Issues with my dealer and car, how to contact bmw NA.

[track_warrior]

Guys,

I need your help seriously!

I posted a thread a while back about the issue i have been having with my car:http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954702


In summary my evaporator died and was replaced by the dealer, they scratched my trim and replaced it under warranty. Then i started getting a rattle from my dash that has gotten worse. I have taken the car to BMW of San Antonio 7 times now for the same issue and they still cant get it right. They will return the car noise free and the noise will show up the next day. Im not picky at all but the noise is so bad you can hear it with the slightest uneven road surface or while turning as the chassis flexes even with the stereo at low to mid volume.

The dealer has always offered to fix my car and give me a loaner but i bought an M3 to drive an M3 not to get stuck with a brown poop coloured 320i. Every time i drop off the car im without my M3 for almost 1-2 weeks and then have the issue come back is just plain frustrating.

Im close to trading in my VW Golf for a 328d wagon daily driver and im seriously considering going to another brand all together. Im on my 4th bmw but this might be my last. Its not that i have an issue with BMW since cars do fail but its the issue that the only dealer in town that has a monopoly and cant fix the damn issue. Going to another dealer does not seem like an option since my closest one is 1 1/2 hours away just to have the damn problem come back again.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what to do? Should i contact BMW of NA? Does anybody have their contact info?

Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advice.

[SuckaGDog]

Go to BMW of Austin or come up to DFW to get serviced. You would be surprised how many customers come up from San Antonio to get their car serviced. Its that bad down there! Its worth the drive imo. No point in using the same dealer and expecting different outcomes after all these times.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by track_warrior

In summary my evaporator died and was replaced by the dealer, they scratched my trim and replaced it under warranty. Then i started getting a rattle from my dash that has gotten worse. I have taken the car to BMW of San Antonio 7 times now for the same issue and they still cant get it right. They will return the car noise free and the noise will show up the next day. Im not picky at all but the noise is so bad you can hear it with the slightest uneven road surface or while turning as the chassis flexes even with the stereo at low to mid volume.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what to do? Should i contact BMW of NA? Does anybody have their contact info?

Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advice.

Well, if you go to www.bmwusa.com, as with most websites, you'll find a "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the homepage, and in there you'll find an email and phone number for Customer Relations. Also, with that many service appointments you should have gotten multiple survey requests by now, and in those surveys is a checkbox you can select to indicate that you want to be contacted by a BMWNA representative about your service experience.

As for the dash, I've got a couple rattles myself but I've always felt that having some random tech tear my entire dash down was likely to cause more problems than it would solve. And doing it 7 times almost guarantees that IMHO.

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by track_warrior

Guys,

I need your help seriously!

I posted a thread a while back about the issue i have been having with my car:http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954702


In summary my evaporator died and was replaced by the dealer, they scratched my trim and replaced it under warranty. Then i started getting a rattle from my dash that has gotten worse. I have taken the car to BMW of San Antonio 7 times now for the same issue and they still cant get it right. They will return the car noise free and the noise will show up the next day. Im not picky at all but the noise is so bad you can hear it with the slightest uneven road surface or while turning as the chassis flexes even with the stereo at low to mid volume.

The dealer has always offered to fix my car and give me a loaner but i bought an M3 to drive an M3 not to get stuck with a brown poop coloured 320i. Every time i drop off the car im without my M3 for almost 1-2 weeks and then have the issue come back is just plain frustrating.

Im close to trading in my VW Golf for a 328d wagon daily driver and im seriously considering going to another brand all together. Im on my 4th bmw but this might be my last. Its not that i have an issue with BMW since cars do fail but its the issue that the only dealer in town that has a monopoly and cant fix the damn issue. Going to another dealer does not seem like an option since my closest one is 1 1/2 hours away just to have the damn problem come back again.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what to do? Should i contact BMW of NA? Does anybody have their contact info?

Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advice.

What do you suggest, they keep one or two 1M's,M3's,M5's,M6's, 550i's,650i's,750i's etc.?
They're running a business. Hahahaha

[jphughan]

^ Pretty sure he's not complaining about the quality of the loaner, but rather the fact that he's spent so much of his M3 ownership period driving a loaner....

[sgrinavi]

Don't you get the survey's to fill out after your service? Right there on the form they ask you if you want someone from BMW USA to contact you. I did it once and they called me the next day - issue was resolved in a matter of a week.

Regardless, it sounds like they're trying to accommodate you, that's good customer service. Why would you leave a brand that provides you with an expensive loaner car for weeks at a time while they fix a rattle? IMO you can get more car for less money with other brands, but you don't get that kind of service.

Suck up the drive and bring it to another dealer, if your you're sure your dealers service department sucks that much and see how it works out.

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by jphughan

^ Pretty sure he's not complaining about the quality of the loaner, but rather the fact that he's spent so much of his M3 ownership period driving a loaner....

Pretty sure you dont read thoroughly before you post.

[track_warrior]

Originally Posted by V1.47fan

Pretty sure you dont read thoroughly before you post.

Actually he's right i was referring to the point that i bought an M3 not a 320, 328, 5, or 7 series. I should not be driving anything other than my car.

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by track_warrior

Actually he's right i was referring to the point that i bought an M3 not a 320, 328, 5, or 7 series.

[modkrazy]

Can you clarify the dash rattle? I just resolved a number of creaks and rattles.

[track_warrior]

Thanks for the comments guys, any advice on to how to address my issue with BMW of NA is appreciated.

Originally Posted by modkrazy

Can you clarify the dash rattle? I just resolved a number of creaks and rattles.

Well its hard to point out since it has changed a bit every time i take it in. First it started with a creak on the drivers side close to the a pillar. Then it progressed into a creak on that same side and a rattle in the centre behind the nav screen. As of today its a loud creaking and sometimes cracking noise on the passenger side a pillar. It happens mostly when there is an elevation change in the road or small bumps that make the chassis flex. The dealer said the noise is not the dash but the passenger side seal which they replaced and did absolutely nothing. According to them they have removed and re installed the dash 3 times now with no luck. They have tried removing and re installing, adding some sort of seal, changing the door seal, and no luck. Its pretty loud and uncomfortable. The weird thing is sometimes it goes away for a little bit and then comes back.

[modkrazy]

I have discovered that the whole center of the car flexes (where the center console meets the dash). You can stick something pliable into that crevice (I used a strip of 1/2" rubber tubing) and it helps a lot. Basically the whole dash flexes at that point, causing all the plastic stuff in the entire front end to creak.

[V1.47fan]

[jphughan]

Originally Posted by V1.47fan

So let's review: I surmise that the OP's complaint isn't really about the quality of the loaner he received (as opposed to some people who bring their BMWs in and get a Camry or something), but rather the fact that he's been driving loaners rather than his car for so long. You tell me that I obviously didn't read very thoroughly based on that post. The OP tells you that I was right. And now you respond with ?

The OP never indicated that he expected to receive an M3 loaner simply because he was bringing in an M3 (as you seemed to think he did), and I don't think many people would reasonably expect dealers to do that. In fact I would wager that the OP wouldn't even be completely happy if he WERE getting M3 loaners, because the OP's main point is that he just wants to be driving his car, the one he paid for -- not ANY kind of loaner.

So what's your deal?

[Ludey]

As a former car alarm and stereo installer, I can tell you that any dashboard that is ripped into in a major way more than once or twice will likely develop rattles. The more times, the higher the probability. The way interior pieces fit together, with plastic clips and fitments and such... well, they're not meant to be taken apart multiple times. Heck most times, even after one teardown, you will have rattles because those plastic things loosen up after repeated dis-assembly/reassembly

It sounds like the dealership is very accommodating here. Perhaps they are doing something wrong, but its unlikely. They certainly don't want you coming back seven times.

Contacting NA is worth a shot though - they may authorize a larger allotment of new pieces to be applied to the fix - which may be the only thing that helps you at this point.

I feel for you man, rattles suck! They make an expensive car feel cheap.

[Ludey]

I'll add one more thing that might seem obvious, but sometimes having someone post it for you as a reminder can help. That is; be polite, respectful, understanding, and don't lose your cool. You're entering into a "negotiation" phase at this point. What happens next is going to be handled based a lot on how professional and courteous you handle the situation.

Anyway, just a friendly reminder

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by jphughan

So let's review: I surmise that the OP's complaint isn't really about the quality of the loaner he received (as opposed to some people who bring their BMWs in and get a Camry or something), but rather the fact that he's been driving loaners rather than his car for so long. You tell me that I obviously didn't read very thoroughly based on that post. The OP tells you that I was right. And now you respond with ?

The OP never indicated that he expected to receive an M3 loaner simply because he was bringing in an M3 (as you seemed to think he did), and I don't think many people would reasonably expect dealers to do that. In fact I would wager that the OP wouldn't even be completely happy if he WERE getting M3 loaners, because the OP's main point is that he just wants to be driving his car, the one he paid for -- not ANY kind of loaner.

So what's your deal?

Not even a Ferrari 458 Italia?

Well, they cannot fix his car and give it to him as a loaner at the same time.

You dont get a code that says tighten bolt x and the squeak will go away it might take a few tries to pinpoint the culprit.

The way the op described being stucked with a " with a brown poop coloured 320i", even a 6 yo can reach the conclusion, he wasnt happy with the loaner. Hahaha

[track_warrior]

Originally Posted by V1.47fan

Not even a Ferrari 458 Italia?

Well, they cannot fix his car and give it to him as a loaner at the same time.

You dont get a code that says tighten bolt x and the squeak will go away it might take a few tries to pinpoint the culprit.

The way the op described being stucked with a " with a brown poop coloured 320i", even a 6 yo can reach the conclusion, he wasnt happy with the loaner. Hahaha

Originally Posted by track_warrior

i bought an M3 to drive an M3 not to get stuck with a brown poop coloured 320i. Every time i drop off the car im without my M3 for almost 1-2 weeks

Read please, i have been without my car for around 2-3 months in total. I dont give a crap if they would loan me another m3, 991, 458, carrera gt its still not my car. My point was to emphasise that i am not enjoying the car i bought, i keep up having to go to the dealership and drive a car i did not pay for.

[crypticc]

Pm sent.
I think you need to be keeping a diary if your are not already.
Say at each stage of taking your car in ask that the service manager check in and check out your car. If he/she is already ask for dealer principal to be accountable.
Explain what desirable outcome is. Explain what you expect them to do with a less desirable outcome and what you will do as a small escalation. Be professional, be polite. They can choose to check in your car and then they're committed to check it thoroughly before giving it back and wasting everyone's time. That's what p'd me off with my z4 that I just pm'd you about.

Chris

[V1.47fan]

Originally Posted by track_warrior

Read please, i have been without my car for around 2-3 months in total. I dont give a crap if they would loan me another m3, 991, 458, carrera gt its still not my car. My point was to emphasise that i am not enjoying the car i bought, i keep up having to go to the dealership and drive a car i did not pay for.

That's fine, it's just when you wrote I bought an M3, I expect to drive an M3 not a brown poop 320i. To me it sounded like just another M3 owner bitchin about his loaner not being an M3.

You actually meant " I bought my M3 to drive my M3."


Well, if they can't fix the rattle and you keep bringing your car back,you might be out of your M3 for a while. Or you can call BMW NA and ask them to buy back your car since it has a rattle on slightest uneven roads or while turning that their dealer cant fix.

Good luck!

[W///]

OP, have you tried filming it? Is the sound loud enough that the camera will pick up? I think the first thing I'd do is start collecting evidence.

[dparm]

Protip: find another dealer if yours can't seem to fix the problem right. You live in a big city and I suspect there is more than one dealer.

Sometimes you just have to vote with your feet.