$1427.00 Flat Tire

[FlyFish]

Wow, $1427 bucks later and I have a new right, rear tire. BMW Assist came through with shining colors for sure!

I will do my best to make this a short story; was on a business trip calling on the state of Montana and decided scrap the plane ride and take the M3 for the ride cause the weather forcast called for nothing cold mornings and late September sun! (Not to mention the miles and miles of twisty roads and long, deserted straight-aways ) When it happened....along came the quiet, relaxed chime and the indication that my tire was getting low. Crap, I thought...as I was a million miles from no-where, deep in the clenches of the high desserts of the vast state of Montana. I had one gas station within the next 80 miles and it was just a few exits ahead. Made it! Filled the tire (it was only at 25psi--figured it was just low from the drastic change of altitude and cold mornings--I was off and running again! ) 15 miles later---ding....then the smell of burning rubber as my side walls were beginning to burn through. I stopped at the side of the road to find it completey flat. Found the 'emergency-tire-kit' in the trunk and went to work. Lets see, attach compressor to weird plastic bottle, turn compressor on, drive 2 miles at 30mph to spread white goo eveningly, pump 2 bar of pressure in and PRESTO! White glue began to spew out of the 1/4 hold in top of tire!. Now what???? Get the cell out, walk 100 yards to find some sort of signal, call EVERY TIRE SHOP in all of Montana to find out "We don't carry no tire that wide round here--waz it for er tractor or sumpin???". Geez! What now, I thought as I began to panic. Oh yeah...the SOS button! (I should have paid more attention at my orientation--guess I was too busy admiring the sexy lines of my new M3...)

Within a few moments, a calm, cool voice came over the air-waves "BMW Assist, how may I be of service?" I spent the next ten minutes telling her my sob story, and the next thing I new she was ready to dispatch the nearest tow truck. "TOW TRUCK!?!" -- I gasped..."no sir, we will send a flat bed that will gently ease your car onto it's platform". "Then we will tow it to the nearest BMW dealer..." But there are no dealers in Montana, I pondered...."Looks like the nearest dealer is in Spokane Washington, is that alright Mr. Yougottaflat???" Ummm.... (I was wondering how many millions this was going to cost me...) And before I could embarrass myself and ask, she said "This is of course part of your emergency road side assistance program provided to you by BMW..." And with a smile on my face, I said I was ready when she was! 45 minutes later a tow truck arrived and the driver carefully lifted my M3 onto the deck and.....drove....250 miles.....and five hours to Spokane. 250 MILES!!! At $2.75 per mile! + the lift truck! FOR A FLAT!!!! Awesome dealer (CAMP BMW) special ordered my tire and had it next day aired in (for free, by the way) mounted and balanced, and I was on my way. Tire had 60% life left, so the wheel and tire insurance I bought at the time of my purchase paid for most of the tire and labor, BMW picked up the tab for the tow. My only loss was a day and half of time and most of my sanity trying to make small talk with the Montana tow-truck driver for 5 hours. (Oh, and I can now scratch off visiting a truck stop weigh station off of my bucket-list, three of them....kinda scary...)

Quite the labor invested by so many people just to change a flat--amazing. (by the way--just tinted the windows and these are the first pics!)

[Kev]

Good to know that BMW took good care of ya

However, man, I don't envy you at all! I had the pleasure of traveling I-90 from MA to WA (basically start to finish) and went through a lot of weigh stations in my 22ft Penske truck.

[FrenchBoy]

What a story. Glad you made out okay though.

Off topic: I'll be at E@RTC in the morning in case you'd like to come.

[Kev]

Originally Posted by FrenchBoy

What a story. Glad you made out okay though.

Off topic: I'll be at E@RTC in the morning in case you'd like to come.

^^

Where's E@RTC!?

[FrenchBoy]

Originally Posted by Kev

^^

Where's E@RTC!?

http://www.exoticsrtc.com/
Sorry about the thread jack...

Okay, back on topic now ;-)

[The J-Man]

When the bean counters start going through the roadside assistance logs, what do you bet the next M3 has a spare tire?

[DC5ITR88]

this is y i dont put anything in my trunk but a spare rim and tire EXACTLY for the fear of this

[MentholGuy]

Great Job BMW did

BTW, will BMW Roadside Assistance send tow truck for free even if I have aftermarket wheels/tires?

[bobbyd1961]

wow what a story thank God for sos

[SHADY1]

Originally Posted by DC5ITR88

this is y i dont put anything in my trunk but a spare rim and tire EXACTLY for the fear of this

+1

[Buschy]

that tire looks pretty worn.

I guess you didnt have the great bmw flat kit to try and fix it?

[Jaijai]

Originally Posted by buschy

that tire looks pretty worn.

I guess you didnt have the great bmw flat kit to try and fix it?

"bush"y

[Buschy]

Originally Posted by Jaijai

"bush"y

Can you send me the Cliff Notes?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by buschy

that tire looks pretty worn.

I guess you didnt have the great bmw flat kit to try and fix it?

That was going to be my question as well, as the way this is written gives the impression that only after the tire was completely shot and the hole was a quarter inch wide then the flat kit was used.

I think that the flat kit should have worked when the tire was 25psi and the tire could have been saved. I drove once a whole week with that goo inside one tire while I was waiting for a replacement tire set only because they were too worn already to repair only one tire, so I replaced all 4 tires at once.

[PrePharm]

Wow! Glad you didn't have to spend all that money!

I remember driving my '07 328I and having a flat... I couldn't tell because two months before that, the tire monitoring thing ALWAYS gave me a false indication... But during the time of the flat, the indicator lit up RED... I was thinking to myself, "Man... This car has a bunch of electrical problems..." Because it did at the time The reason I thought of this is because the car drove fine, like a champ almost!

During the time, I was on my way to my parent's ranch. I noticed this rubber smell when I got out and my friend pointed out that there is a tire mark all the way down the street (from riding on the side walls). So I took took a screw and teflon the treads, screwed it in, add air and it held pressure til i got the tire replaced! Of course the tire shop laughed when they saw the screw but thought it was clever

[Jaijai]

Originally Posted by buschy

that tire looks pretty worn.

I guess you didnt have the great bmw flat kit to try and fix it?

Found the 'emergency-tire-kit' in the trunk and went to work. Lets see, attach compressor to weird plastic bottle, turn compressor on, drive 2 miles at 30mph to spread white goo eveningly, pump 2 bar of pressure in and PRESTO! White glue began to spew out of the 1/4 hold in top of tire!

here are your cliff notes

[Rto]

Hi All,

I'll be soon a BMW owner (2010 M3 Jet Black on order) and am starting to research which services the BMW dealer should be offering me when I get the car delivered. (I know about the 4yrs/50K miles etc but not aware of extra ones)

So I'd appreciate your input about the optional service(s) and which ones are worth to get. (cost vs benefit)

Thanks in advance!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Rto

Hi All,

I'll be soon a BMW owner (2010 M3 Jet Black on order) and am starting to research which services the BMW dealer should be offering me when I get the car delivered. (I know about the 4yrs/50K miles etc but not aware of extra ones)

So I'd appreciate your input about the optional service(s) and which ones are worth to get. (cost vs benefit)

Thanks in advance!

Can your particular sales person in your particular dealer answer that off-topic question?

[datbimmerdoe]

BMW assist FTMFW!!!

[FStop7]

It's not optional, all BMWs have this service as part of the Roadside assistance that runs for the same period as the warranty. You don't need Assist for it, though having Assist can come in handy.

[Rto]

Originally Posted by Technic

Can your particular sales person in your particular dealer answer that off-topic question?

Off course he will be able to do it, but you know sales person, they always try to push everything and I was wondering if they have for example an extra service program that cover a flat tire as well or similar and so hear from you some experience what is worth or not.
That's all!

Ps. Not an off-topic question thought since I'm taking another fellow's experience (in this case his flat tire story) as an opportunity to inquire about it. And I'm aware that such great service he had is free of charge is included.

[Rto]

Originally Posted by FStop7

It's not optional, all BMWs have this service as part of the Roadside assistance that runs for the same period as the warranty. You don't need Assist for it, though having Assist can come in handy.

Yes I'm aware of that...was referring to the cost of having the tire fixed or replaced. (that is not included on the Roadside assistance).