e46 subframe mounting

Has anyone here experienced the known problem with the subframe/diff mounting tearing the rear floorpan on an e46 (similar to e36's)?

Are BMW open to goodwill gestures on repairs in the UK or Ireland (they seem to have been in the US)?

There may be a problem with my sisters '00 328i Touring (55k mile family holdall and not thrashed/crashed).  Will be contacting the dealer on Monday but would appreciate any info on other cases.

Information appreciated!

Thanks Niall, I'd found a few of these and on bimmerforum.  I'd forgotten that Richie had had this.  Was it M&G that looked after him?

Found mine had the trouble in April this year (MOT Time) BMW didn't want to know. So took to a lad who works for a Stealer and has his own garage on the side. He welded it back up. Cost was £300.

Then in May a woman collided with the side of the car so I made a fuss with the insurance to send it to BMW to fix, they indeed did fix the crash damage then they noticed the weld and said it could be done under a warranty (apparently BMW had increased the Warranty on E46 to cover this) they said they'd fit a new floor pan under the boot but when I went to pick it up they saud that they had just added a support beam to strengthen it.

Anyway upshot is BMW UK aware of the problem and are fixing some cars.

Well, BMW inspected the car this morning and I had a call back by noon to say they are taking care of the repair, no quibble, no arm twisting required.  The car is being dispatched immediately.

I'd have been very disappointed if their response had been any different but in the adversarial world in which we live its often hoping for too much to expect people to do the right thing. 

Glad to say in this case there was no issue, so, thanks BMW.

Starfury - the approach I took was to call in to talk to the service manager and explain that it seemed there was a problem at the subframe mounting and that it appeared to have damaged the floorpan of the car.  I asked what BMW's attitude would be if it were the case.  He said that they would need to look at the car first and if there was a need to they would contact BMW and arrange for one of their people to inspect it.  I didn't push for anything at that stage other than what BMW's attitude would be in the event of a confirmation that this was the case.

They inspected it the following day and within 15 minutes came back with a written report that was being sent to BMW and all I needed to add was my contact details.  I did comment on the roadworthiness of the car in its current condition.  It took a few days and a little pushing to get the service manager to follow up and get a date for BMW to inspect it.

On the day that BMW inspected it I made sure to have a few printouts and details on the passenger seat, along with the service book, to be clear that I was aware that it wasn't a one off problem. 

I didn't have to push or argue at all, other than to get a date for BMW to inspect it.

From what I've found elsewhere, if the car has a good service history (probably dealer), no serious mods (i.e 20" alloys and dropped to the floor) and south of 100k miles then there is a very good chance they will make a goodwill gesture.  Some people have had to make some level of contribution but generally it seems small relative to the cost of the full repair.

I did have plenty of ammunition ready if needed.

If you think you have the problem, the first thing I would do is to get the car on a 4 post lift (2 post lifts may hide the peoblem because of the way the car is supported) and have a look around.  The damage should be reasonably obvious.  Its worth bunging a few quid to your indy or tyre outfit to use their lift if necessary.  If you see any signs of damage, take some photo's.  After that talk directly to the service manager at your dealer and go from their.

I found a few good sources of information when I was searching.  If you want the URL's just PM me your e-mail addy and I'll send them back to you.

Just to add My 328ci was a European import (ie not purchased originally thru BMW stealer) it has full service history tho not BMW. As I said they still fixed it. Well added bits anyway...

So if your Car does suffer from this problem then I'd deffo take it to the stealer to look at and resolve FOC.

BB