Dealership Service Department Misdiagnosis

A warning sign came up on my BMW x4 and it started to slow down so I parked it. In January of this year, I took it to the dealership that I bought the car from service department. They told me I would need to replace my engine due to several oil leaks. The warranty company wanted an explanation for why the oil leaks/engine couldn’t be repaired to either approve or deny the claim. For the first two weeks, the service department kept saying the engine failed due to oil leaks. After the warranty company was sticking to the fact that they could not replace the engine due to oil leaks without an explanation for what caused them the service department then told me if I wanted them to answer this they would have to tear down the engine. However, tearing down the engine would be the same price if not more than just replacing the engine, which was being quoted at around $13,000 The back-and-forth between the warranty company service department & myself went on for over a month all while my car was at the service department just sitting. After a month of no resolution, I had my vehicle towed to BMW to be serviced hoping for a better explanation. BMW found that the engine was fine and did not need replacement. They also saw the oil leaks and reported if I fix the oil filter and oil pan gasket. The car would be up and running again. My warranty company covered those two things. However, BMW service rates are higher than the warranty companies service rate cap. I paid $2400 total. $250 for the diagnostic & $2,150 in service fees That I would’ve avoided if the dealership service department properly diagnosed my vehicle and fixed those repairs. Their rates are aligned with the warranty company. An extended warranty that I bought through them when I financed my vehicle at that.

I filed an AG complaint & BBB complaint and the dealership is now trying to shift the situation and saying that they suggested a teardown on the vehicle and I denied it so they do not feel as if they are responsible for reimbursing me. However, that does not change the fact that they originally told me the engine would need replacement. The teardown suggestion only came after the warranty company wanted to know why the engine would need replacement.

My question is do you think this would win in small claims court? I’m simply wanting to be reimbursed for fees that were avoidable if the service department didn’t misdiagnose the car.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this on advance lol

Location: Indianapolis