[Slipperyshoe]

HI Chaps- just been told car needs new gearbox and transfer box. Car has had a couple of issues since new and dealer has agreed to pay for almost all of it (I'm out of warranty).

Really happy with dealer- great service. My question to the forum is whether there should be any worries with this or should it just run seamlessly etc. Reason for this is car is 4 yrs old, 93k and I have been considering changing it in for a new one. I own the car (bought from new) and have lost an awful lot in £'s on it for the pleasure. Keeping for another year would make the financials make a lot more sense as car allowance could catch up on the losses!

Also, no idea what car to get!!

[Techno 9000]

New gearbox & transfer box to be done by a, presumably BMW, dealer. Why shouldn't it be all good?

Out of interest, what were the issues (symptoms) that have led to this ?

[Jeff123]

You have nothing to lose; get it fixed and wait for the new G20's to hit the market.

I look at potential new cars all the time and look at virtually all the options. Then I go full circle again and its either a 3 or 5 series. The 5 is too big for me, so I end up with the ideal car being the one that I own!

[Slipperyshoe]

Thanks for replies. Was on the service pack and it was noted oil had leaked from the gearbox sump. Had O Ring replaced once, then the sump replaced, then it appeared again. Car since went out of warranty and therefore BMw picking up almost all of the bill (told it is £10k!). All done through the purchasing dealer (where I’ve serviced it also).

In addition I’ve always felt there has been a bit of hesitation intermintally when putting the power down (mostly cruising around 70), although I note that this is a symptom fairly well reported on this forum so may be unrelated.

I guess my niggle is just that with such a major component change @93k and 4 yrs old, that further issues could be on the way.

Think I’m settled to keep it for another year, even though I’ve already had the car twice as long as any other I’ve previously had. Really difficult to change as significant jump in cost to M3 or X40m etc. Then there’s my mileage, which is not insignificant.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Slipperyshoe

I guess my niggle is just that with such a major component change @93k and 4 yrs old, that further issues could be on the way.

My car had to have the front differential replaced last week; the fault initially manifested itself at around 60k miles but, due to a mis-diagnosis by the dealer, was eventually only rectified at around 65k miles.

However, after being faultless for just over 4 years, I have to say I'm slightly concerned that something like a differential has failed at what I consider to be quite a low mileage for that type of component. We have been thinking about whether to keep the F31 long-term but if I'm honest this has slightly dented my confidence; I won't make any hasty decisions - and in the end what we do will be based on what we need from our cars - but we'll be changing our cars around one way or another come the summer and I'm starting to wonder whether the 335d ought to figure going forward. Recent faults (diff, EGR) are not insignificant entries in the minus column and, like you, I'm beginning to wonder if it's the start of problems and hence time to get rid....

[Tengocity]

Or get the extended warranty?

A lot cheaper than buying a new car.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Or get the extended warranty?

A lot cheaper than buying a new car.

Not sure of that was directed at me or Slipperyshoe but I already have an extended warranty; don't actually know what the replacement differential cost but I suspect it's easily more than the total of the premiums I've already paid!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Not sure of that was directed at me or Slipperyshoe but I already have an extended warranty; don't actually know what the replacement differential cost but I suspect it's easily more than the total of the premiums I've already paid!

Sorry, it was you.

My old car is now over 120k car and still going strong, so you could look at it another way and say that despite the complexity of modern cars a lot of them stand up extremely well to high miles.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Sorry, it was you.

My old car is now over 120k car and still going strong, so you could look at it another way and say that despite the complexity of modern cars a lot of them stand up extremely well to high miles.

I'm sure there are examples of cars that are trouble-free at a much higher mileage than mine and my car may well now be trouble-free or another 50k miles or so (as indeed it was right up to 60k miles!). However, my confidence has been shaken slightly by recent events and I don't want a car that's in and out of the garage for repairs even if the cost is covered by a warranty.

That said, the decision on whether or not to keep the 335d will be determined mainly by what we require from our cars going forward. The F31 is without doubt a very useful vehicle to have in the household but I'm no longer doing the mileage and long motorway runs I was when I bought it and therefore the need for the car isn't what it was. Nevertheless, up until a couple of months ago my mindset was leaning towards keeping it because I'd had it from new, knew the history, the car is a good spec and had been faultless in terms of reliability; unfortunately, though, the last of those no longer seems to apply......

[Slipperyshoe]

Tengo- would have lived extended warranty but unfortunately I made the mistake of declaring ACS springs- they flatly denied me cover, no discussions about merits, partnerships, accreditation or testing of ACS components. Just a flat NO. I posted somewhere about keeping quiet on kids when getting warranty. Honesty does not pay in that situation as I’m 99% sure if I hadn’t declared my dealer would have been fine with it (had suspension components replaced under warranty and also have spacers).

[Slipperyshoe]

Sorry for autocorrect lived=loved, kids=mods

[JD6]

Originally Posted by JNW1

My car had to have the front differential replaced last week; the fault initially manifested itself at around 60k miles but, due to a mis-diagnosis by the dealer, was eventually only rectified at around 65k miles.

I would be interested to know what the symptoms were of the failing front differential?

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by JD6

I would be interested to know what the symptoms were of the failing front differential?

The only symptom was a whine from the front of the car which was road-speed rather than engine-speed related. It was relatively minor at first but I've always had a sensitive ear for squeaks, rattles and abnormal noises and, having had the car from new, it was obvious to me that something was wrong albeit I didn't know what!

I asked the dealer to look at it when it was in for service at just under 60k miles and they diagnosed the problem as wheel bearing failure. I wasn't convinced at the time and said so but they insisted that was the fault and replaced a front wheel bearing under warranty; needless to say it didn't fix the problem and with mileage the noise was getting steadily worse. Eventually, following the intervention of the Service Manager, they decided it was the front differential and have now replaced that under warranty.

I'm assuming what they've done has now cured the problem although I don't know for certain because while they had it in they looked at the EGR cooler again and decided they needed to keep the car for safety reasons; it will therefore probably be next month before I know whether the whine has disappeared!

[goodbyalfa]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Or get the extended warranty?

A lot cheaper than buying a new car.

I understand the sentiment behind this statement, but it worries me more than people feel the need to buy these policies at all, rather than "self insure". Modern cars should be pretty reliable, and all these insurance policies must pay for themselves, so hence are net earners for the insurer. i.e. Providing you can afford it, I'd not bother with them.
To be honest, I can't remember when i last owned a car >4 yrs old, so if you are like me and generally look after the car, main dealer service it etc, then the manufacturers (BMW etc) tend to support any major failures to some extent after the 3yr warranty period.