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Alarm Activation
Well, I took the route most recommended here, and went ahead and bought (from Tischer) and installed the alarm, and then contacted my dealer to make an appointment to "activate" the alarm since everything except the lock/unlock chrip seems to work fine. Surprise . . . my dealer said they'd have to uninstall the alarm, re-program the computer, re-install the alarm and then do the activation. I said the car is only a month old, what software updates would it possibly need, plus the web is full of posts that indicate only the "activation" is required. The dealer wasn't budging and insisted the entire process was required, and it would probably take ALL DAY. The good news is that they said they'd only charge me $110.
In disgust a called a different dealer that I've never done business with and they said, "yes, they could do just an activation," and they'd do it for free even though I didn't buy the car or the alarm there. Go figure !
Now I know each dealer is somewhat "independent," but shouldn't there be some consistency over how the alarm activation process should work and what it should cost? Why should something that seems pretty simple be so complex and different depending on what dealer you're dealing with?
Plus, why should it take "hours" to either re-program the computer or activate the alarm. I could entirely re-build a laptop or desktop in less time. Why should activating the "chirp" take hours? Seems like that should take minutes. Is it that the dealers just DON'T know what they're doing when it comes to the computer/electronics? Or has BMW made the onboard computer to quirky or complex?
Again, this whole process just seems more complex than it should be. If the car is pre-wired for the alarm, why isn't the computer pre-programmed to accept the almarm without requiring hours of software work?????
Uggghhhh . . .
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