Whenever we get a new (to us) car, which is generally 2 to 3 years old, I like to give it a thorough going over inside and out, including ripping out the interior and giving it a damn good deep clean, and also various bits on the exterior which includes my current favourite thing - the hubs. Below are a couple of before and after shots of the OSF hub of my girlfriend's new 2018 G01 X3: Anyway, when I'd finished the front hubs and put everything back together I wasn't happy with the bracket that holds the brake flexi hose and how it was appearing to foul the speed and pad wear sensor wires. Below is a picture of the NSF hub with the flexi hose bracket and the sensor wires arrowed: It was the same on the OSF and when the steering was turned lock to lock it looked as though it was almost stretching the wires to breaking point. After some head-scratching and checking out a few YouTube videos on front disc replacement I realised the problem......the brake flexi hose bracket was mounted in completely the wrong place on the suspension strut! Below are a couple of pictures of the OSF strut (no pad wear sensor on that side) showing the movement of the bracket as steering is applied, and also the right and wrong locations of the bracket: So finally here's the bracket in the right place and away from the sensor wire: So this begs the question of which gash mechanic did the work and why? Just before we bought it back in August it failed its first MOT due to a split OSF CV boot so perhaps they had to dismantle the suspension strut to replace it, and maybe they did the other side for good measure, who knows? Thanks to members Wynne71 and Peter who helped me out with some torque figures for this hub work that I couldn't find online.
Has the car got a full BMW service history? I've seen some dubious work from main dealers before, including a fag packet in the air filter housing blocking the intake, trapped wires from the injection loom, breather pipes not connected....not good. Years ago I used to run VAG group vehicles and one main dealer would always give you the bonus of an assortment of tools left under the bonnet.....bonus..
That's fab work, I wish I had that much time ha ha. It's always interesting to try figure out sometimes the history of a vehicle and thought processes of previous owners/mechanics!
The Master - Yes it does have a full BMW service history. Fag packet in the filter? OMG! Aldo - It's good to always have more than one car which gives you the time to do this sort of stuff whilst staying mobile; the girlfriend is still running her old X3 whilst the new one is refreshed. In regard to car history, in days gone by it was a simple process to send the DVLA a cheque for £5 and they'd send you the complete owner history so you could try and contact previous owners for a bit of useful info, every car has a story! However the DVLA don't provide that service anymore due to European GDPR rules, nowadays you have to run a dodgy parking company in order to get anything out of them! With the new X3 we know the previous (2nd) owner because his number was still in the iDrive and I've spoken to him, but we think the first owner might have been BMW staff or perhaps it was a dealer demo car as it has every option available apart from a TV and was one of the first G01s produced in 2017.
My recent experience of main dealer service was far from satisfactory. I had the A/C condenser replaced as it had been stone damaged. When I arrived home and checked under the bonnet, I found the two main bolts on the top brace, loose and unscrewed. plus another bolt missing. The coolant expansion bottle was also empty and required nearly a litre to top it up. The dealer rectified the faults, but I left them in no doubt of what I thought of their customer service. Just because they are an approved main dealership is no guarantee of competence.
I once found a ratchet drive and socket under the bonnet of my car after a service. Thought about keeping it but in the end I took it back to the dealership so I could give them a piece of my mind and to say, of course, they'd get no more money from me. As Mieke says, dealerships give no guarantee of competence.
That is shocking Jaycee, at least you found it before any potential problems arose. I'm glad it's not just me who is so ocd. On all of the non-new vehicles I've bought (especially in the last 20 years) I've done a similar thing, always removing the wheels to clean and (lightly) grease the wheel/hub interface as they never get routinely removed & can often be stuck solid, especially with low mileage main dealer serviced cars. Apart from this BMW, I've always removed the interiors to properly clean the seats, carpets & door cards etc sometimes going too far really. Interestingly in our Connect, I found the paint & body defect sheet (in Turkish) under the nearside carpet !
It's a very satisfying process Simon as I'm sure you'll agree. Another thing I found is that a couple of the spring-loaded grippers in both front cupholders were jammed; one was stuck in and wouldn't come out and another was stuck out and wouldn't go in. After removing the centre console surround I could see that a couple of small wiring looms either side of the cupholders had been routed wrongly and were fouling the grippers.
So after my recent experience summarised above, I took my 330d into the main dealer for a brake fluid service and its MOT. I know that I have said that I wouldn't use them again, but it seemed to make sense to get this simple procedure done and listed onto the official FSH, before going elsewhere. I arrived at the service dept. at 9.00am sharp as I had booked a waiting appointment (quoted on the phone as 1.5 - 2 hours). I was therefore taken aback when the young lady said that the car would be ready at around 5.00 pm. When I told her that I'd booked it in to wait, she said "No. I definitely hadn't made arrangements to wait". After some negotiating, she spoke to the workshop and agreed to have it done in 3 hours or so. She also quoted an inflated price of £80 + Vat for a brake fluid change, when their website shows a standard charge of £52 + Vat, which I had agreed when I made the booking. I got the impression that she regarded me as a real PITA, instead of a valued customer. There was no offer of coffee, but as I had forgone breakfast, I asked her if she would oblige. So I sat down and waited . . . and waited. I just gave up and decided to walk into Crewe as the weather was dry, and had a very pleasant continental breakfast in one of the nearby hotels, whilst catching up on the news. A much more pleasant way to spend the time, as opposed to being sat in the showroom. So come 12.00 am I made my way back, only to be told that it would be another couple of hours. It wasn't worth arguing, and I just sat down with my newspaper. So in total - I had a 5 hour wait. But the good news was it sailed through the MOT, and they had adjusted the invoice to the correct amount. Come next year, I will be using my tried and trusted Indie for all future work. I'm sure that Lookers PLC couldn't care less - their Customer Service is virtually non-existent. I guess that as an elderly owner who's car is now approaching 7 years old, I fit into their description of an undesirable. Bye, bye Lookers PLC. Don't contact me, because I certainly won't be contacting you.
Designed in Germany, built where was it again? X rated is probably quite an appropriate designation. Being unfair: the design team have quite a lot to answer for over the years.
Mieke - that is poor treatment. I'm sure the average time is 40 mins for an mot, and probably even less for brake fluid (as long as the bleed nipples don't snap off). So the original booked timings sound about right, when you returned after your meal, they probably hadn't even started on your car. They couldn't be bothered to even lie and say something like "We've two technicians off ill & a doctor's car has been brought in by the AA." to make you understand the delay, It just gets me how clinical and corporate they are, it borders on arrogance. I have always been customer facing and spent my life being told by management that the whole future of the business hinges on the attitude of (often) the only point of contact the customer has (i.e. me). Your experience is like what I'd read elsewhere about BMW dealer staff, but doubted it to be honest until I'd also experienced it myself whilst being polite & friendly as I always am, and met with stone-faced robots who barely even look at you. I mustn't go on as don't want to come over as a moaner........... so on a positive note I hope you still enjoy your car as much as I do Mieke.
That really is shocking service. Totally understand why you will never go back to them. Interesting how different dealerships can give such a wide range of experiences, my local Sytners has been nothing but excellent since I started using them following the purchase of the previous BMW.
I have to say that Blue Bell were excellent when they were a small private dealership - I have purchased motorcycles from them in the past. And they were good when they were part of Knights Group, because they retained many of the original staff. But since they have been swallowed up by the giant Lookers Group, things have changed radically for the worst. Customer Service has plummeted and I get the impression that their focus is simply to sell as many new cars as possible. I should also say that it's the absolute slip-shod work when they replaced my A/C condenser that I decided never to use them again. Yesterday just confirmed to me why I will be spending my money elsewhere.
100% couldn’t agree with you more… I just feel for Ed @ costwold … but he is in the parts dept… and those fellas are always super helpful…. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
