tlaselva
05-28-2004, 06:24 PM
Check out this story...It's a beauty!
Is this guy the unluckiest person on earth or what?
And you think you have troubles!
Please excuse the length of this post:
Please take serious precaution before deciding to buy a BMW. My story could happen to you and your family and is intended to provide some real life insights which might help tilt your decision when considering the long term ramifications of owning and servicing a BMW. First I am a real owner and would be happy to discuss my experiences with anybody in person or over the phone. I’ve purchased now two new BMW’s in my life, 00 328CI & 01 M3.
One of the first things that many new owners feel after purchasing their car(s) is an overwhelming sense of support from BMW. This support is apparent from the second you walk in the dealership to the time you get home and are asked for feedback from a BMW customer support representative. This support, as I’ve come to find out, is more intended to convey a “feeling”, not necessarily the “reality”. First I want to separate the fine people whom are employed by BMW from the corporation itself. They are not one and the same. BMW sets the policies and their employees follow them with little or no exception. This fact, that BMW North America is actually completely detached from its dealers and takes no responsibility in handling customer issues with regard to dealers should be your first red flag. It’s one thing to be called repeatedly for customer feedback after a routine trip to the dealer for an oil change and quite another to actually count on BMW when something serious occurs.
Recently, when asked to be in California for business, I decided to take along my M3. I had a couple free days and thought it would be nice to have a car with me so I could drive at sea level and check out the coast! The day before my business meetings were to take place the car broke down. I was near a neighborhood and had to knock on someone’s door to call BMW roadside because my cell was out or range (this was near Half Moon Bay,CA on the coast). I’ve used BMW roadside assistance before and was feeling good that I was going to be taken care of, boy was I wrong and this was just the beginning.
Roadside told me a towing service had been called and that I should wait. The people I was bothering, at 5:00pm, were really nice and we spoke for a while as I waited for help. An hour later the towing company called and said they couldn’t make it until the next day because the traffic was bad and by the time they got around to it the dealer would be closed (I later found out that BMW Roadside is supposed to take your car to another dealer or some other guaranteed safe place as long as it’s within 50 miles of the first dealer but BMW never offered this option to me. There were dozens of dealerships within 50 miles of the first dealer, whatever). My cell still wasn’t getting any reception and I didn’t know of any hotels in Half Moon Bay so for the next two hours I struggled pushing my car out of the “private” driveway in which I had unknowingly parked and loaded as many of my belongings as I could on my back, arms and neck and I walked back to the house from which I had called BMW. Thank god for this couple, they were so nice that they actually insisted I stay on the couch for the night as it was already past 11:00pm. The next morning, at 10:30am, after the entire household had already gotten up, eaten breakfast and left to work/school I was still there waiting there, like an idiot. When the towing service arrived I finally thought everything was going to be alright, it wasn’t in fact it was just beginning.
The towing service said they were taking my car to Peter Pan BMW and that they (Peter Pan) would call me with info on my car. I gave them my cell, home and office numbers along with my email. After thanking the couple I called a taxi and showed up late for my meeting and had to catch myself before attempting to explain why it’s not my fault that my sports car broke down, not good. I found a hotel and stayed there a couple nights. I waited patiently for a call about my car but never received one. On Monday I called Peter Pan (car was towed on Friday morning) and asked them what was wrong with my M3 and they said they didn’t have any silver M3s brought in on Friday. Ummm excuse me? I figured the flatbed took it to another place so I spent the rest of Monday calling every dealership in the Bay Area looking for my car, nobody had it. On Tuesday I called BMW again and they again insisted it wasn’t there. I called BMW roadside and they claimed it was dropped off at Peter Pan. I called the towing company and couldn’t reach anybody for hours because the guy who towed my car wasn’t in the office. Let’s just say that I didn’t get a lot of work done on Tuesday as I frantically tried to find my car (BMW was no help).
Finally I spoke with the owner of the towing company who told me it was in fact dropped off at Peter Pan on Friday around 11:00am. I called Peter Pan and they sent someone to “walk the lot”. They again said it wasn’t there and that it’s not their fault if the car was gone. I begged and pleaded with them that it had to be there and finally, they found it. They blamed the tow truck driver for dropping if off without telling anybody, although he said he did. Peter Pan then called back and said they had video to prove it so I went down to find out for myself. Why not? my trip was already in the toilet and my boss was questioning my character so at least I’ll find out some answers. The people at Peter Pan were so proud of themselves for finding the exact moment my car was lowered from the flat bed, only TEN FEET from their service bay, on their security monitor. They kept pointing out that the driver dropped off the car and left it without telling anybody, except they never seemed to pay attention to the fact that it was literally 10 FEET from the service bay where dozens of servicemen, salesmen and other staff are constantly walking around. The part of the video they didn’t show me was the time between when my car was dropped off between Friday at 11:00 (when it was dropped off) and late Tuesday when it was supposedly found (unlocked with the keys in it).
This brings me to the actual incident that has shattered my relationship with all things BMW for ever, as if the above mentioned wasn’t enough. Up to this point I just wanted my car fixed but since it was found on Tuesday it had just been put in the queue meaning it was going to take another few days, I told them how important it was that I have my car so I can get back to Colorado and they said, “eh, we’ll see.” I explained to them that the EML light, check engine and some other lights went off and that I was worried about the brakes. They seemed soft and I was concerned about the ridge around the rotors which indicated they needed to be changed. When I picked up the car they told me the car misfired because of a separator in the gas tank which wasn’t allowing gas to flow freely and that the coils went out, whatever. When I asked about the brakes and my concerns they said according to their measurements they had a little more than one millimeter left on them and that until there was less that one millimeter they couldn’t fix them. I asked how long until they need to be replaced and they said soon, maybe a month or sooner but not to worry because they, or another dealership, would replace the pads and rotors for me. That made me feel better, but not for long.
Continued below.............
Is this guy the unluckiest person on earth or what?
And you think you have troubles!
Please excuse the length of this post:
Please take serious precaution before deciding to buy a BMW. My story could happen to you and your family and is intended to provide some real life insights which might help tilt your decision when considering the long term ramifications of owning and servicing a BMW. First I am a real owner and would be happy to discuss my experiences with anybody in person or over the phone. I’ve purchased now two new BMW’s in my life, 00 328CI & 01 M3.
One of the first things that many new owners feel after purchasing their car(s) is an overwhelming sense of support from BMW. This support is apparent from the second you walk in the dealership to the time you get home and are asked for feedback from a BMW customer support representative. This support, as I’ve come to find out, is more intended to convey a “feeling”, not necessarily the “reality”. First I want to separate the fine people whom are employed by BMW from the corporation itself. They are not one and the same. BMW sets the policies and their employees follow them with little or no exception. This fact, that BMW North America is actually completely detached from its dealers and takes no responsibility in handling customer issues with regard to dealers should be your first red flag. It’s one thing to be called repeatedly for customer feedback after a routine trip to the dealer for an oil change and quite another to actually count on BMW when something serious occurs.
Recently, when asked to be in California for business, I decided to take along my M3. I had a couple free days and thought it would be nice to have a car with me so I could drive at sea level and check out the coast! The day before my business meetings were to take place the car broke down. I was near a neighborhood and had to knock on someone’s door to call BMW roadside because my cell was out or range (this was near Half Moon Bay,CA on the coast). I’ve used BMW roadside assistance before and was feeling good that I was going to be taken care of, boy was I wrong and this was just the beginning.
Roadside told me a towing service had been called and that I should wait. The people I was bothering, at 5:00pm, were really nice and we spoke for a while as I waited for help. An hour later the towing company called and said they couldn’t make it until the next day because the traffic was bad and by the time they got around to it the dealer would be closed (I later found out that BMW Roadside is supposed to take your car to another dealer or some other guaranteed safe place as long as it’s within 50 miles of the first dealer but BMW never offered this option to me. There were dozens of dealerships within 50 miles of the first dealer, whatever). My cell still wasn’t getting any reception and I didn’t know of any hotels in Half Moon Bay so for the next two hours I struggled pushing my car out of the “private” driveway in which I had unknowingly parked and loaded as many of my belongings as I could on my back, arms and neck and I walked back to the house from which I had called BMW. Thank god for this couple, they were so nice that they actually insisted I stay on the couch for the night as it was already past 11:00pm. The next morning, at 10:30am, after the entire household had already gotten up, eaten breakfast and left to work/school I was still there waiting there, like an idiot. When the towing service arrived I finally thought everything was going to be alright, it wasn’t in fact it was just beginning.
The towing service said they were taking my car to Peter Pan BMW and that they (Peter Pan) would call me with info on my car. I gave them my cell, home and office numbers along with my email. After thanking the couple I called a taxi and showed up late for my meeting and had to catch myself before attempting to explain why it’s not my fault that my sports car broke down, not good. I found a hotel and stayed there a couple nights. I waited patiently for a call about my car but never received one. On Monday I called Peter Pan (car was towed on Friday morning) and asked them what was wrong with my M3 and they said they didn’t have any silver M3s brought in on Friday. Ummm excuse me? I figured the flatbed took it to another place so I spent the rest of Monday calling every dealership in the Bay Area looking for my car, nobody had it. On Tuesday I called BMW again and they again insisted it wasn’t there. I called BMW roadside and they claimed it was dropped off at Peter Pan. I called the towing company and couldn’t reach anybody for hours because the guy who towed my car wasn’t in the office. Let’s just say that I didn’t get a lot of work done on Tuesday as I frantically tried to find my car (BMW was no help).
Finally I spoke with the owner of the towing company who told me it was in fact dropped off at Peter Pan on Friday around 11:00am. I called Peter Pan and they sent someone to “walk the lot”. They again said it wasn’t there and that it’s not their fault if the car was gone. I begged and pleaded with them that it had to be there and finally, they found it. They blamed the tow truck driver for dropping if off without telling anybody, although he said he did. Peter Pan then called back and said they had video to prove it so I went down to find out for myself. Why not? my trip was already in the toilet and my boss was questioning my character so at least I’ll find out some answers. The people at Peter Pan were so proud of themselves for finding the exact moment my car was lowered from the flat bed, only TEN FEET from their service bay, on their security monitor. They kept pointing out that the driver dropped off the car and left it without telling anybody, except they never seemed to pay attention to the fact that it was literally 10 FEET from the service bay where dozens of servicemen, salesmen and other staff are constantly walking around. The part of the video they didn’t show me was the time between when my car was dropped off between Friday at 11:00 (when it was dropped off) and late Tuesday when it was supposedly found (unlocked with the keys in it).
This brings me to the actual incident that has shattered my relationship with all things BMW for ever, as if the above mentioned wasn’t enough. Up to this point I just wanted my car fixed but since it was found on Tuesday it had just been put in the queue meaning it was going to take another few days, I told them how important it was that I have my car so I can get back to Colorado and they said, “eh, we’ll see.” I explained to them that the EML light, check engine and some other lights went off and that I was worried about the brakes. They seemed soft and I was concerned about the ridge around the rotors which indicated they needed to be changed. When I picked up the car they told me the car misfired because of a separator in the gas tank which wasn’t allowing gas to flow freely and that the coils went out, whatever. When I asked about the brakes and my concerns they said according to their measurements they had a little more than one millimeter left on them and that until there was less that one millimeter they couldn’t fix them. I asked how long until they need to be replaced and they said soon, maybe a month or sooner but not to worry because they, or another dealership, would replace the pads and rotors for me. That made me feel better, but not for long.
Continued below.............