BMW (Germany) charging for recall work???

[Mr Kleen]

When I took my wife's X1 in for routine service the representative told me that there was a recall on the car and a part "related to the camshaft or something?" needed to be replaced. They did not have the part so we would need to bring the car back for the work to be completed.

Fast forward 2 weeks, my wife calls from the dealership. BMW of Mainz Kastel is charging us 210 euro for the labor on the recall?!?!?


I have never heard of a labor charge for a recall. The recall on my 135i was performed free of charge (I still had to pay 40 euro for a rental car for the day).

I'm about to lose my mind. Going to go have a talk with them tomorrow after work.

I think THIS is the recall, but won't know for sure until she gets home with the paperwork.

/endrant

[Mr Kleen]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/news/72459...gerous-brakes/

The solution involves inserting a locking ring onto the camshaft so the oil supply to the brake assist vacuum pump is not impaired. The repair will take approximately two hours but can vary depending on your BMW dealers schedule. The repair will be preformed free of charge.

Now I need to get something official from BMW NA.

[Teutonic]

A recall is a problem acknowledged by the manufacturer and is fixed at no cost for the owner.
As an example, the vehicle might be leased, which means is BMW's property, they do need to keep the vehicle in good shape.
Do not pay anything, eventualy call BMW.
And... Leave that dealership.

[Mr Kleen]

I had to take some time off work and go in to talk to the dealership but they finally agreed to refund the charge.

I will have to start driving an hour to the dealership in Frankfurt from now on as the same company owns every dealership in my area.

[GrantE83]

A recall is due to a safety issue or manufacturer issue. Do not pay a penny.

[Mr Kleen]

I didn't, but had to take an hour off of work and spend my time to get my wife's money refunded.

[BeEmVe]

I would send a complaint to the regional BMW offices (Munich??).

[Twix]

Originally Posted by Mr Kleen

I had to take some time off work and go in to talk to the dealership but they finally agreed to refund the charge.

I will have to start driving an hour to the dealership in Frankfurt from now on as the same company owns every dealership in my area.

This is the problem I face here. Same owner owns both BMW dealers as well as 10-12 other brands, plus dealers in 2 other provinces. It'd be a 3 hour drive to the next city with a dealer, which is terrible. Only other option is to drive 10 hours to Vancouver, they have good dealers there (not saying mine is bad though).

Glad you got things worked out. Maybe give that dealer 1 more chance, after that, dump them.

[Mr Kleen]

The X1 is out of warranty this year (2 whole years in Germany!) so I won't be back unless there's a recall. I'll do my own regular maintenance and get a certified independent to do anything more involved.

Vancouver is a great city but I wouldn't want to take a 10 hour trip there just to have my BMW serviced.