[X5 50e Lemon]

Long time reader, first time poster. I'll try to make this short.

California
Purchased late Oct 2023
Within 3 weeks and less than 850 miles - drivetrain error
Towed to dealership
Was told it needed a new transmission and would be ready in about 3 weeks.
Received X5 40i loaner
After a month start dealing with BMWNA, requesting replacement or compensation for diminished value.
Was only offered buyback and they won't budge.
Picked up car and learned the replacement transmission also had to be replaced. It is now on its THIRD transmission.

Here is my frustration:
I put $5000 down, but they are offering no compensation for interest on this. What if I had put $50,000 down?
I paid insurance for 12 weeks for a car I didn't have.
I had to pay for gas on the rental when I have excess solar power.

Because I have excess solar and occasionally do long road trips, a PHEV is perfect for us. Unfortunately, with all the delays in producing X5 50e's, we couldn't get another one right now. Also, we got a $4000 military discount which may not exist or be reduced when the car is back in stock. Additionally, I did a BMW Ultimate Experience event and got another $1000 off and this is no longer valid. Ultimately, I will have to spend time finding another car that fits our needs, negotiating a price, etc. And I will be carless if/when I return this lemon, unless I can get another car sooner.

Any advice is appreciated.

Edit to add: Just as I would expect more from Nordstrom, Neimans, and even Costco, I would expect more than the absolute minimum that the law requires. I might be okay taking the risks of driving this lemon until they could get me a replacement. This is my fourth new BMW, and I can say I've never been more disappointed in a car manufacturer.

[srybicki]

1800lemonlaw

[TurtleBoy]

Welcome to the forum. I would say none of your frustrations are gong to be compensated for as they are not proscribed to do so under the law. They also gave you a loaner so you did have some value for your money.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[X5 50e Lemon]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Welcome to the forum. I would say none of your frustrations are gong to be compensated for as they are not proscribed to do so under the law. They also gave you a loaner so you did have some value for your money.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

I'm not sure if you meant "prescribe" instead of "proscribe". They may not be required and I'm sure they're not forbidden to do more, but I would hope they would appreciate that I didn't go through a lawyer and saved them money that could've been used to keep a customer happy and loyal (and not post here!). Let this be a lesson to others.

So, the only compensation I got was putting miles on a lesser value car, not the interest, time without my car, payment of insurance, gas, being without a car, shopping for a new one, etc. Meh. It's certainly not worth all the negatives.

I guess the message is that there's virtually no benefit to dealing with BMW directly. They won't appreciate it. They have their lawyers. Get a lawyer.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by X5 50e Lemon

I'm not sure if you meant "prescribe" instead of "proscribe". They may not be required and I'm sure they're not forbidden to do more, but I would hope they would appreciate that I didn't go through a lawyer and saved them money that could've been used to keep a customer happy and loyal (and not post here!). Let this be a lesson to others.

So, the only compensation I got was putting miles on a lesser value car, not the interest, time without my car, payment of insurance, gas, being without a car, shopping for a new one, etc. Meh. It's certainly not worth all the negatives.

I guess the message is that there's virtually no benefit to dealing with BMW directly. They won't appreciate it. They have their lawyers. Get a lawyer.

Correct, prescribed. I would say you are correct, if you want to try and get more compensation then get an attorney. It shouldn't cost you anything to do so. I have not heard of anyone being compensated for the items you mentioned but I guess anything is possible.

[Bolt1949]

OP. In my experience, when one has a service loaner, you use your personal auto insurance as the coverage on the loaner (which is being provided to you, the customer, in the form of a rental). If that's the case, you did receive the benefit and value of your personal auto insurance policy. Sure, you were in a lesser BMW - which sucks, but nonetheless, you were relying on your personal auto insurance as far as coverage.

[jphcbpa]

I am surprised they did not go for a trade assist. Do you have to do the exact model when you do a trade assist or can you pick another bmw model and trim level ?

My x7 just had it's transmission replaced, 2023 under 13,000 miles. BMWNA is reimbursing me my Feb payment since I was without the vehicle for all of Feb.

[Colibri]

First of all, totally sucks on the lemon - I can only imagine your frustration.

2nd, you realize interest on $5k for 12 weeks is about $65-70, right? It's not like they took your $5k and stuck in an interest bearing escrow account for you and are withholding the interest fro you. And you *didn't* give them $50k.

Your insurance applied to the loaner you took - you received at least some value there.

Did you tell them you have excess solar and had free go-juice when you took/accepted the 40i? And ask them to compensate you because you expected to be getting around for free? Or are you now just tallying things up that you feel would be a nice gesture because your situation sucks - that's understandable.

Yeah it sucks to be in your situation. Yeah an attorney might squeeze a bit from them. But for me, what might amount to an additional $500 (because that's the rough tally of what you're speaking to here), not worth my time, or stress.

You seem to be open to another one/bimmer, if you could get one... maybe that's how they make it right, and yeah, in your shoes I'd expect a big discount if I were going to commit to giving them any more of my $... because for me there's more power in where and how I apply my next $50-100k than in spending my time chasing $500.

[X5 50e Lemon]

Originally Posted by jphcbpa

I am surprised they did not go for a trade assist. Do you have to do the exact model when you do a trade assist or can you pick another bmw model and trim level ?

My x7 just had it's transmission replaced, 2023 under 13,000 miles. BMWNA is reimbursing me my Feb payment since I was without the vehicle for all of Feb.

I assume they didn't go for trade assist because there are virtually no 50e's in the whole country, probably due to fixing major reliability issues before producing more.

According to their website, there are only TWO 50e's within a 100-mile radius of Los Angeles, only TWO within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco, and ZERO within a 100-mile radius of Manhattan. Considering my car was listed as available for about a month after I purchased it, this may be an overestimate. A couple weeks ago I had searched other major cities with similar limited findings. I'm guessing there are no more than 20 in the whole country.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by X5 50e Lemon

I assume they didn't go for trade assist because there are virtually no 50e's in the whole country, probably due to fixing major reliability issues before producing more.

.

Unfortunately that is not the case. There has been supply chain issues which has severely limited the production of the 50e. That is expected to start ramping up at the end of April or so.

[X5 50e Lemon]

Originally Posted by Colibri

First of all, totally sucks on the lemon - I can only imagine your frustration.

2nd, you realize interest on $5k for 12 weeks is about $65-70, right? It's not like they took your $5k and stuck in an interest bearing escrow account for you and are withholding the interest fro you. And you *didn't* give them $50k.

Your insurance applied to the loaner you took - you received at least some value there.

Did you tell them you have excess solar and had free go-juice when you took/accepted the 40i? And ask them to compensate you because you expected to be getting around for free? Or are you now just tallying things up that you feel would be a nice gesture because your situation sucks - that's understandable.

Yeah it sucks to be in your situation. Yeah an attorney might squeeze a bit from them. But for me, what might amount to an additional $500 (because that's the rough tally of what you're speaking to here), not worth my time, or stress.

You seem to be open to another one/bimmer, if you could get one... maybe that's how they make it right, and yeah, in your shoes I'd expect a big discount if I were going to commit to giving them any more of my $... because for me there's more power in where and how I apply my next $50-100k than in spending my time chasing $500.

It's less the actual money than the feeling of not feeling valued. It's also the issue of having to go find/negotiate/buy another one. I hate the process. All I want is a replacement. I wouldn't be arguing for anything else if they would've accepted this.

I also would've accepted reimbursement for diminished value. I don't understand why they can't do this. They're going to take the car back, get a third part involved, and then likely sell it. Couldn't they just sell it to me for the sale price? This also would've made sense. I just don't get it.

I did mention the solar/gas costs/savings but they didn't accept it.

This is not much money to me, but I assure you it's far less to BMW and would go a long way to keeping a happy and loyal customer. I wouldn't be posting here if they had thrown me the smallest bone. The fact that they did the absolute minimum the law requires (what KIA would do) is what irks me. I've owned a couple of businesses and I understand that you sometimes (not always) take a loss to be fair and keep customers happy.

[eelnoraa]

Maybe Cali lemon law lawyer is your best bet. But damn, transmission issue that early, and 2x.

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by X5 50e Lemon

Long time reader, first time poster. I'll try to make this short.

California
Purchased late Oct 2023
Within 3 weeks and less than 850 miles - drivetrain error
Towed to dealership
Was told it needed a new transmission and would be ready in about 3 weeks.
Received X5 40i loaner
After a month start dealing with BMWNA, requesting replacement or compensation for diminished value.
Was only offered buyback and they won't budge.
Picked up car and learned the replacement transmission also had to be replaced. It is now on its THIRD transmission.

Here is my frustration:
I put $5000 down, but they are offering no compensation for interest on this. What if I had put $50,000 down?
I paid insurance for 12 weeks for a car I didn't have.
I had to pay for gas on the rental when I have excess solar power.

Because I have excess solar and occasionally do long road trips, a PHEV is perfect for us. Unfortunately, with all the delays in producing X5 50e's, we couldn't get another one right now. Also, we got a $4000 military discount which may not exist or be reduced when the car is back in stock. Additionally, I did a BMW Ultimate Experience event and got another $1000 off and this is no longer valid. Ultimately, I will have to spend time finding another car that fits our needs, negotiating a price, etc. And I will be carless if/when I return this lemon, unless I can get another car sooner.

Any advice is appreciated.

Edit to add: Just as I would expect more from Nordstrom, Neimans, and even Costco, I would expect more than the absolute minimum that the law requires. I might be okay [...]

Ask for a buyback and walk away because you’re getting your money back if you had to trade that car, you’d lose 25,000

[eluded]

I don't want to give lemon legal advice since Turtle will correct me. The law says they have to buy it back at full value plus the taxes, title, etc. BUT, since that is the law, you could always put on your negotiating hat and maybe work out a deal for additional discounts if you buy another BMW. Maybe one of those BMW EV's would work so you can leverage your free solar power, which is nice since PGE just got another rate increase passed for April.

Originally Posted by X5 50e Lemon

I also would've accepted reimbursement for diminished value. I don't understand why they can't do this. They're going to take the car back, get a third part involved, and then likely sell it. Couldn't they just sell it to me for the sale price? This also would've made sense. I just don't get it.

[BlkGS]

Agree with with others. You're being made whole. You're asking to me made more than whole. Its a crappy situation, but the best you can do is have it reversed, which they're offering to do. As other put it, they're eating $25k plus in depreciation, and you're worrying about a hundred bucks in silly stuff.

If you don't want to find and negotiate on another one, don't. Get yours fixed and hope the next trans is the fix. It sounds likely to me that the transmission is just what they're thinking is the problem and reality is, something else is causing the issues. The ZF8 is a robust and highly regarded transmission, it's unlikely that you've had TWO brand new bad ones. If you replace this car with another 50e, there's no guarantee that one will be any better, and you'll still be working with a dealer who doesn't know how to fix it.

My take, find another dealer to troubleshoot it unless it's just tainted in your mind. If it's tainted, take.tjeirnoffer and buy something else. As pissed off as you are no that they're not making you more than whole, imagine how pissed you'll be when 50e number two also is a piece of crap that doesn't work. Maybe find the nicest 45e CPO you can?