Hormazd

Actually the sales manager emphatically told me there would be no BT available for my car and told me to put in the CPT solution if I wanted an I-drive integrated phone. Had I listened to him then I could sue BMW since my pocket book got hurt when they made a retofit available.

pbarch1

Jimbo I agree, Mine is a 10/03 build as well. While the Bluetooth function for me was not a sales breaker it was important. Here in California you are supposed to be calling hands free while the car is moving. While there are plenty of alternatives to hands free at the time I bought my 5er' I thought this (Bluetooth) would be a wonderful alternative to a crappy mic and headset offered thru my wireless provider. That being said, I was mislead to believe that Bluetooth would be functioning in my car as soon as BMW resolved the software issue. And to date this is clearly not the case. Now I love my car, and it is my first new BMW, however as time goes by and my frustration grows it makes me believe that it will also be my last new BMW. I know that is sad, a little realistic information from BMWNA would really go a long way right now.

Hormazd

Jimbo I agree, Mine is a 10/03 build as well. While the Bluetooth function for me was not a sales breaker it was important. Here in California you are supposed to be calling hands free while the car is moving. While there are plenty of alternatives to hands free at the time I bought my 5er' I thought this (Bluetooth) would be a wonderful alternative to a crappy mic and headset offered thru my wireless provider. That being said, I was mislead to believe that Bluetooth would be functioning in my car as soon as BMW resolved the software issue. And to date this is clearly not the case. Now I love my car, and it is my first new BMW, however as time goes by and my frustration grows it makes me believe that it will also be my last new BMW. I know that is sad, a little realistic information from BMWNA would really go a long way right now.
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OK, Now I am changing my position somewhat. If a bunch of you early build guys had this representation made to you that BT would be an option made available for you, then dig up the literature from BMW that makes this promise. Then you have a case. MB exchanged cars to provide NAV that was promised in writing but could not be delivered. AFAIK there is no such communice, but if you find it.....Go for it!

dfndr

Back in December of 2003 and January of 2004, when I was talking to my salesman about trading my 2001 540i and ordering a 2004 545i 6sp (sport package included), he told me that the new car would have several new features such as active steering, directional headlights and Bluetooth functionality. He explained each of those technologies in some detail. All were new to me.

Some of you have opined that BMW had no role in these representations, but how do you know that? Where did the dealer get the information about Bluetooth? Does any one participating in this forum have copies of the communications that BMW provided to its dealers regarding the Bluetooth technology? Some have mentioned internal memos. Those of us who went for the so-called "early build" 2004s would be interested in knowing whether the statements about Bluetooth capability originated from the manufacturer or the dealer.

The inclusion of Bluetooth was a factor in my decision to order a manual transmission. Currently, I am using a headset with a wire that runs to my phone. The wire tends to lay on or wrap around the shifter.

I don't think the early-build purchasers should be required to pay $2000 to get a feature that was promised as standard. Obviously, some purchasers did not receive this promise, but it appears that they were not told that they should defer their purchases if they wished to have Bluetooth. I am not looking for a protracted legal battle or a pot of money. Does anyone think BMW would respond favorably to a joint request to make this right? Shouldn't BMW make a reasonable effort to educate dealers so they can tell us what our cars need and which phones will work? Why should we be required to sort this out on our own?

kscarrol

I agree dfndr, that is the issue. If BMW AG indicated that it was to be available, and that is where the sales people got the information, then yes BMW has a problem on its hands. As I have said before, I still have the 5 series brochure that I was given in December 2003 when I was ordering my car. No where in that brochure, which listed all standard and optional equipment available on the E60 (US spec), was BT mentioned.

Now clearly there are a lot of folks here who were told something else by sales people. The key is were the sales people jumping the gun, saying the cars would have BT eventually, when in fact BMW had not formally announced any plans (or more likely a date by which the bugs would be worked out) to offer BT. Or had BMW informed the dealer network that BT would be available as of some certain date and then couldn't deliver. I don't think anybody knows for sure at this point.

Jimbo

The owner/dealer/manufacturer is responsible for acts of their agents, including false statements. That's Basic Law 101.

I would be an unpatriotic American not to pursue legal remedies for wrongs committed against me. Better than the wild west where everyone carried a gun and much justice was dispensed with ropes and bullets.

Actually asking others not to pursue legal remedies is part of the Republican fascist political method that is attempting to wrest control of your destiny and substitute it for the decisons of a few in the central government.

See (study) this link.

(sorry for the hijack...it was definitely called for)

Hormazd

No comment!

kscarrol

"Actually asking others not to pursue legal remedies is part of the Republican fascist political method that is attempting to wrest control of your destiny and substitute it for the decisons of a few in the central government."

Cute Jimbo. I don't recall anyone asking you not to pursue legal remedies, more of a suggestion that there may not be a case. And yes the sales person is an agent of the company, but I think to win a case, you'd have to prove that the agent was acting in good faith on some information provided by BMW, not just being a typical sales person, telling you what you want to hear to close a sale. I'm not saying there is not a case, but that we simply don't have any facts, one way or the other.

I'd be curious about this. BT was never an issue for me so I certainly did not bring it up while talking to my salesman during the ordering process. For you guys who were wrongly promised BT functionality, did you ask about BT first? Did the sales person jump on this and say yes, it will have BT, not knowing how long it would take father BMW to actually get it working?

dfndr

In my case the salesman brought up Bluetooth; I had never heard of it.

An oral misrepresentation is no less actionable than a written misrepresentation. The difference is that an alleged oral misrepresentation can be denied in which case the fact-finder decides whether or not it was made. Written misrepresentations are easier to prove, but are much less common. One way of proving a verbal misrepresentation is to call several people that heard it.

kscarrol

thx dfndr. The one business law class I took years ago did manage to teach me that an oral contract is just as binding as a written one. It will be interesting to watch this play out, along with the crash test mods issue!