Bimmerfest - BMW Forums - View Single Post - Get missing dash pixels repaired by BMWNA (E39)

Charlutz · #72 12-08-2005, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coelacanth

I was told (by Jay at BMWNA) that my car is too old (1997 BMW 540i 6, produced September 1996), has too many miles on it (114K), and I'm not the original owner, so I would not be able to get a new cluster with BMWNA picking up 100% of the parts cost.

I asked Jay why other 1997 BMW owners had gotten their clusters replaced while only having to pay for an hour of labor. Over and over again, despite my best arguments he kept saying, "We look at this on a case by case basis". The guy is seriously like a broken record. No matter what I said, that was his answer.

Like worldtraveler said, it seems BMWNA isn't playing ball anymore. I got the same message from Jay at BMWNA. I talked to Jay twice, tried to negotiate. I was very nice but he just stone-walled. Why would I pay 50% of the part ($300) + an hour of labor ($125 at my dealer) = $425 when I can just get it repaired at www.vdorepair.com, which claims to have better then OEM parts for $199?

It's an economic decision for BMWNA. Likewise it's an economic decision for me to get their crappy cluster fixed elsewhere.

I haven't yet written a letter or anything, but maybe I should document the cases in which people with 1997 540s have gotten the part replaced and then make the case that they're discriminating against me.

My question for worldtraveler was because his post indicated he had gone through the dealer, not BMWNA. I know first hand that my dealer had no idea BMWNA was covering the cost of the part for these repairs until I told them about it. (My dealer also recently told me that the 2000 M5 xenons I have on my car couldn't be adjusted for height or windage -- then what are the big black adjustment knobs on the back of the headlight housings for?!?! Don't believe the dealer.) If you get stonewalled by BMWNA, then sure, ebay or a used cluster is a good option, but you have to try BMWNA first.

For your issue, you are being told some things that aren't true. Maybe they aren't paying for the cluster anymore, but the reasons you are getting -- too old, too many miles -- are inconsistent with others' experience. I didn't go back to your earlier posts. Have you tried getting in touch with Leonora again? We all have certain limits of patience to hunt down deals or free repairs. Up to you when you want to stop pushing, but I think I'd start back at the beginning, email Leonora again and try and get a straight answer.