E70 broken down :( <3000 miles, 2nd dealer visit

[Fastbuck]

Originally Posted by rufusdedog

I don't think they're poorly built. Poorly build cars don't sell. Look at the UK car industry. It's gone (or sold off to the Germans, and soon Indians) because of abysmal quality. Same with some Italian brands that used to be sold in the US, and some US brands too. The market thins out products of poor quality. X5 sales went up last year. I really enjoy my E70 and I belive most on this board do too!

You're right. UK built cars with the exception of some of the really low volume premium brands are a joke. They suffered from the same problem as some of the E70s, put together in a sloppy fashion. Don't get me wrong, I love my E70, but in terms of a comparison between it and my previously built "german" cars together with my current austrian built X3, it's below the benchmark for silly little build quality issues.

BTW, I was wondering if your response was along the lines of a US Vs UK stand-off, that was not my intention, merely expressing my opinion as an E70 owner which carries as much validity as anyone else here irrespective of which side of the pond they reside.

[rufusdedog]

Originally Posted by Fastbuck

BTW, I was wondering if your response was along the lines of a US Vs UK stand-off, that was not my intention, merely expressing my opinion as an E70 owner which carries as much validity as anyone else here irrespective of which side of the pond they reside.

Not at all. I lived in the UK (near Aberdeen) for a few years and really enjoyed my time there. My hackles get raised when I see hits at the workers in Spartansburg. If there's problems with build quality, I think it's the BMW process, not the workers. The car goes through multiple QC inspections, some by humans, most by machines. If problems get though, it might be the BMW build process itself. If you buy a bad Sony camera, are the workers to blame, or might it be the designers who spec'd cheap parts or push to have too many built in too short a time. Again just my opinion, and this after seeing X5s being built in person.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by rh71

This is an older thread and discussed the '07 model which is the first year model of the E70. Software fixes have been plentiful and have addressed a lot of issues already. I 'finally' ordered an '08 model because of this and so did Drod who said he would wait. I'm sure many of us who were doing our homework here have done the same. I know I've seen a ton of "it's finally here" posts recently. The many 500-2000 mile review posts have also been positive.

and I got lucky because I had an Aug. 07 build date on my 07. It seems to be doing great. Knock dark burl.

[SANguru]

God's punishment.. LOL

It's simple. It's pretty sure that it's a problem with your battery. Check if starter motor cranks and you can't start, it's your battery with not enough juice. The towing company are also idiots. Jump start it and be done. Of course there will be no errors.

BTW, if you think BMW is only ok.. try ferrari.. no loaner cars...

Originally Posted by Satan1974

And so here it starts, looks like I may have a lemon. About a week ago, car reported "low battery" and then "critical battery". Booked it in to the dealer, with a FIVE DAY wait. Error went by itself by the time it was due to go in (no surprise there) on Tuesday this week. They had the car all day, found no errors at all, and gave it back without doing anything (not even a free software upgrade).

Today, my wife goes to pick up the children from school. I get a call whilst I am at work, the car won't start. She has got to the school, got three children in it, and it won't start. A £54,000 2 month old BMW, around 2,500 miles, and it won't start. No errors or anything, electrics are all fine, push the "start" button and the starter motor starts turning, and keeps turning, and keeps turning, but the engine doesn't fire. I have to leave work and drive to the school, in the meantime my wife calls BMW Assist. They report "we'll be there in 90 minutes". NINETY MINUTES!!! So I pick wife + kids up, drop them at home, and drive back to the X5 to wait for BMW assist. They arrive (about 90 minutes after the initial call), spend 15 minutes unplugging the battery and plugging it back in, check the fuses, and then report they can't do anything else. The car is too new and they don't really know how to fix them, and it won't work with the diagnostic equipment they have in the vans yet either. So he calls for a recovery truck. 50 minutes later it arrives, and the X5 gets hoisted up and taken away. I drive home, 3 hours after the initial call to BMW Assist. So, tomorrow it'll be back at the garage. What is the bet it will start first time in the morning and they'll say "it's fine, have it back". Well sod that. I want a full engineers report on exactly what the fault was and what has been done to resolve it. If they can't supply it, off to the lawyer I will go, and back the car will go to BMW for a full refund.

I read so many reports from people on here and E60.Net about recent BMW reliability problems, and I always thought they had just got unlucky. But the frequency of such reports seems to be on the increase.

Sorry but you just don't expect cars of that price to develop faults like this, or if they do, you expect somebody to race over within 20 minutes, chauffeur you home, apologise profusely, give you cash and wine as consolation, and guarantee to fix or replace your car. Well, that's what I think anyway.

Oh, and just before the car went on the tow truck, I thought I'd try starting it one last time. The iDrive lit up like a Christmas tree reporting "4x4 disabled. DSC disabled. Assisted start disabled..." ding ding ding as the errors scrolled along. I took out the key, sobbed a little, and skulked back to the E60, half expecting that not to start either. (As a side note, I have a new E60 ordered for delivery in 6 weeks time. I am wondering if that was a bad idea...)

[rufusdedog]

BTW, if you think BMW is only ok.. try ferrari.. no loaner cars...

Excellent comment!

[oredart]

Originally Posted by rufusdedog

BTW, if you think BMW is only ok.. try ferrari.. no loaner cars...

Excellent comment!

Ha! How many Ferrari owners chirp "I pay $240k for a car and I get a Camry for loaner?!?! WTF??!?!?"

[SANguru]

Originally Posted by oredart

Ha! How many Ferrari owners chirp "I pay $240k for a car and I get a Camry for loaner?!?! WTF??!?!?"

The problem is they don't even give you a loaner... no camry, no geo metro, nada.. haha. They said they will drop you off at the nearest train station or have somebody come pick you up.. Had a buddy with an Enzo that got the same treatment... his wife had to come pick him up with the Phantom.