How to get a car makers attention
 

CHINA: Problem-plagued BMW turned into three donkey-power version by angry owner
07 Sep 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team

Outraged by a problematic BMW luxury car, the owner tied three donkeys to the vehicle and attempted to drag it thousands of kilometres from Beijing to Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

A report carried by the Hindustan Times said the donkey train started its trek trailed by the BMW 760i sedan as well as several people walking and carrying white banners that read: "Who can solve quality flaws with BMWs?"

Traffic police halted the donkey team, which drew a large crowd of onlookers, after only 40 minutes.

Lin reportedly said he decided to arrange the donkey drive as it seemed the cheapest way to get the car to Hangzhou, and secondly, he wanted to draw public attention to "how BMW treats customers."

Lin told media he bought the expensive car last November at the Harbin Auto Show. Problems started appearing soon after. He said the BMW authorised service centre repaired the car several times but it was still so problem-ridden that it could not be driven.

Li said he had tried to get the company to agree to repair the car once and for all and to promise to refund his money if problems continued, but the company did not agree.

The manager of the public relations department of BMW's China representative office, Ma Qingsheng, said if Lin gave them a chance to repair the car, he could promise that all the problems would be solved.

Lin said he still had doubts. "I've already given them several chances", he said.

Figures it's a 12 cylinder. The 7 series has enough problems...add the V-12 and you're asking for a motor oil enema.

This saga continues: http://my750.com/

While his example is extreme it's not uncommon. I think he's foolish for sinking money and time into a sinking ship. Nothing smart about saying "I spent $64k maintaining this piece of junk".

However, there are many original owners who have had nothing but nighmares from day one with the BMW 12s. There are also many problems with the new 7 series. Mixing the two seems like asking for trouble.

You mean besides the fact that it's butt-fugly and has the Udon'tDriveIDrive?

I mean, those two items alone are enough to queer the deal.

Well, yeah, I agree with that too.

IMO, it went from one of the most beautiful and serious sedans to a bulbous collection of mismatched panels.

Regarding IDrive: My take on the 7 series customer base is that they are affluent businessman/woman who want a <b>simple</b> yet well built (read overengineered) automobile with an unmistakable presence. IDrive represents a new level of gagetry that flys in the face of that theory. I'd venture to guess that the majority of current 7 series drivers never even attempted to use this feature.

OTOH, I recently saw a black convertible 6 series and it looked pretty cool.

BMW.........BREAK MY WALLET.......................