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      12-12-2011, 05:18 AM   #1
Steve30dMSport
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Drives: 2011 X3 30D M Sport
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Melbourne

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Angry Do NOT get hit in your X3. An Australian Trilogy of horror.

I cannot explain how pissed I am. Some on here may be aware that 8 days after receiving our X3 30d MSport on October 18, an imbecilic moron took his young girl friend for her first ever drive of a car on the very route I use to go home each night (in peak hour traffic). When confronted with her first ever round about she drove straight over it, without steering or braking whatsoever (she had her hands over her ears because her bf was screaming at her to brake - I kid you not) and proceeded to plough her maniacal boyfriend's old Jeep Wrangler straight in to the front quarter panel of my brand new X3 and used the driver's door and passenger door to stop her car (remember....no brakes....). That occurred on the eighth day of ownership.......

I had it towed to an exceptionally good panel beater I know who is preferred by BMW in Melbourne and was advised it should take 3 to 4 weeks. Now, as the girl had broken the right front suspension, it is BMW policy that the steering rack and cross member is replaced with a new part, and as the car was so new it was not even questioned by the repairer. And herein lies the source of my pain.

BMW Australia doesn't have any steering racks or knuckles or even front quarter panels as spares anywhere in the country. So they had to come from Germany. Well, no biggy, I can wait a couple of weeks for that. At least I know it will be rebuilt to new spec. That is, IF BMW SENDS THE RIGHT FRICKIN' PARTS! Believe it or not, the steering rack and knuckle arrived in he right box with the right name and the right part numbers. Only problem was the knuckle was for the wrong car! Not for an X3 despite being labeled as such. So the repairer was able to repair the original knuckle to as new spec (it was only bent 2 mm) and the car was finished and polished and sent to Menere's BMW today to have all the software redone and checked out for final approval before I get it tomorrow. And guess what? They tried for 6 hours to make the steering rack speak to the main computer and it wouldn't happen.

The rack is in two pieces: the actual rack is your old style rack from the 60's and before without any assistance and it has an electric motor which sits on it which provides the assistance. Well, the electric motor, despite being labeled as my part and having the right part number, is NOT the motor for my car. It may be for an X3 but it is not for an X3 30d MSport!

So guess what happens now? They have to order another whole rack assembly from Germany. This will take two to three weeks and it is quite likely that the part will be the wrong part again because when they are wrongly packaged they are usually in quantities of a thousand or so as BMW orders them from the supplier only when they need them and then in bulk quantities. So, at the very best, I may get my new X3, which has only done 800km, in the week of 9 Jan 2012. If, as the repairer has warned, the wrong parts come again, then it is another month after that as they re-order. And guess what? They won't know if it's the wrong part until they assemble it and take it to BMW to test the electronics.

We ordered the car in May 2011. Waited 5 months till August 2011 to receive it. One week of pleasure (although a guy did hit us up our ass on day 2 - minor damage) and then BANG! on day 8 (and second insurance claim) a two and a half month wait to hopefully get our car back! And BMW cannot guarantee that the parts coming from Germany will be correct.......

The moral of the story? Don't get hit.........it just ain't worth it...........

Oh, here's a funny anecdote: two weeks ago, in our Toyota Aurion (V6 Camry) hire car supplied by our insurer, whilst stationary at a set of lights, a young girl in a brand new BMW 1 series convertible drove up the arse of my hire car! So in 6 weeks I had been hit whilst stationary three times. One can only hope it comes in threes and I'm clear for another 10 to 20 years. Such is life............
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