I'm getting sick and tired of constantly taking my car back into the dealership for retarded electrical/software problems as well as a host of other issues. I just got my car back yesterday for problems related to the ignition switch and the window's anti-trap and today I just brought my car back in again for passenger airbags and seatbelts malfunction. Within the past 12 months I've taken my car in for service seven times. A recent issue that I had was that my car would reset itself while I'm driving; the gauge clusters would flicker off & then back on, and the i-drive would turn on and off followed by a series of malfunction lights going off (i.e. ABS lights, Brake lights, Service lights, etc...). Sometimes I would even lose active/power steering. I think all these problems warrant the lemon law right? Anyways, does someone hear have any experience/knowledge about the lemon law and what procedures I should take. I was told that dealerships will sometimes buy back the car from you and you could get most of your money back or you could possibly trade in your car for another one. please. I'm one unsatisfied BMW owner.

 

If you like the car, see of the dealer will do a buy back, which is basically where the dealer will buy your car back form you and give you a new one. Lemon law cases are messy and take long, they also cost a lot of money for a lawyer. The dealers dont lie to hear the word lemon law, and when they do a buy back the only people that get the short end are bmw, not the dealer. They really needed to have exhausted all posibilites to fix it. I had my car bought back after complaining for 3 months. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice... If you don't mind me asking, when the dealership bought your car back, did you get all of your money back and did you buy another car with the money or did you trade your car in for another one? Thanks!

 

Here's some good, reliable information on Lemon Laws in the US:

http://www.dr.bbb.org/autoline/

But keep in mind, to invoke the lemon law, you need the warranter (in this case the dealer/manufacturer) to attempt resolution for the same problem atleast 4 times (2 times for a serious non-conformity).

 

My car is leased and had 10000 miles on it at the time and 1 year into the lease. They gave me the exact same car but in a newer version 06 vs. 05 and brand new. I did not have to pay anything and have 2 years remaining on the lease.

 

I filed Lemon law in Texas and got the satisfaction of getting my car fixed. One of the criteria was that I was without the car for 30 days or more and the car was still not in satisfactory condition. That was the case for me. Of course, the dealer and BMW NA had an opportunity to fix it. A factory engineer came down and got everything running, and I have been a happy camper ever since. I was without my car for a total of 43 days during the fracas. I opted for replacement instead of buy back, but it never got that far.

 

Different states handle this differently. NY is 4 times in for the same issue. One thing that knocks a lot of owners out of utilizing the Lemon Laws is the fact that you might write off part or all of your BMW expenses against your income . The purpose of the LL is to protect individuals' cars for pleasure, not business. Those owners with their own businesses are out of luck.

 

Here's another lemon law resource
http://www.carlemon.com/lemons.html

 

A few years back I had the Ford dealer buy back my lemon Explorer, they would rather do it then go through the Lemon Law gaggle. Anyway, they paid me MSRP minus 8 cents (I think) per mile I had driven. I made out because I certainly did not pay MSRP. They then sold me another, which was part of the deal, at invoice. They made me happy and it was fair. Only drawback would of been if I didn't want another Ford...who know what would of happened then. May try something similiar if you want another BMW. Good luck!

 

You have a 2004 model, and its only been in the shop 7 times in 12 months?

Hell, mine's in there every three weeks. Think of it as a free car wash, and a way to take an X5 loaner on a 500 mile road trip.