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BMW Reviews

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Pros
  • Excellent performance and handling
  • High-quality interior materials
  • Good resale value over time
Cons
  • High maintenance and repair costs
  • Frequent electrical issues reported
  • Limited rear seat space

BMW Reviews

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    Page 8 Reviews 830 - 980

    Reviewed Sept. 6, 2010

    1) When ever I have a problem with my car I have to reserve a date after my reservation call with a minimum of ten days. Nevertheless, after these ten days they cancel the reservation with no previous notice or they only repair half the technical problems and oblige me to return back when they are free due to high traffic of customers (which is a permanent case). Moreover, I have to wait a minimum of 90 minutes to only agree to take the car.

    2)According to the warranty policy of the car, any services or maintenance during the first 2 years or until 100k KM should be included in the warranty and I shouldn't pay extra fees. This was not the case I paid various items that I shouldn't have paid. e.g. (Break maintenance and AC filter, etc...)

    Based on my work nature (Construction Engineer). I constantly need my car to be able rotate between my different working places(rural areas with no means of transportation available). And due to the above mentioned case, I wasn't able to best utilize my time which had a great impact on the quality and quantity of my work leading to great financial loses to the extent that I thought of selling my car to be able to cover the loses caused by simple carelessness of the agents of BMW in Egypt putting in mind the obligation I consider on the regional BMW for giving the agency to such low quality performers and leaving the brand name of BMW to loose its unique identity as a car for a first class customer

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    Reviewed Sept. 5, 2010

    While stationed in Wiesbaden Germany, I purchased a 1990 525 and was very impressed with the quality and performance of the car. I began to look at purchasing new BMW while overseas. After returning from Iraq in late 2006, I spoke with Pentagon Car Sales and ultimately ordered a 2008 335i Coupe in August 2007. The car was to be delivered in January 2008. Well, that time came, no car, the delivery date was pushed back to March 2008, then April 2008.

    In mid April 2008, I was notified that they needed an additional $200 to cover the active cruise control which was $2400, not $2200 as invoiced. I finally took delivery date April 2008. After driving the car for about a week I noticed it pulled to the left. I was directed to take to Karl & Son BMW in Mainz Kastel (Germany). They checked and said there was nothing wrong and charged me 150 euro (approximately $200), because there was no fault found.

    I then PCSd (permanent change of station) to Fort Gordon, GA in late May 2008. My vehicle was shipped and received mid July 2008. Again, I noticed it still pulled to the left. I took the vehicle to the local BMW Dealer (Taylor BMW, Augusta, GA). They checked the alignment, wheels and tires, found that the alignment was off and that the left front tire was also defective. They performed an alignment, but would not warranty the tire because it had more then 1500 miles on it. So, I had to buy a new tire for my new car, that wasn't right from the get go.

    A couple of months later, I noticed my floorboard was wet. There had been no rain, it was summer here. Once again, I took to Taylor BMW, they said the drain was clogged and that they had cleared it out. Now, were into the fall and winter season, no issue, no ac running. Come spring/summer 2009, I noticed the floorboard is still soaking wet. Again, I take the vehicle to the dealer; they have it for almost a week. Finally, I get a call, your car is ready. When I arrive and began discussing what the cause was, I am told they couldn't find anything wrong. At this point I had pretty much had it. I told the service representative that the car is not fixed, just because they can't find the problem, so they keep a little longer. During this time, I did a little research myself online, found that BMW has a service bulletin for this issue, replace the air conditioning drain. About the same time, I get a call that the dealer also found this bulletin. Eventually they get the part and apply the fix, I hope, well see this summer.

    A month or so later, the car begins jerking while at a stop. Feels like it is out of gear and then drops in, its an automatic. Again to the dealer, again they can't duplicate it. Again, I say that doesn't mean it is fixed. Eventually they assign another technician, within 30 minutes he comes back and says that the software/firmware is out dated on my car and will need to be updated. I ask how far outdated, he said it is about 6 revisions out. I asked, well isn't that something that should be checked when I bring the car for services and these issues, yes he says and apologizes that it wasn't noticed sooner.

    In the past couple of months the car has been having a rough idle, when first started in the morning, up to this point it was not an issue, purred like a kitten, hot/cold weather didn't matter. I am rather reluctant to request any further service, just to be told again, we can't duplicate the fault and oh by the way that's another couple hundred dollars for diagnostics.

    In the interim between these more significant issues, there have been numerous lesser, brake and fog light failures. Which in itself isnt a major issue but the car was only about 14-16 months, lights last longer then that.

    They finish on the steering wheel, began to peel off in chunks, then the on both the driver and passenger doors. Even the BMW roundel or logo on the center of the airbag was bubbling on the inside under the clear covering. Again, several more trips to the dealer, order parts, etc. After several weeks of back forth, all parts were replaced, but to my dismay, the color tone doesn't match. I asked the dealer and the response was these are the parts BMW sent and we can't replace the others to match, because they aren't defective. I asked well if all these peeled, wont the rest, what a surprise when the service rep, said yes. And reiterated but they cant replace them until they do.

    So, now were into early 2010, the car is still less the 2 years old and I get a engine malfunction warning (engine malfunction - reduced power). I take it to Taylor BMW again, after a couple of days they call and say its ready. I go to pick it up and the service rep states that it was a cracked vacuum line, its pretty common and BMW has a service bulletin for it. As I am backing out of the parking lot at the dealer the fault flashes on the display. I go back inside and by the time the rep comes out to check the fault is gone. He tells me it may have been a residual fault, drive it for the weekend and see. So I do, and about a mile down the road there it is again. So after the weekend its back at the dealer, weeks go by, no fix.

    I contact BMW North America Customer support, the rep assigned promises to find whats going on and get back to me in a couple days. Several days go by, no phone call, message, nothing. I call him, he is very indignant, almost as if I was bothering him. Once again promises to call and once again does not. I call him again, this time he says its between me and the dealer and that he is going on vacation. Wow, what a kick in the teeth. Finally, the dealer gets the issue fixed, I hope. When I go to pick it up the dealer states that BMW is willing to offer an extended warranty for reduced price. Instead of the $3000 it would be about $2000. I buy it, hoping for a little piece f mind and that the major faults are over.

    A couple of weeks later, I notice water is coming both windows as I went through a car wash. Back to the dealer, and again after several days they say they can't duplicate the fault, but they adjusted the windows. Drive it for week or so and again it still leaks, this goes on for several more weeks (a total of 5 times in the shop) with the dealer replacing all the seals, well to date the windows still leak, actually worse than when I first took it in.

    Then I noticed the paint is peeling off the roof, along the trim piece where the roof rack if I had one would be mounted. The dealer orders a new one, says it will be about a week, because they will have send it to be painted. Two weeks go by no phone call, so I call them. The service rep states he is sorry they forgot. So, I schedule an appointment, supposed to be a same day install. So after the duty day, I go to the dealer, the part hasn't been installed, but well get it down now. They pull my car around and as I walk up to it, it was clear the part wasn't installed correctly. The piece had inch gap from the front and the seals around it were pushed down into the roof and the windows seal was curled back. I also saw little plastic clips lodged in the wiper blades. I call the rep out to look at it, he apologizes as always. Sates we don't have spare clips but well get them ordered and call you when they are in. A little over a week later its finally fixed, again I hope.

    Less than a week after this, I am driving down the highway headed to Atlanta, I go to activate the cruise and I get a failure indicator (active cruise malfunction). I call the dealer, they say bring it in and well check it out. I go in on Saturday and they do a quick check. Well, the diagnostics says that the cruise is not getting a signal, but we have to do an alignment on the unit first. But our alignment set is still at our old building and we can't schedule you in for two more weeks. I then ask, so what if the alignment doesn't fix the problem and you have to order parts, how long will that take. His answer was I don't know, depends on if the parts are in stock or not. So asked, potentially this could take weeks, maybe a month or so, he said yes possibly.

    Bottom line, this car which is barely over 2 years old, actually less if you count the time on the boat, has been in the shop going on 100 days, for a multitude of different faults, some of which are still not fixed. I have had to pay for parts that should have been covered from the get go. I have had to cancel several vacation/travel plans due to the vehicle being in the shop.

    I am very disappointed in the quality and customer service; truthfully I wont even call it customer service. BMW hasn't returned a single phone and no one has spoke to me about these issues past the service rep at the dealer and unconcerned phone rep at BMW customer service, the few times I called him.

    Any legal assistance in resolving this would be greatly appreciated, its clear I wont get any help from BMW or anyone associated with them.

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    Reviewed Aug. 30, 2010

    In the last 4 years, there have been numerous "left/right brake lamp malfunctions." The car has been under warranty and I have brought it in to have it checked. Every time, Stevens Creek BMW have replaced all light bulb with a "life-time bulb." What I don't understand is that if the work sheet states that all bulbs were replaced every time. Why does all the instances of "left/right brake lamp malfunction" between the two bulbs happen within months of each other? Shouldn't brake lights last for more than a few months? From the time I bought this car, I have brought this car in to fix the "brake lamp malfunction" many times all with short periods of time in between all instances. Many of the times has also been the same brake lamp (left).

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    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2010

    It's a Class-Action waiting to happen! BMW - North America advertises and backs up in contract that consumer pays only gas and tires for 50,000 miles or four years. BMW policy, which is not in the advertising or contract, is to charge all consumers for a battery. They are telling poor consumers that they run energy consumption diagnostics and that the dead battery is the customer's fault if the car is driven under three miles over "x" times.

    I asked if this is in writing - they said no and that they know this policy is deceptive trade practices but their hands are tied by corporate. Wow! They cannot get away with deceiving customers like this, but they are and all across the country (read the internet) this happens everyday!

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    Reviewed Aug. 26, 2010

    I own a 2002 BMW with only 64,000 miles on it. My car would not start so I had it towed to my mechanic (certified BMW mechanic) who told me my fuel pump and filter need to be replaced at a cost of over $800. I was shocked that with the low mileage on my car that this would happen. I think this is a bad part and BMW should reimburse me for this fee. I maintain my car, this should not have happened. I bought a high line so I would not have car problems.

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    Reviewed Aug. 25, 2010

    I own a BMW 316i 2007 and the AC compressor went down even though the car hasn't made except 90000 km. Shouldn't the compressor last much longer than that? My daughter's 11-year old Nissan's compressor is still working fine. I have to change the compressor which will cost me a lot of money even though I bought my BMW thinking of durability!

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    Reviewed Aug. 25, 2010

    I have a 2005 BMW 745li, it has 67,000 miles on it and the coolant came out of the car. I had it immediately towed and called the dealer and explained what happened and was told before I could finish explaining what happened that it was a high pressure hose that runs through the engine block, that it happens to all 745's and it would cost $10,000 to repair. Well it not only busted, it cracked the heads in the engine and blew the engine. I have a problem with the fact that they said and know that this occurs on just about all 7 series after 50k miles and do nothing to recall or fix. The answer I received from BMW was it would be to expensive to recall and since it doesn't happen to all then it wouldn't need to be recalled. I now have a car that I owe $30,000 on and its worth 30 bucks. Thanks BMW, it will be the last BMW I or anyone I know purchases again.

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    Reviewed Aug. 24, 2010

    I called BMW North America to tell them that my 2007 328i was dangerous. the transmission was failing, the car was accelerating on it's own and was completely unsafe! I have two months left on my lease. I asked them to give me a new car, take back the "lemon" I had as I was scared to drive it and I was not going to pay the last tow months of the lease. The car has 8000 miles on it! BMW told me I had to take the car in to be serviced again (even though I told them it was unsafe). I did it.

    The car has been at Santa Monica BMW since August 11. I was just told today that the transmission was broken. There were other electrical problems and they were putting in a new transmission! I called BMW North America-, spoke to a woman, Lainie, on August 13th who assured me that she would call back in two days and get me out of this unsafe car and into a new lease with them for a new car. And? Nothing! She never called. My car is still in the Santa Monica BMW service place. I have been with BMW North America for 23 years! They would rather I drive a dangerous car so they don't have to take the correct, legal and ethical position of taking back my car that has two months left on the lease, and giving me a new safe one. At this point, I am seriously considering legal action and going to the newspapers about BMW North America's seriously dangerous attitude. I called them again today, August 24, 2010 and left a message for Lainie. I have received no calls back.

    As of this moment, I have no car and am driving a loaner from Santa Monica BMW who also never told us anything about the condition of my car until my husband went to see them today! Update: Just spoke to Lainie at North America BMW who said that the service station is waiting on a part to be delivered to fix my car and that she could do nothing until the car was fixed and then they would look into dropping the last two lease payments and that would probably be in early September! I want a lawyer! My car has had nothing but problems. It has 8,000 miles on it and has been in the shop three times in the last three months. The transmission slipped so many times, did not go into gears at all and the car keeps accelerating forward by itself so I can get killed if I hit another car!

    BMW North America wants me to get back into a dangerous, unsafe car, pay for two more months on my lease instead of taking the car back and giving me a safe one to drive. I will sue BMW North America if they do not replace my car with a new one. I will not drive that car and I will not pay lease payments for a car I cannot drive and has been proven to be unsafe!

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    Reviewed Aug. 24, 2010

    I have a 2006 BMW 325i. This car sits in the garage most of the time. I have 21,000 miles on it. Averaging 5-6 thousand a year.

    Since I bought it I have been in the shop for repairs at least 8 times.

    1) Center Console was peeling
    2) Door handle was peeling
    3)Door edge (next to window) was peeling.
    4) Back window fell down and won't roll up.
    5)SOS- can't locate my car (3 days in shop).
    6) Other Back Window fell down
    7) SOS stopped working again

    8) Engine light came on.

    Now, the steering wheel is peeling and BMW won't cover it. Really? I have had a history of various parts peeling and this car has very low mileage.

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    Reviewed Aug. 24, 2010

    I need to get a towing bolt that screws into the front bumper. No one at BMW or the dealer they connected me with could tell me the thread size for that eye bolt. All they would do is try to sell me a new one. I don't want to buy a new one. I want to know what size it is, that's all.

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    Reviewed Aug. 22, 2010

    My CPO BMW325i (2004), which I purchased in March of 2007 has engine failure and is no longer safe or drivable. BMW denies any responsibility since I had repair work done by my local mechanic who specializes in foreign cars and all mechanics have taken BMW courses. They still expect me to pay the loan amount each month for a car that does not move out of the driveway and because the thermostat housing is an OEM part they are off the hook. I believe since the engine says BMW on it, they should be responsible.

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    Reviewed Aug. 21, 2010

    My wife's BMW was purchased brand new in 2006 from Valencia BMW in Valencia, CA. Ever since the purchase date, the quality and craftsmanship of a few parts have severely deteriorated. Most noticeably the exterior weather strip around the doors and windshield had begun to dry-rot, the paint around the weather strip had begun to fade, and the finish around the interior door handles had begun to chip away. The dealership in Valencia, CA has no resolution to this, and did not warrant a replacement even while the car under warranty. I contacted BMW's corporate offices for resolution and they, too, provided little help and consequently closed the case.

    The damages speak for themselves. They are still in-tact and neither organizations volunteered to step forward to resolve this issue. I got an estimate for replacing the weather strip and molding around the windshield and for an amount of $1000.00 from another BMW dealership closer to where I currently reside.

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    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2010

    I own a 1997 740il with all the bells and whistles, M wheels etc. This has low miles, 114k miles, less than 10,000 miles a year. And let’s just say there has got to be something we can do to hold BMW accountable. My car is so bad I don't even know what to do. I am so angry that I will go to any length to make them pay. I have had nothing but trouble with everything on this car. I can't go into detail. It seems to me we need to start a group of individuals who have had these same problems. This car has ruined my ability to travel in confidence. It has wrecked my pocket book. When there are massive individuals all complaining of the same, there is a problem.

    I am a mechanic and there are serious safety issues with these cars. We have been robbed. There has to be legal recourse. There are thousands of people on the web that have had all these same problems. It seems a massive recall is in order. I want serious individuals that can bring something to the table. Let’s do it. There has got to be something we can do. We can do it. I can't take being taken advantage of like this, and neither can you. Don't wait. Let’s get justice. I will be notifying other forums as well. Thank you and let’s come together.

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    Reviewed Aug. 17, 2010

    We took our 1996 BMW 328i into BMW Fairfax to get it diagnosed after we were having problems with the gauges on the dashboard after we changed a headlight. We were told that it was a faulty cluster and it would be $1,330 to replace it. We left the dealer until we could figure out how to come up with this money. When bringing the car back the very next day, all of the gauges were working and we told them that we believed that it was the battery and the light wiring causing the problems and not the cluster because when we put the light in, it burnt out immediately and sparks were coming from the light wire.

    After speaking with Emily the service representative, she told us that it was the cluster causing the problem and yes we did need a new batter because the faulty cluster was causing the entire dashboard to light up when the car was off which was draining the battery. Taking her advice, we asked them to fix it. When we received a phone call back three days later, Emily said that the problem with the dash was still occurring and they would need $750 more to diagnose it further. At that point, I was very upset because I believe it was diagnosed wrongly to begin with. Please advise because at this point, BMW is not working with me and my car is still not fixed and still at the BMW of Fairfax.

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    Reviewed Aug. 13, 2010

    I purchased a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) 2007 BMW 328i with 6sp manual and roughly 41.5k miles including the additional 6-year or 100k extended warranty from Steve Thomas BMW (Camarillo, CA). At approximately 43k on the odometer and about 3-4 weeks after the purchase of the vehicle, I began to notice possible slippage in the clutch. Since the entire car is still under the factory/new car warranty from BMW, I brought the car to the closest BMW dealership, Santa Monica BMW, to inspect the clutch/transmission.

    At first, Santa Monica BMW told me that they could not initially duplicate the clutch issue. But then a few hours later, they called back informing me that they were in fact able to replicate the problem and that they went ahead, ordered and "overnighted" a new clutch which would be installed the following day. I thought great, I was glad to have the clutch replaced while it was still under warranty. Upon pulling apart the transmission, Santa Monica BMW reported that the clutch was found to be "completely worn out" with heat marks that signaled that the clutch was "abused". As a result they said, the new car warranty would not cover the cost of the repair. The repair cost for a new clutch to be installed was estimated at $2,935. Completely ridiculous!

    I purchased a Certified Pre-Owned BMW because I wanted the assurance that BMW North America puts on their "CPO" designated vehicles. As BMW North America states on their CPO website: "CPOs must pass an extensive examination - a thorough and rigorous inspection by BMW factory-trained technicians". They inspect the vehicle for safety, performance and wear. If something is not right, it is fixed. If it cannot be fixed, the car cannot become a Certified Pre-Owned BMW, which are then covered by their "New Car Warranty" up to 4 years or 50,000 miles.

    Basically, the BMW dealership which I purchased the vehicle claims that when the vehicle was sold to me, the clutch was in good condition and that my driving was the cause of the burned out clutch. It is important to note, however, that Steve Thomas BMW admitted that the transmission or clutch was not inspected by a mechanic in order to certify the vehicle CPO! Which leads me to (2) two conclusions:

    1) Since it would be nearly impossible for me to completely burn out a clutch in 1,500 miles and in less than 3-4 weeks (there is no evidence of any other abuse on my vehicle which would suggest that I was "abusing" the vehicle. No excessive wear on the tires or any other aspect of the car), how can a consumer ever be protected from a dealership claiming that the clutch was "okay" at sale without ever inspecting the clutch and thus, being charged for it as "abused" after the fact?

    2) The suspicion that the clutch was in fact not truly "abused". It seems strange that the clutch was suddenly found to be "completely worn out" despite the fact that the Santa Monica BMW service department was not able to duplicate the clutch slippage problem initially. How does a clutch slippage problem go from no issues to "completely worn out" upon pulling the transmission? How do I know that the Santa Monica BMW service department did not cause the clutch burnout when they were trying to duplicate the issue?

    What mechanisms are in place in the CPO program or within California laws which protect consumers from these kind of false accusations that could so easily "void" vehicle warranties? The dealership is clearly incentivized to classify all repairs as "abused" since they are able to charge retail prices for repairs and BMW North America is not on the hook for paying for any repairs and as an added bonus, are able to sell additional parts to dealerships to sell.

    How is the consumer protected in this situation from "abused" Certified Pre-Owned BMWs? I imagine the same issue could occur from new vehicles as well, right? Thanks for any advice that you can provide. I am without my vehicle and must carpool to work. I must pay $3,000 to get my clutch fixed at the dealership, since getting the clutch fixed anywhere else will void the rest of my warranty.

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    Reviewed Aug. 11, 2010

    I purchased a certified pre-owned 2003 BMW 525i with 123,000 miles. After two years and applying less than 20,000 to the car, the transmission has failed with no warning by the instrument panel. The car has always been serviced by a certified BMW mechanic.

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    Reviewed Aug. 10, 2010

    I bought a car that I believe is a lemon from BMW. It broke too many times and recently here in Jacksonville, Florida. It stalled and I had Brian, service manager, sit in it to see the service engine light is on and the car was shaking not driving more than 20 mph. It's a 335i. Then i gave the car to him and it was taken in by my bf just two weeks before and they falsely input wrong information about what happened because they documented that we didn't want to wait and it's not true. We wanted the car diagnosed and we were told that the computer was reset but today I was told that nothing has been done because we didn't want to wait. It's a lie. He waited for five hours. They are not taking accountability and responsibility for this car.

    They would not give me a loaner and I didn't feel that they cared about what I had to say. I pay $700 a month for this car and it was very expensive and it has nothing but problems. I've complained about the navigation turning on/off since I bought the car for last two years and I have records and about the car coming out and this is the second time it's dying on me. Please help. Loss of money, I cant go to work, I lost clients, I lost time. I cried today and I'm paying $700 for a car that I believe is a lemon.

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    Reviewed July 19, 2010

    I have a 2004 325i that I purchased new. Now at 69,800 miles, the airbag light is on, but I am told my car is not covered by the recall. The car has never been in an accident of any sort and is in above average condition. Why should I be penalized by inferior workmanship or flaw discovered post production?

    The economic damage is that the trade-in value is being deeply discounted at a BMW dealership because of this problem. No, I am not purchasing another one, the BMW dealership is tied in with an Acura dealer!

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    Reviewed July 8, 2010

    After 3 years as a loyal owner of BMW car, it appears the quality of your vehicles service department has gone down. I sent my car (regn no. HR26-AN-3737) to your workshop on 01/07/2010, however when I attempted to resolve the issues with the workshop employees, I was told that I'll get it back by 20th-July-2010 due to shortage of some spare part.

    I am certain these employees are not the type of people you want representing your fine company. Moreover, I know that you stand by your vehicles, and the one I purchased is clearly not up to company standards. I have suffered a great deal of personal hardship, including lost precious time and emotional distress, trying to resolve this issue. Please immediately investigate and contact me at your earliest convenience so that I'll get my car back ASAP.

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    Reviewed July 6, 2010

    I purchased a 328i BMW just 30 days ago. Since purchasing, I have been back to the BMW dealer 3 times with the same complaint regarding the radio. Anytime you hear an HD quality song or listen to your CD or iPod, you hear a distortion gives you the impression your speakers are cracked. The technician claims the car has been hooked up to all systems and their is no problem with the radio. They are telling me that since I purchased a car that has a base model radio, it doesn't have enough power for HD or iPod therefore, this is the reason for the distortion. This is ridiculous! How can you purchase a car that yes, may have brought a base radio, but not give you sound quality. If it is not compatible with HD or iPod because those frequencies have more power, then why advertise a car with these capabilities.

    I contacted BMW customer service and there is nothing they can do other than file a complaint. In other words, I purchased what is supposed to be a quality car with a radio that sounds awful. Everyone from service personnel to the person that sold me the car swear there is something wrong yet the computer systems indicate there is nothing wrong, very frustrating. My time for going to the dealer couple times, the frustration of not being able to hear normal sound and the embarrassment every time rides my new car to ask what is wrong with your radio, unacceptable!

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    Reviewed July 6, 2010

    BMW is a fine car until you need parts. I had my car broken into and needed parts to replace the window and door moldings. I've been waiting a month and the people at BMW USA tell me that is not long at all. On average, it takes far longer to get parts. They tell me things like batch processing manufacturing and inventory control. When I ordered the car new, they built and delivered it in under a month. But parts could take 5-6 months and the consumer is stuck. And they really don't seem to care. So now I pay over $1,200 per month in lease payments and drive a GMC rental car. Again, that's my problem, not BMWs.

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    Reviewed June 30, 2010

    I bought pre-owned 2002 X5 in 2005. I have had all kinds of problems with this car, electrical issues every day, new warning lights, dashboard and controls lost digital display, window motor broke destroying the window pane, $1,250.00, the a/c control panel went bad, $900.00. I replaced all bulbs at least three times. The a/c compressor went bad, $900.00, and so on and so on. Repair costs are out of control, service at DiFeo is the worst, and they just don't care if you never come back. BMW of America is in collusion with its dealers and ignores all complaints. The answer, buy American! All in all it cost me over $7,000 to fix some of the issue with my car in service for days at a time.

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    Reviewed June 24, 2010

    I bought a BMW 645CI 2004 model from Major World in LIC, NY. The title was not clean apparently there was a manufacture buy back from BMW due to a leaking moon roof. I thought the problem was minor so I purchased the vehicle, big mistake. You name it, it has gone wrong. The car has numerous mechanical issues every year. I spend a minimum of $3,000.00. I am upset my husband and I are always arguing, because of the vehicle it went to BMW for service roughly 15 times in an 18 month period. After that we took the car to a certified BWM mechanic, to fix as BWM rates are $125.00 an hour. I need some help and guidance and I am just so confused that the car has numerous mechanical problems and is not under manufacture warranty for the last 2 years.

    It’s not fair that BWM knowingly put a lemon back out on the market and the sucker I was purchased it. Help, please. I don't blame anyone but myself but at the same time, it's not fair and BMW points the figure at Major World and vice versa. It makes me sick and worried to deal with this and it is my only means of transportation. Seriously, BMW is a multimillion dollar corporation. Can’t they fix of replace my lemon for something of equal value? I am sorry but it has been very frustrating for me. I have 2 children in private school, a husband that is always arguing with me and is tired of spending money that should be put away for my children's savings on making the car safe for me to drive. Every time I drive after my brakes failed in 2009, I hold my breath when and error message pops up. Please help me!

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    Reviewed June 24, 2010

    I have a 2006 550i SMG that I bought in January 2008. I am extremely lucky that I bought the extended maintenance warranty because I have had nothing but problems with the car. The car has been in the workshop over 12+ times now for things like hydraulic failure (4 times), steering failures (4 times), computer failures (3 times). I can go on and on. I am actually taking the car in on the 5th of July again since my navigation/computer system stopped working. What make matters worse is that the car has been in the workshop for the same problem over and over again. I called BMW North America and spoke to someone 4 times, but apparently, their support line really doesn't do anything and can't do anything. It is sad that a luxury car maker like BMW has such poor service and support.

    I am ready to sell my car and buy a Mercedes. I also have a number of other friends who have problems with their BMWs as well and looking to sell and move on. To all, my suggestion is to stay away from BMW since their service and customer support has gone downhill and is only getting worse. Damages: Besides getting stranded by the car dying in the middle of the road, none.

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    Reviewed June 14, 2010

    The car suffered a fuel pump failure at just over 2000 miles. I went to BMW service for a replacement fuel pump, which was replaced under factory warranty that included an ECU software change that produced an unwanted effect of turbo lag that, under certain conditions, might cause an unsafe driving condition. I tried to refuse the software replacement, but I was told I had no choice.

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    Reviewed June 7, 2010

    I have a 323i BMW (year 2000) that has problems in the reverse gear. I've have taken care of it in all aspects. Suddenly, it stopped going reverse. I have read in the internet that it is a very common problem with these cars. The dealer is asking $6500 for fix. Going to work is a hazard.

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    Reviewed June 7, 2010

    My car has problems in the reverse gear. I've have taken care of it in all aspects. Suddenly, it stopped going reverse. The dealer is asking $6500 for fix. Going to work is a hazard.

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    Reviewed June 7, 2010

    I have a big problem with the BMW roadside assistance. My car was locked and I called to BMW roadside assistance to help me. They sent a guy who came to unlock my car, but he broke my window. Nobody wants to pay the damage! The case number with BMW roadside assistance is **. The company who came was Pop-A-Lock! Denny, the manager of Pop-A-Lock, didn't want to pay the repair at the BMW dealer. I want to repair my car in the dealer, I don't want to lose my door, windows, switches warranty! reparation work order number is **. I did a report with BMW roadside assistance and already past 6 days. Nobody responded and my car is in Vista BMW dealer ready to repair! Issued date: 05/27/10, vehicle: BMW 328i Coupe 2009.

    The economic damage is up to 1000 dollars. The BMW doesn't want to pay for the repair!

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    Reviewed June 5, 2010

    There is paint defect on the new car, a 2009 BMW, purchased on March 2010. The paint is peeling in 4 places. Manufacturer claims peeling is from an "external source". This is not plausible as peeling is in 4 spots, and two different locations. BMWs own warranty vendor for body work indicated that it was "apparently a paint defect". The BMW regional inspector said no, that it was an external problem, denying what is obviously a manufacturing (painting) defect.

    BMW, offered, a "good faith" adjustment of 50% of repair cost but if it is a defect, it should be covered in full as part of the warranty. Photos of the peeling are available. Clearly a new car's paint on a BMW should not be peeling in a few months in 4 places and BMW should acknowledge and cover a paint defect. I had the repair done; cost to repaint was $882.44 and my cost was $441.22. BMW should reimburse me the $441.22 and I will pursue. This does not live up to BMW past experiences and advertised quality standards.

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    Reviewed June 2, 2010

    I started the car one day and it didn't have first gear. The car operates fine if I am using tiptronic; however, it puts itself in fourth gear if I am attempting to use the transmission as intended (automatic). Due to the excessive cost of repair ($3k-$6k), I was forced to lease a new vehicle with a $2k down, $434 a month. I do plan on getting it fixed eventually--I just need to have $4k saved up that I don't need.

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    Reviewed June 2, 2010

    My sun roof started to make noise a few months after I leased this brand new BMW. I've complained numerous times to my dealership but they said that everything is working just fine and they cannot replace anything under warranty while it's working. Now the warranty is no longer valid and my sun roof stopped working (this car is still only 3 years old). I have to pay several thousands to replace this sun roof or they can install a new sun roof engine for $800 but I'll not use it because it can break again. I've had so many troubles with this car you don't want to know. It first started with multiple engine problems, software problems and now this thing happened. I still have left to pay 35 thousand for this car.

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    Reviewed May 27, 2010

    My 2003 Mini Cooper with 112,000 km on it blew its transmission while traveling on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. It is never driven hard, very well maintained and cared for. Now I'm getting quotes from $6,800.00 to $11,000.00? What the hell is this? On top of the cost of the tow, the disruption in my daily commutes to and from my place of work and the hassle and run-a-round I'm getting from BMW Canada, I'm getting no real answer for an obvious faulty problem from the builder. I am looking to pursue civil legal action to get the cost of any repair covered by the faulty manufacturer. This is ridiculous.

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    Reviewed May 25, 2010

    I leased a BMW X5 year 2009 brand new on 08/2009. 5 months after I got the car I have been having problems with it. The car did not start. They have been giving me jumps 5 times and had to tow the car once. I took it to the dealer in Santa Monica BMW for the first time and I was told that the car is very sophisticated and I had to at least drive it 10 miles each time I start it or the battery will not charge. I have owned 6 cars so far and I have never had any battery problem with any of them. The dealer said that we do not have any problem changing the battery but the Northern America BMW says that the owner has to pay for it because I do not drive it more than 10 miles each time I drive it. I drive this car every day. BMW of Northern America told me to try another dealer. I took the car to BMW of Beverly Hills. They said that the problem is also the battery and they will fix it. However, they did not change the battery but they just charge it.

    After 3 weeks the car did not start again. I had to have the tow company to jump it for the fifth time and again had the same problem so I had to tow the car again to BMW of Beverly Hills. They told me that I have to pay for the battery my self even the car is still under warranty. In the manual of the car never mentions that you have to drive the car at least 10 miles. The only thing that it says is that you have to use the car often in which I have been using it every day. If they would tell me that I have to drive the car at least 10 miles each use I would never lease this car. I have paid $550 to change the battery; however, I was told that this problem will come back if I do not drive the car 10 miles each time I start it. The car was in the dealer’s lot 9 months before I leased the car and looks like the battery had problem because of that.

    I have heard from 3 other people that had the same problem with BMW because of the battery problem on the X5. They used to change the battery before no charge, but not anymore. This car is very unreliable and I am scared to drive it because having the same problem in 4 months 5 times really scares me that will keep happening again and again. I am a doctor and reliability of a car is very important to me because of my patients. My wife is also very scared to drive the car. I am paying $750 each month with $5000 down for a car that I cannot even drive and need to pay for things that goes wrong with the car. And anything that happens to it will tell me it’s not covered by the warranty.

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    Reviewed May 22, 2010

    I'd like to know why BMW NA will not honor my warranty. On July 16, 2007 I picked up my 335i convertible (WBAWL73577PX48566) at the Performance Center in Greer, SC. The top was down when we picked it up. After driving to the hotel in Greer, the top would not close all the way and fasten to the top of the windshield. I took it back to the center but they were unable to correct it. A while later, I took it back to my BMW dealer. They made some minor adjustments, but were unable to make a permanent fix. On May 19, 2010 I again took it to my BMW dealer and was informed that since it is an occasional problem, occurring about 1 to 2 times in ten, that BMW NA will not honor the warranty.

    BMW claims it is our fault, even though they have a record of my initial complaint upon first picking up the car. My dealer informed me I had three choices: pay $22,000 to get it fixed; submit an insurance claim and live with it; or trade it in for a new one. I find none of these acceptable. This is my fifth BMW but the first where BMW NA would not honor its warranty. I don't know if other owners have had similar experiences, but would like advice in getting this resolved.

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    Reviewed May 21, 2010

    Here is a copy of the letter I had provided to BMWNA. They had declined to continue on repairing the vehicle although the check engine light was never resolved before the CPO manufacture warranty had ran out

    "For the past ten years, I've been a satisfied customer of BMW. I believe the company had a good reputation and responsible warranty coverage and knowledgeable BMW service staff. That is also why I've bought three BMW vehicles since 2001. In recent months, I have not seen the responsible warranty coverage in both of my BMW vehicles. The above referenced vehicle has been in a BMW service center for a "service engine soon" light multiple times. As I am concerned about the repeated service visits, I began looking into the past repair history of the vehicle and noticed that the SES light had plague the car ever since Sept 2008 with the same fault code "2882/2882 fuel mixture lean" which was never resolved.

    The BMW service center had replaced various parts and recommended various actions to fix the SES light 2882/2883 fault code. Below is a list of all work performed on the vehicle:

    1. Found 2882/2882 fuel mixture lean fault code (SES Light). BME Service replaced air filter element (9/2008). SES light came on after 3 weeks with the same fault code, returned to BMW service center.
    2. Replaced vacuum hoses (3/2009) (not covered under CPO warranty). SES light came on after 3 days with the same fault code, returned to BMW service center.
    3. Reprogrammed DME (4/2009) fault code returned to BMW service center.
    4. BMW Service center refused to diagnose SES light because they feel that the fuel filter is causing the SES light (10/2009).
    5. Fuel filter replaced (1/2010) return vehicle to BMW service center for diagnose.
    6. Replaced one O2 sensor. SES light with the same fault code returns after 3 days, returned to BMW service center.
    7. Replaced all O2 sensors. SES light with the same fault code returns after 3 days, returned to BMW service center.
    8. BMW service center spent 2 weeks on the car with over 100 hours, replaced various different parts. I was assured that the SES light will not come on again (paid a total of $998 for parts that was not covered under warranty). The SES came back again after 5 days with the same fuel mixture fault code. I returned the vehicle back to the BMW service center.

    9. BMW service center claims that there is a misfire and a faulty coil. They recommend replacing all coils, refused to diagnose the vehicle until all coils are replaced. All coils were replaced, SES light reset. SES light came back on within 2 days.

    At this point, I have a number of concerns regarding the above service history. First of all, I am really questioning the ability of this particular BMW service center's ability to diagnose and get to the bottom of this recurring SES light issue. After spending numerous amount of labor hours along with replacing various different parts (some of which is not covered under BMW CPO warranty), the same SES light with the same lean fuel mixture fault code have not been resolved.

    The second concern that I have is that this SES light issue began well within the 6/100k CPO warranty, but the problem was never resolved. The vehicle was at 99,900 miles when it was in BMW service for 2 weeks. After spending almost $990 on parts that was not covered under CPO warranty, I was rest assured by the service center that the lean fuel mixture issue is resolved. Sadly, the SES light came back after driving it for 300 miles with the same lean fuel mixture fault code (which by then the vehicle had over 100k miles). The vehicle was brought back into the BMW service center. I was told that there is a defective coil (cylinder 5) which is causing the SES light. The BMW service center had denied warranty on coil replacement claiming that the coils are "rusted", which is not a manufacture defect. I had contacted BMWNA about this which BMWNA sided with the service center's diagnosis.

    At that point, I was extremely unsatisfied for the following reason: The fact that the SES issue is still not resolved after the BMW service center had repeatedly assure me that the issue had been "fixed". The fact that BMW NA denied coverage on something that should be covered under CPO warranty. In the past, I've had coils fail (due to rusting) on another European luxury brand vehicle that I've own which was replaced under CPO warranty with no problem. Coils were not on the BMW CPO warranty exclusion item list. Why didn't the BMW service center noticed this issue when they had the vehicle for 2 weeks and had spent over 100 hours on diagnosing the vehicle? The BMW service center was most certain that the SES light fault code was due to the bad coils. But at this point, I have no confident that this BMW service center can correctly and effectively diagnose the issue with my vehicle and repair it once and for all. All I see is that the service center is recommending parts/work to be done that cannot fix the recurring SES light fault code.

    I had raised this concern to a BMWNA representative (Kevin). If I had all the coils replaced as noted by the BMW service center but the same lean fixture fault code returns once again, then what will be next? A new engine? Or a new car perhaps? To me it seems like a never ending story of replacing parts that would not solve the problem. It was unclear what BMWNA was willing to do at that point. The BMWNA representative did not provide a direct answer to my concern at that point. I decided to trust the BMW service center's diagnostic one last time and replaced all the coils with new OEM coils and spark plugs. Sadly, once again the SES light came back on within 500 miles and sure enough it was for the same lean fuel mixture fault code. I contacted the BMW service center and my service adviser told me that the service center is not sure how they would proceed with it since they are not sure how and who will pay for the diagnose cost etc.

    The car is now at 101,000 miles, with the an SES light with the same fuel mixture lean fault code. The impression I got from the BMW service center is that they are not willing to diagnose the car or work on the car anymore unless someone is willing to "pay for it". To me, this is an outstanding issue that was never resolved when the car was still under CPO warranty which BMWNA should honor. To be honest, I am extremely dissatisfied to a point where I am about to sell both of my BMW vehicles and will not consider another BMW in the near future. I've own other premium European luxury vehicles before (2002 Audi TT CPO vehicle and a 2004 Audi A4) and I must say I was extremely satisfied with their warranty program. I've never experienced any warranty coverage issue and almost everything that needed to be repaired or replaced was covered under warranty up until 100k miles for both vehicle (including a full turbo replacement at 98k miles).

    I hope BMWNA would look into this matter and continue to stand behind BMW's reputation of quality product, service and after sale warranty program. I hope to have this issue resolve as soon as possible, please contact me at ** to discuss possible resolution for this matter."

    Then I got a call today from Kevin at BMW NA. He informed me that BMW NA had declined to provide assistance to repair the car although the issue was never repaired before the CPO warranty ran out. So I filed a formal complaint to Better Business Bureau America for BMW North America (Business ID 0221-00007000228). Complaint #**. This might not do much (and I am planning to just sell the car), but I am going to do what I can. I think it is very disappointing that BMW is #1 not standing behind their product and repair and #2 having dealership that cannot fix the issue correctly.

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    Reviewed May 13, 2010

    I have taken my car many times for service because there are always indicators coming up and recently, on 04/27/10, I had to take it in for airbags and the very next day they said it was done. Well, not even an hour of driving it, the same indicator came back on so due to my work schedule, I was not able to bring it until 05/12/10 and they then called me on 5/13/10 saying it was ready. Well, not even 20 minutes of driving and the airbag indicator came on and it is frustrating because I work and live far away from the dealership and have a hectic schedule that doesn't allow me to go freely and their attitude is, "just come in again." I am a mom with 3 kids and this isn't very easy.

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    Reviewed May 10, 2010

    I own a 2000 BMW 323i. Yesterday, without warning, the reverse gear stopped working. The forward one works fine, but the reverse is like being in neutral gear. Two mechanics immediately upon describing the problem confirmed that this was a very common issue and that thus far BMW has refused to fix this problem although they are aware of it. The GM transmission that is in this car has also been used in a Cadillac model, and this company issued a recall on the exact same transmission. Please help as this is a very much known and widespread problem! The quotes to repair this are between $5,000-$8,000.

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    Reviewed May 3, 2010

    The 323i 1999 car was in excellent shape and now the transmission is gone after putting $1000 sensor in it. It has 94,000. miles.

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    Reviewed May 1, 2010

    This is regarding my 2008 BMW 335i. I am doing this, because BMW North America has not responded to my complaints. Ever since I purchased the car brand-new, it has had the same issue which has not yet been fixed. It is the "high-pressure fuel pump." I have taken my car into the BMW dealers for about a minimum of 6 times now, and each time, it has wasted at least 2 days of my time.

    This morning, May 1, 2010 at 4pm, I needed to go for some errands; and the car cannot start properly. The whole car shakes like a roller coaster, and fumes fill up my garage with odors of burnt fuel/oil. I attempted to contact BMW North America again, but of course, they are closed. I spent $54,000 on this car, and it does not run as smoothly as my Honda Civic, which does not have issues as major as my BMW.

    I have scheduled another appointment with BMW Riverside for Monday, May 3, and I hope that they can patch things up that BMW Savage was not able to do anything about again! I want other consumers to know that paying more for a vehicle does not always mean better quality. I have spent so many of my free days on this car, and it is frustrating, especially when the company does not resolve the issue but rather patch it over and over.

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    Reviewed April 29, 2010

    Transmission failure happened with 2002 BMW 530i--same as other BMW transmissions. It's just 80,000 miles. It's the most unreliable car I've ever driven, with the kind of problems that keep coming for this car. I've been spending too much time and money on this. I have to spend $5000 for it. And I already spent around $1000 for fixing other things that fail, like seats.

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    Reviewed April 29, 2010

    I bought my current 08, 335i Coupe back in November of '08, 3 months before the end of my lease on my '05 330 Cabriolet. I had the 330 in the dealership for a repair assessment for a leaky roof (multiple times in) and blistering paint on the front bumper when I talked to a salesman who convinced me that I could be in a new car for similar payments and without penalty. When a stone chip in the glass was noted, I was told I would be given the opportunity to have it fixed on my own. Of course, that never happened. Instead a month or so after I began driving the new car, I got a bill for $600+ for the windshield, the damage to the bumper which was blistered paint, not an impact and a mark on the leather which, when I was sold the car was explained to me as "natural variation in the leather" and not a defect. After 16 months of ignored emails to the salesman and BMW financial, I am being forced to pay or go to court. What a crock.

    Guess I won't be buying BWM number 4 after all. And I haven't eve mentioned the 4 flat run-flats and bent rim suffered in less than a year and a half of driving the current 335i. Out of pocket 600+ dollars on misleading sale and over 2000 in rim and tire replacements.

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    Reviewed April 29, 2010

    My 2005 525I needs more repairs than any other car I own. The new light is $491, transmission leak at only 62,000 mile is $960. The fan went, I'm out $955, front bushings, out $722. By the way service tech tells me they are made to go out at 45,000 miles. I still owe $3,200 on this piece of ** car. I have a2005 Tahoe with 116,000 and only spent $1,500 on repair. I will never buy a BMW and will not recommend this vehicle to anyone.

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    Reviewed April 26, 2010

    I purchased a 2000 BMW 323i new back in 2001. The window regulators have broken 10 times in the time that I have owned the car. The back windows broke the first time I rolled down the windows after purchasing the car. The BMW dealership said it was due to "a bad batch of parts". A friend of mine said he had the same problem with his BMW 10 years before that. I'm now trying to get the vapor barriers in the doors sealed properly because they were cut by the dealership to repair the windows and I now have water coming into the car. The sunroof is broken and the transmission has problems changing gears. I wish I had never bought the car.

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    Reviewed April 20, 2010

    I bought my BMW 2007 525I on Dec 19 2009. Since I had this car for six moths, two problems happened to my car. First problem happened two months ago that speed odometer failed then four days ago the second problem is engine overheat. I had emailed to BMW to help me and solve the problems or investigate but no one from BMW called me.

    I took the car to dealer and they fixed the problems already, but I don't know if there will be any more problems in the future. I noticed that many customers have same problem with 5 series with engine overheat . I hope that BMW will contact me and do major service on my car. Luckily, I was driving on a local street and there were not many cars when the sign engine overheat came on.

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    Reviewed April 14, 2010

    I have a 2008 BMW 535xi. This past Saturday, I was driving my car for about 20 minutes when a warning message came up that my car was overheating, to turn off the car and do not open the hood. The scary part was that there is no acceleration. No warning, just cut off. Luckily, I was not at a busy intersection, but needed to push the car out of the street.

    Century BMW in Greenville, SC repaired the car and told me it was a cooling fan problem. They have not seen it forthcoming about this problem. It is terrifying and life-threatening to have no acceleration without any warning. I was just lucky not to be in traffic or on the highway. Will it happen again? Is there a defect with the fan? The car is only 2 years old.

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    Reviewed April 11, 2010

    I bought a 2000 BMW 323i at the end of 2000. I have had nothing but problems with it. Consistent problems with the sun roof not working (3x it's been fixed and is now broken). Consistent problems with electric windows (2 and 3Xs fixed and the back right is now not working). Brake rotors sensors over and over again. Cam Shaft sensors 2X, Fuel injectors, etc etc but the worst was at 50,896 miles having to replace the entire transmission to the tune of $6,358.26 from my local dealership! I have babied that car and it has done nothing but give me problems. I am only now learning that so many others have had an issue. I want my money back!

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    Reviewed April 10, 2010

    My son David has been looking for a 2007 white BMW 335I coupe for sometime. He was searching the web when he came across one that Beverly Hills BMW was advertising on the web for $29,711. He immediately contacted them and spoke to Arman H. Arman told my son that the car was going to be certified that day and until then they could not sell it but that he would have the first right of refusal since he was the first to contact them. David then told Arman that he was going to contact his parents so that they could come down with him. Arman said that was not a problem.

    Later in the afternoon, Arman called David and said that he was not able to stay to show him the car but that he had told another salesman, Mike F. about us and that he would handle the deal. David received a call from Mike while we were driving down and he asked if we were still coming, and my son said yes that we were on the freeway and should be there shortly. When we arrived at the dealership, it was a little before 6 pm. We were greeted by Mike and he said don't be scared of the scratches and the dirt on the car because the car still needed to be detailed. The car also had a sign that read don't sell. So Mike took us for a test drive, and when we got back, my son said that he really liked the car, so we told Mike let's go in and write an offer and he agreed.

    While writing up the offer, Mike asked how are you going to pay for the car are you refinancing and we said, "No we are paying cash." Mike said, "Okay," and took our offer to the manager. He was gone for sometime and we were wondering why it was taking so long that maybe he couldn't find the manager. Then finally Mike comes back to his office and said, "Folks, I'm really sorry but the manager said the car was sold while we were test driving the car." We expressed to Mike how upset we were, and he said I totally agree there was no way that car should of been sold, especially if you had the first right of refusal. We asked to speak to the manager so Mike went and got Marc D.

    We asked how could this be and he said, "Well, it happens and there is nothing we can do, it's sold and the papers have been FedEx already. My wife said FedEx doesn't pick up after 5pm, so how could that be, we even had the keys. All the manager said was, "Well, they had qualified for the loan and it was a done deal." My wife told him that he hasn't heard the last of us and that we wanted his managers name. The next day Wednesday, April 7th my wife called the general manager Seth W. and got his voice mail and told him to call her back.

    Later that day, Mr. W. called my wife she asked him if he had heard of what had happened last night and he said what do you mean and so she proceeded to tell him and he said, "Oh, I received a call last night and that it was a mistake and things happen and I said that was no mistake there is something shady going on and he said, "Sorry, you feel that way but the car is gone and that's all. There is to it I can try and find another car for you" and my wife said do you really think I would do business with your company. Until today we have not heard from anyone apologizing for what they put us through. Our son was extremely upset that he wasn't able to get the car and that he had sent us on a trip over fifty miles one way along with his girlfriend who came from Oxnard. We were all devastated by the events that took place yesterday.

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    Reviewed April 10, 2010

    Window trim has fallen off. Dealer said poor quality adhesive was used by factory. I reported the hazard to BMW North America. Dealer offered to install new trim, if BMW North America supplied the window trim. BMW North America refused to stand by their quality and refused to pay for either the trim. BMW NA charges $300.00 for the part alone.

    Health hazard. Driver can trip coming out of car. Trim cost $300.00. Auto repair shop was kind enough to install for free.

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    Reviewed April 10, 2010

    Ii have two 2009 BMW 740li and I was forced to change their tires for $4117 because of defects on them. And now it appears that they are not suitable for this type of car. All the new tires we installed also have started to have the same defects. Now I need to claim that they should pay me back what I already paid. It's not fair and not accepted at all. I already sent the same complaint but this one is the corrected one. The car warbling and very dangerous to drive because of these defects.

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    Reviewed April 10, 2010

    I have two 2009 BMW 740li and I was forced to change them for $4117 because of defect on them. And now appears that they are not suitable for this kind of car. All the new tires we installed also have started to have the same defect. I need to claim that they should pay me back what I already paid. It’s not fair and not accepted at all. The car wailing and very dangerous to drive.

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    Reviewed April 7, 2010

    I own a 323i BMW. The other day, while shopping with my girlfriend, I parked in a parking lot facing another car. I put my car in reverse and nothing happened, I tried several times but it was like putting it in neutral. I had to wait until the owner of the vehicle facing us came and left the parking space so that we could move out in a forward move.

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    Reviewed April 6, 2010

    I purchased a 2008 BMW 335I and after having the car for 3 weeks, I am now experiencing issues with the Turbo. I took the car to United BMW of Gwinnett. After having the car for 4 days, they informed me that the turbo needs to be replaced. I have read that this is not an uncommon issue with the car and that many other buyers of the car have had the same issue with as little as 800 miles on the car. I have wasted days from work taking the car in for service. It also poses a dangerous risk to me and my family when the car reduced power on the highway. BMW claims that the turbo is bad, but cannot tell me why they went bad.

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    Reviewed March 23, 2010

    2007 BMW 335i was brought to dealer Pace BMW in Port Chester, NY for long cranking start and rough idling, loss of power and service engine soon lit. High pressure fuel pump was replaced with sensor. But after driving home, the engine light came back on and loss of power. I paid $1200 for work done and just found out that HPFP was changed 10,000 miles previously, so HPFP was changed twice within 10,000 miles. I just found out that April of last year, when pump was said to be bad due to 14% ethanol in tank, the HPFP was extended to 120,000 miles which means that my pump was in warranty and I shouldn't have paid anything.

    I called BMW NA and spoke to Sunny. He stated that HPFP that was changed at 52,000 miles was a "good will gesture" from BMW and that it didn't carry any warranty. So when it failed again at 62,000 miles, it was out of warranty. The car's engine and fuel system is defective and is not caused by wear and tear. Many people are having the same issues and BMW fails to do recalls just like what Toyota did. I lost power on Interstate 95 a few months back and an 18-wheeler hit me at the back but we were going maybe 10 miles an hour in traffic, but it failed to accelerate before he tapped me. I placed a 911 call for this incident when it happened in NY.

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    Reviewed March 22, 2010

    I bought a vehicle on 2/19/2010, X3 2007. I could not pull in cell phone charge because lighter does not work. Every time I start up the car, it takes two cranks. And there is a crack in the windshield. I haven't made my first payment yet and they will not take care to the windshield. I called Geico and they sent technician to look at the window. Technician stated to take vehicle back to have them replace it. The damage was not caused from road. Crack is from the inside out. Do not buy your BMW from Northwest. Go to Annapolis or Towson. They have more pride about their service.

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    Reviewed March 11, 2010

    In Oct. 2008, I went through a lease assumption. There were three parties involved in order to make this transfer: BMW Financial services, Mr. H., the original owner of the 2007 3 series and myself. I went ahead and continue with the transfer paying BMW financial service $568, it was a paperwork fee that is required by BMW to complete the process. During the transfer Mr. H and I completed our paperwork, sign and power of attorney was stamped to finalize the entire process.

    It took about a month for that to be done. Entering Nov. 2008, I finally had Mr. H, removed as the owner and I am now the primary vehicle owner of the 2007 335i. The final step for me was to take the vehicle to DMV and pay for registration, conduct a smog check and do a vehicle inspection, etc. Once that’s all done I should obtain my 2009 registration being register under my name. It was no problem. I went through entire process being careful, making sure that everything that needs to be done is done.

    A year went by and it was time to renew my registration for 2010. I went ahead mailed a $615 check to DMV early, leaving enough time to avoid any late fee. In Dec. 2009, I received a letter from DMV stating they needed the original title to my lease and $38 fee. Being very confused, my first thought was maybe DMV made some kind of mistake? I’m leasing the car, I wouldn’t have the title?!

    Long story short, BMW Financial Service messed up on the paperwork having me as a buyer vs. a lessee, causing this mess that became my personal issue! I’ve been to the DMV 3 times already waiting an hour for every visit and being on the phone for several hours with BMW faxing my doc to them seeking for a solution but not one person has gotten back to me. I still not able to get my 2010 registration! In order to resolve this: DMV needs BMW to FedEx the original title to them. But BMW won’t do it!

    Someone out there please help! It’s mid March of 2010 and I’m still not able to obtain my 2010 registration. I’ve just been between the DMV & BMW since Dec. 2009. Might I throw this in, that BMW suggested that I’d go to another DMV. Are you serious?! I believe everybody has a life, I don’t think that’s a solution here! There’s only one system, DMV just wants the title, having me going to every DMV in Calif. Will get me my sticker! I don’t see why BMW can’t fix the problem when they created this mess in the first place!? Please any advice would help!

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    Reviewed March 1, 2010

    The reverse in my 2001 BMW 3 series now just stopped working. I now drive forward. I’m very disappointed after reading this is a known, common problem.

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    Reviewed Feb. 26, 2010

    We bought a 2000 740iL in 2009. It has been nothing but money, money, money. We spent $1000 the first 3 months we owned it on sensors. Then in about the 9th month, we had knocking in the engine and the repair guy said it was the venous, and it would be cheaper to put an engine in, that was $4300, then $155 for a heat valve. Then 1 month later, a water pump for $454. It is never ending bills. I have a Ford Explorer and a Ford Ranger that I never spend money on. I will never buy a BMW again. The repair people are so arrogant and say that you should expect to put money in this car. That is ridiculous. This car sucks. I have spent too much money and can’t sell it. I will talk bad about BMW forever.

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    Reviewed Feb. 24, 2010

    I just pulled off a very busy and fast Parkway on the way to work. Pulling into my workplace parking lot, I lost all steering. The steering wheel just spun around freely. AAA to local BMW dealer where they found the bolt that holds the steering rod to the steering rack had come completely out allowing the rod to de-couple from the rack. There were no indicator lights, nothing. Suddenly, I had no steering. We came within a few minutes from disaster. I have notified BMW and await news from them.

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    Reviewed Feb. 24, 2010

    I have a 2005 BMW X5, 3.0. The car has 110,000 miles on it and the transmission just went. I was very surprised. While the mileage is not low, it is a BMW. It's also a truck and I've never towed anything with it. All routine and recommended maintenance has been performed by BMW. No one else has ever touched the car. I called BMW North America and essentially go stonewalled with a very cavalier response, not unlike what others have posted.

    I was 2 hours from home, which entailed having to find another way home and then remotely coordinating my car being towed into the nearest BMW service center. Naturally, I needed to rent a car. I also am so distrustful of BMW at this point that I won't even let them fix the car. I'm having it towed to a certified independent.

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    Reviewed Feb. 23, 2010

    I bought a used 2004 545I BMW about 3 years ago. I have had so many problems with this car, it's crazy! I will never buy a BMW again. First, it was an oil leak that broke my brake booster, then my temp sensor broke. Now, my car shakes and shutters. When driving 30-40mph, the car jolts like I've been hit from behind (scared the crap out of me, now I'm used to the jolts). It's in the shop for the mass flow sensor and I keep getting "increased emissions" light. Worst car ever! I want my Lexus IS 300 back! This car should be recalled.

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    Reviewed Feb. 23, 2010

    BMW would not cover my car battery because they stated it was not a warranty issue. They told me to pay $300 for it out of my pocket. I took my car over to Irvine BMW and they stated it was covered through warranty. My car is 16 months old with less then 17,000 miles. These guys are crooks!

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    Reviewed Feb. 23, 2010

    I leased a 2008 335XI that should never been allowed to be sold! BMW knew the engine was a failure and still sold them to the consumer! I have filed a lemon lawsuit. I have had so many problems with that car. It started week one with engine noise, which I know now was because there was no oil getting to the top of my engine because the VANOS system is a design flaw that doesn’t produce enough oil pressure to get the oil up there! And it went down hill from there!

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    Reviewed Feb. 19, 2010

    BMW cars and SUV tires are equipped with a technology called Run-Flat Tire which allows you to run the tire even if your car tire is punctured (flat). This technology called PAX technology was introduced by Michelin tires and they were forced to discontinue due to several issues in Europe and US. My problem with BMW is that my newly purchased X5 can only give less than 10K of tire life, around 6 or 7000 km. The steel radial threads of the tires are exposed that cause the tire to be flat (puncture) frequently and I need to depend on the BMW dealer to come and change the tires. Unfortunately, BMW India doesn't supply spare (stepini) tire or the tools like Jack or wrench to open the tire. In my case, BMW said they will not be responsible for any issues related to the tire. So, please don't buy BMW in India. They do not care once they have sold the vehicles to you. Each tire costs around 15-20 thousand rupees.

    BMW Tires are very expensive because they use the failed technology that they claim it is the greatest. Your time is wasted every time because you can't change the tires yourself. You need to wait for BMW to come and replace the tires for you. In India, BMW customer service is very bad, from Dealer to the head office. I complained to the BMW head and customer service in India, but they said they can't do anything for me. If I need to replace the tires to normal tires, I have to spend close to 1.5 Lakh rupees.

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    Reviewed Feb. 19, 2010

    Suddenly the reverse gear went out on the transmission and it would pull out in any gear including neutral. I had the transmission rebuilt at which time the mechanic said "all of the gears were melted together" and this is something he has seen numerous times, more than one a week with various models of BMW. One week later, the rebuilt transmission did exactly the same thing. The mechanic researched and found a new way to "vent" the transmission so it will keep it from getting too hot and overheating but that is a lot of money later! Transmission failed twice in two weeks!

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    Reviewed Feb. 18, 2010

    My 2000 BMW 323i Wagon had a transmission failure. It would shift into reverse, but would only rev when I pushed the gas pedal. I have to have the transmission rebuilt. After searching online, I saw that this has been a huge problem with these cars and BMW refuses to accept responsibility for it.

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    Reviewed Feb. 17, 2010

    I bought two of 2009 BMW 740li. I liked the car but something is wrong with front wheels tires. In one month, I noticed like hums or balloons on the side of front tire which affects on steering wheel so bad. The tires are Goodyear kind. I took both cars to the dealer and they noticed the defect on tires but said no warranty on this. So I had to by four tires for the amount of $4500. In one month later, the same problem arise again. I could not drive the car because of the of the steering wheel shaking dangerously and not comfortable so I took to dealer. The dealer said take to tires company. The company said they are not responsible because the problem is from the rim. Now, I don't know what to do. Do I have to buy each moth a tire which costs $1000 or what? Nobody is solving our problems. It's not just my cars, there are hundreds now facing the same problem here in Saudi Arabia. Please, we need your prompt action on this.

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    Reviewed Feb. 16, 2010

    I have a 2004 5-series. When going down the interstate in the passing lane, I suddenly lost all power. After receiving my car back as "fixed", the problem happened nearly resulting in a rear-end collision. Finally, after 8 weeks total in the BMW shop and after ridiculous expense for everyone involved, I picked up the car again, "fixed". The next day, the same type of error message appeared on my console as before, "service engine soon". The car was also missing under a load all along during this process. When this error message appeared, my car did not lose power. However, I had been told that this type of message was constantly appearing during this whole ordeal. I informed Mr. Keith at BMWNA and BMW Financial that I was returning the car to the dealership and would no longer make payments on it until the issue is resolved to my liking. Was I took a stand on the issue I have heard absolutely nothing in response. I have been "cut-off". I apparently no longer exist! I am interested if anyone else has had this issue.

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    Reviewed Feb. 13, 2010

    I purchased a 2005 745Li BMW in 2008 and had problems which the extended warranty do not cover. Why get the warranty if it does cover the thing that you need? Please help! I have so much to say, but don't have enough space to write it. There's the transmission, Navigation System, Radio.

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    Reviewed Feb. 11, 2010

    I bought a new car on October 13, 2009, and have had a loaner car for over 30 days for all the problems. My car was towed to have the solonoid valve replaced. The dashboard light, and thermostat, as well as the differential, which all had to be replaced. At this time, the car only has 3,500 miles. I told them I didn't want the car, and I wanted another one. They had me sit with a salesman, and pick out another car. When I followed up with the sales manager, he said BMW corporate would not approve of it. Why would the sales manager have me pick out a new car before approval? I feel that something is not right. I can't get straight answers from the sales manager. He gives me a different story every time I call him. Either he doesn't remember from the last time we spoke, or he is not telling the truth? I drove other 2009 BMW with the same whining noise. I believe they have a problem, not only with my car.

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    Reviewed Feb. 8, 2010

    I am outraged with this organization. I purchased a certified pre-owned vehicle in April 2005. I told the sales representative that I would only purchase the vehicle if I could get a warranty plan with it that would last as long as the 60-month note. I was trying to avoid a car payment and a big repair bill in the same month.

    I knew I would not exceed the 100,000 mileage due to the close proximity of my job. My only concern was the length of the warranty. He sold me a 100,000/72 month extended warranty. I took it in for service this Monday (2/1/10) and the dealership is trying to charge me $2,500.00 because they say it is out of warranty. I am being told that the 72-month period actually started when the vehicle was originally retailed--which was November 2003. That is outrageous! Why the hell would I purchase an extended warranty from the time I didn't even own the vehicle? This is ludicrous.

    The salesman committed fraud and all their customer service can say is sorry about that. I will never purchase a BMW again. I have consistently experienced bad service from them. Stay away from the Silver Spring dealership, their service is horrible. In fact, I'd stay away from BMW altogether. I had no idea they had such negative PR on the Internet until I started researching them.

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    Reviewed Feb. 5, 2010

    I am outraged with this organization. I purchased a certified pre-owned vehicle in April 2005. I told the sales rep that I would only purchase the vehicle if I could get a warranty plan with it that would last as long as the 60 month note. I knew I would not exceed the 100,000 mileage due to the close proximity of my job. My only concern was the length of the warranty. He sold me a 100,000/72 month extended warranty. I took it in for service this Monday and the dealership is trying to charge me $2500.00 because they say it is out of warranty.

    I am being told that the 72 month period actually started when the vehicle was originally retailed which was November 2003. That is outrageous! Why the hell would I purchase an extended warranty from the time I didn't even own the vehicle. This is ludicrous. The salesman committed fraud and all their customer service can say is sorry about that. The only thing I am asking of them is to honor the warranty as the salesman explained it to me. He lied to me to get the sale.

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    Reviewed Feb. 2, 2010

    My name is Armand and I drive a 2004 BMW X5 with 89,000 miles. I was driving down I-10 East (going about 65 mph) in Houston on the inside lane when all of a sudden, I heard a big boom and saw white powder, which at the time I believed was a cracked driver's side window. After a few seconds, I realized that my window was not broken and I was under the impression that I must have hit the median, which caused the airbags to deploy. My cars accelerator would not work and the steering got a little stiff.

    Shortly after, BMW road side assistance come on over the cars speakers and asked me what had happened. I told them that I had hit the median and I did not need them to send the police or a wrecker. After inspecting the car, I saw nothing wrong with it at all, no scratches, no dents nothing at all. Seeing nothing wrong with my car, convinced me that I had not hit the median and that the deployed airbags was not my fault.

    This brought up my second question. About 3 months earlier, I was in an accident which causes over 10,000 dollars of damage to the front end. The airbags did not deploy in that accident even though I hit the car in front of me at nearly 25 mph. I am wondering if the airbags deployed as a result of the accident 3 months earlier. I read about the recall but from what I found my car does not fall in the category of cars being recalled. I also read that BMW does not want to cover the cost (about $5,000) to repair the airbags. I was interested in seeing if anyone has filed any lawsuits and what the outcome was. I will be taking my car to BMW tomorrow to see what they tell me. I hope that they will fix it but if they don't, I want to be prepared to take the actions needed to fix my car.

    This could have been a very serious accident. I-10 is a very busy highway and not only could I have seriously been injured or killed but so could another driver. Any help, advice on similar experience would be greatly appreciated.

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    Reviewed Jan. 27, 2010

    I purchased a 2005 BMW 745li in May of 2008, and at the time, the vehicle had 45,700 miles on it. It was my dream car and has turned into an absolute nightmare from day one. The vehicle has been in the repair shop approx 10 times with the following problems: air compressor, which was replaced, door handles replaced due to draw on battery, battery replaced, which should have not been replaced due to the comfort door handles, fuses blew all the time, motor in front passenger window replaced twice, motor was knocking, still knocks, transmission failure, tension belts replaced, vehicle was towed three times to BMW when the vehicle just shuts down and does not run, air bag defaults, all types of warning lights indicating vehicle is not safe to drive, front driver door sometimes will not close, and the list goes on and on.

    I have contacted BMW North America and they are the worst to deal with. They rarely return your calls and when you do get them on the phone, they promise to call you back and never do. I requested that they buy the vehicle back, but have refused and told me, I guess I should have complained a lot earlier and maybe they could have done something. Now I have a car, that is unsafe to drive and sits in my driveway most of the time. I have lost time from work, hundreds of dollars spent on a battery and warranty fees that they charge every time you bring it in, gas to drive over 60 miles to take the vehicle in and that is one way and vehicle payments on a car that I cannot drive due to safety issues. I need some assistance from someone. I am at a loss.

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    Reviewed Jan. 27, 2010

    I brought my 7 Series BMW last year, exactly on January 2009, and I didn't imagine that I will suffer with it that much. My main problem is in the tires. I changed two tires on April 09 and another two on July 09 and one tire on November 09. Today I got another one, which means that almost each a couple of months I face a problem in one of my tires. I tried to talk with the responsible guy in the authorized maintenance center here in Egypt and he told me that the thickness of these tires is not suitable to be used over our Egyptian roads!

    I got astonished and really wonder: if this car is not good to be used in Egypt, so why you are selling it here? This is unprofessional and totally not ethically. I really do appreciate if you take care of my complaint and give me the suitable reply. My request now is that I don't want to pay more on tires and for the last one which I got today. I want it to be paid by your side as a compensation for my suffering. Total expenses on tires only is EGP 23,149.50.

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    Reviewed Jan. 20, 2010

    About three months ago, I had my 2002 BMW 330ci serviced at Beverly Hills BMW. During that $700+ service, they performed an inspection that was supposed to cover every major part of the vehicle, including the transmission. Yesterday, I had a complete transmission failure. When I asked BMW why they didn't notice anything wrong with the transmission during their $700+ inspection, I was told they can't predict when parts are going to fail, which begs the question, "Why did I pay $700+ for an inspection that can tell when something is about to go wrong?"

    My car only has about 81000 miles on it. I have serviced it on a regular basis and have always taken the best possible care of it . I'm now left with a car that needs a new transmission. The dealership will happily put one in for $5800 or I can probably have someone rebuild it but it will still cost me big bucks. From my research, this is not an uncommon thing happening with the BMW 3 series. Why isn't BMW being held accountable? I did everything right. I always serviced my car at the dealership and used their parts.

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    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2010

    I own a 2007 BMW 328i. This morning, I rolled my windows down to wipe the the water off from the rain. I went to roll up my rear windows and noticed that my right rear window wasn't going up. I immediately took it to the dealership. I asked the service rep if I had to pay. He said yes, because my 50,000 mile warranty was up. He went on explaining that it could be the regulator. I can understand if it were my shocks, a valve or a pump. I wouldn't be mad or bummed about paying for a "wear and tear" part. What I can't understand is why do I have to pay for a part that I barely use? This part has nothing to do with the performance of the car.

    The service rep quoted me $806 for a the motor and the lift. It's ridiculous. I have heard many complaints about BMW's high prices for maintenance and service, but I ignored that. It's the "price" you have to pay for owning / leasing a premium brand. Never again will I go German. It's not fair that consumers have to pay for parts that aren't used everyday.

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    Reviewed Jan. 5, 2010

    My BMW 3 series has transmission failure like so many others reported on this site. It is not the number of miles, but it is the faulty design that causes reverse to malfunction. It has been reported by many others and it is a good case for class action.

    I have to have transmission replaced or rebuilt. It cost $5000.00 plus at the Dealer while it is $3000.00 plus in a private transmission shop.

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    Reviewed Dec. 25, 2009

    Transmission problem with no reverse.

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    Reviewed Dec. 19, 2009

    A few weeks ago, I picked up 528L for a family member. Upon delivery and a few days later, the dealer started to call and asked to bring the car back for "major" service and oil change. I checked online diagnostics and it showed that the car required an oil change. Dealer told me to add 1/2 quart of oil and it should go away and it did not.

    I took the car to a totally different dealer and they stated that by resetting the computer, everything should be fine. The same evening, they called and stated that there is a major problem with this car - apparently a bunch of wires in the engine compartment were damaged by rodents and that I have to pay them $1,800 to get all the wires changed. I did not allow it to take place and took the vehicle back.

    The original dealer took the possession and has been holding on to it for over 2 weeks now. I had BMW North American involved, but they are not saying anything as of yet. Kevin, who presented himself as the manager of customer service for BMW North America, is not being helpful nor is willing to get higher management involved. According to the service manager, they have to change the wires, but they cannot guarantee that everything else is okay, nor are willing to do much of anything else.

    When I purchased this car, it had only 35 miles and at the moment it has less than 500 miles. I did tell BMW North America to replace this car and give me a brand new car as was intended and thus far, they are mute and are unwilling to talk. Has anyone had this type of problem with their new cars and if so, what do you recommend?

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    Reviewed Nov. 28, 2009

    I have a 1995 BMW 325i I bought used. The one key I had was lost and upon going to the dealership and providing proof of ownership I asked to have a key made. I was told they could not make a key for my car. I was told in the vehicle's lifetime there's a max amount of replacement keys and my vehicle had already been issued all the keys to previous owners. I am locked out of my car and AAA can not slim jim the doors due to the anti-theft lock mechanism. I was told I would have to tow my car to BMW and I would have to pay for towing plus about $1000. to have the entire lock system, ignition, computer module and alarm module replaced. I was told that used parts were not an option and also that self service parts were not able to be ordered. They would do the work but won't sell me the parts. I have contacted local locksmiths and all have told me they do not have the ability to access BMW's security systems to code a key for me. I asked BMW how I could get into my car other than smashing a window, and they told me there is no other way to gain entry to the vehicle without a key. I then asked if I towed the vehicle to them how would they gain entry and my question was ignored. I am convinced that IF I did tow my vehicle to BMW and had the work done, all I would end up with is the $91.00 replacement key I initially wanted but for the price of $1000+. Please help.
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    Reviewed Nov. 24, 2009

    I OWN A BMW X5. THIS CAR HAS HAD IT MIRRORS WORKED ON NUMBEROUS TIMES AND REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES. THIS A DEFECTIVE PART COMMON WITH ALL X5'S. DUE TO THE AGE OF THE CAR AND IT BEING REPAIRED BY THEM NUMEROUS TIMES THEY NO LONGER ARE INTERESTED IN REPLACING IT. THEIR HEAD MECHANIC ACKNOWLEDGES IT IS DEFECTIVE BUT THEY HAVE NOT RECALLED IT YET. IN ADDITION THERE IS A FIRE HAZARD WITH THE DRIVERS SIDE HEATED SEATS. AGAIN ACKNOWLEDGED BUT NOT RECALLED.
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    Reviewed Nov. 20, 2009

    When I select reverse. I must hit the
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    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2009

    I had taken my car for service to the dealership. They gave me a loaner vehicle as per their policies. The loaner vehicle is given to the customers as a free service and they dont have to pay for it. They have to sign the papers and use the insurance to cover for the same.
    On returning the loaner vehicle, I was told that the vehicle had a bubble in one tire and a nail in the other. The tires are run flat so they cannot be repaired. The charges for changing the tires are almost $1000. I didnt argue as I understand it may have been my fault. The service representative mentioned that they see a lot of these every week. As many as 3 cars returned on a daily basis have the same problem. This was verified by the service manager over the phone. i recommended using different tires if the ones which they were using were so delicate but he didnt seem to agree.I spoke to a colleague of mine and she ran into the same problem with them. This seems to be a good revenue stream for them. The tires are sold at a premium price at the dealership and labor is expensive there aswell. They can very easy clear the error on the car and rent the loaner out to other customers. After driving for sometime, the error reappears as it is on a certain loss of pressure. Plus the bubble on the front tire couldnt be seen or noticed by me. But the dealership service representative who is an "EXPERT" could see the bubble. This is just a big scheme to ask inoocent people to pay for using the car without charging them upfront but using these cheap antics to swindle money from them when they return the car. On speaking to the corporate office they asked me to complain to the highway authority about the road conditions. I would appreciate any help I can get from you or at the bare minimum request my case be registered and investigated further. I am willing to provide any additional information you may need on the same.
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    Reviewed Oct. 29, 2009

    I own a BMW E46 M3 SMGII CIC. It s a 2003 model with only 35000 miles on it.
    I brought my car in july 2009 with 33000 miles at the time for a service. They told me then that there was a recall on the DME software. They never told me that it was a voluntary recall for gas emissions. When I went to pick up the car,I noticed while driving that the car was lacking power, the engine was running different, and that sometimes the SMG transmission was suddenly refusing the shifting command. I went back to the dealership 3 times, and they said to me that everything was normal, except maybe replacing the Air Mass sensor? I had my car diagnosed by a friend ( who is an engineer in designing race car engines, and computer mapping, he s also known worlwide and worked with the most prestigious sport car name), he told me that the car was running lean and will break down if proper action wasn t taken.I need to underline that everytime I was starting the car ( warm or cold engine, the RPM was surging, the RPM was raising up to 2000 RPM back to 1000, for about 45 sec before finally stabilizing to 1200 RPM on idle, while it was 900 RPM prior the recall) I returned to the dealership asking for the removing of this software and have the old one put back. The answer was that BMW NA refuses to do so. Later on, while sitting at the redlight, the engine stalled on me. I restarted the car, and I noticed a loud noise and an engine shaking. I stopped the car and had it towed to the dealership. They diagnosed my car with an OVER-REV??? Well, the SMG II transmission doesnt allow you in any conditions to over rev the engine. I even sent them the technical data and design of the bmw SMG stating that over revving the engine is totally impossible. I requested a DME download in order to get the data of the engine, and how the engine was running at the time of the breakdown. It has been refused by BMW NA. They then asked me the right to open the engine to diagnose the cause of the breakdown. They found a broken valve, at the guide, not at the mushroom, which proves that it wasn t an over rev.Had the head sent to a machine shop, that concluded that it wasn t an over rev as well, but had as an opinion that the car was running too lean or it was a defective valve. Now, after requesting the data from the computer of the car by BMW NA in order to define the cause of the breakdown, it is still being refused to me for the reason that the car is no longer under warranty. So far, they cannot tell me why I have a broken valve!!! I talked with different technicians from different dealership, and they all told me the same thing. It s not an over rev, and or the valve was defective or the car was running too lean which caused the valve to get stuck in the guide and break down. BMW NA offered me a discount to fix the car, which bring the bill to 6100.00 USD with a 45% discount, and even accepted to reload the old software to my surprise. Which will erase all the data in it and will then make the disappearance of the cause of the breakdown. Also, a lot of M3 owners complained of the behavior of their car since the recall. I still after over a month no answer on the breakdown. They refused to let me speak with a real engineer. Their answer was you have a broken valve and we do not know why, but your car is no longer under warranty. I own a low milleage car, which has been maintained to the highest standards possible only by BMW. They have no idea about how the SMG work, have no clue about the system and cannot even answer you simple questions. All they do is lie to you and jerk you around. I ended up calling BMW Germany for help. I do not understand when everyone is stating the causes of the breakdown, why BMW knowing that the answer is in the DME, why are they refusing to download it and read the cause. The DME will tell if the car was running lean, or any other causes. A brand new engine cost 17000.00 USD, my bill for repairs is about 6100.00 USd including a discount otherwise it would had been about 10.000,00 USD. It doesn t make sense on a 35.000 miles car. The valves of this car cost about 200.00 USd each, and are sodium valves, made especially for high rev engines with a high tolerance to abuse. Then how can you get one broken valve while you are idling? BMW NA is refusing to find out the cause, and I am wondering how can you fix the car the proper way if you don t know why did it break down at the first place? I have enough proofs showing that it was a computer mismanagement of the engine that induced a mechanical failure. This mismanagement started from the day they loaded a new software into the car. I have the statement of a lot of M3s owners complaining about the same problem as well. Now, BMW is hidding behind the expired warranty, and refuses to give me a logical answer to the problem, all they are saying is you have a broken valve?why? they do not know? I don t buy it. I studied thermo-dynamics and mechanics, and I know that those parts don t break for no reason. But so far, no help on their side. I have a broken car and no reason why. I never received any written statement, nothing in my hands from BMW NA or the dealership up to today, after over a month. I can proove that their is a problem with the software that manages the engine, but it s in the computer that they refuse to read. The machine shop recommanded to replace all the exhaust valves ( 200.00/each*12)Why if only one valve is broken, unless the valves are defective. And why accpeting to reload the old software back in the car? obviously, they do know that there is a problem with it. i am looking for help to fix this problem and that wall I am facing.
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    Reviewed Oct. 27, 2009

    I bought a 2006 Pre-owned Certified BMW 325 in June 2009 from Moritz BMW in Arlington, TX. So much for a Pre-Owned Certified and the premium I paid, the car has been in the shop 4 times in the past 4 months - broken vents, worn-our rubber molding, drive-shaft noise, replacement of actuator on front doors (the car would not lock or unlock). The car currently has 48500 miles and I am dreading reaching 50000 miles when the warranty runs out (not sure how good the 100k mile pre-owned warranty will be, since it is exclusions)..Regret my decision to switch from an 11 year old Maxima that never had any problems. First and last BMW for me and my family.
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    Reviewed Oct. 23, 2009

    I took my vehicle(BMW 318i Executive E46) in to BMW Forsdicks Tyger Valley about 5 months ago as it was cutting out whilst driving and the battery light kept coming on. The vehicle also had a terrible sound coming from the engine. Forsdicks had my vehicle for the day and called me to say their is nothing wrong with it. They said they tested the alternator and the battery and picked up no faults. I collected the vehicle and left only to find the vehicle was still cutting out and the battery light was still going on and off. The following day i called Forsdicks and spoke to the service agent who had assisted me (Geraldine Buchannon) and told her that there definately is a problem with the vehicle and what should i do, she then told me to book it in again or to DRIVE THE VEHICLE UNTIL IT COMPLETELY BREAKS DOWN. As the vehicle was cutting out more frequently i booked it in for a second time.After they inspected the vehicle the second time she contacted me and said they are not sure what the problem is and that the engine was making a terrible noise. She then told me that it would cost R550 per hour to strip the vehicle and diagnose the problem. I then took my vehicle elsewhere for a second opinion. Due to the LACK OF SERVICE FROM FORSDICKS AND THE INCOMPETANT STAFF, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE TENSIONER AS WELL AS THE RAILS AND CHAIN. Due to the worn tensioner not beeing replaced, the chain was stretched and the rails were damaged, further more is that it has caused damage to the intake varnos'd which had to be replaced as the vehicle was still making a noise. It has costed me R17651.00 to repair my vehicle. This would never have caused damage to this extent should they have changed the tensioner in time. My vehicle is on 135313 km and have been told by the people who worked on my vehicle that this should have been done at 100,000km.They had to take the vehicle into Forsdicks to put on the computers to see why it was still making a noise, they told him it was the Varnos's and they also told him that this particular model came out with faulty timing tensioners. I had a meeting with the service manager Clinton Crayenstein and he denies this.He also told me their was nothing he could do as i had it repaired elsewhere. I am seriously 1 UNHAPPY CUSTOMER and this will be the last time i EVER buy a BMW. They are great vehicles to drive but the service department is the WORST i have ever experienced.
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    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2009

    i have a 1987 bmw and tried to replace the tires for the 2nd time since my ownership and found that there is only one tire that will fit the european rims that came with the car (several years ago the tires were readily available and ~$100 each). Currently, the tires are very rare and now cost $417 each! I requested assistance from bmw with either replacing the rare rims or offsetting the cost of the tires since they specified only micheline trx tires for the car when it was produced. Only coker tire supplies these tires as Michelin told me that they sold the moulds for the tire to them -coker told me that michelin still makes them and that they did not sell the moulds. bmw has told me they are not responsible for the tire price and refused to help me. my only choice now is to pay the ridculous price for tires or try to sell the car! Not the customer service i expected from a "luxury " car dealer!
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    Reviewed Oct. 7, 2009

    My seatbelt and airbag light keeps coming on when I am driving and have my seat belt on. I took the car to the dealership in newport news virginia they said I must pay 760.00 because some wire was corided because something got spilt on the battery. they also said my airbag was not working if i was to get into an accident the airbag would not work. So i am suppose to drive with no airbags working. please help me
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    Reviewed Oct. 6, 2009

    I have gon to the BMW service department to get my 10 month old BMW service. They told me I had a screw in my rigth front tire.I took my car to another place MY TIRES WERE FINE. they made a dent on the hood rought it back to get it fix, They made bigger dent in the bumper.
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    Reviewed Oct. 2, 2009

    I am a US citizen currently residing in South Africa. I ordered and purchased a BMW 323i new in early 2006. Within a few months the interior trim began to peel. The local dealership in Bloemfontein, (Sovereign BMW) resisted repairing it at first until the problem became more widespread. Then they reluctantly replaced the parts with new, but some of the new parts peeled as well. They eventually began repainting the parts through an outside sub-ontractor who came to the dealership when there were 'enough people' with the same problem. I know that I am not unique in this. Are you aware of any significant problem with this in BMW's esp. the 3 series?
    Thanks, Ray Mossie
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    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2009

    I am following a compliant on my 740il because I can no longer read the digital dash information. It is a safety hazard that I can no longer be given any warning information when something is going wrong with the car. I was told by another 740 driver that you assist with this problem and I am requesting your assistance. I have had many other repairs done and I understand the car is no longer under warranty but I feel this is a problem that should be assisted with by BMW. I hope that BMW stands behind this problem.
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    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2009

    I bought a 2000 BMW 323ci six months ago. Two weeks ago I went to reverse out of my parking spot and thought I had mistakenly put the car in nuetral. As it turns out, the reverse function wasn't responding. Upon taking it into my mechanic, he informed me that the transmission would need to be replaced. The car only has 94,000 miles on it and he says BMW is the only car that has transmission problems with low miles. According to him it is because BMW decided to save money and began using an inferior GM transmission for a couple years. If you are considering buying a used BMW, do your homework. I've now read hundreds of similar incidents and have also heard rumblings of a class action suit filed against BMW because the problem is now so widespread.
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    Reviewed Sept. 28, 2009

    PLEASE HAVE A LAWYER CONTACT ME....
    I have made my payments on time for 3 years and due the economy crashing I am unemployed and had to request payment arrangement with bmw finacial services. I was dealing with rob stuart who was accepting my payments and working with me. on Sept 13 i got a call from kelly frank, i returned her call but wasnt available. this went on for 3 day. on the 16th i spoke to rob and said I would have the payment in by monday the 21st. he said that should be fine and that he would note my account. I asked him to connect me with kelly\'s voice mail for she wasnt available as usual. I left her a message as well letting her know that ill have a payment in by monday. Haveing never spoken to her a few hours later there is a knock at my door, and my car was repossesed. I feel that bmw\'s reps have misslead me and now are charging outragious cost for repossesion fee along with delaying the process of renstating my account inorder to have me pay the toe yard sorage fees.
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    Reviewed Sept. 28, 2009

    I have made my payments on time for 3 years and due the economy crashing I am unemployed and had to request payment arrangement with bmw finacial services. I was dealing with rob stuart who was accepting my payments and working with me. on Sept 13 i got a call from kelly frank, i returned her call but wasnt available. this went on for 3 day. on the 16th i spoke to rob and said I would have the payment in by monday the 21st. he said that should be fine and that he would note my account. I asked him to connect me with kelly's voice mail for she wasnt available as usual. I left her a message as well letting her know that ill have a payment in by monday. Haveing never spoken to her a few hours later there is a knock at my door, and my car was repossesed.
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    Reviewed Sept. 28, 2009

    Plz. note that I own a BMW X5 4.8i, 2009 model, purchased in 10/2008. In 08/2009, the A/C in this SAV stopped working. I took it to the BMW Service Center in Abu Dhabi, where they kept it for 4-days before returning it to me.
    No sooner than I took it home, the A/C completely stopped functioning again. I need the car as it is a busy time for me, but I am extremely disappointed that BMW does not take care of its customers. When I asked the Service Specialist, he told me that they just filled in the A/C gas & did nothing more. This is totally unexecptable. I paid over $100,000 for this vehicle & am utterly unhappy with this situation. If I wanted to get KIA or Hyundai like service I would have bought a KIA or a Hyundai. Now I have to take the vehicle into the service center, AGAIN, in Abu Dhabi & will have to rent a car for the duration of the repair, losing time & money needlessly, only of BMW would have been responsible enough as to fix the car properly the first time I took it in to them. For the last 2 days (Sep. 27 & 28), I have been trying to contact Mr. Hassam, the Service Manager at BMW Service, but he does not answer his phone & when I ask the telephone attendant for his no she says that she can not give it. Is this the KGB? What is the need for such secrecy? I would implore you to transmit my complaint to your senior management. I am extremely disappointed with BMW. This is my 2nd BMW, my older car was a 1999, 328i. Now I will NEVER more buy another BMW.
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    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2009

    I am an owner of BMW 2007 328i, purchased brand new in Nov 2007. Approximately after 10000 miles the engine started making noise. I took to the dealership and they fixed it. From there on, I am visiting dealership every few months for one problem on another and so far car has only 20K miles and it has been to dealership almost 8-9 times for various problems. I had my front brakes fixed after 10K miles, thank lord that BMW includes maintenence now, so they did it for free. After 4-5K miles I had to again change rear brake pads and rotors. Dealership was helpful in providing free service, but I was just amazed and angry that how come a 20K mile car needs new brakes, had to change bunch of parts in engine and it makes noises anytime. It is not that I bought an old car and I understand that an ultimate driving machine would need more maintenence/fixes then normal running car, but this is just insane. Its good that I bought this car new, if I would have got this car used, then I would have probably spend 5-6K or ever more to fix this car just in one year. I have driving Infiniti G35, Acura MDX, Acura 3.2TL before and none of the cars needed so much of work even though they were fun to drive. I just came back from dealership after fixing rear breaks , and after a week its again making noise. Sometimes its embarassing to drive this car when someone is driving with you and it makes all kinds of noises. I believe car lovers buy luxury car as prestige as well, and when it makes noises like this its a shame. I was driving with someone and he asked me whether this car is new or I bought it old. When I showed him the no. of miles on the car, he was shocked, it was only 10K miles and it was making noise worse then my old old mazda 626. All in all I would advise people to stay away from German cars as they require lot of maintenence, instead stay with Japanese brands as they are atleast reliable and fun enough to drive them. I had leased G35 for 3 yrs and I didnt even visit dealership once. Car had absolutely no problem, after 45K miles on it , I didnt even had to change brakes or anything. It was cheaper to lease from BMW and had absolutely no hassle. I spoke to dealership about lemon laws and they keep going around bushes stating that its a high performance car and anytime you have problem bring it in. Even though there service is nice, but it irritates me that it breaks so often and I have to take my time out to go visit them, get a loaner, go back return the loaner. Next time , no ultimate-driving machine for me !!
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    Reviewed Sept. 24, 2009

    In 2006 I bought a used 2001 BMW M5 with less than 10,000 kms. in as new condition with all services done by BMW. At 13,000 kms. (I only use it on weekends) in 2008, a small oil leak had me take the car to the BMW representative. Long story short, the engine was opened and 4 cylinders were scored and possible VANOS damage. BMW said the car needs a new engine and offered one at $,30,000 (almost the value of the car at the time). Note this is a car with 13,000 original kms. with all services donde by BMW. The original tires are still in good shape. I contacted the local representative and the regional representative in Panama. I also contacted BMW customer service in Germany, but got absolutely no help. I understand the car was out of warranty but this is clearly a factory defect, as no action by me or the previous owner (whom I know) should have ever caused the damage.
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    Reviewed Sept. 22, 2009

    I have e-mailed BMW 4 times about a recall on my 2002 BMW 325xi. The recall id# by the NHTSA is 02V088000. They have not responed to my request. I did not know about this until a few days ago as I was researching recalls on my other vehicles. I would like for anyone to get their attention, as I have not been able to do it.
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    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009

    tires bad the day I drove it off lot. was told dummy ligt comes on 21,000..miles.....took it back 12 times and 2 front tires bold was told it was bad tires. The tire sre not good when you order it....wanted me to get 4 new tires and pay for alinement. over 1,000.00. we went somewhere else.....
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    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009

    I have a 2003 BMW X5. We have had several problems with brakes. BMW X5 has trasmission problem the data is available in the internet. They have paid for the entire work even after the warranty period to several of their customers. BMW North America is not offering the same in my scenario.
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    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009

    Window regulators keep failing....especially front passenger side..
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    Reviewed Sept. 19, 2009

    Dealership promised everything until I paid the down payment on a lengthy lease agreement, 2000 740il.
    Transmission went out after 70,000 miles total - only 35,000 by me, second owner. Engine melted at 60,000 miles because of faulty temperature gauge. BMW takes no responsibility for the ultimate driving machine. I think it's the ultimate drive-you-mad machine. Once I get the transmission fixed, I'll probably sell it and consider myself lucky if I only lose a few thousand dollars. Just one problem after another. Great rides when they're working, but you got to have a lot of cash to keep them in gear.
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    Reviewed Sept. 10, 2009

    I have a 2007 BMW X3 - I purchased the car new and currently have about $45,300 miles on the vehicle. The warranty will be up at 50,000 miles.
    Recently I had the car in service with Fields BMW in Northfield IL. The "service engine" light had been coming on (and going off) since the last service they had done for me several months prior and I was concerned. Fields replaced a thermostat sensor and added some brake fluid and I thought I was good to go. This service visit was on Wed. August 26, 2009. Two days later, on Friday August 28th, my car went into fail safe mode and I was stranded on the side of the road. The problem happened as I was accelerating away from a light. When the light turned green and I pressed teh gas, the car suddenly lurched rather than gliding forward. As I continued to press the gas peddle the car became more sluggish - as if driving through wheel high mud. I pulled over just in time to see the transmission light appear on the dashboard. Placing the car in park I called Fields immediately to confirm that the light on the dash was indeed the transmission light. I then put the car back in drive and gently pressed the gas to see what would happen. The car went absolutely nowhere. The car was towed to a different dealership. (The rationale for servicing the car at a different dealer was two-fold; a) I was much closer to the this dealer and b) based on the fact that my regular dealership had serviced the car two days prior and didn't find any major problems...I wanted a fresh crew working on the car). The car was taken to Perillo BMW at 1035 N. Clark Street in Chicago, IL. When the car arrived at Perillo on a flatbed, is was completely dead. I was told that it would not "crank" or turn over. By Monday the car was mysteriously starting and Perillo was perplexed. To their credit they did call BMW coroprate engineers and open what's called a "PUMA" file (not sure on the spelling of the anacronym). Anyway, by Tuesday evening no one had any idea why the car had thrown itself into fail safe mode and shut down. The dealership wanted authorization to drive the car between 50-100 miles that night in order to try to re-create the failure. I gave the authorization. By Wednesday the dealrship and Corporate apparently had given up and Perillo called to say that I could pick up the car. So, the end result is that I'm asked to pick up a car that was obviously dead on the side of the road a handful of days before, wouldn't turn over for a period of time and has no final diagnostic conclusion. Adding insult to injury is that the car is still under warranty but not for long. So, when this does happen again, it can be assesed and repaired at my cost. I called corporate (BMW North America in Woodcliff NJ) on Wednesday September 2nd. At this time the car was still at Perillo. I wanted to see what they would do for me. Corporate was the most disappointing experience I have had in long while. The first thing the case manager wanted to know was, "Why did I take the car to Perillo and why didn't I take it back to Fields"? My answer was that any authorized BMW dealer should be sufficent, I was much closer to Perillo and bascially that I had lost some faith in Fields as they had diagnosed the car two days prior to the failure. The next thing the case manager said was, "well you have a two year warranty on all replaced parts so you're fine". This comment made zero sense considering that parts had not been replaced while it was "being serviced" because both Perillo mechanics and BMW Corporate enginners couldn't figure what needed to be replaced. For the representative to say this to me suggested that he was either slow in the head or proof that he wasn't listening. After I explained that parts had not been replaced his response was, "well that's why we have a four year or $50,000 mile warranty"! I explained to him that I understood the concept of the warranty and therein lies my cause for concern. I further explained to him that if the car could not be fixed while under warranty, that it spelled future trouble for me when it broke down again the first mile after the warranty expired. I'm not sure he grasped my point as he seemed unconcerned. I told him the I thought BMW NA should extend my warranty (at no cost) under the terms of a normal extended warranty. He told me he doubted they would do that but would make some calls and contact me "in a few days". I received a call back from the case manager on Wed September 9th, seven days after our conversation. He informed me that he was sorry for the delay but that "he wasn't able to call out" for a few days. I am entirely unclear on why he could not make calls from BMW North America for several days. As of 9/3 he had not yet spoken with the general service manager at Perillo. He told me that he would "get back to me after he spoke with the dealership". I told him that based on our conversation of last week, when I had requested an extended warranty comp'd by BMW - that I had thought it over and did not expect BMW to cover ALL parts, but perhaps to guaranty exteneded coverage on all computer/electronic/sensor related issues as that seemed to be the focus of the research on the car. His repsonse was that he doubted that would happen as the car "had a lot of sensors". I asked him if he would want his wife/girlfriend or baby sister to be driving the car down the highway and have it suddenly go into fail safe and shut down? He chuckled but admitted "no". I'm glad he found this entertaining.
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    Reviewed Sept. 5, 2009

    I am the owner of a 2000 323CI. Without any warning, reverse suddenly would not work. I found there are hundreds of people with the same problem and a website, noreverse.org, dedicated to the problem. During the repair, it was found the reverse drum had broken. The repair cost me $2,400.

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    Reviewed Sept. 5, 2009

    I bought a brand-new BMW 325i in April 2003. I had a major allergy and never roll windows down or open the moon roof while driving. The only time that I roll windows down is to get cash from the drive-up ATM bank machine or to talk someone in the parking lot. That is all about it. All windows looked pretty brand-new today. A few weeks ago, I drove to the drive-up ATM to get cash. After I got cash and rolled windows up, it broke. How could the windows that are rarely used break easily, especially that it's made by BMW in Germany? I had Acura. Within 13 years, everything is still working when I sold it. Even its automatic antenna is still working too. You know how much hard work that the automatic antenna would be, but it's still working in 13 years in Acura. I never buy BMW again in my life.

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    Reviewed Sept. 5, 2009

    All of a sudden, I went to shift my 2000 BMW 323i into reverse and surprise, surprise, it acts like it is in neutral. I have had no issues with the tranny and forward gears work fine. My mechanic just replaced three solenoids in the valve body hoping it would be the fix but it wasn't. I really hope I don't have to pay for a rebuilt transmission because I don't trust that it won't happen again. I was told that maybe something in the valve body is stuck like one of the valves maybe but if not, I have no other option but to rebuild. I am online reading plenty of horror stories about this exact issue and can't believe such a highly priced and rated car fails in reverse out of nowhere.

    I am at 155k on the car, just got it at 135k for $4500 and put at least $4000 into it mechanically before this happened. I feel like I got beat out of $8500 as I have only owned the car for 6 months. Why does BMW put GM trans in their car? In the first ** place, if I wanted a GM, I would have bought one. This, to me, is very ridiculous. I own a 2001 Lexus and guess what? I have a Lexus transmission that came stock with the car with absolutely no problems. I will never own another BMW after this **. What a waste!

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    Reviewed Aug. 29, 2009

    2000 328i transmission will not go into reverse. After looking online, I find it is common and yet BMW has not addressed it. They have been getting around it by replacing the whole transmission so it gets put into a general transmission fix rather than a no reverse fix. During these economic times, it is a hardship.

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    Reviewed Aug. 26, 2009

    I am the owner of a 2000 323ci. I have had absolutely no transmission problems whatsoever, and with no warning at all, my reverse suddenly doesn't work. I have been told by a transmission shop that it would be at least $3000.00 to repair the problem. I got online and have discovered there are hundreds of people having the same problem. This is ridiculous, and BMW needs to do a recall or repair these vehicles!

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    Reviewed Aug. 19, 2009

    For all you folks writing about faulty BMW transmissions: BMW has produced hundreds of thousands of cars with defective transmissions. I have owned dozens of various make cars in over 40 years driving. I never had a bad trans until BMW. My wife had BMW with 60,000 careful miles when the trans blew up. We junked the car.

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    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2009

    I was driving down the highway the other day and hit a pothole on the front wheel passenger side and all of a sudden, the passenger side door airbag and above the door airbag both deployed. There was absolutely no damage to my vehicle whatsoever on the outside of the car. I took it into my dealership and they told me that there was damage to the undercarriage of the car and that was the reason for the airbag deployment. They said it would cost me $4900.00 to fix. I was very upset with their response so I took it to a body shop to get a second opinion. Upon inspection by the body shop, they said that there was absolutely no damage to the undercarriage whatsoever. I then took this information back to the dealership to show them that this has to be a defect: the dealership's response was the same, "you're responsible for the replacement of the airbags; it was not a defect."

    So right now, I have a 2006 BMW 325i with the passenger side airbags deployed and BMW wants me to pay for them to fix it. Upon reading the recalls for this vehicle, I have noticed that the sensor goes bad on this model for the passenger side airbags. I am going to take this information back to the dealership and if they don't fix it for me for free, I will obviously need to get an attorney involved. Anyone else out there with this sort of issue should report it immediately because numbers count.

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    Reviewed Aug. 17, 2009

    This is a follow-up post to my January 23, 2009 writeup on my 2002 BMW M3. I have actually racked up more maintenance expense since my last report and the grand total now is over $9,230.00 for just over 4 years of ownership. The M3 is now in the category of "spent too much to trade it now," so I will keep it until it gives up the ghost. My car is in excellent shape and looks new, yet it has over 90,000 miles on it now, so is only worth an average of $13,000 on trade. As the car ages, more things go wrong yet you still have to perform the regular required maintenance. The fuel pump failed (left me on the side of the interstate), my passenger window regulator failed and I still had to do the 90,000 mile inspection #1 valve adjustment for a grand additional total of around $2,700.00.

    My wife's furious with me for buying this car even though I had good luck with my three previous BMWs (93-325ic, 98-M3 and 2001-525i sport). Now there is a BMW M3 recall (2001-2003) for the DME engine computer brain. As your car gets over 89-90,000 miles, the emission sensors become too sensitive and turn on the "Service Engine Soon" light. The fix is free at the dealer and they reset the parameters of the factory DME so it won't erroneously light the indicator. It takes about 1/2 day to perform and can put a dent in your work schedule unless you get a loaner car. Just remember, an M3 isn't a regular BMW and you will discover that with each service visit. Mine has become the ultimate debt machine!

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    Reviewed Aug. 15, 2009

    I had a 525 BMW for many years. It was well maintained and serviced. The transmission went out at 65,000 miles. The heater radiator in the passenger space would fog up the windshield, a big deal to fix. Salvation Army wouldn't take car with bad trans, the rest of the car looked like 2 years old. I gave the car to a BMW salesman, who said he would fix it for his kid. I never heard from him again except from DMV when he did not pay a ticket. I will never ever buy another BMW.

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    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2009

    I had 4 months remaining on the lease of our 2006 BMW X5 and called on July 10, 2009 to inquire about the penalties/fees I would be responsible for if I turned in the vehicle early. I spoke with Brian from BMW Financial Services who at the time was very helpful. Brian told me the lease expiration date was November 27, 2009 and that I would be able to turn the vehicle in any time after July 27, 2009 and that I would not be responsible for any of the remaining payments. He went on to give me the name of the contact at Leith BMW in Raleigh who is in charge of lease turn-ins and said I would be responsible for a $350 disposition fee.

    In addition, I may be charged for excessive wear and tear on the vehicle but that I would be receiving a credit from BMW Financial Services. Brian went on to explain that since I purchased 15,000 additional miles and have not used them, they would credit me back 15,000 miles X .15 cents p/mile or $2,250. I have never heard of "get money back at the end of the lease," so I made sure to clarify everything with Brian. Again, he told me as long as there wasn't any excessive wear and tear on the vehicle, BMW actually owed me money, approximately $1,900 ($2,250 credit - $350 disposition fee).

    I have been in the automotive leasing business for eight years, and I have to admit this wasn't the response I was expecting. I was expecting them to say I would still be responsible for the remaining monthly payments, because that is what my contract stated. But then again, that same contract did not mention anything about getting a credit for unused miles either. I made it a point to write down his name and specifics of the call just in case.

    Knowing I would be getting a check back from BMW (approximately $1,900), I purchased a new vehicle the very next week and turned in my 2006 BMW X5 on July 29, 2009. The turn-in was great and Leith BMW in Raleigh was very helpful. In fact, I have had nothing but great service with the local dealers in Raleigh and San Francisco, CA, where we purchased the lease.

    I called BMW Financial Services again on July 30 or 31 to make sure their records indicated I turned in the vehicle, so they would turn off my automatic draft before the August billing cycle. At this time, the representative told me they received the car and it passed in section, so there would not be any additional charge other than the disposition fee. I brought up this credit and told him that BMW actually owes me money, and he said all of that will be processed on the final settlement and mailed to me in the next 2-3 weeks.

    On August 10, 2009, I received the statement and was surprised to see that I actually owed more than $800. I called BMW Financial Services back that evening around 7:30 PM and spoke with Steve. He pulled up my account and saw the notes that Brian (my earlier rep) had put in the system after our original conversation back on July 10. There were a couple discrepancies with the notes Brian put in the system, but BMW could care less.

    First off, Brian told me BMW would credit me .15 cents p/ml for the 15,000 extra miles I purchased, but in the computer it said .20 cents p/ml. My final bill reflected .15 cents p/mile. In addition, in the notes he told me I would be responsible for remaining monthly payments (4). Finally, he said that fact that I was owed a credit was an error on their part. The contract clearly states I would not receive a credit for unused miles. I realize this was an error in my favor, but the fact that his notes weren't accurate should be telling them something. Finally, Steve went to find Brian, but Brian wouldn't talk to me, an unsatisfied customer, because he was walking out the door. This was only the beginning. Steve said there was nothing he could do. So, I asked for a supervisor.

    I finally spoke with Jeff (supervisor) the following day, and he took the same stance as Brian and Steve. What I got from Jeff was regardless of what I was told I still owed $800+ to BMW and that he would be able to work out a payment plan with me. I tried to explain to Jeff there is no logical way I would turn in a vehicle early, pay a $3,000 penalty, and go out and buy a new vehicle.

    The most frustrating thing for me is that BMW Financial Services is taking zero responsibility for what their representatives are telling customers. Furthermore, that there is zero chance what I am inferring happened, actually happened. I have told every contact at BMW Financial Services to see if they have a copy of the call and we'll see who screwed up. Ultimately, Jeff couldn't help me, so he passed me on yet again to Brian (another supervisor).

    Jeff was no help either. I asked him if they had a copy of the call, and he said no and they checked on it. I tried to reason with him and told him my background in the automotive leasing business. I also asked him to explain why I would want to turn in the vehicle early and pay BMW $800(?), not even taking into consideration the new monthly payments I have on my new vehicle.

    I told him "Brian, don't you think it would make more sense for me to pay $691.85 for the remaining four months plus a $350 disposition fee and then have BMW credit me $2,250 when I turn the vehicle in? It nets out to the same amount of money, Brian. The vehicle would essentially cost me $867 to run for the final four months, right?" At one point, I asked, "Brian, hypothetically speaking, if you knew I am not lying and that your representative made a mistake, would you stand behind them?" His answer was not necessarily. It would depend because who's to say they didn't tell you $20,000. In essence, he was implying that I was making all of this up and trying to extort money from them.

    I will not stop until this matter is resolved and will make it a point to dissuade anyone from purchasing or leasing a BMW for their future vehicles. The complete lack of customer service on their part is shocking to me, and I find it hard to believe I am the only one.

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    Reviewed Aug. 4, 2009

    This complaint is not targeted at the dealership but the manufacturer. Three of my four window regulators on my 2002 BMW 325 have gone bad and my window won't close. I found other consumers complaining about this on the Internet. What does it take to make BMW liable for these defective parts or force them to shoulder the repair costs? It's not fair for consumers like me to dish out all this money for malfunctioning parts and overpriced labor when there is virtually no wear and tear to the parts. It just sickens me that BMW charges top price for their cars while their parts go bad prematurely. BMW is the only manufacturer I know of with this problem. Please advise.

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    Reviewed July 27, 2009

    I have a BMW 530d sport registered on 25/03/2003. At the end of June, I noticed on the near side rear door there was a slight appearance of rust at the base of the door. After a closer inspection on the inside of the door, there was more rust. I drove it straight to a dealer the next day. They told me to take it to one of their approved body shops. He took pictures and said I will post this claim off straight away as it was 3 months out of its anti-corrosion warranty.

    Hoping they would approve it, I was disappointed when it was refused. To me, the rust was growing before it expired as it doesn’t appear overnight. They still said no, BMW doesn’t do goodwill gestures. Thanks very much BMW, £34,000 of car that is rusting more than an old triumph, what a waste of money. I am going to have to pay for this myself, or I will have a car very soon with a badly rusted door. Not a good advertisement for BMW cars is it.

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    Reviewed July 25, 2009

    I have had nothing but problems with my BMW. When I first purchased the vehicle, I was told I could install a Bluetooth system. Once I purchased the vehicle, they told me "Oh, your car was made a few months before the kit was made available, so they can't install it." Fast forward 3 years, I purchased the extended warranty. I heard a clicking and took it in to get checked out. Apparently, the CV boot got cracked, which damaged the axle.

    They said the warranty does not cover CV boot, and since that was what failed, it was not going to cover the axle. They managed to "talk it over" with the insurance, and I have to pay 1/2. A few months later, I heard a clicking on the right. It turned out to be a bearing broken in the suspension. Once again, it is not covered under the warranty. What good is the warranty if it never covers anything that breaks?

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    Reviewed July 22, 2009

    I bought a $33,000 pre-owned certified BMW from an auto consultant. The first month I owned the car, I had to get a $2,000 brake job and the navi screen went out, which was another $3,500. BMW wouldn't cover any of this even though I had just bought the car and it was still under warranty. Then 6 months later, I had to have $3,000 worth of engine work, which again wasn't covered under warranty. I was out a car for over a week while it was being fixed. The next day, after I picked the car up, the transmission went out, which was quoted at $7,000.

    I couldn't afford to have this fixed due to all the other repairs, so I had to have it towed to my house where it has been sitting, collecting dust. I'm still making monthly payments on it even though it's not drivable. I have tried to contact BMW of North America, but they will not respond. I have had over $15,000 worth of repair work since owning the car a little over a year. I and my fiance have had to share a car for the last few months and I have been making monthly payments of over $250 on a car I can't even drive.

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    Reviewed July 13, 2009

    We bought a 335i and used it for eight months. The management light started going on and the car losing power. Auto Atlantic claims that BMW does not know what's wrong with the car. It's been five months and they have replaced many parts on my engine but not the entire engine. I am paying for my car every month but do not have the usage thereof. Until now, they still do not know what's wrong with the car. They keep telling me that there is a problem with the 335i pre-facelift but I have not seen it published anywhere.

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    Reviewed July 10, 2009

    2001 BMW 740iL - Purchased from dealer as certified pre-owned vehicle. OnBoard Navigation system went blank and radio cuts off every 1 minute 43 seconds. This screen/system also is the access to other essential electronic features in the car, which are now uncontrollable. It was diagnosed twice by BMW Authorized Dealer as defective NAV System. Presented in detail to BMW of North America and they refused to offer any assistance in replacing this critical defective part. The car had CPO warranty up to 100K, but this critical part isn't covered and several other reports of this unit being defective have similarly been denied by BMW.

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    Reviewed July 10, 2009

    I bought a BMW 320i in the year 2007. It worked fine initially, but now, the car is giving me problems. It has only done 8000kms. It has electrical problems that even the service people are not able to understand. The car is trash. I went to my work and parked the car, and the doors got jammed. I actually had to come out of the window of the car. This happened 3 months back as well. The BMW service center fixed the car and gave it to me. Around 6 months back, the car couldn't start because of some electrical problem. The fuses of the car keep getting short. I don't know what to do with the car.

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    Reviewed July 6, 2009

    I entered my car and put the key in the ignition, turned ignition and noted that it was too easy to turn and car would not start. I started to get out of the car and all doors were locked and try as I may, they would not unlock, leaving me trapped in the vehicle. I could not lift inside lock and the right passenger window was down about 3 inches and I gave my friend the key to try from the outside. Doors would not open or unlock from the outside or inside the car.

    I was in the car already 15 minutes before road service was called. I was trapped in the car for about 25 full minutes. Temperature outside of the car was about 92 degrees. I was sweating and my heart was pumping rapidly. My friend called my wife who was inside the house and asked her to call AAA road service. The AAA representative called an assistant and asked how he should get me out of the car.

    I had suffered a heart attack a few years back and my stress level and heat exposure inside the car was very dangerous. My wife was very worried. My friend is a doctor and he was trying his best to try everything to get me out. We had the car towed and repaired. I was wondering if there was a recall on the mechanism that defaulted. It was a very dangerous episode to experience. If no one had been home, I do not know what would have happened.

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    Reviewed July 2, 2009

    My wife was driving her 2009 BMW 328i (only had it a few months). She was pulling into a parking space at a shopping center, applied the brake and the car lurched forward with a sudden unintended acceleration. The car jumped the curve, hit a store door and kept going until it hit a lamp post and finally came to a stop. We are trying to ascertain if this is a defect with the car?

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    Reviewed July 1, 2009

    325i's engine was suddenly on fire within 15 minutes of driving.

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    Reviewed June 27, 2009

    Immediately after the software upgrade in my 2006 X5, the car shifts hard down going from 2-1 as I slow to a light. It sounds like the transmission is bottoming out. Any downshift whatsoever, the car jerks hard forward. The car has been in the shop for 2 months. According to BMW USA, it is a computer software issue which is hampering them from determining problems for the car. Meanwhile, I'm driving around in a POS loaner while I continue to make large monthly payments on the car.

    The car has 4 months left on its lease. The dealership won't give me a new car, only end my lease early. That doesn't work for me as I put a large sum down just to enter the lease in the first place. Florida statutes only cover the lemon law for 2 years. I'm screwed. After scouring the web, I have seen others that have had the same exact issue and some that have had transmission problems in general.

    I continue to make large payments on a car and the loaner they have given me does not equate to the expensive X5 I make payments on. I also put $6,000.00 down just to enter the lease. I have some websites of other people who have made the same exact complaints.

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    Reviewed June 27, 2009

    After reading all of the negative posts about BMW, I think that I should contribute my positive feelings toward this company. The two that I have (1998 BMW 328i SDN and 2003 BMW 325XI SDN) have collectively cost me about $700 in the past 4 years combined (not including reg. preventative actions, such as, oil changes, brake pads, etc.). They are fun cars to own and among the most reliable vehicles I have ever driven. To those of you who have had bad experiences with the vehicle and not with the dealers (this includes a family member of mine who finally finished off his $1200/month 6 series payments to find himself paying about $2k/month just to keep it running), think about how you treat the car.

    These types of cars are not rugged Ford trucks. They are delicate examples of engineering that fill a very unique niche in the automotive world. You wouldn't hit a curb with your face, would you? Well, then, don't complain when you hit one with your car and the steering rack replacement yields a $700 bill - not including 6 hours of labor. I have heard that BMW owners are among the worst drivers on the road. That’s something to think about.

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    Reviewed June 25, 2009

    My BMW X3’s indicator came on and said I needed service within 1700 miles (oil change, etc.). I took the car in within the service period and they told me that because my car would be out of warranty before the 1700 miles was up (warranty will be up in 1,000) miles, then it would cost me $550 to have the service completed. As for the other warranty service that I wanted done (engine was missing), they said that they would not do until I had the oil serviced.

    I called BMW and they contacted the dealer and advised me the dealer was refusing to service my car and there was nothing they could do. Even though I have a warranty that was purchased from BMW of Nashville when I bought the car, they are refusing to honor the service unless I pay them $550. The cost to me could be thousands of dollars, which is why I purchased the warranty in the first place. The warranty appears to be a scam that is left up to the dealer to decide. BMW is blaming it on the dealer and will not step in and honor the extended warranty I purchased from them.

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    Reviewed June 10, 2009

    Apart from still experiencing bad reverse shift on my 2000 323i BMW (106k), I have had problems with almost everything else in the car as well. You name it, some of the things that I had to replace on this car: all 4 power-window regulators, alternator, radiator, water pump, power-steering motor (which I still haven't replaced), windscreen-washer pump. The A/C doesn't work, and also the heating doesn't work... so on and so forth. I will never buy another BMW again!

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    Reviewed June 10, 2009

    I bought a brand new 2009 BMW 528i less than a week ago. I drove home in a bumper-to-bumper traffic (therefore never exceeded 30-40 MPH). My son took the car to a tennis tournament some 20-miles away the following day, came home complaining about the handling on the freeway. I kind of ignoring him as I thought the car was a little "too nice" for him. I never got a chance to drive the car for 2-3 days until this Sunday afternoon.

    I took my wife to shopping and drove on FWY 85. After a few minutes at a speed of 65 mph, give or take, I felt something was terribly wrong, but did not want to admit so I continued driving. A couple of minutes later, it was feeling worse. I looked at my wife and she looked a little pale. Almost simultaneously, we both said "did you feel something wrong?" The car felt like zigzagging forward, instead of going straight, enough to cause some dizziness just traveling 10 miles on the freeway, also to the point I started to feel unsafe. Luckily, the dealership was only a few blocks away. I decided to get off the freeway and brought the car to the service night drop.

    I suspected perhaps the assembly worker forgot to screw the bolts all the way in when mounting the tires at the factory in Germany. I would accept that scenario as it would be easily rectified by the dealership without further complications. The service department found nothing wrong with the car, but only until the service foreman test drove the car with me on the freeway, when he witnessed the exact same problem. The foreman told me he also had similar complaints with the same model mounted with the same Continental tires. Current mileage of the car: 200 miles (came with 50 miles in the showroom).

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    Reviewed June 9, 2009

    I drove my 2003 BMW 330xi and hit a pothole on the left side of car. The side passenger airbag shortly after suddenly deployed. My passenger burned an arm through the incident. The top part of air bag did not even inflate but had a huge hole in the fabric. White dust filled the car and burned both driver's and passenger's eyes, making it impossible to see. I had to quickly pull over all the way from left lane while driving blindly and ejected out of the car.

    As a result of the faulty airbag, the car would not start and had to be physically moved out of the road to prevent collisions. Keep in mind that I was now located a few feet after a highway exit and was putting my self in a dangerous position to prevent collision.

    The car is fine with the exception of the airbag. My friend had his arm burned. I am charged by BMW roadside assistance and was quoted $5300.00 for airbag replacement. There's no mention from the mechanic, dealership, or any BMW representative of issue when asked. I spoke with Bill **, director of BMW parts and services, and he said he was not aware of defects, "not my money," and that this has to go to BMW CS. I've been tossed to different departments ever since, and clarity is not provided nor any quotes or estimates put in writing.

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    Reviewed June 9, 2009

    I was driving my 2003 BMW 330xi, and I hit a pothole on the left side of the car. Shortly after, the side passenger airbag suddenly deployed. My passenger burned an arm through this incident, and the top part of the air bag did not even inflate but had a huge hole in the fabric. White dust filled the car, which burned both the driver's and passenger's eyes, and made it impossible to see. I had to quickly pull over all the way from the left lane while driving blindly and eject out of the car.

    As a result of faulty airbag, the car would not start and had to physically move the car out of the road to prevent collisions. Keep in mind I was now located a few feet after a highway exit and was putting myself in a dangerous position to prevent collision. I was charged from BMW roadside assistance and was quoted $5300 for airbag replacement. No mention from the mechanic, the dealership or any BMW representative of issue when asked. I have been tossed to different departments ever since and clarity is not provided nor any quotes or estimates put in writing.

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    Reviewed June 8, 2009

    I live in Phoenix, AZ and leased car in San Diego through BMW Financial Services in May 2006. Two weeks later, finance manager called my place of business to notify me that new contract was being sent and I had to sign it due to error on their part calculating sales tax. I (stupidly) offered to pay the difference over the phone but she snapped, "If only it was that easy." I realized this is not right and wrote a letter to GM of dealership and to BMW Financial Services. I thought it was settled. After years of making same monthly payment online through banking, I noticed in January of this year that amount due had increased. It turns out they'd raised it in December and I was overdue. Had I not caught this, what about my credit? Second, they never notified me of payment change. Third, again, they changed it after internal audit showed they had me living in Mohave not Maricopa county (where tax is apparently higher). So, still their error comes back to bite me and they never notified me of the change.

    They send me lease-end itemized bill and it includes remaining payments due and a balance. Completely incorrect. So, of course, a phone call and I'm told, "I don't know why that's showing." I do not trust BMW Financial Services with my credit. BMW is a beautiful vehicle and drives like a dream but it's a vehicle that requires more attention than an infant. Don't even ask me about the mechanical issues on this and my previous beemer, both with major issues before 40,000 miles. If you want to own a status car to be bullied by a company, put your credit on the line then BMW is for you.

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    Reviewed June 8, 2009

    Well, I had originally taken my car so they could turn off two lights on my dashboard which is were the air bags light and the the tail lights icon that indicated that my tail lights were blown out. But my tail lights still work. I just had put after market lights and wanted to know if they could turn the icon off. So I left my car there and they told me they were going to call me back. Then when they called me back later that evening, they told me that they could not fix the icon for the tail lights because they were after market and then for the air bag, they said they would need to replace the right passenger air bag which was $500. So I said no I will take it somewhere else.

    Then on the same report, they told me I had two leaks that needed to be fixed which were valve cover gaskets and the trans selector shaft seal were leaking. So I told them to go ahead and fix it, a total of $715.98. So then when it came time to pick it up and I was leaving the service center, the check engine lights turns on so then when I got to my job and open the hood, I immediately saw that my secondary air pump hose was broken! As soon as I saw that, I called the service center and they told me to bring it back tomorrow so I did and then by the end of the day, they told me it was not their fault. They told me my car was too old and that's why that happened, which was not true because when I fist brought them the car, it did not have the check engine light turn on or did it have a broken hose.

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    Reviewed June 4, 2009

    I purchased a new 2001 BMW (model number 325i) from this dealer. I had the car serviced on a regular basis. I spent over $4,000 last year getting the brakes to work. Six months later, the car still shakes when the brakes are applied. Now, I have a additional problem; the transmission is broken. This car has only 103,000 miles on it. This car is a lemon.

    The transmission failure has an estimated cost to repair of $4,000 - $6.500. The window regulators going out on all 4 windows has an estimated cost to repair of $1,600. And the brake repair was $4,000.

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    Reviewed June 3, 2009

    I was told that it is typical and normal to be expected that a BMW battery on a 2008 Z4 can be dead after 3 weeks of not driving the car. I am unable to type at this moment, because I am so angry with this dealership!

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    Reviewed May 30, 2009

    I had been paying my BMW loan for 6 months until I wrote a check for greater than the normal amt in Jan 09. After that I had stopped receiving the bills.
    Not realizing the time that's passed (2mths) my account became delinquent. They called me and I gave them my checking acct # 3 times and they still screwed it up. Of course I don't find out I as still delinquent until a week later in the mail. At the end I just signed up for autopymt out of my bank acct.
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    Reviewed May 28, 2009

    I purchased a 2008 X5 new in Oct 07. In Sept 08 I started to have Major problems with the Brake System. Squealing-Low Pedal,3 Major Brake System Repairs,1 Minor repair and it needs to be towed in again because the problem remains. The Service Manager of the selling dealer advised BMWUSA to Replace the vehicle due to the Dangerous and Numerous problems with this car. BMWUSA Marketing refused-what mechanical expertise do they possess-NONE and they continue to put my safety in danger and ignore the problem. Just an example in Oct 2008 the Brake pads were 10mm-in April 09 they were 2mm and BMW told me I was safe to drive 1700 miles from Fl to Ny. A Florida dealer had to replace every Rotor-Pad and sensor,so much for BMWUSA knowing anything or caring. These people are useless and dangerous--DO NOT BUY AN X5 from this Company,because even after their own Svc manager states to replace the vehivle they say FK off and dont give a damn about your safety. Stay away from BMW.
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    Reviewed May 22, 2009

    1. I purchased the "brand new" 2008 BMW M3 for 69,000.00 I was not told until I picked up the car that it had over 1,000 miles on it. To me that it is a new car. They refused to make an concession so I purchased the car anyway. I did not resent this too much until I had a problem with the tires are 5,000 miles. They need to be replace. The cost would be over 2,000 for 4 tires. I called BMW corp, who offerred to help with the cost of two tires, htye just needed to talk to the dealership. The dealership talked them out of giving me any help to purchase the tires. I read the BMW forum on the internet, as well as various 10+ sites that were listed with complaint after complaint about the bad tires on the M3. Over and over, these owners and tire experts say that the tire they give on the M3 are not made for what BMW calls this "street legal race car". Many seem to think that it a way for BMW to make money on parts. The cars are very unsafe. Oursaleman told us it cannot be drive in the winter snow, and it has problems in the rain. This is all as a result of the tires. People buying that car at that cost want to use the car. 90% of the complaint listed that the tires didn't last more than 5,000 miles before they had to replace them. This is a scam on BMWs part. I have owned 3 BMW and wan't wait to get rid of this one. Its a money pit. BMW no longer takes care of its owners or values there opinon. Third time and last time owner.
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    Reviewed May 20, 2009

    Since I purchased my BMW 323i wagon in July of 2000, I have had to replace the window regulator 8 times, and am about to replace my 9th one as my driver's window regulator just broke for the 3rd time. I replaced the front-right regulator on July 12, 2001 and again on October 30, 2002 and June of 2008. I replaced the front-left (driver's window) regulator on August 19, 2002 and again on December 3, 2002 and will now have to replace it again. I replaced the right-rear regulator on November 7, 2003, May 17, 2007, and May 6, 2009.
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    Reviewed May 12, 2009

    I leased a brand new 2007 BMW Coupe paying $4000 down and having a $485 car payment. I noticed the hood had a dull finish but thought nothing of it. After leasing the car for about 7 months, I paid $200 to have the hood fixed as quite a few chips showed up on the hood. Once again, I didn't think much of it. After approximately 1 3/4 years, I noticed the hood had about 40 chips and finally had enough. I took the car to Scottdale BMW and was told the car had been poorly painted. My problem is I bought the car NEW, not used, not wrecked but NEW. Century BMW has been uncooperative and uncommunicative since the problem arose. They had the nerve to take $200 to paint the car, yet not the initiative to call me a tell me the hood had a subpar paint job. This added to the fact the car has been towed in twice for issues and several parts have been replaced. I have eventually gotten BMW's body shop to agree to paint it, but I've been driving a 'brand new' wrecked car for two years paying new car prices, and I have a wrecked car with an ugly hood! I am also out $200 for the repair and I'm also out money for the rental.
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    Reviewed May 6, 2009

    i purchsed a 2006 bmw used 6 mo ago a ceritfed car what a peice of crap thease cars are! doors wont unlock trapping me in the car steering wheels locks cant turn wheel car stopps running all werid problems after reading your web site i see im not alone with BMw troubles I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE
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    Reviewed April 22, 2009

    I own a 2004 BMW 545i Sedan and the passenger airbag light came on for a while already, and I read about the recall on your website and called BMW NA and they told me that my car was not under the recall? And they told me to bring it to one of the BMW dealers to get it fixed which I will have to pay for. I checked at one of the BMW dealerships and they told me it will cost me more than $1000 to fix the passenger's seat airbag sensor. I just don't understand why my car is not under their recall list when my car matches the exact description of the recall they are having?! Please help. Thank you!

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    Reviewed April 14, 2009

    I took my car in several times for windshield washer sensor going off since driving off the BMW lot (brand new car). I took it in to the BMW service center and it was never repaired. I was told many stories: first, that nothing was wrong with the car, then that it had a leak, then that they fixed the leak, and then that they would put a new part. They said they put a new part in, but a week later, I got a call that the part came in and I needed to take the car in. Another problem that I had since driving off the lot was the brakes. I took the car in and again they said they would fix and still the brakes were making noise. I took the car for a noise coming from under the hood and they again said they would fix the problem and they didn’t. Then, I took the car in for navigation problems (screen kept freezing). They checked and said nothing was wrong.

    I complained about the audio (I paid extra for premium sound that only lasted 1 year and a half). They again said nothing was wrong. I complained about the navigation screen not working; they replaced navigation CD, and after that, 1 week later, the whole system crashed - navigation and audio. My luck, I was 100 miles over the warranty. Now, I am responsible for replacing the CCC on the car, which in their words is “only $2,800”. Wow! Not only that, but I had an inspector look at the car and said I am also going to have transmission problems. My car is a 2006 330i. So much for the ultimate driving machine. I call it the Ultimate Lemon machine. Never buy BMW! I am looking at a huge loss financially. I am stressed out with the car. Sometimes, I just want to rip my hair out. I am now considering bankruptcy because the loss is too much for me at this time. I thought this would be the best purchase I would make, thinking I would not have any problems for a while. I was wrong.

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    Reviewed April 7, 2009

    Driving the car 11 days out of warranty, mileage is under warranty # but the years of the car is 11 days over. The car overheated and blew out the radiator. The car has been in the shop for the same reasons over and over again. They never fix them. Alternator was replaced 2 times in 2 years. Headlights had burn out on a monthly basis. Yet, they tell me there is nothing wrong with the vehicle. I bought another car as I cannot stand to drive this car as it feels unreliable and every time it goes in the shop, I have to take a loan out to pay the repair bills. We drove the car home the day we bought it and came back out and it would not start. The dealership we bought it from, Irvine BMW, was less than helpful. Now, 11 days out of warranty and they want to charge me another $3K to fix the most recent problem. I really hate this car. It is a BMW 525iA. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone.

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    Reviewed April 6, 2009

    My BMW 2000 323i with 43,000 miles had the transmission go out unexpectedly. This problem is well known to many BMW owners, and BMW is unwilling to step up and recall. These transmissions were built by GM France. GM recalled their cars with this issue, but BMW will not acknowledge that their cars have serious issues. I had my window regulators changed (all four) under warranty the first year after I bought my car. This is also a common problem that they won't acknowledge. If you live in Florida and would like to get a class action going, please contact me via email at **. My transmission is out, and my car will not go in reverse. BMW is charging approximately $6,000-$7,000 to fix. Other transmission shops can fix this problem for less than half the cost.

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    Reviewed April 1, 2009

    I was driving my 5-month old 2008 BMW 328i sedan down the road in heavy Los Angeles traffic when there was a loud banging sound coming from the rear end of my vehicle. There was an immediate slow down of the vehicle, with a loud grinding sound. Fortunately, I was able to drive it a couple of miles to get it off of the freeway. (I also had two younger kids in the car.) I called BMW service using the SOS button in the car. They arranged for a tow to my dealership. The tow took about an hour and 45 minutes to arrive. I dropped the car off at Steve Thomas BMW in Camarillo to be repaired. This was almost a week ago. I have been in contact several times now with the service department, who told me that the damage to my vehicle is not covered under warranty (5-month old vehicle with 500 miles).

    They say that I was driving with the emergency brake on and caused the damage myself. I tried to explain that in 35 years of driving, owning over 10 vehicles, I have not used the emergency brake, nor had I in this vehicle. I also explained that had the emergency brake been on, there would have been a warning light and sound, which would mean that I would have had to ignore this and continue driving with the emergency brake on. Again, I never use the emergency brake ever. I have never even pulled it up on this car. They said that they do not have a history of this type of problem. I explained that any mechanical problem with a vehicle has to start somewhere. They continue to refuse to repair my vehicle under the warranty.

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    Reviewed March 30, 2009

    my car is 3yrs 8 months old. the thermostat housing has now been replaced 3 times. I have to monitor the antifreeze constantly. The service manager could not give me an explanation. After reading other complaints I am now getting scared of ownership.
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    Reviewed March 15, 2009

    I have a 2002 BMW X5. In December of 2008 I was drving home from work and the car started smoking from the exhaust, the check engine light came on and the car came to a dead stop in the middle of rush hour traffic. I towed the car to an auto mechanics shop and was told that the engine seized up and that I would need to order another engine. The dealer shopped around on line and found a used engine in Washington state. I recently took my car back for a 500-1000 mile check to be sure there were no leaks of any kind. I found out from the repair shop that there had been 2 other BMW X5's that the same exact thing happened to. The shop told me that they found out that the problem has to do with the breather system in the X5's and that if the cars aren't taken out on the highway occassionally to clean themselves out that this will happen.
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    Reviewed March 3, 2009

    I have a 2000 323i granted it has 140K miles on it but I have always brought it in for the proper tune ups and service. This morning I could not go in reverse and I also have to replace the window regulators.
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    Reviewed Feb. 28, 2009

    Vehicle lease agreement has ben open under my name due to identity theft.Did provide BMW fraud department with ID theft Affidavit, Police report, other supporting documents indicating that account has been open by fraud. BMW still reporting to credit bureaus .
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    Reviewed Feb. 26, 2009

    I'm the 2nd owner of my 2000 323i purchased in late 2002. I took it back to the dealer (while still under warranty) to complain about hesitation when putting the car into reverse. They told me there was nothing wrong. I continued with the uneasy feeling, so I took the car to a BMW dealer for its 2nd FOOL service. I told them about my transmission concerns and when finished, I walked away $2,000 poorer for the service and they also told me the transmission was fine. Here I sit, like so many others, with my beautiful black on black Beemer sitting in the driveway with a full tank of gas and a bad transmission!

    NOW, I know why they're called Beemers... it's not short for the name BMW. It's because of the look that we give it every day after the transmission goes out. Shame on BMW to us faithful owners and contributors of their false advertising! My BMW specialist told me it's not worth fixing a car for the cost of the car. I agree, but I can't sell it like this either. The damage (other than a worthless trans.) is $4,000! I can't afford this in this economy. I just had a baby, and I was proud of the fact that I owned a vehicle that had airbags all over the place. Now I know why!

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