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BMW Paint

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Jennifer of Sacramento (5/23/01):
I purchased a new, red BMW 328I in 1996 from the Walnut Creek, CA BMW dealership. Over the last 5 years, the car has been driven 75,000 miles (15,000 miles per year - hardly excessive). I have taken excellent care of the car, and almost everyone who has ever worked on it has said the same thing. The car is garaged when I'm not driving it, the maintenance is up to date, and I get it washed and waxed regularly.

However, over the past six months, I have noticed that the paint has begun to fade and peel in certain spots. I've consulted two auto detailing experts about this problem, and both of them have said that this is an unusual problem with a BMW and indicates a flaw in the original paint job. They suggested that I take the car back to BMW and request that BMW repair the damage.

I took my car to the Stevens Creek BMW dealership in Santa Clara, CA, because that is where I have my car serviced. The customer service manager recognized that there was a problem with the paint, and asked the detail manager to try to buff out the blemished paint. That technique proved ineffective, so they said that they would have to have a BMW Corporate manager look at the car to get special permission to repair the paint damage. The BMW Corporate manager denied the request, saying that the car was out-of-warranty and over mileage and that the problem was mine to deal with. To add insult to injury, they scratched my existing paint finish as they were trying to buff out the damaged paint. They have so far been unresponsive to my requests for remediation.

I am furious! The reason I bought a BMW was to get a car that would hold up well over time. I wanted a car that I could keep for 10+ years and that would hold its value. Instead, I ended up with a car that's no better than a Chevrolet. Had I known that, I would have saved myself the money and just bought the Chevy. For a company that claims to be so customer service oriented, I am very disappointed by BMW's unwillingness to correct a flaw in the original paint job. Now, I am stuck with an expensive car that isn't worth a dime unless I spring for an expensive new paint job. I am so angry! They have lost a customer. Not only will I never purchase a BMW again, I will also never recommend BMW again to my family or friends.

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