[RoundRound]

Maybe a silly question,
My 330e still has about 24 months of original warranty - but I didn't get it from a dealer, how do I find one for servicing/warranty work?

Can I just walk into anyone in London? What if there is a dispute about warranty work can I go to a different dealer? Or do they all share the same 'system'? Any recommended dealers in London?

I'm worried as it seems for warranty purposes you can't make any changes to the car (replace NAV screen for example) that aren't done by BMW...

Any advice or tips would be appreciated, thank you!

[AlwynMike]

Use any dealer.
For servicing, shop around as prices can vary wildly even within a quite small area.

There is no real customer loyalty - experience can be very different and some sing praises of a particular dealer whereas others wouldn't darken their doors.

[goodbyalfa]

Just walk into any dealership.
The warranty is honoured by Bmw itself so there will be no issues. The local dealer is paid for any authorised repairs by Bmw.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Maybe a silly question,
My 330e still has about 24 months of original warranty - but I didn't get it from a dealer, how do I find one for servicing/warranty work?

Can I just walk into anyone in London? What if there is a dispute about warranty work can I go to a different dealer? Or do they all share the same 'system'? Any recommended dealers in London?

I'm worried as it seems for warranty purposes you can't make any changes to the car (replace NAV screen for example) that aren't done by BMW...

Any advice or tips would be appreciated, thank you!

You can go to any dealer you wish. I bought mine 150 miles away, but use the local one for servicing and warranty.

I guess you will have a good choice in London and some of the guys on here will be able to suggest who to use/avoid.

[RoundRound]

Thank you people (so early on a Sunday!),
that's good to hear.

I'm worried that 'modifying the car' (say replacing the NAV or installing a proper audio system with amp and speakers, for example) could void the warranty...

Thank you!

[lethbridge]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Thank you people (so early on a Sunday!),
that's good to hear.

I'm worried that 'modifying the car' (say replacing the NAV or installing a proper audio system with amp and speakers, for example) could void the warranty...

Thank you!

I believe, speaking for most people's experience on here, BMW will honour the warranty on a modified car. They won't, of course, honour it for the mods or anything the mods impact - obviously that is where the grey area is - but there are seldom any issues reported on here. In my experience the warranty is really good and the dealer will sort it with BMW and just get on with any work needed.

[teaston]

Adopt a dealer! I didn’t realise they were in that bad a financial position!

[RoundRound]

Originally Posted by lethbridge

I believe, speaking for most people's experience on here, BMW will honour the warranty on a modified car. They won't, of course, honour it for the mods or anything the mods impact - obviously that is where the grey area is - but there are seldom any issues reported on here. In my experience the warranty is really good and the dealer will sort it with BMW and just get on with any work needed.

Thank you,
I hope that's the case, only needs one idiot at a dealership to mark the car as modified and no warranty... All they need to do is refuse to extend it when the day comes - tricky...

[sensible]

I bought my car new from BMW park Lane, London and live in the West Midlands. I now use Sytner Oldbury. You can use any dealer you want and swop and change when it suits.

I believe there is somewhere in your idrive where you can nominate a chosen dealer and they then keep updating you for services etc. I recall doing mine when I first bought the car.

[robbiep]

The basic rule is that if the modifications may be a material cause of the failure, then the failure won't be covered under warranty.

So, if you put a sports exhaust and non-OEM wheels on the car, and your iDrive system dies 3 months later, it's highly unlikely to be related, and should be covered under warranty.
However, put a different amp, speaker system, different iDrive screen on the car, and they're far more likely to refuse the iDrive claim.

[robwils]

You can record your preferred dealer on the connected app profile - dont know if this means they get your details and remind you of service checks / end of warranty checks etc. ??
Probably does ?

[Jeff123]

Dealers are very good at extracting money from your pockets, so shop around for quotes between several BMW ones in your loyalty, then when you get what seems like the cheapest quote, offer them less and see if they will do it for that price - you might be pleasantly surprised.

[RoundRound]

Originally Posted by robbiep

The basic rule is that if the modifications may be a material cause of the failure, then the failure won't be covered under warranty.

So, if you put a sports exhaust and non-OEM wheels on the car, and your iDrive system dies 3 months later, it's highly unlikely to be related, and should be covered under warranty.
However, put a different amp, speaker system, different iDrive screen on the car, and they're far more likely to refuse the iDrive claim.

Thanks mate,
What worries me specifically is if I install an amp (or more) - connected to the main car battery (i.e. not the one driving the electric engine) - and then something goes wrong with the electric engine/battery could they say I 'stressed' the alternator/electric system?

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Thanks mate,
What worries me specifically is if I install an amp (or more) - connected to the main car battery (i.e. not the one driving the electric engine) - and then something goes wrong with the electric engine/battery could they say I 'stressed' the alternator/electric system?

Yes, they could. If you've done the work yourself then they're in a very strong position to tell you to prove the work has been done to the required standard - and you'll undoubtedly find that difficult to do after the event.

If you get the work done by an independent specialist then the same applies : they can tell you to go away, and you'd have to get an engineer's report proving that any damage was NOT due to the aftermarket work carried out - such a report would be at your expense, with no legal way of recovering the cost.

[RoundRound]

Originally Posted by robbiep

Yes, they could. If you've done the work yourself then they're in a very strong position to tell you to prove the work has been done to the required standard - and you'll undoubtedly find that difficult to do after the event.

If you get the work done by an independent specialist then the same applies : they can tell you to go away, and you'd have to get an engineer's report proving that any damage was NOT due to the aftermarket work carried out - such a report would be at your expense, with no legal way of recovering the cost.

Thank you,
I would install it at a decent place, but that's an argument I'd rather not go into... However, I wonder if the same situation could arise with any other car brand under warranty?

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Thank you,
I would install it at a decent place, but that's an argument I'd rather not go into... However, I wonder if the same situation could arise with any other car brand under warranty?

Yes, it would.

Any marque will want to see that modifications done have not impacted on their hardware or software, and, if such modifications have caused a failure of any sort, will refuse to cover them.

Basically, if you don't want to break your warranty, don't get that sort of work done.
If you get that work done, expect the worst - that you have breached the warranty, and any repair costs will be down to you.

[x-m4n]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Maybe a silly question,
My 330e still has about 24 months of original warranty - but I didn't get it from a dealer, how do I find one for servicing/warranty work?

I went for the one nearest to my home address - it has come handy as they have dropped me off to the station or collect/return the car from my home when servicing... They also offered free temp car but I never got to use that option. Suppose you can call your local dealers and see if they offer those extra bits.

My local are Cooper Thames Ditton and they haven't been perfect - I am out of warranty/service inclusive now but will probably still go back to them next time... which I think will be break pads related.

[JustChris]

Adopt a dealer.

For just £400 a month you can adopt a dealer, keep them in clean clothes and provide them with fresh water.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by RoundRound

Thank you,
I would install it at a decent place, but that's an argument I'd rather not go into... However, I wonder if the same situation could arise with any other car brand under warranty?

Some manufacturers actively check for things like remaps.

Audi sent a letter around their dealer network a while back.

First question I was asked on my servicing was 'Is the car modified'


The only manufacturer I have had zero issues with a modified car is Toyota, it was almost encouraged.