BMW had so many problems the dealer, under pressure, agreed to buy it back

SAMMY Russo returned this BMW X5 six times in the first 10 weeks of ownership due to recurring oil leaks, then discovered part of the engine was wrapped in a potentially flammable sponge.

Sammy Russo with the BMW X5 he purchased which has a sponge wrapped around the engine. Picture: Dylan Robinson

SAMMY Russo returned this BMW X5 six times in the first 10 weeks of ownership due to recurring oil leaks, then discovered part of the engine was wrapped in a potentially flammable sponge.

The sponge was found by a mechanic Mr Russo engaged three weeks ago. The mechanic also said the rectification work the dealer claimed had been carried out was not done. And the radius bushes were worn out.

In the mechanic’s expert opinion, the vehicle was not roadworthy when sold to Mr Russo. By law, it should have been.

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Mr Russo had taken the 2007-made car to a mechanic of his own choosing because he had lost faith in the dealer’s team’s ability to fix the oil leak. He was concerned that when the three-month warranty ran out he would be left with a dud.

After learning of the potentially flammable sponge and worn out radius bushes, Mr Russo asked the dealer if the necessary fixes could be done by the mechanic who discovered the problems. He was even willing to part-pay the estimated $4900 bill.

The potentially flammable sponge found wrapped around part of the engine of Sammy Russo's car. Picture: Supplied

When the dealer rejected his proposal, he sought for a full refund of the $28,750 purchase price.

The dealer said no to that too.

After Mr Russo contacted me I rang the dealer who began by saying the car had only been brought back “a couple of times” for oil leaks.

He claimed to have no idea about how the sponge got wrapped around part of the engine.

The dealer said “it wasn’t in plain sight … I didn’t know about” until Mr Russo’s mechanic found it. “That could have been put up there four years ago.”

Nor did he know about the worn-out bushes until Mr Russo’s mechanic made the discovery.

When I suggested the customer was deserving of a refund, the dealer disagreed. Initially.

“I never have” refunded a customer on a used car, he said.

He wanted to have another crack at fixing it, or to let NSW Fair Trading decide what should be done.

I asked the dealer to ring me back after he had double-checked how many times the vehicle had (supposedly) been repaired.

When he did call back, he said it was four times — and that he was willing to buy the car back for the purchase price.

However, he added: “I would say it’s not a dodgy car.”

Still, given the dealer (belatedly) decided to do the right thing by Mr Russo — and that I hadn’t previously had a complaint about his practices — I have spared him the shame of being named.

Mr Russo said: “Thank you so much.”