Madison Automotive, Inc.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
 
[redacted]

text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">The customer in question brought his 97 BMW to Madison Automotive Inc with a complaint of a vibration from the rear of the vehicle under heavy acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear.  He stated that the local BMW dealership told him the rear subframe bushings were faulty and that the vehicle may also have a faulty driveshaft.  The dealership's uncertainty of whether the driveshaft was in fact part of the vibration issue is due to the fact that proper driveshaft inspection on this vehicle requires removing the driveshaft, to which I assume, the customer declined to authorize.  The customer stated that he received an estimate for repairs from the BMW dealership that was more than he wanted to spend on the vehicle.
Upon the vehicles arrival, it was road tested and the complaint verified.  The bushings in the rear were inspected and the subframe bushings were found to be loose and worn as previously diagnosed by the BMW dealership.  The driveshaft was then removed for inspection without any monetary obligation to the customer.  It was found that the rear universal joint in the driveshaft was in fact faulty.  The universal joint in question was shown to the customer.  It was demonstrated for him what a proper functioning universal joint's range of motion looks and feels like.  The rear universal joint from the customers vehicle was binding severely in it's motion on one axis, and had excessive free play in it's motion from the other axis.  This was shown to the customer.  The driveshaft center support was also in poor condition. The rubber damper in the driveshaft center support was cracked and torn from its age and use. 
A remanufactured driveshaft was purchased for the vehicle, as opposed to a new BMW driveshaft, in order to save the customer money towards the repair.  The universal joints in this particular driveshaft are staked in place and can only be serviced by specialized driveline repair facilities.  A groove is machined in the driveshaft yoke in order to house a C-clip that retains the new universal joints in place.  A new center support is installed onto the driveshaft and it is then balanced.  The remanufactured driveshaft was installed in the vehicle and test driven.  No vibration was felt at the time of the post repair test drive.  The customer was contacted, informing him that the vehicle was ready.  The customer paid for and picked up the vehicle.  He returned a short time later stating that the issue was still present.  I went on a test drive with the customer and he demonstrated the issue.  At this point it was agreed upon to leave the vehicle at Madison Automotive Inc for further testing and inspection.  
Another driveshaft was ordered and installed in the vehicle, at no charge to the customer.  It was thought that the possibility existed of the driveshaft grooves in the remanufactured driveshaft were off center, creating a condition that would mimic the same symptoms that a faulty universal joint would exhibit.  This was not the case, as the second remanufactured driveshaft did not eliminate the issue.  I employed two other local experienced European car technicians, at different times, to assist in diagnosing any other issue that may be causing the concern.  Several hours were spent diagnosing and testing components.  The conclusion that we came to was that the constant velocity half shafts were plausibly worn, becoming out of alignment under aggressive acceleration.  The half-shafts were replaced free of charge to the customer.  Unlike the original driveshaft, center support and subframe bushings which had apparent degradation and were in need of replacement, the half-shafts had no obvious indicators and could not be proven to be faulty short of replacing them and driving the vehicle post replacement.  That, and the customers growing dissatisfaction, is why they were replaced free of charge.  After the half shafts were installed, the vehicle was extensively test driven.  The vibration issue was noticed at this point only after multiple full throttle second gear runs, and when it did occur it was at a very subdued level.  The customer was notified of the situation, and that I was done dealing with this situation.  
In auto repair, the issue at hand may be the sum of several different compounding problems.  Faulty universal joints, center support bearings and loose bushings all can and will cause driveline vibrations.  These are all notorious issues that BMW's have.  A quick internet search on the subject reveals that fact quickly.  To try to resolve a vehicle driveline vibration, knowing that these parts notoriously fail causing vibrations, observing and demonstrating that those particular parts are faulty on a particular vehicle that has a driveline vibration issue, and not recommending those parts be replaced is absurd.
In addition, the rear suspension of this vehicle has other known issues that the customer is fully aware of, that have not been resolved.  The rear wheels are greatly out of alignment.  A 1997 BMW Z3 does not have factory rear alignment adjustments.  This means that the rear suspension is set in a fixed position from the factory, and that is where it stays.  If the alignment of the rear suspension is outside of the factory specified range, one of two things has occurred.  There are either bent or worn out parts.  In addition, this vehicles rear shock absorbers are worn out.  The vehicle exhibits wheel hop in 1st gear under heavy acceleration if the tires spin.  That is most commonly caused by faulty shock absorbers.  This concern was estimated and presented to the customer and he declined the repair.  
The repairs the customer paid for were clear and present issues on the vehicle that can and will cause driveline vibration issues.
The BMW dealership had previously recommended these same repairs.
The rear suspension of this vehicle still has unresolved issues that are known to the customer, in which he declined repair for.
The vehicle is eighteen years old with over 150,000 miles and, in a general sense, is old and worn out with multiple issues.

I'll agree to refund the $509.60.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
The detail presented in this response was never offered to
me, verbally or written.  All messages
left with Madison Automotive were left unreplied. 
In order to better understand the mechanic’s stance on the
repair, I am requesting a checklist of what repairs were recommended,
performed, and / or denied during each of the two repair sessions.
I dispute the business’s account of the level of noise left
with the car after the final repair. The noise is significantly worse than when
the car was originally brought in. 
 
Regards,
[redacted]