[Wtfitzvi]

Traded in my wife's 2021 X7 M50i morning of 11/10/22. Around 6pm she received a call from BMW roadside asking if everything was ok and if she needed assistance. She replied she didn't and we didn't own the car anymore, we didn't think anything of it- assumed they had accidentally hit the sos button at the dealership.

That same night I received an email from BMW stating the vehicle has been removed from my connected drive account.

Fast forward to today 11/12/22 I received a call from the dealership that the owners son took the X7 home the night we traded it in. Apparently on his way home all of the oil and coolant dumped out and the X7 was towed to the closest BMW dealer.

They asked me about the service history and I was able to give them information where I got it serviced last.

Just wondering how something like this can happen?

Oil was changed February 2022 around 9k miles. We traded the vehicle in with 18k miles.

We drove the X7 two hours away to the dealer we traded the car in and everything was fine.

Anyone experienced or heard of this issue with car dumping out the oil and coolant?

[Orient330iNYC]

He hit something that tore open the oil pan. And kept driving. Engine melted down. That's my guess. Roadside calling was probably crash detected.

[agnisco]

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

He hit something that tore open the oil pan. And kept driving. Engine melted down. That's my guess. Roadside calling was probably crash detected.

Yeah I'm thinking maybe he's not telling his daddy the whole truth about rallying that car around after hours. I can't imagine a scenario where the oil and and coolant just spontaneously evacuate themselves from the engine.

[Wtfitzvi]

Originally Posted by agnisco

Yeah I'm thinking maybe he's not telling his daddy the whole truth about rallying that car around after hours. I can't imagine a scenario where the oil and and coolant just spontaneously evacuate themselves from the engine.

I agree with both of you. If it was leaking either coolant or oil the problem would be isolated to either one of those fluids.

For both to dump out I believe there's more to the story.

Just worried they're going to make me liable for any issues.

[streborx]

I traded in a car once, and one of the sales guys took it home ( in a state where license plates stayed with the car at the time). I get a call a couple days later from the local sheriff telling me a warrant has been issued for my arrest consequential to a traffic violation. I was able to fax (an old technology that proceeded the telegraph) documents to him proving the car sales date. Damn dealership personnel.

[BMW5and7]

The dealer owner’s son was clearly drifting around and perhaps pushed it to beyond its limits and perhaps he even hit something.
Those cars are built to accommodate harsh conditions but not an abusive type of driving.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by Wtfitzvi

I agree with both of you. If it was leaking either coolant or oil the problem would be isolated to either one of those fluids.

For both to dump out I believe there's more to the story.

Just worried they're going to make me liable for any issues.

Unless you knowingly misrepresented the car's condition I don't believe they have any leg to stand on in terms of coming after you. Once you handed them the keys anything could have happened, and it's their problem. If it's a defect it's a warranty issue, poor maintenance, they can go find a big old pile of sand and go talk to the other dealer which will tell them what to do with said pile. Caveat emptor cuts both ways.

If the son of the sales manager broke down I highly doubt he would hit the BMW assist button, he would call his dad and get someone from the dealership to take care of it. I highly suspect he did something that triggered the BMW assist wellness check which is why your wife got the call. If you hit the sos button, a live operator comes on and talks to you, they only call YOU if the car flags them to do a wellness check. And its a crash that will usually trigger that.

[BMW5and7]

Regardless, it is their responsibility to check the vehicle all around and majority of dealer would not even ask you a single question about the condition of the vehicle mechanically.
Also, while I am not sure what documents you sign, in many cases it is a sale based on “as is” condition, but that is not a rule of thump. You are safe, there is nothing they can do to after you.

[Wtfitzvi]

Im not going to stress this situation anymore. I traded in a perfectly running vehicle and drove it 2hrs to them with any issues. They even took the vehicle for a drive when we got there to check it out.

There's definitely more to this story with the owners son thats not being told. Its their responsibility now

[Saejin]

Originally Posted by Wtfitzvi

Im not going to stress this situation anymore. I traded in a perfectly running vehicle and drove it 2hrs to them with any issues. They even took the vehicle for a drive when we got there to check it out.

There's definitely more to this story with the owners son thats not being told. Its their responsibility now

Have they pressed you for additional info or in any way implied anything akin to being responsible and the deal being cancelled?

If not, then you're good to go. Since you know it was towed back to the dealer, possibly swinging by after hours to see if it's on the lot and documenting any exterior damages. If the driver actually hit something which is most likely, then you could at least know for sure.

I'm sure you'll be fine...I wouldn't worry about this. They test drove it, inspected it, documented any thing they needed, so it's on them.

When I traded in my SQ5, the dealer put it on a lift and had Audi pull the mx records. It's the first time I've seen a dealer be so thorough when taking in a trade. My X7 M50i, Volvo XC90, and Jeep Wrangler were all taken in in the past few years with just a test drive and carfax.

[Wtfitzvi]

Originally Posted by Saejin

Have they pressed you for additional info or in any way implied anything akin to being responsible and the deal being cancelled?

If not, then you're good to go. Since you know it was towed back to the dealer, possibly swinging by after hours to see if it's on the lot and documenting any exterior damages. If the driver actually hit something which is most likely, then you could at least know for sure.

I'm sure you'll be fine...I wouldn't worry about this. They test drove it, inspected it, documented any thing they needed, so it's on them.

When I traded in my SQ5, the dealer put it on a lift and had Audi pull the mx records. It's the first time I've seen a dealer be so thorough when taking in a trade. My X7 M50i, Volvo XC90, and Jeep Wrangler were all taken in in the past few years with just a test drive and carfax.

No they just asked for maintenance records and I provided that to them. They also pulled the carfax to confirm the oil was changed 9k miles ago.

Today the dealer called me and told me their local BMW dealer was able to determine a hose blew off and thats what caused the issue.

His exact word were "catastrophic engine failure" so everything will be fixed under warranty. Im still not buying it because I don't think im getting the full story.

We've owned the X7 since 6/2021 and put 18k miles on it and went on 3 - 4 road trips. Drove it 2 hours away to trade the car in, dealer personel inspected and drove the X7 before the trade.

Could just be a freak accident or maybe something was really wrong with the motor who knows?!?!

[Saejin]

Of course a hose blew off…that’s the only way the dealer can get it fixed under warranty.

I bet if this happened as a freak accident while you still owned it, the dealer would be saying something different.

Well, at least they are not trying to pull anything on you and taking care of it in-house.

[streborx]

Still sounds fishy to me. Hoses don't just blow off engines after 18K miles. Still it's annoying when you take pristine care of a vehicle while owning it, and the next owner destroys it. But it's not on your plate. Enjoy your new ride and don't look back.

[gsobol]

Originally Posted by Wtfitzvi

Today the dealer called me and told me their local BMW dealer was able to determine a hose blew off and thats what caused the issue.

That's a funny hose and probably a product of exceptional German engineering if it somehow carried both coolant and oil .....

I think others are right, this was a kid showing off and probably ran over something - god knows there is enough junk on the road - except, running over a debris is not covered under warranty. So, step one, blame the previous owner, if that doesn't work, step two, see if you can make up a stupid excuse so the manufacturer covers repairs under warranty - ding, ding, ding: hose blew off ....

Luckily, it's no longer your problem. The moment dealer inspected, and accepted the vehicle, it's their problem. Your maintenance records are just the cherry on top.

[BMW5and7]

I would avoid working with that dealer ever again. A dealer who calls a client trying to fish for whatever reason he can use to help with a warranty claim, or even come up with what seems to be a fake story, is not a trust-worthy dealer to ever work with again. A dealer that cheats and play around with fake warranty claim is a dealer that will cheat on you and sell you that same vehicle again hopping you get it and get back to fix it under warranty.

The fact that the dealer let his son driving it is just ridicioulos… I would avoid them as the entire story seems too fishy.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by Saejin

Of course a hose blew off…that’s the only way the dealer can get it fixed under warranty.

I bet if this happened as a freak accident while you still owned it, the dealer would be saying something different.

Well, at least they are not trying to pull anything on you and taking care of it in-house.

^^^&Ain’t that the truth.
Sounds like a dealer CYA story.

[Wtfitzvi]

Thank you everyone for your reassurance that the dealer has no leverage in this situation. This is the first time something like this happened so I had no idea what they can legally do. At least the X7 will be fixed and if they replace the motor the next owner will get a fresh new motor.

It sucks when you take such good care of a vehicle and the day its get traded in something like this happens.

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by Wtfitzvi

Thank you everyone for your reassurance that the dealer has no leverage in this situation. This is the first time something like this happened so I had no idea what they can legally do. At least the X7 will be fixed and if they replace the motor the next owner will get a fresh new motor.

It sucks when you take such good care of a vehicle and the day its get traded in something like this happens.

Unless someone here is a lawyer here, I would still do more research on how to deal with this sitiuation I would still take precautions when passing any information to the dealer. I would show them that you are willing to collaborate but I would be as careful as possible when sharing any information that they may take against you as an evidence of neglect or whatever. You have the rights to always say (I don't know or I need to look into it), think about a solid and conservative response, and then send it back to them. Document all your responses. A dealer like this is not trust-worthy and when it gets to $s anything can happen. I am not trying to make something out of nothing, but it's always best to be on the safe side.

I once sold a vehicle, and the buyer within a week asked to return the vehicle cause he thinks he found a few mechanical issues I did not disclose (which is not true as I was not aware of any issues), and started to threaten that he will boycott in front of my house (unfortunately he knows my address cause he first came to my home to take the vehicle for a test drive). I immediately called my attorney and asked for advise. Advise was that I do not share or respond to his texts/questions and ask him to not bother me with texts/calls anymore. Car was sold "As is" and I never made any statements as am not a mechanic. The car was running great anyway. Lesson learned, since then, I always avoid private sale deals and I work with dealers (at least the chance they play games is less) but I would still be careful with dealers too. I never make any statement about the condition of the vehicle and my popular response is (I am not a mechanic, soft-driver, haven't noticed any issues from my side but please have your mechanic to take a look to confirm)

[rjabend]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

Unless someone here is a lawyer here, I would still do more research on how to deal with this sitiuation I would still take precautions when passing any information to the dealer. I would show them that you are willing to collaborate but I would be as careful as possible when sharing any information that they may take against you as an evidence of neglect or whatever. You have the rights to always say (I don't know or I need to look into it), think about a solid and conservative response, and then send it back to them. Document all your responses. A dealer like this is not trust-worthy and when it gets to $s anything can happen. I am not trying to make something out of nothing, but it's always best to be on the safe side.

I once sold a vehicle, and the buyer within a week asked to return the vehicle cause he thinks he found a few mechanical issues I did not disclose (which is not true as I was not aware of any issues), and started to threaten that he will boycott in front of my house (unfortunately he knows my address cause he first came to my home to take the vehicle for a test drive). I immediately called my attorney and asked for advise. Advise was that I do not share or respond to his texts/questions and ask him to not bother me with texts/calls anymore. Car was sold "As is" and I never made any statements as am not a mechanic. The car was running great anyway. Lesson learned, since then, I always avoid private sale deals and I work with dealers (at least the chance they play games is less) but I would still be careful with dealers too. I never make any statement about the condition of the vehicle and my popular response is (I am not a mechanic, soft-driver, haven't noticed any issues from my side but please have your mechanic to take a look to confirm)

Excellent advice . . . .made note.

[streborx]

Not a lawyer here, but when I traded my Lexus for my X7 last summer, one of the transaction documents I signed was a "Trade-in Vehicle Affidavit", which among other things warranted that that I was not misrepresenting the vehicle in any way with respect to its condition, service records, mileage, etc. A dealer has every right to drive and thoroughly inspect a trade-in vehicle before accepting it, which my dealer did not do inasmuch as the Lexus had only 25K miles on it and was in every respect in showroom condition.

The OP's dealer likewise accepted the trade-in without exercising its right to an inspection, likely because of the vehicle's low mileage and excellent condition. Even if the dealer had discovered the next day a defective hose ready to fail, there would be no recourse as the OP would have had no knowledge of it, and therefore made no false representation.

IMO the dealer made a huge mistake lending the vehicle out without first inspecting it. It is impossible for the dealer to prove now the existence of some defect at the time of the transaction, whether the defect was one that the OP knew about, or should have known about, and whether whoever was driving the car at the time of the engine failure was driving responsibly in a manner that would not induce such a calamity. IMO, the dealer has no legal recourse (except against the son).

[gsobol]

Common sense and legal recourse are two different things. Any decent lawyer will tell you that law has nothing to do with justice. So as far as we all agree that the dealer should have inspected the vehicle and original owner responsibility ends when the vehicle gets turned over to the dealer, the fact is the OP should review all the documents that were signed during the trade-in process. Especially the ones referencing handling of the trade-in vehicle.

Be careful with the language that starts with "the dealer reserves the right" .... and such. These are the legal gotchas you need to be aware of.

Sort of like when you are signing a mortgage - none of the papers matter as long as you are making the payments, but try to miss one or more payments and then you'll find out EXACTLY what each and every one of these sheets of paper says.

[weinerbarn]

Originally Posted by Wtfitzvi

Just worried they're going to make me liable for any issues.

They inspected and accepted the vehicle as-is. They have no recourse other than to be pissed. You have no control over what might have happened to the vehicle after it left your possession.Once you signed papers and drove away in your new vehicle, they own it. Trust me, BMW will be getting to the bottom of it on a warranty claim and what that kid likely did or even some dealer tech that left plugs loose after they serviced it on used vehicle service or something.