"The Lurch" does any of the tranny updates fix it?

[X5 Meister]

That would cut out a pretty big source of revenue for them. Under CPO the only thing I ever paid for was "programming" which unfortunately was almost every time I took the car in for something. Otherwise I would have left having just paid a $50 deductible, and that would not have sat well with BMW! I hate to say it, the best solution is to keep a car no more than 4 years while under full factory warranty and then get a new one.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

BMW could generate a lot of goodwill with their customers by providing software updates at no or little cost. Especially if the vehicle is under CPO. Software updates don't require a lot of time or effort on behalf of a mechanic (hooking it up to a computer and starting the process). It's simple and would, IMO, generate more goodwill than it would cost.

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

That would cut out a pretty big source of revenue for them. Under CPO the only thing I ever paid for was "programming" which unfortunately was almost every time I took the car in for something. Otherwise I would have left having just paid a $50 deductible, and that would not have sat well with BMW! I hate to say it, the best solution is to keep a car no more than 4 years while under full factory warranty and then get a new one.

I know there would be some lost profit but I would hope the goodwill generated would offset those losses with happy customers who would advocate the brand.

As an example I have two friends who are interested in purchasing an X5. Both believe BMW has a great reputation for quality. I informed them the quality is good but it's not Honda or Toyota levels of quality and that repairs, and they will have repairs, are going to cost more. Now they're considering something else instead. If I could say to them "BMW has a reputation of performing goodwill repairs" that would probably mean something to them and keep the X5 under consideration. Yes these would be used vehicle purchases but a healthy second hand market is important for any manufacturer.

I've experienced this with other companies (non-car) and the goodwill it generated has made me an advocate of those companies products. Now when people ask how I like product X I enthusiastically sell the product.

[X5 Meister]

BMW is in the business of selling new cars and the vast majority of the ones it does "sell" it leases. I don't know about your goodwill theory though. Imagine how much good reputation they would get if parts and repairs were cheap. I would think everyone would buy one, even if it wasn't the most reliable car on the block. But we all know they are not going to drop parts prices 90%, nor will an hour of labor drop to the 20's.

Originally Posted by sunny5280

I know there would be some lost profit but I would hope the goodwill generated would offset those losses with happy customers who would advocate the brand.

As an example I have two friends who are interested in purchasing an X5. Both believe BMW has a great reputation for quality. I informed them the quality is good but it's not Honda or Toyota levels of quality and that repairs, and they will have repairs, are going to cost more. Now they're considering something else instead. If I could say to them "BMW has a reputation of performing goodwill repairs" that would probably mean something to them and keep the X5 under consideration. Yes these would be used vehicle purchases but a healthy second hand market is important for any manufacturer.

I've experienced this with other companies (non-car) and the goodwill it generated has made me an advocate of those companies products. Now when people ask how I like product X I enthusiastically sell the product.