One & done.... C ya around folks...

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

DCT suck in ALL cars. Don't blame BMW for that. Get a real transmission and you will be fine.

My DCT works fine. No problems at all. Fast and fun. Love it!

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

DCT suck in ALL cars. Don't blame BMW for that. Get a real transmission and you will be fine.

That's a pretty broad statement. Personally I like my DCT and don't really plan to go back to an Auto or MT anytime soon. The DCT is what an Automatic strives to be --> an automatic shifting MT.

Have you actually driven one?

[Fume]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

DCT suck in ALL cars. Don't blame BMW for that. Get a real transmission and you will be fine.

DCT seems like it's fine for a lot of people and definitely fine when going at speed. What issues there seems to be always appears to be at low speeds. That said, the simplicity of 6MT is just one of the many reasons why I chose that for a car I'm planning to keep for a long time (although I went and sabotaged that somewhat since I ordered Tech/Nav + premium package which I'm sure will eventually lead to headaches)

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

DCT suck in ALL cars. Don't blame BMW for that. Get a real transmission and you will be fine.

I kind of like the GTR DCT

[850tgul]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Sorry to see you leave, BMW cars are super fun to drive but break way too frequently

I guess I've been lucky, I've owned 4 BMWs (3 of which were M cars) and they have all treated me extremely well. Common thread; all NA 6s, all manual.

I always try to stick with a company's bread and butter formula and I've had good luck. Inline 6 BMWs, small block V8 Chevy's, turbo 4 Saab's, etc.

I have dealt with crappy dealers though and know how frustrating that can be. Best of luck OP.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Fume

DCT seems like it's fine for a lot of people and definitely fine when going at speed. What issues there seems to be always appears to be at low speeds. That said, the simplicity of 6MT is just one of the many reasons why I chose that for a car I'm planning to keep for a long time (although I went and sabotaged that somewhat since I ordered Tech/Nav + premium package which I'm sure will eventually lead to headaches)

If you are accelerating, it will always have the next gear selected in the opposite shaft, ready to switch clutches, nice and fast.

The problem is when they try and change two gears down, like coasting to a turn. The tranny has to disengage the clutch (even or odd clutch) then select the new gear, then re-engage that same clutch. Will always take what seems like forever.

Just the way they work, can't change physics. The computer can't sense what you want it to do, it can only react to what you tell it.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

That's a pretty broad statement. Personally I like my DCT and don't really plan to go back to an Auto or MT anytime soon. The DCT is what an Automatic strives to be --> an automatic shifting MT.

Have you actually driven one?

Yes, I have driven lots. They work great when steady accelerating. But by design, they have their faults. See above.

[e92ben]

You had a bad apple and shitty dealer. I never had any major problems with any of my BMW's and my dealer bends over backwards for me anytime I went for years. From my m3 m5s 335s 135s they always gave me excellent service even with full bolt on mods!

[scotty_miller]

This is the kind of guy that'll move to a vw

[Gray_Panther]

Wanna know what's worse than OP ditching his 1 and only?

Not responding back to this thread and telling us what he got.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

Wanna know what's worse than OP ditching his 1 and only?

Not responding back to this thread and telling us what he got.

Maybe he won't be back...

[Stock4Evr]

Interesting about the dealership. Up to now I have not had problems with them. I have been there, only twice, since they appear to have had a big change in either operation or management or both. The service dept. has changed drastically. I do not know what they did but it appears that something has changed. Before the change I had a few problems but they were always addressed with satisfactory results. Guess I will see if they help if I encounter a major issue.

[davis449]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Yes, I have driven lots. They work great when steady accelerating. But by design, they have their faults. See above.

Tracked, several times, PDK and manual back to back and never found this "fault" you speak of with the downshift of the dual-clutch. Every instructor there preferred the PDK to the manual. They were all professionals. Point being, it's a matter of opinion.

Interesting about the dealership. Up to now I have not had problems with them. I have been there, only twice, since they appear to have had a big change in either operation or management or both. The service dept. has changed drastically. I do not know what they did but it appears that something has changed. Before the change I had a few problems but they were always addressed with satisfactory results. Guess I will see if they help if I encounter a major issue.

They are getting better, no doubt. I have a great service adviser now and my first out-of-pocket repair experience last month was actually pretty damn good. But the absolutely horrid service they offered previous is why they had to clean house. As another poster mentioned, they are monitored by BMW through the surveys. Understand that this bad service has been going on for YEARS and YEARS. What I want to know is why it took THIS long for them to finally clean house. Why wasn't BMW of NA doing something about this back then? Well, I suspect (and have heard rumors) that someone else got a BMW franchise recently for the SA market. The name associated with that rumor is noted to be the best automotive group in the region for sales and service (foreign and domestic). This is smart planning on their part as, if the rumors are true, BMW of SA is going to get SLAUGHTERED when\if the new franchise sets up shop. We have two Mercedes and two Lexus dealers already. BMW sells enough cars here that's it's only logical a second BMW dealer be in order.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by davis449

Tracked, several times, PDK and manual back to back and never found this "fault" you speak of with the downshift of the dual-clutch. Every instructor there preferred the PDK to the manual. They were all professionals. Point being, it's a matter of opinion.

This design flaw will never show up in track driving. Read what I wrote.

[Mr Rooty Von Tooty]

San Antonio is a medium sized city, and if it only has one dealer, then that makes it likely there are independents to fill in the service gap.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the DCT. If performs better than an automatic, and if you want to hit the rev limiter in each gear, use the paddles and the sport setting. I have found the DCT without the Sport, shifts way better than I ever could for a fast getaway.

The OP doesn't mention what problems he has had, so we just left with he is the kind of guy who just loves to complain.

Regarding BMW's reliability, according to recent surveys by Consumer Reports, BMWs are getting to be very reliable rides. From this forum, most issues are water & fuel pumps hardly reasons for ditching the car.

I always have to laugh at the folks who complain about BMW reliability, which is usually about nickle and dime stuff, and they dump the car. Yeah a real economic solution is to do a trade spending thousands of additional dollars to solve a couple of hundred dollar problems.

[Bimmer-Bob]

I don't really understand why anyone cares if this guy dumps his BMW. After all, it's a personal choice. Different strokes and all that. Maybe he will be happier in a Lexus or (gasp!) a VW, or maybe he'll move on to something more performance-oriented. All we know is that he had a bad experience with his 1er, and the servicing dealer.

Personally, I made several visits to BMW of San Antonio for service appointments under warranty circa 2011-12, and never really had a bad experience myself, nor heard any of the supposed horror stories. Of course, I never had anything seriously wrong with my car - mostly just routine service, and one time I did have some peeling clear coat on a bumper that they had repainted (I ate 1/3 the cost). They did also diagnose blown struts, but wouldn't fix them because they were aftermarket Bilsteins. They always provided loaners, including a 335i convertible and a Z4 once, so there's that. My point is only that different individuals have different experiences, and you can't always draw broad conclusions from them.

[davis449]

San Antonio is a medium sized city, and if it only has one dealer, then that makes it likely there are independents to fill in the service gap.

I'll nullify this argument by saying that independents don't cover the service gap when the car is under warranty. Would you pay out of pocket for something you shouldn't\don't have to? Also, does anyone remember what one of the main driving factors of buying a luxury car is (or was)? Excellent service. Sorry, but I still believe that's what you should get when you buy one of these cars. If I owned a Honda, I wouldn't complain. It's a Honda, I should expect to get what I paid for.

I always have to laugh at the folks who complain about BMW reliability, which is usually about nickle and dime stuff, and they dump the car. Yeah a real economic solution is to do a trade spending thousands of additional dollars to solve a couple of hundred dollar problems

Nickles and dimes add up. I see your point. One thing fails, it costs you $500, you bitch and moan and sell the car then it definitely doesn't make sense. But when those "nickel and dime" repairs start adding up into the thousands, well you start to look at those thousands and think "There's a nice down payment on a vehicle I wouldn't have to come out of pocket to repair all the time". But, yes, to a certain degree "you gotta pay to play".

Personally, I made several visits to BMW of San Antonio for service appointments under warranty circa 2011-12, and never really had a bad experience myself, nor heard any of the supposed horror stories. Of course, I never had anything seriously wrong with my car - mostly just routine service, and one time I did have some peeling clear coat on a bumper that they had repainted (I ate 1/3 the cost). They did also diagnose blown struts, but wouldn't fix them because they were aftermarket Bilsteins. They always provided loaners, including a 335i convertible and a Z4 once, so there's that. My point is only that different individuals have different experiences, and you can't always draw broad conclusions from them.

Glad you're in that minority. A friend of mine owns an indy that I have spent MUCH time in over the course of the last 5 years and you wouldn't believe the stuff his shop had to fix that came from the SA dealership. I'm talking about mass quantities of severe problems, not isolated incidents. Most recently, he's been doing services on Audi's and BMW's that are in the maintenance coverage period because those dealers can't acommodate. These people are paying out of pocket for regular maint. they've already paid for (or financed) in the car purchase because they can't get in or the service is THAT bad. Again, in my view, that's unacceptable. Really surprised you got loaners. I can tell you that 6mos. ago, it was a two week wait for a loaner car. Now it's still about 5 days unless you have an "in" with your SA. To me that's unacceptable. I bought a hell of a mistake of a 10 year old Lexus back in 2010, took it to the Lexus dealer (at the time, the only dealer in town and more than just "busy") with no appointment and got a loaner car right away. The difference in the level of respect I was treated with compared to the the Audi, the MB, and BMW dealerships I've had the pleasure of dealing with here there was NO comparison. I agree with your analysis of individuals having different experiences, but the majority aren't like yours, they're like the OP's and mine. Otherwise, there wouldn't be this drastic change in their operations recently, nor the email that was sent out to the entirety of their customer database recognizing this severe disparity and promise to address it. Only took them a little over half a decade...

[PA135i]

Short story on service from BMW.

My clutch went out at 49,900. (and no.. I am not hard on a clutch. I have been drive manuals for over 30 years.) It was covered under warranty.

38,000 miles later at mile post.... 88,000 the clutch failed again. I complained about the short duration and they went 50/50 on the cost. They also dropped off the loaner at my house, which I needed to use for a week.

Don't know how BMW service could not have been better.

[davis449]

Originally Posted by PA135i

Short story on service from BMW.

My clutch went out at 49,900. (and no.. I am not hard on a clutch. I have been drive manuals for over 30 years.) It was covered under warranty.

38,000 miles later at mile post.... 88,000 the clutch failed again. I complained about the short duration and they went 50/50 on the cost. They also dropped off the loaner at my house, which I needed to use for a week.

Don't know how BMW service could not have been better.

I'm gonna quote this and try to shut off the valve that will inundate us with these types of posts in this thread right here and state that mine and the quoted poster's statements are a discussion concerning ONE dealership, not overall BMW service. I am more than certain there are great BMW dealers out there. So don't misconstrue the point here man.

[PA135i]

Originally Posted by davis449

I'm gonna quote this and try to shut off the valve that will inundate us with these types of posts in this thread right here and state that mine and the quoted poster's statements are a discussion concerning ONE dealership, not overall BMW service. I am more than certain there are great BMW dealers out there. So don't misconstrue the point here man.

Yes Sir MAN???? Not trying to "misconstrue" the point here "man".
Just giving info on a recent service visit I had. is this annoying you?
maybe I should continue to post experiences and really piss you off. (man)

[Gangplank]

Whose the man?

[Gangplank]

Or ....