Poor Quality, Poor research and customer care.
I went to BMW to get a diagnostic on a coolant system leak that my 2019 BMW 440i xDrive coupe had. BMW gave me a report of the parts needed for the repair and the key areas where they observed a leak. They stated that the leak was coming from the oil filter housing, heat management module, water pump, and connecting block and pipes. To get an improvement in the repair costs, I ordered my parts from FCP Euro and decided to let my trusted mechanic make the repairs. I didn’t order the water pump at that time because it wasn’t a priority leak. My mechanic let me know that some of the hoses were tight and he didn’t want to risk creating a crack in the system due to the amount of torque needed to remove the hoses nor did he have a robust spare parts inventory. I took my car to Carolina Auto Sports to make the repairs based on their positive reviews. They conducted their own inspection and found that I did not need some of the BMW recommended parts I provided, therefore I returned some of the parts to FCP euro. They identified two additional parts that I needed that I did not have, so I authorized them to purchase those parts. After they completed my repair, I picked up my car and drove 5 mins up the road and got a message on my dashboard informing me that my engine was at risk of overheating due to a coolant leak. One of the clamps from the hoses they replaced was loose. They tightened the clamp and sent me on my way. Every morning after that repair, I would find coolant on the pavement beneath my car. They did multiple pressure tests while the car was hot and cold across multiple visits and used that method to declare that there was no leak in the coolant system, though I was observing visible leaks. I asked Dennis if this job was something that I needed to give to BMW because it was outside of their capability/experience, and he told me “No”. Out of desperation and multiple chat GPT searches, I decided to have my trusted mechanic replace the water pump. I brought him up to speed on what I had been experiencing with Carolina Auto Sports. He informed me that the coolant leak test wouldn’t reveal the leak at the water pump due to the pressure release/weep hole mechanism. This leak would only be revealed when the car is at rest and releases pressure. I informed the service advisor, Dennis, of this, and told me that that is correct, but they get so few B58 engines in that they may have forgotten about that. I still had leaks after my trusted mechanic replaced my water pump. Before taking my car back to Carolina Auto Sports I had two mechanic friends, of which is my aforementioned trusted mechanic, to inspect the source of the leak, and both discovered that it was coming from the oil filter housing area “as clear as day”. My car is now with my trusted mechanic to complete the repair for the full coolant system. I do not recommend Carolina Auto Sport for repairs as they put their pride before the best interest of the customer as well as their repair recommendation before those of seasoned BMW certified mechanics that see these cars regularly. Had they replaced all of the parts that I initially provided, I would be past this issue.
