Quality Control issues with new M3

[330iToy]

Just picked my car up on the 17th of May 2011. Noticed some issues with it and I am not happy. The quality of the car is not up to par with what I would expect from a $70,000+ vehicle. I am really disappointed in BMW. Yes I do have a warrenty, but I feel these issues should not have happened. These issues are with multiple stations on the assembly line and not just one area. BMW you need to do a better job!!! I might be anal, but this is not great workmanship or quality control. Makes me wonder what else did they do half-assed. I really do not want a lemon. this is my 3rd BMW and I was hoping the best, makes me wonder.

1. The front driver side fender was out of alignment. The dealer adjusted it, not perfect but better.

2. The rear lights on the driver side not working. see attached pic.

3. The rear spoiler was installed crooked. see attached pic.

4. About a 1/2 cm divot in the paint on the passengers side door. see attached pic. Look for the discoloration in the photo.

5. Stains on the leather in the back seat. see attached pic. This has been coorected at the dealership. Not perfect but better.

I have a service appointed on May 20, 2011. I hope they can correct these problems.

[TK-421]

That's disappointing. Make sure they fix every damn thing.

[330iToy]

I am, I am also thinking about contacting BMWNA. Just so maybe someone else does not have these issues. Makes you wonder do they even look close at the vehicle at the end of the line? Or just "spank the baby" and send it on its way.

[Singleton]

I feel for you, but on the other hand, you need a reality check.

What you are driving is a mass produced 3 series BMW with modifications (as far as the factory is concerned). It's built by human beings in an environment where these things you are seeing can easily happen. If BMW were to rebuild every part that had an issue like this, they'd be out of business. If you want a handmade engine and personal attention, you should have gotten a Porsche or a Ferrari. And to be fair, $70,000 is a lot, but not for a super car. This car is by far the most economical in its class when it comes to what you get for your money. There is no other car in the market with such great features, performance, looks, name, and that is affordable. You know this, we know it, and even people driving C63 AMG know it.

That being said, you need to enjoy the car. I know how it is when you get a brand new car and you can basically see every tiny little detail and feel like its defective and not new anymore. Well it's not new anymore the minute you drive it off the lot. You should really treat it as a car not a human being

[badbimmer]

what are you joking? A reality check? This is a $70,000 BMW, not a Hyundai or Toyota Camry. Things should be perfect. BMW has been cutting corners and for a $70,000, this is not acceptable at all.

[a burrito]

I Have issue #1 as well but do not plan on asking the dealer to fix it. The front end on these cars are not fit to perfection. Just look at the front head lights and where it sits above the bumper/below the hood. The left and right side gap will be different on ALL cars. I agree, BMW's quality is pretty bad for a 70K car.

[Singleton]

Originally Posted by badbimmer

what are you joking? A reality check? This is a $70,000 BMW, not a Hyundai or Toyota Camry. Things should be perfect. BMW has been cutting corners and for a $70,000, this is not acceptable at all.

You are misunderstanding me. When I meant reality check, I really meant for him to actually remember how these cars are made. You do realize they don't have 20 people hand building this car and checking every inch of it and spending 2 weeks for an M3 right? Yes, BMW does require a price premium on top of Hyundai and Toyota, but that doesn't mean its produced in Mars and transported here with aliens. It's still made along with thousands of other cars in a huge factory using robots. Things spill over, something won't get aligned, some other car will touch his fender during shipment, something will happen. I am not saying he shouldn't care, he should. And he should definitely get these fixed. All I am saying is, these things are not worth ruining his first few days experience with this car, after all its just a car.

With $70,000 you get an amazing V8, LSD, idrive, ZCP, DCT, the best handling of its class. You want the perfect spotless car with utmost precision and hand built engine, you need to go a notch above BMW and start spending north of 90k and get a Porsche.

I'm sorry this is the truth, you don't like it? Too bad. Stuff like this happens to one person out of 1000 and you were the unlucky one. Be happy its fixable easily, could have been DCT, engine, leather seats, etc.

[330iToy]

Originally Posted by Singleton

You are misunderstanding me. When I meant reality check, I really meant for him to actually remember how these cars are made. You do realize they don't have 20 people hand building this car and checking every inch of it and spending 2 weeks for an M3 right? Yes, BMW does require a price premium on top of Hyundai and Toyota, but that doesn't mean its produced in Mars and transported here with aliens. It's still made along with thousands of other cars in a huge factory using robots. Things spill over, something won't get aligned, some other car will touch his fender during shipment, something will happen. I am not saying he shouldn't care, he should. And he should definitely get these fixed. All I am saying is, these things are not worth ruining his first few days experience with this car, after all its just a car.

With $70,000 you get an amazing V8, LSD, idrive, ZCP, DCT, the best handling of its class. You want the perfect spotless car with utmost precision and hand built engine, you need to go a notch above BMW and start spending north of 90k and get a Porsche.

I'm sorry this is the truth, you don't like it? Too bad. Stuff like this happens to one person out of 1000 and you were the unlucky one. Be happy its fixable easily, could have been DCT, engine, leather seats, etc.

You really think this is acceptable. Then your expectations of a quality built car are low sir. Yes I am the unlucky bastard that got this car. Poor workmanship is never expectable on any vehicle, regardless of price. My point is that someone should be doing a better job. Someone should verify fit and quality of assembly before it reaches the customer. This shows me that on my car no one even looked to see if the lights were working properly. If the spoiler was attached correctly. These items are installed by humans not a robot. Poor quality was not something I expected from BMW. Will this influence if I buy another BMW, yes it will. Will it affect me recommending someone else buying a BMW, yes it will.

[330iToy]

Originally Posted by Singleton

I feel for you, but on the other hand, you need a reality check.

What you are driving is a mass produced 3 series BMW with modifications (as far as the factory is concerned). It's built by human beings in an environment where these things you are seeing can easily happen. If BMW were to rebuild every part that had an issue like this, they'd be out of business. If you want a handmade engine and personal attention, you should have gotten a Porsche or a Ferrari. And to be fair, $70,000 is a lot, but not for a super car. This car is by far the most economical in its class when it comes to what you get for your money. There is no other car in the market with such great features, performance, looks, name, and that is affordable. You know this, we know it, and even people driving C63 AMG know it.

That being said, you need to enjoy the car. I know how it is when you get a brand new car and you can basically see every tiny little detail and feel like its defective and not new anymore. Well it's not new anymore the minute you drive it off the lot. You should really treat it as a car not a human being

You really are a funny man. Lol

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by 330iToy

You really are a funny man. Lol

I don't think he is a funny man but the thing is that all mass produced cars have flaws, even the Japanese cars Lexus, Acura, Infinity etc.

If you think an M3 is bad, go check out a new CTS-V or Corvette, all of a sudden your M3 will seem great!!!

[gthal]

I'm on my second M3 and both have been perfect. I think any manufacturer can have small issues in production from time to time. You should absolutely expect to get these items corrected and you should express your disappointment but IMO it isn't a function of BMW cutting corners but rather just bad luck of the draw as all manufacturers will have small issues... there is no such thing as perfect 100% of the time... I have heard of Ferrari having issues so it doesn't surprise me that BMW does too once in a while.

[SIIK2NR]

To put it into perspective..... I'd be pissed if i had any of those issues on a $8,000 Kia. OP has every right to be pissed.

The mounting of the spoiler is laughable. I would have rejected the entire car. No telling what else is wrong internally.

Jmo

[crackberry]

Sorry you have so many problems.

[crzy4bimmers]

Originally Posted by 330iToy

You really are a funny man. Lol

Agreed.

manufacturing imperfections aside, I really think no one wants to be 'THE' person who gets the Friday afternoon shift BMW. I hope you can get the problems sorted out!

[SchnellM3]

Wait till you buy a 750k+ airplane and have a 20k annual for stuff that was done wrong from the factory. Granted as you stated it is mostly covered by warranty still. Quality control everywhere these days sucks

[ES_TRADER]

At least u don't have interior rattle complaints!

[JonnyM3]

nothing on my car lines up, nothing.

[Singleton]

Originally Posted by 330iToy

You really think this is acceptable. Then your expectations of a quality built car are low sir. Yes I am the unlucky bastard that got this car. Poor workmanship is never expectable on any vehicle, regardless of price. My point is that someone should be doing a better job. Someone should verify fit and quality of assembly before it reaches the customer. This shows me that on my car no one even looked to see if the lights were working properly. If the spoiler was attached correctly. These items are installed by humans not a robot. Poor quality was not something I expected from BMW. Will this influence if I buy another BMW, yes it will. Will it affect me recommending someone else buying a BMW, yes it will.

Look, I feel your pain. I am not saying its the right thing. All I am saying is its the reality.

And FYI the quality control process in mass produced cars is not what you think it is. No, not all of them are checked equally. Each car goes thru a standard QA where by law they need to be checked for safety. Thats a very minimal test and mostly involves brakes and such. Then they usually take one car out of many maybe once a day to check the quality of the paint, assembly, interior, etc. Mostly when they are at the end of a "batch" of parts (paint, getrag transmission, etc).

BMW makes thousands of cars, if they sat and checked every single car for mistakes like these, they'd go broke.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by richpuer

At least u don't have interior rattle complaints!

Yet...

[crzy4bimmers]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Yet...

come on you two! I've had mine for 3 weeks and it's solid as a rock and you two are making me nervous! ;-)

[digi]

Yes, dropping 70k on a car calls for perfection. Do we sometimes get unlucky and the car is less than perfect( sorry but in your case it's down right unacceptable), unfortunately so. People with different thresholds of understanding and patience will react accordingly. Buuuut if that was my car, I'd be going apesh*t!!!!!@&@$$! And for the comments about same standards on a camry or Hyundai, the passion level( not to mention price and reputation) between that and an m3 are nowhere near the same so it would be way more forgiving in that regard.

[330iToy]

Trust me I am going to enjoy this car. One of the first things I am going to do after the 1200 mile fluid change is try out "launch control". It is my 3rd BMW. I cannot began to say what was replaced or repaired on my 2006 E90 330i. It was still a great fun car. The spoiler will be replaced with a CF shortly. The fit and finish on the fender was fixed. The brake lights will be fixed as well. I just imagine how many people have seen my brand new BMW with a none working brake light. It does not send a good message. Someone really should have caught this. Brake lights should be checked. Lol The spoiler placement was a joke. BMW should limit the lunch time beers. I will not keep this car beyond 4 years or 50,000 miles. I should had leased.