that they may not fix correctly or be able to diagnose. Dealerships make most of their money from service repairs.

Overhead of a dealership is much costlier than an trusted Indy shop. Now of course, an Indy shop can be dishonest, hence go to one that is honest and trustworthy. Dealerships cannot financially sustain themselves by being honest from the Covid-19 aftermath.

[NorthernDancer]

Originally Posted by AyJay88

Thank you, I have already contacted Bmw na and they thought the dealer was acting strange too.
Told me to hang on to the loaner and not pay the dealership until they complete their investigation.
Fingers crossed

Wow, good work and congrats

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by blackberryq10android

I would stay away from having a dealer do any work on a car due to Covid-19. Before they were greedy but now they are desperate to do warranty fraud to bmw or break customers parts to then charge them to fix it. Bring it to a honest Indy garage unless it is an engine or transmission problem that they may not fix correctly or be able to diagnose. Dealerships make most of their money from service repairs.

Overhead of a dealership is much costlier than an trusted Indy shop. Now of course, an Indy shop can be dishonest, hence go to one that is honest and trustworthy. Dealerships cannot financially sustain themselves by being honest from the Covid-19 aftermath.

From a service stand point, they're squeezing it out of their labor. A friend who is a dealer tech told me the new guys working in their service department are making $15 an hour start. This is in the DC/Metro area market. You can do the math.

[AyJay88]

Yeah, I’m in Chicago, so the squeeze is definitely on

[Hybrid G]

DO NOT PAY!!!!!!!!

call BBB they can't charge you for their incompetence on parts. They mis diagnosed the problem. NOT YOUR FAULT.


Tell me to fuck off and take you car, if they refuse to release it take an uber call B B B and police and media.... you get your car back real quick!!

Hybrid

[zx10guy]

You put too much faith in the BBB. The BBB is just an organization which just acts as a mediator for disputes and collects data on any complaints. They have no enforcement powers and some have stated they really don't work for the consumer when a business pays the fee to be a BBB recognized business. Add in the fact each locality has their own BBB and each one functions in their own way depending on the management.

My own personal run in with BBB has not been positive. I filed a complaint against an appraiser that F'd up my appraisal on my home. He ended up costing me thousands in additional PMI payments I should have never been required to pay. The took testimonies from both of us and just sided with the appraiser when I had provided ample evidence of the appraiser not doing his job. Said the complaint has been satisfied when it wasn't. They never came back to me to ask for any comment on what the appraiser said concerning my complaint.

[gds52]

That's nonsense.
One of my cars was in for a recall, bmw dealer Dias my battery is weak because of delayed start. I knew the delay start issue, they gave me v good price so I got the new battery. But it didn't solve the problem, after weekend I went back, asked them to put my old battery back, which they didn't have. They said keep the new battery and refunded my all money.

Try to contact service manager or the dealership GM. But I guess you already contacted NA.
Any results ?

Regarding light, take it to a local shop, the problem could be due to many factors. I had once bad module, I got it used on eBay for $28.