[GFK007]

My car broke down tonight. It has 800 miles on it.

It lost all power/stopped shifting while I was driving.

I'm honestly going to ask for a new car.

I am beyond furious

[Tim917]

Man that sucks. Could it have anything to do with whatever fell off that truck and hit your front end?

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Tim917

Man that sucks. Could it have anything to do with whatever fell off that truck and hit your front end?

I was thinking the same thing either safety shutoff or electrical issue.

[GFK007]

I would be shocked if it did, because the only damage was cosmetic.

Should I make them pay a months lease payment?

I am so livid. My 14 x3 35i broke down on Friday as well.

[BEM-S4]

You've got some issues if that's what you want. First, not dealer or BMW finance's fault and that's who needs to fix it. Second, unless it's an obviously unrelated issue, they'll argue that it was accident related. And you're not gonna burn legal $ at $500 an hour chasing a $500 payment.

Understand you are livid, justifiably so. But that's not helping you at this point. Going to the dealer all fired up and start screaming and you're just going to come off as the crazy *sshole who runs over stuff and then wants a free car. No one wants to help that guy.

Honest advice, speak with the service manager first thing. Explain that you are more than willing to let them have the car for as long as necessary to diagnose and propose a solution but that you expect something as nice or nicer to drive while that happens. See what they come back with. Maybe it's an easy fix, maybe not. Either way you will have a lot better luck if you get them on your side and it's you and the dealer against BMW for having wronged one of their loyal customers, rather than you making enemies and having to fight the world. You need the dealer in your corner on this.

[GFK007]

Truth. I've just had horrendous experience with BMW service and as of recent, their cars.

It just makes me wonder whether the brand's obsession with volume is causing the reliability to suffer.

Both of my cars will now be in their shop tomorrow.

[Tim917]

*make that TWO as nice or nicer cars to drive!

I agree though - give the dealer a chance to step up and make it right. They should be as surprised and alarmed as you are.

[BEM-S4]

One other thing, and this is coming from someone who negotiates for a living. Whomever you speak with tomorrow, they will apologize to you. Respond with, "please, you don't need to apologize. I realize this isn't your fault and the last thing you want to be dealing with is an unhappy customer with a brand new $50K car. I really appreciate your help in making this right." You have no idea how many times these people get screamed at every day for things that have literally nothing to do with them. You'll instantly get them on your side, they will realize the seriousness of the matter, and at the same time you put them on notice that you view them as responsible for helping find a solution.

[GFK007]

Happy to be as friendly as can be but I want service quality that should come with owning $100k worth of cars from the brand.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt tomorrow, but I want a loaner and some sort of compensation.

Two cars less than six months old braking down is inexcusable. Period.

[GFK007]

Also: call BMW roadside and was on hold for 15 minutes. What's up with that?

[BEM-S4]

Agreed, my only point is tomorrow is not freak out day. Put the ball in their court, then see what happens.

[Lucky13]

I'm sure there's some people on here that would give some helpful advice but you didn't give us anything to work with. When you say lost power do you mean no lights or electrical as well as no engine or transmission working?

[GFK007]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

I'm sure there's some people on here that would give some helpful advice but you didn't give us anything to work with. When you say lost power do you mean no lights or electrical as well as no engine or transmission working?

Drivetrain malfunction showed up in the dash.

Was driving and shifted to third and the dash said I was in neutral.

Should be noted that I had "let clutch cool" pop up in the first day of ownership. My e90 was stick and never gave me an ounce of trouble.

[ska///235i]

Vanos control unit...someone on the f30forum have the same issue

[five3three]

Originally Posted by GFK007

Also: call BMW roadside and was on hold for 15 minutes. What's up with that?

BMW roadside simply contracts with local tow companies and pays them directly. They basically make a phone call for you to a local tow company and tell them to pick you up.

I waited over 2 hours once on the side of the highway in 100+ degree heat with a busted water pump after calling BMW roadside.

[five3three]

Originally Posted by GFK007

I want a loaner and some sort of compensation.

A loaner, of course. But, has anyone ever received compensation because a car breaks down, even if it's relatively new? It just seems a stretch but if you're able to pull it off, awesome.

Now, if they have to fix the same issue three times you can claim a lemon and have them buy it back from you. But on a first repair, I don't think there's really much to do. Things like this happen. That's the reason they offer a warranty so they can fix problems that come up.

We're also early adopters on this car so anyone buying a model in its first year should expect some kinks to potentially arise that still need to be worked out. In some cases, it takes them several years to work out a problem, as was the case with the HPFP on the N54's where they ended up providing a 10 year warranty on those.

[GFK007]

Originally Posted by five3three

A loaner, of course. But, has anyone ever received compensation because a car breaks down, even if it's relatively new? It just seems a stretch but if you're able to pull it off, awesome.

Now, if they have to fix the same issue three times you can claim a lemon and have them buy it back from you. But on a first repair, I don't think there's really much to do. Things like this happen. That's the reason they offer a warranty so they can fix problems that come up.

We're also early adopters on this car so anyone buying a model in its first year should expect some kinks to potentially arise that still need to be worked out. In some cases, it takes them several years to work out a problem, as was the case with the HPFP on the N54's where they ended up providing a 10 year warranty on those.

First day of ownership it was in the shop for issues with the clutch.

And as mentioned earlier, my 14 x3 broke down with transmission issues last Friday.

BMW is just not in my good graces at the moment.

[Husker]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Understand you are livid, justifiably so. But that's not helping you at this point. Going to the dealer all fired up and start screaming and you're just going to come off as the crazy *sshole who runs over stuff and then wants a free car. No one wants to help that guy.

Honest advice, speak with the service manager first thing. Explain that you are more than willing to let them have the car for as long as necessary to diagnose and propose a solution but that you expect something as nice or nicer to drive while that happens. See what they come back with. Maybe it's an easy fix, maybe not. Either way you will have a lot better luck if you get them on your side and it's you and the dealer against BMW for having wronged one of their loyal customers, rather than you making enemies and having to fight the world. You need the dealer in your corner on this.

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

One other thing, and this is coming from someone who negotiates for a living. Whomever you speak with tomorrow, they will apologize to you. Respond with, "please, you don't need to apologize. I realize this isn't your fault and the last thing you want to be dealing with is an unhappy customer with a brand new $50K car. I really appreciate your help in making this right." You have no idea how many times these people get screamed at every day for things that have literally nothing to do with them. You'll instantly get them on your side, they will realize the seriousness of the matter, and at the same time you put them on notice that you view them as responsible for helping find a solution.

This should be a ↑Sticky↑...Excellent advice. I'm speaking 1st hand, when I say, this Tactic works better than any other.
Next time you have to visit, you will be honestly treated with respect, as opposed to "Oh no it's that A-Hole"...

[Lucky13]

Whatever it ends up being let us know especially since I ordered a manual. That sucks because even if they fix it your not going to have much confidence in it. Obviously they didn't fix it the first time.

[GFK007]

Just a quick update:

I'm told they have zero loaner cars available and the enterprise they use has no cars available either.

Wow.

[Shankska]

Not cool. Sorry you have to deal with this on your new car.

Curious to hear what they find.

[dharo1]

Originally Posted by GFK007

I'm told they have zero loaner cars available and the enterprise they use has no cars available either.

Spring break is over! What the hell! Awful service department.