Advice needed

[AK414]

I was hoping my first post on the forum would be much more positive than this, but I need some advice and I’m hoping you all can help.

Here’s the story – I ordered a JB E92 M3 about 3 months ago. Prior to ordering, I did a test drive at a different SF bay area dealership than where I ended up buying. In the test drive, the salesman ran a cold M3 with about 80 miles on the odometer up to 8,000 RPM to show off how high the car revs. Of course, I already knew how high the car revs and was just sitting there thinking this salesman is paying no attention to the break-in period and is absolutely ruining this car. Needless to say, I didn’t buy from him, largely for this reason. When I did order the car from a different dealer, I shared this experience with the salesman and put in writing that I wanted to no more than 5 miles on the odometer at time of delivery. He said it might be as high as 8, but understood my concern that the car not be driven.

So, after months of tracking my car’s progress, it arrived at the dealer last Wednesday. The paint on the hood was in bad shape (needed to be buffed) and I had them change the Conti 3s for PS2s. When I went to the dealership last night to sign paperwork and take the car home, the salesman informed me that they had trouble syncing the TPMS with the new wheels (swapped from a different M3 sitting on their lot…the soon-to-be-owner apparently indifferent about tires) and drove the car 55 miles to get the system to sync! 55 miles! Also, the paint still hadn’t been fixed, so I left.

Now I need to decide if I even want this car or if I should demand my deposit back and start from scratch (and wait another 3 months) with a different dealer. So my questions:
1. Does this TPMS syncing issue even sound reasonable to anyone? and 2. What would you do? Accept delivery or not?
Thanks for the advice and sorry about the long first post.

[FStop7]

It sounds pretty sketchy to me

[gr8000]

55 miles for TMPS (=Flat Tyre Monitor being the official term) is way out of line. It just takes something like 2-3 minutes of driving, say 1-2 miles...

[DiamondGCoupe]

You cannot demand your car be delivered with no more than 5 miles. That's is unreasonable as the dealer has no control over the mileage prior to delivery to the dealership.

[AK414]

Fair enough, but the car had 9 miles on it when I went to the dealership on Thursday and 55 miles on it yesterday. Is there any way that's reasonable?

[mrkbbd]

I would tell them you made it very clear what you wanted and that they didn't deliver, end of story, have them order you a new car

[DiamondGCoupe]

Tell em to take another $500 off the car and be done with it.

[PoorMan]

If your not comfortable with something etc.. Move on elsewhere. It's your money.

[M3luvr]

I would ask for more discount if you are going to go for it. Otherwise, I'd go someplace else. It's your money, so you have to be satisfied with your purchase.

[skim]

they should have at least informed you before proceeding.
is there a way a dealer can hook it up to the computer and see what the highest rpm registered was?

[Koroush]

Originally Posted by M3luvr

I would ask for more discount if you are going to go for it. Otherwise, I'd go someplace else. It's your money, so you have to be satisfied with your purchase.

+1

[AK414]

According to the service manager, they can't tell max RPM, just whether the engine was run up past the red-line. Anyone know if this is true?

[ACZakka325i]

Thats pretty outrageous. 55 miles is QUITE A BIT of driving. It usually takes a couple seconds to update my TPMS data. Sounds very fishy.

Also, why was the paint in bad shape? No excuse for that.

In the long time I have been here, I have never heard of an M3 equipped with anything BUT PS2's. I'd ask how yours came without them.

Don't take this car. They prob used it for a test drive.

[Fanta]

When I purchased my car, I have requested for less then 5km before pre-inspection delivery. We don't have TPMS. My salesman told me that new M3 change to average tire diameter measurement sensor. Recently M3 do change to Conti 3s. My Porsche Carrera is also using Conti 3, good tires. I will put back OEM tire and request for some discount. About the paint, anyway after 3 months on road there will be scratches, request for a free clear film install. You can request a complete engine historical report.

[FSHNGRY]

Whoa, 55 miles? If I were in your situation I would demand an engine history report( I believe it is very possible to obtain). Then I would take my deposit back and go to another dealership. I would absoluetly contact BMW north America corporate office and demand to speak to the area director. The car was most likely either driven by the mechanic for fun, or test driven..a few times. 55 miles is nothing to sneeze at, especially after you specifically requested ON PAPER that the car not be driven. I too went on a test drive where the salesman launched and went to 7k rpm. The car had800 miles on it. I'm tired of hearing stories of BMW employees mis-using customer cars. I would absolutely not accept the car. Patience will pay off, and it will be worth it in the long run, especially when you won't have problems. My advice. Get your money back,and wait forthe LCi. Best of luck. Let us know the outcome.

[FSHNGRY]

Also, I know that if you take a car that has a malfunction, they run a diagnostic to see if the car has been raced, redlined, and exactly how and when the problem occured. So, getting an engine history report shouldn't be an issue. Good luck!

[JCtx]

Well, here's my take. My car had almost 600, as freaking car was driven rather than transported from another dealer. I was already there (800 miles away), so reluctantly drove it home. The bright side was I needed to wait less for full break-in, and if car had something that was going to crap out right away (it has happened), it'd have happened to somebody else.

In your case, dealer drove the car so I wouldn't be concerned about abuse. And yes, I'm as anal as you can get , but it's up to you. The reason he probably drove it that much is system didn't 'reset', and he might have thought more miles were going to help. It's rare to have that situation, and they accomodated your request, so cut them some slack man. If you are that picky, you should have taken the car the way it came . Good luck.

[Nawaaz]

If you feel even slightly uncomfortable on this M3, then I would pass it up. I know it would be absolutely heart-breaking to do that, but 'patience can be a virtue'.

Before putting additional mileage on, they should've contacted you.

So far, it looks as though you're not having a very positive experience. I would hold off.

Sorry this happened with you man.

[sehrgut]

That is very sketchy. But since you told them you wanted it with no more then 5 miles then they go ahed and put 50+miles on it, makes no sense to me, something is fishy about tht car. Maybe something different the TPMS?

[erio]

Originally Posted by skim

they should have at least informed you before proceeding.
is there a way a dealer can hook it up to the computer and see what the highest rpm registered was?

1+

They should have at least contacted you based on your your written agreement. That's poor salemanship in my opinion. I personally would painfully reject the car. This is a major purchase so I wouldn't take it unless I was as close to 100% satisfied as possible.

Also, I think they are using Contis on most of the 2010s now. BMW likely had a better deal with Continental this year.

[FStop7]

My car had 80 miles on it when I took delivery. It was driven over from another dealership. That was no problem for me, personally. As long as it's titled as a new car and receives the same warranty coverage.

[waremark]

I am not convinced by the TPMS story but it would be a pity to reject the car if it was driven sensibly.

I agree that you should request an engine history report, but don't know what information it will give you. You could also try asking to speak to the individual who actually drove the car, and quiz him a bit to decide if the story sounds true.