Factory Warranty Question

[TampaJoe]

Hello all,

I had some questions I was hoping to get some views on. I have a 2018 G12 under factory warranty until Feb 22, and noticed:

1. One of the stationary fins on the kidney grill is cracked, not sure what happened, but looks like the plastic just failed - no signs of impact or any external damages.

2. The rubber trim piece on the rear glass panel behind the main sunroof is a bit elevated in one section in front of the rear fin (back middle of rear glass pane).

3. There seems to be some discoloring of the "chrome" trim that surrounds the doors - it looks like a rainbow effect in the trim pieces.

Would these items likely be covered under warranty, based on experiences?

Appreciate the help in advance.

Joe

[Markr]

I have a 2018 G11 and in January had the black plastic trim around the camera between the grills replaced under warranty, as it had gone a bit greyish. No hassle at all.

[Melbourne_X5M]

A little chrome polish and your chrome will be restored to new.

[TampaJoe]

So the dealer is saying this is not covered under warranty, as this is a "cosmetic" issue. Seems that if the warranty is supposed to be "bumper to bumper" this would be included? Tried polish on the chrome, and no luck - just very cheap coating over plastic it seems.

[TampaJoe]

Originally Posted by TampaJoe

Hello all,

I had some questions I was hoping to get some views on. I have a 2018 G12 under factory warranty until Feb 22, and noticed:

1. One of the stationary fins on the kidney grill is cracked, not sure what happened, but looks like the plastic just failed - no signs of impact or any external damages.

2. The rubber trim piece on the rear glass panel behind the main sunroof is a bit elevated in one section in front of the rear fin (back middle of rear glass pane).

3. There seems to be some discoloring of the "chrome" trim that surrounds the doors - it looks like a rainbow effect in the trim pieces.

Would these items likely be covered under warranty, based on experiences?

Appreciate the help in advance.

Joe

While at the dealer, also found out 2 of 4 wheels are bent - Not too long ago, I purchased this car from Carvana, who does not own up to this, nor the services that were due. Unbelieveable...

[AlteBMW]

Originally Posted by TampaJoe

While at the dealer, also found out 2 of 4 wheels are bent - Not too long ago, I purchased this car from Carvana, who does not own up to this, nor the services that were due. Unbelieveable...

Sorry to hear this. Bent wheels can occur at any time, so not surprising not covered by BMW warranty. I've had several bent wheels over the years and none were warranty repairs (not only BMWs). That's considered "collision" damage that is not covered. If they were bent when you took delivery from Carvana, it would depend on what the terms were of the sale. If Carvana simply turned over the OEM warranty and made no other representations about the condition of the car, (e.g., sold "as is") you are going to have a hard time getting any relief. The other issues sound like warranty claims but the dealer is not giving you any benefit of the doubt. The cracked fin could be impact even if there's no other damage and the chrome could be "wear and tear" but a good dealer (or one where you had a prior relationship) would try to get them warrantied. The raised strip on the sunroof sounds like it should be warranty though. These guys sound like they don't want to do anything to help someone who didn't buy from them. Got any other dealers in the area you can try?

[Al Pinã]

The fact that the car came from a third-party dealer is going to severely lower your chances of BMW NA approving warranty work for these fairly minor issues.

It's not so much the dealership, as they don't really care where the car came from; they're paid directly from BMW for approved repairs.

[Lawguy]

I’m not sure bent wheels are ever covered by factory warranty, which is why most dealers (of all brands) sell the “wheel and tire” package warranty.

[TampaJoe]

Thank you for the advice. I have seen similar issues on my 3 series with the chrome trim "rainbowing" which is not a huge deal, just expect a bit more on the flagship sedan from BMW.

In terms of the wheels, Carvana did not disclose the defect, and in fact after a wash yesterday I noticed paint flakes coming off the wheels - seems they just sprayed paint on them - sigh. Carvana's position is I did not return the car in 7 days, so I accept it "as-is" which is why, I thought at least, there was a warranty on the car in case of missed items in the reconditioning of the vehicle.

The sunroof seal just blows my mind - the dealer says someone cut it, and that is why it is not covered - I do not see any cuts, but it also does not leak so may be better to leave as it is.

Lastly, the kidney grille does have some slight sign of a past impact to other fins, so this is just a case of my fault for not finding this sooner. I guess I will have to out of pocket cover that, but we shall see since none of these were disclosed in the sale.

In short summary, Carvana is NOT a good option with this level of car - my hard lesson learned to share with others.

[Markr]

I had a bird strike in the grill when the car was pretty much brand new, which broke some fins. I went onto eBay and got a used replacement, which consists of two parts. The chrome surround and the black fins. I carefully removed the broken fins from my surround to practice how (which was perfect) and then the used one, and put the good fins back in my perfect surround.

Total cost £40 and 30 mins of work and you can’t tell.

[TampaJoe]

Originally Posted by Markr

I had a bird strike in the grill when the car was pretty much brand new, which broke some fins. I went onto eBay and got a used replacement, which consists of two parts. The chrome surround and the black fins. I carefully removed the broken fins from my surround to practice how (which was perfect) and then the used one, and put the good fins back in my perfect surround.

Total cost £40 and 30 mins of work and you can’t tell.

Fantastic advice! I will look into doing this since it is only 2 or 3 fins that are impacted.