Re: bmw quality problems (a bit long)

[Ryan P Echlin <rechlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all,

Many, many moons ago (about the time I was born, so that's 22ish years
ago), my Dad had obtained and rebuilt a used 530.  The car was hit light
in the front, and had been repaired by my Dad, and he was using it as a
daily driver, before selling it and getting on to next.  The 530's had a
vapor lock problem in the fuel tank (from the factory), leading to the
engine becoming fuel starved with about half a tank of gas.  The solution
(at least what worked for my Dad): Open the gas cap and splash roadside
water on the tank until it cooled off enough to break the vapor lock.
After doing this procedure about once, he called BMW to see if there was a
recall covering this problem.  They told him that since the car had been
in an accident, it wasn't covered.  He responded by saying that it wasn't
very good for BMW's image to have a 2 or 3 year old BMW stuck by the side
of the highway with the driver splashing water from a puddle on the fuel
tank.  This apparently changed their minds, and two days later, they fixed
the problem for free.  It took him quite a while to buy another BMW to fix
up after this mess.

A similar problem occurred to me with my 325e.  After rupturing a radiator
hose (worn hose, not BMW's fault), I noticed that a recall that prevents
the heater core from spraying hot coolant on the driver's legs had not
been performed on the car.  I called my local dealer (Erhard BMW, in
Bloomfield MI), and explained the problem.  They told me that the recall
was "closed" (yes, closed).  I asked how a recall for something so
dangerous as a coolant leak on my leg could be "closed."  They didn't seem
to have an answer.  To be fair, other dealers said they would perform the
recall, but as I am at school, and only have one car, it's going to be a
while before I get in on that one, cause no loaner cars are available for
this kind of work.

I understand that there's little business sense in doing free work on cars
not still covered, or not owned by the original purchaser, but some things
should be taken care of with little fuss to keep the people that show up
at the parts counters, and, probably, on the showroom floor, happy.

Just my thoughts,
Ryan


> ...unknowledgeable service advisors, low warranty service margins,
> strict warranty part coverage and no loaner car provisions are all
> contributors to a very unpleasant service experience for BMW's
> customers.
> ...
> My story isn't much different from others I have talked to in my area. It
> is clear that BMW's dealer service channel is broken. So much so, it is
> affecting not only the long-term quality (from poor repairs) of cars
> brought in for repair, but also the perception of quality (from the owners
> loss-of-use during the repair and the sight of a BMW on a tow truck) by
> BMW's current and future customers.

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