I'm nearly at the same point with my leak - but as of this morning the dealer is finally making some progress so I've held off for now, but am not too far away from rejecting mine, so I am interested in the outcome of this.
I wouldn't want a refund cos that wouldn't allow me to buy another one due to the jan-mar discount I got, so a replacement would be my choice.
I understand from another forum though that that are within their rights to do either.
It just seems wrong to me that some people have had their cars replaced for higher spec (i.e. automatic) due to the hill start issue, yet those of us with faulty cars PLUS the hillstart issue might be forced to fight!
I think you have to give them a reasonable amount of chances to fix the problem, I've read that it is 3. They've got my car now...its 5th visit!
They've had your car twice, so they might say they want it again. You could stand your ground, or let them have it a 3rd time on the firm understanding that if it comes back and is still not right, then its rejected.
My take on these cars is simple : they are NEW cars - its accesptable for a few niggles, but not for them to remain unfixed, they are £30k - £40k cars - it is reasonable to expect such a priced car to be without faults and finally they are BMW's - it is reasonable to expect (due to the price premium and brand image) better quality.
The op's trim and subsequent further damage isn't BMW's fault...its the fault of that dealer and engineer. The other issues havent been rectified so he is within rights to expect another car. It will have to be built but I'm of the opinion that I wouldn't mind about my leak if I knew a new car was on its way!
Some people are more fussy than others, and some will let certain things slide, but at the end of the day these are £30k++ NEW BMW's and so shouldn't have any faults.