[mat320i]

Hi All,

I just thought i would share my experience with my BMW, Always being a commodore man my whole life going up a level to a BMW was exciting and i had a smile from ear to ear. Then i picked the car up.

Pretty much from delivery i have had countless problems with my 320i. Its a 2008 320i M-Sport with innovations package.

Since picking it up the first problem i had was te black plastic between the steering wheel where the audio buttons are started peeling.

Then i started having really bad flat spots. took it back to motorline BMW and they told me it was either my fuel or driving style that caused this. I always used either BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power so that didnt wash with me.

Next was 5 visits to the dealer for gearbox problems. It felt like i was driving an old falcon or something that was lacking in transmission fluid it was that clunky. when slowing down at lights it would lurch forward and if you came to an almost stop and the lights when green and you took off again it would give off a loud clunk then pause then off she went. After 5 visits and one nice scratch on the bumper which they wont take responsibility for i was constantly told it was my driving style or it was the fact that because both my partner and i both drove the car that our different driving styles confused the adaptive drive system. You could imagine how colourful my english was constantly being told that.

I then received a call from a nice lady at BMW head office who picked the wrong name out of the hat calling me. She wanted to know how my experience with the dealer and the car has been being a first time BMW owner. I let her have it in a polite way. next day i get a call from my dealer telling me that BMW was sending a technician up from head office to investigate my issues. He drove the car for 30 seconds pulled it back into the dealer and told them they needed to order a new gearbox. So finally happy at a response my car was booked in for a gearbox replacement the following week. I was told that it would take 3 days to complete. 5 weeks later i got the car back and it felt good for about a week and i just gave up taking it to the dealer to fix the gear box.

Next problem is having comfort access the boot does not always open when walking up to it. i have to either take the key out of my pocket or just press the button for it to work which defeats the purpose of that little optional extra.

One day i decided to give my car a good wash after the shocking dust storm brisbane experienced and i took it to the local hand wash and gave it a good bath. I started it up and got a warning to say cornering light failure which just made me smile. After a couple of hours i started it up again and the error didnt occur again so i assume the water got into somewhere and caused some problems with the sensors.

Next on the list my partner and our 3 kids took the BMW shopping and discovered when they got to the shops that the doors wouldnt unlock so you could imagine my delight when they had to climb over my expensive leather to get in and out of the car for the rest of the day. After ringing motorline and being told that i can bring my car into the dealer a week later to get fixed i decided to get on the forums and find out how to fix it myself which was done with trusty fuse 72.

I went to use the high beam the other week and found out the auto high beam isnt working and the high beam is just staying on.



2 days later the engine light has decided to come on. no noticable performance drop after all lets face it the 320i didnt have power to start with. havent bothered to call BMW to book it in yet as the other day a nail jumped up and took $600 out of my wallet in the form of a new tyre so i am just living the BMW experience at the moment.

Has anyone found a good BMW dealer in Queensland. Motorline is the bottom of the food chain as far as i am concerned so i was either looking at Gold Coast BMW or Brisbane BMW.

Its either i find a good dealer or i cop a $20,000 loss and flog the car off and go back to a mazda or holden.

[mark325]

In the words of an E46Fanatic, I wouldn't let the dealership touch my lawn mower let alone my car.

Sounds like you have had a bit of a rough ownership and literally all those problems should have been handled by the dealer. Perhaps try Brisbane BMW I haven't heard too many bad stories from them, I'm up on the Sunshine Coast and have found the dealer to be fairly good when it came to replacing the engine on my car as well as the Rear main seal and sump gasket.

Fairly disappointed with the reliability of the car considering the price but they have sorted all the problems out and haven't really inconvenienced me that much... Maybe the time they palmed a Mini Cooper Off to me i was a little peeved.

Thank god my car is now out of warranty because I do all my own Maintenance and repairs and I can tell you I feel a lot more confident doing it myself and knowing its getting done right. But something as serious as a gearbox you probably wouldn't want to be doing yourself, The fact that the new gearbox hasn't solved the issue might point to something else. Definitely get on the blower and voice your disgrace to BMW Head office with regards to the dealer and their inefficiency to resolve the problem.

[scheps]

Bad luck m8.

My sister's 320 has a lot of little problems as well, mainly with lights, and warning lights that come on and off randomly, even for the air bags.

Motorline does good deals but the praise stops there.

When my sister was taking delivery, there was a chip on the side of the car and they pretend not to see it. It was pretty obvious so i think they were hoping we were idiots or blind?

But the valley one doesnt do good deals, and have no idea about their after sales service.

You didnt buy the car new did you?

[mat320i]

Originally Posted by scheps

Bad luck m8.

My sister's 320 has a lot of little problems as well, mainly with lights, and warning lights that come on and off randomly, even for the air bags.

Motorline does good deals but the praise stops there.

When my sister was taking delivery, there was a chip on the side of the car and they pretend not to see it. It was pretty obvious so i think they were hoping we were idiots or blind?

But the valley one doesnt do good deals, and have no idea about their after sales service.

You didnt buy the car new did you?

Yes it had 9k's on the clock when i picked it up.

When i questioned the scratch on the rear bumper i was told it was either there when i gave it to them or was caused the day i picked it back up off them. i was told by them that their mechanics are told that if the cause damage to a car they are to alert the service manager and it will get repairs straight away. i laughed when he said that. You would think after paying close to 70k for a car if a customer complained you scratched it while under there car they would use benefit of the doubt and repair it. i mean its a $400 repair. i just remind them every time it goes in that they caused it and they need to fix it.

They must think people are stupid and dont know there own cars. i know every inch of the paint on my car.

[The Voiper]

Maaate, you've had a bad run. I'm in my 5th beemer, the last two purchased from Motorline. I can not fault them. They have won the dealer of the year thing, a few times i believe. My previous car was an E46 which I owned 7 years (200,00km) and had only one issue with it, the aircon at about 180,000km.
Talk to Gary Cable if you ever have a problem.

[mat320i]

Originally Posted by The Voiper

Maaate, you've had a bad run. I'm in my 5th beemer, the last two purchased from Motorline. I can not fault them. They have won the dealer of the year thing, a few times i believe. My previous car was an E46 which I owned 7 years (200,00km) and had only one issue with it, the aircon at about 180,000km.
Talk to Gary Cable if you ever have a problem.

I think there care factor is a sliding scale depending on how much you spend with them. my boss owns a 750i an X5 and a Z4M all bought through motorline he loves them to bits and they love him all the same.

I own a modest 320i so am the bottom of the food chain and not worth the time of day. Shame i was looking at upgrading to a 335 coupé this year. now i have been banned from owning another BMW my the mrs and i tend to agree.

Disappointed is not how i feel its far worse.

[scheps]

its ridiculous isnt it......

My audi got its leather sliced (stanley knife precision/cleaness) at delivery and was told it was a $50 patch up job so left it. 2 years later decided to fix it and it turned out to be not a $50 job but entire leather strip had to be changed, hence seat out, stripped down etc etc imagine the cost..... so i complained about that, and got it changed for nothing.

My parents BMW has had little problems but they are well known common problems to the e46 from way back. Never had a serious issue like a gear box problem like yours tho, you are pretty unlucky.

Have quite a few friends with bmws (mainly e46 and e90s) and they all suffer minor problems from premature lights blowing, to abnormal warning lights, auto window not working, central locking malfunction...... etc never engine failure or trannie problem.

Sell the car privately? and get something else?

dont let this put you off the 335 tho , it would only ease your pain i think

[bcoz]

Originally Posted by mat320i

He drove the car for 30 seconds pulled it back into the dealer and told them they needed to order a new gearbox. So finally happy at a response my car was booked in for a gearbox replacement the following week. I was told that it would take 3 days to complete. 5 weeks later i got the car back and it felt good for about a week and i just gave up taking it to the dealer to fix the gear box.

It sounds like you've had a bad run service wise, and/or you may have bought a lemon.

Did it actually take them 5 weeks to replace the gearbox (rather than the promised 3 days), or was the booking just delayed and you had to take it in 5 weeks later? If the former, did they give you a loaner during the 5 weeks?

Anyway, given the recurring driveability problems to date (gearbox and the engine light warning, in particular), it is possible that the car may be a lemon. In that case, I would stick with the current dealer but escalate the issues IN WRITING to the Service Manager, if you haven't already done this (document every problem in chronological order including description of problem, when it was serviced, results, etc). Give the Service Manager reasonable time to diagnose and rectify the problems but if you don't get any joy or results, then escalate all the issues to BMW Australia, again in writing.

As the car is still under warranty, the dealer is obligated to fix it. You don't want to start shopping around for new dealers now, particularly as you've already done time (in and out of service) with your current dealer. If your current dealer doesn't perform or cannot fix the problems, then escalate to BMW Australia.

[chappy]

Sorry about your troubles you have i bought my car through motorline good deals but there service is average now i go to westside bmw and they are great you do get bad cars through every manufacture hope you get these issues fix up fast and trade in for a 335 coupe its like going from a coach to a jet fighter well almost written by a journo.
I had things go wrong with every lexus i had including bad servicing and my sister always have every thing go wrong with her lexus rx350.
It's my first bmw as well after 3 lexus cars but i went straight to a 335 msport coupe and no problems so far.
Good Luck.

[mat320i]

Originally Posted by bcoz

It sounds like you've had a bad run service wise, and/or you may have bought a lemon.

Did it actually take them 5 weeks to replace the gearbox (rather than the promised 3 days), or was the booking just delayed and you had to take it in 5 weeks later? If the former, did they give you a loaner during the 5 weeks?

Anyway, given the recurring driveability problems to date (gearbox and the engine light warning, in particular), it is possible that the car may be a lemon. In that case, I would stick with the current dealer but escalate the issues IN WRITING to the Service Manager, if you haven't already done this (document every problem in chronological order including description of problem, when it was serviced, results, etc). Give the Service Manager reasonable time to diagnose and rectify the problems but if you don't get any joy or results, then escalate all the issues to BMW Australia, again in writing.

As the car is still under warranty, the dealer is obligated to fix it. You don't want to start shopping around for new dealers now, particularly as you've already done time (in and out of service) with your current dealer. If your current dealer doesn't perform or cannot fix the problems, then escalate to BMW Australia.

HI there

It was actually away for 5 weeks. apparently they couldn't get the gearbox ecu to talk to the main ecu then when they did both wouldn't accept new programming which was really promising. my fear was they gave up trying to get the new gearbox to talk and just put the old one back in. but thats just speculation.

They have me a brand spanking new X5 30d which was a dream machine compared to the 320i the mrs kept stealing it. i am sure they were grumpy though that they gave it to me with 130ks on the clock and gave it back to them 5 weeks later with 3500k's but hey why should i restrict my driving because they have sold me a lemon.

Funny story though with the return of the car. with them giving me no updates on the car at all over the 5 weeks they had the car i had to call them and got the usual blurb of it maybe ready tomorrow and never getting i call back. i had to go to melbourne for work on the wednesday thursday and friday and was returning on saturday morning. the service guys called me 3pm thursday and told me the car was ready and i needed to come and pick it up that day as they wanted the loan car back. after i calmed down i explained to them that they gave me no warning that the car was even close to being ready and the car was parked at Brisbane airport and that i will be back Saturday morning and would collect my car then. they then preceded to tell me that someone has been waiting to test drive the car and they wanted to pick the car up from the airport and they would leave my car there. when i questioned them how i would get the key since they had mine he told me my partner would have to drive up from the gold coast to brisbane airport to bring me the spare key when i landed so then we could both proceed home. when i told them fat chance they eventually gave up. i was informed by the service guy that the service team didnt work saturdays and they would leave the paperwork and keys with sales reception and they would do the swap for them. when i arrived at the dealership sales had no idea what i was talking about. i sat in the dealership for about 45 mins while the receptionist looked all over the place and made a few calls to find my keys and then find where my car was parked. after all that i got the car back and it was a pig sty. every other time i have taken the car to them i get it back nicely detailed and looking a million dollars. this time i got it back with grease marks on the paint hand prints on the steering wheel and centre console and the floor was grotty. to top it all off i gave them the car fully loaded with fuel and got it back with a little over 1/2 a tank.

[Ninjaoz]

holy crap, sorry to hear about your unlucky experience with BMW. that totally sucks!! especially this is a $70k car, not just your average ford, holden and toyota.

[scheps]

i would have kept the x5 and ran

[mark325]

Maybe speak to someone high up at the dealership ?

I'm about to fire off my letter to BMW Australia in my disgust in the quality and failure of components Ive had on my car, Ill let you know how I go.

[zenderm3]

mat320i - mate, I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal. I have to say I've been impressed by Coastline's maintenance. Although I've only had my car for a month.

Definitely chase the Dealer Principal.

[s4008616]

I don't know about the service but with the sales I can rank them in the following order:

From worst to best:
1. Coastline at sunnycoast, originally went to them for a test drive, sat down and negotiated, not willing to negotiate with me at all (probably I looked like a kid?)
2. Then went to Motorline, the dealer principal actually talked to me, I insisted my price, they weren't moving, no deal.
3. Then went to Brisbane BMW, best service by the salesman, best service by the principal too. I got the price where the first two says it was impossible for them to sale the car at. Deal done.

Saved me the trip to Toowoomba BMW.

[scheps]

the DP at motorline is a tool.... wont get very far talking to him.

[mat320i]

Have lodged an offical complaint with BMW Australia. Will see what happens i have been told i will get a call back in the next 48-72 hours.

[dtlv8]

Sounds like a lemon Matt. Demand another new 320i! If it's an autobox then it is unsual for it to give up so early. It's made by ZF (not by bmw).

[Ninjaoz]

Originally Posted by dtlv8

If it's an autobox then it is unsual for it to give up so early. It's made by ZF (not by bmw).

there is a sticky thread in the BMW X3 forum about automatic transmission problems -it only applies to US spec X3 vehicles though.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=262130

[Dec540]

He drives an Australian spec 320 not a usa spec X3... Bit of a difference. Whilst a gearbox problem is common for a different car on the other side of the globe it doesn't mean that it would be usual for a 320's gearbox to go...

[mark325]

Similar issues with E53 X5 Auto Box, BMW Report it as normal. Change from first 2nd to 1st is rough when not in sport mode, I told my dad to just drive it in sport mode all the time LOL.

[KingClifton]

Would be interested to know if it's a South African-built model or a German one...