[DrewDDS]

Hey folks,
So yesterday afternoon the a/c stopped working on my G87. I start investigating, and there is a large puddle of coolant on the ground underneath the car. Lo and behold there is a piece of gravel sitting just inside my front bumper, and a lovely dent in the radiator. The thin plastic cladding obviously did nothing to protect the radiator. Dealership quoted me $3300 plus another 2500 for tires and alignment. Absolutely refusing to cover it in any way.

The car is less than a year old and has 7000 miles on it. Surely this is bound to happen several times over ownership of this car. I find this extremely unacceptable that bmw does not stand behind their poor design choices.

Does anyone have suggestions or similar stories? The dealership suggested I pay out of pocket and try to have my insurance reimburse me, but I don’t find that to be an appropriate solution either. I asked them to make me an offer on the car, and the offer was 53k which I also find insulting.

Thanks in advance for any insight

[JABCAT]

Sucks about the radiator. Look the part number up online, guaranteed to be a hell of a lot cheaper than what they're quoting.

What does tires and alignment have to do with the radiator damage. That's a ridiculous price for those as well. Why do you need tires at 7k mi? Depending on where you are, order tires from Discount Tire or Tire Rack.

[BroDoze]

Ugh. I have the Zunsport oil cooler grille here next to me, looks like I'ma need the whole freakin' front grille set. I live in gravel/sand/rock land.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

Hey folks,
So yesterday afternoon the a/c stopped working on my G87. I start investigating, and there is a large puddle of coolant on the ground underneath the car. Lo and behold there is a piece of gravel sitting just inside my front bumper, and a lovely dent in the radiator. The thin plastic cladding obviously did nothing to protect the radiator. Dealership quoted me $3300 plus another 2500 for tires and alignment. Absolutely refusing to cover it in any way.

The car is less than a year old and has 7000 miles on it. Surely this is bound to happen several times over ownership of this car. I find this extremely unacceptable that bmw does not stand behind their poor design choices.

Does anyone have suggestions or similar stories? The dealership suggested I pay out of pocket and try to have my insurance reimburse me, but I don’t find that to be an appropriate solution either. I asked them to make me an offer on the car, and the offer was 53k which I also find insulting.

Thanks in advance for any insight

BMW is far from the only make with this issue. The exposed radiators look "racy," I guess. Warranties only cover construction defects, not design. My F82 had a good OEM grille insert that was very effective, and of course there are many aftermarket solutions for the G87.

Not clear on what tires have to do with the radiator issue?

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Ugh. I have the Zunsport oil cooler grille here next to me, looks like I'ma need the whole freakin' front grille set. I live in gravel/sand/rock land.

Might as well. I have them all, peace of mind.

[DrewDDS]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

What does tires and alignment have to do with the radiator damage.

Had nothing to do with radiator damage, I just included it to give the full insulting picture hah. Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely look into buying the part myself. I take full responsibility for the tire wear, although in my opinion they don’t need to be replaced any time soon. They had 4-5mm of tread on them. Suggesting alignment was also a bit insulting as the car should have been aligned from the factory and I haven’t hit anything

[BroDoze]

Don't you get a complementary alignment in the first 2,000mi? Too late now, but...

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

Had nothing to do with radiator damage, I just included it to give the full insulting picture hah. Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely look into buying the part myself. I take full responsibility for the tire wear, although in my opinion they don’t need to be replaced any time soon. They had 4-5mm of tread on them. Suggesting alignment was also a bit insulting as the car should have been aligned from the factory and I haven’t hit anything

there is plenty of G8X threads with this same thing happening and to my knowledge not a single person has gotten a dealer or BMW corporate to take ownership. it is a known flaw in the design, and that is why most folks immediately cover all the exposed cooling. i think i did mine under 100 miles.

go to your local german indy and get it done for half the cost, and then protect yourself and your car. plenty of options out there (stradale, zunsport, etc)

[Fastfwd]

I'm not expert on this, but some of the aftermarket radiators also have built in grilles and/or mounting holes for their grilles.

Some of you guys may know the brands. CSF? https://www.bimmerworld.com/Front-Mo...G8X-M3-M4.html

These may be an upgrade from the factory radiator anyway? IDK. If you have to pay out of pocket maybe you should upgrade while you are at it. Find a good indy mechanic to do the job? That's your call.

I got the Zunsport grilles and so far they have done their job. Thankfully.

[DrewDDS]

Originally Posted by Fastfwd

I'm not expert on this, but some of the aftermarket radiators also have built in grilles and/or mounting holes for their grilles.

Some of you guys may know the brands. CSF? https://www.bimmerworld.com/Front-Mo...G8X-M3-M4.html

These may be an upgrade from the factory radiator anyway? IDK. If you have to pay out of pocket maybe you should upgrade while you are at it. Find a good indy mechanic to do the job? That's your call.

I got the Zunsport grilles and so far they have done their job. Thankfully.

I like the idea of the aluminum guards on this radiator. It’s almost as if this could have been done by bmw 🤷🏻

[DSTR]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Ugh. I have the Zunsport oil cooler grille here next to me, looks like I'ma need the whole freakin' front grille set. I live in gravel/sand/rock land.

Do get them. I barely notice them actually. I have all minus the brake duct screens installed.

[NewToM]

Originally Posted by DSTR

Do get them. I barely notice them actually. I have all minus the brake duct screens installed.

I went full zunsport. Edited to add current look.

[Carefree]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Ugh. I have the Zunsport oil cooler grille here next to me, looks like I'ma need the whole freakin' front grille set. I live in gravel/sand/rock land.

Grill protection and skid plate were the first 2 “mods” I did.
YMMV.

[ourlee]

Irritating but I’m looking at it like I look at taxes

[DrewDDS]

Originally Posted by ourlee

Irritating but I’m looking at it like I look at taxes

With intense detestation? 😅

[ourlee]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

With intense detestation? 😅

absolutely of course lol

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by DrewDDS

Had nothing to do with radiator damage, I just included it to give the full insulting picture hah. Thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely look into buying the part myself. I take full responsibility for the tire wear, although in my opinion they don’t need to be replaced any time soon. They had 4-5mm of tread on them. Suggesting alignment was also a bit insulting as the car should have been aligned from the factory and I haven’t hit anything

New tires = get car aligned

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by Fastfwd

I'm not expert on this, but some of the aftermarket radiators also have built in grilles and/or mounting holes for their grilles.

Some of you guys may know the brands. CSF? https://www.bimmerworld.com/Front-Mo...G8X-M3-M4.html

These may be an upgrade from the factory radiator anyway? IDK. If you have to pay out of pocket maybe you should upgrade while you are at it. Find a good indy mechanic to do the job? That's your call.

I got the Zunsport grilles and so far they have done their job. Thankfully.

Nope, no aftermarket radiator yet. CSF is working on it but will probably be end of summer, at best, till they release.

I also know the oem/BMW radiators were backordered for a while, not sure if that has changed or not.

[MASHCT]

This is actually comprehensive coverage (not collision) under your auto insurance & usually the deductible is less for comprehensive damage. This is similar to damage by deer, road debris, falling objects...

I would submit it through your insurance.

We can all get mad at BMW's design choice, but it's not a defect the manufacturer is responsible for fixing or reimbursing you. Not being a smart ass or anything like that...

[Digitalprty]

That sucks man, sorry. Insurance might be the best to reduce a large payment now. Not sure how it’ll affect your premiums going forward, though.

The day I took delivery, the genius who showed me around the car told me (unprompted) to get the radiators/coolers covered ASAP since they already had a customer’s M2 totaled due to damage. I was already planning on getting the front covered, but that comment made me also order the underneath protection. I put my Zunsport order in while I waited for the finance guy. After I got my car back from the detailer, I installed it very soon after.

[fanofbmwe46]

Originally Posted by MASHCT

This is actually comprehensive coverage (not collision) under your auto insurance & usually the deductible is less for comprehensive damage. This is similar to damage by deer, road debris, falling objects...

I would submit it through your insurance.

We can all get mad at BMW's design choice, but it's not a defect the manufacturer is responsible for fixing or reimbursing you. Not being a smart ass or anything like that...

Might result in a “damage” record on the CarFax which could result in thousands lower trade in value / resell value.

[DutchBoysRacing]

Originally Posted by NewToM

I went full zunsport. Edited to add current look.

Can you let us know how many miles you have on the car and a picture of the radiator?

I track my car often, and mine is getting chewed up