Advice: Used car in motorplan issues

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mugikhan

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I'm posting here in case someone with more experience has maybe dealt with this before. I bought a used car a 2021 BMW 320i about two months ago. The car still has motorplan which was transferred to my name. I bought this car from a dealership (not bmw) and they had the quality check done by BMW and BMW transferred the motorplan to my name.

Fast forward two months later, I have an issue with an emergency call system failure. So I take my car in to BMW since it is under motorplan expecting to get it resolved. After a bunch of back and forth, they get back to me saying they can't do it under the motorplan because there is water/accident damage to that component. It's a telematics unit that sits under the antenna. This new unit would cost R24k out of pocket because of this excuse of tampering leading to water damage.

Is there anything I can do? The car had a full check done by BMW before I bought the vehicle and the motorplan was transferred to my name, so why reject fixing the component under motorplan?
 
You deal with the Original seller, You have a 6 month warranty with them, so they would have to pay the R24K and not you.
 
mugikhan said:
Is this by law or is it something that dealerships might leave out?
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It is by law. 6 month dealership warranty on second hand vehicles. If they cant repair the vehicle then you are entitled to return it. though it gets a bit more complex if you choose to go that route ofcourse.
 
If you like the car in general and have insurance + tracker then ask BMW to code it out.

If you want it working, CPA it.

Depends how much time you want to spend on this. Never used mine ever
 
mugikhan said:
Thanks, this is quite helpful. One more question, if the dealership refuses to cover the amount for repair. What do I do? Will I have to take it to court or the CCMA or something else?
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Lodge a complaint with MIOSA (motoring industry ombudsman).
 
mugikhan said:
Thanks, this is quite helpful. One more question, if the dealership refuses to cover the amount for repair. What do I do? Will I have to take it to court or the CCMA or something else?
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You can take it up with the motor industry obudsman and your finance bank. Stressful exercise though.

So my advice, before fighting, be nice to your original seller and explain everything to them, they might decide to keep the vehicle and take it to BMW themselves or they might fight. depending on their attitude your may escalate.

But do not fix the issue out of pocket and then send the bill to the seller, you will never get your money back.
 
mugikhan said:
I'm posting here in case someone with more experience has maybe dealt with this before. I bought a used car a 2021 BMW 320i about two months ago. The car still has motorplan which was transferred to my name. I bought this car from a dealership (not bmw) and they had the quality check done by BMW and BMW transferred the motorplan to my name.

Fast forward two months later, I have an issue with an emergency call system failure. So I take my car in to BMW since it is under motorplan expecting to get it resolved. After a bunch of back and forth, they get back to me saying they can't do it under the motorplan because there is water/accident damage to that component. It's a telematics unit that sits under the antenna. This new unit would cost R24k out of pocket because of this excuse of tampering leading to water damage.

Is there anything I can do? The car had a full check done by BMW before I bought the vehicle and the motorplan was transferred to my name, so why reject fixing the component under motorplan?
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Its quite unusual for BMW under motorplan.

What exactly did they say about tampering?
 
Also if the unit is external and they say it is accident damage, You could have to claim through your own insurance. Problem is it will be hard to prove when the damage occured and who is responsible.
 
Tman* said:
Its quite unusual for BMW under motorplan.

What exactly did they say about tampering?
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They said that the telematics unit is water damaged because someone messed around with it. The cars bumpers were resprayed, I was made aware of this but the dealership says they didn't respray or touch anything else. After the respray the vehicle was sent to BMW for a vehicle check and then I bought it.
Because of the respray they say they can refuse to repair it. The dealership is also refusing to pay for the full amount, saying I should pay some of it.
 
epah said:
Also if the unit is external and they say it is accident damage, You could have to claim through your own insurance. Problem is it will be hard to prove when the damage occured and who is responsible.
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The unit is not external, its inside the car, in the roof lining under the antenna and the vehicle has no accident damage. I was assured this multiple times before buying the car.
 
mugikhan said:
The unit is not external, its inside the car, in the roof lining under the antenna and the vehicle has no accident damage. I was assured this multiple times before buying the car.
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So BMW says water seeped in through the Antenna? Talk to the original seller and take it from there, make it their problem.
 
mugikhan said:
They said that the telematics unit is water damaged because someone messed around with it. The cars bumpers were resprayed, I was made aware of this but the dealership says they didn't respray or touch anything else. After the respray the vehicle was sent to BMW for a vehicle check and then I bought it.
Because of the respray they say they can refuse to repair it. The dealership is also refusing to pay for the full amount, saying I should pay some of it.
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The car was supposed to be repaired at a BMW approved service centre under motorplan. If not done BMW can suspend the motorplan. The fact that they didnt, after you bought the car, might have been a goodwill on their end, or an oversight (they didnt know yet).

Can you provide more info, you mention the bumpers were resprayed, but then you mention its "in the roof lining under the antenna".

The 2 dont seem to be connected in any way?

Did BMW state how the repairs could have damaged the unit?
 
Can you share a picture of the actual error? Might just be the battery that’s finished and they don’t want to replace it.
 
Tman* said:
The car was supposed to be repaired at a BMW approved service centre under motorplan. If not done BMW can suspend the motorplan. The fact that they didnt, after you bought the car, might have been a goodwill on their end, or an oversight (they didnt know yet).

Can you provide more info, you mention the bumpers were resprayed, but then you mention its "in the roof lining under the antenna".

The 2 dont seem to be connected in any way?

Did BMW state how the repairs could have damaged the unit?
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Yes, exactly the two are not related yet thats BMWs reasoning for refusing to repair within the motorplan. The exact reasoning was because the car has been resprayed, and the unit is water damaged it means someone tampered with the unit and they will not repair it under the motorplan. The unit is about 2 business days away from where the respraying was done.

They insist the unit was tampered with (they can't prove this) and thats why they won't repair it in motorplan. I have taken it up with the dealer but they want me to pay some of the cost which doesn't feel right as I bought the vehicle two months ago.
 
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