MAH

Agreed. Although who wants to spend ten grand for a failure that is BMW's fault?

Mark

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Anita

Mark,

Have you dealt with anyone one at BMW NA Customer Relations 1-800-831-1117? Try to get a supervisor there, so you get someone w/experience and have a single person you're to stay in contact with. I used to have someone I liked, but it's been ages and I don't even know if he's still around--I could check? I don't know how much pressure they could exert for you and I hate to have you get more frustated, but it would be nice if someone could get some clear answers for you at least There's probably even a supervisor of the field reps out there.

Anita

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MAH

Anita,

I have been dealing with the people at that number. My contact is Chris, but in the three times I have called I have only been able to reach him once and that was the 1st time. He has not called me back once. The other contacts tell me I am dealing with the system like I should be. This does not necessarly give me a good feeling.

Not looking to good for my case and if that happens....so much for a BMW in my future.

Mark

wilsodh

Sounds like they are trying to rope you in with some incentive for you to commit rather than pursue this further. They may figure their loss will be greater with an engine replacement @45%, so they'll incent you to take their 45% offer for the repair rather than the replacement. And oh yeah, RUN, don't walk, to grab this generosity...

I certainly don't have command of the facts in your case, but their are two elements that strike me:

1) their attempts to blame you with zero facts and data
2) what do you have to lose by pursuing this further? None of BMWNAs scenarios are attractive.

My experience dealing with the BMWNA Customer Relations organization is limited to the carbon build up issue (still pending). But every organization has its lower level and higher level decision makers. I don't know the details of your interactions with the CR org. I assume BMWNA dispatched a FSE to examine your case? I believe the FSEs report into zone Marketing Groups. There will be a CR specialist that covers your geographic zone. I suspect the 'zone'-level CR would have the authority to review special cases and make good will recommendations in exceptional cases. I don't know if zone-level CRs actually make the final call. They may have to review special cases with someone higher for approval, and then communicate the authorization. Clearly we've seen examples where initial responses were over-ridden by higher level review. I would target the CR specialist covering your zone in my initial attempts to have this reviewed.

I'm not in your shoes, so it is easy for me to throw things out. If I WERE in your shoes, I would be persistently but professionally pursuing this. First I would be pressing CR to understand the process by which your case was reviewed. Then I would say this offer is not satisfactory for reasons x, y, and z, and that you would like to request that this be further reviewed. I would examine very carefully what facts were conveyed in reviewing your case. I would be very keen on understanding if your situation was accurately represented, and if not, use this as a basis for requesting a next-level review. I would propose to whomever you are working with that you put together a letter discussing the facts, and that this letter be used in the review. Ask for names and seek to understand more about how this works. You certainly have a vested interest in understanding this. Customer support organizations will generally try and dispose of the majority of complaints with first level reviews/offers. If these don't resolve the problem, there is always further review possible. If you accept their offer, it's over. If not, you may have a shot at a more satisfactory offer. If that doesn't pan out, at least you gave it your best shot and can always reflex back to the used engine option.

Hope this helps a little.

Good luck,
Dave

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tranck

He must not have looked very hard because Leith BMW in Raleigh, NC and BMWNA have documented my bearing issue which resulted in the entire bottom end of my engine being replaced.

BMWNA authorized a 50% good will on parts and labor so I know that it has to have been documented - this was last November.

In fact, BMW wanted my spun bearings sent to them- this was AFTER the authorization.

Mark, the crank HAS to be bad and I would be extremely hesitent putting that car back together without a new one as well as the cylinder damage???

This is just me and I know LSCMan would disagree but, your problem is a little more serious than mine and I would put a new engine in the car - get the 33% and piece of mind.

I obviously don't know your financial situation but, I'm currently unemployed and even though I recieved the 50%, it still was a very big hit for me.

Call Matt Moody in the Leith servive dept 919-876-5432 - get his take on the situation - he has a couple of responses to this thread and he may be able to give you a very objective opinion since he worked so well with BMWNA to help resolve my engine issue.

Tom

mottati

Perhaps your dealer will give you 33% of their cost, rather than list, assuming bmwna is willing to sell the dealer the engine at 33% off, rather than just giving up their profit margin.
Mike

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Lscman

Yup, nobody for sure. This is a sad situation & BMW seems to be writing you off with such a tightwad defiant posture. This is amazing, knowing your background with premium BMW purchases.

Their low oil claim is ludicrous. Do they really think you drove around for a month with the low oil alarm charming aloud in your ear to save $3? The car holds about 8 quarts and the M5 pickup can probably effectively maintain pressure when it's 5 quarts low. You could probably drive for 5000 mi ignoring a persistent low oil alarm before lubrication would be compromised under street use. This position they have taken is very disturbing & I think it deserves note on other forums. The only reason for this conclusion is to make the owner eat the repair fees.

You need to carefully gauge all your options and pick the best bang for the buck solution that meets your needs. BMW split cost handouts can be a loser, unless they offer you a truly fair shake.

I would be very wary of having them throw the motor back together with "marginal condition" at a cost to you exceeding $7K, unless you're a person who trades your car every couple years. In this case, good reliability for the next 5-7 years won't matter to you, while the 2 year warranty would make short term risk manageable.

BMW is not only impacting your faith in their product. Treatment of owners affects the attitude of the whole motoring community. Word gets around....bad news travels..

CSBM5

MAH,

Are you the original purchaser of the two M5's? BMWNA, like most companies, does look more kindly on cars where the original owner has the problem as tranck above.

I would opt for the new engine if it was me, and negotiate the best possible deal leading to that end. Then break it in kindly and enjoy the heck out of it for years to come.

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MAH

CSBM5 - I am the original owner of the M5 with the issues. So far it has not been a great help.

mottati - Good point about the dealer cost vs the retail cost. I believe the mark-up for an M5 engine is anywhere between $4k to $6k. So, $19,000 is dealer cost.

Lscman - I couldn't agree with you more regarding the low oil issue. The problem is getting the BMW rep. past this issue that in fact not the case. I had intended to keep the car for a longer period of time, but this situation may change that.

tranck - Thank you for the dealer information as well as the name. I will know more about the crankshaft today. I am not certain about the outcome, but I will give your guy a call. Thanks

Mark

MAVERICK

Mark,

Regarding contacts, perhaps you might consider taking a tip from this thread:
HELP - Need BMWNA contact.

I wish you all the best.

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