[lfdal54]

Somewhat long, but please bear with me.

Typically, I don't ask for advice on the best way to deal with a service department, but then again I'm typically dealing with my local dealership which is only about 20 minutes away, so this is somewhat atypical.

For those who may be following the wind noise thread, I decided to take my car back to the selling dealership, about 100 miles away to let them have the first shot at fixing it. I also have a rattle that needs tending to. Indeed, when I scheduled the appointment they asked if I'd had anyone else look at it first, which I had not.

So they wanted me up there Tuesday (30-May) at 9:00. somewhat of a pain, fighting traffic at the hour, but I was there on time. Then cooled my heels for 45 minutes waiting to check in. A few minutes later took a 15-mile or so ride with the shop manager who verified my complaints. That was all good at least.

I did tell them to take their time and please do it right. <- That in retrospect was probably not smart, but I was trying to be nice.

So, it was parked after the check ride at 10:30 Tuesday morning. Periodically checking the app it showed no status change on Wednesday, with the last event listed being the trip on Tuesday. I understand trips won't be updated until I re-synch my phone to the car, but I believe lock/unlock/and mileage changes will still show up. Camera inquiries also update the status.

Thursday I decided to risk pinging the camera. Showed the car in the outside parking lot. Repeated a couple more times later in the day. Repeated Friday. The car has not moved. Tried to get a status from the service writer Friday afternoon, but as it turns out, they only have limited windows during the day when you can pull a status, and I was outside the time window.

Service department closed Sat/Sun.

The 228 loaner they gave me is disgusting inside. I changed the battery for the remote (battery "empty" message) and I didn't want to deal with eventually pulling the tab off the door handle and playing with sliding the fob around the steering column looking for the magic start enable location. It's also 1100 past the oil change recommendation and needed 20 lbs added to a rear tire before I would drive it off the lot. In this climate I know I should be happy I got a loaner but really, it's poor.

Looking for opinions about how to proceed. Knee jerk reaction is to drive up there Monday, get my keys, and call it a day. Sorry for the venting, but damn, why can't people just do what they're supposed to do?

If you made it through the post, thanks for reading.

[Gritty]

If it's a car under warranty I'm not sure why you wouldn't bring it to your local dealership?
Service departments are happy to work on any car regardless where it was purchased, it's how they make money. At this time ride it out and see if they can fix it, as you have a loaner.
I also bought a new car last year 100 miles away, at no savings, but simply because my local dealer didn't have an allocation for the car. I recently brought it in for the first service to my local dealer and they were more than happy to change the oil and service the car.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by Gritty

If it's a car under warranty I'm not sure why you wouldn't bring it to your local dealership?
Service departments are happy to work on any car regardless where it was purchased, it's how they make money. At this time ride it out and see if they can fix it, as you have a loaner.
I also bought a new car last year 100 miles away, at no savings, but simply because my local dealer didn't have an allocation for the car. I recently brought it in for the first service to my local dealer and they were more than happy to change the oil and service the car.

I normally use my local dealer, but the selling dealership (we've bought 4 BMWs from them since 2014) has typically done much better with body issues. I've also started to see where another dealership doesn't like to pick up a problem another dealership has been touching. So I was thinking if I took it locally first and it wasn't solved then the selling dealership would refer me back to the local guys.

[Gritty]

That's all understandable and easy for me to Monday quarterback.
I will say that the selling dealer can not say take it back to local dealer if the local dealer looked at the issue first but couldn't resolve the problem. Good luck

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by Gritty

That's all understandable and easy for me to Monday quarterback.
I will say that the selling dealer can not say take it back to local dealer if the local dealer looked at the issue first but couldn't resolve the problem. Good luck

Thanks, I should remember that these days being a repeat customer at any dealership, even a BMW dealership, buys you nothing.

[jg05]

Demand vs accept. It’s a balance with most things these days. If you demand something, you’ll be disappointed. If you accept something. . . You’ll be disappointed.

I would probably give them a chance to fix the car but maybe call the manager for a status update and let them know you’ve been excited to see any progress but it looks like the car hasn’t been touched since the original test drive. You’ll catch more flies with honey when it comes to these things. Maybe they know the part they need and it’s on order so they are waiting. Luckily they gave you a loaner, unlucky it’s a POS.

Overall, remember it’s a car. Don’t get too upset and forget about what ‘should be’ and deal with what is. Next time, take your car elsewhere. Pulling the car from service never helps get the car fixed. Maybe let the service manager know about the condition of the loaner for the ‘next person’. See how he responds.

If they turn into jerks, that’s a different story altogether but I would accept that if they don’t see value in providing good service, regular updates and acceptable loaners then you aren’t going to change their ways. Just focus on what is needed to get your car fixed and move on to somewhere else for service next time.

It’s so frustrating, I know from experience but it’s the reality these days. Hopefully you have other options and can exercise them for your next service needs.

Also, they may have pulled a loaner that wasn’t ready just to be accommodating. I had a dealership do that and the battery was dead at the dealership’s closing time. My poor sales guy was in the parking lot sweating and jumping the battery for me after hours but it was a used car on their lot and not a typical loaner. Just trying to accommodate me but it went bad for everyone.

Regarding the wind noise, we had a car that was Lemon Law’d (is that a real phrase??). Anyway, no one could determine where water was coming into the car. A mechanic that the attorneys used found it on a five minute drive. He had someone drive him around and he used a stethoscope to listen for wind noise and pinpointed the exact location. Got the car repurchased due to water damage and a multitude of tries by different service departments. Might be worth a try if nothing else works.

Either way, sorry you’re going through this but try to keep it in perspective. I know these aren’t radios or widgets or some consumer good rolling off an assembly line (well, they kind of are) but they still are complicated machines with lots of moving parts and sometimes the best diagnostic/repair folks are the worst people folks. At the end of the day, yes it’s frustrating and yes it shouldn’t be this way but it’s just a car and some inconvenience. I would try to get done what you need to get done and then decide where to service next time.

Just my $.02 worth about half that
Good luck either way though!

[lfdal54]

I appreciate the support, thanks.

A minor update, after sitting from Tuesday to Monday they started doing something on it yesterday. I can see where the doors and hood are open and the driver's window is down. They're also racking up miles on it, I assume for troubleshooting. Or making a coffee run..... Still no ETA.

[jg05]

Originally Posted by lfdal54

I appreciate the support, thanks.

A minor update, after sitting from Tuesday to Monday they started doing something on it yesterday. I can see where the doors and hood are open and the driver's window is down. They're also racking up miles on it, I assume for troubleshooting. Or making a coffee run..... Still no ETA.

Hahaha - coffee run! Good attitude

[wdeerfield]

I’m kind of curious what these problems are that you are having that made you bring it to the dealer? Are they cosmetic or functional problems? I’m all for warranty work and making sure I’m happy with a problem. Strange it’s taken them this long to even begin the diagnostics. Maybe they ordered parts and have been waiting on that? My dealer is very communicative about status. He texts me updates regularly throughout the day. Even their MPI gets sent as a link to a video of the tech doing the inspection and talking.

[ASAP]

I understand this is an issue... i have it and its annoying... granted no idea if you're issue is worse than mine or we all have it the same.

My general consensus at this point on service department touching my car after 10 cars is - only take the car in if you ABSOLUTELY need this fixed.

Otherwise, this will equate to something else broken, another hassle or the problem made worse than before... granted they may fix it perfect but unless its something I NEED to fix, I am not taking that risk. One may argue, its a $70k car etc... sure I agree there but read my comment above - you will be faced with a hassle sooner or later, it is up to you how you manage it from there.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by ASAP

I understand this is an issue... i have it and its annoying... granted no idea if you're issue is worse than mine or we all have it the same.

My general consensus at this point on service department touching my car after 10 cars is - only take the car in if you ABSOLUTELY need this fixed.

Otherwise, this will equate to something else broken, another hassle or the problem made worse than before... granted they may fix it perfect but unless its something I NEED to fix, I am not taking that risk. One may argue, its a $70k car etc... sure I agree there but read my comment above - you will be faced with a hassle sooner or later, it is up to you how you manage it from there.

I don't disagree. I'm at the point where if it's left unattended I'll be out of the car before fall. A car that's useless for what I bought it for makes a lousy garage ornament. Although it is kind of pretty, so I guess it actually makes a great garage ornament.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

I’m kind of curious what these problems are that you are having that made you bring it to the dealer? Are they cosmetic or functional problems? I’m all for warranty work and making sure I’m happy with a problem. Strange it’s taken them this long to even begin the diagnostics. Maybe they ordered parts and have been waiting on that? My dealer is very communicative about status. He texts me updates regularly throughout the day. Even their MPI gets sent as a link to a video of the tech doing the inspection and talking.

Drivers side wind noise and passenger-side rattle.

[lfdal54]

Update - well, they're busy doing something, even if it is only mall runs. Both doors open, windows alternately up and down, hood open(?) <- can't imagine what they're doing in there unless they think the passenger's side rattle is coming from under the hood. As it sits, both doors open, driver's window up, passenger window down, hood open, and they've used approx. 9% of a tank of gas. App showed 63% when I dropped it off, now at 54%. For the person who posted what was the app good for, they should read this thread.

[X3rd Time Is a Charm]

Originally Posted by lfdal54

Update - well, they're busy doing something, even if it is only mall runs. Both doors open, windows alternately up and down, hood open(?) <- can't imagine what they're doing in there unless they think the passenger's side rattle is coming from under the hood. As it sits, both doors open, driver's window up, passenger window down, hood open, and they've used approx. 9% of a tank of gas. App showed 63% when I dropped it off, now at 54%. For the person who posted what was the app good for, they should read this thread.

Hood open , probably charging battery .

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by lfdal54

Update - well, they're busy doing something, even if it is only mall runs. Both doors open, windows alternately up and down, hood open(?) <- can't imagine what they're doing in there unless they think the passenger's side rattle is coming from under the hood. As it sits, both doors open, driver's window up, passenger window down, hood open, and they've used approx. 9% of a tank of gas. App showed 63% when I dropped it off, now at 54%. For the person who posted what was the app good for, they should read this thread.

The passenger side rattling is most likely the washer fluid reservoir rattling, and that's probably why they opened the hood. I posted a thread about this not too low ago. I have driven a handful of LCI X3 loaners and all of them have this rattling noise.

[bocabimmer]

If they’re driving it, it could mean they’re taking the wind noise seriously and not giving you a sunshine service (learned that on this forum).

[Rottweiler]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

If they’re driving it, it could mean they’re taking the wind noise seriously and not giving you a sunshine service (learned that on this forum).

Or they’re making a falafel run…

[sbt007]

I do feel the engine contributes to some cabin noise (as it is meant to be, and probably ASD is feeding in from the speakers as well).

But I don't notice any additional wind noise on mine - I wonder if getting an acoustic glass retrofit would help in your case - the glass is not very expensive but not sure about labor - maybe they could do it as part of the warranty but I somehow think they won't :-)

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by sbt007

I wonder if getting an acoustic glass retrofit would help in your case - the glass is not very expensive but not sure about labor - maybe they could do it as part of the warranty but I somehow think they won't :-)

Cheaper to turn the radio up

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by mattsheng

The passenger side rattling is most likely the washer fluid reservoir rattling, and that's probably why they opened the hood. I posted a thread about this not too low ago. I have driven a handful of LCI X3 loaners and all of them have this rattling noise.

I was wondering if that was it. Can't see how they could possibly have run the battery down that fast, but I don't know.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

Cheaper to turn the radio up

2012 Nissan Versa - Radio Up. 2023 X3 M40i - fix the damn noise.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

If they’re driving it, it could mean they’re taking the wind noise seriously and not giving you a sunshine service (learned that on this forum).

That's what I'm hoping. The shop foreman had no problem with verifying both complaints.