Sytner - Harold Wood - ongoing issues !

[alan ward 22]

Has anyone had any issues like this ? Please see below my letter to the dealer & BMW :

To whom it may concern

I would like you to acknowledge my complete dissatisfaction regarding my brand New BMW X5, This vehicle was my dream car and had spent a long time saving hard to obtain the funds to purchase this car, however the dealer did convince me to finance my new car i took their advice and used a PCP agreement.
When the car arrived at Sytner Harold Wood in September i was called by the dealer to arrange handover i was so excited everything had gone so well up to this point, i picked the car up and drove away with my 3 year old son feeling so proud as this was a dream come true for me i made my way to my friends house to show my new BMW car to them.
When i drove on to their drive way my friend came out to view my car to my horror i noticed that their were chips all over the side of the car surly this should not be the case after only covering 55 miles, after my shock i accepted that this could have been down to me somehow.
In February 2011 whilst cleaning my X5 i noticed that there was corrosion on one of the wheels this was strange because the wheel was not damaged by hitting a kerb or any other object so i took the car to Specialist cars in Stevenage where they inspected the car and told me that this was a known fault with these 20 " alloys i was so surprised as this was a premium product less than five months old and was deteriorating in front of me, the dealer showed me that actually all four wheels had corroded and needed replacing under warranty!!! they were replaced after 7 days.
In April of this year the stone chips on my new BMW X5 are so bad that i took it back to Stevenage Specialist cars for their view on what was wrong with the paintwork, as i parked up another customer saw my car and said that my paint defect was a known problem with X5s and he had the same problem i went straight inside to the dealer and after they inspected my car they agreed that this was an issues with these cars because or the big wheels !! the car is now in the BMW paint shop to have the whole rear end painted, i am so disappointed my new car looks like a old X5 i did not buy a premium product to have these kind of issues when i have only had the car for 6/7 months however the faults were apparent from 1 hour of ownership !!
I am now driving around in a MINI (courtesy car) which is absolutely no use to me at all as i now have a new born since picking up the BMW in September last year.
The whole experience has been disappointing considering BMW is all about Joy and driving pleasure i now look at my car with disappointment.. as i know half the car is being painted so sad really ..

Issues

Four wheels replaced ..
Extensive paint applied to vehicle

I'd appreciate your respose

[m3the01]

Kinda strange,

I got 17.5mm spacers on the back and 10mm on the front with 20" OEM alloys and dont have any issues.

Then again i only have 2K miles,

Any pictures?

[alan ward 22]

I'd keep an eye on that. Check the rims & centre caps as I've had a replacement set of wheels already & these have gone again

[x6er]

I don't know about the rust but the stone chips is a known problem..I just posted a thread to get an update on the issue on the X6 forum and was told that the problem is still there and the only way around it is a protective film all around the car.

[m3the01]

There are tons of people with more miles than me running spacers and these wheels.

Lets see some pictures,

Also what is the troubles with the centre caps?

cheers,

[alan ward 22]

our car has gone in to the body shop and had half the backend painted (not to a great standard) and had the film put on that should now protect it. but that film is already coming off, the paint has got more bumps then an orange, and now the tyre pressure system is playing up!!! o happy days

[m3the01]

Can u fellas post some pictures of the problem areas?

I have 3m film behind the front wheels and in front of the rears,

As for the wheels, are the chips on the rear coming from the front tires?

[sunny_j]

can you guys post pictures?

[alan ward 22]

I would love to post a few pictures but the car came out of the body shop a week ago and has now gone back in to be re-painted again.

The wheels have stared go again where they have balanced them and has marked where the centre caps go, so they now need to replace the wheels.

Since early this year the new x5's come with a protective film on the rear panels to stop the paint damage, BMW know all about the issue

So places to look are
back part of the door seals
wheel arch trims ( m sport)
and rear doors

Let me know ????.

[m3the01]

I have a Jan 25th build 35d, i had no film but had it installed after.

After this post im thinking of getting the lower portion of the doors done too.

[Blitzblau]

Originally Posted by alan ward 22

I would love to post a few pictures but the car came out of the body shop a week ago and has now gone back in to be re-painted again.

The wheels have stared go again where they have balanced them and has marked where the centre caps go, so they now need to replace the wheels.

Since early this year the new x5's come with a protective film on the rear panels to stop the paint damage, BMW know all about the issue

So places to look are
back part of the door seals
wheel arch trims ( m sport)
and rear doors

Let me know ????.

So is BMW doing this for everyone? I certainly noticed that it was a problem very early. Especially on the rear fender flares. I will contact my dealership to see...

[alan ward 22]

BMW's answer is to re paint the back end and stick the clear foil patches on to try to sport the stone chips

My problem is that the first paint job was not that great and now I don't understand why I should have to pay top money for a x5 that has now been painted twice. It's like owning a second hand car,
If I had a accident in the car and it needed to be repaired then that's my fault
But this is a manufactures build / design issue.

[alan ward 22]

I think having the lower part of he rear doors done is a good idea to protect the future value o the car

Mines gone beoned that now.

[Gadgets4u]

Hi Alan,
Sorry to bring this episode up again but what has been the outcome after the second respray and film application ? Are you happy(ish) with the finish and look of the paint with the film on? Does the film look damaged after driving for a month or so?

[fatmatt0116]

Do you think mudflaps would prevent the chips? I just bought a new 2011 x5 5.0 i and am having the dealer install mudflaps on it prior to picking it up. Also thinking about this clear coat protective cover. Were you charged for it or did BMW pay to have it installed?

Also, do you know if this issue exclusive to the sport models or does it affect all of them?

[watrob]

Originally Posted by fatmatt0116

Do you think mudflaps would prevent the chips? I just bought a new 2011 x5 5.0 i and am having the dealer install mudflaps on it prior to picking it up. Also thinking about this clear coat protective cover. Were you charged for it or did BMW pay to have it installed?

Also, do you know if this issue exclusive to the sport models or does it affect all of them?

Put the mudflaps on the back, it makes the X5 look wider and more squat. I have also run the mudflaps on my last M-sport X5 35d that had done 73,000klm over 3 years and only had about 3 stone chips and that was on the front bumper bar.

[m3the01]

U have pictures of the flaps?

[1HOT BMR]

Originally Posted by watrob

Put the mudflaps on the back, it makes the X5 look wider and more squat. I have also run the mudflaps and my last M-sport X5 35d that had done 73,000klm over 3 years and only had about 3 stone chips and that was on the front bumper bar.

Mudflaps and side steps must be the cure because I have 9K mi and not a single chip anywhere. I regularly drive the car on gravel/dirt roads and nothing yet.

[watrob]

Originally Posted by m3the01

U have pictures of the flaps?

Have not taken any pictures of my current X5 but they are same as was on my previous 35d m-sport. (sorry for type of photo its the only one I could find quickly)

[sungod661]

2 major problems :

1- BMW does not care
2- the letter you wrote is written in very vey bad english. Besides the spelling mistakes and sentence structure, it lacks punctuation.

I have a 3 month old 2013 m-sport filled with chips and i really don't push the car.

It is a design flaw! Luckily you have a few options:
-3m transparent film ( which i have and i am repulsed by) 80k$ car with plastic film on it ;(
- litigation against BMW (good luck with that)
-ugly mud flaps like those pictured above
Finally if all else fails you could ignore all those unsightly chips and pretend like i do that BMW did not just hose you.

[fatmatt0116]

Will the aluminum running board alone suffice to stop the rock chips?

Where exactly are the rock chips? Between the front and rear wheels on the body? Would the front mudflaps alone be sufficient to prevent the chipping then? I just called the dealer and asked them to put on the smaller mudflaps as the larger ones are a bit big for my taste. Holding off on the larger flares until I make a move on some wheels.

I'm hoping to avoid getting alan_ward22ed as soon as I drive off the lot.