[GTO]

BMW announces the launch of ‘BMW Secure Assistance’ (road side assistance) across India.

A specially-equipped fleet of 17 BMW X3 Customer Service Vehicles (CSV) across the country will provide roadside assistance to BMW owners in need of help. The fleet carries professional equipment to enable the BMW technician to diagnose & solve issues.

To avoid dangerous situations while working next to moving traffic, the CSV wears reflective warning decals around the car. The X3s have been designed to provide transport for up to 3 people, should they be required to leave the breakdown site.

BMW India runs a training program for Dealer staff on the technical, functional and operational usage of these vehicles. BMW India is currently working with Allianz Global Assistance (AGA) to ensure customers are provided suitable assistance in the event of a breakdown. Under Secure Assistance, AGA will continue to coordinate and monitor the breakdown situation between the customer, dealer and other relevant parties.

[latentpotential]

I am sure that there will be a cost, and a substantial one at that. At the same time, looking at the BMW threads, what will this team do other than provide spare gas and fix tyres? Most of the time perhaps they will coordinate for flatbeds.

P.S. Where can we get that awesome looking toolkit with drawer?

[wantarangerover]

How do 17 cars provide assistance to the 'whole' nation? It would me more like catering to some select cities. And the cost would be stratospheric I suppose.

[suman]

About time they used their own vehicles as opposed to using Boleros etc (I still laugh about the fact that a Bolero Storm came to try & start up my X1 when the battery died last year)! However, I guess this would translate to maybe one car per dealership/workshop helpline only - definitely a start but nowhere near enough.

[Vid6639]

I would have gone with Innova's. What happens if the X3 is going to service a car out on the highway that has broken down and develops a puncture. Will they have a spare on board for the CSV as well as the customer car.

[suman]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What happens if the X3 is going to service a car out on the highway that has broken down and develops a puncture. Will they have a spare on board for the CSV as well as the customer car.

They normally have tyre inflators on board the demo cars so I guess they'll just pump air in and keep going if its just a puncture

And the customer car is expected to keep going on its runflats if its developed a cut or a tear

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by suman

They normally have tyre inflators on board the demo cars so I guess they'll just pump air in and keep going if its just a puncture

And the customer car is expected to keep going on its runflats if its developed a cut or a tear

Yeah but only for a short distance right? Say you are 200kms away from a BMW dealership. Will the RFT's work for that distance? I remember only 80kms.

[suman]

There are varying opinions on this - BMW talk about a distance of 150kms at reduced speeds (http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...lat_tyres.html), I remember Bridgestone talking about 80kms or so.

[highonwheelz]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Yeah but only for a short distance right? Say you are 200kms away from a BMW dealership. Will the RFT's work for that distance? I remember only 80kms.

Roadside Assistance programs given by automotive companies generally limit the coverage to, say, 50 or so kms from the city center/the dealership. Even if BMW is willing to cater "across the country", with the kind of network of dealerships they have, response time will be upwards of 6-7 hours!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by wantarangerover

How do 17 cars provide assistance to the 'whole' nation? It would me more like catering to some select cities.

The 17 top cities & towns would easily cover 75% of BMW owners out there.

Originally Posted by suman

There are varying opinions on this - BMW talk about a distance of 150kms at reduced speeds

I H-A-T-E runflats! Completely unsuited to India. At best, they are complimentary to a real spare tyre, but certainly not a replacement (for a spare).

Originally Posted by GTO

A major downside is the absence of a spare tyre. Not only that, but there isn’t room for a spare in the boot either (the E60’s boot could accommodate a space-saver tyre). Good luck if you have a flat tyre mid-way to Goa (with Bombay & Goa, both, 300 kms on either side). The maximum distance that you can drive on a runflat puncture is either 240 kms (Driver + 1 passenger), 145 kms (Driver + 3 passengers) or 48 kms (Driver + 4 passengers + luggage). All of this at a maximum speed of 80 kph. I’d much rather pull over and change to a spare in 10 minutes. To add to that, if you drive the stipulated distance on a flat tyre, you will need to replace it. Cost = Upward of Rs. 20,000 each. Click here to view an interesting discussion on runflats.