[Turbanator]

As many members may have noticed, we as a corporate own multiple BMW's and I have been an active supporter of BMW and had been recommending their cars over anything else within my company, immediate circle and here, primarily due to the way they have handled service or warranty issues on the cars we own. Many other members have similar positive experiences here as well besides the overall Joy it brings to we petrolheads.

In what probably maybe be a new low for any Automotive manufacturer, BMW India has not approved a battery change on our 4-month-old Brand new 730-D and we have to pay for a new battery and labor charges despite having a 3 year warranty and a complete maintenance package.

Background:

Sometime in the month of August/ September, we were offered a lucrative deal ( at that time) by Gurgaon Dealership Bird Automotive on a 2016 Manufactured Carbon Black 730-D-M variant. I was looking for a change of my older 730-D and we closed the deal and picked the car in the third week of September. Delivery experience was worst than probably a 2 wheeler delivery but being used to picking multiple cars for my company, it was never an occasion but it did feel bad. Sales Advisor had to request the cleaner to click delivery photographs on his cellphone. Before delivery, I had particularly asked the dealership to change Oil, Filter and other consumables as the car was at the factory for almost a Year which they had agreed. Unfortunately, they did not change anything and simply reset the idrive which showed up next service as Sep 2018. I was quite furious and the workshop in charge at Bird Auto will give reasons like nothing happens to oil when the engine is not run and all that. I sent off a mail to BMW India to get involved and ask the dealership to change Oils and reset idrive. At that time I also asked BMW to change Battery proactively as Kit for this particular VIN was of March and given my low usage, it's possible that my battery won't give usual 3 years or so life that we normally get on other cars. After multiple reminders, they instructed Bird to change the Oil but wrote to me that it won't be necessary to change the battery as they take care at the plant and have a charging system in place, though hard to believe but I agreed.

Now, coming to present day, I was away from Car for a couple of weeks ( 4-5) and this Monday, when I tried to unlock the car, it won't open. The local dealership at Chandigarh got the Display Fob picked up from my home for a check but there was no fault with it and asked me to get the regular key to unlock car manually which I got from my Gurgaon office next day but it didn't work either. The local dealership offered to get the car picked and gave a reason of non-usage for a possible discharge. I can understand battery getting discharged in few weeks on a 3-year-old car but not on a 4-month car.

I contacted BMW India on Tuesday, addressing to the same guy who had previously replied, to look into this and authorise a battery change immediately as I had apprehensions on the condition of the battery from the start. They keep mum and my car was sitting in the driveway dead. I waited for an answer next day but nothing, next I address the reminder to GM- Bird Automotive to get involved and help, still nothing,

Today Morning, I took help of local dealership at Chandigarh and got my car started with service battery they carry and then I left the car at the dealership for diagnostics. At evening, they tell me their inability to deliver car today as the Battery is beyond Service but they don't have an approval from BMW and given the long weekend ahead it can take a while. As per local dealership, they asked BMW India multiple times but have not got approval. Now what should be a standard simple warranty claim, they are unable to change the battery on my car until BMW India gives them a go-ahead. Finally, at around 6 30 in evening, I give them the go-ahead to change the battery at my costs.

My car was delivered a while back after Chandigarh dealership raised an invoice for new battery and service charges for replacement.

It's not about the money but the attitude of BMW India support and the Sales Staff at Bird Automotive Gurgaon, I am feeling so bad for my past patronage to such a brand who give a hoot to customers, wonder what rights we as a customer have in this country and it's probably due to our weak laws and the time it takes to get justice that manufacturers can take us for a ride.

Conclusions:

1. Manufacturers, MNC, in particular, behave differently if, under an Indian Leadership, it's definitely not the same BMW we were used to in past.

2. Anyone picking a car with Old Kit or Manufacturing must ask for an Oil Change and a Battery Change before making the payment especially if the Car is of BMW.

3. Bird Automotive officials are least bothered to answer mail or phone calls, the same very guys who will call you at all hours will not even pick your phone calls even if you are stranded, better ignore their deals and pay little extra to someone else who at least can escalate or fight on your behalf with manufacturer.




Complete chain of E-Mails with BMW India and Bird Automobile and Battery + Service Invoice from Chandigarh Dealership

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From: Singh <ra.com>
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 12:53 PM
To: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>, "vidhan.choubey@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <vidhan.choubey@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "anita.raghav@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <anita.raghav@bmw-birdautomotive.in>
Cc: "sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "gurvinder.dhindsa@bmw-krishnaautomobiles.in" <gurvinder.dhindsa@bmw-krishnaautomobiles.in>, Vikramjeet Singh <vikramjeet.singh@bmw-birdautomotive.in>
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld:: Dead Battery :: Car cannot be even unlocked

Dear Mr. Choubey,

Unfortunately, I am not getting any answer from your colleagues / BMW India on this issue of a Battery change. Our 4-month old car is lying struck on driveway at Chandigarh as we cannot even open the car as the battery appears Flat.

We have reserved apprehensions on the state of Battery of 18-month Old Kit at time of purchase itself. Please ask someone to authorize a change of batter immediately.

With Regards

Singh

From: Singh <ra.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 5:57 PM
To: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Cc: "sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "gurvinder.dhindsa@bmw-krishnaautomobiles.in" <gurvinder.dhindsa@bmw-krishnaautomobiles.in>
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld:: Dead Battery

Dear Mr. Joshi,

So, it appears whatever you told me was incorrect, I was away for couple of weeks and now my Car will not start, this is into less than 4 months of ownership.

Your Chandigarh Dealership is getting my Car picked tomorrow, I want you to get battery changed without any more reasoning.

With Regards

Singh


From: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at 4:53 PM
To: Singh <ra.com>
Cc: "sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in>
Subject: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Mr. Singh,

This is in continuation to your email below.

We have checked the matter with our technical team who in-turn have checked the PDI data of your BMW. We wish to inform you that the battery charging schedule is strictly followed at BMW Plant in Chennai. In your case as well, the PDI report does not indicate any error messages pertaining to discharged battery/low battery from the time of production till PDI. This indicates that the battery condition was good at the time of delivery to you and does not require any replacement as of now. Your dealer will again check the health of the battery whenever the car reports to workshop for engine oil replacement.

We do understand your apprehensions, however, as assured you during our conversation yesterday, should there be an issue, we will do our utmost to assist you.

We hope the above clarifies the matter. In case of any further open points please feel free to contact us or your BMW dealer.

With kind regards,
Rajeev Joshi
BMW India Customer Support


From: Singh <ra.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 18:58
To: Contact.india
Cc: sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in; shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Mr. Joshi,

Thanks for your reply, I will coordinate with Dealership. My concerns on battery were due to the lapsed time of around 18 months during which period car was not driven and there is no way to check at what intervals this was charged at your factory. In case this was lying disconnected, then also I lose a year & half of its expected life of around 3 years or so.

Perhaps it will be better if you can authorize a change in battery at this time as well to prevent any issues at later date. Given the number of vehicles I own, it's possible that my running won't be much. I am ok with life of around 3 years or so which I would have surely got irrespective of my driving profile if the battery was new but the same cannot be confirmed for 18 month old battery ( going by manufacturing date of Kit on this VIN as March 2016 )

With Regards

Singh

From: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 6:45 PM
To: Singh <ra@.com>
Cc: "shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <shariq.zubair@bmw-birdautomotive.in>, "sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in" <sunil.chauhan@bmw-birdautomotive.in>
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Mr. Singh,

This is in continuation to your email below, your post on social media website and your subsequent telephonic conversation with the undersigned earlier today. We thank you for the courtesy extended during the call.

As discussed during the call, once the vehicle reports to the workshop, the dealer shall:

1) Replace engine oil and oil filter.
2) Replace the brake fluid.
3) Check the condition of the battery and confirm if a replacement is required or not. As informed, the life of the battery largely depends on the driving profile. For e.g. - too many short trips or long parking periods may result in pre-mature failure of battery. In such a situation, the battery is not covered under the purview of warranty, however, if it is found that the battery has a manufacturing defect, the same shall be replaced as per warranty terms and conditions.

Please be assured that customer satisfaction is of prime importance to us and it is always our endeavor to attain the same. Thank you for bringing the matter to our notice and giving us an opportunity to look into the same.

We once again apologize for the delay in reverting. In case of any further outstanding issues, please feel free to contact us or your BMW dealer directly and we shall be glad to assist you.

@ Shariq - We discussed this topic. Please coordinate with Mr. Singh for scheduling an appointment for carrying out the aforementioned jobs.

With kind regards,
Rajeev Joshi
BMW India Customer Support


From: Singh <ra@.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 14:22
To: Contact.india
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld

Regret for the silence, no one is bothered to address a small but very important issue which can affect my Car badly in future. In the past 7-8 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed owning BMW cars but it appears things are changing for worst.

Anyways, let me take some public opinion on the issue since you have not bothered to answer and see what options are available.

With Regards

Singh

From: Singh <ra@.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 11:51 AM
To: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Cc: "contact@bmw.com" <contact@bmw.com>
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Sir or Madam,

Hope my queries are not that difficult to answer? It's been a fortnight since my original concerns were shared with you.

You gave me a One Year old manufactured car with Old oils and your dealer will simply reset idrive to current date?? Is there any possible justifications to save couple of thousands and ruin the car in long run???


With Regards

Singh

From: Singh <ra@com>
Date: Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 11:22 PM
To: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Subject: Re: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Mr. Joshi,

I have got a call back from my Dealer - Bird to bring the car for an Oil change. I need to know, what all lubes and oils needs to be changed at this time given the fact that car was manufactured a Year ago. Also, the consumables which will get due change say in 3 years, like the brake fluids, are now being set for a change starting 3 years from 2017 and not 2016, can this be still fixed by changing at Dealership level? And the battery, even though its covered under BSI for 3 Years, I believe I have lost 1 year already. So, can you let me know what all things will you recommend to get changed and will it not be appropriate for dealers to do such changes proactively given the high costs of the vehicles and the relatively lower service costs to replace.

With Regards

Singh


From: "Contact.india@bmw.in" <Contact.india@bmw.in>
Date: Friday, October 6, 2017 at 8:13 AM
To: Singh <ra@com>
Subject: Your BMW 730Ld

Dear Mr. Singh,

We acknowledge the receipt of your email and are in the process of consulting the matter with your BMW Authorised dealer, Bird Automotive. Please allow us sometime to revert to you with our feedback on the matter.

Request your patience and understanding in the meantime.

With kind regards,
Rajeev Joshi
BMW India Customer Support


From: Singh <ra@.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 20:42
To: Contact.india
Subject: Missing Oil & Lubricant Changes on new 730-LD manufactured in September 2016:: VIN - WBA7G47010G358994

Dear Sir or Madam,

We took delivery of a Brand new 730-D from your Gurgaon dealership - Bird as per enclosed Invoice last week. This car was manufactured in Sept 2016 and was delivered with 13 Km ODO reading.

Now as per BMW India service schedule, Engine oils must be changed after 12 months and same holds true for other fluids like brake oil etc at other regular intervals. Now ideally your dealership should have changed the fluids before delivery during PDI given the lapsed time since the car was manufactured but unfortunately, they have merely reset everything and now my service will get due after 12 months which technically is not correct. Oil even if stored in an engine which is run only briefly must be changed as per due date and same holds good for the other fluids which are time based.

Can you please look into this matter and advise if I am missing anything or interpreting wrongly?

Regards

Singh

[GT3]

This is totally unacceptable and not the way to treat a customer, that too a BMW patron. Post this on social media and let the news spread. Most probably they would correct their mistake due to the spreading bad publicity.

[hema4saran]

This is appalling behavior of Bird automotive and BMW India. First of all the battery should not die within four months of ownership. They should have honored the warranty and replaced the battery free of cost as you have already written them about the issue you might face with Battery when you took delivery.

Atleast Bird automotive should have changed the battery on a goodwill towards the customer who spent almost 1cr to get this car. With this kind of service experience to one of their great supporter and repeat customer, BMW's reputation will go for a toss.

Let us hope they will come back with an apology and a refund.

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by GT3

This is totally unacceptable and not the way to treat a customer, that too a BMW patron. Post this on social media and let the news spread. Most probably they would correct their mistake due to the spreading bad publicity.

All I can say is that I feel your pain. It is not about money at all. It is about the patronage being let down by a brand you supported so long.

Better late than never. Let this be your last BMW. I have heard so many horror stories of BMW from my colleagues (many of them - actually) that I am not even a remote prospect for them in this life time. And, trust me, yours is perhaps a smaller issue that could have been handled better. Each time I see a flatbed coming in to my residential complex, I know it is for a BMW and I have never been wrong at that.

Hope you get a resolution. If not, at least I hope you will not buy one again. Not in India. As you rightly said, is is their Indian arm which is maligning otherwise a perfect brand and a gorgeous set of well engineered products.

[H_Dogg72]

Horrendous.
I thought I faced a crappy experience into getting VW to change the battery of my mom's Ameo when it was only 1 month old.
This cheap behavior by these luxuries brands is disgusting.
I hope the top bosses at BMW take notice of this incident. But to be honest, who knows how many other customers must have faced the same.

[Mad Max]

The fact that you own multiple BMWs and you're a proponent of the brand itself should impress upon BMW to make you a brand ambassador. Shameful that they are penny wise and pound foolish in this. Hope you get your issues resolved without paying.

Have you tweeted / linked on FB? Social media nowadays seems to be a powerful (albeit an annoying) tool for such incidents.

P.S. - i say annoying because there's no control over the expiry of such messages. I get old messages / videos of how something happened but as if it was done the day before.

[V12Doc]

BMW's Punjab dealerships have a very bad reputation when it comes to dealing with customers. One of the reasons I didn't get the X5. On my 6 month old GLS, there was a problem with alloy and steering wheel wear was too much for a 8 month old car, so got warranty replacement for both. Parts did take some time to arrive, but their representative has been excellent in dealing with everything.

[Thermodynamics]

Disappointing to see the attitude of them towards loyal customers. It is a second thread on BMW this week in a negative shade. I wish somebody at the top management realises the reputation loss caused by petty, easily resolvable issues.

@Turbanator, generally these days batteries come with at least three years warranty. I guess, in your case it might be less than two years. Is it not possible to claim warranty from the battery manufacturer? I mean, can BMW or dealer claim that on behalf of you ?

[Axe77]

Its amazing how they write completely unhelpful emails and almost on auto pilot end with words like - be rest assured customer satisfaction is paramount ... blah blah blah.

Customer service is clearly not a priority if you are completely unwilling to recognize this could be because of passage of time of the car (and battery) before the sale!

[Sankar]

I feel your pain. Spending for a battery wouldnt be a problem for someone who owns a BMW but rather it is the lack of service and the denial of what should be rightfully done that infuriates you.

This is why I dont want to go for certain brands no matter how good the car is because of such attitude from top down.

[souvik25]

From top notch luxury automobile brands like BMW this is the last thing to expect.
In India the challenge is not to buy these luxury cars but to get proper after sales service even if I ignore bombshell of a price to pay for maintenance.

[Santoshbhat]

In your case..

• It's the 730d, their flagship model
• The car is less than 4 months old
• You are a brand loyal customer

If any of the one conditions is satisfied, they should replace the battery under warranty no questions asked. Here it's not one but all three together and still they treat you like this?!! Someone needs to teach them a thing or two about customer relations. It's not like you are asking them to replace the car or any major component. This is how you lose customers!!

[AShubrah]

It’s funny how brands say that customer satisfaction is paramount, luring the chap into buying a great car, and then take that very same customer for a joyride by giving them pathetic service, making the customer regret endowing their trust in the brand as a whole, swearing to never come back to it, even though their product is top notch.

I’m not saying that BMW as a brand is incompetent, even though that is what we can see in Turbanator Sir’s case, but I can assure all fellow BHPians that BMW is simply handing over dealerships to every Tom, Dick & Harry that has capital & real estate to open up one, without even doing a background check on how their past record has been.

You might be selling a great car, but if this is how a BMW loyalist is being treated, then I’m happy to take my business to other brands out there that will take care of me, at least when I’m not at fault.

[Vid6639]

Penny wise pound foolish as they. The battery cost is 45K all inclusive. For a 4month old nearly 1 crore car this should not even need approval.

These luxury brands have really stopped caring cause they know we will buy just for the brand alone.

I hope Lexus starts getting more aggressive and teaches these guys a lesson.

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by AShubrah

It’s funny how brands say that customer satisfaction is paramount, luring the chap into buying a great car, and then take that very same customer for a joyride by giving them pathetic service, making the customer regret endowing their trust in the brand as a whole, swearing to never come back to it, even though their product is top notch.

I’m not saying that BMW as a brand is incompetent, even though that is what we can see in Turbanator Sir’s case, but I can assure all fellow BHPians that BMW is simply handing over dealerships to every Tom, Dick & Harry that has capital & real estate to open up one, without even doing a background check on how their past record has been.

You might be selling a great car, but if this is how a BMW loyalist is being treated, then I’m happy to take my business to other brands out there that will take care of me, at least when I’m not at fault.

Exactly my point, considering Turbanator paaji is a loyal customer they should at least consider this as a goodwill gesture towards a loyal customer. I believe they don’t have any standardised procedure to handle such cases as I have seen similar situations handled differently. And talking of other brands, my first Jaguar which is a XF, less than a year old happened to give me small issues of vibrations for which I contacted JLR India. They forwarded the matter to their regional technical head of Western region who was very very prompt and did all that he could to satisfy me as a customer - they did a thorough checkup including compression check, replaced the mounts and offered me a test drive of at least 5 different cars to convince me that it was normal. All this within 72 hours of sending the car. Issue is secondary but I really felt good by such a gesture and really hope anyone who spends near a crore on a car should get similar or better response.