My new 2008 BMW M3 Convertible Experience, horrible!

[KSMatic]

I purchased my car back in November 12, 2008. It was a brand new car with 8 miles on the odometer. I was actually the first person to actually test drive that car and i fell in love with it.

I enjoyed the convertible hard top a lot, it was actually something thats unique vs just the M3 logo in the back. (that logo downsized every year)

1. 2 weeks down the road, it was time for the 1500 miles tune up, at the time, I did notice some hard water mark on both my driver and passenger window. I washed my car every week, baby it like it was the perfect toy for a grown man wanting to leave it in a wrapper and just admire it. I went to physically check this out and noticed the hard water mark is on the inside and not the outside. I then proceed to do some more testing with water near the a-pillar and you can clearly see the water running down, drip by drip. I was furious and took it in to McKenna BMW in Norwalk, California right away. I spoke to the Service Advisor who helped me with the issue, he told me that they will re-align the roof and see if the problem returns.

2. 1 week later, issue reoccured, driver side window starts to rattle when the car is in convertible mode and best of all, the known issue with the front suspension of making ticking noise while turning has become an issue with the car. I also heard some weird noise coming from the transmission when the car is on neutral. McKenna brought in a technician from BMW North America to actually tell me that this issue is normal coming from the M3 and I should not worry about it as the transmission was designed to be loose to have faster gearing engagement.

3. Once i got the car back, I noticed the window mark again, I did not have time at the time to bring it back as I was going on a road trip from So Cal to Nor Cal. A month later, made an appointment with McKenna along with getting my seat replaced due to cracking. Got the car back, the water mark seems to disappear but roof was making noise, LOTS.

4. Took the car back for Roof Noise, I-Drive issue where it flashes in and out with the screen. They realigned the roof and the window and stated that i-drive was reset and should fix the problem.

5. Started leaking again, roof noise disappeared. i-drive problem returned. They replaced the CCC module. Steering wheel started peeling.

6. Sound cuts in and out, roof noise comes back, leaks more than before.


7. Current status: Car is at the dealership, they asked North America BMW to come in and see what they can do with the roof issue. I called in BMW North America and complained, lets see what they say. My car has been at the dealership for 2 months out of the 11 months that I own this vehicle.


What is the next step I should take? Lemon law? Ask dealer to buy back? Any suggestions? I will be hearing back from BMW NA by Friday to see what will happen to my car.. its been a poor experience for me with BMW. My dealership has been really nice and took care of stuff that I know they are not suppose to. I'm really happy with their service but its the car thats the problem and not the service. I did ask for a request to see if they can cover at least 1 or 2 of my BMW payment, I am looking to hear back from them soon enough.


I will update this thread as they update me.

[Ca$hOnly]

Push for a Buy-back. Lawyers are your last option.

[KSMatic]

Originally Posted by Ca$hOnly

Push for a Buy-back. Lawyers are your last option.

I may do that, is this a little too late though? Its been almost a year but the problem is known and has been at the dealership every 1-2 months or so.

[opie]

Def push for a buyback.
You shouldn't have too much of a problem with that.

[KSMatic]

I submitted a request to http://www.kahnandassociates.com for a lemon law to see what they can do for me. I'm really edged about this problem right now.

[aus]

Sorry to hear your trouble.

Also, sorry you bought from McKenna. They're pretty aweful with service and don't even provide a loaner.

[NetBoy]

There's a used 2008 E93 for sale that is a dealer buyback. Seller says it had a roof issue and carfax says buy back.

So it's possible.

[KSMatic]

Originally Posted by aus

Sorry to hear your trouble.

Also, sorry you bought from McKenna. They're pretty aweful with service and don't even provide a loaner.

They gave me loaner everytime..

I have got the following cars as a loaner:
135i, 335i 535i (current), 328i, audi

[KSMatic]

Hi, this is Lauren Kwiatkowski from Kahn & Associates, the lemon law attorneys, responding to the information you submitted through our website regarding the problems you are having with your 2008 BMW . From the information you provided, it looks like there is a real good possibility we can help you eliminate further payments on your vehicle and/or receive cash as compensation.



I would like to set up a very brief consultation, by phone or in person, where one of our attorneys can further evaluate your case, determine your potential recovery and answer any questions you may have – all at no cost to you!



Please call me toll free at 1-888-LEMONS-1 (1-888-536-6671) to schedule your free consultation. I look forward to hearing from you!



P.S. - If you work between the hours of 9 and 5, we can schedule your consultation before 9 or after 5, just leave a couple of convenient times on my voice mail and I will confirm your appointment by leaving you a voicemail. Thank you.

Looks like i can go with this?

[CMOS]

The attorneys do not work for free. I would suggest that you ask the dealer for a buyback (or whatever you want) before wasting time with the laywers.

Between you and me, it's not the students with the best grades that go to work for the lemon law firm.

[KSMatic]

I just got a word back from North America BMW, they are going to repair the damaged item and get everything situated for me. If the problem occurs again, I will have to send it back. My car should be done by Wednesday with new seats, steering wheel, new roof seals. Also, they are going to cover possibly one to two month payment for me.

In other words, since my car has passed 30 days, I just told them to cover those days that I did not drive my car. I'll let you know what they say afterwards and they will give me an e-mail confiirmation to make everything happen.

Keep you guys updated.

[AlpWtE92]

Originally Posted by CMOS

The attorneys do not work for free. I would suggest that you ask the dealer for a buyback (or whatever you want) before wasting time with the laywers.

Between you and me, it's not the students with the best grades that go to work for the lemon law firm.

+1. Do the consultation with them if you like, but you might want to wait until you really have no choice before you sign any engagement or retainer agreement with an attorney. The attorneys gotta get paid somehow, so if they're not getting paid by you, they're gonna get their money from the settlement or whatever cash they can get from the dealer/BMW NA, likely reducing your recovery. Personally, I would do some research about the CA lemon laws and see if this is something you can take care of without the assistance of a lawyer. You can start here: http://www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php
Make sure you keep all the records of your visits to the dealer as well as your correspondence with the dealer and BMW NA. If you haven't already, correspond with the dealer and BMW NA in writing so you have a record of everything.

good luck.

[aus]

Originally Posted by KSMatic

They gave me loaner everytime..

I have got the following cars as a loaner:
135i, 335i 535i (current), 328i, audi

You're lucky or they changed their ways. They wanted to charge me $45 for a rental for an annual oil change.

Good luck with the car.

[JCtx]

Attorneys want to make a killing on everything man, especially when it' s 'free', since they charge at least 60% of the proceeds. What happens is they ask for the moon, and it might take even years man.

Try to get your issue resolved directly first. And if you need to involve an attorney, you'd be much better off negotiating a fee and just ask for what's fair (including those fees). If you give control to those creeps, you'd probably regret it. Good luck.

[M3twins]

Had a 335i bought back for a number of issues (HPFP, i-drive, audio system).. BMWNA was really good about the whole thing and gave me great service and several options.. No attorney involved. Give them a chance and hopefully you will have as good of an experience as I did when things went wrong.

[xtremecruiser]

Lawyer up, BMWNA will do nothing but waist your time and hope you go away.
It could be worse, yours could leak like mine.

[niqui]

i am sorry for all the issues, dont think the lemon law will help you though.
you should fight out the payments though, id be furious
however, u got ur seat and wheel replaced for premature wear??? they honored that, impressive, any pics.

[hlmiii]

"Attorneys want to make a killing on everything man, especially when it' s 'free', since they charge at least 60% of the proceeds. What happens is they ask for the moon, and it might take even years man."
I hope you didn't mean this as it might sound ...

Pasting an entire group of people - even attorneys - with a negative label usually isn't appropriate. In my decades of experience I have never heard of any attorney who bills at a rate even close to 60% of the proceeds. To the contrary, most of my colleagues that I know in personal civil practice (where personal lives are most touched) have an effective billing rate of around $100.00 or less when all is said and done.

We are able to improve the quality of life of our clients. It's a good and satisfying endeavor. But we don't get "rich" on that kind of money.

And that doesn't take into account the clients that simply walk away from their statements once they get what they want. I, for instance, could send one of my boys to college on unpaid invoices.

Just saying ... thanks.

[mkoesel]

Sounds like the tweaks the dealership did to the top did more harm than good. Unfortunate. The thing is, in my experience with convertibles (BMW and otherwise) there isn't one out there that will be both 100% noise and leak free in all situations. At 17k miles, my car has some rattles and squeaks. Now, it doesn't leak other than in a high pressure touchless wash (which the manual recommends against). If it leaked either in the rain or when washed with a bucket or sprayed with hose from the spigot on my house, I'd definitely be inclined to take it to a dealership as you did. However I would do so with a large degree of trepidation, because, given the shear complexity of the top, I just don't have faith that the dealership will be able to make it any better, and might make it worse.

As for the tranny noise, again, that's something I've experienced with every car I've owned. I would probably just leave well enough alone unless it was a major problem effecting performance or damaging the transmission in some way. The click while turning sounds like a problem I've seen discussed here. Not sure of the fix for that, but I believe there is a standard one. Likewise with the IDrive issue, IIRC.

Bottom line is you definitely got unlucky with this car, and it sounds like you have plenty cause for frustration and to get it bought back or lemoned. I wish you luck in getting results in that area.

At the same time, after reading this statement:

"I washed my car every week, baby it like it was the perfect toy for a grown man wanting to leave it in a wrapper and just admire it."

I honestly feel like I need to add something else here. That is, you need to be aware that you may never get a "perfect" M3. It's a rough-round-the-edges type of car and is a performance car first and luxury car second. It's not going to give you that coddled feeling like a Lexus GS would. I don't mean this as a dig against you. It just seems like, well, that you might be a very particular individual who expects nothing less than perfection. And while that is something I definitely respect, for me the perfection of the M3 is how it performs, and as long as it continues to be perfect in that area I will continue to forgive the minor faults that it has in other areas.

Cheers, and again, good luck

[quality_sound]

In CA a lemon is any car that's been to the dealer 3 or more times for the same problem without resolution or a cat that's been in the shop over 30 total days in a year. You're over both. Even if BMWNA doesn't want to do a buy-back, it's still a lemon. That's a fact they can't argue.

[foosh]

I guess I must be one of lucky ones with a 08 E93 with no squeaks, rattles, or leaks. About once a week, I also commit the unpardonable sin of running it through a touchless, high-pressure car wash.

[quality_sound]

Touchless is fine. It's the toothbrushes of destruction you need to worry about.