what should i have expected from a 'blown' PPI?

[heather]

Hello all!

Thanks to the membership here, I have successfully used these forums for years with my E36 and have $aved thousands. Now I need a general consensus from you on what I should've expected from a PPI.

After surpassing 250k, my midwestern E36 finally succumbed to the rust of salty roads and it was time to move on. I researched and found the E39 2002 or 2003 would be my next BMW. After months of looking ( I wanted a stick) I found her. Of course, before buying I needed to take it in for a pre-purchase inspection. Logistically, the Patrick dealership in Schaumburg was the logical choice for both buyer and seller. They sold me a "Level 1" PPI. The seller brought it in and an hour or so later it was given a clean bill of health, except for a couple of small issues that didn't affect the asking price much. We made the deal in the parking lot that day.

I took it out for the first real drive a day later and noticed a slipping clutch. I took it to our usual BMW tech who stated it was a completely worn clutch. He replaced it for $1,050 but noted he couldn't open the hood to look at anything else! I held off on that hood repair, as I wanted to take it back to Patrick and have them try to open it, but before I could do that, I found myself stuck in a parking lot with a dead battery. it was found to be lacking the minimum volts needed to operate correctly.

I feel I paid Patrick for basically nothing. How could they NOT find the hood latch was broken if they tried to open it?? How could they NOT notice a worn out clutch? Did they not even hook up the battery to find it's condition? What exactly was done with the PPI? I initially got incomplete paperwork, then got something else that didn't even mention the initial findings...now, if you try to get a PPI from them, they don't even offer the service I paid for. There is now only one kind iof PPI.

If they just completely blew the PPI it'd be one thing, but it seems the tech didn't even open the hood?!?! Then, they tried to make me feel like I am an ingrate for trying get some help with the repairs they missed -- or didn't even look for.

Am I expecting too much here? Thanks for your input.

[crazy4trains]

You need to temper your expectations with reality. Likely the dealer will tell you they are not on the hook for anything. You paid them to inspect it and they (hopefully) did that. Did you receive a checklist of things that were checked? Were the items that failed on that list and checked off as OK? If so you may have an argument but you will have to climb the management ladder to get it taken care of, if at all.

You mention that you have a "usual BMW tech" that you took the car to later. Why didn't you have that person do the PPI? I would never take a vehicle to a dealer for a PPI. Serving you, the customer, is not their primary driver. Always take the vehicle to a reputable independent for a PPI. The only way an independent shop can stay in business is to provide good customer service. A dealer service department, with their manufacturer backing and income from new/used vehicle sales, doesn't have to worry nearly as much about customer satisfaction in the service department to remain in business.

[montaillou]

When I last got a PPI, I was given a checklist of things that were looked at. It was a pretty long list.

If I had been in your position, OP, at the first sign of trouble I would've gone back to the place where I got the PPI. As for your options now, I don't think they look good. Since you didn't go back to the place where you got the PPI, it might come down to he-said/he-said. You might consider talking to a lawyer, but that process will very likely be expensive with no guarantee.

[jhenty]

Sorry, but the last place you want to bring a 10+ year old BMW for a pre-purchase inspection is a dealership. Flat rate techs could care less about an old car like this and won't even spend time driving it. They probably popped the hood but you just had some bad luck. Also on the battery, they probably won't test it unless asked to do so. If the car starts for PPI its easily overlooked. Not to say that its fair they didn't do a thorough inspection, but it's the reality of the situation. You also should have driven it yourself before buying. Only a good independent repair shop will do a proper PPI.

[MarcoZandrini]

Sorry, but the last place you want to bring a 10+ year old BMW for a pre-purchase inspection is a dealership. Flat rate techs could care less about an old car like this and won't even spend time driving it. They probably popped the hood but you just had some bad luck. Also on the battery, they probably won't test it unless asked to do so. If the car starts for PPI its easily overlooked. Not to say that its fair they didn't do a thorough inspection, but it's the reality of the situation. You also should have driven it yourself before buying. Only a good independent repair shop will do a proper PPI.

+1.

[heather]

how depressing.

i guess i'll just let the world know how patrick bmw in schaumburg treats their clientele and hope it affects their bottom line a bit. by not mentioning the broken hood, it shows they didn't even open the hood. so, for another $100 i'm just going to take this to small claims and let them spend a bit more on a shiesty lawyer. the GM wouldn't even answer any of my emails on this.

[noooorb]

Sad to hear this happen. Did you not test drive the car yourself and do a least a cursory visual inspection under the hood before actually purchasing the car?

[ptarditi]

Sorry, but the last place you want to bring a 10+ year old BMW for a pre-purchase inspection is a dealership. Flat rate techs could care less about an old car like this and won't even spend time driving it. They probably popped the hood but you just had some bad luck. Also on the battery, they probably won't test it unless asked to do so. If the car starts for PPI its easily overlooked. Not to say that its fair they didn't do a thorough inspection, but it's the reality of the situation. You also should have driven it yourself before buying. Only a good independent repair shop will do a proper PPI.

Not true at all, flat-rate techs drool over older Bimmers. We're also required to drive them at least five miles unless there is an immediate safety concern. Also most of the experienced techs at our dealership have seen a lot more e39's then any local indeoendent. The hood absolutely gets opened, (how could we verify all the oil & coolant leaks without at least opening the hood), Battery gets checked with the latest mid-tronics and a print-out is attached.

[jhenty]

Not true at all, flat-rate techs drool over older Bimmers. We're also required to drive them at least five miles unless there is an immediate safety concern. Also most of the experienced techs at our dealership have seen a lot more e39's then any local indeoendent. The hood absolutely gets opened, (how could we verify all the oil & coolant leaks without at least opening the hood), Battery gets checked with the latest mid-tronics and a print-out is attached.

I'm sure your particular dealership does things this way, but a lot of dealerships and a lot of techs don't share your enthusiasm and policies. In my experience working in the dealer and for several independents specializing in Euro cars, I would much rather an indy does my PPI. We also don't know what the results of this particular PPI were, as the OP hasn't mentioned what they did report.

[Luftwaffe1O1]

I'm sure your particular dealership does things this way, but a lot of dealerships and a lot of techs don't share your enthusiasm and policies. In my experience working in the dealer and for several independents specializing in Euro cars, I would much rather an indy does my PPI. We also don't know what the results of this particular PPI were, as the OP hasn't mentioned what they did report.

Ummm if there is a checklist of things they "checked" and the car ends up having an exact problem as the one listed, pretty sure you have a case of they didn't really check it. Unfortunately they would only likely refund you the cost of inspection, you would probably need to go to small claims court if you wanted to claim you wouldn't have purchased the car with said faults.

[montaillou]

I'm sure your particular dealership does things this way, but a lot of dealerships and a lot of techs don't...

I wouldn't put this down to just a dealership. What you describe is a bad shop, dealer or no dealer. If the work is shoddy in one area, it's gonna be shoddy in another.

If the dealer that OP went to did a bad PPI, I'd wager that they bad work in other areas too.

I feel that dealers charge more (often far more) for parts/labor over independents but this doesn't mean that their quality sucks as well.

[Luftwaffe1O1]

I wouldn't put this down to just a dealership. What you describe is a bad shop, dealer or no dealer. If the work is shoddy in one area, it's gonna be shoddy in another.

If the dealer that OP went to did a bad PPI, I'd wager that they bad work in other areas too.

I feel that dealers charge more (often far more) for parts/labor over independents but this doesn't mean that their quality sucks as well.

This seems more than shoddy work... as in they didn't do any.