BMW does it again, but one last time for me!

Having owned 12 BMW's over the last 20 years, should one expect number 13 to be troublesome? I purchased a used X5 M, which showed some problems. I took delivery of the car on the 12th of August. At first I had the car on weekends, and on Monday it would be returned to BMW Menlyn to try resolve the issue. At the end of September the decision was taken to replace the engine and finally something started happening (7 visits in total!). Towards the end of October I got the car back (almost 3 months after buying it!), with a promise that the engine would be guaranteed for a year. Motorplan expired at the end of December in 2019. However, to this day I have not received documentation to confirm the engine guarantee. My complaints to BMW South Africa went unheard and only when I started mailing Mr Abbott himself, did I get a half-hearted response. My last mail to BMW RSA, was on the 11th of November 2019, but guess what.... For the guarantee to be valid, I have to have the car serviced at a BMW dealership. When I complained about this, I was told I could extend the motorplan for one year, at a cost of over R100 000. (Yip, those noughts are correct!).

Putting it in perspective, repairing the vehicle was a legal requirement under the contract of the Motorplan, which took several attempts and aroused significant frustration. However, 'walking the extra mile' is not something BMW would even consider.

To conclude, having read some of the bad reports for both BMW RSA and also BMW Menlyn, I don't even expect a response, but I thought it appropriate to warn fellow BMW loyalists that they should think very carefully before committing to the brand.

Clearly loyalty to a brand is a one-way street when it comes to BMW.

Dr Paul Nel