However, when the car brushed the curb, the hub had only a few scratches on it, and it seems unreasonable that the strut would actually be damaged; we strongly believe that the strut was defective before the hub was scratched. This belief is only reinforced by the fact that the 2-stage stop light assembly was installed incorrectly at the factory and due to the fact that this car has been barely driven, we are worried about the possible defects that our car may contain.
The first half of your post seems to be missing. Want to fill us in?
I have just had some service done for my 335i at the dealership. I am asked to pay for the complete repair work which was recommended (replacing the left strut).
Getting some curb rash should not hurt the strut. Now, if the rim is bent from running over a curb at a high rate of speed, that might do a number on a strut. Exactly what is the problem with the strut? Is it bent? Is it dented? Is it leaking?
My wife has severely curb rashed several BMW rims, and bent two rims such that I had to get them straightened, but she has never hurt a strut. In fact, her first BMW (now my daughter’s) still has the original struts on it at 150k miles.
My experience is that the BMW dealer takes GREAT care of new cars for the first four years, and by that time, all the bugs and glitches are worked out of it, and you just have to worry about routine wear and degrading plastic and rubber parts with the years. If you think this dealer might be jerking you around, you can go to another dealer. Both my boss and my sister got their BMWs in a neighboring town because they saved a few bucks, but they ended up getting all their warranty work done in Sacramento because the dealer here is a lot better.
I have not seen the strut or wheel, however it is highly possible that you did indeed bend the strut. It really is not that hard to bend a one. It’s a matter of leverage and speed. In fact it is sometimes hard to see where one is bent, even when it’s off of the car in your hand in broad daylight. ANY slight bend will cause the car’s alignment to be incorrect. I’m sure it was not cheap, but it was probably necessary. Ask the shop to show you the old strut, and where it was bent.