[BrettKA7]

My M240i is less than 3 years old and both black chrome exhaust tips are flaking due to heat, fumes, and condensation.

My local dealer asked the regional specialist if they could replace them and they got a firm no. I complained to two people at BMW NA but they stated they will be sticking with the dealership's decision and will not be overriding this.

I coincidentally have it back at the dealership I bought it from (50 miles away) to rectify a due bill cosmetic concern and asked them if they can look into it, but they had low hopes for a resolution when I dropped it off.

Warranty doesn't seem to cover exhaust tip cosmetic defects as far as I can tell.

Has anyone had luck getting these replaced under warranty? If so, how?

[SOLOMEK]

My experience with "customer service" has always been simple enough: find someone who will help you. If local deciders deny you, go regional. Then go national, then go global if you have to. There will always be someone customer-focused enough to realize that exhaust tips mean nothing to the bottom line. There are unfortunately some humans dedicated to saying no as means to prove some weird sense of loyalty to the "system".

Start sending emails to various levels of customer service and someone will reply favorably. But these days, it's getting harder and harder. The term is an oxymoron...

[chattanooga240]

Yes, twice actually.

[SOLOMEK]

Originally Posted by nvmaddog

Yes, twice actually.

And bam. There's always a different answer. Keep trying and you'll find someone

[chattanooga240]

Originally Posted by SOLOMEK

And bam. There's always a different answer. Keep trying and you'll find someone

Don't know about you, but people that continue to buy mid level performance cars don't grow on trees, even BMW recognizes that.

Replacing exhaust tips that rust prematurely due to poor coating is not the image they want to put out in the universe. (They didn't even put up a fight each time, said "yes sir, we will take care of it")

[BrettKA7]

Originally Posted by nvmaddog

Don't know about you, but people that continue to buy mid level performance cars don't grow on trees, even BMW recognizes that.

Replacing exhaust tips that rust prematurely due to poor coating is not the image they want to put out in the universe. (They didn't even put up a fight each time, said "yes sir, we will take care of it")

Did you simply ask your dealer and they replaced them?

My service advisor seemed like he thought they would be replaced but the regional technician blah blah blah title told them definitely not, we won't be replacing them.

No impact marks and the outer finish is fine. It's simply where condensation runs off that the finish is failing.

BMW USA was zero help on the phone whatsoever but now that I got confirmation some people are getting them replaced, I'm gonna send pic in once my car is back in my garage and fight like hell. It's clearly due to the finish they used that doesn't hold up. I'm not paying $150-200 to replace these pieces of garbage.

[chattanooga240]

Originally Posted by BrettKA7

Did you simply ask your dealer and they replaced them?

Yes, on 2 separate occasions, with two separate advisors, at 2 separate dealers.

I don't take "no" for an answer on issues of quality control, the issue you described is exactly the one I had. Condensation is mixing with exhaust causing corrosion and the clear coat on the tips to fail prematurely.

[msej449]

This has been a hot topic on UK 2 series forums. People generally have had no problems in getting the tips replaced if they can be bothered to spend the time doing so. Trouble is, the part itself is simply poor quality, so it just happens again.

In the end, most UK owners who want to address it permanently have removed them and then got them sandblasted and powder coated privately. The Cost is typically around GBP £30-£50 and most people had no problem finding multiple local companies to do it. Here's how mine turned out:



When you get them back properly sand blasted and powder coated, you realise just how bad the original finish is. I went for gloss black because that was the cheapest option, as they were already doing other jobs in that finish. But I could have chosen any colour if I'd been willing to pay a bit more. I considered colour-matching the bodywork (Estoril Blue) or the red tail reflectors, but played safe in the end.

[Liandri]

I used Rust-Oleum high heat ultra semigloss black paint on mine. Didn't even do much prep and they've been holding up fine for a month and a half. I have aftermarket larger tips but need to wait until a diffuser to use them, but they're painted with the same stuff too. I had to use a small wood block and hammer on the rear edge of the tips to push them off