BMW Refusing Warranty!!

[F87LUV]

Let me clarify. The car has been in 2 accidents both of which were not related to the front of the car. Originally they were saying I had a front collision which definitely never happened.

[lucid]

OK. Well, that is a rotten deal--if they replaced your headlamps while fixing something else. It would be hard to prove. Good luck...

[F87LUV]

Yup. I'm screwed!

[3002 tii]

please post which body shop this was. i'm sure tri-state folks like us would find it useful.

and fwiw, this doesn't sound all that far-fetched. whenever body shops work on cars, most times they are instrucuted to find reconditioned parts before purchasing new. it's only if their parts supplier can't find what they need, they get the OK from the insurance company to buy new. with that said, i bet this guy just swapped out for reconditioned or 3rd party headlights and then sold yours off. perfect example here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-05...Q5fAccessories

[Finnegan]

Geez, this stinks. Yet another scam to be aware of--damn criminal vultures stealing good parts off the car replacing them with cheap knock-offs. I feel kind of silly for not being aware that this could happen. Now that it's been mentioned that may happen with some degree of frequency (either a shady shop or shady workers).

What about marking parts with an "invisible" UV dye? Invisible, but you can see it under a UV light, and if I'm not mistaken, not easy to wash off when used with the right medium (have to research that bit). If there were a way to "tag" your parts in this way it would provide a means to document what was there in terms of original parts before you went to the crooks...er bodyshop. Document things (photos under UV light), then check things when you pick it up. Paranoid? Perhaps, but this does make me wonder....

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by Dubbedown

please post which body shop this was. i'm sure tri-state folks like us would find it useful.

and fwiw, this doesn't sound all that far-fetched. whenever body shops work on cars, most times they are instrucuted to find reconditioned parts before purchasing new. it's only if their parts supplier can't find what they need, they get the OK from the insurance company to buy new. with that said, i bet this guy just swapped out for reconditioned or 3rd party headlights and then sold yours off. perfect example here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-05...Q5fAccessories

Farfetched? No but when I never had body work on my front end? YES!! I always request oem parts no matter the cost. No ones giving me knockoffs but hey jokes on me!

[O-cha]

Sounds like someone is screwing you, one way or the other, and either way youre being way too complacent

[MinneapolisJeff]

how do headlights cost $4k ?

[F87LUV]

I'm not being complacent at all. I have two insurance companies involved, bmw na and the dealer. Trust me I am not paying for this!!!

[F87LUV]

Headlights are $1600 a piece plus tax plus 5 hours dealer labor.

[chickdr]

I had a strange issue when I had my S2K worked on a couple of years ago. The damage was in the passenger side rear qtr panel (caused by a wayward shopping cart helmed by an unobservant mom). When I picked it up I noticed the front bumper was not on correctly(the tabs under the headlights were buckled which I easily pushed into place and a clip was missing from one side. I also noticed the finish seemed different on the bumper and had some clear coat runs. I asked the shop about it and was told they had another S2K in at the same time for a front bumper respray. It happened to be the same color as my car. They started working on mine before realizing it was the wrong car but went ahead and did my bumper for "free". Would have been nice if they told me before I figured out something was up(and if you are going to try and cover it up you probably should do some QC and make sure the bumper looks factory when you are done...). The funny thing is my front bumper was pristine(the car only had 5K miles on it) so I have no idea why they would have even attempted to respray it.

Your issue sounds like a criminal offense. Are your lights at least HID? Seems strange to replace HID's with like HID's. I wonder why they would do that? I will be watching this thread.

[WAMz4]

I'm Not suprized. I once had a tire store switch out my OEM wheel for a bent one when buying new tires. It had a bend on the inner rim about a 1/8 inch out and three inches long. I was lucky I went striaght to a dealer from the tire store to get alligned and they showed me the damage. I returned to the tire store an hour later to complain that they bent my rim and a few minutes later they take me back to show me that the bend had miraculously disappeared! Yeah, when they switched it out for my original wheel. Some one in that store thought they got lucky when a sucker with the same wheels came in.

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by chickdr

Your issue sounds like a criminal offense. Are your lights at least HID? Seems strange to replace HID's with like HID's. I wonder why they would do that? I will be watching this thread.

Yeah, I have HIDs. Well, someone suggested that at the time, the body shop had another z4 with a front end collision, they take mine and put them into the other car and still get the money for the new lights from the insurance company, they go out and replace mine with junked headlights. The dealer said theres no identification stickers on the back of the lights and there are white chalk like markings on them like they do at a junkyard.

[BU Z4]

Originally Posted by chickdr

I had a strange issue when I had my S2K worked on a couple of years ago. The damage was in the passenger side rear qtr panel (caused by a wayward shopping cart helmed by an unobservant mom). When I picked it up I noticed the front bumper was not on correctly(the tabs under the headlights were buckled which I easily pushed into place and a clip was missing from one side. I also noticed the finish seemed different on the bumper and had some clear coat runs. I asked the shop about it and was told they had another S2K in at the same time for a front bumper respray. It happened to be the same color as my car. They started working on mine before realizing it was the wrong car but went ahead and did my bumper for "free". Would have been nice if they told me before I figured out something was up(and if you are going to try and cover it up you probably should do some QC and make sure the bumper looks factory when you are done...). The funny thing is my front bumper was pristine(the car only had 5K miles on it) so I have no idea why they would have even attempted to respray it.

Your issue sounds like a criminal offense. Are your lights at least HID? Seems strange to replace HID's with like HID's. I wonder why they would do that? I will be watching this thread.

They hit your car and then they fixed it!!!

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by ZGirl07

I'm not being complacent at all. I have two insurance companies involved, bmw na and the dealer. Trust me I am not paying for this!!!

That's being complacent. YOU are going to pay for it in the long run claiming it on the insurance, not either the guy who swapped your headlights or the dealer whos trying to cheat you, whichever one it really is.

And when someone allows it to happen to them it just gives them more reason to keep doing it.

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by O-cha

That's being complacent. YOU are going to pay for it in the long run claiming it on the insurance, not either the guy who swapped your headlights or the dealer whos trying to cheat you, whichever one it really is.

And when someone allows it to happen to them it just gives them more reason to keep doing it.

So how would you proceed then??

[Z3Z4MC]

Since you haven't sign anything that authorized them to order these parts, can you simply say no on the parts and take your car elsewhere for a second opinion?

[F87LUV]

Originally Posted by Z3Z4MC

Since you haven't sign anything that authorized them to order these parts, can you simply say no on the parts and take your car elsewhere for a second opinion?

Sure, I just have to pay them $1000 to get my car back because they took it apart.

[Hawkeye]

Damn Lana. You just have some bad luck all around.

You know, it may not hurt to show a little leg every now and then...

[steveayd]

Thats total bull-jive!

Definitely get the insurance company to prove no frontal collision issues, get the estimate or work report from the auto shops that did the work. If they changed the lights, it will be on that report. All that is recorded by computers now.

Pardon my french, but you have to be a total dick to the stealer-ship! If they are noting that the lights are fakes, they have to prove it. Those things are molded with part numbers and digits all over them. The manufacturer is stamped on them, and as long as its a vendor BMW uses they have to honor it.

Condensation is not a reason to spend 4 grand. Its a reason to replace something under warranty. I would throw blame on the shop and maintenance manager, totally tear into them and the customer service. If you end up paying, I would torture them daily, or bi-daily. Good luck!


BTW:

What dealership is this? A lot of people live in the tri-state area (like me) and I would love to avoid this one.

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by ZGirl07

Sure, I just have to pay them $1000 to get my car back because they took it apart.

Not unless you signed a waiver of estimate you don't.

Most states it's 100$ max.

Signing a waiver of estimate at a dealership is a dumb move, they LOVE to tear cars apart without customer authorization.

[Hawkeye]

^^ That is good to know. I think they just like to tell you that you have to pay sometimes since they did the work even though you are not obligated to pay. Although I would probably want to sit and watch as they put it back together. People don't like being "screwed" out of money, whether it is justified or not!