BMW----Suck My White A**!!!

Ok, BMW strikes again.......as much as I love my car, and the 7 other I, my wife and my father have owned their are a bunch of thieves. I always read threads about people trying to dodge warranty issues, reprogram tunes, and basically attempt to defraud BMW into paying a warranty claim and thought those people were scum. NOT ANYMORE. I say more power to you, anyway you can screw this company, good for you.

Story: Why am I so livid I want to strangle someone at BMW NA? Because it turns out their CPO warranty is a UTTER FRAUD. My wife's 2007 X3, the only one of the BMWs my family has owned that was bought used (CPO), has been doing some weird things with its shifting (holding onto gears) and slow speed bucking. Trans is generally speaking running great, and if you had never driven the car before, you may or may not notice it. But since the warranty is up in January, I figured I would be proactive.

The Issue: My dealership, THEY ROCK, were honest and noticed the issue but couldn't swear to whether the trans was a real issue until they performed a 2009 Bulletin Reprogram that was never done on the car, and the reprogram was not covered under the CPO warranty and I would have to pay for it. HOLD ON A SECOND. I bought the car in January 2010, CPO, from a BMW dealership, and they didn't run a bulletin update? NOPE. Better yet, they were not required to and the reprogramming to get this bulletin done is not covered by the CPO warranty, and they can't replace or fix the trans till that is done, according to BMW.

Lets review: programming on these cars is everything and every model year it becomes MORE than everything. My father had a MAJOR trans issue on his 2005 745Li and a PUMA case was created when the dealership exhausted all options. BMW AG FedExed a lap top over with a program, uploaded the program to the car, and the car ran smooth as glass everyday after that till my dad upgraded to a 2008. We know the stalling issue and many other M-DCT issues were fixed THRU SIMPLE SOFTWARE. We also know that major features like M-Drive can be added to a car without it thru a reprogram on model years 2008-2010 when it was not standard. I could go on, and on, and on about all of the crucial parts on our cars that can literally fail to operate correctly because of a simple software issue.

IF SOFTWARE IS SO IMPORTANT, HOW IS IT THAT A TRANSMISSION THAT IS COVERED BY THE CPO WARRANTY, DOES NOT INCLUDE PROGRAMMING THAT CAN FIX SAID TRANS!!!!! It is ridiculous, asinine and TYPICAL BMW CRAP to not only include that in the CPO warranty, but not even require that all updates be completed to SELL IT AS A CPO CAR.

Typical, BMW crap.......so, give me more examples of how you have hid something to get it covered by warranty so I can bask in the glow of knowing we have screwed them as hard as they LOVE to screw us.

Finally: SHOUT OUT TO MY DEALER, who covered the reprogram for me. It wasn't the cost, but the principle (though the cost was NOT cheap). They didn't have to do this, it was not their problem, they were not the dealer that sold me the car, and they had every right to charge me. This dealership, THOMPSON BMW, is the reason I buy BMWs, because as much as I am obsessed with BMW, without a great dealer, you would be crazy to deal with BMW.

Cheers,
e46e92

good to hear it was sorted out, it took me 3 dealerships to find one that i could deal with... have been using them for over 3 years now!

Damn...rant on!

How much was the service in question?

Nine wrote

How much was the service in question?

To be honest, I don't know, all they said was it is not cheap (so my guess is $500+?), but it will show up on the service papers, so I can get back to you on that when they are done with the car.

Cheers,
e46e92

Its always good to have a good dealer... Shout to BMW of Houston North!

Whole lotta ranting going on

I'm sure if you had escalated within BMW NA, they eventually would have covered it. Still, disappointing they can't see the logic of covering it initially.

Not sure this is worth hating BMW over.

Singletrack wrote

I'm sure if you had escalated within BMW NA, they eventually would have covered it. Still, disappointing they can't see the logic of covering it initially.

Not sure this is worth hating BMW over.

Its the principle of the fact.....its them playing games. That is the point. I don't like companies that play games. My company is 100% honest, transparent, when we say something, its covered. PERIOD. None of our customers, vendors or partners ever have to ask twice about things, or read the fine print.

I don't hate the cars, I hate the company, been down many roads with them (I was one of the first ever built 335is in the country), don't even get me started on how they handled my HPFP issue......again, took the dealer doing something extraordinary before I even requested it or mentioned anything. They knew right away I was getting screwed. I didn't complain, but being without a car for almost 3-months? Please. BMW couldn't hit their ass with both hands when it comes to dealing with customers. Don't let the marketing videos and contests fool you.

Cheers,
e46e92

Hahahahaha @"Suck My White A**!"

...classic.

LMAO!!!

I did not expect to wake up to ass sucking this morning. Pretty intense.

I know what you mean, but it's great that you found a great dealer. The dealer and service has a lot to do with customer satisfaction, it's not just about the product. The dealership I go to now, BMW Seattle, is excellent (I didn't buy mine from them either). If it weren't for them, I would have probably looked elsewhere too.

I'm glad they did the right thing and took care of you.

SoTempted wrote

Hahahahaha @"Suck My White A**!"

...classic.

Was hoping someone would get a chuckle out of that and know where that came from:D

Cheers,
e46e92

hieu1004 wrote

I know what you mean, but it's great that you found a great dealer. The dealer and service has a lot to do with customer satisfaction, it's not just about the product. The dealership I go to now, BMW Seattle, is excellent (I didn't buy mine from them either). If it weren't for them, I would have probably looked elsewhere too.

I'm glad they did the right thing and took care of you.

It is not the first time on the forums that I have expressed the opinion (just never started a thread of an issue) that without a GREAT dealership to act as a buffer between you and BMW NA, the ownership experience will be more trouble then its worth.

Dealers get slammed a lot, and the bad ones deserve it. But the good ones deserve shout outs.

Cheers,
e46e92

Yeah, it would be nice if software updates were part of the certification process to get CPO'd -- or at least required if there are TSBs out on the car where the fix is to install a newer version than is currently in a given car.

Good job on your dealer for taking care of you, but honestly I think you went a little overboard on your rant given the relatively small cost by BMW standards. It's not like your transmission failed because of old software and now they wanted you to cover the replacement. And I don't really think this situation warrants use of the word "fraud".

Did you stop to think that writing a calm letter to BMWNA with this complaint and possible suggested change to the CPO requirements might be more effective than a thread with the title you chose?

jphughan wrote

Yeah, it would be nice if software updates were part of the certification process to get CPO'd -- or at least required if there are TSBs out on the car where the fix is to install a newer version than is currently in a given car.

Good job on your dealer for taking care of you, but honestly I think you went a little overboard on your rant given the relatively small cost by BMW standards. It's not like your transmission failed because of old software and now they wanted you to cover the replacement. And I don't really think this situation warrants use of the word "fraud".

Did you stop to think that writing a calm letter to BMWNA with this complaint and possible suggested change to the CPO requirements might be more effective than a thread with the title you chose?

You are 100% right, why didn't I think of that? A calm letter to BMW NA? Should have done that. In fact, I bet all of those M-DCT issues and HPFP all would have been dealt with completely differently if all of those affected had just written a calm letter to BMW NA......why they filed suit and had to file complaints with NTSB is beyond me, a simple pleasant letter to BMW NA would have taken care of everything.

Cheers,
e46e92

I bet you're really going to be pissed when you find out that a dead battery is also not covered under your CPO warranty...

e46e92love wrote

You are 100% right, why didn't I think of that? A calm letter to BMW NA? Should have done that. In fact, I bet all of those M-DCT issues and HPFP all would have been dealt with completely differently if all of those affected had just written a calm letter to BMW NA......why they filed suit and had to file complaints with NTSB is beyond me, a simple pleasant letter to BMW NA would have taken care of everything.

Cheers,
e46e92

Unless its a recall no programming is required. All recalls must be preformed before a vehicle can be sold. Not all service bulletins are covered by CPO unless stated on the bulletin itself. Generally radio, trim panels, maintenance items, rubber components, and software updates are not covered by CPO. The items are described in your contract which shows there is a $50 deductible. The CPO checklist should have been given to you at time of purchase which describes everything they check and do, software update is not one of them.

When you bring your vehicle in for service, the advisor will most likely give you an estimate for 1 hour of labor. ie $160

If the part is covered you pay $50. If its not you are accountable for diagnosis and charged the $160 or it's applied to the cost of the repair.

Most dealers charge 1 hour of labor for programming. So the cost of your repair if you paid for it would have been $160.

I know the CPO warranty is kind of complicated, but I can tell you from experience it's better than all the aftermarket ones that want to put used parts in your car.

e46e92love wrote  

Singletrack wrote

I'm sure if you had escalated within BMW NA, they eventually would have covered it. Still, disappointing they can't see the logic of covering it initially.

Not sure this is worth hating BMW over.

Its the principle of the fact.....its them playing games. That is the point. I don't like companies that play games. My company is 100% honest, transparent, when we say something, its covered. PERIOD. None of our customers, vendors or partners ever have to ask twice about things, or read the fine print.

I don't hate the cars, I hate the company, been down many roads with them (I was one of the first ever built 335is in the country), don't even get me started on how they handled my HPFP issue......again, took the dealer doing something extraordinary before I even requested it or mentioned anything. They knew right away I was getting screwed. I didn't complain, but being without a car for almost 3-months? Please. BMW couldn't hit their ass with both hands when it comes to dealing with customers. Don't let the marketing videos and contests fool you.

Cheers,
e46e92

I know what you went through with your 335iS... My x6 first got it, then my 335iS they gave me to replace it got it . Both happened under 5k miles. My dealership was about to go to war with me when I returned the car after the 3rd time it happened. Twice was on the high way and I was stuck. But opposite to you BMW NA came to the rescue and put my dealership in place.