(sigh) Here we go again.

[Andawyr]

Last year, my wife and I purchased a 2004 4.4i - we had nothing but problems with it: it had to be towed to the dealer three times in under a month. We decided to get rid of it, and my sales guy gave me a pretty good deal on a 2004 4.8is. We picked it up at the beginning on March.

We had it for three months, and it developed a coolant leak.

We found the leak (so we thought) - we trimmed the failed part of the hose off, thinking it would fix the problem. I already had a service appointment to get the suspension looked at (yup, riding unlevel. Goody),so I figured it would last for a week. Ha. Filled 'er up with fresh coolant, and within a few minutes, it had all drained away again. So, we had it towed to the dealership.

They ended up replacing all the hoses for the cooling system. Under warranty, thankfully. However, it took over a week to get in the parts. That, plus the fact that they were 'busy' means that my vehicle is still not in my hands. Oh, did I mention that they found some other issues? That they had to order more parts? Supposedly coming from Germany? I was just told by my service rep that it could be another 10 days until they have the additional parts....so, already three weeks, plus another 10.

I am really, really frustrated right now. I could be looking at up to 6 weeks without my vehicle. Which I'm still paying for, even thought I can't drive it.

Yes, the dealership has given me a vehicle. A wonderful Silverado from a car rental place. They can't even give me a car off the lot. They say I'm "In the Queue", but one has to wonder how long the queue is if I still don't have a proper loaner.

Ridiculous.

Any lemon laws with respect to used vehicles?

[Eds05X5]

Damn man. sorry to hear about your bad luck with X's. Hopefully this repair will be the last for a very long time, so you can get to finally enjoy her! Good Luck !

[toohotdoc]

I hear and feel you on the service side of BMW's,

[juppalgae]

you should do something about it... they are not treating you fairly at all... omg... the least thing they should be doing is to apologize for this inconvinience and should give you a car from the lot until your car is ready... this is rediculous!!!

before you go get help from a lawyer, you need to confront this issue...

[juppalgae]

and no wonder they gave you 4.8 a good deal... do you really call that a good deal?

[X5Flyboy]

One of the common problems with the X5 is a leaky coolant tank - bet they ordered everything but the tank - Sorry to hear your dealer has been less than helpful - Yes, some BMWs can be a nightmare to own, but I've found the dealer plays a big part - I have my dealers (ID & SC) spend some extra time to check out how my X5 looks when in for a oil change or other maintenance, especially before going on my cross country trips - so far, we've only found a loose control arm - The coolant tank was replaced under warranty before I purchased my 2001 X5 in June 2005 - I replaced the water pump at 61K as it typically fails between 60-80K miles - Final stage resistor(a/c) was replaced during my 1st checkup, as well as two 30mm dia hoses back behind the engine - these are typical and I found out about them from this website - I also replaced the original battery which was almost 5 yrs old (with winter around the corner) - my only quirky repair was burned out bulbs - between 53-57K I replaced every exterior bulb except for 1 fog & 1 head light - almost every time I started it up, I had a "check ****light" error message - since then (now at 83K miles), not a peep

Well I hope your X5 is healed soon and that it becomes as much a joy as mine is to me

[Andawyr]

Well, we got the X5 back today. 25 days in the shop. The final total was only $230, which included mounting the summer tires and wheel storage. Everything else was under warranty. Here's what was done:

- reprogrammed DME and EGS
- replaced gasket ring
- replaced air suspension module
- replaced all coolant hoses, did a flush
- installed summer tires (yup, a little late - go figure)

Doesn't seem like much, does it? 25 days. Ah well, if they don't have the parts, they don't have the parts.

But, the best part? When we were driving home, a caught a rock on the windshield. And not a small one, either. Two big dings. Stopped at a windshield replace place and had the cracks filled. They're still visible, but hopefully the cracks won't spread, at least for a while.

I can't win.

I will say that the 315's sure look impressive on the rears

Wifey has it out right now, but I'll be taking it for a drive when she gets back.

[jvit27]

I was in a similar situation and I must say that falls on the dealership, not necessarily the car itself. Obviously very minor repairs because in reality had they had the parts you should have had your X back the next day. At least you werent stuck with a beat up Suzuki rental car for 2 weeks

Some dealerships don't like stocking parts for 'older' models even though they are still under factory warranty. A dealership I took mine to had to order practically everything since they only stock e60 & e90 stuff for the most part.

Very frustrating. You may want to try a different dealership... I will. I went to another dealership yesterday for some parts and they were pretty good. They had an ashtray delete and an E36 differential gasket in stock. I was surprised!