BMW puts the "U" for USELESS in SUV

<p>I live in Africa and conditions are different from Germany although this is not immediately apparent to BMW who live in the fantasy land of bitumin roads everywhere and easily accessable service stations within 5 kms of wherever you may get a puncture. Now in the ordinary course of events a puncture is irritating but usually resolved in 10 minutes after much cursing, a skinned knee or two and possibly an argument with your significant other. However, if you own a BMW SUV (this one is a X3) then you are in for a whole different experience, one that takes 8 hours to resolve and you are offered a free trip to Zeerust in a flatbed towtruck instead of the luxury bush holiday you were anticipating. </p> <p> </p> <p>So this is how it went for my family and I when we did get a puncture. We took the X3 because the Toyota Cruiser was undergoing a routine service and after all the X3 is a "SUV" just look at all the adverts telling you to go anywhere, anytime etc. Well we got said puncture on the gravel road approaching Molatedi Gate in Madikwe Game Reserve and immediately contacted BMW on call, it is important to know this is a call centre and as such can only respond as per their sripted response sheet and are apparently not allowed to use common sense. After repeatedly assuring them that the tyre was not fixable using the sealant provided as a rock had penetrated right through the tyre tread and therefore could not be sealed, BMW was delighted to inform me that a truck would be dispatched to pick up the car and i would only have to wait 2 to 3 hours on the side of the road. At this point I felt I should mention to them my two children were with me, this somewhat stumped BMW on Call. Not to worry, BMW thought that I could hire a car to bring the children with to Zeerust as opposed to leaving them on the side of the highway but this would obviously be for my account.</p> <p> </p> <p>To BMW's surprise I was not delighted to receive an offer that involved me relinquishing my luxury holiday in Madikwe (a 100% cancellation fee would apply) in favour of a Zeerust experience, no offence to the fine people of Zeerust who I am told are delightful. At this point I insisted on a loan tyre being sent out as I clearly remember the sales agent telling me I did not need a spare (despite my insistence on one) becasue BMW on Call would speedily resolve my problem and run flats were the future. I must point out I was sceptical as I had recently arrived in Nelspruit in the front of a tow truck with my X6 proudly behind me on the flatbed as I had had the misfortune of colliding with a pothole outside of Dullstroom. But no, the salesman assured me that fitting high profile tyres on the X3 was the answer.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now this is when our little adventure takes on an international flavour, turns out there were no "loan tyres" available in all of NorthWest, Limpopo or Gauteng Province so it was off to Botswana that the call went out. I was somewhat concerned that the simple inconvenience of a flat tyre was becoming a little extreme and lacking a realistic solution. At this point I managed to get a farm manager to accommodate me so I could leave the car somewhere safe and the kids had a roof over there heads while we waited for BMW to come to the rescue. They duly did at 20h30 in the evening after the first call was placed around 12h30 midday.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now I believe I am a reasonable man but how BMW can sell a product in Africa that places people at significant personal risk is beyond me, spending 8 hours on the side of a road with two young children in rural South Africa is not a laughing matter. There was no follow up from BMW on Call other than to ask for the return of their loan tyre. </p> <p> </p> <p>I would advise BMW to rethink their product for Africa or to inform purchasers that the vehicle should not go anywhere that exceeds a 20km radius from a reputable service station. Other than this, the X3 is a fantastic vehice to drive but it is just not an SUV lets just term it a pregnant sedan from now on and restrict it to the confines of suburbia. Fortunatly the Toyota cruiser is out of workshop so problem solved as it has a spare tyre!</p>