I think BMW550sport convinced these people that his BMW was a good deal...check it out and there were dozens and dozens of these complaints, many from the new M3 and his 550. These are only a few.

Big Money Wasted? We think that's not far from the truth. The BMW is a great car -- if you like high-strung sedans. Unfortunately, lots of everyday consumers buy these things thinking that because they're expensive, they must be reliable and trouble-free, which is about as far from the truth as Stuttgart is from Santa Monica.
All cars require maintenance and high-performance cars require lots and lots of very expensive routine maintenance. Also they're notorious for being afflicted with all kinds of exotic problems. If you're really into cars, understand them and are willing to lavish time, money and attention on one, the BMW may be for you. If you're looking to raise your self-esteem by buying something really expensive, we recommend real estate.

A few of the more recent complaints ...

Wendy of Corona CA (03/25/08)[/b]
I purchased a new BMW M3. When I purchased the car I was super excited because BMW always sells the fact they pride themselves on service. I also opted for the extended warranty. Since my purchase of the car it's been in the shop for Keys not working, A/C spitting water out when running, alarm activating unexpectidly, tire sensor activating since date of purchase even with new tires, side rocker pannels falling off, sunroof rattle, SRS restraint system malfunction, blue tooth not operating, oil warning sensor going off. and these are just the begining of my probelms. I first had the vehicle serviced at BMW in Bakersfield, of course the service department was unable to duplicate any problems with the vehicle and returned it to me promptly and said bring it back when it's having a problem, which turned out to be the following day. Only to find out I would be without a vehicle for 3 days and NO LOANER because I had to make a reservation 3 weeks in advance for a loaner vehicle. Then I took the vehicle to Savage BMW in Ontario expecting better service. on the first visit I waited 3 after my scheduled appointment time to get my car in for service and when they were taking it in I was told they would not get to the car that day and I would be without a vehicle for 3-4 days. It was not until I started getting upset on the sales room floor that the found a loaner car for me to take while they worked on my car. 3 days later they called and my car was finally being looked at. Upon receiving my car back they damaged the side plastic pannels around the window which took 3 weeks for them to get replaced. now that my vehicle finally went over the original 50,000 miles my extended warranty is supposed to kick in only to find out no one told me the extended warranty does not cover the vehicle like promised and I have to pay $50 deductible per item I'm having a problem with. Now all the items I am having problems with have still not been resolved. I called the dealership where I purchased the car and their exact words what do you want me to do? is all they say. I love the style of the car and how it handles but I will never buy BMW and I will tell everyone I know not to buy BMW due to the lack of service and disreguard for customer satisfaction.


William in Madrid Spain (03/24/08)[/b]
I am a US diplomat assigned to Spain.I purchased a 2008 BMW M3 by ordering directly through BMW headquarters' Diplomatic Sales Division. The car was delivered from Bavaria to the local BMW dealership in Madrid, BMW Herranz. I took ownership in December 2007. In February 2008 I began to get a sensor light on the dashboard that indicated a problem with the steering wheel. Meanwhile, the car wouldn't start. I had to remove the fob, wait, and start again. I often repeated this procedure numerous times before the car would start. I took it into the Herranz dealership and had them look at it. Since it was time for a general tune up and oil change, I told them to do that too. I expected the steering column error to be fixed gratis. Boy was I in for a surprise. I was told the problem was a sensor that needed to be replaced and the software needed a reset. The total cost to me was about 850 euros or almost $1500. I argued that I bought the car through Diplomatic Sales with US specifications and that the US has a four-year warranty. But I was told rudely that in Spain the warranty expires in two years. In fact, that holds true throught the EU.

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

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


Patrick of Alden NY (03/19/08)[/b]
2007 550i, rear pinior seal went at 34000 miles. My 1995 camery with 212000 has eld up better then this piece of junk.


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

Jamie of Commack NY (02/28/08)[/b]
I have a 330 bmw that comes with equiped with RUN FLAT TIRES for 31 months that i bought from RALLEYE BMW in NY. in this time i have had 24 flat tires at $450 per tire. They told me it must be my fault because there is no problem with the tires that I have. Anyway after spending almost $10,000 and going there 1 time per month to get a loaner and get my tire place i came across this! http://www.lemonlaws.com/2007/06/kab...n_alleg_1.html

Heather of San Diego CA (02/28/08)[/b]
Last year when I took my car in for its 2nd service my husband was told on my model vehicle (325i)the tires do not need rotation. I went to BMW on 02-21-08 for another service and the service rep. He guaranteed they would do that. Upon picking up my vehicle I found out I need all new tires and alignment at $1,045. When I took my vehicle home my husband said they had not been rotated nor was it on the service form. I left a message for the manager.

Virgilio of Vallejo CA (02/22/08)[/b]
I have 2005 BMW 550i that almost stop me at the middle of the road. This is a dangerous car luckily no other car behind me, I pull over right away, cause i my car is losing speed until there is no more power , so I stop immediately and try to figure it out whats wrong. Then I found out to my mechanic that my transmission need a replace. The mileage on this car was 10400. Paid $6000. Never will buy this kind of car.

Gail of Chevy Chase MD (02/22/08)[/b]
Mini problems at 39000 miles. Radiator resevoir leaks, changed thermostate, engine gasket changed, belt tensioner replaced. All this at low miles. Not the type of quality I expected from Mini/BMW. High dealer repair prices too.

Wilhelm of Rincon OTHER (02/22/08)[/b]
I have 2006 BMW Z3, I took it to service in late September 2007, windows not closing, check starter and repalce key, I had my car keys stole at a robbery at my house. I knew it would take time so by November 28 I was told the car is ready. I went thereto pick it up witha hefty bill of over US Dollars 3200.00 wrote the cheque and was ready to pick up my car, surpise it was very dirty but I said , well I can clean thism, then I opend the door and the seat was broken by the personell of Auto Germania, the gear shift was broken. I called every day to get the car fixedno luch, noeoen even bothered to return the call, so no car for all of December and Jnauary and February, I am the GM of a deluxe Hotel in Peurto Rico and need transportation every day to go to work and back and business trips. the service attitude and non response of Auto Germania in Puerto Rico is awful,no respeonse, I left many messages with the manager , the service manager, the service attendent.. no call back, nothing. Then I was promised thye will send my car two weeks ago, I called every da, no respone, no car, promised every day, tomorrow etc. As of Today February 22 , 2008 no car as yet.


Kande of Jamul CA (02/22/08)[/b]
I was due to turn in a 3 series bmw sedan on lease from cunningham bmw and decided to lease the new 2007 530xi sportswagon. Everything was great for a while, then problems started windows malfunctioning,switches not working for any of the windows, took in 3-4 times to have them replace switches that were on back order blah, blah, blah, everytime, and in the mean time someone scratched my drivers front window in the process. By the way they wouln't take responsibilty and did not replace! I have the automatic tailgate which I loved, until it started to malfunction and my arm got smashed in it! Not good, no safety stopper on it! It is a very heavy door when it comes back down on it's own w/o warning! I have taken car in and complained over 4 times now within 1 year and they have not been able to do anything because of course they are never able to duplicate the problem because it is spuradic! Tired of the lies, the B.S. the hassle, inconvienece, frustration.
Joe of Charlotte NC (02/21/08)[/b]
My wife and I bought a certified pre-owned BMW for her to use as a daily driver. The car had 22,000 miles and the sales staff assured us that when these cars are certified....they are as good as new. Within 11,000 miles (and less than 1 year)of use, they now tell me the rear brakes are shot....$600.....the front suspension bushings need to be replaced......$500......they don't know why the service ngine soon light came on and we lost a cylinder firing for a while. Oh, but I am about due for a standard service.....an additional $1200.00!!!! None of these defects are covered under the certified warranty....in fact it doesn't appear to cover anything. BMW says that the car was certified ...not by my dealer....but by a Florida dealer over 14 months prior to our purchase. Of course no one can tell me what happened in that period. The certified program is nothing more than a markeeting gimmick to increase the price suckers like me are willing to pay for peace of mind.

Gabriel of Santa Fe NM (02/20/08)[/b]
i too was at the store went to leave, no reverse! i called bmw, sorry your car is no long in warranty. what to do now?!!!!

Candace of Fayetteville NC (02/19/08)[/b]
The night I purchased this vehicle, I noticed 3 damaged areas on this vehicle one being a scratch on the front bumper, 2nd yellow stained headlights and side lights, and 3rd stained/faded no shine at all chrome window trimming on all 4 windows, I brought these damaged items to the attention of my Salesman that night and he ask if I would bring the car back the following Tuesday which was 1-29-08 the detailed guy they use for these things would be able to take care of them, When I picked the car up Wednesday 1-30-08 the only thing that was repaired on the vehicle was the scratch on the front bumper, I asked the salesman why weren't the other items taken care of and he stated, Oh! He wasn't able to do anything about the headlights and the window trimming, Of course no other suggestions were offered. My husband called Thursday and Friday of that week to speak to Management to explain the problem we were having, and stated how someone could have at least gave us a referral to have these items repaired, since the Service Department was unable to do anything for us. No one as of yet has been able to give a referral or assist with getting these items replaced/repaired. I have been to 4 different detail/body shops in Fay. NC and no one is able to repair these items, They suggest I take the car back to Valley BMW and ask why would these items NOT be covered under warranty when the car isn't old enough to have these problems with these parts. They stated how they have had vehicle as old as 2000 and they don't have this problem. They told me this should not be happening to a car so soon. I understand when you purchase a used vehicle there will be some wear and tear, but this is ridiculous, I can't find anyone to repair these items, It is not fair to me as a customer who has purchased a vehicle that is new to me. If BMW use quality parts, why am I having these issues? This is my second time purchasing a vehicle from Valley BMW there will not be a 3rd.

Antoinette of Detroit MI (02/12/08)[/b]
I purchased a 2008 bmw M3. I complained about the car slow take off and putters when starting up. I was told no problems by the dealer. gthen the brake lining light came on, They serviced the front brakes and then I tell the dealer there's ticking under the hood sounds like a rod knock, I was told there's nothing wrong all the 3 series makes this noise.I complain about winshield washer fluid leaking, @ first I was told there was a worn out washer ring, I took it in, left it for 2 days, went back to pick up my car and was told nothing was wrong. Called 3 days later to complain about the same problem, and that my brake light was stating I needed front brakes and lining in which was suposenly done less than a year ago, and now i need new brakes, does not sound like they were done. then engine light is on again, call dealer and they claim they serviced the engine and changed the oil, still complaing about the leakage in the winshield washer fluid no satisfaction, complaing about the front brakes being replaced less than a year no satisfaction, still hearing the ticking noise, paint on the inside has peeled, asked for a history on this car. states that paint was peeling and was repainted in the same areas that's peeling now, also I asked for the scratches to be buffed out when I purchased, I was told could be done has yet to do.

Raphael of Brooklyn NY (02/12/08)[/b]
,I purchase a new Bmw x5 4.8i which was picked up at the dealership on the 2nd of Feb 2008 at about 12:30pm,after a 21mls drive home the electronic damping control malfunction I took it back to the dealership the 4th of feb.After the dealership did their diagnostics they kept the vehicle for repairs,I was given a loner,on friday the 8th feb I went to pick up the vehicle that was ready,before the vehicle could be delivered to me the malfunction EDC delevoped again.so I was told to leave the vehicle and was given another loaner.On the 11th feb the dealership called me stating that they cannot repair the vehicle at the moment because they have to order a part from Germany.I paid $69,800.00 for a SAV drove it for 20mls ,it is at the dealership.I will like to know what are my options with regards to this fustrating situation.

At the moment I am using a loaner car.I ordered this vehicle,waited 8wks paid for it and it is at the dealer waiting for parts.very,very concern about the reliability of this very expensive SAV and will like to have a different SAV.
Chrishaun of Lithonia GA (02/11/08)[/b]
purchased the 2004 BMW X5 4.4I april 1, 2006. I guess I was the fool. every window regulator has been replaced. drivers window twice engine oil pan leak, electrical wiring issues with brake and fog lights, wiring issues triggering codes to fire off excessively, coolant leak leading to vehicle overheating and dealership never noticed the potential issue although i complained and bought to service department at least 4 times for this leak, etc etc. i would have to get the service records to tell you all the issues but no need to go on and on. you get the point. stay away from BMW. should stand for BE MORE WORRIED when attempting to purchase a BMW. I am very disappointed!

15K
Dale of Clay NY (02/09/08)[/b]
i bought a 2000 bmw m5. they advertise that they are a reputable independent bmw dealer affiliated with dinan. i flew to their facility and upon taking the test drive i found that the pixels are bad in the dash, they said contact bmw and they would fix it, why is this my job and why wasnt i told about it. then i took the car home thinking thats all that wrong with the vehicle. after getting it home i flew to europe and didnt have a chance to get to the car for a couple of months. when i got home i went through the car and og my god what a mess. the cd player cassette was missing, it has a engine oil leak, the rims do not match(paint wise), the zenon headlight system had been stripped from the car and worst of all the check engine light had been tampered with and the car will not pass inspection. they folded a piece of gauze up and stuffed it in the check engine light socket and put a new hampshire temp tag on it and sent me on my way with NO inspection! that is lower than low! also illegal as the new hampshire highway patrol has told me. i presently have a BBB claim in and it appears they have had complaints befor. also i have filed charges with the new hampshire highway patrol. my lawyer also is filing in federal court. i had hoped these guys loved bmw's as much as i do and would treat me fair and honest, boy was i the fool.

 

Hot911TT--I've seen the site with these complaints. There are actually hundreds of consumer complaints and BMW refuses to recall thier cars despite these issues. As you read many of these complaints you can see the pattern of poor service at BMW dealerships. I experienced the same thing with my wife's BMW. It was absolutely horrible. I'd rather buy a Hundai than another BMW. They use to be good cars many years ago and I'm not sure what went wrong.

 

You're right there were hundreds and a lot of them complaining about the same things. My neighbor has a 540 and its in the shop all of the time. He said he would never buy another one.

 

This post gave me the best laugh!
I've not only worked in a BMW dealer, but I've also worked on them. So I amall too familiar with what goes on with those cars and the litany of complaints that follows them around. I can't say how happy I am to have transfered to Porsche!! It's a night and day difference.

 

If people will be silly and buy a "Bloody Marginal Waggon" what can they expect. I wonder if Bimmer Boy will return to defend the undefendable?
Big Bob

 

Don't count on it big bob. He's licking his wounds right now. Not sure what the deal was right before he was banned and posting pictures of his house. He sould have spent less on his car and more on his house. yikes!

 

Yeah, why would he post a picture of his house. It looked like a dump. I don't get it. Some people all of thier money in thier cars. I like a good balance myself.