More information about warranty problem... give me your opinion please!

[crash32]

Hey guys, I had posted earlier that I was upset because I took my M3 in due to a noise coming from the power steering. I was not concerned at all since my M3 was under warranty so when I got a call saying that it was going to be a $2,800 repair... needless to say I was pissed.
When I first took delivery of my used M3, after 2 days I took it to the dealership to have it serviced and looked over. I was called by the dealership saying that there was a part of the belly pan that was hanging down a bit and it looked like something had hit it. I was given the option of getting a whole new belly pan or the guy said that they could zip tie it up there and that it would be just fine. You can see in the picture where it has been zip tied up by the dealership. This was about 5 months ago. They inspected the rest of the M3 and it was said to be in great shape other than the torn belly pan.
So the issue is that BMW is saying that the impact of whatever damaged the belly pan is in line with the rack and pinion therefore they are stating that the impact was the cause of the broken rack and pinion. (this impact obviously happened before I took ownership of the M3... over 5 months ago). That is why they are not willing to replace it under warranty.
I wanted to show you the pictures and get your honest opinion because the issue that I am having right now is that I believe if the sleeve completely separated from the impact that I would have had issues way before 5 months if that makes any sense to you guys. BMW has proof that the belly pan was torn 5 months ago as they serviced it and pointed it out to me. Why were they not able to locate the torn rack and pinion? Therefore this leads me to believe that it was not damaged then.
A part of me is trying to look at it from BMW's perspective, but another part of me feels as if the rack and pinion failed due to being defective and they are trying to blame it on something else so they do not have to repair it under warranty. I am not calling out anyone and simply want someone with some experience to look at the pictures and give me their opinion.

The guy took some pictures so I wanted to post it to see what you guys thought. Thanks a ton in advance!

[808@702]

Track damage?

[MFL]

It's pretty obvious that your car was beat up by some boy racer prior to you owning it.

It's $2,800, it's not the end of the world.

[1astigM3]

tell em you'll call bmw na and see how far that takes you..

[crash32]

I am not disputing the damage to the belly pan as I was aware of it the first time I took my m3 to the dealership. What I confused about is how the dealership is 100% sure that it is what caused the sleeve to rip off the rack and pinion but more importantly why am I just now having this problem 5 months later.... Seems as if the impact had caused the damage to the rack and pinion that I would have had problems way before now especially with power steering fluid leaking for 5 months.

[Lorde]

This thread should help:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=904251

[ES_TRADER]

just try calling your insurance company and tell them you hit some debri on the road and it disabled your car. it could be under collision covered.

i cracked the cowl under the radiator in mine like that on my e36 by running over something on the fwy late at night

[W Cole]

Your mistake was not replacing that plastic piece prior to taking to dealer.

Replace piece and try a different dealer?

[e46m3to135i]

Originally Posted by W Cole

Your mistake was not replacing that plastic piece prior to taking to dealer.

Replace piece and try a different dealer?

Unfortunately I agree with this. Shitty situation OP. Hope everything works out for ya.

[crash32]

When I first took it to the dealer due to the belly pan hanging down a bit, I was explained what was going on. I asked, is there anything else wrong with it.... no other damage and I was told "NO, THERE IS NO OTHER DAMAGE". Does that not prove that the rack and pinion was not damaged 5 months ago when I took it to the dealer????? Therefore the damage was not caused by the impact that messed up the belly pan.

[J5isalive]

Have you searched the forums for similar problems? Maybe this is a more widespread problem than I believe it to be.

If you can get a little ammunition that the problem is widespread throughout the M3's then you will have a better chance getting it replaced under warranty.

Unfortunately even if this is a 'freak failure' there is evidence pointing to the contrary (the damaged belly pan). Its really going to be fighting an uphill battle.

Have you checked into how much the parts would run? BMW Dealerships are notoriously over priced which is why most only use them for warranty work. Perhaps a private mechanic can replace the part much cheaper?

[Yvette]

i doubt they carefully checked any signs of damage 5 month ago.
fix the pan and try different dealer. You eventually have to fix it otherwise you will get lot of things not covered by the damage. They will make any excuse for the damage.

[shaq diesel]

Originally Posted by crash32

When I first took it to the dealer due to the belly pan hanging down a bit, I was explained what was going on. I asked, is there anything else wrong with it.... no other damage and I was told "NO, THERE IS NO OTHER DAMAGE". Does that not prove that the rack and pinion was not damaged 5 months ago when I took it to the dealer????? Therefore the damage was not caused by the impact that messed up the belly pan.

Just to clarify some things...

1) Did you buy the car at the dealer or private sale?
2) Do you have it in writing that when they first looked at it they diagnosed no pre-existing damage to the steering rack?

If you bought it private sale and didn't have a PPI done by a competent mechanic before you bought it, you have unfortunately been given a "School of Hard Knocks" lesson here. Buying used can save you a lot of "up-front" money but without due diligence those savings can easily get eaten up on the "back-end" in maintenance costs. I have had a couple of cases where debris from a truck on a highway caught me in a position where I either had to run over it or side-swipe a car/wall to avoid it. Both times the first thing I did when I got home was to lift up the front end on ramps and survey for steering rack and coolant hose damage. I've had to replace parts of the belly pan twice but ::knock on wood:: was able to escape severe damage elsewhere.

With any used car you buy one key thing to always check is under-tray damage. It's not so much of if it is going to happen but more of when. And if it did, you want to make sure the owner took the right steps to make sure the right things got fixed.

As was already mentioned, I'd wager a few beers that the dealer first took a quick glance (especially if you didn't buy the car from them) and probably didn't see any oil leaking so they assumed it was OK (and I'd bet its probably hard for them to get BMWNA to reimburse steering rack replacements if there are signs of physical damage to the exterior of them). There might have been a tear that was there for a while which eventually grew to a full separation.

If you have it in writing that there was nothing wrong with it at the first inspection and now suddenly there is, that could be some good ammunition to at least work out a deal with them. And if you had them replace the belly pan back then and there is no new damage to it now you'll have an even better case on your hands. And as one person also mentioned. You can just go and replace the belly pan (if you haven't already) to "like-new" and try a different dealer (just make sure there are no scratches to the metal exterior of the rack that they can trace back to a physical object hitting it) and see if you get a better result. But be careful replacing that belly pan. On mine the screws were super-easy to break the anchor points if you don't pay attention to how much you torque them...

You can try to fight it but you're going to be in a up-hill battle the whole way. If you do continue to fight for a warranty repair, good luck!

[MFL]

How do you think it was damaged then?

What's more likely? Something that doesn't rip apart yet suddenly and inexplicably rips apart OR it was damaged while someone was busy wrecking your oil pan.

It's obvious what happened, and if you weren't on the losing end of this conclusion ultimately, it would be an easy pill for you to swallow.

[drburton]

I think it doesn't really matter when the damage occurred. If the damage was caused by an impact it isn't covered under warranty. So is the damage from a random failure in the system or an impact? That will give you the answer regarding warranty coverage.

[osteome]

Originally Posted by drburton

I think it doesn't really matter when the damage occurred. If the damage was caused by an impact it isn't covered under warranty. So is the damage from a random failure in the system or an impact? That will give you the answer regarding warranty coverage.

What he said.