they said TCU needed replacement but admitted they were able to sense it was on and ran a diagnostic on it with no faults, however it would not accept MDN or MIN numbers written to it.

they also told me it was impossible to source them with a TCU i purchased somewhere else, like ebay, and code it into the car. they said only TCU's from BMW would work.....

 

Are you going to go ahead and replace the TCU then? Did they quote you how much it costs?

 

I would love to but there is a principle limit on any given non-essential repair operation, in my mind.

they wanted $1070 OTD considering I had already spent some labor. it was like $499 plus $570 coding time....

that is a lot in my mind. thoughts?

 

While I certainly understand and share your perspective on non-essential repairs. I think BMW Assist is an essential element of any car so-equipped. I can't tell you how many times it has come in handy for me. The convenience package alone is worth the repair cost and that's not counting the safety package.

If it's a car you plan to keep for a while then spending $1,100 to restore a very important element of her capabilities is a no-brainer if you ask me. Think of it this way, if you spend the money, a year from now you probably won't be missing the $1,100 and you'll be glad you have the service.

 

Can you talk to the service manager at the second dealer to get your $140 refunded since they failed to fix the problem? How about going back to the dealer where you bought the car to have them cover the $1070? How long ago did you purchase the car?

I bought my E60 last week and the process was quite simple. The sales typed something up on his computer to activate my BMW Assist Safety Plan and on the drive home, I pressed the SOS button to activate the service (giving my phone #, etc)

 

Ask the dealer, if they went to a restaurant and the cook failed to cook their steak the way they wanted and gave them no steak, would they pay their bill? Asking $140 for a service they did not provide is at best preposterous and at worst criminal. I would take that up with both the manager and BMW NA. If you are a member of BMW CCA, call your club ombudsman and ask him/her to mediate on your behalf. I would not use this dealer again if my life depended on it.

As for the BMW assist, beside the fact that it automatically calls for help when something happens, what else would justify the $1,000+ expense plus membership? I mean, if you have a good smartphone, you could do anything the BMW Assist does for you and probably free.

How many fatal or nearly fatal accidents do you plan to be in? Based on my driving and accident history I have zero instances in more than 35 years of driving that I needed such emergency button. In the 35 plus years, I have needed the services of a tow truck exactly four times, all handled by one payphone and three cell phones. Now I hear that BMW will charge for the traffic info when the new car warranty expires. Do you know why they can get away with it? Because people will pay for it instead of demanding it or else they buy another brand.

Anyway, good luck to the OP. I don't see spending that kind of money with my track record, but if it buys you peace of mind, then go for it.

 

I couldn't agree less. My car kept giving me a "SOS Error" message and I coded the option off.

Why is this an essential service? How many cars are driven on the road without it? I've needed roadside assistance about three times in the last 25-years. You have a cell phone, right?

The car is 9-years old worth about $10k and believe me, you'll want that $1,000 bucks for a real repair.

 

While I agree having something like SOS in the instance of a incapacitating accident is important... especially for one of our wives, it is not quite in our budget at the moment. we are post grad mid twenties professionals and to earn our educations spent close to 225k which means we spend half our income paying down our student loans alone each month, over 2k. I wish i had the disposable income to do this, but truth be told, I have to put a principle limit on the repairs that don't make the car go forward any better.

I do not for a second devalue in anyway the life saving capability of SOS, since 99% of our driving is in highly populated areas, I will have to rely for the time being on having a bystander nearby or the other person in the accident to call 911 in the event that anyone driving the vehicle is incapacitated by said forces.