[xdrive]

What da freak! Took delivery of a new 330 and when I drove it home, I noticed the clutch was bad.. the clutch pedal wouldn't rebound back up and a really bad burnt rubber was present... BMW assist sent a tow truck and picked it up practically the next day! BMW dealer told me that the clutch is bad and they ordered a new clutch from Germany so it'll take a couple of days to fix. What DA FREAK! My car has only 30 miles on it... and it's only 2 days old! Is there a 30 day return policy on new cars? I WANT another 330!!!

What do you guys think I should do?
Would they take my car in for another new 330?
Shouldn't they compensate me for the inconvience?

[siriusinvestor]

Originally Posted by xdrive

What da freak! Took delivery of a new 330 and when I drove it home, I noticed the clutch was bad.. the clutch pedal wouldn't rebound back up and a really bad burnt rubber was present... BMW assist sent a tow truck and picked it up practically the next day! BMW dealer told me that the clutch is bad and they ordered a new clutch from Germany so it'll take a couple of days to fix. What DA FREAK! My car has only 30 miles on it... and it's only 2 days old! Is there a 30 day return policy on new cars? I WANT another 330!!!

What do you guys think I should do?
Would they take my car in for another new 330?
Shouldn't they compensate me for the inconvience?

I think the lemon law states that if you bring in your car for repair 3 times in the first month of taking delivery, the dealership is required to supplement you with a new vehicle. Correct me if im wrong anyone?

BTW how hard were you driving your car?

[xdrive]

Not very hard.. EVEN if i did drive hard, 30 miles shouldn't do crap to the clutch... Unless the clutch is made of plastic...

[seevemonka]

Originally Posted by siriusinvestor

I think the lemon law states that if you bring in your car for repair 3 times in the first month of taking delivery, the dealership is required to supplement you with a new vehicle. Correct me if im wrong anyone?

BTW how hard were you driving your car?

I think it's 3 times with- in 90 days,and i think it has to be the same problem,each of those 3 times.

[xdrive]

this is what i heard about the lemon law. ANY 3 major problems with your car, doesn't have to be the same problem, you'll be entitled to a brand new car... BUT I'm not sure if it's within 1 yr or less or more... I'm gonna do some research on this soon...

What I was wondering if there was a 30 day deal where you can trade in you car for another car if you're not satisified with the current car you got... Clutch going bad so fast makes me worried that other parts will go bad too.. Who knows, maybe that'll be the one and only problem I'll ever have with this car...

[ward]

the clutch is a wear item, let them fix it and then enjoy the car


you're not going to get, and don't deserve a new car

[Broken1]

AS with all products, sometimes there is a fault from the factory.

It is possible that the clutch installed in your car was defective. This is no way means that anything else on the car is defective - because all the parts are made in different places and then assembled at the BMW Factory.

Let them replace your clutch, and your car will be as good as new.

Ps. It must suck to have your brand new car break...and I'm sure you're feeling all heated about it. Just calm down...and it will all be okay - you'll be back to New Car Joys sooner than you know it.

[dkizerian]

Ditto on what Broken1 said... it's just a part, and shouldn't be indicative of any other problems with the car. If your luck is anything like mine, you'd probably luck out and get the new car you asked for, but it'd have a hundred problems instead of just the one that your current 330 has.

[F32Fleet]

I concur with Dkizerian and Broken1. It's an obivious(sp?) factory defect. It sucks I know, but it'll be a quick job and all will be right.

[Xens]

Your car will be good as new! Do something entertaining and set your focus elsewhere, you'll forget about this little bump in the road in no time!

[David328M-Sport]

You see, you should have bought the Steptronic. No clutch problems.

Oh boy, am I gonna get it!!!!
hehehehe

Seriously, the clutch is being fixed and your car will be fine. Bit of an inconvenience, so try to work out a deal with the dealer if they are interested. Did you get a loaner?

[voltron1011]

I wonder if the factory has a 4-wheel drive dyno? You know how they test all cars on a dyno prior to shipping them off? Well, I wonder if that test gets skipped on the XI models? I had an all-wheel-drive Eclipse a long time ago, and every time I took it for emissions testing, I was exempt from doing the dyno run-up because they only had a two-wheel drive dyno.

[thd13]

How many miles did it have when you took delivery?

[ward]

you guys are way more reasonable than me sometimes (or all the time..)

[marzapan81]

Yes, you can get a brand new car. I had a different problem, and got mine returned for a new car. As soon as I hit 27 miles my 330, the service engine light came on. I took it back the next day and they checked it out. They said it needed some pipes to be replaced and will be ready once the parts come in from Germany. Reason for the repair: they blamed whoever took the car off the port in Jersey. Remember, no one pays 40K+ to have it back at the dealership to be serviced. Basically, i didnt buy a brand new car to have it be in service for any reason anytime soon. Ask to speak to the GM, and threaten to sue. thats what it came down in my case, especially with me being female, (they didnt take me seriously, sorry if this sounds cliche). I got lucky that they took it back, hopefully you can too.

[northerncalguy]

Originally Posted by ward

you're not going to get, and don't deserve a new car

I think he deserves a new car. If you bought a $40k Rolex watch and the mainspring was defective, you'd want a new one too...trust me. I am not bashing BMW but a defective clutch reflects very poorly on BMW. In the mind of a consumer, *everything* must be perfect at pickup OR else.

My next door neighbor just bought a ML-350 Benz and his Steptronic transmission was screwed up after the first week. The car was basically immobile. He barked all the way up to the MB corporate west coast office and got a new car within a two weeks. That's customer satisfaction.

Whatever the company, they need to realize that critical components have to be perfect and that you can't expect the consumer to just take a repaired car on a whim...

[ward]

my Z4 had both a bad battery, and bad smog pump

I didn't get a new car either time

do you guys think I can still get a new car.....................



gimmie a break, it'll be good as new in days.

[voltron1011]

Yeah, a clutch losing all of its friction material is a lot different than an entire automatic transmission failing.

[xdrive]

I don't know what to do. When I took delivery of the car, it only had 4 miles on it. I think I'll just let them fix it and not bother getting mad at them just so I can get a new car. You guys have to understand the frustration I had to go through... Especially when you paid so much for something, it really really sucks for it to break down with only 30 miles on it. I couldn't even drive it back to the dealer.. It had to be towed...

The dealer said they ordered the parts from Germany and will be "replacing the clutch".. I don't really know what that means though...

Does that mean, the whole clutch system will be replaced or just parts of the clutch will be replaced?

Yes, I did get a loaner car.. They gave me a X3 to drive around...

I think I'm gonna just get it fixed. If 2 more major problems occur with this car, it's definitely time to get a new car since I am entitle to one under the lemon law....

Besides this clutch problem, it's ONE hell of a sWEET ride! I'm gonna post some pictures soon... I hope no one would have to experience this 30 mile break down!

[voltron1011]

Replacing a clutch is not a big deal and is not that labor intensive. The clutch itself costs about $300 and the labor is probably around $200. Since the car has a longitudinal mounted engine (lengthwise), the labor is pretty easy. The "clutch system" that you are asking about is usually made up of about 2-3 parts: the clutchplate, the throwout bearing, and the spring. Whenever you order a new clutch for your car, the kit usually comes with all of those parts. Just remember that the clutch is a wear-and-tear item just like your brakes. Sometimes the friction material breaks down on them prematurely do to a bad batch. Usually those things are found at the manufacturer's QA dept where they do a run-up on a chassis dynometer. You wouldn't demand a new car if you were having brake problems would you?

[ward]

your car will be perfect once they repair the clutch,

it's a bummer to have that happen with so few miles, but BMW is just like any other manufacturer and will turn out a problem once in a while.
Apple computers have problems, honda's have problems, .......

it's unfortunate, but sounds like they're treating you right and getting it fixed for you...

[poldim]

Originally Posted by ward

you're not going to get, and don't deserve a new car

There are defects in everything. There is no way to check every part of a car. Unfortunately, a car is not something you can just return because you didnt like it after 29 days. They will fix it and it will be good as new.


The question is, did you do this or did you pick up the car in this condition?