BMW

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BMW • Airbags • "Certified, pre-owned" BMWs • Cooling fan failure • Flaming seats • Flooded trunk • Paint problems • Steering failure • Transmission problems • Warranties • BMW Financial Services • Miscellaneous problems • 740 Series • 740 cell phones --- News • BMW Owners Suffer Reversal of Fortune • BMW Plans Price Hike • Transmission Failures Plague BMW Owners • New BMW to Burn Hydrogen and Gasoline • Gay Automotive Website Takes on BMW

Big Money Wasted? We think that's going a little far. The BMW is a great car -- if you like high-strung racing cars in street garb. Unfortunately, lots of everyday consumers buy these things thinking that because they're expensive, they must be reliable and trouble-free, which is about as far from the truth as Stuttgart is from Santa Monica.

All cars require maintenance and high-performance cars require lots and lots of very expensive routine maintenance. Also they're notorious for being afflicted with all kinds of exotic problems. If you're really into cars, understand them and are willing to lavish time, money and attention on one, the BMW may be for you. If you're looking to raise your self-esteem by buying something really expensive, we recommend real estate.

A few of the more recent complaints ...

A of Apo Ae, OTHER March 24, 2008

William in Madrid Spain (03/24/08)
I am a US diplomat assigned to Spain. In 2005 I purchased a 2006 BMW 325i by ordering directly through BMW headquarters' Diplomatic Sales Division. The car was delivered from Bavaria to the local BMW dealership in Madrid, BMW Herranz. I took ownership in October 2005. In February 2008 I began to get a sensor light on the dashboard that indicated a problem with the steering wheel. Meanwhile, the car wouldn't start. I had to remove the fob, wait, and start again. I often repeated this procedure numerous times before the car would start. I took it into the Herranz dealership and had them look at it. Since it was time for a general tune up and oil change, I told them to do that too. I expected the steering column error to be fixed gratis. Boy was I in for a surprise. I was told the problem was a sensor that needed to be replaced and the software needed a reset. The total cost to me was about 850 euros or almost 1500. I argued that I bought the car through Diplomatic Sales with US specifications and that the US has a four-year warranty. But I was told rudely that in Spain the warranty expires in two years. In fact, that holds true throught the EU.

I am perplexed. I bought BMW only after a lot of research. I chose it in part because of its reputation. In fact, I shied away from Mercedes precisely because of similar problems that had been reported of late by Mercedes owners and the cavalier treatment that they had received from the company in reply. I note from some online research that this problem with the steering column sensor is not that rare, and I still believe that BMW should cover my costs. But I have been treated with what feels like contempt. I promise I will NEVER EVER buy another BMW, and I will make sure I get the word out to all my friends, family and acquaintances.

Bryan of Sylvania, OTHER March 20, 2008

Bryan of Sylvania, Australia (03/20/08)
I bought a new BMW hard top convertible last May (2007). The car mat on the drivers seat came loose causing it to get caught on the accelerator pedal causing me an accident. BMW Australia have said that they have not had any other complaints. I want to put the word out there to other BMW owners and ask am I the only one? Toyota had this problem with their mats and recalled them.

Patrick of Alden, NY March 19, 2008

Patrick of Alden NY (03/19/08)
2006 325i, rear pinior seal went at 34000 miles. My 1995 camery with 212000 has eld up better then this piece of junk.

Hisham of Sacramento, CA March 18, 2008

Hisham of Sacramento CA (03/18/08)
within the first week of owning my 2007 brand new BMW m6 my clutch went out completely, it happened when shifting from first gear to second gear, the clutch got stuck in side and when it came back out it was super lose, i took it to niello on Fulton ave in Sacramento ca, a disrespectful person by the name hanz kept trying to get me to sign a work order for a new clutch in the amount of 2000, this car had under 1000mi on it at the time BTW, so asked to speak to the manager who is joe Detrick, he said its probubly my fault why the clutch went out but if i had bought the car from him then he would have fixed it no questions asked, anyways that night i had it towed to stevens creek bmw which is where i bought it from they fixed it, about 3 months later i start the car and the check engine light comes on and says low oil and to stop carefully and avoid driving the car all together, so i calll around and find out the oil for this car is 28 a quart so i call service in the new elk grove bmw which is also owned by niello, eric gomez is my service specialist i tell him the situation and he says hey just bring it in, so i tell him the what happened at the other niello and he assures me that he would never do that to me and that elk grove niello will take care of me, also the reverse lights dont work, about a week into it they fix the reverse lights and but cant get the reading of low oil pressure to go away, they put new switches and got new tools from the east coast to test it out, about 3 weeks in they find out a chain is broken in the engine and the finger pointing starts, eric asks me how far was the car towed because it could be the drives fault i assured him my car is manual and was in neutral as the car was pulled up the flat bed, not an automatic in park mode, so then it takes another week to get a specialist to fly in from LA to tell them how to fix the car, a week later from that time eric calls me and says that the engineer/specialist concluded that it was my fault the chain broke and that i over revved the engine first for nine minutes then he changed it to nine seconds which is equally absurd, because first of all theres a governor on the rev limiter and also i never drove that car hard ever since the clutch went out, i was infact scared to push that car past 4000 rpms and it has a redline of 8250, iranoutofspacetotype

Jamie of Commack, NY February 28, 2008

Jamie of Commack NY (02/28/08)
I have a 330 bmw that comes with equiped with RUN FLAT TIRES for 31 months that i bought from RALLEYE BMW in NY. in this time i have had 24 flat tires at 450 per tire. They told me it must be my fault because there is no problem with the tires that I have. Anyway after spending almost 10,000 and going there 1 time per month to get a loaner and get my tire place i came across this! http://www.lemonlaws.com/2007/06/kabob_files_class_action_alleg_1.html

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