My 2007 335i... my first BMW, probably my last

[Threxx]

To preface this thread, this is partially me venting but also venting for the good of making a record of some of the issues I've had so if anybody else experiences similar issues they can compare notes.

I understand some people just get unlucky but that doesn't change how annoyed I am with BMW and my local dealer's ability to fix issues on the first try

I've had my car for 11 months, 10k miles so far and here's my service list off the top of my head, in chronological order:

-Bluetooth connectivity hasn't worked reliably since day 1. I can talk but other functions are very slow or don't work at all, for example hanging up... I have to either hang up on my phone itself, or wait for the other person to hang up (not an option when leaving a voice mail). Dealer blamed this on the phone saying my Treo 700w (windows mobile) wasn't supported. Seriously?? Then my new phone, a Verizon/HTC xv6800 w/ WM 6, recently upgraded to 6.1 does the same thing.
-Bad vibrating/flapping noise from driver's side speaker, door disassembled and problem fixed
-Sunroof pinch protection sensor fails, sunroof will no longer open
-Moisture constantly accumulated on my driver's side door sill. Go to the dealer, am told moisture is normal despite the fact that none of my other doors do this. They fix the sunroof though
-At this point somebody makes a left in front of me at an intersection and while the impact couldn't have been at more than 10 mph, both airbags deploy (our face didn't even touch them... that's how light the impact was) and the bill is $14,680. The car takes just under two full months for the dealer to finish as they apparently keep finding little things that aren't quite right and then tell me it takes 2-3 weeks to get in parts from Germany. Had this been, I dunno, a Chevy Malibu, I bet this wreck would have tallied 1/5th the cost to fix and been done in 2 weeks tops. When I finally get the car back from the dealer the headlights are fixed as far downward pointing as they'll go. Somebody forgot to tell the computer to adjust the height like normal I guess. To my surprise this is not treated like a significant issue despite the fact that during night time driving I can see all of 15-20 feet ahead of my car... so bad that I can't do over 20 without out-driving my lights at night.
-Accumulating moisture problem ends up leading to a small flood in my footwell during a heavy rain. Dealer finally agrees there's a problem. Turns out the vapor seal wasn't reinstalled correctly from the vibration issue
-Get the car back from being fixed for my mini flood and the door won't open from the inside. I have to roll the window down and grab the exterior handle to get out. Car goes back to the dealer to be reassembled
-Now there's a constant rattle from the door, though at least no leak and I can get out normally. I've decided to not even mention it to them... I'm just afraid of what will get broken when this gets fixed
-Car has squeaky brake issue that is apparently pretty common. It's currently in the shop for the second time for this issue
-Also in the shop for a supposed software update that will fix the warning that keeps coming up on my car showing a car up on a mechanic's lift and turns my brake light on (apparently my rear brakes indicate that they have 397,000 miles of life left on them!)
-Front suspension now making a noise over bumps and steering pops a bit when turning at low speed. I was just going to ignore this one too because it's a lease and I'm sick of dealing with it, but the service advisor noticed it and suggested they look at it
-Radio display looks messed up when the car has been sitting out in the sun... very dim vertical lines with normal vertical lines alternating back and forth... like a zebra effect, until the AC has been cooling the inside of the car down for at least 30 minutes.
-One of my subs has started clipping with certain types of bass... if it doesn't get worse, I just won't mention it.
-Quite a few rattles, especially over bumps... not acceptible to me in a 47k dollar car. But I'm sure not going to mention any of those.

Keep in mind I'm not even at the 1 year mark of ownership... er, "leasorship"... hopefully the second year of my two year lease is far less eventful.

Again, sorry I just had to vent. You know I feel bad too. I'm an odds guy... I understand how statistics work. I understand that if JD Power says the average owner of my car has 1.5 problems in the first 90 days and another 1.5 in the next 3 years that while I'm bringing that average up and there's probably a couple of you out there without a single issue bringing the average right back down. I just hate the fact that I had to be that guy.

[aftp302]

Originally Posted by Threxx

Again, sorry I just had to vent. You know I feel bad too. I'm an odds guy... I understand how statistics work. I understand that if JD Power says the average owner of my car has 1.5 problems in the first 90 days and another 1.5 in the next 3 years that while I'm bringing that average up and there's probably a couple of you out there without a single issue bringing the average right back down. I just hate the fact that I had to be that guy.

Sorry to hear about your woes. It sucks, I know. I think I was "that guy" for my '02 Mercedes C230. I had it in the shop like 20+ times in the first 2 years of ownership (and I bought the car). I must have been the outlier that was really messing up the quality statistics on that car, although Mercedes quality numbers haven't been so hot across the board lately. The good news is that in years 3-5 I had virtually no problems with it. Of course by that time they'd already replaced most of the car (engine, clutch, transmission, instrument cluster, blah, blah, blah).

All the problems with that car (and this being year 1 for the turbo engine) is what drove me to lease my 335i. I wanted to make sure I could get out of it earlier (and unscathed) than through a traditional purchase. As it turns out I have had little to no issues with my 335i and I am going on 20 months of ownership. Love it so much I might just buy it at lease-end.

Good luck and I hope that year 2 is less eventful for you!

[TeaRoy]

Ouch

[Beer Goggles]

One of the great things about a lease. Hopefully you didn't lease it for over 36 months.

I've had a few annoyances, like most cars, but overall I really like my 335. Don't know if I'll go for another one, there are too many cars I'd like to drive.

[jibaholic101]

did you buy the car new??

your dealership should cover all this. the car is obviously a lemon. get bmw AG to take the car back and give you a new one.
this is unheard of

[mbimmoor]

I think your sub is causing the rattles. :rollseyes:

Honestly, from my brief skimming it sounds somewhat self inflicted incidents e.g. getting in an accident (BMWs don't drive themselves - yet). I would love to see what was done for the car for 14g at a 10mph crash.

Good luck with the car.

[Threxx]

Originally Posted by jibaholic101

did you buy the car new??

your dealership should cover all this. the car is obviously a lemon. get bmw AG to take the car back and give you a new one.
this is unheard of

Yep... new... and yes it's all being covered by the dealership. I'm hopeful that this is it but if this continues I might escalate the issue. Actually I probably would have long ago if it wasn't for the fact that this is a 24 month lease and BMW gives out loaners.

Originally Posted by mbimmoor

I think your sub is causing the rattles. :rollseyes:

If the factory harman kardon subs are causing the rattles then BMW might want to fix that issue. That's all I have, nothing aftermarket on the car at all.

Honestly, from my brief skimming it sounds somewhat self inflicted incidents e.g. getting in an accident (BMWs don't drive themselves - yet). I would love to see what was done for the car for 14g at a 10mph crash.

Self inflicted? Maybe dealer inflicted but that's about it.

None of the issues I mentioned were caused by the wreck except the headlight issue which wasn't caused by the wreck so much as it just wasn't set back up correctly (computer adjustment was all that was required to fix it). The only reason I even mentioned it is because of how disgusted I was with a ~10mph wreck causing 14k in damage and taking 2 months to fix. Plus the lack of priority put on fixing lights that were dangerously short range for night time driving.

If you're really that curious to see the summary of damage, I've got a scanned copy of the repair summary. But to be honest you sound less interested in a good natured way and more skeptical in a sour grapes sorta way... so you may not really care that much anyway.

[5series213]

wow, im sorry to hear that.

my 03 hasnt given me much problems. maybe yours was a fluke.

[1995M3LTW]

Originally Posted by Threxx

None of the issues I mentioned were caused by the wreck except the headlight issue which wasn't caused by the wreck so much as it just wasn't set back up correctly (computer adjustment was all that was required to fix it). The only reason I even mentioned it is because of how disgusted I was with a ~10mph wreck causing 14k in damage and taking 2 months to fix. Plus the lack of priority put on fixing lights that were dangerously short range for night time driving.

If you're really that curious to see the summary of damage, I've got a scanned copy of the repair summary. But to be honest you sound less interested in a good natured way and more skeptical in a sour grapes sorta way... so you may not really care that much anyway.

In defense of MBIMMOOR (correct?), I am sorry that your 335i is not a POS Chevy Malibu, some cars are held on with more then tape and gum. Also, I am calling BS on 14k in damage, unless that includes the other drivers car also. As to the 2 months to fix, you have a valid point there.

As to all the issues, I am truly sorry man. It seems you got a bad piece of the pie. I know for a fact that my dad loves his and he has had 0!! problems. BMW's are not for everyone. Hopefully your car will straighten up for the rest of your lease!

[Threxx]

Originally Posted by 1995M3LTW

In defense of MBIMMOOR (correct?), I am sorry that your 335i is not a POS Chevy Malibu, some cars are held on with more then tape and gum. Also, I am calling BS on 14k in damage, unless that includes the other drivers car also. As to the 2 months to fix, you have a valid point there.

Have you sat in a new Malibu? They're actually really well made. One of my coworkers has an 08 Saturn Aura (closely related car) and I'm truly impressed by it. Granted it's a snooze to drive but in terms of quality it is at least as well put together as my 335i.

I should have specified I was going about 10 and the other driver was going about 10 as well... they hit me on the driver's corner of my car doing light exterior damage to everything from the headlight to the quarter panel and wheel. It really didn't look bad when I got out to look. I was shocked to see the bill afterward.

[Threxx]

This bill was 12k... there was some extra stuff on a different bill that I didn't scan. I really don't remember at this point exactly what the other bill was since insurance covered it all (I was not at fault)

Here ya go, though... for what it's worth. You can see what everything cost to replace and how much stuff had to be replaced for a very low impact wreck.


OK it says I can't post links so copy and paste this to your browser:

picasaweb.google.com/threxx/335iWreck#

[jibaholic101]

escalate it now. this is absurd. i would get in touch with bmw north america and make them give you a new car for the remaining part of your lease

[DrivinCrazE]

I only feel about 5% bad for you. Why dont you go through lemon law on the car? You could easily get out of all this. Maybe you are into S&M and like all the pain you are going through. Its sad to hear that you cant stand BMW's etc, as you havent driven a real one. If I were you I would stop feeling sorry for myself and do something. Complain when they shoot you down, until then you're really not a victim.

[jibaholic101]

Originally Posted by DrivinCrazE

I only feel about 5% bad for you. Why dont you go through lemon law on the car? You could easily get out of all this. Maybe you are into S&M and like all the pain you are going through. Its sad to hear that you cant stand BMW's etc, as you havent driven a real one. If I were you I would stop feeling sorry for myself and do something. Complain when they shoot you down, until then you're really not a victim.

+1, dont sit around and play abused. get aggressive against them.

[Threxx]

Originally Posted by DrivinCrazE

I only feel about 5% bad for you. Why dont you go through lemon law on the car? You could easily get out of all this. Maybe you are into S&M and like all the pain you are going through. Its sad to hear that you cant stand BMW's etc, as you havent driven a real one. If I were you I would stop feeling sorry for myself and do something. Complain when they shoot you down, until then you're really not a victim.

How have I not driven a real BMW?

Last I've heard lemon laws require problems that are debilitating to the car - as in leaving me stranded and/or a problem that recurs at least 3-4 times in a row. So far nothing has me those qualifications. Then again I might not understand the law correctly... I think it varies from state to state.

[Avalon08]

Threxx, read the lemon law for your state and see if your car meets the criteria. I know it sucks having all those little (or big) annoyances on a car that costs so much. But in re-reading your list, it doesn't sound like any of the problems are true serious drive-ability issues....well, except for the headlight issue, which wouldn't have occurred if it weren't for the accident. You'll either have to pursue the lemon law or just put up with it for another year. You're fortunate it's only a 24-month lease. Sorry to hear you're not enjoying your BMW though.

[DrivinCrazE]

Originally Posted by Threxx

How have I not driven a real BMW?

Last I've heard lemon laws require problems that are debilitating to the car - as in leaving me stranded and/or a problem that recurs at least 3-4 times in a row. So far nothing has me those qualifications. Then again I might not understand the law correctly... I think it varies from state to state.

you havent driven a real one, bc you have a lemon. you are only partially right with lemon laws. if you have a set of problems, but all different that will also qualify. At a minimum, call BMWNA and push for something. Lemon law or not, they could do something. Since you havent tried, stop complaining. When they say get lost after you really make your case, then come back here!

[Threxx]

Originally Posted by DrivinCrazE

you havent driven a real one, bc you have a lemon. you are only partially right with lemon laws. if you have a set of problems, but all different that will also qualify. At a minimum, call BMWNA and push for something. Lemon law or not, they could do something. Since you havent tried, stop complaining. When they say get lost after you really make your case, then come back here!

What would you suggest I push for? I sure don't think I'd get a brand new car out of it so what else would BMWNA be likely to do for me? Discount on my lease payment? That sounds a little odd too... but hey I'll try for it if you guys think it's a possibility.

[LuvMyE92]

From what I've read here, you've had a couple of minor problems that have all been made much worse by a bad dealer or a bad mechanic. The wreck was not BMWs fault, but the long repair time was obviously the fault of the shop, and contributed somewhat by BMW taking a while to get the parts. In my experience though, I can get special-order parts within a week. So I'm not sure what's up with that.

Your trials remind me of my first BMW. It was a nightmare as well.

Start with the dealership. Begin with the service manager, let him review all the work that's been done on your car. Tell him "I will bring the car to you next week. I want everything fixed. I want you, personally, to verify that everything has been fixed. I do not want to come back here ever again for any of these problems." Be nice, but be firm. Be professional and mature. Give him a nice, complete list of every little thing that's wrong with the car. Leave nothing out. You paid a lot of money for the car, you deserve to have it all fixed and working.

If they are unable or unwilling to fix the car to your satisfaction, then you should contact BMW and take it from there.

[Bandit335]

Your car does sound like it's a lemon. I'm surprised you haven't taken the lemon route. In most states it's enough to satisfy the lemon requirement if the car spends a total of 30 days in the shop during the first year (obviously not including the accident. BTW if you were going 10mph and the other guy 10mph and hit each other head on that makes it a 20mph impact. I'm sure if the airbags didn't deploy and you got hurt, then you'd be the first one to cry foul and sue.) Again, even if you don't qualify ( as a lemon) BMW may do something for you anyway. Instead of whining and second guessing everything, DO SOMETHING about it. I just turned 10k on my 335i and no problems yet.

[Wineman]

You guys are brutal on this guy, sheesh lighten up. While I agree that the best advice is be stronger and try to get what you can get, he's here asking for advice, not abuse. So, Mr. Threexx look at your state's lemon laws, even contact an attorney; here in California there are some that specialize and will look your case over for free to see if you have a case. Then work BMW for whatever you can get.

[Critter7r]

This isn't necessarily aimed at the OP, but quite a few times throughout this thread I read something to the effect of "you/I/we/he/she/they paid a lot of money for this car and .... blah blah blah .... " and then go on to say how they can't wait till the LEASE IS OVER!! Well, if you're leasing the car, you didn't pay $40K or $75K for the car, you put down two grand and pay $600 a month or whatever it is. Had the car been paid for in full and THEN started having all these problems, we'd all feel much worse. Anyhow, just bitchin'....


To the OP: you can go to the dealer and try to get them to cover a lease payment for you. If your car's been in for repairs for a lot of days (not including the collision repair), your delaer may be able to get BMW to reimbuse you for a month's payment. Not earth-shattering, but a little something to ease the pain. Just go to your delaer and start lamenting about how much time your car's spent in the shop and casually hint around about how "there must be something BMW can do to make this right, me having my car in for repairs so much, maybe cover a month's payment or something...". You'd be surprised how often it happens.

[Bandit335]

I agree. Also, you can't be surprised that people get harsh when the guy says "it's the first and last that I'm buying a bimmer" implying that bmw is a piece of crap.

I certainly feel his pain, but then the way to go about it is to solve it head on.

[Critter7r]

Wow... $1924 for replacing 2 seat belts, the BST cable and the dash panel, and that's just the labor! The dash panel and airbags were another $2300!! An $1100 headlamp assembly and nearly $400 in towing.... I guess that's why there are passenger seat occupancy detectors. They ought to come up with a way that the dash doesn't need to bereplaced just because the passenger air bag goes off. And why'd they replace a rear control arm? Sloppy tow-truck driver tied it down at the wrong location, eh?

[Critter7r]

Originally Posted by Bandit335

I agree. Also, you can't be surprised that people get harsh when the guy says "it's the first and last that I'm buying a bimmer" implying that bmw is a piece of crap.

I certainly feel his pain, but then the way to go about it is to solve it head on.

So to speak....