Very Unhappy With BMW

Taz x said:
Today i am very unhappy with BMW :headbang:

My car as been with the local dealer for over 5 weeks. A problem with the N52 engine. Intermittent knocking when cold. BMW have just told me that until they witness the fault they can not do anything

I have emailed them a video of it :headbang:

I have just spoke with BMW customer services and they basically said that if the fault is intermittent then there is nothing that can be done about it

Any thoughts/advise. As anybody ever made an official complaint to BMW. What is the procedure?

Taz, I've been there too. I brought my car to the dealership with the intermittent engine knock, with 6 months to go on the original warranty. They kept it for about 8 days, and said they could never get it to knock, so they couldn't do anything about it. I researched it on this forum, and told them about the well-known hydraulic valve adjuster rattling noise issue. The service department said they had no knowledge of that. I added that it was quite shocking that so many folks online have posted about having the problem, and even discussing the cause, and yet they are telling me that I'm the ONLY Z4 owner they've ever heard of with the issue. This must have come down from HQ in a memo directing reps to deny the problem exists or has ever been reported, to discourage an expensive recall. When I picked the car up, I brought them a video (via thumbdrive) of the knock taken with the hood open, while moving around the front of the car. My VIN is clearly visble, to prove the ID of car being filmed. Their response: they can't open files on a thumbdrive on their office PC. I emailed it to them, on the spot, from my Iphone (which could prove the date of the problem, within warranty). The next response: they can't open videos on their office PC. :headbang: They did say they would note the alleged issue in my file, in case it becomes worse after the warranty runs out. I'm beginning to think this is a conspiracy...

This isn't the 1st time they have matter-of-factly argued with me about my car. They once told me, after failing to program my new alarm with the settings I asked for the day of the install dropoff, that my center storage compartment didn't lock with the alarm on, not because they screwed up the programming, but because- her: "I spoke with the service manager- he confirmed that the locking feature you mentioned wasn't a feature that was ever offered on your car." I had to scan and fax 2 pages from my owners manual, to the SERVICE MANAGER, to inform him he was "mistaken" (i.e. ignorant). They fixed that issue on the 2nd trip. After a 3rd trip to the dealership (70 miles each way), my alarm still doesn't do what I ask them to program it to do (complicated things, like beep every time it is armed and unarmed...). Their last excuse was yes, they messed up AGAIN, but they "couldn't find the cable needed to change the settings," as they were in the process of moving from one building into the one next door, and it was the only cable they had. :x But, I could bring it back another day, once they found the cable (140 miles roundtrip) and it would only take 15 minutes, next time. I gave up. I have always been polite with them, as it (possibly) isn't the customer service rep's fault, but come on.

I love my BMW. I hate my local BMW dealership.
 
I love my BMW. I hate my local BMW dealership.

My feelings exactly. HATE is not a strong enough word for the useless monkeys employed at Stratstone Doncaster.. My car will never go there again.. Ever!!!

Hope you manage to get the issue sorted Taz.
 
Last night I emailed the main man, Mr Abbott, already i have had a response, sounds positive :thumbsup:
 
Hope you told the dealer that you're Chairman of the " Exclusive Coupe Club" I'm sure that would carry some weight :wink: :)
 
Kryton said:
Hope you told the dealer that you're Chairman of the " Exclusive Coupe Club" I'm sure that would carry some weight :wink: :)

Not if he choose well and has a (m54) roadster :poke:
 
Kryton said:
Hope you told the dealer that you're Chairman of the " Exclusive Coupe Club" I'm sure that would carry some weight :wink: :)

I simply stated I was an active member of the Z4-forum.com :thumbsup:

I didn't mention I posted over 5000 garbage post :roll:
 
Just a general note about complaints to big companies and getting a response............... (even works with the tax office)

a bit like call centres ..... they all operates on levels - you make a complaint on say level one (ie shout at the dealer) you will get a pre-packaged reply on level 1 ............. likewise on level 2 etc etc etc.

A classic example is the company I work for - it is aknowledged within that every letter that falls through the letter box from a lawyer costs us 10 thousand dollars immediately, regardless of how it is answered. A legal letter requires a legal response which means it has to be approved by legal council etc etc ...
you get the idea.

At a higher level, there is always more scope for a settlement ...... where a pleb might not have authority to authorise a new pencil, the MD could at the stroke of a pen, authorise a new car.

Mailing the boss is a good idea - hope you get results.

It's always a good idea, without the use of threats ....... to get the message across that you won't go away.

I once made a comment to a company that if I could afford to write off the 10K they screwed me over - they better believe I'd spend at least as much getting it back ......... the matter was sorted in less than 2 mins.

best of luck
 
sent my essay today...

my old man sorted out when firestone tyres nearly killed my family, (he Is a lawyer/barrister) and did a huge case for lots of affected people. Faulty parts in cars is pretty familiar to him,
 
Taz x said:
Last night I emailed the main man, Mr Abbott, already i have had a response, sounds positive :thumbsup:

I bet it starts well, then its "the dealer will need to look into it" then its the brush off.

Tim Abott now ignores my emails, BMW Customer service is diabolical and it goes right to the top of the stinking company.
 
last night i had a phone call from the dealers, they have not witnessed the fault so they will replace the HVA's as a good will gester

below is a copy of their first email, its bad English but am I wrong reading this to say they have witnessed the fault?

'We have experienced the noise due to the sort of noise we have yet been unable to fault what is causing it as of yet,

We have sent a report to BMW this morning ref it and are still waiting on a response from them with regards to where they want us to go from there

As soon as I hear anything I will email you to let you know what we are going to do'
 
Taz x said:
last night i had a phone call from the dealers, they have not witnessed the fault so they will replace the HVA's as a good will gester

below is a copy of their first email, its bad English but am I wrong reading this to say they have witnessed the fault?

'We have experienced the noise due to the sort of noise we have yet been unable to fault what is causing it as of yet,

We have sent a report to BMW this morning ref it and are still waiting on a response from them with regards to where they want us to go from there

As soon as I hear anything I will email you to let you know what we are going to do'

What awful grammar! I would say yes they have, but they can't trace the cause.
Good luck with it.
 
To be honest, it's past most dealerships realm of what they typically do. They won't investigate unless they're getting paid to do so, and they won't get paid to do so unless BMW agree. That is either via a bulletin which they can act upon, or BMW authorising it.

Also, they rarely want to delve into resolving the issue, once BMW have agreed to pay. They will just replace the part and let BMW do the diagnostics.

Perhaps you would be better off at another dealer? I had no problems getting mine done at Dick Lovett Swindon.
 
Sorry to hear all the hassle you are having but hope you are getting somewhere now. I always like to read threads on this issue as I have a Coupe and am just keeping my fingers crossed mine doesn;t start playing up. Can i ask how many miles your Coupe has done? I wonder how many cars it affects and if it's particular model years?
 
mason storm said:
Sorry to hear all the hassle you are having but hope you are getting somewhere now. I always like to read threads on this issue as I have a Coupe and am just keeping my fingers crossed mine doesn;t start playing up. Can i ask how many miles your Coupe has done? I wonder how many cars it affects and if it's particular model years?


approximately 11K miles, i only uses it every couple of weeks, i did however put 3.5K miles on it recently on a europe road trip

another point to think about is that mine is a very late model, built August 08, registered March 09, so any mods/upgrades should be included on this vehicle, I don't think they made many after August 08
 
To be perfectly honest Taz, that is the problem. You're not using it, and thus the oil is draining out of the lifters, giving you that noise.
 
Thats not actually the issue, I use mine every day and it still does it occassionally.

Also regarding the designs I thought the design change was much later in 09. Build date probably isnt that relevent either as the engines can sit around for a while before being used.
 
IK. said:
To be perfectly honest Taz, that is the problem. You're not using it, and thus the oil is draining out of the lifters, giving you that noise.

then is there a basic design fault that allows that to happen?
 
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