Reason for Visit: Service
I recommend this dealer: No
My Review of Tom Williams Imports:
I've owned my 2001 740iL since June of 2003. It was a CPO vehicle and came with 23,477 miles on the odometer. I've only put 13,570 miles on the car since, with most coming in the first two years of ownership. My wife and I (both retired) use it primary for long road trips. Cosmetically, the car is "showroom new" in appearance.
During my ownership, the car has performed quite well. On the open road, it's a dream to drive. So far, the only major problem I've experienced was the A/C compressor going out in Dec. of '04. The compressor was replaced under warranty - no questions asked. If only the dealership would show such a response to my other (minor) complaints, I would be really pleased. You know, things like, driver's door rattle (not fixed), excessive air noise from sunroof (not fixed), poor AM reception and buzz (not fixed) and occasional (but troublesome) failure to start (not fixed).
One day, a little over a month ago, the car wouldn't start no matter what I tried (e.g., trickle charged overnight and/or jump-start). The next day, after multiple attempts (key cycles), it started in a perfectly normal fashion. So, again I drove to my local oil change/tire center and had them check the battery, alternator and anything else they could think of. They couldn't find anything wrong. My next stop was the BMW dealership.
With my CPO coverage set to expire in a few days, I wanted:
1) My sunroof noise problem looked at again
2) My sunroof to again lay flush with my roof line (Their previous
adjustment had raised the trailing edge approx. 5mm above the roof
line)
3) My lifter-like clicking noises checked
4) My starting problem analyzed.
After a stay of over 20 days, this is what they found and/or serviced.
My "seal for sunroof coming apart" was repaired at a cost of $258. This is interesting, since I hadn't opened my sunroof more than once or twice since their previous adjusted for wind noise (back in Jan. of '05). In addition, after leaving their service center, I soon discovered that the inside sun shade wouldn't close. This problem was fixed in about 15 minutes after my U-turn back to the dealership. Service tech stated that "new gasket hadn't been seated properly and sunroof lid was slightly out of adjustment."
My complaint of "lifter-like clicking noises" on start-up after sitting. Technician "could not find any noises at this time that were abnormal."
My complaint of starting problems was not written into my service request although I had specifically requested that they identify the problem. The service advisor, when asked about this, told me that "my car was started every day and that they hadn't experienced any problems." When I picked the car up that Saturday afternoon, it started fine. I didn't have any starting problems on Sunday either. However, after sitting in the garage through Monday, it wouldn't start on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The next morning, I got a call from the tire center asking me to drop by if I was out and about. A few hours later, I was handed a print-out titled:
E38 740I, 740IL WITH M62TU: INTERMITTENT "NO-CRANK, NO-START" CONDITION
The head mechanic at the tire center hadn't given up on my problem and had done some research on his own. He had found the above titled service bulletin posted on some site they subscribe to.
WHY DIDN'T TOM WILLIAMS BMW KNOW ABOUT THIS?
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