In a big spot of bother

[Robster75]

I’ll try to paint whole picture. Got a used bmw 520d in Jan 2021 had done less than 6000miles on the clock from BMW park lane. Warranty 3 year ran out in Feb 2023. Last Friday powerloss with drivetrain. Whining noise with blue white smoke from exhaust. BMW dealer have diagnosed it , needs a new turbocharger and looking at bill of 6.5k !. Local garage service , brake fluid change and engine oil change. Not official BMW dealer. 

Have applied for bmw goodwill got little hope as it wasn’t serviced. Horribly
worried about how to handle the big bill. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 
with kind regards 

[E39mad]

Sorry to hear that - unusual for a turbo to go on such a low mileage car. Sounds like your car is a Feb 2020 build.

You may wish to write to BMW UK. They may offer some money off if you repair through a dealer. The fact the car was serviced elsewhere is likely to make this a token gesture at best.

Personally I'd find a good local independent to firstly confirm the diagnosis and then quote for repair. 

[Kopfjaeger]

What service history shows up on the system? If the car was brand new in 2020, with a three year warranty, I assume it had one service before you bought it?

If the car had only done 6000 miles when you bought it, what mileage has been done since? Is your driving 'spirited' ? Do you know what oil was used in the service you had done?

I'm afraid there is no simple answer, or solution. If you drive like Vin Diesel and driven 000s of miles, redlining the engine, then you're the cause.

If you've driven sedately and done less than 10,000 miles in your ownership, it suggests the fault was present when you bought it.  Turbos on fiesel engines should be good for 50K plus mileage unless abused. The tricky part is getting evidence to prove there was damage in the turbo back in 2021.

The first question to ask, is why did previous owner part exchanged new car after 6000 miles? Was it a lemon, or did they do something to the car, bodged a repair and got shot of it ASAP?

An investigation by a trustworthy mechanic will cost money and any bench inspections will up that cost. You would need to be looking for faulty components / manufacturing defects, in order to go back to BMW with a potential claim.

You might get somewhere if you contact some of the turbo upgrade specialists; they might be able to strip your turbo and identify the problem, and or repair the defective components.The turbo has a casing, impellers and bearings, some of which may be replaceable, without a complete replacement.

Main dealers / manufacturers rarely offer cost effective repairs. That is why going to an independent specialist can often save you money.

 

[dj123]

11 hours ago, Robster75 said:

I’ll try to paint whole picture. Got a used bmw 520d in Jan 2021 had done less than 6000miles on the clock from BMW park lane. Warranty 3 year ran out in Feb 2023. Last Friday powerloss with drivetrain. Whining noise with blue white smoke from exhaust. BMW dealer have diagnosed it , needs a new turbocharger and looking at bill of 6.5k !. Local garage service , brake fluid change and engine oil change. Not official BMW dealer. 

Have applied for bmw goodwill got little hope as it wasn’t serviced. Horribly
worried about how to handle the big bill. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 
with kind regards 

What do you mean 'it wasn't serviced? As in before you got it, or since you have had it the car has not had a yearly service?

[Robster75]

Many thanks for your responses. I was out of town on work. The car  had one owner and had no history of any faults . It was serviced by bmw parklane before I bought it in Jan 2021. What I mean it wasn’t serviced is I took the car to an independent garage nearer to home to a guy who I know well to do engine oil service and then brake fluid change as per service requirements of the car. The oil used was exactly what bmw recommend 5w-30 LL-04 oil. The
warranty ran out in feb 2023 3 years from when it was first registered. 
I drive short distances less than 30 miles a day usually 3-4 days a week. Never redlined the engine. May be not enough each day to warm up the engine. It had a recall on remapping which was due in Sept before it broke down 2 weeks ago. 
I have spoken to the dealer where I got the car and they  are going to apply for bmw goodwill to see what they say. 
I am also looking at 2-3 independent bmw specialist to quote me costs for similar repair as I have the quote from authorised dealer. It need new exhaust turbochargers (2 of them twin turbo ) charge air cooler , inlet manifold and engine oil service. 
Parts 3700, Labour 1800& vat 1000= total 6500£. 
I still believe that 5 series have DPF and EGR valve issues which is causing the issues with leaking oil and causing turbos to fail. 

[Robster75]

Quick update 

just heard back from BMW, they have agreed to cover entire costs for parts. However I have to pay for Labour and VAT still amounts to £2500. 
my concern is what if the turbo packs up again in 2-3 yrs time , will I be looking at another big bill if 5-6 grand ? 
if BMW are covering the parts , is there something that they are not telling me and others fully about an existing defect in the car ? 
I have decided to go with bmw to repair as all independent specialists can’t do the job for less than that amount. 

any advice on what I need to ensure when I go to pick the car up after repair. 
Im sure any repair isn’t guaranteed to last more than 2-3 yrs. 

 

[dj123]

IIRC their parts will have a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty, so you'll be covered for that time frame. Any car has the potential to break at any time, within warranty or out of it. 

[BobA]

That’s pretty fair from BMW I think - it’s quite normal for them to not cover the labour in a goodwill gesture.

I wouldn’t worry overmuch, there are thousands of these cars trundling around with far higher mileages and no problems - yours seems to have been a Monday car, they happen! If you wanted to be a real pessimist you could perhaps worry that there might be some other downstream damage to bite you later I suppose.

Edited August 26, 2023 by BobA

[Procion]

Turbos don't just fail so I'm surprised the car never brought up oil level/pressure or emissions warnings prior to breakdown.

The only sure way to destroy a pair of turbos on a car like this is to either cook them or starve them of oil.

Turbo impellor shafts run on a film of oil, they don't use mechanical bearings. If the shaft / housing wears (due to lack of lube e.g. no oil or carbonised oil) they then start to "rattle around" which in turn causes the oil seals to fail. Once the oil seals have gone lots of lovely engine oil finds its way into both the exhaust and intake systems. The DPF will be clogged by part burnt oil and the matrix of the charge cooler will be saturated by oil. An indie might salvage both but a dealer won't, they'll just change everything that may be affected.

You have a choice: Dealer, everything replaced new, a big labour bill at a known cost but with guarantee.

OR

Indie, exchange turbos, hope they can salvage the DPF and clean out the charge cooler. I reckon you're looking at £1000-£1200 for "cheapo" remanufactured turbos alone + labour + any other bits and an open ended bill if stuff ain't salvageable.

[Robster75]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have asked the bmw guys to go ahead with the job as they will replace everything and give 2 yr unlimited mileage warranty on repairs. I can’t get it cheaper than 2500 with new parts in an independent garage.