[pj94z]

I got a brand new 2017 340i 2 weeks ago.
After a few days of driving, I noticed the car pull to the right on highways.

I took the car to my a my local bmw dealer to check alignment and they kept my car for 6 days!

I picked it up today and noticed they drove 61 miles on my new car.
It had only 480 miles when I dropped it off last week.

When I picked up the car, I went straight to Service Director and said wtf - why did they need to drive my car 61 miles ??

He said they did 3 test drives and had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle , that's about it, no major suspension changes.

So, is 61 miles excessive ? What are my options ?

[anotheran]

Originally Posted by pj94z

I got a brand new 2017 340i 2 weeks ago.
After a few days of driving, I noticed the car pull to the right on highways.

I took the car to my a my local bmw dealer to check alignment and they kept my car for 6 days!

I picked it up today and noticed they drove 61 miles on my new car.
It had only 480 miles when I dropped it off last week.

When I picked up the car, I went straight to Service Director and said wtf - why did they need to drive my car 61 miles ??

He said they did 3 test drives and had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle , that's about it, no major suspension changes.

So, is 61 miles excessive ? What are my options ?

Is the issue only reproducible at high speeds? Is the dealer far from the highway?
6 days is long. Did you get a loaner? Did they fix the issue? Hopefully they fixed it. I went to a Toyota dealer 3-4 times to fix a grinding sound on a new car. They did a wheel bearing each time. What a waste of time

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

Originally Posted by pj94z

I got a brand new 2017 340i 2 weeks ago.
After a few days of driving, I noticed the car pull to the right on highways.

I took the car to my a my local bmw dealer to check alignment and they kept my car for 6 days!

I picked it up today and noticed they drove 61 miles on my new car.
It had only 480 miles when I dropped it off last week.

When I picked up the car, I went straight to Service Director and said wtf - why did they need to drive my car 61 miles ??

He said they did 3 test drives and had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle , that's about it, no major suspension changes.

So, is 61 miles excessive ? What are my options ?

You're upset because they took the time to evaluate your car and fix the issue you brought it in for? I don't understand. In the grand scheme of things 61 miles is nothing. Be grateful they took the time to assess and address the issue.

[pj94z]

The issue was only reproduceable at high speeds I suppose - over 60 MPH.

Yes, I was given a Loaner and yes I "think" the issue is resolved.

But, all that is not the point of this post:


does 61 miles seem like a lot of mileage for a wheel alignment ?

[pj94z]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

You're upset because they took the time to evaluate your car and fix the issue you brought it in for? I don't understand. In the grand scheme of things 61 miles is nothing. Be grateful they took the time to assess and address the issue.

No, that's not why I'm upset. Don't put words in my mouth .

I'm upset bc they put 61 miles on my car for a wheel alignment.

I think 10-25 miles is enough to diagnose/fix the alignment is off on ANY car

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

Originally Posted by pj94z

No, that's not why I'm upset. Don't put words in my mouth .

I'm upset bc they put 61 miles on my car for a wheel alignment.

I think 10-25 miles is enough to diagnose/fix the alignment is off on ANY car

It wasn't just an alignment issue now was it? In your own words you said:

"had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle"

You think they can magically diagnose and repair those items without thoroughly test driving the car?

Is it fixed? Does your car still pull to the right?

[bimmer456]

They took your car for a joyride to some parties and bars in order to meet chics and pretend it's their car.

[5ilver-5amurai]

I'm with OP on this one. 61 miles is too much driving to test/ fix an issue - even with 3 test drives. Unless it was an issue that only popped up about 10 minutes in to a drive, I can't imagine that someone is driving 20 miles every test drive for the issue. Especially with the low mileage on the car, it's still in the break-in period that a lot of people think doesn't exist.

I'd follow up with their service department and contact corporate if you don't get an answer you're satisfied with.

[BMW11]

if you have BMW connected you can probably see exactly where (locations) that the car went for those six days. maybe the mechanic took it home each day to "test" it out; I have heard of that before. Aside from that I wouldn't be happy picking my car up with an extra 61 miles or why it took 6 days seems too long. Be glad you didn't get damage hopefully. Check out wheels and rims and body to make certain theres no other "damage" besides the 61 miles good luck

[pj94z]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

It wasn't just an alignment issue now was it? In your own words you said:

"had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle"

You think they can magically diagnose and repair those items without thoroughly test driving the car?

Is it fixed? Does your car still pull to the right?

Lol no I don't think they can magically repair things without a test drive
Stop putting words in my mouth lol jeez

But 20 miles of driving should be sufficient to diagnose a greater problem than a alignment correction and installing bearings and knuckles

I want to know why it was driven 61 miles -- it seems obv to me that 61 miles is negligent over use of the car

I've only driven the car 10 miles after I picked it up -- so I don't know 100% if issue is fixed or not

Need a day or 2 to confirm - I will report back here

[pj94z]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

They took your car for a joyride to some parties and bars in order to meet chics and pretend it's their car.

[AudiA4]

I agree. That seems excessive.

[pj94z]

I told The service director and service manager both that I thought 61 miles was excessive

Even they were having trouble trying to explain how a service tech can put 61 miles on a car - they basically had no idea , other than, it went for 3 test drives

So, 3 20 mile test drives is what we're looking at - if the log is accurate.


The service director told me that he would speak to shop foreman and have him investigate and report back why such high mileage was necessary for diagnosis and repair of an alignment


Next question:

What sort of compensation should I seek from dealer?

Explanation of who drove my car and where to?
Money? ($200? )
Free Detail?
Something else ..?

[pj94z]

Also, I just checked my BMW connected app and the car shows as having been to:

UPS store
Airport


I've never been to he above 2 places in the past 4 weeks. So, clearly someone from the dealership took my car to run errands.

[BMW11]

Originally Posted by pj94z

Also, I just checked my BMW connected app and the car shows as having been to:

UPS store
Airport


I've never been to he above 2 places in the past 4 weeks. So, clearly someone from the dealership took my car to run errands.

See BMW Connected is watching the BMW better then a dash cam. lol This is what I was thinking they used it improperly and lied to you they are liars. Its not about the 61 miles its about the LIE the guy handed you. you need to go to the service manager or the dealership owner and complain show them the proof. call BMW NA Make their heads spin.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by pj94z

Also, I just checked my BMW connected app and the car shows as having been to:

UPS store
Airport


I've never been to he above 2 places in the past 4 weeks. So, clearly someone from the dealership took my car to run errands.

I've seen some searches and even random addresses show up in the app. You can look at last destinations in the i-drive to see if anything was entered. I also have destinations in my messages because I send them from the app, but it is unlikely they would be able to do that without logging on to your connected drive account.

[Manivxr]

61 miles may feel excessive. A 5 min drive should give you an indication of whether it's pulling or not. But if it was only reproduced at high speeds then factor in distance to nearest dual carriage way or motorway. And then the distance between two junctions could give you an indication of whether excessive or not

[_bdiddyb_]

When I went to an independent shop to align and corner balance my car; the tech took it AROUND the block several times. 61 miles is just excessive to diagnose the simple problem. Dude took your car home and obviously dropped off his mother-in-law at the airport.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by pj94z

The issue was only reproduceable at high speeds I suppose - over 60 MPH.

Yes, I was given a Loaner and yes I "think" the issue is resolved.

But, all that is not the point of this post:


does 61 miles seem like a lot of mileage for a wheel alignment ?

Totally reasonable on their end to drive it around, but 60 miles does seem like a lot. I would think 20 would be sufficient.

[OneLastBMW]

Originally Posted by pj94z

I told The service director and service manager both that I thought 61 miles was excessive

Even they were having trouble trying to explain how a service tech can put 61 miles on a car - they basically had no idea , other than, it went for 3 test drives

So, 3 20 mile test drives is what we're looking at - if the log is accurate.


The service director told me that he would speak to shop foreman and have him investigate and report back why such high mileage was necessary for diagnosis and repair of an alignment


Next question:

What sort of compensation should I seek from dealer?

Explanation of who drove my car and where to?
Money? ($200? )
Free Detail?
Something else ..?

The offending drivers head on a stick seems to be the only thing that will satisfy you so ask that he be drawn and quartered and settle for the head on a stick.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by pj94z

I got a brand new 2017 340i 2 weeks ago.
After a few days of driving, I noticed the car pull to the right on highways.

I took the car to my a my local bmw dealer to check alignment and they kept my car for 6 days!

I picked it up today and noticed they drove 61 miles on my new car.
It had only 480 miles when I dropped it off last week.

When I picked up the car, I went straight to Service Director and said wtf - why did they need to drive my car 61 miles ??

He said they did 3 test drives and had to replace / test several parts ( steering bearings + steering knuckle , that's about it, no major suspension changes.

So, is 61 miles excessive ? What are my options ?

Is it fixed? If no, then be mad. If yes, then be glad. Would you rather they drive 5 miles and not solve the issue? Honestly, BFD.

[pj94z]

Originally Posted by OneLastBMW

The offending drivers head on a stick seems to be the only thing that will satisfy you so ask that he be drawn and quartered and settle for the head on a stick.

I might do that, Game of Thrones style


Also, I had a infant car seat base installed in the backseat when I dropped car off to them 6 days ago.

I just checked that car seat base and it pulls easily left/right -- meaning someone has removed it and re-installed it.

When I installed the bast 2 weeks ago - it didn't have more than 1/2 inch play on either side , as per install instructions of the base.

So, either someone took it off or maybe they drove the car so hard, the car seat base came a little loose lol

Anyway - Yes, I'm pissed

I bought a brand new car - I expect a brand new car experience

That's what I paid BMW for