My 2007 C4S has developed a strange "thunk" noise when decelerating. Occasionally it will happen when starting out of first on a slow acceleration. It happens almost 100% of the time when slowing down to a stop. While changing the wheels out yesterday (yay Spring!), the hubby noticed that as he tightened the lugs and the car would shift forward, he could hear the same noise.

Before you ask, I did check and there's not an empty scotch bottle under the seat! I've found a cell phone and an evil AAA battery from the previous owner that nearly drove me insane with mysterious rattling.

Any thoughts on what to look for? I hate going to the dealer when I have no clue as to what could be causing the issue.

 

Transmission mount? I've seen a lot of threads here about worn out trans mounts.

 

Rubber suspension bushings could be at fault.

 

Well, I received the news from the shop today and it wasn't good. They were able to find the noise and narrowed it down to a sway bar link having issues. BUT....as they were looking into things more closely, the guys find a -lot- more damage that wasn't immediately noticeable.

When I purchased the car (from a BMW dealer) last year, I was given a clean CarFax (useless, I know, I know) and told that there had been no accidents. AutoCheck says the same thing. When I had the first oil change completed, we noticed that it had obviously been scraped over a curbstone and the waterpump bracket was damaged but not impairing the function. My thought was ..."hey...it's used, it runs well and will never be a garage queen. No worries."

NOW, I'm finding that someone went to the trouble to cover up damage and none too well! They can't fix the sway bar due to the damage being pretty extensive. Bumper is mounted incorrectly, rivets used where screws should be, the oil pan is pushed up, bolts are cracked. I've got the guy making a list of issues. He thinks a couple thousand for a good body shop to correct.

I'm certainly going to go back to the dealer to complain but it's been eight months since I purchased the car. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

At the end of the day, I just want a car that is good (and safe!) to drive. I can live with it being repaired correctly and still enjoy it immensely. Damn, I hate it when I'm stupid and it comes back to bite me!!

 

Document everything from the purchase transaction right up until this last shop visit. Present the findings to the BMW dealer and ask for some financial reimbursement for the items that were not disclosed and likley covered up. They will likely do nothing [BMW or not, they are still a car dealer], so consider hiring an attorney if the costs add up to several thousand. Maybe give them some bad publicity on their Facebook page if they have one.

 

Yes...let the fun begin. That was pretty much my thought. The guys that found the problem are putting together a list of issues for me. Now I'm stuck at work mentally going over all of the paperwork that I signed a year ago. I truly need a ****tail now....

 

If you can recall the salesman that you dealt with and any representations that he made, it might help. Check with your state attorney general's office to see if they have a consumer protection hotline or a similar web-based feature that you can use to complain when the dealer disavows any knowledge of the problems, the car, and you. The truth is on your side - you made a purchase in good faith and had a resonable expectation of getting a non-defective vehicle from a dealer.

How many miles have you racked up since you took delivery? If the car was stored all winter, that's another reason that you had to wait so long to discover the problem.

But as long as you're at it....make it a double.

 

Oh, I have the salesman's name. I thought he was quite a twit and he annoyed the living beejeezus out of me.

It's my DD so I've put 10K on it since I bought it last June. (Have I mentioned how much I -love- driving this car??). Should be interesting to see what the dealer has to say. My husband was a customer of theirs before we bought the p-car so we're definitely viewed as "potential customers" in the future.

This is going to put a serious damper on my shoe fund...I can just tell.

 

The problem is going to be proving that the damage was there before the sale... is not like that you can Carbon-14 an accident and with the clear carfax... I hate to tell you, but you are more likely to be SOL...

 

LOL. Unfortunately, I agree. My indy noticed the damage when I brought it in for regular service right after I purchased the car. I bought it at 41K and there wasn't a record that the 40K service had been done. I'm going to give him a call to see if he kept any note of that.