Need Advice Quickly, Please

[Seeker <rfg@xxxxxxx>]

	      I need some ammunition to deal with the service department of
my BMW dealership.

      I purchased a 1996 328i (E36/M52) in Oct. 1999 with 22k on the
odometer.  It was a Certified Pre-Owned BMW.  The VIN is WBACD3320TAV17469.

      One day, everything is fine and the next day the clutch is slipping
badly.  In any gear, when I accelerate normally, the RPMs increase
immediately while the car speed increases very slowly.  This clutch is
_really_ slipping.

      Because it is a Certified Pre-Owned BMW, it came with an extended
warranty.  I made one wrong assumption:  I assumed that since it failed so
rapidly, it couldn't be the clutch itself but something mechanical or in
the hydraulics.  Shouldn't a clutch go more slowly, over time?

      Well, they say they can't find anything wrong with the mechanics or
hydraulics of the clutch so it must be the clutch lining itself and that
will not be covered by the warranty.  They'll let me know when they get it
apart.

      I am suspicious, because it failed so rapidly, that it is not the
lining and that they are trying to stiff me with a charge ($1000+) that
should be covered under the warranty.

	I could of course be wrong and I'd be very grateful for some input
from the more mechanically inclined among you.  The most serious car work
I've ever done is the rebuild of a carburetor on a  60's Mustang.

	Many thanks,
	Bob Gir.

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