Broken 335i - Insurance & Dealership

[Cale 36]

Looking for a bit of advice. Heading along the South Eastern Highway (literally 60 seconds after picking up some new plates from qube haha) earlier today and the engine light comes on and the car feels like it is misfiring. I'd like to say I was surprised but then I reminded myself that I was sitting in an imported E91 335i. Called the insurance company and requested a tow to Auckland City BMW in Newmarket. They had a quick look and think its one of the ignition coils. He recommended I replace all (six?) coils obviously. I asked him to give me a quote on Monday.

Firstly - will the insurance company (Provident 3 year policy) cover me for replacement of all the coils or could they argue that only one was broken and therefore cover only replacement of the one coil? I'd imagine it will be a decent bill to replace all and have Auckland City BMW do it...

Secondly - I purchased the car on 20th January this year. Is it worth me talking to the car to the dealer to see if they will come to the party in some way? The car has only traveled ~600km put on it since I got it.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Mr Vapour 76]

I thought there was a 90 day thing when buying from a dealer. There is a whole section to consumer last regarding car dealer it's worth looking it.up. 

[M3AN 4016]

A "quick look" isn't a proper diag so your options won't become clear until that happens. Did they plug it in or just stand there, look at it and go umm, err? Or were you drinking free coffee when they checked it out?

If it's a coil or plug or some other (eventual) consumable then the dealer's not liable unless they knew about it or should have known about it BUT, it's worth giving them a call, they may be willing to work with you and you won't know unless you ask.

Insurance, unless they're mugs. won't replace all the coils if only one is bad unless BMW insist they're all done together (and that's a conversation between BMW and Provident, don't get in the middle of it). BMW are unlikely to insist they're all done together.

But in the end if they're not all bad you don't need them all replaced. If more go bad you've still got nearly 3 years of coverage remaining.

I'd:

* Check that Provident will pay for a proper diag - BMW won't do this for less than $100 and a free "quick look" is worthless tbh,.

* Once you have the proper diag see how much insurance will cover.

* If there's a gap between what you want done and insurance will cover then give the original dealer a call and see what you can negotiate

Keep in mind that replacing a coil (either yourself or at an independant) may actually cost less than your excess.

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by M3AN

[Navin 180]

Just as a reference, I recently replaced all 6 on my 135i. It's about a 20-30 minute job, costed $220nzd landed for all 6 (Delphi coils) from FCP euro. Might be cheaper to just diy.

Edited March 11, 2018 by navin117

[NZ BMW 368]

If you don’t have to drive the car right now bring the coils in out of the US and replace them all, it’s much cheaper than here. 

[hotwire 352]

As above - I very much doubt the warrenty will cover all six, and in normal situations one coil & labour would be less than the excess of the policy. Haven't priced them from BMW but our parts suppliers have OEM versions (Bremi, Delphi etc) at realistic prices, albeit not as cheap as quoted above from FCP

From experience at work, once the owner has a warranty - the dealers pass them onto the warranty outfit. Obviously a pre existing fault is different.

[qube 3570]

take it back to the dealer for sure.

sorry to hear it bro!

[NZ BMW 368]

32 minutes ago, qube said:

take it back to the dealer for sure.

sorry to hear it bro!

Whilst I do agree with this, in my experience the dealers are bloody hopeless. They just reset codes or replace things with the lowest cost, lowest quality parts.

if you plan on keeping the car for a while you might want to bite the bullet on some quality replacements. 

[BM WORLD 1283]

change the plugs too, as worn plugs will load up the coils

[Gaz 1061]

I deal with Provident on a daily basis and they will only cover the one coil unless the dealer can prove all 6 are faulty. Coils are about 150 each for a genuine one. 

Could ask the dealer to cover the costs of replacement you are within your right but depending on cost, May not be worth the hassle as you are covered by Provident 

[Cale 36]

Thanks for the replies lads.

I think I will wait and see the cost of replacement of the one coil (which would be max 300$ with insurance) versus all coils at Auckland City BMW, and a proper diagnosis (I don't know if they scanned it cos I was too busy drinking their coffee and drooling over the X5M). It might work for me to pay them to replace all 6, otherwise I will get the one done then order a coil pack from the US. If they're $150ea that's already a $900 bill before labour so it is probably safe to say I am replacing the other 5 at home using Youtube as my guide...

As far as the dealer goes, as a few of you have said the fact that it was not a pre-existing issue and that I have mechanical insurance I'm sure it would be a fight to get them to help me out.

The inconvenience factor with this stuff is almost worse than the cost.

[Cale 36]

Thought I'd give this an update.

Spoke to the Auckland City BMW this morning who had run a scan and diagnosed 2 coils busted and recommended I get all 6 replaced and the spark plugs as well as they were shot. They quoted me an exorbitant amount as we can all imagine. Said that they have tried a million times and never been successful in getting all replaced under insurance - only the two would get done. I said I'd think about it.

Got in touch with the insurance. They said definitely wont be covering all 6 and the spark plugs. Said if another coil went within a short time they might waive the premium.

Called the dealer I bought the car from. He said to call ACBMW to put it out on the road, he would get it towed to his mechanic, replace the two broken coils and all spark plugs for nothing. Should be ready tomorrow or Wednesday.

Not a bad result I reckon. Will replace the coils and spark plugs myself in due course to make sure there's quality parts in there however.

Only disappointing thing was having to pay ACBMW $155 (discounted a massive 12% from $177) for the scan and diagnosis... And when I asked for the results of the scan to be sent to me, they said they don't give them out. Shocker.

[Eagle 1662]

Local Mercedes dealer here charged me $230 for a scan but least i got a free wash\wax and a print out(made sure of that). Cost me $600 to buy a clone Benz system which is identical to the dealers. 

No reason not to get something like this for a BMW, luckily its quite cheap - https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-GT1-OBD-Diagnostic-interface-K-DCAN-using-BMW-DIS-v57-SSS-v32/322040849998?epid=1988639544&hash=item4afb21664e:g:zOkAAMXQxzZRfgfs&vxp=mtr

You could also get some thing more basic like BMW scanner 1.4.0 which is cheaper\fastest but less indepth. May suit you fine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-Scanner-V1-4-0-for-BMW-E38-E39-E46-E53-E83-E85-Unlock-Version-Diagnos-New-B/263366565931?hash=item3d51dee02b:g:4FoAAOSwk-1aJk3L

Edited March 12, 2018 by Eagle

[hotwire 352]

Out of interest - what did they quote for the coils? Also surely as the owner, you are entitled to the scan result that you have just paid for.

Just looked up ign coils from one of our suppliers - Genuine Bosch at $65 each. Bosch, Bremi, Delphi are all suppliers to BMW as OEM. Just with no BMW logo or box,

[Cale 36]

Those scan packs are an absolute bargain then! The software just runs off a Windows computer?

hotwire - i would have thought I was entitled to the scan results but he was adamant he wouldn’t give it out. I didn’t ask the cost of each coil from BMW, when I was quoted min 1500$ to change the 6 coils + 6 spark plugs I didn’t really bother to ask any more questions.

[M3AN 4016]

Don't worry about being trated differently about the scan results, I've spent thousands at BMW and have never been 'entitled' to any scans. That contributes to why I've not taken my cars to BMW for over a decade.

I'm glad it worked out for you in the end even despite the sting in the tail, I expected that.

Next time get it towed home (insurance will cover it from there) or to one of the places recommended here, we've got south, east, central, north and even further north covered.

 

Edited March 12, 2018 by M3AN

[NZ BMW 368]

I think the cost of the scan is not that unreasonable if you assume a cost of scanning and some labour in there which I would think they would charge out at around $120-150 an hour. The car is still taking up space in their workshop. 

As for the discount - don’t know why you feel sore about that. How much work have you put through them? Have you ever bought a car from them? And you’ve let them know that you won’t be repairing the car via them. 

Just bring the remainder of the parts in and change all of them yourself - shouldn’t be too much of a cost and you’ll have them in a week. 

[NZ BMW 368]

10 hours ago, hotwire said:

Out of interest - what did they quote for the coils? Also surely as the owner, you are entitled to the scan result that you have just paid for.

Just looked up ign coils from one of our suppliers - Genuine Bosch at $65 each. Bosch, Bremi, Delphi are all suppliers to BMW as OEM. Just with no BMW logo or box,

I got mine for about $38 each landed here. Is the price you’re quoting with or without GST and shipping? 

[Cale 36]

42 minutes ago, NZ BMW said:

I think the cost of the scan is not that unreasonable if you assume a cost of scanning and some labour in there which I would think they would charge out at around $120-150 an hour. The car is still taking up space in their workshop. 

As for the discount - don’t know why you feel sore about that. How much work have you put through them? Have you ever bought a car from them? And you’ve let them know that you won’t be repairing the car via them. 

Just bring the remainder of the parts in and change all of them yourself - shouldn’t be too much of a cost and you’ll have them in a week. 

You’re right, it’s fair enough I suppose.

Yes, they charge $150/hr.

[hotwire 352]

11 hours ago, NZ BMW said:

I got mine for about $38 each landed here. Is the price you’re quoting with or without GST and shipping? 

Local supplier, retail inc GST