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Now I'm furious!! - the weekend from HELL

65K views 94 replies 64 participants last post by  Hasan Shaikh 
#1 ·
As many of you know, I have been having increasing problems with my car and with BMW-GB's failure to properly address any of my technical concerns.

I recently came to point where I said "let's give it one more chance - surely nothing more can go wrong" - how very mistaken I was!

Following on from my thread last week,

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68439&highlight=Holland

...we left for Holland on Friday morning and boarded the Stena Discovery at Harwich. Upon arrival at Hoek Van Holland I turn the key and get... nothing! Then "Bling - transmission fault". I don't friggin believe it! Just a day after getting the car back with a new clutch sensor the thing is buggered again.

We get towed off the boat and have to wait at the dockside. With the wife & kids getting steadily colder in the back seat, the BMW service guy arrives after one & a half hours later only to tell me what I already know - it has to be towed to the dealer:

Here he is trying to see if disconnecting the battery will solve things (no it won't!):




A very sad and common sight these days - my car on the back of a truck:




When we get to the dealer an hour later there's no replacement car (as promised) and we have to ride another hour to get a Skoda hire car from the trucking company. Whilst at the dealer, however, I was interested to see that an M6 was also in for service with "transmission problems":



Finally, five hours after reaching Holland we're on our way and get to our friend's house in Oldenzaal just before bedtime. Thanks BMW!

Of course, being Holland, nothing happens on the weekend so the dealer checks the car out on Monday morning and says that the car is "not recognising when the clutch is engaged so it defaults into failsafe and the car is not driveable". They say they can fix it 'temporarily' and that it may take up to two weeks for a full repair. By this point I've lost all confidence in the vehicle and insist that they keep it and repatriate me and my family by air. "No!", insist BMW customer assistance, "if the vehicle is driveable you must drive it home". Despite my pleas they insist I collect the car and drive it. I tell them that it's too late to catch Monday's ferry so they agree to pay for a night's stay for my family in Rotterdam.

After an extra unwanted day of holiday, we pick up the car this morning and all seems fine. Fill her up with fuel and luggage, onto the ferry and things are looking good.

Then this evening, upon arrival at Harwich....you guessed it "Bling - Transmission Failure!" followed by all sorts of weird messages on the dash like this:



For God's sake, it's pissing with rain, the kids are tired and now this!!

Nothing for it but to get towed passed an amused bunch of customs staff and wait an hour in the cold to get towed home.

Here we go again....



So here I sit and it's past midnight. They've promised to send a truck tomorrow morning (yet another one) to take the car to the dealer to be fixed (yet again!) and give me another rental car (mmmm... which piece of sh*t this time?? let's guess..).

To put it mildly I am extremely pissed off with BMW. They should have fixed the car correctly in the first place. Playing "break down and wait for the tow truck" is not my idea of a fun family weekend. Then to insist that I drive a faulty car.... I'm livid! Heads are going to roll for this......:mad: grrrrrrr
 
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#5 ·
Ashok im REALLY sorry to hear of your continuing problems with the beast. I have been following your other threads.

I think you have been more than patient enough with the M5, and need to obviously take your issue to the next level. Not sure if its a complication that you bought it in another country, but I would take it up with one from the top at BMW, and see what the next step is... possibly replacement? refund of purchase? credit of finance or lease payments? (just throwing out ideas...) At this point my opinion would be to not bother with the fixes and repairs anymore at the dealership level, but to see how you can persue the next best thing - including getting out of that car without loss to you. Bottom line is, its a $100k+ car that should not be going back and forth like this for MAJOR repairs on a new car. I wouldnt even want it back after the first repair, really.

Anyways, good luck! and keep us posted.
 
#7 ·
Carefully document the faults. Return the car to the dealer and put him on notice that you will take immediate legal action.

I have three rules with respect to my cars: No one drives them, No one washes them, if they strand me, they are gone.

Your car is a lemon. You need to get your money back and start again. If I were you, there would be a helluva lot more than just a livid post on the forum.

Good luck.
 
#9 ·
In the US, with the types and extent of problems that you have encountered, most dealers would not force you to invoke a lemon law or even come close to it. Most would offer to take the car back and replace it with a new one. Since you obviously are an M enthusiast and enjoy the M5 on the occasions when you actually can drive it, I hope that you give BMW another chance and get a replacement car. Good luck with whatever decision you make.
 
#10 ·
#11 · (Edited)
I am really sorry to hear about your trip. I can imagine your frusteration.

I have used the lemon law before with BMW North America and got a new car.

In my case it was a 95 530i that I bought new. It had an oil leak that they just could not seem to get fixed. I was also ticked because the dealer lied to me about the body style being changed and less than a year later the E39 was out. Anyway, by the second oil leak, my predisposition already had me thinking lemon. I called BMW and filed a complaint. Simultaneously I called and left messages with the local district sales manager who I eventually got a hold of and made him aware of the issue and he assured me it would be fixed. Well, it was not and about 2 days later, the air bag light went off as well so back to the dealer for time 3 for the oil leak and now the air bag. I think I had aready threatened the dealer and BMW NA with parking my car across from the dealer with lemon yellow spots on it and lemon on the windows. It also happened that the dealer that was servicing it was not the dealer that sold it to me and I have to say that the servicing dealer was very supportive. There were probably a couple of other little things that I had problems with as well but it was the oil leak that really did it. They arranged for a brand new E39 540i and I only had to pay the difference between a deeply discounted e39 540 and what I paid for the 530.. Now there was only 1-2K miles on the car when the first leak happened. By they way, this was no Exxon Valdeze that I am talking about. Just a little dime size spot over a couple weeks. Somthing dumb I am sure that the dealer overlooked.

If I were you, I would call BMW and let them know you have the issues so you can get a file on your car in the system. My guess is that you have already done that. Next thing I would do is call the local fleet sales manager for BMW. At the same time, use the lemon approach with both. Tell them that you car is going to get yellow spots and a big nasty sign and be parked infront of the dealer if need be. Also be willing to do it if it really comes down to it. Fact is that it is a lemon. Fixable or not. Now if this is only the first tranny issue, that may be a tough argument but if it is not, that I am sure the dealer will support you as they do not want bad pulicity and neither does Europe. In the US, if the car has not been fixed after 3 attempts meaning 4 time in for service (for the same problem) is a charm provided the car was new. Also under the lemon law, the maufacturer can dock you for milage up to the first service call for that problem. Thus if the problem first occurs at 10K miles, they can prorate the balance due to you based on the 10K miles. With a car as high profile as a first year M5 a noisy customer like you can and will effect sales numbers.

I might also consider referring the sales manager to this thread but then again that may be premature. Let them know that if it is not reconciled to your satisfaction, in addition to your car with spots on it parked outside the dealer, there will be theads on forums advising potential BMW customers like me that BMW's after sales support and their quality etc is lacking. Of course, I may not be so nice but I would be professional.

Now once you have done that and can also show loss of income, excessive costs due to the unreliabilty etc, they wont have much of a leg to stand on unless they just don't give a damb. By the way, I would not stop at the district sales manager either. If it we me, I would try to get a hold the top corperate guys at BMW in marketing, quality and sales.
I did just that and made sure that EVERYBODY who's anybody at BMW was aware of my problem and in turn they were following it. If they put you off (refusing to take it back) and are infact paying attention (which they will becuase they are going to know you and you wont let them forget). When that or any other problem happens in the near future you will most definately see results if you dont get them immediately.

By the way, magnetic lemons are cheap.. Don't be afraid to use them!

Now some would say get a lawer which is another option but that one costs more than the amount of time you should have to put into this.
In reality, in my case it was BMW North America that bought the car back and orchistrated the deal. the servicing dealer just facilitated it. The dealer was not responsible for the defective car, the manufacturer was, the dealer was just BMW's mechanism (and paper pusher) for shutting me up and making a bad situation a good one. In return, I have owned 3 more BMW's (E39 540, E39M5, my 745Li) as a result with plans to own more.. My 745 is holding me over until the E60 M5 is more affordable for me or available CPO. Under extrenuating circumstances, they can be very accomodating!

That is my 97 cents!
Good luck and please keep us posted.



Best Regards,
Scott
 
#12 · (Edited)
This is so bad. Stop losing nerves and get rid of that "car".

P.S.Hm, makes me wonder.How many people we don't know(don't have them on M5board ) have the same problem?


SLIEF HAS A POINT HERE.
 
#13 ·
Sorry to hear of your on going problems. It is time for BMW to come forward and replace your car. Your dealer needs to go to bat for you. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
#14 ·
Ashok, it sucks that you have gone through all of this with your car.
This is unacceptable.
BMW owes you either a new car or some serious compensation for your time and inconvenience.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Ashok,

So sorry to hear about the sad experience. You have the patience of a saint. And for your family to stand by you through all of this speaks volumes of your closeness.

However, we buy a car like an M5 to satisfy our family needs. Thus any inconvenience/bad experience is also amplified through the family. If it was a 2-seat sports cars it'd be just you (or me) stranded, our time wasted, and our mood soured. In this case, the entire family suffers. That is just NOT right, and not acceptable.

I hope BMW steps up and make it right for you. Unfortunately, seeing that they have a load of issues on their hands (Vanos, US LC, z8 struct towers etc.) they may choose to play hard ball as a defensive strategy.

I am already lost to BMW as a customer (sad really after being a customer since 1985), there is little they can do to get my business back. You on the other hand is a proven loyal customer, singing the BMW praises for a long time, and will likely be a repeat customer. This is indeed very sad and unfortunate what is happening to you and your family.

Wishing you the best resolution from here on out.

CP
 
#18 ·
Ashok,

You have been an ambassador for BMW on this board even in the face of all the BS you have dealt with, they owe it to you to treat you right. And I for one will want to know how they treat you in this situation. There are lots of great cars out there, one of the key marks of distinction in my mind is the company behind them. Your car would be a good car for them to put on the test track when they replace it with a new one.

If going beyond the dealer they still dump on you it would be an indication of their customer commitment in my mind and their faith in the product they build. This would be of concern to me in my future buying decisions. PM me if I can provide a letter of support on your behalf.
 
#20 ·
swb3 said:
Ashok,

You have been an ambassador for BMW on this board even in the face of all the BS you have dealt with, they owe it to you to treat you right. And I for one will want to know how they treat you in this situation. There are lots of great cars out there, one of the key marks of distinction in my mind is the company behind them. Your car would be a good car for them to put on the test track when they replace it with a new one.

If going beyond the dealer they still dump on you it would be an indication of their customer commitment in my mind and their faith in the product they build. This would be of concern to me in my future buying decisions. PM me if I can provide a letter of support on your behalf.
I second this...
 
#21 ·
I am not what you might call self actualized but I realize at my age there really isn't much to get excited about. But cars are built for one primary purpose: transportation. When they can no longer serve this primary purpose they have to be taken back out behind the barn and shot! The promise made of so much more from the BMW legacy is breached. Your patience in the process of repeated attempts to remedy the problem is commendable. Now you need to return that beast to the dealer.
 
#23 ·
Sorry to hear about your probs... I think the worse bit is the loan car, you go and spend £70k on a car and they lend you a £10k car!!!! you'd have thought they'd make an effort!

How long have you had it? don't suppose you could use the sales of goods act ie not fit for it's purpose?
 
#24 ·
Ashok, I'm so sorry about this!
I believe it's totally unacceptable that BMW produce a car with as many faults as yours obviously got. I would send a e-mail to Mr. Brunkhe (?) and tell him your whole story. Attach links to this board and your different threads. Just give them black on white. It really should worry them when they find out that 1000 (?) BMW customers read about your problems.
 
#25 ·
Get rid of the car right away. This car is no doubt fabulous but it isn't worth going through all this trouble for. I agree that you can't expect a first year production car to be flawless but you never expect it to have these many problems either and couple with the horrendous dealer support, its just not worth it in the end. Even my brother who bought a 520i in London, says the dealers are horrible and his car used to be in the dealer for 3 weeks at a time for a continous iDrive error and all he was given was a crappy 120i. I suggest go for an RS4 or similar right now. Alpina would be fine but wouldn't be as sport as the RS4 or M5 etc. Alpina is more alike the AMG's which you don't prefer.
 
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