[rhodesman]

I want to include the whole story here but I'm just too angry for words right now and can't even go to sleep hence this thread.

Last year in January I bought my mothers 335 from her. She special ordered it from BMW back in 2006/7 and had the car since day one. When I bought it from her it had 40,000 miles and a clean record free of HPFP, solenoid, DV and any other issues.

Since I have owned the car, I have joked that my second car was a 328i x-drive (which is what the dealer gives me as a loaner). In fact I think some parents at my daughters day care think that because every other week I am in one!

All my issues start back in March of last year but my story today starts a few weeks ago... as some might remember from a previous thread I started where I took the 335 to TOD and although had a great time the car did not. I brought the car to BMW and they told me my car would not be covered under the warranty due to the "excessive abusive driving" they saw on the cars little black box. Words went back and forth and the phrase "ultimate lying machine" was thrown out there. Still, I had to pay to the tune of $2200 where I ended up cashing in an insurance claim from a possum I hit to at least cover issues related to what it damaged. I also had an HPFP fail on the trip and so a new HPFP was replaced along with the solinoids.

I got the car back May 2nd and all seemed to be right. Driving to and from work/day care seemed to go off without a hitch. Then I took a friend this weekend on a sprited run through the country side. It was at this point I got the half engine of death not once but twice within seconds from restarting the car to clear the first one. So back to the dealer Monday morning (16th) and now day two I am told the DVs need to be replaced and the service on that is $3,000!!!

I'm beyond pissed right now. I have sunk more money into this damn machine in the past three months. I'm tired of the constant visits to the dealer for this and that, having to swap the car seat between cars, forgetting something for my daughter or myself and having to go back...again. I'm just done. I'm fighting BMW and trying to get them to fix this under warranty (btw I'm at 62,000 with extended warranty) and the answer I'm getting is "well the problem only happens when you rev above 5,500 rpms, so clearly you are abusing the car" remind me again where the red line is, 7,500 RPMs? am I missing something!?

Anyways I'm looking at some new Merc's now, non-turbo, no super charger, I want an NA engine, screw all this mechanical mumbo jumbo, the best cars I owned were all NA. So I guess this is goodbye in some weird rant kind of way. I wish you all who own a 335 good luck, BMW fucked up this engine big time.

[JayKay335i]

a) if your mom babied the car for 40k and then you beat on it, somethings bound to break
b) you can buy diverter valves and change it your self for a couple hundred, if thats what your DV stands for

[Tag]

He's got every right to be pissed and say FU and get rid of the car. Many people track their cars, does that mean they are abusing them? I don't think so. BMW puts in a lot of safeguards to prevent you from damaging the engine. This sounds like a total scape goat from the dealer. I would fight them by getting a good lawyer and once you win get rid of the car and move on. Just my 2¢.

[aznevoviii]

Just go to the different dealer!! Which dealer was it?

[tscdennab]

Clearly you are not telling the whole story. Did the dealer found tuner codes in your ECU, or did you go to the dealer with a piggyback tune installed ? It looks to me that your warranty was voided.

[marv85]

Although I know it is frustrating to keep taking your car to the dealer for repairs but I find it hard to believe that they would something like what do you expect when you rev passed 5500 rpms... on that terms no one would be under warranty

did you ever have a tune or any mods that might have caused them to void your warranty?

[Toker335i]

what others have said

do you have a tune?

[applebook]

There are better NA rides out there than a Merc. Think about a G37S if you're a driver. No Merc anywhere its price will touch it for power and handling. Mercs are much better looking though!

[JayKay335i]

For mid 40's Id take used C63 over a g37

[applebook]

But you could get a used G37 for much less than $40K. You have to compare apples to apples.

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by applebook

But you could get a used G37 for much less than $40K. You have to compare apples to apples.

Sure could. But if I had 40k to spend I wouldn't be looking at a G. Z > G. Rather have a C63 over both.

[applebook]

Since the OP bought his mother's used 2006, I'm going to assume that he might not want to spend 45K.

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by applebook

Since the OP bought his mother's used 2006, I'm going to assume that he might not want to spend 45K.

But he should

[JHFW89225]

Originally Posted by rhodesman

I want to include the whole story here but I'm just too angry for words right now and can't even go to sleep hence this thread.

Last year in January I bought my mothers 335 from her. She special ordered it from BMW back in 2006/7 and had the car since day one. When I bought it from her it had 40,000 miles and a clean record free of HPFP, solenoid, DV and any other issues.

Since I have owned the car, I have joked that my second car was a 328i x-drive (which is what the dealer gives me as a loaner). In fact I think some parents at my daughters day care think that because every other week I am in one!

All my issues start back in March of last year but my story today starts a few weeks ago... as some might remember from a previous thread I started where I took the 335 to TOD and although had a great time the car did not. I brought the car to BMW and they told me my car would not be covered under the warranty due to the "excessive abusive driving" they saw on the cars little black box. Words went back and forth and the phrase "ultimate lying machine" was thrown out there. Still, I had to pay to the tune of $2200 where I ended up cashing in an insurance claim from a possum I hit to at least cover issues related to what it damaged. I also had an HPFP fail on the trip and so a new HPFP was replaced along with the solinoids.

I got the car back May 2nd and all seemed to be right. Driving to and from work/day care seemed to go off without a hitch. Then I took a friend this weekend on a sprited run through the country side. It was at this point I got the half engine of death not once but twice within seconds from restarting the car to clear the first one. So back to the dealer Monday morning (16th) and now day two I am told the DVs need to be replaced and the service on that is $3,000!!!

I'm beyond pissed right now. I have sunk more money into this damn machine in the past three months. I'm tired of the constant visits to the dealer for this and that, having to swap the car seat between cars, forgetting something for my daughter or myself and having to go back...again. I'm just done. I'm fighting BMW and trying to get them to fix this under warranty (btw I'm at 62,000 with extended warranty) and the answer I'm getting is "well the problem only happens when you rev above 5,500 rpms, so clearly you are abusing the car" remind me again where the red line is, 7,500 RPMs? am I missing something!?

Anyways I'm looking at some new Merc's now, non-turbo, no super charger, I want an NA engine, screw all this mechanical mumbo jumbo, the best cars I owned were all NA. So I guess this is goodbye in some weird rant kind of way. I wish you all who own a 335 good luck, BMW fucked up this engine big time.

I understand you, I leased mine in 2008 brand new and I admit I drive it really hard for the past 3 years. I am still in warranty luckily.

I've had literally a stack of service papers that can fill a binders.

My unfortunes happened in this order:

HPFP
LPFP
Fuel Injectors
Fuel Gasket
Torque Converter
HPFP
Instrument Panel
Shifter Linkage
Catalytic converters
Rear left tail light
Cigarette lighter assembly

My dealer was very kind and replace everything under warranty without a question asked. But I am still extremely worried about owning a BMW outside of its warranty. They make one of the best cars period but this kind if maintenance is just horrid. We may be the unfortunate ones though, some have proven to be fairly reliable. I guess you got to pay to play the ultimate driving machine (sometimes more).

I would gladly drive another BMW again, but I have serious doubt about keeping one. I want to keep a E9X gen M3 though for my next car though, the only thing setting me back is justifying the price and potential things breaking down.

I hope you will fare better in the future with your car. Best of Luck, and I am looking forward to a Naturally Aspirated car for my next ride as well. BMW did fuck up this engine, but they did give thousands of people happiness. I wont keep her, but I'll never forget the good times she gave me.

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by tscdennab

Clearly you are not telling the whole story. Did the dealer found tuner codes in your ECU, or did you go to the dealer with a piggyback tune installed ? It looks to me that your warranty was voided.

[rhodesman]

Originally Posted by tscdennab

Clearly you are not telling the whole story. Did the dealer found tuner codes in your ECU, or did you go to the dealer with a piggyback tune installed ? It looks to me that your warranty was voided.

No, no tuner codes. Granted I did have a JB4 in the car but that was only for about 2 months when the visits to BMW became a bi-weekly ordeal. Although I did have issues with the car pre-JB4, the real issues happened after. Is the JB4 at fault? Maybe. Would these problems have come up if I never got a tune? yes, just would have taken longer. The dealer is negating any warranty due to my car's driving history as the black box is reporting.

I find BMW's quick to judge decision based on my driving history to be my biggest issue here. I drove my 2004 VW R32 balls to the wall every day and that car was fine up to 98,000 miles when I sold it. As another said, if BMW is going to say driving the car to 6,800 RPMs before shifting as abuse then they should lower the red line limiter to reflect their policies. As I told my SA, it's like dating a supermodel but you cannot have sex with her. Whats the point if I cannot have sex with her? Conversation!?

Also I am entertaining $40K cars, the fact that I bought the car from my mother has nothing to do with what I can or cannot afford. I only included it here to show that I know this car's history from day one, that was my only reason.

Now about the G37, sure I would entertain a G37 but everyone in my area has one and the styling looks boring to me. They are so common I can spit out my window and hit 2-3. I like the C350 because it's a little more rare of a C-class, I LOVE the looks of it and I found a great deal with all the options I want, so why not.

[Syndicategt]

My wife wants a C class.....told her I wouldn't be caught dead in one unless it said "63" behind that C.

Holding out for the new C63 coupe

The 335i will just be a tinker toy at that point.

[anerbe]

Originally Posted by rhodesman

Granted I did have a JB4 in the car but that was only for about 2 months when the visits to BMW became a bi-weekly ordeal.

Did you have the JB4 installed when you took it in?

Yes - perfectly understandable to deny for warranty.

No - were there any codes present? They should deny if yes. If no, they need to prove the car was run over the RPM limit or if there's burned up brakes. Some sort of objective evidence.

Otherwise, over 5500 is not considered abuse. Get thee to another dealership.

[968tomr]

This is the exclusion they must be using to deny warranty coverage... (From the 2007 BMW 335i Coupe warranty book)

"Damage which results from negligence, <b>improper operation of the vehicle</b>, improper repair, lack of or improper maintenance, environmental influences, flood, accident or fire damage, road salt corrosion, or use of improper or contaminated fuel."

So, they are saying you improperly operated your vehicle, because you drove it hard. I think this would be a pretty easy argument for you to win, as you never drove the car outside of the parameters that the manufacturer set for the car. Even if you drove the car at the rev limiter every day all day you would be operating the car within the parameters that BMW deemed acceptable.

If you cannot get them to cover your car because of (your words) "excessive abusive driving", they would have to prove that you were operating the car outside of its design specifications.

As BMW sets the rev limiter, sets the points at which the car goes into limp mode to protect itself, and sells the car as the "Ultimate Driving Machine" I think you have this one in the bag.

Or you just had a detectable tune that caused them to cancel your warranty because of this clause.... "Modification of the vehicle or installation of any performance accessories or components attached to the vehicle which alters the original engineering and/or operating specifications or
which result in damage to the other original components, electrical interference, electrical short, radio static, water leaks and wind noise."

-Tom

[landau88]

Originally Posted by rhodesman

No, no tuner codes. Granted I did have a JB4 in the car but that was only for about 2 months when the visits to BMW became a bi-weekly ordeal. Although I did have issues with the car pre-JB4, the real issues happened after. Is the JB4 at fault? Maybe. Would these problems have come up if I never got a tune? yes, just would have taken longer. The dealer is negating any warranty due to my car's driving history as the black box is reporting.

I find BMW's quick to judge decision based on my driving history to be my biggest issue here. I drove my 2004 VW R32 balls to the wall every day and that car was fine up to 98,000 miles when I sold it. As another said, if BMW is going to say driving the car to 6,800 RPMs before shifting as abuse then they should lower the red line limiter to reflect their policies. As I told my SA, it's like dating a supermodel but you cannot have sex with her. Whats the point if I cannot have sex with her? Conversation!?

Also I am entertaining $40K cars, the fact that I bought the car from my mother has nothing to do with what I can or cannot afford. I only included it here to show that I know this car's history from day one, that was my only reason.

Now about the G37, sure I would entertain a G37 but everyone in my area has one and the styling looks boring to me. They are so common I can spit out my window and hit 2-3. I like the C350 because it's a little more rare of a C-class, I LOVE the looks of it and I found a great deal with all the options I want, so why not.

Because its slow

[SantaMonica335i]

There are multiple threads on this forum from the OP stating he had a tune on his car. It's pretty simple, you tune your car and you void your warranty. If you are not willing to accept that then dont tune until your car is out of warranty.

[reprod]

Originally Posted by rhodesman

I find BMW's quick to judge decision based on my driving history to be my biggest issue here. I drove my 2004 VW R32 balls to the wall every day and that car was fine up to 98,000 miles when I sold it. As another said, if BMW is going to say driving the car to 6,800 RPMs before shifting as abuse then they should lower the red line limiter to reflect their policies. As I told my SA, it's like dating a supermodel but you cannot have sex with her. Whats the point if I cannot have sex with her? Conversation!?

6800 RPM??? That is a little excessive if done on a regular(daily) basis. Our engines are strong but they were not built with the distinct intention to be track/race cars. Get a Honda S2000 for this.