135i in custom hunter green

BMW Service Nightmares

              My first true bonding experience with this new machine was picking up a nail in one of the runflat tires.  It defined what to expect from the car for years to come.  A polite request appeared on the navigation screen along with a huge read light in the center of my gauge pod asking me to slow the car to a stop and check the left-rear tire.  After indeed confirming it was flat, I drove home and called the service center. The next available appointment at the service center was a few days away, which left my car undriveable in the mean time. When I got back into the car, the computer alerted me of the tire again and told me to keep it under 50 mph or I’d loose the sidewall and consequently my rim.  The people at the service center greeted me warmly and lead me into a glorious waiting room complete with cable TV on two plasma screens, wireless internet, and complimentary gourmet coffee.  After two hours of decadence, I was presented a bill for $600 dollars. At the time, that equated about $1 for every mile I had put on the car in addition to the $650 I was already paying monthly for the privilege of said vehicle.  Runflat tires cost $250 dollars apiece.  The service rep had misunderstood me when I had said I wanted to replace my defective tire and instead thought I wanted to replace my set of back tires.  This could be understandable at maybe 10,000 miles or so, but the car quite literally had 550 miles on her.  After pointing out that I had only wanted the one tire, my bill was reduced to roughly $280 and I received apology after apology.  Leaving the service center, I thought to myself, “Well, apparently one tire at BMW is worth 5 at Jeep, but at least the coffee was good.”

            Many miles later found me in the service center again, about 6,500 to be exact.  I had a service notification which turned out to be a false alarm for my inspection sticker, the timer of which had been improperly set upon delivery from the dealership.  An hour of decadence and gourmet coffee and the simple 2 minute procedure was complete and I was on my way out the door with a lot more caffeine then I am used to at the Jeep or Volkswagen service department.

            At 10,000 miles, I was in for real this time. Brake lights needed replacing, door hinges needed tightening, and oil needed changing. I was sent away from the service center with a tap on the head telling me that the brake lights were fine and I wasn’t due for an oil changing for another 5,000 miles. I was right about the door hinge thought. 

            At approximately 10,108 my brake light went out and stayed out.  Well, I certainly showed them didn’t I?  Back to decadence and gourmet coffee again, although I am not going to lie, I was rather angry about it. They still refused to change my oil.

            Now I am back in the service center, at 15,450, with a leaky rear tire, a wobble in the car, a dire need for an oil change, and a malfunctioning left turn signal.  I am eagerly anticipating the pat on the head telling me that the wobble is in my head, and that my turn signals are working perfectly, and I bet they still don’t change my oil.

           

Results of my most recent visit:

1 New Runflat Tire = 170

1 New Alloy Rim = 420

Oil = NC

Wipers = NC

Car Wash = NC

Grand Total= 666.58, after taxes and applicable labor charges.

BMW’s Stealthy Answer to Quattro

 Audi has been the industry leader in the field of everyday all wheel drive practicality since the original Audi Quattro launched in 1980. Audi’s famous system is proactive. Quattro is always on, which is a point an Audi sales rep will hammer into your skull upon entering the showroom. The drive system uses a mechanical torque sensing link between the front and rear axles that can split the power to whichever axle has more grip. The advantage of having a proactive torque sensing system in your car is the ability to cut through turns under acceleration while minimizing the effects of understeer and oversteer. Unfortunately, the required longitudinal mount of the engine and gearbox leaves the front axle behind the engine, enough so that all Audi’s have an inherent “front heavy” feeling. While testing an A4 3.2 (07′), our driver commented on the amount of effort needed to drive the car fast through turns. The steering felt unnaturally heavy at the start of a turn and it was hard to control the direction of the car with the throttle. To drive this car fast, just mash the throttle midturn and let that Torsen center differential pull the nose of the car around with confidence. The car tracked well through the twisties and made mincemeat out of the back roads of Greenwich, Ct.

This confidence inspiring setup may be fine for the occasional spirited driving, but unless you are willing to shell out the money for an S or RS model, you are going to feel slightly cheated and insulted by your Audi. The idiot-proof system doesn’t allow for any power oversteer and the inability to correct your latitude with the throttle will leave most car enthusiasts feeling like something is missing. Enter xDrive. While there is something to be said about the safety of a proactive all wheel drive system, the electronic grey matter that is at the heart of your traction and stability control systems will process information and take any action necessary to save your bacon before its even in the frying pan. Most intrusions from a BMW’s computer will feel natural and unobtrusive; the only sign that anything was wrong in the first place would be a flash of the DTC (dynamic traction control) symbol in the dashboard cluster. All available power is sent to the axle with the most grip, like the Audi’s system. The difference is that while the Audi is constantly moving power from axle to axle, the BMW system will only do it if the situation gets hairy. The system will send power to the front axle if it detects oversteer and cuts power if it detects understeer. By turning off the DTC and DSC (dynamic stability control), the BMW will behave like a textbook rear drive sports car and the rear end can be stepped out with a gentle massaging of the throttle.

Although both system work well, it boils down to the amount of intervention you feel comfortable with. While the Audi sales rep will make a big deal about the truly mechanical system controlling torque distribution, the BMW system will let you have your cake and eat it too. The Audi has many strengths over your typical xDrive equipped BMW but that depends on your automotive outlook. It is impossible to say for certain which of the systems is better, as they were developed with different approaches to driving in mind, but each system does an admirable job of keeping your car properly oriented when the roads get a little wet and your right foot gets a little overzealous.

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/technology_guide/articles/mm_xdrive.html?search_type=index&article=mm_xdrive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quattro_%28all_wheel_drive_system%29