A Long Tale about Z4 Damage

Vintage · 01-16-2010, 02:41 PM

Yes, I have purchased two $65k BMWs in the past 6 months. You would think that would count for something. I am really hoping to have this resolved this week, but the way things are going I highly doubt it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmorin49

I see you have 2 2010 BMWs. Your dealer should be doing backflips to assist you and keep your as a customer.

teagueAMX · 01-16-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VintageBMW

Yes, I have purchased two $65k BMWs in the past 6 months. You would think that would count for something. I am really hoping to have this resolved this week, but the way things are going I highly doubt it.

You'd think it would count for something, but now days the only thing global companies understand is risk analysis at the bottom line.

BMW looks at their global market share increasing against their competitors during a global recession. This means their market position is very strong. If BMWs poor treatment of you resulted in significant negative publicity causing other to think twice about buying a BMW, they might do something for you. But, what we can clearly see is that BMW execs do not fear this and your case will not result in a reduction of sales (after all it’s just one car, right?).

If they were forced to buy your car back due to the Lemon Law, I’m sure they would proactively buy it back to avoid racking up another negative Lemon Law statistic on some government’s entity’s ledger book. If they have a choice more than likely they won’t, particularly if your BMW NA contact is an asshole. Let’s face it, you’ve bought cars from them already but you may or may not buy cars from them in the future - it's good enough that they got their money out of you - next sucker, please, and make it snappy!

The lesson learned from the banking crisis and resulting global recession: Big business execs care about one thing and only one thing – what’s in it for them. BMWs marketing ads, vids, etc., appear to show people working for BMW that give a sh*t – that’s not the case, particularly at the execs levels. They see us a vast landscape filled with sheep, and through clever marketing efforts they convince us to give them our money in exchange for a shiny metalic motorized object.

So the moral to the story is this: What used to be called “Good Will” (i.e., sustained positive attitude toward an organization or product) means nothing to companies in a global marketplace. But, I think if we got enough members here on BIMMERPOST to reach out and contacted BMW and maybe even your dealership on your behalf it might make a difference.

FWIW – my 2 cents

bobbydog · 01-16-2010, 06:20 PM

Well...look at the United breaks guitar story. The band had their guitar broken by United , wrote a song and posted it on youtube, got millions of hits and got everything they wanted.
You have to make BMW realize that this case can cause bad publicity for the company and they will do the right thing.

alan64 · 01-16-2010, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbydog

Well...look at the United breaks guitar story. The band had their guitar broken by United , wrote a song and posted it on youtube, got millions of hits and got everything they wanted.
You have to make BMW realize that this case can cause bad publicity for the company and they will do the right thing.

exactly. As a matter of fact show them this forum and your discussions with everyone on it about this problem. You never know,, it might help also. I think we are all curious how this is going to end up.

Vintage · 01-16-2010, 07:01 PM

Thanks - I will post updates as this thing progresses; I may post the emails I am sending them too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan64

exactly. As a matter of fact show them this forum and your discussions with everyone on it about this problem. You never know,, it might help also. I think we are all curious how this is going to end up.

rmorin49 · 01-16-2010, 07:42 PM

I have first hand experience dealing with BMWNA on a "buyback". They treated me very well and I did get a new car for almost nothing. I started the process with a letter to the CEO of BMWNA, Pres of BMWAG, and a copy to the General Manager of my local dealer. Within 2 weeks I got a call from a customer service representative offering wanting to know what they needed to do to make me happy. I did NOT threaten lemon law in my letter but expressed my disappointment with my car and the fact that my local dealer could not resolve the problem despite more than 3 tries. A regional service guy also got involved but agreed that they could not fix it so the trade assist was approved.

Kief · 01-17-2010, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmorin49

I have first hand experience dealing with BMWNA on a "buyback". They treated me very well and I did get a new car for almost nothing. A regional service guy also got involved but agreed that they could not fix it so the trade assist was approved.

I had a similar positive experience like Randall.

From my experience and from what I have read, BMWNA is usually very good about these situations. Like I mentioned in a previous post, one of my bimmers was bought back by BMWNA without me even thinking about a buyback. But unlike the OP, the dealer initiated everything. In fact, my buyback occured during a MY change and that was when BMWNA decided to significantly lower the msrp on the second year the X3s were out. Long story short, my dealer upgraded me to the new MY X3 and to compensate me for the price difference, the car had more options.

I think the difference between me and the OP is the dealer. That is why I previously mentioned becoming more aggressive with the dealer.

Vintage · 01-17-2010, 10:24 AM

Thanks for the advice and information - I wish I were having a positive experience. Below is my latest email to the Moritz BMW and BMW NA; I had to send this after they called me and tried to sell me on the car was not taken for a 31 mile joy ride:

Dear Pachis and Joe,

Thank you Joe for calling me Friday morning to discuss my wife's 2009 Z4 35i. As you now know, I have emailed you guys and BMW NA five times with no response until your call - it was appreciated. Regardless of our running disagreement about obvious paint issues, the car is back in again for the fourth or fifth time in an attempt to fix the suspension. I will not restate my numerous past emails; I copied Pachis and Moritz on all of them so please read them as it is important information if we are to resolve this amicably.

During our call you agreed to try to get this resolved as soon as possible. I having been begging for some reasonable resolution for weeks to no avail - not one offer from anybody other than blowing me off. This car was wrecked in port, the damage was hidden and not disclosed until I found it, and we still do not have a $65k car that I purchased in August. We believe something bad happened in port with the wreck, which is why it took 6 weeks to get us the car from port to Moritz and it explains why this car is nothing but one big problem - it was wrecked by BMW after our awesome Germany trip. For clarity, the only acceptable resolution for us at this point is BMW rescinding this deal with us getting all of our money back (down payment, taxes, registration, pay off to BMW financial, and at least a few of the five payments back we have made for a car we still do not have); I will then buy a new Z4 from BMW and I will agree to do this in writing.

As a quick reminder, when I brought the Z4 back in Friday the Suspension warning light had come on every time I drove the car in the 24 hour period from when I picked it up from you Thursday night. I showed the warning light as "on" to Joe Blakely when I dropped it off just so you guys do not think I am totally crazy. Please understand that this is the reason I do not believe the story of the 31 miles of test driving by Moritz before it was given back to me Thursday. In other words, had a mechanic or your so called "quality control" actually driven the car for 31 miles, the suspension/shock warning light would have been screaming at them. Nope, some yahoo at your dealership borrowed my wife's car for a joy ride - this is not appreciated.

Send this email and my previous four or five to the owner of Moritz BMW and the Moritz BMW General Manager; I want to make sure they know what is going on. Then confirm that you did this to me by email. Thanks for your time, and here is to hoping one last time that you guys will do the right thing for a life long BMW fanatic that has bought two $65k cars from you in the past few months. Sincerely, James Rudnicki.

cipher5 · 01-19-2010, 12:13 PM

James, its so sad to see they are taking this lightly and not giving you a quick resolution. Stay at it and I hope they get you a new car soon.

Z_Victor1 · 01-24-2010, 01:16 PM

A tale of the utmost in despicable treatment.

If you have not done this already, I would suggest you write to each and every of the following.

Outline your whole experience and do NOT comment on individual 'good' personnel performance. There is no need to praise anyone in this saga. No one is worthy of any praise except you for your extreme tolerance.
You have tried this tack and they have shown the utmost contempt to/for you.

Highlight the catastrophic nature of your experience and how utterly disgusted you are at the way you are being treated.

Dr. -Ing. Norbert Reithofer Chairman of the Board of management BMW (AG)
Dr. Friedrich Eichiner (Finance Director)
Dr. -Ing. Herbert Diess (Purchasing & Supplier Network)
Mr. Ian Robinson (Sales & Marketing)
Helmut Panke - Chairman and CEO of BMW-US

As a token of respect you might care to employ a professional to translate your letter into German before transmission and forward two copies (1 German & 1 English) to each individual.
You might care to highlight the very poor performance of BMW in it's market from 2007 to 2008 where the Z4 sales dropped by 36.6% (Annual reports). To survive economically in todays ultra-competitive market, a company not only has to be good, it has to be very good indeed.

Copy your communications to Road & Track (you'll have to forgive me, for I am from the UK and do not know many US Motoring publcations).
Road & Track
1499 Monrovia Avenue
Newport Beach, California 92663
949.720.5300

You might even consider contacting your Federal body, the US DOT for legal advice.

BMW's Customer Service e-mail Germany:-
bmwgroup.customerservice@bmwgroup.com
Latest BMW Annual Report
http://www.bmwgroup.com/annualreport...Group_2008.pdf

It brings into question the whole issue of purchasing a vehicle in one country, driving it around for a while and then trusting some shipper to transfer it thousands of miles to your homeland, incurring considerable risk of damage en-route.

Who is truly responsible for this damage en-route?
BMW of course - whether it be BMW AG or BMW NA matters not, that should not be a concern to you.

There is not one iota of comedy or irony in this tale. You are to be congratulated for demonstrating such amazing stoicism.

May I wish you every good fortune.

Best regards,

David

alan64 · 01-24-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z_Victor1

A tale of the utmost in despicable treatment.

If you have not done this already, I would suggest you write to each and every of the following.

Outline your whole experience and do NOT comment on individual 'good' personnel performance. There is no need to praise anyone in this saga. No one is worthy of any praise except you for your extreme tolerance.
You have tried this tack and they have shown the utmost contempt to/for you.

Highlight the catastrophic nature of your experience and how utterly disgusted you are at the way you are being treated.

Dr. -Ing. Norbert Reithofer Chairman of the Board of management BMW (AG)
Dr. Friedrich Eichiner (Finance Director)
Dr. -Ing. Herbert Diess (Purchasing & Supplier Network)
Mr. Ian Robinson (Sales & Marketing)
Helmut Panke - Chairman and CEO of BMW-US

As a token of respect you might care to employ a professional to translate your letter into German before transmission and forward two copies (1 German & 1 English) to each individual.
You might care to highlight the very poor performance of BMW in it's market from 2007 to 2008 where the Z4 sales dropped by 36.6% (Annual reports). To survive economically in todays ultra-competitive market, a company not only has to be good, it has to be very good indeed.

Copy your communications to Road & Track (you'll have to forgive me, for I am from the UK and do not know many US Motoring publcations).
Road & Track
1499 Monrovia Avenue
Newport Beach, California 92663
949.720.5300

You might even consider contacting your Federal body, the US DOT for legal advice.

BMW's Customer Service e-mail Germany:-
bmwgroup.customerservice@bmwgroup.com
Latest BMW Annual Report
http://www.bmwgroup.com/annualreport...Group_2008.pdf

It brings into question the whole issue of purchasing a vehicle in one country, driving it around for a while and then trusting some shipper to transfer it thousands of miles to your homeland, incurring considerable risk of damage en-route.

Who is truly responsible for this damage en-route?
BMW of course - whether it be BMW AG or BMW NA matters not, that should not be a concern to you.

There is not one iota of comedy or irony in this tale. You are to be congratulated for demonstrating such amazing stoicism.

May I wish you every good fortune.

Best regards,

David

excellent comments and good advice.

Vintage · 01-24-2010, 03:00 PM

I sent the below email today - thanks for the GREAT advice. If this does not work, I will start the suggested campaign to Germany this week. I wish I had the addresses for all of those folks. Moritz BMW told me Friday that the "higher ups at BMW NA in New Jersey are now on this and that they were surprised about the situation." Let's all hope this is true - this has risen to a level of absurdity that I would have never imagined possible. So, when I here about I-Phone cradle order issues on this site, I now keep it all in perspective.

Dear BMW Family,

I spoke with Mr. De la Garza on Friday afternoon for an update on this matter because 1) no one from BMW has made an offer of resolution to me, and 2) the Z4 is still in the shop - over a week after it was dropped off. I have now been told that BMW NA/PUMA has order the rear shocks from Germany (who knows when those will arrive). So, as we approach February of 2010 and I still cannot let my wife drive her Z4 purchased in July 2009 because it is still broken and in the shop waiting for the rear shocks, which will give it four new shocks to match the new EDC unit recently installed. Thank you for the loaner 328i, it is a nice car but no Z4 35i. You see, we paid about $10k down to get the Z4, traveled to Germany, and now we made 5 payments of over $1k per month but still have no car - this has to be one of the worst circle jerks for BMW NA in recent history (I apologize for the crude humor but I am tired). If I wanted a 328i loaner (on permanent loan it seems), I would have bought one for roughly half the price and monthly payment of the Z4.

We have requested that you buy back the Z4 you wrecked, repainted, and cannot seem to fix. This includes repayment by you of all of our down payment, fees, title, taxes, etc. with our 5 payments back and your payoff of BMW Financial, but for maybe the first payment (consider it the 1 week rental fee in Germany for the car when it had zero problems and no one had yet wrecked it). We will agree in writing to buy a new Z4 via order or in stock in the USA - I will even pick it up in person in the US and pay for my plane ticket to go get it, drive it home, and make sure no one damages it in transit but me. Honestly, I do not trust your transport help anymore.

If this offer is not accepted by close of business Friday, January 29, 2010, then we will still demand the repurchase/repayment/payoff of the Z4 from us by BMW, but I will no longer agree to buy another Z4. We want another Z4 just like this one but we can't wait forever. This has drug on with me begging BMW NA to do something for about two months and I am about to give up on your any response or cooperation. You have still not responded to me and my wife other than blowing us off with no response (except for Pachis and Joe at Moritz - thanks for listening to my concerns and trying to help).

I have never cussed, yelled, or threatened but this is my last "nice" week. Please help us and let's work this out in the next few days - it will be better for everyone that way. Still hopeful but fading fast - James Rudnicki.

Z_Victor1 · 01-24-2010, 05:06 PM

Vintage BMW,

Corporate addresses for personnel I list can be found on the internet. Look up any investment website for company addresses.

Sometimes writing to the Finance Director of a large multi-national can have good results. People rarely complain to Finance Directors. Their responses are encouraging.

I do get the impression that your 'jokey' letters have run their course.

Show them something that made your country great - The Spirit of America and take no prisoners.........

Best wishes and good luck.

01-16-2010, 06:20 PM	#25
bobbydog Private First Class 10 Rep 105 Posts Drives: E90 M3 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Well...look at the United breaks guitar story. The band had their guitar broken by United , wrote a song and posted it on youtube, got millions of hits and got everything they wanted. You have to make BMW realize that this case can cause bad publicity for the company and they will do the right thing.
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01-16-2010, 07:42 PM	#28
rmorin49 Major 53 Rep 1,162 Posts Drives: 11 335d/10 Z4 s30i Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hagerstown, MD iTrader: (1)	I have first hand experience dealing with BMWNA on a "buyback". They treated me very well and I did get a new car for almost nothing. I started the process with a letter to the CEO of BMWNA, Pres of BMWAG, and a copy to the General Manager of my local dealer. Within 2 weeks I got a call from a customer service representative offering wanting to know what they needed to do to make me happy. I did NOT threaten lemon law in my letter but expressed my disappointment with my car and the fact that my local dealer could not resolve the problem despite more than 3 tries. A regional service guy also got involved but agreed that they could not fix it so the trade assist was approved. __________________ Colonel (Retired), US Army/Hagerstown, MD 2016 518ixdrive/MSport AW/Ivory White ED-01-10 2010 Z4s30i AW/Beige/Burl/ 6MT/SP/PP/CWP/NAV/ipod/USB/CA (retired) 2011 335d BS/Oyster/PP/CWP/NAV/ipod/USB(Daily Driver) 30+ mpg(retired)
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01-17-2010, 10:24 AM	#30
Vintage Colonel 379 Rep 2,588 Posts Drives: BMW G80 (MT), 718 Spyder Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Austin, Texas iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the advice and information - I wish I were having a positive experience. Below is my latest email to the Moritz BMW and BMW NA; I had to send this after they called me and tried to sell me on the car was not taken for a 31 mile joy ride: Dear Pachis and Joe, Thank you Joe for calling me Friday morning to discuss my wife's 2009 Z4 35i. As you now know, I have emailed you guys and BMW NA five times with no response until your call - it was appreciated. Regardless of our running disagreement about obvious paint issues, the car is back in again for the fourth or fifth time in an attempt to fix the suspension. I will not restate my numerous past emails; I copied Pachis and Moritz on all of them so please read them as it is important information if we are to resolve this amicably. During our call you agreed to try to get this resolved as soon as possible. I having been begging for some reasonable resolution for weeks to no avail - not one offer from anybody other than blowing me off. This car was wrecked in port, the damage was hidden and not disclosed until I found it, and we still do not have a $65k car that I purchased in August. We believe something bad happened in port with the wreck, which is why it took 6 weeks to get us the car from port to Moritz and it explains why this car is nothing but one big problem - it was wrecked by BMW after our awesome Germany trip. For clarity, the only acceptable resolution for us at this point is BMW rescinding this deal with us getting all of our money back (down payment, taxes, registration, pay off to BMW financial, and at least a few of the five payments back we have made for a car we still do not have); I will then buy a new Z4 from BMW and I will agree to do this in writing. As a quick reminder, when I brought the Z4 back in Friday the Suspension warning light had come on every time I drove the car in the 24 hour period from when I picked it up from you Thursday night. I showed the warning light as "on" to Joe Blakely when I dropped it off just so you guys do not think I am totally crazy. Please understand that this is the reason I do not believe the story of the 31 miles of test driving by Moritz before it was given back to me Thursday. In other words, had a mechanic or your so called "quality control" actually driven the car for 31 miles, the suspension/shock warning light would have been screaming at them. Nope, some yahoo at your dealership borrowed my wife's car for a joy ride - this is not appreciated. Send this email and my previous four or five to the owner of Moritz BMW and the Moritz BMW General Manager; I want to make sure they know what is going on. Then confirm that you did this to me by email. Thanks for your time, and here is to hoping one last time that you guys will do the right thing for a life long BMW fanatic that has bought two $65k cars from you in the past few months. Sincerely, James Rudnicki.
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01-19-2010, 12:13 PM	#31
cipher5 506 Rep 3,469 Posts Drives: 2020 Donington Grey X3M Comp Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (12)	James, its so sad to see they are taking this lightly and not giving you a quick resolution. Stay at it and I hope they get you a new car soon.
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01-24-2010, 01:16 PM	#32
Z_Victor1 First Lieutenant 64 Rep 328 Posts Drives: 2022 G22 M440i 👍 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: SouthEast UK iTrader: (0)	Your whole story is staggering..... A tale of the utmost in despicable treatment. If you have not done this already, I would suggest you write to each and every of the following. Outline your whole experience and do NOT comment on individual 'good' personnel performance. There is no need to praise anyone in this saga. No one is worthy of any praise except you for your extreme tolerance. You have tried this tack and they have shown the utmost contempt to/for you. Highlight the catastrophic nature of your experience and how utterly disgusted you are at the way you are being treated. Dr. -Ing. Norbert Reithofer Chairman of the Board of management BMW (AG) Dr. Friedrich Eichiner (Finance Director) Dr. -Ing. Herbert Diess (Purchasing & Supplier Network) Mr. Ian Robinson (Sales & Marketing) Helmut Panke - Chairman and CEO of BMW-US As a token of respect you might care to employ a professional to translate your letter into German before transmission and forward two copies (1 German & 1 English) to each individual. You might care to highlight the very poor performance of BMW in it's market from 2007 to 2008 where the Z4 sales dropped by 36.6% (Annual reports). To survive economically in todays ultra-competitive market, a company not only has to be good, it has to be very good indeed. Copy your communications to Road & Track (you'll have to forgive me, for I am from the UK and do not know many US Motoring publcations). Road & Track 1499 Monrovia Avenue Newport Beach, California 92663 949.720.5300 You might even consider contacting your Federal body, the US DOT for legal advice. *BMW's Customer Service e-mail Germany:- bmwgroup.customerservice@bmwgroup.com Latest BMW Annual Report* http://www.bmwgroup.com/annualreport...Group_2008.pdf It brings into question the whole issue of purchasing a vehicle in one country, driving it around for a while and then trusting some shipper to transfer it thousands of miles to your homeland, incurring considerable risk of damage en-route. Who is truly responsible for this damage en-route? BMW of course - whether it be BMW AG or BMW NA matters not, that should not be a concern to you. There is not one iota of comedy or irony in this tale. You are to be congratulated for demonstrating such amazing stoicism. May I wish you every good fortune. Best regards, David
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01-24-2010, 03:00 PM	#34
Vintage Colonel 379 Rep 2,588 Posts Drives: BMW G80 (MT), 718 Spyder Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Austin, Texas iTrader: (0)	I sent the below email today - thanks for the GREAT advice. If this does not work, I will start the suggested campaign to Germany this week. I wish I had the addresses for all of those folks. Moritz BMW told me Friday that the "higher ups at BMW NA in New Jersey are now on this and that they were surprised about the situation." Let's all hope this is true - this has risen to a level of absurdity that I would have never imagined possible. So, when I here about I-Phone cradle order issues on this site, I now keep it all in perspective. Dear BMW Family, I spoke with Mr. De la Garza on Friday afternoon for an update on this matter because 1) no one from BMW has made an offer of resolution to me, and 2) the Z4 is still in the shop - over a week after it was dropped off. I have now been told that BMW NA/PUMA has order the rear shocks from Germany (who knows when those will arrive). So, as we approach February of 2010 and I still cannot let my wife drive her Z4 purchased in July 2009 because it is still broken and in the shop waiting for the rear shocks, which will give it four new shocks to match the new EDC unit recently installed. Thank you for the loaner 328i, it is a nice car but no Z4 35i. You see, we paid about $10k down to get the Z4, traveled to Germany, and now we made 5 payments of over $1k per month but still have no car - this has to be one of the worst circle jerks for BMW NA in recent history (I apologize for the crude humor but I am tired). If I wanted a 328i loaner (on permanent loan it seems), I would have bought one for roughly half the price and monthly payment of the Z4. We have requested that you buy back the Z4 you wrecked, repainted, and cannot seem to fix. This includes repayment by you of all of our down payment, fees, title, taxes, etc. with our 5 payments back and your payoff of BMW Financial, but for maybe the first payment (consider it the 1 week rental fee in Germany for the car when it had zero problems and no one had yet wrecked it). We will agree in writing to buy a new Z4 via order or in stock in the USA - I will even pick it up in person in the US and pay for my plane ticket to go get it, drive it home, and make sure no one damages it in transit but me. Honestly, I do not trust your transport help anymore. If this offer is not accepted by close of business Friday, January 29, 2010, then we will still demand the repurchase/repayment/payoff of the Z4 from us by BMW, but I will no longer agree to buy another Z4. We want another Z4 just like this one but we can't wait forever. This has drug on with me begging BMW NA to do something for about two months and I am about to give up on your any response or cooperation. You have still not responded to me and my wife other than blowing us off with no response (except for Pachis and Joe at Moritz - thanks for listening to my concerns and trying to help). I have never cussed, yelled, or threatened but this is my last "nice" week. Please help us and let's work this out in the next few days - it will be better for everyone that way. Still hopeful but fading fast - James Rudnicki. Last edited by Vintage; 01-24-2010 at 04:02 PM..
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01-24-2010, 05:06 PM	#35
Z_Victor1 First Lieutenant 64 Rep 328 Posts Drives: 2022 G22 M440i 👍 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: SouthEast UK iTrader: (0)	Vintage BMW, Corporate addresses for personnel I list can be found on the internet. Look up any investment website for company addresses. Sometimes writing to the Finance Director of a large multi-national can have good results. People rarely complain to Finance Directors. Their responses are encouraging. I do get the impression that your 'jokey' letters have run their course. Show them something that made your country great - The Spirit of America and take no prisoners......... Best wishes and good luck.
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