My BMW broke down overseas and I'm being asked to pay for the repair labour, is this fair?

I own a 430d x drive and in October 2022 it failed in France. It was recovered to a BMW dealer in France and diagnosed as an EGR failure. BMW UK refused to help in any way so I had the car fixed by BMW France as the alternative was to wait 3/4 months for the car to be recovered to the UK.

In November 2023 it failed again and was diagnosed by BMW as a bearing shell that had disintegrated and damaged the crankshaft. This part was one of many that were replaced by BMW France and on which I had the usual warranty. However the France warranty is not recognised in the UK and France will not help as the car is in the UK. BMW UK are funding the parts but want me to pay the labour of £2800.

The car is a 2018 model, full dealer service history and 30000 miles and given the original failure was a faulty EGR under recall and then a faulty part or result of the EGR failure I do not see why I should have to fund this. Since 2022 my car has been off the road due to this for 7 months with no courtesy car etc. Can you advise as even going to BMW Munich they simply refer me back to the UK who are treating it as a goodwill issue rather than warranty?

Asked on 2 April 2024 by Chris lacey

Answered by David Ross

This is an unfortunate situation, compounded by the fact that the failure occurred overseas and has meant BMW France and UK being involved. Your options are limited from this point as you have complained to BMW UK - you could take your complaint to Trading Standards, but it is frequently the case that warranty matters come down to the opinion of the manufacturer, which unfortunately can go against the owner. You can continue to pursue BMW UK to cover the cost of the labour and compensation for the amount of time your vehicle has been off the road, but ultimately this may be unsuccessful and it may be a case of accepting their offer is the best achievable outcome.

Tags: dealers warranty labour charge

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