Saying goodbye...

My 2009 M3 is at a broker about to be sold. It has been a very disappointing experience with BMWNA this time around (the 4th car I have bought new from BMW). Has left a bad taste in my mouth. The design and engineering of the car is great-service and customer support is lacking.
Now on to a new project: A DFI Cayman S with a 408 hp GTS 3.8 L conversion. This project will start in February and hopefully be ready for the spring. Here is a post from a guy who did something similar: http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-chat/60098-live-cayman-engine-swap-photos-8.html
I wish everyone well and I may be back if I take a chance with BMW again.

Sorry things didn't work out for ya. Good luck!

Good luck!

I want a Boxster with a 500hp 4.0L mezger in it.

Sorry to hear you leave, all the best!

Is your car at a broker because it could not be fixed or are you selling it?

What was your major issue with BMWNA? I had issues with them last year when I was lead along the nose by both BMWNA and BMWCanada and ended up paying the bill in the end due to total neglect by BMWNA.

You have a link to the main post as to why you are so disappointed as I can see in your OP?

Bad service? Bad repair? Issues with a car you modded? Good luck with that conversion, that's going to be complicated. Not sure what could have been wrong with an M3 that money couldn't fix. If you are really looking at a Cayman that will have a $20k engine conversion that one dealer MIGHT be able to work on - service will be a REAL challenge.

saildoc wrote

... The design and engineering of the car is great-service and customer support is lacking...

BMW makes great cars, but the dealer network isn't owned/controlled by BMW. So, these cars sell themselves, despite incompetent and unprofessional personnels employed at various dealers.

Sorry to hear and I sincerely wish you well.

It would be helpful to the Forum if you could share more information about your experience.

To make a long story short: my car had a defective DCT from the factory and was undriveable-the dealer charged me dealer prep fee certified it was ready to be picked up (never refunded it). They had the car for over a month trying to figure out what was wrong. They replaced the transmission and claimed the car is fine. Never really drove properly after that. BMW said the dealer had to help me, the dealer said it was BMWNA's problem. I got sick and tired of dealing with them and BMWNA. I know I could have pursued the Lemon law option but that would have taken up valuable time. Decided the cheapest way was to get rid of the car and not deal with BMW anymore. Recently I acquired a spec Boxster race car and have come to really like the driving experience of the mid-engine porsche. They lost a reliable customer who buys a new car every 2-3 years.

Incidentally there were no Mods on the car at any time.

I'm sorry for that terrible experience.

I have an 06 CS and I'm on Planet 9 too, desperately wanting a Cayman R.

saildoc wrote

To make a long story short: my car had a defective DCT from the factory and was undriveable-the dealer charged me dealer prep fee certified it was ready to be picked up (never refunded it). They had the car for over a month trying to figure out what was wrong. They replaced the transmission and claimed the car is fine. Never really drove properly after that. BMW said the dealer had to help me, the dealer said it was BMWNA's problem. I got sick and tired of dealing with them and BMWNA. I know I could have pursued the Lemon law option but that would have taken up valuable time. Decided the cheapest way was to get rid of the car and not deal with BMW anymore. Recently I acquired a spec Boxster race car and have come to really like the driving experience of the mid-engine porsche. They lost a reliable customer who buys a new car every 2-3 years.

Incidentally there were no Mods on the car at any time.

I fully understand and can well imagine what you went thru having been pushed around as well by both the US and Canadian Customer Relations Department one refereed me to another etc. Long story and I don't want to bore you.

I wish you all the best with your new car.

Enjoy your Porsche

saildoc wrote

My 2009 M3 is at a broker about to be sold. It has been a very disappointing experience with BMWNA this time around (the 4th car I have bought new from BMW). Has left a bad taste in my mouth. The design and engineering of the car is great-service and customer support is lacking.
Now on to a new project: A DFI Cayman S with a 408 hp GTS 3.8 L conversion. This project will start in February and hopefully be ready for the spring. Here is a post from a guy who did something similar: http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-chat/60098-live-cayman-engine-swap-photos-8.html
I wish everyone well and I may be back if I take a chance with BMW again.

what happened? i agree service means almost everything

Purple 88. I am with you Cayman R would be sweet. For the same money I could build a 2009 CS with a GTS motor. Torn between those routes: 330hp vs around 440hp. Warranty vs none. The good thing is I have several great options for non dealer Porsche service locally that fix anything.


Thanks for all the well wishes, pretty amazing how bad it has been dealing with bmwna and my dealer. I supposed I need to be more of a demanding ahole and get lawyered up, but that sucks up time and money.

Sorry to hear about your issues.
Customer service is a tricky thing.

I think you need to try again, when I called BMWNA about the valve guides being replaced in my brothers 08 335 coupe, the first thing I did was ask to speak to a manager. I kindly explained my situation. A month later, BMW agreed to buy our 335 coupe back through lemon law.
They offered us 40k for a car we paid 51k for, and drove for three years and 60k miles.
Later, they offered me a $5500 credit towards a new or used vehicle purchase if I choose to trade in my 335 sedan. (which has 94k miles and is worth less then what I owe)

My experience has been second to none with BMW and it's disappointing to hear your story, try again!

Congrats on starting ur build !!! Must be so excited !!!

It's scary reading this stuff because I had a similar experience with a 530i my wife had, was the last BMW I owned till now. That was an 04 I think, first year of the E60s? Bought first year cars before and expected "stuff" but not what we ran into. The car broke down on the way home from the dealership after delivery, an active steering fault. There was a lot of "stuff" but I think you can sum it up by saying that slightly over ten percent of the cars total mileage was going back and forth to the dealer to fix something which usually wasn't fixed when we got it back. Would have been higher but it had to be towed a few times. At any rate I said never again to BMW but I have been reading that things have improved and I always liked M3s so I thought I would give them another try. Praying the coupe I have on order will not let me down.....

saildoc wrote

To make a long story short: my car had a defective DCT from the factory and was undriveable-the dealer charged me dealer prep fee certified it was ready to be picked up (never refunded it). They had the car for over a month trying to figure out what was wrong. They replaced the transmission and claimed the car is fine. Never really drove properly after that. BMW said the dealer had to help me, the dealer said it was BMWNA's problem. I got sick and tired of dealing with them and BMWNA. I know I could have pursued the Lemon law option but that would have taken up valuable time. Decided the cheapest way was to get rid of the car and not deal with BMW anymore. Recently I acquired a spec Boxster race car and have come to really like the driving experience of the mid-engine porsche. They lost a reliable customer who buys a new car every 2-3 years.

Incidentally there were no Mods on the car at any time.

Sorry, but those two are conflicting points. The cheapest way is either to make BMWNA buy the car back from you or simply Lemon Law. Because now there is a broker somewhere trying to unload a car with Lemon Law written all over it. So if this is disclosed -better be- it will ding the resale price quite considerably.

Good luck with your new car.

Good points all. I am a surgeon and every hour I spend on the phone to someone at BMWNA or my dealer represents a significant opportunity cost. The unloading of the stress of dealing with this is priceless.
The guy who is selling the car has already been in contact with my dealer and has all the info about what transpired as well so there is full disclosure. He told me yesterday that if it isn't sold by Saturday he will buy it for himself to drive for a while.
The difficulty with the Lemon law angle is the dealer claims the car is now functioning as it is designed. I disagree. BMWNA is going by what the dealer says. I know the owner of the dealership as well as several of his "customer service" personal. Their local reputation is legendary. Not in a good way. The whole thing is a joke. I am voting with my dollars now and directing them over the Porsche and possibly Maserati.
I am glad that the majority of people on this site have had a great experience with their M3's. It is truly a great car, the best engine I have ever sat behind. I will keep you all updated with pics and progress of the Cayman build-some people have called them Cayman RS's and I think that is appropriate.
Cheers all.

Good luck with your Cayman build. I love mine, just could use more power. Awesome on twisty roads and on the track.