My BMW Buyback Process

[Robert]

Due to the number of PM I have received, the promise to do a final write-up, and the number of complaints I have been reading, it's best I summarize my buy back experience here as a reference for all. If there are others who have gone through the process successfully as well, please do share. I want to emphasize, this is my experience, yours may differ and BMW policies may change through time.

1) The first step is to gather all the service records.
I strongly recommend saving a copy of the service records as a habit or politely request a complete copy from the service advisor. This will help to recall all the problems the car have had. For me, I remembered only the major ones and did not realize how many little troubles I had until I reviewed the records. Actually, the pre-step to step one is always be courtesy to the service advisor and using reasoning if they become difficult. It's a long battle, pick the right fights, don't squander energy. Remember the goal is have BMW buy the vehicle back, SA has no authority in this deal but they can make life easier for extra services, such as the records. So it doesn't make sense to discredit them or irritate them.

2) Look up state lemon law.

For example, California's lemon law is:

The "Lemon Law" applies to these problems if they arise during the first 18 months after the consumer received delivery of the vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. During the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the "Lemon Law" presumes that a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle if either (1) The same problem results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the problem has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (2) The same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) The vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

http://www.ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php

A question I been asked a lot is my car is over 18,000 miles, do I still qualify? It's when the problem first occurred not the current milage on the vehicle.

3) Verify service record against the lemon law requirements.
If the record shows the vehicle qualifies as a lemon, go ahead and proceed, but if not, BMW may still compensate for the inconvenience. There are some grey areas. For example, four or more repairs on the third tail light is probably not going to qualify. Use common sense and the forum if second opinion is needed. Remember lemon law is not a real law, more of a guideline and is subjected to interpretation.

4) Contact BMW NA customer relations.

BMW of North America, LLC
300 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677-7731
Customer Relations: 1-800-831-1117

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/ContactUs/

Upon contact, a customer representative will be assigned to the case and will be the sole point of contact until case is resolved. I recommend exchanging all information during the first contact, including emails and telephone numbers. From my experience, it's very hard to reach the representative by voice, I have to call, leave a voice mail and wait for the representative to call back. Not sure its the sheer volume of work that I always reached them while on the phone, or a tactic to screen calls. Regardless my preference is email, first it leaves a history of communication and second it does not get lost. Everything is documented. Less confusion and less of he says she says.

5) Wait.
The representative will ask for few days while the case is being reviewed by a committee, manager, or a dark overlord. Who knows. Again, from experience, a few days resulted in 7 business days or little less than two calendar weeks. In the mean time, contact a lemon law attorney if the evidence is strong. There are many attorneys out there. Select one that only bills the defendant, the car company, upon favorable outcome for the plaintiff. Do a search on the forum or google for attorney recommendations.

The paralegal from the law firm will want a complete copy of the service records. (Very important to have them!) The response back from the firm provides a good indicator on the viability of the case. If the case is good, my suggestion is to ask them to hold off and try to resolve the situation personally first.

6) BMW's response.
If BMW agrees to buy the vehicle back, the case will move into the arbitration phase using a third party. A dollar figure will be provided on a legally binding document that has to be signed and notarized. I have been asked a lot about the financial compensation. However I can't disclose the figure due to the gag order on the legally binding document. What I can say is I have heard anecdotal story of a full buy back from acquaintance. It depends on severity of the problems and negotiating skill of the owner. At this point the vehicle probably qualifies as a lemon, but BMW wants to buy it back because it isn't required to label it as a lemon through buyback, therefore the financial compensation equation from state lemon law should provide a reasonable figure as well.

If BMW disagrees. Don't fret especially if a attorney is willing to go to bat. (This is reason for trying to resolve the situation first. Bring out the big guns later as bargaining chip.) Try to persuade BMW for a more favorable outcome. There are two options when BMW holds its ground, ask the attorney to step in, or settle for a compensation on all the inconvenience.

7) Buyback inspection
An agent from the third party arbitration process will make contact to arrange an inspection and handover of the check. If there are any modifications or damages to the vehicle please remove them and fix them prior to the inspection. It's a very detailed inspection. The agent may ask wear and tear items like the tire be replaced before the check is handed over.

8) Done.
Time to buy a new car. Happy motoring. In my opinion BMW treated me fairly and I had no issue purchasing another BMW in the future. However, I went with a Lexus because I don't have the spare time to deal with all the trouble all over again.

The whole process took me a month and half, not including my first attempt in initiating the buyback process, which failed BMW did give me a monetary compensation in return. I reinitiated the process few month later after the car suffered more failures. The second time was successful.

My only complaint through out the process is lack of communication and unkept promises. For example, I was promised a response in 3 days and that dragged on for week and half. I could not reach the representative during the time because the line was always busy. (Use email!) A notification telling me extension is need would have been nice. Second, I had no clue how the arbitration process proceeds. I was scheduled for an inspection but I did not know the car was going to be taken back the same day. Good thing I asked otherwise I would be stranded there without a ride home.

Lastly, please sign the petition if you are fed up with fuel pump failures. At this point, I am simply trying to help everyone. I have signed away my rights to any further compensations.

http://www.petitiononline.com/fixpump/petition.html

[shawshank772]

Great info!

[Clap135]

Going through this now. BMW offered me money and I keep the car, or they take my car and give me money off a new bmw. I said no to both as I am not interested in another BMW and certainly not the same model/engine bmw.

So now its the lawyers turn. Best advice I can give you is to not jump at the first thing they say if you feel that you have a case. Here are my issues to date. Car has 31k miles


Power Steering Pump failed
Drivers Side Window failed
Sunroof had to get readjusted
Dashboard trim fell off
Dashboard has indents from airbag
Cig lighter failed twice
HPFP failed twice
Adaptive headlights failed twice
Turbo wastegate rattle
Total days out of service 40+

Oh and btw its broken as we speak.

[Evice]

Great info. Clap135.. I have a feeling you are getting your buyback check. That's so many issues wow.

[My135]

No car on earth is trouble free. Lexus has un-intended acceleration and various recalls on different models too just like our BMW. Good luck.

[ChrisK]

My wife's 2007 IS250 is the biggest POS! I laugh when people complain about their Bimmers. The grass isn't always greener my friends.

[spellbmw]

Originally Posted by Clap135

Going through this now. BMW offered me money and I keep the car, or they take my car and give me money off a new bmw. I said no to both as I am not interested in another BMW and certainly not the same model/engine bmw.

So now its the lawyers turn. Best advice I can give you is to not jump at the first thing they say if you feel that you have a case. Here are my issues to date. Car has 31k miles


Power Steering Pump failed
Drivers Side Window failed
Sunroof had to get readjusted
Dashboard trim fell off
Dashboard has indents from airbag
Cig lighter failed twice
HPFP failed twice
Adaptive headlights failed twice
Turbo wastegate rattle
Total days out of service 40+

Oh and btw its broken as we speak.

Ouch! Sorry, man, to hear of so many problems. Must've been a very bad day at the factory!

[jonsonneborn]

I currently have a case open with BMWNA re: my 2011 335d. The SCR tank was replaced in May (under 7yr/70K emissions warranty) & the new one installed improperly. The local dealer flip-flopped the active & passive lines into the tank. This caused additional problems with the car; service codes & the tank to empty it's contents into my driveway on 4 separate occasions. It wasn't unit my 6th visit to the dealer that they identified there mishap in the installation 6 months prior. They fixed it this month (allegedly). Now I get a terrible smell coming from the exhaust which has been going on for 15 days (since pickup on the car on the 9th of October). In case you're not familiar, the SCR tank is in the rear bumper & holds Urea (diesel exhaust fluid). My car is 5 years old & has 42,000 miles. What are the chances that BMWNA is going to offer to buy my car as I have asked them? They have already made me an offer to settle & keep the car but the car isn't fixed (in my mind) & I believe that there is long-term damage due to the tank line install mishap. Is it time for me to get an attorney involved? Do you think an attorney would take this case?

I used to love this car! Now I absolutely hate it!

Thx Jon