[cruvon]

Hi, just reposting under the Australia section, didn't know you'll were around

***BMW Australia***
Hi, I have had the ABS light display intermittently on my car which is a 2006 320i E90 here in Sydney, Australia which has done only about 35,000kms. The ABS light kept going on and off. The bad part is that the ABS light came on for a while and then reset itself to normal before my warranty ran out, so I thought the problem had fixed itself and didn't bother to take it into the dealership during warranty. As soon as my warranty expired the problem came again as if it was programmed to do so. Stop the car and reverse a bit and the ABS light would go off again so guess another problem with their error sensors too.
Took the car for it's due service last week(didn't take it earlier because they would charge me hundreds just to do a computer reading of the fault and they do it anyway during servicing) and was informed that the ABS pump was faulty and that BMW had agreed to replace the part for free as a goodwill gesture, which was good. However the dealership slapped me with a $500+ installation charge for putting in the ABS pump. not to forget the additional $800 regular service charge. To make it even tougher a 1 day service took 6 days to complete since BMW shipped the dealership the wrong part. The dealership did lend me a 1 series hatchback after a few days so that I had some wheels to travel on.

By me, though I know was a bit silly of me for trusting BMW's fault reporting equipment when the ABS message went off during warranty and not taking in the car earlier, I think in the first place

1) an ABS unit shouldn't have gone faulty after less than 3 years and just 30-35,000kms.
2) secondly the error display mechanism shouldn't have reset itself on and off because of which I missed out on taking the car to BMW during the warranty period.
3) A $500+ installation charge by the dealership should have been waived as goodwill and claimed from BMW possibly considering the circumstances and quality of that ABS unit and the error sensors??

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Wonder if BMW would consider reimbursing the dealership installation cost too after all the bad experiences I had though is good they considerate and do goodwill replacements of faulty equipment, had no success requesting the dealership to waive the installation charges when spoke to them yesterday.

[mat320i]

Originally Posted by cruvon

Hi, just reposting under the Australia section, didn't know you'll were around

***BMW Australia***
Hi, I have had the ABS light display intermittently on my car which is a 2006 320i E90 here in Sydney, Australia which has done only about 35,000kms. The ABS light kept going on and off. The bad part is that the ABS light came on for a while and then reset itself to normal before my warranty ran out, so I thought the problem had fixed itself and didn't bother to take it into the dealership during warranty. As soon as my warranty expired the problem came again as if it was programmed to do so. Stop the car and reverse a bit and the ABS light would go off again so guess another problem with their error sensors too.
Took the car for it's due service last week(didn't take it earlier because they would charge me hundreds just to do a computer reading of the fault and they do it anyway during servicing) and was informed that the ABS pump was faulty and that BMW had agreed to replace the part for free as a goodwill gesture, which was good. However the dealership slapped me with a $500+ installation charge for putting in the ABS pump. not to forget the additional $800 regular service charge. To make it even tougher a 1 day service took 6 days to complete since BMW shipped the dealership the wrong part. The dealership did lend me a 1 series hatchback after a few days so that I had some wheels to travel on.

By me, though I know was a bit silly of me for trusting BMW's fault reporting equipment when the ABS message went off during warranty and not taking in the car earlier, I think in the first place

1) an ABS unit shouldn't have gone faulty after less than 3 years and just 30-35,000kms.
2) secondly the error display mechanism shouldn't have reset itself on and off because of which I missed out on taking the car to BMW during the warranty period.
3) A $500+ installation charge by the dealership should have been waived as goodwill and claimed from BMW possibly considering the circumstances and quality of that ABS unit and the error sensors??

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Wonder if BMW would consider reimbursing the dealership installation cost too after all the bad experiences I had though is good they considerate and do goodwill replacements of faulty equipment, had no success requesting the dealership to waive the installation charges when spoke to them yesterday.

It all depends on the dealer really. Depends if they are interested in return business or not. Most dealers understand you look after the customer they look after you. Obviously your dealer is only out to screw their customers out of any penny. You would assume if BMW are supplying the parts then the labour should be covered. Unfortunately this is not the case here.

Id just say to them that you were up until this point considering an upgrade at some point this year since you car is over 3 years old but because of poor treatment from the dealer you wont be going through them and see what they say

[cruvon]

Hi mat320i, I felt the same way too, BMW acknowledges a fault one side and agree to give me the part for free to maintain the goodwill and then the dealership slaps me with a huge installation charge. It's funny, when we go buy a new car or get it serviced the dealerships make it seem like the authorised dealership and BMW are one and the same with the same set of values and customer goodwill, tightly intertwined, but when there are problems they suddenly turn into two different entities blaming each other and who have two different sets of values when it comes to customer goodwill.
Btw I did consider a upgrade too and let them know but they still wouldn't agree to waive the installation charge citing the extra hours spent in BMW sending them the wrong part, etc, maybe a case of being penny wise pound foolish, I sure have my doubts about going in for an upgrade at all now.

[johnnydad]

I wonder which technician did the work, how long it took, and what his wage is. I doubt it is $125 an hour.

Maybe approach it from the angle that the dealership is actually profiting from your misfortune while BMW Australia have indicated that there is a part that really should not be faulty.

Then again they might ask you to reimburse them $88 a day for the loan car.....

[cruvon]

Tried that too johnnydad, they made it look like that they were poorer than me and that they really need to charge me or else all their mechanics would go hungry,lol...did yours say they charge you $88 on rental, is it for a 1 series? I think this ones cheaper on the rental at $28 for a 1 series though I wasn't charged for mine few days had it.

[dtlv8]

Given bmw's prestige image, that's a very ordinary service experience cruvon from your particular dealership. Maybe try another dealership next time. I normally service my car at Trivette in Parrra. They seem to be ok sofar.
On the abs issue. The abs unit should last as long as the car itself. So it's (very) unusual for it to give up the ghost so early at just 30k. The abs unit is made by bosch i think not bmw.

[johnnydad]

Not usually charged for loan cars at present by my dealer.

I should add, I have been extremely impressed by the service costs and standard so far although I'm of course still under warranty.

[MFKN3]

If the problem occured during warranty and BMW were made aware of it, then it should still be honoured if they mis-diagnosed.

But, if you didn't notify them while it was under warranty, I think your resolution was fair. You are correct though that it is lousy to pay all this money for a premium car to have parts fall apart. You can expect better from a hyundai these days!

[cruvon]

Hi xsboost, legally speaking, well, they might have been within their bounds to not replace the part or giving me a free part replacement service outside warranty inspite of the unique circumstances. Note that the indicators set off the ABS light alarm for a while and then reset to normal around the time the warranty was due to expire, misling me into not rushing to claim warranty because of the indicator reseting to normal, also there may have been instances both during and after warranty when there might have been a safety risk to me when the ABS light showed no fault when infact the ABS might not have been operating at all.
But from a customer goodwill point and BMW advertising itself as a quality concious company, if BMW agreed that the ABS shouldn't fail at just 30-35,000kms, and went ahead to rectify the problem and gave me the part for free outside warranty, then I would have expected them to also ensure that it was installed at no charge instead of taking advantage of this misfortune. I appreciate them for their show of goodwill to replace the faulty part but charging me that high for the installation was surely a downer. I think any company or dealership that is outstanding would not go by the contents of the law but by the spirit of the law set out in their warranty clauses to ensure their customers remain happy and are repeat customers, the contents of the law set out in warranty paperwork is only a guide to the minimum standard required of any Tom and Harry organisation but I would expect much higher standards from BMW, that's what we pay them a premium price for.

[MFKN3]

I agree mate.

If they confirmed that it was a problem at their end, you would expect as a BMW owner that their customer homage would extend to labour as well. I'd imagine $500 would cover their labour plus some...

The big question is, did BMW diagnose the car when the ABS light was playing up? If they did then I would certainly be battling this out with them on the basis of poor diagnosis and faulty pump.

Knowing what stealerships are like though, I'd hate to say unless you're keen to get lawyers involved, I wouldn't hold your breath.

[bcoz]

Originally Posted by cruvon

Btw I did consider a upgrade too and let them know but they still wouldn't agree to waive the installation charge citing the extra hours spent in BMW sending them the wrong part, etc, maybe a case of being penny wise pound foolish, I sure have my doubts about going in for an upgrade at all now.

Any extra hours spent in BMW sending them the wrong part should be neither here nor there, as I don't think they would have charged you for such a mistake. Hypothetically, even if they spent a whole day putting in an incorrect part, then spent another day removing it, then that is their problem, not the customers. They are after all, supposed to be trained technicians/mechanics.

If you haven't already done so, you should go through the entire service receipts for the car since it was bought (I assume you still have these), and look for anything that mentions ABS. It's possible that as part of their proactive diagnoses/safety checks they may have picked up a fault in the ABS while it was still under warranty. If there was any ABS related fault recorded on your service receipt (even if they fixed it at the time), then that would be a smoking gun.

[cruvon]

to your question xboost, the ABS light played up only once for a while just before the warranty expired and then set itself to normal, so made me think was a once off and so didn't take it in for a diagnosis. As soon as the warranty expired, it started it's hide and seek act. Maybe when the car is hooked on to their diagnosis computer, it shows them the error history, about when the error first flashed etc., anyone know anything about the BMW computer or software though is immaterial now.
On hindsight, wish I had rushed into the dealership everytime I noticed a little problem and treated everything as CRITICAL and an enginebreaker; but unfortunately have my regular work to do and investing a little extra in BMW reliability I thought I had nothing to worry about.
Looking at something positive to say, atleast the car, like in the recent Toyota debacle didn't self accelerate and do something stupid endangering my self existence inspite of a faulty ABS.
Lol, I like the word "stealerships"

[cruvon]

true bcoz!
will have to look at those receipts

[cruvon]

Just received this email from BMW with a very apt heading "Your BMW experience is about to get even better" wanting feedback about my experience with my recent service, thought hopefully they listen when I reply..filled 69% of the survey and then says "General Error, Please contact technical support", not again!!! ..maybe will just post to their email address
************************************************** ********

Your BMW experience is about to get even better.
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|info@bmw.com.au to me
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Dear XXXX

We hope you and your BMW 320i enjoyed your recent visit to XXXXX.

Maintaining your BMW experience is very important to us. We invest in the highest quality tools and training to ensure your BMW receives the very best care. But we know that it's the little things that really count. That's why we would appreciate you taking a few minutes to tell us how we can continue to improve our service to you, and your BMW.



We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Yours sincerely

Ken Petrony
General Manager - Aftersales
BMW Group Australia



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This email has been sent to you from BMW Group Australia,
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[cruvon]

Found the bug, has an option like

"Did you manage to resolve the issue with your dealer
with Options A) Yes B) No

Select
B)No to say Not Resolved,
click on NExt and get Error "General Error, Please contact technical support",

Resolution: Go back and select "A)Yes to mean issue resolved and it works..thankfully there were text fields I could type info in, filled the form and hopefully hear from them!!

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by dtlv8

Given bmw's prestige image, that's a very ordinary service experience cruvon from your particular dealership. Maybe try another dealership next time. I normally service my car at Trivette in Parrra. They seem to be ok sofar.
On the abs issue. The abs unit should last as long as the car itself. So it's (very) unusual for it to give up the ghost so early at just 30k. The abs unit is made by bosch i think not bmw.

True dtlv8. Don't want say which dealership it is since hoping BMW resolves this, Obviously it's not the money at stake so much as the slightly trampled feeling I have got from this experience that bothers me.

[mark325]

I brought up my Oil consumption issue before warranty was up, and about a week after warranty had ended was when all the crap hit the fan. They did my engine replacement, labor, loan car and follow up to replace my rear main and sump gasket all covered. Didn't hand over a cent.

[cruvon]

Finally got a call from BMW (from a blocked number) after I replied to their mail titled "Your BMW experience is about to get even better" wanting feedback about my experience with my recent service...Told them about my above experience and why I thought they should refund the installation charges too after both the ABS unit and the failure indicators played up during warranty causing me to get the vehicle in later when the next service was due and also the fact that when I took the vehicle in for servicing after warranty, the indicators showed no fault with the ABS.
While they showed some empathy about the faulty ABS they replaced as goodwill and the fact that it could have been a life threathening situation if the ABS failed intermittently without indicating a fault, they said they wouldn't refund me the installation charges the dealership charged, so that's only half a goodwill as far as I am concerned,

Thanks BMW, I am definetely not upgrading to another BMW as I was earlier thinking of till your vehicles get more reliable and you understand your customers better, in line with justifying your premium, though I will consider keeping the current one a few more years as a reciprocated half hearted goodwill gesture to your thoughtfullness while I upgrade to something more reliable!!!

[VGR00]

Car ownership always has a love and hate sides to ownership. While I understand where you are coming from, it's just unfrortunate the you didn't take it in while still under warrenty or even at least sent the SA an email advising of the issue. Had you done this, there would of been no issue with it being covered.

When talking reliability, you need to remember that a car is made up of so many mechanical peices which come from a lot of different manufactures. Add to this the ever increasing electronics. The most reliable car I've owned was the E30 323i which never had a warrenty claim however with each newer and more technically able car BMW has released, I have had more and more trips to the dealer. Having said that, the E90 LCI I have at the moment has been issue free where my first E90 had probably 4 trips to the dealer in the first 6 months.

I've also had a lot of other brands in between and along side my BMW's and one thing I can vouch for from my experiance is how well BMW handle warrenty claims compared to other manufactures. Lets not forget that a 3 year warrenty is "3 Years" and anything that happens outside of that is bad luck. The fact that BMW did cover the part under goodwill I think shows good form on their part.

[johnnydad]

Cruvon, doesn't look like you will get anywhere perhaps? Maybe focus on the fact that you still have recieved a free ABS sensor and free loan car nearly 12 months after your warranty expired, treat yourself to a bargain set of stunning M-sport wheels (with tyres that alone are worth $1870 RRP) and put a bit more effort into cleaning them .