[Em135eye]

Is Anneka out there?

My car (56 reg, used approved, warranty runs out 29 July) has been very good but the alloys have suddenly started to self destruct - loads of lacquer peeling off, tide marks that won't come off, random marks and chips, etc - I look after them incredibly well - pressure wash them, no harsh chemicals, use wheel sealant regularly, etc, etc yet in some parts they look shoddier than my 4 year old 60k mile Vauxhall Astra's alloys did - and much worse than our 55 reg Suzuki Jimny's (!!).

I've emailed the sales guy at Sytner Leicester - Tim Boniface. I also cc'd in the sales manager and MD - this was last week and had nothing back. They also forgot to stamp the service book (it was serviced before I bought it).

The service at the time was generally very good but a bit narked at getting no reply at all.

I want to know where I stand - not impressed at the durability of these wheels (17" 160s) . They are super strong but the finish isn't good enough IMO - I've had much cheaper and older cars whose alloys have survived far better.

Is this a possible warranty claim or not? I can't get to Sytners (nearest one is three or four hours away) but believe the dealer I'm using it to service the car (Ocean Falmouth) isn't responsible - they've also sorted a couple of niggles,that should have been sorted by Sytners before I bought it, without any questions.

What I ideally want is for them to be refurbed for free or replaced.

The car is being serviced by them on Thursday.

Cheers,

Matt

[Anneka @ Sytner]

Sorry to hear this Matt, you will receive a call from Tim shortly.

[Em135eye]

Wow - that was very quick! Just got a call and will hopefully be able to get it sorted. I'm impressed!

[Anneka @ Sytner]

It's what I'm here for
Glad we can get it sorted!

[Em135eye]

Hi Anneka,

Tim called me straight after I put that message up (!) and said they should be able to sort something out if Ocean liases with Sytner (BTW - I much prefer Sytner's service!)

Unfortunately he's out for the day and the sales manager isn't around either - a general manager (forgotten the name but female) is due to call me at some stage.

The car has gone in for a service and I asked Ocean to check the wheels. One of the service guys used to be a bodyshop technician. All four alloys have been painted - and painted very badly. I assume this was part of the "preparation" process before the car was delivered? A bit like sticking some sellotape on a cut and hoping it will heal up (sort of)!

The Ocean guys said it's a non warranty issue and that a BMW refurb is £85 per wheel. TBH I think the wheels are pretty knackered but maybe they can be brought back to life?

This will be why they are so hard to clean, mark so badly and have chips all over them and have strips of lacquer/paint falling off - not really what I expect from a car I paid over £21k for.

As a side issue, the car (which was Supagarded) has a number of deep scratches on the bonnet which I assume were covered up by the Supagard treatment?

Is there anything you guys can do about it? Really to keep me a "satisfied" customer, I want free wheel refurbs at the very least but preferably new wheels.

Let me know what can be done - I'll let you know what Sytners Leicester comes back with.

The reason I'm posting here is because I heard nothing for a week when I emailed Tim (he was apparently away) then heard from Sytners within half an hour of contacting you...

Cheers,

Matt

[parapaul]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Is Anneka out there?

<grumble>

Cheers,

Matt

Originally Posted by Anneka @ Sytner

Sorry to hear this Matt, you will receive a call from Tim shortly.

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Wow - that was very quick! Just got a call and will hopefully be able to get it sorted. I'm impressed!

Holy crap! That's impressive! I think I would hate to work for Anneka and ever make a mistake!

[Anneka @ Sytner]

Hi Matt,

I'll need to speak with Tim really who is back in the office tomorrow. Will you be you okay to wait until then?

Anneka

[Em135eye]

No problem - just thought it might be better trying to get an indication of what can be done while it's at Ocean? If Tim's not available, I guess it can wait.

Thanks for getting back again.

[Em135eye]

Oh yes - I have a 116i as a courtesy car...

Ermmm - where's the torque?

TBH it's not a bad engine considering the size but not a lot happens when you floor it.

[Irnbrukid]

Dont think supaguard would hide 'deep' scratches as you have put it.

[Em135eye]

Irnbru - I'm realistic on the scratch issue and doubt anything can be done - they are almost invisible when I Zaino them and overall, it has a deep sheen to it - but we have no idea how they appeared and the shape shows they aren't from animals claws, birds, trees, etc - just straight lines across the bonnet.

They might have happened under my ownership but simply cannot understand how! They prepared the car so wondering if they can hide scratches (I got a full Supagard pro kit with it too - that contains a scratch remover/filler kit that is recommended for use by professionals only)?

Anyway the wheels are clear cut - a cheap/bodged paint over that's now falling off.

[davyk31]

Response so quick after posting on here is impressive but it would have been much more impressive if they had responded without needing the extra pressure of the forum bad publicity.

Getting no response for a week after emailing 3 members of staff cannot be excused but is so true of the shabby service most dealers give unless some external pressure is applied.

[Anneka @ Sytner]

I really hope that you don't feel that our service is shabby; as relationships executive on this forum for Sytner's BMW division, it is my role to help ease communication between customers and my colleagues whether it is passed through PM, email, phone or more publicly.

In addition, I hope that you don't see my service as being external or threatening to the rest of the dealership staff, I am indeed part of the team and work with my colleagues to ensure that an excellent level of support and customer service is offered.

Matt, I hope that you can walk away from this thinking; I wasn't happy with the wheels, but Sytner Leicester were easy to get in touch with, they responded to my PM's and they got it sorted for me as quick as they could .

[Em135eye]

Anneka - so far I'm happy. Yes it did take your prod to get them to call me but at least it happenened. Yes I did use this forum as a bit of a way to prompt a response but when I mentioned the issue/situation to my wife (a fellow owner of our PR/marketing firm) that Sytners have a dedicated forum customer service person, she was very impressed and thinks it's a fantastic idea.

I'm a bit worried about the wheels at this stage but hopefully something can be done - so far Sytners have impressed me - this wheel issue is a blip (if the wheels had been painted when Sytners took it in they should have alerted me, if Sytners did the wheels themselves, they should have done a much, much better job) but I'm confident it should be resolved.

In my ideal World of non realism, I'd get offered a set of new 18" 162s with non RFT tyres at a very, very discounted price (mine are £1000 a set new, 162s are £1200 but then I'd need to replace nearly new tyres!) as they look much sturdier than 160s and of course MUCH easier to clean... A refurb might be more realistic.

I think it's easy to be over demanding because "we have nice cars" - compared to the service I got from Poxhall and VW, this has so far been a billion times better.

[xenon]

If you don't ask you don't get but asking Sytner to replace 17" wheels for 18" ones on a three year old car might be pushing it. Anyway, you much prefer 17" wheels because 18" wheels are simply form over function, are uncomfortable and mean the tyres are much more expensive. I'd stick to the far superior 17" wheels if I were you.

[Em135eye]

If they did 162s as 17s I'd have them but they don't.

Not keen on any other OEM BMW 17" wheel apart from mine.

I think 18s are fine (as I've said many times). I think 19s are silly as is your "gatecrashing" of this thread xenon.

[Anneka @ Sytner]

Something will be done, that's not even anything to worry about. I'll speak with Tim tomorrow and we'll be in touch.

[Em135eye]

Cheers Anneka - the "replace with 162s" line was rather tongue in cheek in case you hadn't noticed...!

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

If they did 162s as 17s I'd have them but they don't.

Not keen on any other OEM BMW 17" wheel apart from mine.

I think 18s are fine (as I've said many times). I think 19s are silly as is your "gatecrashing" of this thread xenon.

Matt, you do ask for some stick at times mate, and when you get it, you don't seem to like it?

A thread is posted for open viewing & discussion, if you didn't want any open discussion, maybe you should have PM'd Anneka instead?

It isn't the tyre sizes that are silly, it is the RFT tyres fitted to the them. If you manage to get a free wheel refurb out of it, I would consider it a good achievement IMO.

[xenon]

I gatecrashed it Matt as I love your comments so much. They always help me through a weary day.

Seriously a proper refurb of your existing wheels is a good result.

[Em135eye]

Fine - I'll hope for a refurb. TBH that's what I'm expecting.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Fine - I'll hope for a refurb. TBH that's what I'm expecting.

Sytners refurbed a couple of wheels on my 3 series prior to collection, it was a superb job, best I've seen without them being sent somewhere.