We now rejoin the saga of "Wolgang", an 11-month old Silver/Black M3/4 which had apparently come down with a case of rotor warpage. When we last checked in on Wolfgang, my BMW dealer (Continental BMW of Darien, Ct) was claiming that the rotors were scored due to my use of aftermarket kevlar pads. Of course, the pads I had on were Repco Metal Masters which the dealership themselves had recommended and installed! Irony indeed!

After verifying these facts, the dealer (and BMW) still refused to cover the repair, claiming that the damage was a wear item. The dealer actually had the balls the offer me a 15% discount on a $1,020 estimate to replace all four brake rotors and pads!!! After input from Digest members, I asked the dealer how he knew the rotors were scored. "Heat marks" is what they said - they performed no micrometer tests.

OK, so I purchased a set of the euro two-piece rotors and the right tools. Steve D., Duane Collie, Pam Donahue (yes, Mike's wife), Neil Maller and others offered very helpful advice, and this neophyte actually managed to change my front rotors this week. Wasn't really that bad. Hardest part was taking off the caliper bracket - the bolts holding it on had been way over-torqued by the dealer (surprise, surprise!) Took me about two hours to do the job. Could probably get it down to under an hour if I had to do it again. E-mail me if you need the instructions.

Problem completely solved. No more shimmy - car is completely stable and rides great. Also put a X-brace on the car at the same time and it does make a noticable difference in turn-in. As everyone predicted, the problem was with the front rotors - the rears are fine. BTW, the old rotors are not scored at all - just slightly warped. There are no visible "heat marks". The thing I like about my service representative is it's easy to tell when he's lying. It's whenever his lips are moving.

The morals of this story:

1. Dealers are scum.
2. The E-36 M3 has a significant design flaw and is prone to getting warped front rotors. If you switch to aftermarket pads, or even if you don't, the dealer and BMW are prone to show bad faith by refusing to honor the warranty as regards this item.
3. This Digest is a great resource. Despite all the hand-wringing about flame wars and aircraft ABS, there are many great people still contributing to the digest and offering help. Saved me over $700 with two hours of work!!
4. Did I mention, dealers are scum??

JF