I'm including the text of a message I sent to BMW USA regarding the problems we're experiencing with the 2004 325i we leased. The answer we received from them is "contact the service manager" at the dealership. He's the one we spoke to about all the damage to our vehicle. Their attitude is we have BMW's and, since sales are good, we don't care about customer problems. Guess we'll hit all the auto talk forums and post our experience.
Approximately fifteen months ago, we leased a 2004 325i. The main reason we purchased the vehicle was because the ride was great and the cabin was really quiet. We have about 14,000 miles on the vehicle now, and the road noise is worse than it was in the Nissan Sentra we had before leasing this vehicle.
Shortly after we took possession of the vehicle, we received a notice for a transmission programming update and took the vehicle in as requested. We were very pleased prior to the update since the transmission seemed to shift with little or no noticeable jerkiness. After the update, the transmission is rough and sometimes can’t decide whether to shift up or down, then it will either cause the engine to rev up high or it won’t downshift so the engine “lugs” along.
The first three months we had the vehicle, we were impressed that we never seemed to smell any emissions from other vehicles, or get any smoke in the cabin when passing near a sugar cane burn. Now, it is as if the car is attempting to always open the vent whenever there is any obnoxious smell around, including diesel trucks.
The headlights, in the automatic position, will stay on even when driving into bright sunshine. We keep the vehicle in the garage, so they come on when we start the car, then they are supposed to shut off when we pull out of the garage, but they don’t most of the time. They always work properly if you start the vehicle outside in the sunlight. The loaner vehicle we had would turn the lights off in 5 to 6 seconds after exiting the garage.
We have not been happy with the BMW dealer here on Maui. We’ve taken the car in several times and they always tell us they can’t find anything wrong. The last time, they gave us a loaner 325i to drive while they were checking our vehicle out. There was such a difference in the shifting that my wife remarked she could tell a big difference just riding in the car in a short drive to the neighboring town which is up a hill. After two weeks, we had not heard a word from BMW of Maui so I stopped by and talked to Rhonda, the service advisor, and asked the status. She told me that they hadn’t really had much of a chance to check the car out but they weren’t able to see any of the symptoms we were complaining about. She also stated that since we had a loaner car, we were on the bottom of the priority list since they service the customers who have dropped their cars off and don’t have a loaner vehicle. A week later she called to say that they couldn’t find anything wrong so we could come back to get the car. I asked if they had done the required service and she said they forgot so they would do it the next morning, then we could pick it up. When I went to pick the car up, it was absolutely filthy. There was so much brake dust on the wheels you couldn’t even tell what color they were. The outside was covered with dirt. I had washed the loaner vehicle twice in the three weeks we had it and didn’t drive nearly 300 miles. Above the left rear wheel, there was a fresh paint chip, about 1/8” in diameter, scraped off the fender. There is a scratch above the wheel opening on the opposite side at the same location. We had a crystal dolphin hanging by a chain from the rear view mirror. The chain was broken and the dolphin was lying on the console with not even an apology for damaging our personal property. There is also a fresh paint scratch above the door handle on the rear driver side door, probably from someone opening the door with a key in their hand. The car also had been driven almost 800 miles.
I’ve owned 24 vehicles since I started driving. I have never had so much trouble with any of the vehicles I’ve owned and I have never seen such an unprofessional way of conducting business as BMW of Maui.
We expected more out of BMW. The car is noisy, the doors are dangerous. The doors are spring loaded and can hit someone in the head if you don’t watch them. The vehicle has two cup holders. Only one is accessible unless you put the arm rest up. There is no storage in the console worth using. BMW’s slogan, the ultimate driving machine may be fine for people who can zip down the autobahn. The creature comforts, gas mileage, etc. are neglected. BMW doesn’t care about customer satisfaction. After “trashing” our car without so much as an apology, I assure you that BMW of Maui is not going to get any kind of a recommendation from us.
I have written to BMW USA via their web site in the past and my email has been ignored. It appears that the only service we can get from BMW of Maui is our car “trashed” and then ignored. BMW USA ignores our pleas. We have informed the many people we know of the problems with BMW of Maui, the next step is to make our feelings knows via the many web sites on the internet so that all who read will know that BMW definitely does not live up to its promises.
Approximately fifteen months ago, we leased a 2004 325i. The main reason we purchased the vehicle was because the ride was great and the cabin was really quiet. We have about 14,000 miles on the vehicle now, and the road noise is worse than it was in the Nissan Sentra we had before leasing this vehicle.
Shortly after we took possession of the vehicle, we received a notice for a transmission programming update and took the vehicle in as requested. We were very pleased prior to the update since the transmission seemed to shift with little or no noticeable jerkiness. After the update, the transmission is rough and sometimes can’t decide whether to shift up or down, then it will either cause the engine to rev up high or it won’t downshift so the engine “lugs” along.
The first three months we had the vehicle, we were impressed that we never seemed to smell any emissions from other vehicles, or get any smoke in the cabin when passing near a sugar cane burn. Now, it is as if the car is attempting to always open the vent whenever there is any obnoxious smell around, including diesel trucks.
The headlights, in the automatic position, will stay on even when driving into bright sunshine. We keep the vehicle in the garage, so they come on when we start the car, then they are supposed to shut off when we pull out of the garage, but they don’t most of the time. They always work properly if you start the vehicle outside in the sunlight. The loaner vehicle we had would turn the lights off in 5 to 6 seconds after exiting the garage.
We have not been happy with the BMW dealer here on Maui. We’ve taken the car in several times and they always tell us they can’t find anything wrong. The last time, they gave us a loaner 325i to drive while they were checking our vehicle out. There was such a difference in the shifting that my wife remarked she could tell a big difference just riding in the car in a short drive to the neighboring town which is up a hill. After two weeks, we had not heard a word from BMW of Maui so I stopped by and talked to Rhonda, the service advisor, and asked the status. She told me that they hadn’t really had much of a chance to check the car out but they weren’t able to see any of the symptoms we were complaining about. She also stated that since we had a loaner car, we were on the bottom of the priority list since they service the customers who have dropped their cars off and don’t have a loaner vehicle. A week later she called to say that they couldn’t find anything wrong so we could come back to get the car. I asked if they had done the required service and she said they forgot so they would do it the next morning, then we could pick it up. When I went to pick the car up, it was absolutely filthy. There was so much brake dust on the wheels you couldn’t even tell what color they were. The outside was covered with dirt. I had washed the loaner vehicle twice in the three weeks we had it and didn’t drive nearly 300 miles. Above the left rear wheel, there was a fresh paint chip, about 1/8” in diameter, scraped off the fender. There is a scratch above the wheel opening on the opposite side at the same location. We had a crystal dolphin hanging by a chain from the rear view mirror. The chain was broken and the dolphin was lying on the console with not even an apology for damaging our personal property. There is also a fresh paint scratch above the door handle on the rear driver side door, probably from someone opening the door with a key in their hand. The car also had been driven almost 800 miles.
I’ve owned 24 vehicles since I started driving. I have never had so much trouble with any of the vehicles I’ve owned and I have never seen such an unprofessional way of conducting business as BMW of Maui.
We expected more out of BMW. The car is noisy, the doors are dangerous. The doors are spring loaded and can hit someone in the head if you don’t watch them. The vehicle has two cup holders. Only one is accessible unless you put the arm rest up. There is no storage in the console worth using. BMW’s slogan, the ultimate driving machine may be fine for people who can zip down the autobahn. The creature comforts, gas mileage, etc. are neglected. BMW doesn’t care about customer satisfaction. After “trashing” our car without so much as an apology, I assure you that BMW of Maui is not going to get any kind of a recommendation from us.
I have written to BMW USA via their web site in the past and my email has been ignored. It appears that the only service we can get from BMW of Maui is our car “trashed” and then ignored. BMW USA ignores our pleas. We have informed the many people we know of the problems with BMW of Maui, the next step is to make our feelings knows via the many web sites on the internet so that all who read will know that BMW definitely does not live up to its promises.