Post Warranty Issues

[RickPDX]

I have a 2009 SGM 135i N54 power plant with Dinan Stage 2. The car has been maintained according to BMW's schedule. I have not tracked the car. Although it has seen some spirited driving, as a daily driver. It has been abused in no way, i.e. tracked.

Funny,now that the car is out of warranty, the fuel injectors were replaced, under BMW warranty, thank god wehn I found out how expensive they were, but not the walnut dust cleaning.

I have had a lamp warning light I have lived with for a year. Over $500 in service charge testing finally determined that both headlamp assemblies needed replacement for a bill of $3600, which I declined.

The car was just serviced for routine fluid change. On my way home this evening, within Portland OR city limits and no bad traffic, I had to abandon it at a restaurant because the water temperature sensor went from yellow to red. Nice for the engine, but screw the driver and passenger.

This car has only 40K miles on it. WTF? I expect German engineering to be bullet proof. Or, if nothing else, to be notified of additional work to replace faulty components.

When I was in graduate school, I bought a used 1973 BMW Bavaria with 100K miles. Great car when it ran. But it seemed like every month I was dropping a $100 to maintain the car. Note: this was late 70s.

Funny, at the entrance to the garage area, there was a great cartoon:
"Owning a BMW is like making love to a Gorilla: You are not done with it until it is done with you".

I thought those days were gone. Yes, I am an unhappy camper because I have no transportation which has totally ruined my weekend plans. For the record, I also own some exotic cars and I am well aware of unexpected and very expensive service calls, and these issues are expected, but for a car like this, to me, it is totally unacceptable.

Sorry for the rant but I truly expect more from BMW.

Rick

[The Wind Breezes]

Water pump. They're pretty easy to change out yourself and around $400.

BMW wants to make money and they're chasing after Porsche type profit margins by making everything as cheap as possible. These are the consequences.

[RickPDX]

That is not the point. I don't know what has failed, but the fact my car is at a commercial venue and not in my garage and more importantly is not functional is the issue.

This is a question regarding reliability, customer safety, and customer experience.

If this was an old rickety car with an unknown maintenance history, would you go out assuming all is well?

This car has been meticulously maintained, yet after just a few miles of in town driving fails. This is a 2009 BMW. I have a 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena that behaves better than this and it is driven much more aggressivley.

[litebulb]

I'm in a similar boat. I wished I didn't baby my car during the warranty period, that way I would have gotten more stuff replaced.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by RickPDX

I had to abandon it at a restaurant because the water temperature sensor went from yellow to red. Nice for the engine, but screw the driver and passenger.

That's the water pump. Mine died last Friday night and AAA had to tow it to my dealership. Every driver should have AAA or BMW assist. I also hate how the car just shuts down to preserve the engine. The driver should be able to make that choice and keep driving until it's safe to stop.

The 2008/2009 1-series were the first in the US, and a lot of parts have since been replaced/improved. I'm glad I got the extended warranty. It has been in the shop at least once a year for something significant and I only have about 53,000 miles on it.