GOSH DARNIT!

[Jihforce]

Alright, got my BMW 325i in Feb of this year. Brand-Spanking-New...well, its been about 6 months & 7k miles, and I have my first "dealership-visit" type problem. The DSC and Brake lights light up on my instrument panel and won't go away. Car still drives fine, but having weird lights pop up in front of me annoys me. Not that this is a HUGE problem, but its an inconvenience. That car is under warranty anyway so its ok. But this incidence has made me realize this...THANK GOODNESS I LEASED IT. :D

[brain]

I leased a 2001 Mercedes C320 and I've had to take it to the dealer 7 times since I've had. They were all for little inconvenient problems. Nothing major. At least they always had a loaner car waiting for me. I think it's expected since the car was completely redesigned for the 2001 model year and anytime a new model comes out (I don't care who makes the damn car) it's gonna have a few bugs.

[babymike]

new cars just aren't as reliable as they used to be...
i have a new impreza wrx and when i put my first cd in it, i noticed that both front speakers were rattling. i thought they might just be loose or something, but when i took it to the dealership, they told me that they were both blown and had to order new ones. hopefully i wont' have any problems with the drivetrain.

[Jihforce]

Well, check this out, I took the car to the dealership, the had to recalibrate the stability control system, then they had to take the brake drum and replace it because its faulty. However, they didn't have the part yet. SO I gotta wait until Saturday. In the meantime, they loaned me an Infiniti I30. Cost of all of this? $0
My biggest disappointment is this, the I30 drives like CRAP!
Not to disrepect any I30 owners but I think the car SUCKS with a capital S!

[brain]

It could be much worse. My friend had purchased a brand new BMW 750il and within two weeks, the whole electrical system failed. BMW told him it would take 3 weeks to fix and in the mean time, they would give him a "sporty" little 318ti for a loaner. Well, as you probably could've guessed, he raised hell since he had just spent about a $100k on the car. After a little screaming and scaring some potential clients away, they broke down and got him a 540i to drive. He still wasn't satisfied, but that's exponentially better than driving a 318ti.

[Edited by freakinfreak on 08-19-2001 at 11:04 AM]

[Nanotech9]

he shoulda held out for an 850i :D
Muhahahahahahahaha...... thats one badass V12.

[tophenhaw]

Originally posted by Nanotech9
he shoulda held out for an 850i :D
Muhahahahahahahaha...... thats one badass V12.

the 750iL uses teh same engine.

[Blu]

Originally posted by tophenhaw

Originally posted by Nanotech9
he shoulda held out for an 850i :D
Muhahahahahahahaha...... thats one badass V12.

the 750iL uses teh same engine.

And also probably weighs less. Those 850's were neat, but not as quick as they looked, and from what I've heard, not the best handling chirpy.

Blu

[Jihforce]

Man, the guys at BMW are a something...they shipped the WRONG part for my car. Now how freaking STUPID do you have to be? So now, I'm STUCK with the Damned I30 til tomorrow. Well, I took the I30 to San Diego this weekend and I realize how big of a gas guzzler that thing is. Its got kick though, 227HP I think. But still a tank compared to my 325i. And definitively much less responsive.
I'm starting to feel withdrawl symptoms from not driving my car...:(

[brain]

Trust me... You could be driving something much, much worse. My Mercedes dealer has given me anything betweeen a Honda Civic and a Mercedes E320. It just depends how lucky I am that particular day.

[Jihforce]

A CIVIC?!? That's almost insulting.
I thought MB was pretty good when it comes to loaners.

[brain]

They used to be really good about it until they started using Enterprise for their loaners. We used to always have a C, E, or ML class as a loaner. Today, I got a 2001 Volvo S70. It's actually pretty nice. If I was there 2 minutes earlier, I would've gotten a 2001 E320 w/ navi.

[Jihforce]

Really? That's interesting cuz BMW is using Enterprise as loaner as well. They said that if I were to make an appointment, I would need to tell them I want a BMW as the loaner, otherwise, I would just have to get whatever they gave me. For me, it was a choice of either the I30 or the Volvo S80. Maybe I should have gone for the Volvo.

[brain]

Hmm... I'm thinking that you're in So. Cal. If so, what dealership are you going to?

[Jihforce]

I went to South Bay BMW in Hermosa Beach.
Is it a Southern California thing to get cars from Enterprise?

[brain]

I don't think so. It's dependant on the dealership. Before the BMW dealer in Van Nuys used Enterprise, they were using Budget. From my understanding, Bob Smith BMW in Canoga Park has its own loaner car fleet. House of Import Mercedes in Buena Park still maintains its own loaner fleet as well.

[brain]

Speaking of minor car problems... I've been getting crappy FM reception and my car kept saying that my coolant level was low which is why I brought the car in today. The sensor that monitors coolant was burned out and since the radio antenna is embedded in the rear winshield, they have to replace the whole rear windshield as well.

[Jihforce]

Dang! and this is a 2001 C320 huh? Must be a pain bringing the car in and out of the dealership. I got my car back yesterday. They replaced the master cylinder...now my car brakes like crap! I have to press the breaks 2/3 of the way in to get any sort of stopping power. Granted when I brake, the brakes are still really good. But having to push the brake pedal so far in sort of annoys me.
It short of changes the driving experience dramatically. I used to be able to gently tap on my brake and I'll get some stopping power. I'm thinking of sending it back in. But I am kind of annoyed at them so I am thinking of taking it elsewhere. The guys at South Bay BMW suck. I told them the brake pedal was less responsive. So they said that its normal because the master cylinder was replaced. So what? Am i supposed to live with it? Any suggestions of what I should do?

[brain]

Ha. You think WE have it bad? My sister bought a 2001 Mercedes S600. That's right boys. The V12. However, she bought it used from one the players on the Ravens. He decided he'd rather drive a CL600 instead. At any rate, when they bought the car, it had 11,000 miles, but they did save around $30k off the sticker price. My sister finally takes it down to Beverly Hills Mercedes for some routine service and they find they have to replace the whole ABS system, the ABC (Active body control) system has problems, the ESP (Don't you love all these acronyms Mercedes has?) has issues as well, they're replacing the front seats, and um... I don't know what else. I thought I would be able to drive it while I was housesitting for a week. Now it's going to be at BH Mercedes for the duration of the time they are gone. Still... A car that is $120,000 shouldn't have problems like these.

[Speedfreak]

It's too bad everyone thinks the more expensive a car is, the better it is. Put an idea in peoples heads that say your cars are high class, or that you will be cool if you drive one of our cars; then you can sell them for whatever you want.

[Jihforce]

For me,
I purchased my car knowing full-well that I would be seeing problems within the 1st year. That is why I leased it with no intention of keeping it. I wanted a nice near-luxury car so I got that. There's a prestige that comes with driving a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, etc... that you cannot have when you drive anything else. Those are the intangibles that only come when you spend lots of money on your car. :D
Although, I didn't feel very special driving around in the I30 for some reason. That's like a plush Maxima.