[RENT-A-GOAT]

Had a nightmare 24ish Hours.

So it all started yesterday when myself & the other half left Warwickshire for the holiday home in midwales.

I checked tyres, pressures & fluids (do this end of every week so no different a Friday) all were ok the tyres were Bridgestones 4.5/5ishmm on the front & 3.5ish mm on the back had 29k through them and were going to be replaced next week.

26 miles from the holiday home (car had been driving like a gem) the TPMS went ape so I dropped to 45mph and pulled into the nearest lay-by about 700 yards up the road air is gushing from the drivers side rear nothing in the tyre just a split on the flat top face to where it intersects to the the inner wall. No bother the tyres are RTF & only 26 out of the permissible 50 miles to go.

Got to the destination no problem car was driving no different at 30-45mph I called BMW Emergency Services on arrival about 11:30pm and they booked a collection and transfer to Rybrook Shrewsbury today at 10am and here's where it all went wrong.

Rybrook Shrewsbury were amazing I called them at 8:30 confirmed they had a full set of 4 Eagle F1 RFTs in stock which they did and they would get me straight in on arrival for fitting around midday Perfect!

10am comes and there's no show from BMW Emergency Services it's 1:15pm when a rough looking truck pulls up the driver appears to not know what he's doing, he didn't even know how to put the ZF into neutral. Half way getting it on his phone goes and goes off on one FFing and blinding before getting it loaded. We then have a white knuckle ride with him and the car to Shrewsbury the truck was filthy inside and he was going above speed limits in villages and being very aggressive swearing as we went.

We get to Shrewsbury where I explained the situation and the service department agreed to oversee the unloading and straight into the workshop as I went through the booking in process. I then went to inspect the car in the workshop & I now have a chip on the lacquer on the diamond cut part of one wheel a graze to my front m sport bumper underside and a few chips on the paint which were not there prior to loading also had what looked looks a gouge under the headlight on the bumper (which turned out to be baked on black truck grease)

The driver took photos and was apologetic I kept my cool knowing there would be a complaint going into BMW but to then be told "You are a fussy fucker arnt you! When I bumped into the driver in the loo as I went to wash my hands was the final straw still didn't rise to it.

But my piss is boiling! Has anyone else had this kind of treatment/attitude from BMW Emergency Services? I've contacted BMWUK who say are concerned and gave me a contact number for the complaints team for the emergency services who will be getting a call first thing Monday morning when the office is open again. Just want my car putting right & some recompense for the attitude and the whole day of our break away being totally ruined thanks to the late pick up and then the experience once it came not pleasant or what was expected.

[Rbrown]

Nightmare. I had similar problem with Mercedes years ago. Make a strong complaint and stand your ground.

Good luck!

[JD6]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

Has anyone else had this kind of treatment/attitude from BMW Emergency Services? I've contacted BMWUK who say are concerned and gave me a contact number for the complaints team for the emergency services who will be getting a call first thing Monday morning when the office is open again. Just want my car putting right & some recompense for the attitude and the whole day of our break away being totally ruined thanks to the late pick up and then the experience once it came not pleasant or what was expected.

That does sound pretty poor. I know that most here seem to have had positive experiences of BMW Emergency Services, but over 2 decades of BMW ownership, and 6 call outs, my experience has been poor. The worst 2 were:

In 2000 I came out of the house in London to go to work to find that 2 wheels had been stolen from my E39 M5, which was only a few months old at the time. I called BMW ES with a full description of the problem and an hour later some bargain basement recovery chap arrived with one spare wheel and was surprised to find that the M5 didn’t have its own spare. He sent for another wheel, but not before insisting that I paid £100 for the special equipment- some old wheel to get the car onto the truck. I was then billed for £100+vat although I only paid £100. Perhaps coincidentally, my car got a key scratch within a day or two of making the reduced payment.

In 2012 I drove through about 25cm of flood water in my F10 520d and the undertray beneath the engine became detached. Again a cheapo recovery truck was sent and they reattached the undertray, but bizarrely wanted me to follow their truck through the (now 35ish cm deep) water. It was even deeper in the other direction. I insisted that my car went on their truck. They reluctantly agreed but I had to drive it on.

I have had the odd OK encounter with BMW ES too, but the majority have been some shite local recovery firm.

[RobUK]

Really sorry to hear about your experience. Personally I've been lucky enough to have not used BMW ES, the time when I had a 'drivetrain failure' the car went into limp mode and I was able to drive it to my local dealer and leave it there.

Just so happens though that this month's Which Magazine has just done a review of car breakdown cover and of the 'manufacturer provided' services, BMW (AGA) came next to last scoring 52% and beating only Jaguar Assistance (48%) while Toyota Roadside Assistance came top (89%). BMW ES also did worse than all the third party providers like AA, RAC, Green Flag etc.

[Soul_Glo]

I find them hit and miss. They contract to local recovery. When the 320d burnt out it's hvac display the smoke gave the lesser half an almighty fright. It wasn't much but you could still smell the burning. Guys response was: "it's happened now." I said it might not be safe to drive. He was dumbfounded. He asked I call BMW again to request a tow as he had another job to get to.

[Malone]

As above - they contract out, so it’s very hot and miss. We’ve used them a couple of times and the recovery company (Westbourne Motors), were great both times.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Although it's not great to hear or see others have been treated the same, It's good to be able to gauge what your up against.

[Mikesmith2939]

I never had a problem when i used them a couple of months ago.

Although the recovery time was put back by about 40 mins it wasn't a problem as i had the same once with the AA.

The AA guy told me it sometimes happens if you are not in a dangerous position or vulnerable but someone else is then they get priority which i fully understand.

[RoShambolt]

When I had the low coolant warning on the 340i I called BMW ES, on the phone they were great.....the guy that turned up not so much, definitely some cheapo flat bed recovery company truck with a filthy mess driving it, I'm not saying I expected the guy to arrive in a suit but at least expected some who looked like they had washed in the past few days.

I was expecting one of the 5 series tourers with a BMW guy who gave a shit. No such luck.

I think BMW have a pretty good product, but in my experiences you only have to scratch the surface and they are cutting corners and costs in areas which impact the ownership experience.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Bit of an update.....

Complaint went in on Monday morning had a letter arrive in the post on Tuesday requested by be to forward any paper work received from the transporter company/driver, photographs of the reported damage & a BMW approved bodyshop quote.

Well I had received absolutely no paperwork or anything from the transporter company/driver so that was a N/A

So I washed the car and got it over to my local dealers where they assessed and photographed the damage to send in directly to Allianz (BMW Emergency Services)

Chased them on the train back from Manchester (business meeting) yesterday and again this afternoon & nothing in from the dealers so it's a sit and wait job now for them to come back although I have chased the sending of the damage photos/report with the dealer as well today.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Have a further update BMW after investigating have agreed to repair all damage caused in line with the full quotation as provided by Rybrook Warwick. It's booked in next Monday for about 1week so will have most probably their MINI Countryman loaner.

Still need to speak with the manager handling the case at BMW Complaints as feel they were a way off with their goodwill gesture for the day of ruined holiday, time I've spent chasing it all and sorting it & having to put up with it in the first place. So will see what goes there but it's getting there at least the car is being sorted properly.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Finally everything is sorted to a level I'm happy with.

I spoke with the complaints manager at length yesterday and then the senior manager of the complaints handling team. Both stated my experience was an extreme case & after a full review (including the recovery drivers dash-cam footage) they both said it was the worst they had come across on a complaint and said I had been terribly let down.

This admittance from the managers then put in me in good stead to up the non allocated maximum £100 good will gesture they can apply as an apology for the personal time etc wasted getting things sorted etc.

After some negotiation they did agree in this case didn't go far enough to cover all the hassle and time spent chasing and getting things sorted on top of the initial letdown etc. So was increased to an agreeable level.

So the end result is I have my car being fixed and myself and the OH have a nice contribution to a very much needed weekend away.

If anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation at recovery I can only offer this advise.

1. Keep your cool don't rise to it, if something is damaged it can/will be fixed.

2. Don't rise to any antagonisation/bad attitude etc from the recovery driver just ride it out make notes and if with your other half etc just have them no obviously film it on their phone (in hindsight we should have done this)

3. On arrival at the BMW dealership they take you too inspect every inch of the car take your time and check wheels, arches & splitters thoroughly. It might be seen as fussy but it's not it's what is needed to be done.

4. When putting a complaint in spend a bit of time writing it all up before you call. Go through every detail with the complaint handler ask them to send you their notes and sent them yours.

5. After it is lodged wait until they send you the initial letter the complaint is launched and they are investigating and then start reminding them (I would put a progress call in at the end of each week).

6. When getting the damage report etc from a dealer go to the one they know you take time to go over it with the body shop & explain your full experience (they are spoken too in the process as well as the dealership you were taken too so if it's been bad tell them then they know what they are dealing with.

7. Never settle with what is offered (apart from agreement to repair) take the time to talk to the manager and progress with them it's not about being greedy it's about being fair to your time & the head ache the initial problem they caused had caused you. Just remember their hands are tied at £100 good will & they don't have a personal compensation fund, but yes this can be marginally improved by 50% - 100% more as evidentially found in my case.

[Alscoob]

Glad you got it sorted in the end. Not a nice way to start a holiday & hope the rest of your break will be more relaxed.

[roopsy1992]

I have a 320i M-Sport with mileage at 31001 now, on the july the 4th my car went into limp mode as driving to work, managed to get home safe when finished, called bmw emergency services in the morning, was here within the hour or so, checked everything, including turbo, pipes, etc. the techician though that the exhaust/catalyst has gone as my car has twin exhaust at the back, so took it to Coventry BMW, within the next day i get a phone call saying that theres nothing wrong but im like surely there is. they jsut cleared the fault and im on my way.

23nd july same problem again but this time the techician assumed there was no pressure going to the turbo, so he actually rang the dealership to say the car needs actually fixing, so he followed me behind to the same dealership and came inside to make sure it gets done,the advisor this time told me when parts arrive and expected date to be done, i dropped it off on tuesday/ kept it for a week and the turbo needed replacing when i had the phone call. which i found out was £2k but im still in warranty, plus they washed it for me aswell.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Originally Posted by roopsy1992

I have a 320i M-Sport with mileage at 31001 now, on the july the 4th my car went into limp mode as driving to work, managed to get home safe when finished, called bmw emergency services in the morning, was here within the hour or so, checked everything, including turbo, pipes, etc. the techician though that the exhaust/catalyst has gone as my car has twin exhaust at the back, so took it to Coventry BMW, within the next day i get a phone call saying that theres nothing wrong but im like surely there is. they jsut cleared the fault and im on my way.

23nd july same problem again but this time the techician assumed there was no pressure going to the turbo, so he actually rang the dealership to say the car needs actually fixing, so he followed me behind to the same dealership and came inside to make sure it gets done,the advisor this time told me when parts arrive and expected date to be done, i dropped it off on tuesday/ kept it for a week and the turbo needed replacing when i had the phone call. which i found out was £2k but im still in warranty, plus they washed it for me aswell.

Next time if you ever have a issue in Cov/Warks visit Rybrook Warwick they are a whole other level of dealership with customer service leagues above Sytner in Cov

[Marksw76]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

Next time if you ever have a issue in Cov/Warks visit Rybrook Warwick they are a whole other level of dealership with customer service leagues above Sytner in Cov

I just think Shytners have a shit reputation full stop

[roopsy1992]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

Next time if you ever have a issue in Cov/Warks visit Rybrook Warwick they are a whole other level of dealership with customer service leagues above Sytner in Cov

Originally I was gonna take it to rybrook Warwick as that's where I purchased my car from but I thought Coventry dealership is only on the other side of town . But will be getting the car serviced at rybrook

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Bit of an update after nearly Three weeks with the 3er in at Rybrook Warwick I finally have it back they have done an incredible job of sorting the damage and a couple of warranty rectification whilst it was in. All in all a great result, if anyone in here finds themselves in a similar situation make a complaint, pursue the complaint and it will come right in the end.