296 cracked wheel owners - heads up!

[jparnes1]

BMW settled a lawsuit against it, agrees to reimburse costs related to cracked 296 wheels 2009-2013

http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/20...-lawsuit.shtml

[BMWZ4]

Someone should let Rolf Dieter know....

[jparnes1]

LOL! I was actually thinking the same thing when I posted that! We've been on this forum for too long Dave.

[CeEl]

Didn't he end up getting a M3? He is probably still active on that forum? PM may work?

[CeEl]

Looks like his user name is Mr. M3 now and he last visited this site in January. I sent him a PM.

[rezok]

A heads up too on the other side - the OEM run flats contribute to the cracking of these rims.

If you can go after market softer compound rubber with a little more flex, it should reduce the likelihood of the cracks.

I've been very happy with the Conti 5s as well - less noise, cheaper and better handling. I carry a bottle of tyre repair goo for an emergency!

Great looking wheel otherwise!

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by jparnes1

LOL! I was actually thinking the same thing when I posted that! We've been on this forum for too long Dave.

I nearly split a gut laughing J. Too funny.

[jparnes1]

Good luck with your 2. I'm sure you'll love that car.

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by jparnes1

Good luck with your 2. I'm sure you'll love that car.

Not to hijack your thread J, but I think it's coming next weekend. I'll share some pics (but not on the Z forum!!).

I hope Rolfy gets his pound of flesh! I think it was 5 years ago he started that thread!

Dave

[nicknaz]

if this info was available 2 years ago, I wonder if it would have made a difference... I wanted to switch out the wheels anyway!

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Thanks All for thinking of me. For some reason I came across the M3 Forum today on my iPhone and logged in then I saw several private messages amount them the one alerting me on the BMW lawsuit. Thanks again for thinking of me

Knowing that I was right is good enough for me I have better things to do then start another round with my local BMW dealership. My cracked wheel stays in my garage and is used as a water hose storage. Bet my 2 MB cars whisper about it at night LOL

I now drive as a DD a C63 AMG and my toy with a soft and removable hardtop is a 46 year old MB Pagoda 280SL I love them both and think of them as something new and something old, the AMG is below, my 280 photos are in my garage link if anyone likes to see them ,.. Happy motoring to you all and thanks again.

I will always have found memories of the 7 Bimmers I owned a specially the Z4 for I drove cross country in it along Route 66 the cracked wheels (two of them) are long forgotten except for the bad taste I have still from treatment I had with BMB USA and Canada,

[paris1]

Just as an aside, I've noticed an awful lot of forum members here have military officer monikers, like yourself. Any thoughts as to why so many?

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by paris1

Just as an aside, I've noticed an awful lot of forum members here have military officer monikers, like yourself. Any thoughts as to why so many?

Yes, we are all in the military, raising a huge army for the impending war w/ Merc. As a private, you are expected to stand in the front lines and take the first volley.

BMW FOR LIFE!!!!!

LOL j/k, it's just a 'ranking' thing (seniority wrt # of posts, me thinks) for this forum.

[Squddie]

And this is why I got aftermarket wheels and stopflat tires...

[Frank Costanza]

Means nothing for Canadians anyway unless I'm missing something.

[jpwolfe31]

The settlement details are attached. Looks like they will pay up to $650 if you replaced a wheel. And up to another $150 if the cracked wheel caused tire damage.

The issue with this, is that you would need to replace the wheel with more 296 wheels. If you choose to replace all 4 with different wheels, they only pay for the ones that were cracked. - likely one or two.

They only pay for tires if the cracked wheel damaged the tires. I do not see this as likely.

And most worrisome, is that they have an exclusion for "Impact Damage" which is not defined in the paperwork. This is how BMW has been wiggling out of paying during the last several years. Saying any out of round wheel was damaged by impact.

This settlement is probably best for those that bought new 296 wheels from BMW, but not so great for those like me that replaced all four wheels and tires with aftermarket. I had to arbitrate, but that worked out pretty well.
http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=764312

[Hujan]

I would encourage anyone who is eligible to participate. A lot of people simply write it off and grumble about "more money for attorneys." But the truth is that these actions are important to slap the hands of big companies. If people don't participate and they don't get hit hard in the aggregate even by a "successful" lawsuit, then companies like BMW have nothing to fear.

[darknetone]

What is too bad is that out of warranty and the fact that you get reimbursed, I'd have rather see a flat not excuses recall on those wheels. I'd participate if I could.