1800 firm warnings to AVOID coopers cobham BMW at any cost.

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 08:04 AM

EDIT:
TO ALL THOSE WHO FIND THIS THROUGH GOOGLE: COOPERS SORTED EVERY PROBLEM TO MY SATISFACTION. PLEASE DO NOT DISREGARD THEIR SERVICE DUE TO THIS SEARCH RESULT. COOPERS AND I ARE NOW ON VERY GOOD TERMS

Hi all.

Firstly let me say I thought long and hard about whether to write down all of my experiences with this dealership before finally deciding to do so.
The only reason I have done this is due to the systematic failure of their service department on both a organisational, technical and ethical level.

Let me set the scene.

The car was booked in to coopers cobham BMW for a microfilter and oil service in June of this year. I also raised a specific request to change the air filter ahead of time due to the fact the car's economy was suffering recently. In addition to this; The car's aircon had recently stopped working: Something that I thought odd on a 3 year old car but the service technician's view was that a regas would solve the issue which I thought just about fair enough.

The car went in at monday lunch time and I was presented with a nifty 118i courtesy car, in auto - which I was happy with. Beats the 318d ED Estate I received the previous time I was with them. Quite a fun little car.

Unfortunately as I was driving the car to them; The clutch went! Madness but fortuitous timing. Therefore I asked them to investigate the problem and get back to me.

Here is where the problems really started.
I send my car to Cobham because I have a good relationship with Leo, one of the service technicians at Cobham. Unfortunately he didn't get to look at the car even though HE was booked to look at it a month previous, and the garage confirmed it would be him doing the work. Someone called Mark looked at the car. Very irritating, as the car goes in because I trust Leo. I accepted it at the time but it led to bad times for my poor 320.

All of monday, I heard nothing. All of tuesday, I heard nothing. On Wednesday evening I got a call saying that the clutch was being replaced under warranty due to premature failure, and that the service was complete. At this point I asked about the aircon, and they had no idea what I was talking about. They agreed to look at this as well and therefore they'd need to keep the car another day.

On Thursday; Jonathan Gibson the service advisor at Coopers I was dealing with phoned me with a problem. The clutch would not be covered under warranty. Apparently they thought I had an AUC warranty which would have covered it; But that the insured warranty I had would not. The warranty was with BMW and is the standard comprehensive warranty you are offered at the time the Approved Used Cars warranty expired. The car has 61k on the clock and was 3 years 9 months old.

Therefore, rather than a free repair which was promised to me: The repair cost £1100.

The car was returned to me on Friday eventually. On thursday they didn't seem to do anything with it. 2 days to regas the aircon seems excessive but there you have it.

I got the car back on Friday evening and the second I got in the car I noticed the air con still didn't work. I called out Jonathan Gibson the service advisor I was dealing with and he sat in the passenger seat, agreed that there was still a problem and said they'd keep the car over the weekend and have it ready for me on Monday. He also said of course I would be refunded the charge for the aircon regas as this was not required and was obviously not necessary.

On Monday he phoned and said the compressor had gone and this would be covered under warranty. This work was done.

On Tuesday, Mark the technician phoned me directly. The oil sump was cracked and needed replacing. I did question how this was not picked up during the service (CLEARLY it was caused during the service? It hadn't been driven since). He fobbed me off, as would be expected - and confirmed it would also be covered under warranty.

I finally got my car back on Thursday or Friday of that week. And after really kicking off about delay after delay caused by BMW, Jonathan agreed to waive the courtesy car fees completely. Only fair considering a 2 day job at most was made a 9 day one by their inability to test resolutions to problems and their lack of actual time spent with the car respectively.

I got the new revised bill (I'd already previously paid for the service/regas) for the clutch. All the warranty items were costed at £0 - but itemised. Because I was not paying. Great.

Bloody expensive, and time consuming, and irritating. But atleast they were true to their word. I assumed they were covering my £100 warranty excess because it wasn't itemised. Least they could do when all told I'd given them £1500 in the space of a fortnight.

ON THE DRIVE HOME... Deep breath... I noticed a rumbling coming through the drive train in higher gears at above 2500 revs. It was slight. I ignored it.

A week later, with the car still giving me this slight vibration, I got a call from Jonathan Gibson requesting £100 for the warranty excess. Sufficive to say there were massive arguments about this, but eventually I had to pay. In addition to this, I remembered at this point the verbal agreement to refund my £88 aircon regas charge as initially agreed. Therefore I thought, OK.. £12 to pay. Not too bad. Jonathan pointedly denied ever offering this refund. After speaking to 2 or 3 people and lots of swearing; I paid the full £100. I was not getting my aircon regas money back, and I had to pay for something I considered to be gratis due to the nature of their incompetence up to this point.

Clearly at this point I would never be going back to Coopers cobham BMW.

Out another £188 from the already horrendous £1500 I'd spent on the car in June/July. Almost £1700 now.

Did I mention that they damaged my strut brace when regassing the aircon? It is chipped in 3 places and scratched on top. They said it was impossible to avoid due to the location near to the regas point. I pointed out the giant hex bolts that disconnect the SB from the mounts. They said not their problem non-standard part. I should have removed it before it went in.

If I thought I could have definitely got the money back from the insurers then at this point I would have willingly driven my car straight through the glass into their show room and taken out as much new stock as possible before the car would not engage a gear any more.

SO. An awful experience from this dealer on 4 seperate occasions related to one body of work.
You want the icing on the cake then.. For sure...

But then it happened. I'd been out of the country for a fortnight and not driving the car. When I got back in it, it was for a 200mile drive to leeds. The second I hit 4th gear and got above 2500rms there was a vibration like the engine was trying to escape the bay. Very very bad. Definitely related to the clutch, drivetrain issue.

On the phone I went to Coopers Cobham BMW. I could have cried at having to do this. But they'd fix it for free. They'd clearly not fitted my clutch properly. It felt like the dual mass flywheel, must have been clutch related though.... Worse in higher gears, all the usual signs.

Turns out they had to replace the prop shaft. It took them a day. they did this under warranty. They charged me £100 for my warranty excess? How had it failed? I asked. No idea... They replied. Fine before we fitted the clutch I said. What a coincidence they said. They actually charged me £100 to rectify a fault they had clearly CLEARLY caused. I wouldn't have even minded them abusing my warranty to get out of being stung themselves.. But they could have paid the excess, non? No. I paid it. I paid them to refix the clutch they charged me £1100 to replace, but failed to do successfully.

And this is how Coopers Cobham BMW's mis management of my car cost me £1800 in 5 weeks.

Excluding 6 seperate trips around the M25 from Heathrow to Cobham.

Oh and last but not least the economy is still low. They refused to change the air filter as the "Car didn't need it. Condition based servicing". I asked them to change it. I obviously therefore, would have paid for it. Smacks of couldn't be bothered because it's a ball ache on the 320. I thought money was money. Obviously not. Then again maybe they just forgot.

I can't really even articulate, even through a post as long as this one; How furious I am with the way I have been treated. This is alot of money to me. Almost 15% of the car's value. And the clutch in particular: OK if it wasn't covered it wasn't covered. This is just the expensive icing on the cake of infuritating mis-management of my dealings with Coopers cobham BMW. If this had of been the only issue, I would have just been upset. Not infuriated.

That will do for now. But seriously. Avoid them. Why risk going through what I did.

PS when they gave me a lift back to the station after the final round of "fixes": They drove a 10 plate customer car pre-delivery. Surely that isn't right? How would the customer feel knowing their car was being used as a taxi?

zltm089 · 08-09-2010, 09:34 AM

damn, sorry to hear this Mega...

I've dealt with Coopers Cobham before and no real issues, The Workshop Manager and Master Tech were very helpful and keen to sort my engine out....

I remember Jon Gibson from the Service dept!...

I think, its always better to liaise with the Technical team directly unless you know a very good Service Advisor who you trust....

Have you tried speaking with the Dealer Principal?

Ant-E90msport · 08-09-2010, 09:37 AM

Perhaps a call or e-mail/letter to BMW UK might be in order mate, you have nothing to loose. Might get a few of those £££'s back and hopefully heads might roll at Coopers.

I would be absolutley fuming

Good luck

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 09:37 AM

Glen (I think) in the workshop, and obviously Leo - are both excellent guys. It is just a shame that the ones upstairs (with the possible exception of Sally) are such... Well, foul language would get me nowhere. But read into this post what you will

N00dle · 08-09-2010, 10:56 AM

Jesus Christ man, you have my sympathies, have dealt with Coopers Cobham they have cocked up a few times but not to that epic scale..Coopers Thames Ditton has been my arch Nemesis so far. Only Garage I try to deal with is Coopers North Oxford (where I commute to work) which have been faultless..you should expect franchasie dealers to be consistent across the country though.

All the complaints I had with Cobham / Thames Ditton I have put in writing and usually been successfully, so it's worth giving them a professional rant in writing..

chris330D · 08-09-2010, 11:10 AM

That's shocking, I feel your pain. For that sort of time and money I would be phoning and writing to BMW. Also take it up with whoever is in charge it the dealer. Truly shocking.

Mud · 08-09-2010, 11:14 AM

Is this not the BMW dealer who Mark was sending you to?

E92westy · 08-09-2010, 11:16 AM

After the 'high' of being in the magazine, this must be a real low (and an expensive one, too

)
I too, would try a letter to BMW UK.
It took me a couple of tries, but after using phrases such as "I will obviously never deal with BMW again, thus you will have lost a previously good customer" seems to have stirred something up.
Worth a try.....??

Good luck, anyway.

Boyd1963 · 08-09-2010, 11:17 AM

The level of service that we are getting from the Dealer network is quite atrocious especially considering their extortionate prices. I'm currently using Sytner Sunningdale who seem ok so far but they are always really busy.

I've got a BMW Specialist garage 100 yards from where I live and have used them for years with no problem but everybody wants a Full Main Dealer Service History these days!

I feel your pain Mega. Wood in Bournemouth have not managed to fix my creaking "A" pillar despite the car being back 11 times in 2 years.

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mud

Is this not the BMW dealer who Mark was sending you to?

I don't know who you mean? I wanted a guy called Leo to do the job but they didn't let him do the job even though they promised me his time on the car. He phoned me personally to apologise but let me know that someone else would be working on the car

I don't blame him at all. But unfortunately the numpties in suits that he's surrounded by - I've dealt with nearly all of and had bad results from every echilon of.

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N00dle

Jesus Christ man, you have my sympathies, have dealt with Coopers Cobham they have cocked up a few times but not to that epic scale..Coopers Thames Ditton has been my arch Nemesis so far. Only Garage I try to deal with is Coopers North Oxford (where I commute to work) which have been faultless..you should expect franchasie dealers to be consistent across the country though.

All the complaints I had with Cobham / Thames Ditton I have put in writing and usually been successfully, so it's worth giving them a professional rant in writing..

I have no real experience at causing a fuss like this. Who should I write to?

I feel on the phone I'd just explode and be unconstructive. Perhaps a letter would actually get me somewhere though ...

robrob · 08-09-2010, 12:51 PM

A shocking litany of faults, compounded by that endless merry-go round of phonecalls from the dealer advising that yet again, you'll not be getting the car back when you expect it.

I had similar issues with a BMW dealer in Edinburgh over turbo actuator faults and oil leaks. Seemingly endless diagnosis times, wrong valves ordered, 2 oil leaks identified, only one fixed - the other oil leak presenting itself as a catastrophic leak whilst on a motorway a month later. All of these were fixed under the initial 3yr warranty with the exception of the second turbo actuator valve, which was fixed under the insured extended BMW warranty that you refer to.

I did manage to get them to waive the £100 excess on the second turbo actuator fault after I reminded them of their own 1/2yr guarantee on warranty work and the hassles I had due to their failure to fix the second major oil leak (which massively inconvenienced me and gave me doubts about the longevity of the engine).

Just looking at the comprehensive extended warranty info, I see that the "Clutches and brake bands, cluch release bearing, master and slave cylinders" are all covered under the warranty but "burnt out and general wear and tear" are excluded. Presumably these are the reasons your claim wasn't covered?

To be honest, having seen the labour bills associated with the rectification of the 2 oil leaks I had whilst under the initial 3yr warranty (£900 and £700), I have been wary about the extended warranty's effectiveness as oil leaks are specifically excluded. As I do around 20k miles a year, it has been nagging at me since December and I have just traded the 335d in for a new -don't shoot me - 3.0tdi A4 quattro.

I've been burned in the past with a failed timing belt on an Audi TT which failed 30,000 miles before it was due to be changed, and just a few months out of the initial 3yr warranty (cost to fix engine - £2,400). While I'm doing reasonable mileage and travelling home late at night from all over the country, I feel more secure with the back-up of a manufacturer's full initial warranty.

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 12:55 PM

Off topic, but my feedback: As far as the insured warranty goes... NOT having the warranty would have stung me for well over £3000 this year, rather than the £200 on the 2 processed warranty claim excess fees.

Whether or not Coopers Cobham have used my warranty as an excuse to get someone else to pay for their own mistakes; This whole debacle would be even MORE of a headache without this warranty in place.. Of that I am certain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robrob

A shocking litany of faults, compounded by that endless merry-go round of phonecalls from the dealer advising that yet again, you'll not be getting the car back when you expect it.

I had similar issues with a BMW dealer in Edinburgh over turbo actuator faults and oil leaks. Seemingly endless diagnosis times, wrong valves ordered, 2 oil leaks identified, only one fixed - the other oil leak presenting itself as a catastrophic leak whilst on a motorway a month later. All of these were fixed under the initial 3yr warranty with the exception of the second turbo actuator valve, which was fixed under the insured extended BMW warranty that you refer to.

I did manage to get them to waive the £100 excess on the second turbo actuator fault after I reminded them of their own 1/2yr guarantee on warranty work and the hassles I had due to their failure to fix the second major oil leak (which massively inconvenienced me and gave me doubts about the longevity of the engine).

Just looking at the comprehensive extended warranty info, I see that the "Clutches and brake bands, cluch release bearing, master and slave cylinders" are all covered under the warranty but "burnt out and general wear and tear" are excluded. Presumably these are the reasons your claim wasn't covered?

To be honest, having seen the labour bills associated with the rectification of the 2 oil leaks I had whilst under the initial 3yr warranty (£900 and £700), I have been wary about the extended warranty's effectiveness as oil leaks are specifically excluded. As I do around 20k miles a year, it has been nagging at me since December and I have just traded the 335d in for a new -don't shoot me - 3.0tdi A4 quattro.

I've been burned in the past with a failed timing belt on an Audi TT which failed 30,000 miles before it was due to be changed, and just a few months out of the initial 3yr warranty (cost to fix engine - £2,400). While I'm doing reasonable mileage and travelling home late at night from all over the country, I feel more secure with the back-up of a manufacturer's full initial warranty.

bakili · 08-09-2010, 12:59 PM

Shocking!!!
After reading so many reports, I will try avoid BMW main dealers in future, level of service can be same as in any garage, quality of work - makes you think Quickfit.

robrob · 08-09-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MEGA

Off topic, but my feedback: As far as the insured warranty goes... NOT having the warranty would have stung me for well over £3000 this year, rather than the £200 on the 2 processed warranty claim excess fees.

Whether or not Coopers Cobham have used my warranty as an excuse to get someone else to pay for their own mistakes; This whole debacle would be even MORE of a headache without this warranty in place.. Of that I am certain.

Sorry - you're absolutely right. I didn't mean to give the impression that it's not worth having, as it definitely is. Like you, the turbo actuator fault could have cost me around £1000 if I hadn't had the extended warranty.

However, paranoid as I am, (and with my bloody luck) my next major failure would probably have been an "excluded" component. In fact, but for 1 month (i.e. the oil leaks I had occured in the last month of my initial 3 yr warranty) I would have had quite a similar tale to tell - total dealer incompetence and around £2k for faults not covered under the extended warranty.

N00dle · 08-09-2010, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MEGA

I have no real experience at causing a fuss like this. Who should I write to?

I feel on the phone I'd just explode and be unconstructive. Perhaps a letter would actually get me somewhere though ...

Well, I know how you feel, believe me if they mistreated my car the way they did I'll also give myself a guided tour round their showroom at say 35mph?

I find putting things down in letter (direct to the offending dealer first) calmed me down a tad and let me put my thoughts to paper, mention names and times etc and that this letter gives them a chance to rectify things in house before you want to take this further to BMW HQ. I have had free IDrive updates and a whole leather trim on my door card replaced only when I wrote them buggers a letter..most of the time it was ringing around or re-visiting the dealers getting fobbed off.

Hope this helps, give us a shout if you need a Template letter, any addresses and contact names etc

N00dle · 08-09-2010, 02:01 PM

PS

Your original Post is a thorough account of what happened, you have a well written and documented history of what happened right there. take sections of this and apply it to the letter

Wil

SteveF1 · 08-09-2010, 02:14 PM

Mega if you have evidence that the dealership did indeed cause the faults that they used the warranty to fix and fund then definitely let BMW know in some form of constructive letter. They may do their own internal investigation as some form of fraud may have taken place there.

BMW customer services have been quite kind with me so far as you may be aware that I've had my fair share of problems but after making such a fuss at various dealers I have always ended up winning and either getting things covered by warranty or had them funded by goodwill gestures from the dealer. In your case BMW may go some way to assisting you by giving you a goodwill gesture of your own, they probably won't give you money but they may throw in free servicing or pay for your next insured warranty policy like they did with me.

I sent my constructive, considered and factual letter direct to the customer services manager at their UK HQ and got a response within 48 hours.

When you complain to the right people (ie always a manager never a monkey) I have always found BMW quite helpful so far.

BMW GB Ltd‎
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8TA

Tel
01344 426 565

MEGA · 08-09-2010, 02:36 PM

Of course I have no evidence of this. This is the problem. It seems very very likely that they would admit to it, but also very very unlikely that the issues could magically occur whilst their service operators are working on my car but without any misgivings from said service operators.

When it comes down to it though it is purely my word against theirs.

quattrogmbh · 08-09-2010, 02:39 PM

Regarding the charge for the clutch, I'm assuming at some point you were asked to authorise the work. If this authorisation was given under their initial position of "Warranty covered" then I would have stood firm. I'm assuming you were only told of the need to pay after the work had been completed?

As regards the other items, other than very poor customer liaison It will be more hassle than its worth to apportion blame.

SteveF1 · 08-09-2010, 02:44 PM

If you have no proof but explain the circumstances they may still wish to investigate to see if anything untoward has been done, they may already have files on certain dealers playing this game.

As I say I found BMW UK quite positive when I approached them with a reasoned argument and I actually requested my own form of compensation at the end of the letter. It was reasonable and relative to the issues I had suffered with and they understood that and paid out as although it may seem hard to believe they want your custom in the future. Giving a customer a bad experience forcing you to go to Audi or Mercedes is the last thing they want and they have a big pot available to compensate owners that have been put out by bad dealers or bad cars.

When I sent the letter I was expecting a rebutal and a straight 'get lost' response and really didn't expect anything back. To my surprise they did and as you stand you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

SteveF1 · 08-09-2010, 02:56 PM

BMW dealers won't touch a car or repair anything unless they either have a signature or confirmation from the owner stating they will pay the cost of the repair or have an authorisation code from BMW to claim on a warranty.

It must have been authorised from one of the parties as I waited nearly 10 days for BMW to finally authorise for my aircon to be replaced under warranty.

08-09-2010, 08:04 AM	#1
MEGA Dieseasal 204 Rep 6,881 Posts Drives: LCI E92 335d M-Sport Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Harrow, London iTrader: (2)	All issues resolved to my satisfaction, Cooper Cobham BMW are great again! EDIT: TO ALL THOSE WHO FIND THIS THROUGH GOOGLE: COOPERS SORTED EVERY PROBLEM TO MY SATISFACTION. PLEASE DO NOT DISREGARD THEIR SERVICE DUE TO THIS SEARCH RESULT. COOPERS AND I ARE NOW ON VERY GOOD TERMS Hi all. Firstly let me say I thought long and hard about whether to write down all of my experiences with this dealership before finally deciding to do so. The only reason I have done this is due to the systematic failure of their service department on both a organisational, technical and ethical level. Let me set the scene. The car was booked in to coopers cobham BMW for a microfilter and oil service in June of this year. I also raised a specific request to change the air filter ahead of time due to the fact the car's economy was suffering recently. In addition to this; The car's aircon had recently stopped working: Something that I thought odd on a 3 year old car but the service technician's view was that a regas would solve the issue which I thought just about fair enough. The car went in at monday lunch time and I was presented with a nifty 118i courtesy car, in auto - which I was happy with. Beats the 318d ED Estate I received the previous time I was with them. Quite a fun little car. Unfortunately as I was driving the car to them; The clutch went! Madness but fortuitous timing. Therefore I asked them to investigate the problem and get back to me. Here is where the problems really started. I send my car to Cobham because I have a good relationship with Leo, one of the service technicians at Cobham. Unfortunately he didn't get to look at the car even though HE was booked to look at it a month previous, and the garage confirmed it would be him doing the work. Someone called Mark looked at the car. Very irritating, as the car goes in because I trust Leo. I accepted it at the time but it led to bad times for my poor 320. All of monday, I heard nothing. All of tuesday, I heard nothing. On Wednesday evening I got a call saying that the clutch was being replaced under warranty due to premature failure, and that the service was complete. At this point I asked about the aircon, and they had no idea what I was talking about. They agreed to look at this as well and therefore they'd need to keep the car another day. On Thursday; Jonathan Gibson the service advisor at Coopers I was dealing with phoned me with a problem. The clutch would not be covered under warranty. Apparently they thought I had an AUC warranty which would have covered it; But that the insured warranty I had would not. The warranty was with BMW and is the standard comprehensive warranty you are offered at the time the Approved Used Cars warranty expired. The car has 61k on the clock and was 3 years 9 months old. Therefore, rather than a free repair which was promised to me: The repair cost £1100. The car was returned to me on Friday eventually. On thursday they didn't seem to do anything with it. 2 days to regas the aircon seems excessive but there you have it. I got the car back on Friday evening and the second I got in the car I noticed the air con still didn't work. I called out Jonathan Gibson the service advisor I was dealing with and he sat in the passenger seat, agreed that there was still a problem and said they'd keep the car over the weekend and have it ready for me on Monday. He also said of course I would be refunded the charge for the aircon regas as this was not required and was obviously not necessary. On Monday he phoned and said the compressor had gone and this would be covered under warranty. This work was done. On Tuesday, Mark the technician phoned me directly. The oil sump was cracked and needed replacing. I did question how this was not picked up during the service (CLEARLY it was caused during the service? It hadn't been driven since). He fobbed me off, as would be expected - and confirmed it would also be covered under warranty. I finally got my car back on Thursday or Friday of that week. And after really kicking off about delay after delay caused by BMW, Jonathan agreed to waive the courtesy car fees completely. Only fair considering a 2 day job at most was made a 9 day one by their inability to test resolutions to problems and their lack of actual time spent with the car respectively. I got the new revised bill (I'd already previously paid for the service/regas) for the clutch. All the warranty items were costed at £0 - but itemised. Because I was not paying. Great. Bloody expensive, and time consuming, and irritating. But atleast they were true to their word. I assumed they were covering my £100 warranty excess because it wasn't itemised. Least they could do when all told I'd given them £1500 in the space of a fortnight. ON THE DRIVE HOME... Deep breath... I noticed a rumbling coming through the drive train in higher gears at above 2500 revs. It was slight. I ignored it. A week later, with the car still giving me this slight vibration, I got a call from Jonathan Gibson requesting £100 for the warranty excess. Sufficive to say there were massive arguments about this, but eventually I had to pay. In addition to this, I remembered at this point the verbal agreement to refund my £88 aircon regas charge as initially agreed. Therefore I thought, OK.. £12 to pay. Not too bad. Jonathan pointedly denied ever offering this refund. After speaking to 2 or 3 people and lots of swearing; I paid the full £100. I was not getting my aircon regas money back, and I had to pay for something I considered to be gratis due to the nature of their incompetence up to this point. Clearly at this point I would never be going back to Coopers cobham BMW. Out another £188 from the already horrendous £1500 I'd spent on the car in June/July. Almost £1700 now. Did I mention that they damaged my strut brace when regassing the aircon? It is chipped in 3 places and scratched on top. They said it was impossible to avoid due to the location near to the regas point. I pointed out the giant hex bolts that disconnect the SB from the mounts. They said not their problem non-standard part. I should have removed it before it went in. If I thought I could have definitely got the money back from the insurers then at this point I would have willingly driven my car straight through the glass into their show room and taken out as much new stock as possible before the car would not engage a gear any more. SO. An awful experience from this dealer on 4 seperate occasions related to one body of work. You want the icing on the cake then.. For sure... But then it happened. I'd been out of the country for a fortnight and not driving the car. When I got back in it, it was for a 200mile drive to leeds. The second I hit 4th gear and got above 2500rms there was a vibration like the engine was trying to escape the bay. Very very bad. Definitely related to the clutch, drivetrain issue. On the phone I went to Coopers Cobham BMW. I could have cried at having to do this. But they'd fix it for free. They'd clearly not fitted my clutch properly. It felt like the dual mass flywheel, must have been clutch related though.... Worse in higher gears, all the usual signs. Turns out they had to replace the prop shaft. It took them a day. they did this under warranty. They charged me £100 for my warranty excess? How had it failed? I asked. No idea... They replied. Fine before we fitted the clutch I said. What a coincidence they said. They actually charged me £100 to rectify a fault they had clearly CLEARLY caused. I wouldn't have even minded them abusing my warranty to get out of being stung themselves.. But they could have paid the excess, non? No. I paid it. I paid them to refix the clutch they charged me £1100 to replace, but failed to do successfully. And this is how Coopers Cobham BMW's mis management of my car cost me £1800 in 5 weeks. Excluding 6 seperate trips around the M25 from Heathrow to Cobham. Oh and last but not least the economy is still low. They refused to change the air filter as the "Car didn't need it. Condition based servicing". I asked them to change it. I obviously therefore, would have paid for it. Smacks of couldn't be bothered because it's a ball ache on the 320. I thought money was money. Obviously not. Then again maybe they just forgot. I can't really even articulate, even through a post as long as this one; How furious I am with the way I have been treated. This is alot of money to me. Almost 15% of the car's value. And the clutch in particular: OK if it wasn't covered it wasn't covered. This is just the expensive icing on the cake of infuritating mis-management of my dealings with Coopers cobham BMW. If this had of been the only issue, I would have just been upset. Not infuriated. That will do for now. But seriously. Avoid them. Why risk going through what I did. PS when they gave me a lift back to the station after the final round of "fixes": They drove a 10 plate customer car pre-delivery. Surely that isn't right? How would the customer feel knowing their car was being used as a taxi? __________________ Previously: 2003 Peugeot 206 1.6 8v \| 2006 E90 320d M-Sport, 19" BBS CH, Full Ice-cold JL audio install, August 2010 Total BMW 6 page feature car. \| 2003 Nissan 350Z GT Coupe 286BHP Now:2010 E92 LCI 335d M-Sport Last edited by MEGA; 04-30-2013 at 09:48 AM.. Reason: PR
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08-09-2010, 09:34 AM	#2
zltm089 Banned 244 Rep 7,690 Posts Drives: 335i SE Coupe Space Grey Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: LONDON iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 BMW 335i [10.00]	damn, sorry to hear this Mega... I've dealt with Coopers Cobham before and no real issues, The Workshop Manager and Master Tech were very helpful and keen to sort my engine out.... I remember Jon Gibson from the Service dept!... I think, its always better to liaise with the Technical team directly unless you know a very good Service Advisor who you trust.... Have you tried speaking with the Dealer Principal?
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08-09-2010, 09:37 AM	#3
Ant-E90msport New Member 3 Rep 19 Posts Drives: E90 325d Black Sapphire Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Lincolnshire iTrader: (0)	Perhaps a call or e-mail/letter to BMW UK might be in order mate, you have nothing to loose. Might get a few of those £££'s back and hopefully heads might roll at Coopers. I would be absolutley fuming Good luck
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08-09-2010, 09:37 AM	#4
MEGA Dieseasal 204 Rep 6,881 Posts Drives: LCI E92 335d M-Sport Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Harrow, London iTrader: (2)	Glen (I think) in the workshop, and obviously Leo - are both excellent guys. It is just a shame that the ones upstairs (with the possible exception of Sally) are such... Well, foul language would get me nowhere. But read into this post what you will __________________ Previously: 2003 Peugeot 206 1.6 8v \| 2006 E90 320d M-Sport, 19" BBS CH, Full Ice-cold JL audio install, August 2010 Total BMW 6 page feature car. \| 2003 Nissan 350Z GT Coupe 286BHP Now:2010 E92 LCI 335d M-Sport
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08-09-2010, 10:56 AM	#5
N00dle Private 3 Rep 79 Posts Drives: Z4 sDrive 23i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: UK iTrader: (0) Garage List Mar 2010 BMW Z4 sDr ... [6.50]	Jesus Christ man, you have my sympathies, have dealt with Coopers Cobham they have cocked up a few times but not to that epic scale..Coopers Thames Ditton has been my arch Nemesis so far. Only Garage I try to deal with is Coopers North Oxford (where I commute to work) which have been faultless..you should expect franchasie dealers to be consistent across the country though. All the complaints I had with Cobham / Thames Ditton I have put in writing and usually been successfully, so it's worth giving them a professional rant in writing.. __________________ WW
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08-09-2010, 11:10 AM	#6
chris330D Major 36 Rep 1,135 Posts Drives: F31 335d Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sussex, UK iTrader: (0)	That's shocking, I feel your pain. For that sort of time and money I would be phoning and writing to BMW. Also take it up with whoever is in charge it the dealer. Truly shocking.
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08-09-2010, 11:14 AM	#7
Mud Captain 38 Rep 698 Posts Drives: M4 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: England iTrader: (0)	Is this not the BMW dealer who Mark was sending you to?
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08-09-2010, 11:16 AM	#8
E92westy Lieutenant 32 Rep 549 Posts Drives: F20 118d Sport Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Staffs. iTrader: (2)	After the 'high' of being in the magazine, this must be a real low (and an expensive one, too ) I too, would try a letter to BMW UK. It took me a couple of tries, but after using phrases such as "I will obviously never deal with BMW again, thus you will have lost a previously good customer" seems to have stirred something up. Worth a try.....?? Good luck, anyway.
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08-09-2010, 11:17 AM	#9
Boyd1963 Major 30 Rep 1,301 Posts Drives: 2011 320d e92 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bournemouth iTrader: (0) Garage List Sep 2011 E92 [0.00]	The level of service that we are getting from the Dealer network is quite atrocious especially considering their extortionate prices. I'm currently using Sytner Sunningdale who seem ok so far but they are always really busy. I've got a BMW Specialist garage 100 yards from where I live and have used them for years with no problem but everybody wants a Full Main Dealer Service History these days! I feel your pain Mega. Wood in Bournemouth have not managed to fix my creaking "A" pillar despite the car being back 11 times in 2 years.
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08-09-2010, 12:51 PM	#12
robrob Private 1 Rep 68 Posts Drives: 330xd M Sport LCI Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Scotland, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 E90 335d M Sport [0.00]	A shocking litany of faults, compounded by that endless merry-go round of phonecalls from the dealer advising that yet again, you'll not be getting the car back when you expect it. I had similar issues with a BMW dealer in Edinburgh over turbo actuator faults and oil leaks. Seemingly endless diagnosis times, wrong valves ordered, 2 oil leaks identified, only one fixed - the other oil leak presenting itself as a catastrophic leak whilst on a motorway a month later. All of these were fixed under the initial 3yr warranty with the exception of the second turbo actuator valve, which was fixed under the insured extended BMW warranty that you refer to. I did manage to get them to waive the £100 excess on the second turbo actuator fault after I reminded them of their own 1/2yr guarantee on warranty work and the hassles I had due to their failure to fix the second major oil leak (which massively inconvenienced me and gave me doubts about the longevity of the engine). Just looking at the comprehensive extended warranty info, I see that the "Clutches and brake bands, cluch release bearing, master and slave cylinders" are all covered under the warranty but "burnt out and general wear and tear" are excluded. Presumably these are the reasons your claim wasn't covered? To be honest, having seen the labour bills associated with the rectification of the 2 oil leaks I had whilst under the initial 3yr warranty (£900 and £700), I have been wary about the extended warranty's effectiveness as oil leaks are specifically excluded. As I do around 20k miles a year, it has been nagging at me since December and I have just traded the 335d in for a new -don't shoot me - 3.0tdi A4 quattro. I've been burned in the past with a failed timing belt on an Audi TT which failed 30,000 miles before it was due to be changed, and just a few months out of the initial 3yr warranty (cost to fix engine - £2,400). While I'm doing reasonable mileage and travelling home late at night from all over the country, I feel more secure with the back-up of a manufacturer's full initial warranty.
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08-09-2010, 12:59 PM	#14
bakili Lieutenant 37 Rep 427 Posts Drives: bmw e90 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Doncaster iTrader: (1) Garage List not old 318i [0.00]	Shocking!!! After reading so many reports, I will try avoid BMW main dealers in future, level of service can be same as in any garage, quality of work - makes you think Quickfit. __________________
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08-09-2010, 02:01 PM	#17
N00dle Private 3 Rep 79 Posts Drives: Z4 sDrive 23i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: UK iTrader: (0) Garage List Mar 2010 BMW Z4 sDr ... [6.50]	PS Your original Post is a thorough account of what happened, you have a well written and documented history of what happened right there. take sections of this and apply it to the letter Wil __________________ WW
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08-09-2010, 02:14 PM	#18
SteveF1 Captain 27 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	Mega if you have evidence that the dealership did indeed cause the faults that they used the warranty to fix and fund then definitely let BMW know in some form of constructive letter. They may do their own internal investigation as some form of fraud may have taken place there. BMW customer services have been quite kind with me so far as you may be aware that I've had my fair share of problems but after making such a fuss at various dealers I have always ended up winning and either getting things covered by warranty or had them funded by goodwill gestures from the dealer. In your case BMW may go some way to assisting you by giving you a goodwill gesture of your own, they probably won't give you money but they may throw in free servicing or pay for your next insured warranty policy like they did with me. I sent my constructive, considered and factual letter direct to the customer services manager at their UK HQ and got a response within 48 hours. When you complain to the right people (ie always a manager never a monkey) I have always found BMW quite helpful so far. BMW GB Ltd‎ Ellesfield Avenue Bracknell Berkshire RG12 8TA Tel 01344 426 565
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08-09-2010, 02:36 PM	#19
MEGA Dieseasal 204 Rep 6,881 Posts Drives: LCI E92 335d M-Sport Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Harrow, London iTrader: (2)	Of course I have no evidence of this. This is the problem. It seems very very likely that they would admit to it, but also very very unlikely that the issues could magically occur whilst their service operators are working on my car but without any misgivings from said service operators. When it comes down to it though it is purely my word against theirs. __________________ Previously: 2003 Peugeot 206 1.6 8v \| 2006 E90 320d M-Sport, 19" BBS CH, Full Ice-cold JL audio install, August 2010 Total BMW 6 page feature car. \| 2003 Nissan 350Z GT Coupe 286BHP Now:2010 E92 LCI 335d M-Sport
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08-09-2010, 02:39 PM	#20
quattrogmbh Captain 23 Rep 635 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Location iTrader: (0)	Regarding the charge for the clutch, I'm assuming at some point you were asked to authorise the work. If this authorisation was given under their initial position of "Warranty covered" then I would have stood firm. I'm assuming you were only told of the need to pay after the work had been completed? As regards the other items, other than very poor customer liaison It will be more hassle than its worth to apportion blame.
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08-09-2010, 02:44 PM	#21
SteveF1 Captain 27 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	If you have no proof but explain the circumstances they may still wish to investigate to see if anything untoward has been done, they may already have files on certain dealers playing this game. As I say I found BMW UK quite positive when I approached them with a reasoned argument and I actually requested my own form of compensation at the end of the letter. It was reasonable and relative to the issues I had suffered with and they understood that and paid out as although it may seem hard to believe they want your custom in the future. Giving a customer a bad experience forcing you to go to Audi or Mercedes is the last thing they want and they have a big pot available to compensate owners that have been put out by bad dealers or bad cars. When I sent the letter I was expecting a rebutal and a straight 'get lost' response and really didn't expect anything back. To my surprise they did and as you stand you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
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08-09-2010, 02:56 PM	#22
SteveF1 Captain 27 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	BMW dealers won't touch a car or repair anything unless they either have a signature or confirmation from the owner stating they will pay the cost of the repair or have an authorisation code from BMW to claim on a warranty. It must have been authorised from one of the parties as I waited nearly 10 days for BMW to finally authorise for my aircon to be replaced under warranty.
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