[MilesandBertie]

Hi All. Wanted some advice... I purchased a brand new BMW 330i in August 2021. On the 25th of May 2022 steering failed to work. BMW Roadside assistance came and took to local BMW dealership. Parts have been ordered to repair the car.

Been without car now 7 weeks. Have been told that there is no knowledge on when the part will be available and when the car will be repaired

In the meantime continue to pay £££ a month to BMW finance.

The BMW warranty clearly states that repairs will be carried out "quickly and effectively".

We currently have a hire car that is old and unsuitable for us (we have dogs and its a saloon).

We have been told could be months!. Any advice as to where we stand as this is not "quickly and effectively". Thanks

[Charlie (Wessex)]

Sorry can't help other than give personal opinion.

The finance bit is of course a big issue and why should you pay for a car that is faulty. You might expect BMW good-will to kick in, or I guess your other option is to get a lawyer involved. Of course that costs.....

Then the other issue is the hire car. That and the finance is a double whammy. Maybe you could continue with finance if BMW supplied you a loan car of equal or better spec to yours.

If you are really upset and get nowhere, then small claims court has a limit of £10k and is relatively cheap. But then no idea whether they might turn around and cancel your agreement. It's one of those shitty positions where you are morally correct, but the financial implications & costs mean you might just have to suck it up.

I'm sure others will have different opinions. Do you have a friend who is a lawyer??????

[philmots]

I guess the main issue here is living with a car that’s no good to you…

If the dealer isn’t bothered then take it up with bmw finance, if not bmw uk.. unless you open up about it they’re not likely to do anything about it.

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by MilesandBertie

Hi All. Wanted some advice... I purchased a brand new BMW 330i in August 2021. On the 25th of May 2022 steering failed to work. BMW Roadside assistance came and took to local BMW dealership. Parts have been ordered to repair the car.

Been without car now 7 weeks. Have been told that there is no knowledge on when the part will be available and when the car will be repaired

In the meantime continue to pay £££ a month to BMW finance.

The BMW warranty clearly states that repairs will be carried out "quickly and effectively".

We currently have a hire car that is old and unsuitable for us (we have dogs and its a saloon).

We have been told could be months!. Any advice as to where we stand as this is not "quickly and effectively". Thanks

Sorry to hear this.

Decide what you want to happen and make it very clear and in writing. As long as what you want is ‘reasonable’ it gives you a really firm base to work from.

Any decent dealer will provide a suitable loaner or hire car. I always get something decent from mine when my bmw is in for a service, usually ‘better’, sometimes ‘worse’ but acceptable,for,a,few,days. In fairness I think it reasonable that they finance an external loan car if the repair is going to take a long time, but it should be something reasonably equivalent to your 330. If it isn’t, tell them you want a replacement loaner.p (for,what it’s worth I had a good specification almost new Mondeo when my 330 was in dry dock which was fine…ideal for loading up to visit the tip!).

It would seem reasonable for BMW to pay the finance while the car is in dry dock for an extended period in my opinion.

Personally I think I would be starting the ‘not fit for purpose’ conversation on the 330 and see what the reaction is.

If you are not satisfied with the responses from the ‘front line’ staff in the dealership ask them for details of how you make a formal complaint - they ‘should’ have a formal process - it may be on their website. If they don’t escalate your complaint in writing to the Managing Director. If that doesn’t get you where you want to be go to BMW UK.

Don’t hesitate to escalate your grievance…in my personal experience those further up the organisation are usually horrified when they hear stuff like this and results follow. Pretty much everyone accepts that sh#t happens sometimes…it is how it is dealt with that is important.

Good luck!

Ps just a thought….bet there is something on the forecourt that parts could be pulled from…..

[marksandygill]

When my wife's 440i GC was in for repairs they had to give her a 3 year old 730d as that's all they had!

I suppose the only plus point is that your 330i will have less miles when it eventually goes back so worth a bit more maybe?

[335dX]

Originally Posted by Seaford

Sorry to hear this.

Decide what you want to happen and make it very clear and in writing. As long as what you want is ‘reasonable’ it gives you a really firm base to work from.

Any decent dealer will provide a suitable loaner or hire car. I always get something decent from mine when my bmw is in for a service, usually ‘better’, sometimes ‘worse’ but acceptable,for,a,few,days. In fairness I think it reasonable that they finance an external loan car if the repair is going to take a long time, but it should be something reasonably equivalent to your 330. If it isn’t, tell them you want a replacement loaner.p (for,what it’s worth I had a good specification almost new Mondeo when my 330 was in dry dock which was fine…ideal for loading up to visit the tip!).

It would seem reasonable for BMW to pay the finance while the car is in dry dock for an extended period in my opinion.

Personally I think I would be starting the ‘not fit for purpose’ conversation on the 330 and see what the reaction is.

If you are not satisfied with the responses from the ‘front line’ staff in the dealership ask them for details of how you make a formal complaint - they ‘should’ have a formal process - it may be on their website. If they don’t escalate your complaint in writing to the Managing Director. If that doesn’t get you where you want to be go to BMW UK.

Don’t hesitate to escalate your grievance…in my personal experience those further up the organisation are usually horrified when they hear stuff like this and results follow. Pretty much everyone accepts that sh#t happens sometimes…it is how it is dealt with that is important.

Good luck!

Ps just a thought….bet there is something on the forecourt that parts could be pulled from…..

Some good and bad stuff in here.

Whilst you may feel the car isn’t fit for purpose, the car industry is suffering with supply of parts due to the hangover from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Not your fault, but not BMW’s fault or your dealers fault. My dealership has circa 60 cars on site waiting for parts for service and 70+ for Bodyshop of all makes and models. BMW isn’t alone in this and there goes your quickly and efficiently.

Not being able to tell you when the part will land is also as above really, I have an ADAS camera on order (sits in the wind shield as a forward facing camera,) it was ordered in November 2021, still no sign and the manufacturer cannot tell me when it will be here - they simply have no idea other than it’s on order.

If you are not happy with your replacement transport talk to them and let the know, it’s not suitable please arrange something else. But bare in mind that the likes of ERAC are buying used cars because they can’t get new cars, so you may not get much of an upgrade.

Taking a part of a stock is wishful thinking - why would they remove a part from a car for sale, that would then render it immobile when it’s an asset they want to sell? It would cost the dealer too much money especially when on unit stocking.

Good luck.

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by 335dX

Some good and bad stuff in here.

Whilst you may feel the car isn’t fit for purpose, the car industry is suffering with supply of parts due to the hangover from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Not your fault, but not BMW’s fault or your dealers fault. My dealership has circa 60 cars on site waiting for parts for service and 70+ for Bodyshop of all makes and models. BMW isn’t alone in this and there goes your quickly and efficiently.

Not being able to tell you when the part will land is also as above really, I have an ADAS camera on order (sits in the wind shield as a forward facing camera,) it was ordered in November 2021, still no sign and the manufacturer cannot tell me when it will be here - they simply have no idea other than it’s on order.

If you are not happy with your replacement transport talk to them and let the know, it’s not suitable please arrange something else. But bare in mind that the likes of ERAC are buying used cars because they can’t get new cars, so you may not get much of an upgrade.

Taking a part of a stock is wishful thinking - why would they remove a part from a car for sale, that would then render it immobile when it’s an asset they want to sell? It would cost the dealer too much money especially when on unit stocking.

Good luck.

I understand what you are saying but the issues with parts supply are not the customers problem it is the dealers problem. A product has been sold with warranty and the dealer is failing to meet it. By not finding a good resolution the dealer is making it the customers problem.

[Scottish0177]

Originally Posted by Seaford

I understand what you are saying but the issues with parts supply are not the customers problem it is the dealers problem. A product has been sold with warranty and the dealer is failing to meet it. By not finding a good resolution the dealer is making it the customers problem.

Its not really the dealers fault as they are at the whim of manufacturers and their supply chain

It is BMW that is failing in its obligations, but these are exceptional circumstances that they themselves have no or very little control over at the moment

it is however a sad fact that backlogs of parts is inevitable and i am guessing work needing done will and can only be prioritised as specific parts for warranty claims, servicing replacement parts become available in dribs and drabs.

it must be a real headache for all manufacturers and dealerships

Which is where good and honest communications comes in with customers as without that customers are always going to feel put out and unimpressed.

I do think any BMW on finance which is sitting at a dealership long term should be subject to some form of goodwill gesture from BMW finance as being the end user you are not able to use the car as advertised and you have absolutely no control of anything

[paulockenden]

Originally Posted by Scottish0177

Its not really the dealers fault as they are at the whim of manufacturers and their supply chain

Contract law applies here. The customer’s contract is with the dealer, rather than anyone further up the supply chain, and so it’s the dealer’s responsibility to remedy any issues.

Yes, we all fully understand that the dealer isn’t the source of the problem but to a large extent that’s tough titty.

[Scottish0177]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

Contract law applies here. The customer’s contract is with the dealer, rather than anyone further up the supply chain, and so it’s the dealer’s responsibility to remedy any issues.

Yes, we all fully understand that the dealer isn’t the source of the problem but to a large extent that’s tough titty.

Contract law may apply but BMW can only supply dealers with the parts when they have them...Dealers can shout all they want but until the production side of things is on a more even keel they are just going to be banging their collective heads against a brick wall, so not so easy for dealers to remedy anything when they absolutely depend on those further up the chain to come up with solutions.

What would you expect them to do?

If someone genuinely feels aggrieved in as much as the car is not fit for purpose or as advertised then their are routes to go down, but the owner of affected cars are the only ones that can get the ball rolling.

Everyone is in the same boat, last time I looked Ford had stopped taking factory built car orders until early 2023

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by Scottish0177

Contract law may apply but BMW can only supply dealers with the parts when they have them...Dealers can shout all they want but until the production side of things is on a more even keel they are just going to be banging their collective heads against a brick wall, so not so easy for dealers to remedy anything when they absolutely depend on those further up the chain to come up with solutions.

What would you expect them to do?

If someone genuinely feels aggrieved in as much as the car is not fit for purpose or as advertised then their are routes to go down, but the owner of affected cars are the only ones that can get the ball rolling.

What i expect them to do is find a solution. They are making their problem their customers problem. There is always a solution……it may cost the dealer but they are the same as any other supplier of goods ie they are expected to supply goods of a reasonable quality and act appropriately when things go wrong. Cars are no different in this respect to washing machines or cauliflowers.

If BMW dealers treated their customers a bit better when they buy cars from them I may have a little more sympathy. The last three I have bought all the dealers were at best apathetic towards any attempt to build loyalty or even have a really good customer experience.

I exempt BMW Hailsham from that, they are always excellent…even though I have never bought a car from them!

[barian]

[QUOTE=paulockenden;29137980]Contract law applies here. The customer’s contract is with the dealer, rather than anyone further up the supply chain, and so it’s the dealer’s responsibility to remedy any issues.

As it appears that the car is financed, I think that the contract will be with the finance company (BMW Finance in this case), not the dealer. It might be advisable for the OP to take up the matter with BMW Finance.

[Davey330i]

Originally Posted by MilesandBertie

Hi All. Wanted some advice... I purchased a brand new BMW 330i in August 2021. On the 25th of May 2022 steering failed to work. BMW Roadside assistance came and took to local BMW dealership. Parts have been ordered to repair the car.

Been without car now 7 weeks. Have been told that there is no knowledge on when the part will be available and when the car will be repaired

In the meantime continue to pay £££ a month to BMW finance.

The BMW warranty clearly states that repairs will be carried out "quickly and effectively".

We currently have a hire car that is old and unsuitable for us (we have dogs and its a saloon).

We have been told could be months!. Any advice as to where we stand as this is not "quickly and effectively". Thanks

I had a similar thing with my old 5 series that was off road for a long time waiting for a tech fix/ urgent safety recall. In that case the dealer gave me a brand new 3 series estate via a hire car company until it was fixed at BMW's cost. So if it was me I think that is the route I would take, push the dealer to give you a suitable estate BMW hire car until your car is fixed. That gives you worry free motoring and avoids the mileage on your car. I would have thought the dealer would agree to that.

[HighlandPete]

Simply talk to the dealer, explain the issues with the current loan car and get them to put you into a more appropriate vehicle.

We don't always have what we prefer when unusual circumstances arise. I ended up with a new 316i Compact when my 540i Touring was off the road for several weeks for a new engine.

Quite a step down, put about 2,500 miles on it. Appreciated the 540i even more, when I got it back.

[Beemer5to3]

[QUOTE=barian;29139926]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

Contract law applies here. The customer’s contract is with the dealer, rather than anyone further up the supply chain, and so it’s the dealer’s responsibility to remedy any issues.

As it appears that the car is financed, I think that the contract will be with the finance company (BMW Finance in this case), not the dealer. It might be advisable for the OP to take up the matter with BMW Finance.

Correct, if the car is on finance then the contract is with BMWFS. A complaint should be logged, and if there's no adequate resolve possible the vehicle could be rejected and a replacement / partial refund would have to be sourced.