[smashup]

This is my second BMW and I was thrilled when it was still alive sine it is my first BMW with manual transmission. I owned a 2002 325i previously.

I still believe in the brand but last Friday's incident (12/31/2010) left me a little traumatized. I want to share the story here and chronicle the turn of events of this ordeal and see where it goes.

I bought the 2007 328i in March 2010 and traded in the 2002 325i. Maintenance is getting expensive as you all know and I got a CPO with a 2 year MP. It is not cheap but I want it to be maintenance free.

The service and ride were great so far but 12/31/2010 was a very sad and traumatic for me and my friends.

We were driving to the beach to celebrate New Year's eve. After driving for about 45mins to 1 hour, I noticed the battery light was turned on. Shortly after driving a few more miles, the electronics on the dashboard flickered and I stopped on the roadside.

I called roadside assistance and started seeing smoke coming out of the front hood and through the A/C vent. The first thing is to keep everyone safe and move everyone away from the vehicle. Roadside assistance were asking questions but I sense the danger here and called 911.

The smoke thickened and I started seeing fire ... before all the emergency services arrived, the car is already engulfed in flames. We did not manage to remove all our belongings. Sure enough, the whole car was consumed and I lost the car.

We were taken aback on this incident and questioned the how safe and reliable the car is. It is a CPO and have been through regular maintenance since it is included. There is very little warning that led to the uneventful demise of this supposedly safe and reliable car. I questioned the electronics and computers that we have in our cars these days and if they are doing the right thing. Had we not stop, the outcome could be worse.

I have called the insurance company and they will follow the normal process. BMW NA is contacted too but I will only hear from their regional department between 1-3 days after. I would like to document the actions that they took and their due diligence in investigating this incident. We hope that it will make our cars safer.

A good note is that I'm able to work with BMW Financial Services to defer the payments for 2 months pending the investigation and insurance process.

My dealer sales rep also e-mailed me the financial transaction details and the service department will mail me the maintenance records.

How you can help me:
1) Has anyone experience similar safety issues?
2) Anyone knows what is the timeframe and outcome of the investigation by BMW NA? You can point me to previous posts.

I'll keep everyone posted on BMW NA activities, insurance, and if there are other assistance on this matter.

Thanks,
Mark

Here are some ugly photos:

[apc3libras]

Sorry to see and hear about your car. That would be really scary to watch. I hope they find out what caused it. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

[GreenThree]

Glad you are OK. Sorry to hear about your car. Interested to know how this was caused?

[ZoomZoom]

Glad you're OK..Good thing you were alert enough to pull over.

[timmahh]

Were your headlights or angel eyes on when this happened? Did you change your bulbs or angel eyes to something aftermarket?

[ragingclue]

Wow that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully the rest of the process in as painless as possible, and it's good to hear that you guys are ok.

[Baldur Abendroth]

I doubt you replaced your battery or anything like that since you have full warranty and the maintenance plan, but I thought of this recent post when I saw this.....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=468750

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by Baldur Abendroth

I doubt you replaced your battery or anything like that since you are have full warranty and the maintenance plan, but I thought of this recent post when I saw this.....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=468750

I was going to mention that until I re-read that the fire started up front.

[Express]

is that the new charcoal interior??????



but seriously, im glad you and your friends/family are okay. threads like this remind me the main reason i own this car. safety

[ZoomZoom]

Originally Posted by express705

is that the new charcoal interior??????



but seriously, im glad you and your friends/family are okay. threads like this remind me the main reason i own this car. safety

I think this post goes against safety...

[wrickem]

WOW! I am sorry about your car, glad everybody is okay and hope everything turns out alright with insurance.

The bright side is ... everybody around here seems to love a matte finish, and now that car has got one, no need to wrap it.

[Express]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoom

I think this post goes against safety...

anyone who lives to tell about this is proving safety in some way or another.

cars don't catch on fire for no reason. chances are, something got stuck somewhere and ignited, or you had wired something somewhere and was not done properly.

[Coolieman1220]

such a sad sight....

[gary88]

That'll buff out.









But really glad to hear everyone got out ok.

[ceb]

The OP appears to be trying to "build a case" and, quite frankly, the insurance company and BMW (as well as the fire dept investigators) should be allowed to complete their investigations without a bunch of speculation brought about by the internet "experts."

Everything that gets posted in this thread will ultimately end up in some file.

[Express]

Originally Posted by ceb

The OP appears to be trying to "build a case" and, quite frankly, the insurance company and BMW (as well as the fire dept investigators) should be allowed to complete their investigations without a bunch of speculation brought about by the internet "experts."

Everything that gets posted in this thread will ultimately end up in some file.

who cares? we aren't experts.

[timmahh]

Originally Posted by express705

who cares? we aren't experts.

I thought internet forums were only available to experts, thus everyone registered is an expert.


RE: The original post, if I can be a complete jackass about it... it comes across as a sympathy thread. Like this is going to get printed out and handed over to an arbitrator or something [if it comes down to that], to show that other people find this upsetting. This guy also has ONE post, so this post is either under a shell username for someone else on the forum who probably mods, or it's someone who's just posting everywhere to try and gather as much sympathy as possible before moving forward, hence my question about modifications in the front of the car.. i.e. some cheap ass HID components that burned out and started a fire. From what I gather, 328's don't usually burn down, and while this completely sucks there are several points the OP made in his post that are just typical "i'm a legal geniuzzzzz" moves, stating things to be dramatic, here's why:

I still believe in the brand but last Friday's incident (12/31/2010) left me a little traumatized.

Why? You got out of your car and you and the passengers are safe. It's not like you were driving it and it blew up. It's a material item, that can be replaced. This shouldn't 'traumatize' you.

I bought the 2007 328i in March 2010 and traded in the 2002 325i. Maintenance is getting expensive as you all know and I got a CPO with a 2 year MP. It is not cheap but I want it to be maintenance free.

... K.

We did not manage to remove all our belongings. Sure enough, the whole car was consumed and I lost the car.

You have insurance so everything should be fine

We were taken aback on this incident and questioned the how safe and reliable the car is. It is a CPO and have been through regular maintenance since it is included. There is very little warning that led to the uneventful demise of this supposedly safe and reliable car. I questioned the electronics and computers that we have in our cars these days and if they are doing the right thing. Had we not stop, the outcome could be worse.

See now this is getting a little 'up on a milk crate'. This, based on what i've seen thus far on these forums and research, is an isolated incident that may have nothing to do with the vehicle itself [as we do not know whether or not anything was modified]. The 328 is a reliable car. The 328 is a safe car... if they all start burning down they will no longer be safe or reliable. Don't question the electronics or computers in your car, as i'm sure you enjoyed every mile you drove in your car. When you go around a corner too fast in the rain and the ECU keeps your car from spinning out you probably don't bitch about that or question the reliability and safety of it. It is a good thing you pulled over, if you continued driving and even more so, if you continued driving whilst smoke was coming out of your vents and hood, we would question your intelligence.




OP, if your vehicle was stock [and you're not on here trying to be a turd] and your actions or changes to the vehicle had no bearing on what happened then I truely am sorry to hear about that, however it is a material item which can be replaced. The important thing is that you are safe and your friends are safe. The vehicles are safe, and they are reliable (sans HPFP.. hah!).

If you created an account on here because you modded your car and it caught on fire and you're trying to get sympathy posts and cover up your actions then....... insert words here.



If it was my car I would be extremely sad about it, and pissed off it was a factory design flaw or defect...

[pits200]

If I were the OP I would definitely not answer any questions on here about aftermarket parts, even if it was only an aftermarket fuel additive. The fact that you have pretty much a full warranty and service coverage that this should bode well in your favor because that means you'd have no reason to be tinkering under the hood at your own expense.

But lets do the OP a service and not ask any incriminating questions because who knows who lurks on these forums. I know that sounds like a conspiracy theory but it's better to be safe than sorry especially when it involved insurance claims.

Good luck and glad everyone made it out safely.

[Bslaw83]

Originally Posted by ceb

The OP appears to be trying to "build a case" and, quite frankly, the insurance company and BMW (as well as the fire dept investigators) should be allowed to complete their investigations without a bunch of speculation brought about by the internet "experts."

Everything that gets posted in this thread will ultimately end up in some file.

Are you serious? It's a discussion, everyone is simply putting forth thoughts and opinions. I don't know why someone like you has to step in on every topic while everyone else is simply talking..ugh...

As for OP, glad to hear you're ok man..crazy to think what coulda happened had you not had the sense to pull over..was your cruise control on by chance? Remember ford had that problem a few years back..just a thought..

[Potty_Pants]

I'm seen body shops do wonders with cars...

Hell if the frame isnt bent and the airbags didnt go off... I'm sure it'll be fixed !


ppp

[dtc100]

Wow, some of you really got carried away a little too much. Judging by the color of the smoke it was moded

But seriously the guy and the friends were safe, we got to see what a burnt 328i looked like. I always wondered what a burnt 328i would look like. Ok still joking.

Good luck with your investigation and resolution, use the insurance payout and upgrade to a 335i, from how you handled this situation, it would be piece cake when your 335i goes limp

[Potty_Pants]

RUNFLAT = FAIL...

sure hit nail or two and you can drive... but a few flames and poof.


Guess they arent the holy grail they're made out to be !

ppp

p.s. RFT makers if your listening please add about 5lbs per tire, increase the price +$200 and make them fire proof/retardant!

now that im thinking about it... how safe are they if your speeding away from a flaming fireball and the rear tires catch fire. something must be done... hope the tire guys are working on this now... its just not safe !