[lapsi]

It looks like BMW provides bad service the world over.

Quoting:

"Destroying cars with sledgehammers to protest bad servicing is something we have seen twice before, both times in China. However, as we live in a globalized world, the trend seems to have caught on in other regions as well. Frankfurt Motor Show visitors that happened to be at the main entry of the exhibition on Saturday, September 14, at 3 pm, witnessed a similar scene.

Using a sledgehammer and an axe, the disgruntled owner of a previous-generation BMW M6 together with one of his friends, started smashing the performance car. Iranian-born businessman Pourmohseni Hadi bought the M6 new for €120,000 ($160,600) from a BMW dealer in Italy, but soon after that, he says the car experienced “serious technical problems.”

According to a report from German news daily Bild, Hadi complained about vibrations, rattling and severe jolts during gear changes, and had taken the car to BMW Italy service centers ten times, but the problems were not fixed. According to Pourmohseni, neither BMW Italy, nor BMW Germany wants to take responsibility for the alleged faults, so his only chance is to start a civil case against BMW Italy. However, that may take 7 to 10 years.

Until then, the man is determined to make some noise about his case. Following an unanswered letter sent to BMW headquarters, he decided to… publicly execute the M6 in Frankfurt. But that’s not all: he says he will repair the car and destroy it in front of Germany’s Bundestag (parliament) in Berlin, too!"

http://www.carscoops.com/2013/09/man...aults-and.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c7FzXygCG0

[eq24]

Great going, the best way to put sense into these corporations. I remember the fellow in Gurgaon passing fliers for his Superb. It left quite an impression with a lot of us.

I have been planning on doing the same with my Samsung plasma for quite some time. The telly developed a fault within an year and Samsung totally shirked their responsibility to fix it. Imagine paying over a lakh for a TV and the company does not even care.
I am saving to buy the new 4k Sony and once that is done I will take the plasma to their Noida HO and burn it outside. Let them pick up the pieces after that.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Slightly OT I think, but boy the body of that Bimmer is strong. Just notice the intensity of the blows on the front door and surprisingly the damage was not that much (specifically the front door).

But I agree somebody has to bring shame to the manufacturers for their mishandling of customers.

[el lobo 6061]

Here is another video of same said car getting towed with Frankfurt Motor Show banners visible behind in one of the scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh9a25GF8Cs

[mohitk1993]

Originally Posted by lapsi

"Destroying cars with sledgehammers to protest bad servicing is something we have seen twice before, both times in China. However, as we live in a globalized world, the trend seems to have caught on in other regions as well. Frankfurt Motor Show visitors that happened to be at the main entry of the exhibition on Saturday, September 14, at 3 pm, witnessed a similar scene.

Even though I sympathize for the poor man and the pain that he had to endure due to the malfunctioning car, I simply cannot understand this new concept of destroying the car to gather publicity. There are so many other ways to grab attention if that is what you want; you could put stickers on your car, proclaiming the unreliability; or distribute pamphlets (like that Superb guy did in India). Or, you could do something revolutionary, like that Chinese guy did by getting his Range Rover pulled by donkeys. But destroying a beauty that so many people aspire to own? Not cool, IMHO.

Also, don't you think this publicity stunt could have repercussions on his ongoing case against BMW? I mean, if I were BMW's lawyer, I could say that if the owner had the courage to destroy the car, he would have also mishandled it during its ownership which somewhat aggravated the car's condition.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by mohitk1993

But destroying a beauty that so many people aspire to own? Not cool, IMHO.

At the end of the day, you aspire to drive it, not just own
Part of the reason you spend astronomical sums for such machines is the stellar service and defect fixing you assume will be present.

[mohitk1993]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

At the end of the day, you aspire to drive it, not just own
Part of the reason you spend astronomical sums for such machines is the stellar service and defect fixing you assume will be present.

I totally understand that, my friend. It's just that resorting to violence in order to achieve your goal is not the only solution to problems in life. As I said earlier, there are so many other ways to humiliate the manufacturer and publicize the car's weakness. But by destroying the car, the owner has only ended up sending the wrong message that he is rich and has no regard for the car's worth, as long as it works. But then I guess, that is all that matters for some people.

[somitra1981]

Originally Posted by eq24

I have been planning on doing the same with my Samsung plasma for quite some time. The telly developed a fault within an year and Samsung totally shirked their responsibility to fix it. Imagine paying over a lakh for a TV and the company does not even care.
I am saving to buy the new 4k Sony and once that is done I will take the plasma to their Noida HO and burn it outside. Let them pick up the pieces after that.

+1 for Samsung. My wife's Galaxy S III's mother board (phone bought for a crazy 37k) went kaput exactly one day after the one year warranty period got over. The service people said sorry, nothing can be done as the warranty period was over. I was like, do you guys make things only to last till the warranty period.

No drops/falls, the battery just passed out on a long work day and never came alive.

Sequence of events:

-Warranty period got over on 07th August 2013
-Phone died on 08th August 2013
-I went to Samsung ASC on 09th August 2013
-Price paid for new mother board Rs 7,700 approx (which has a warranty of one month )

Interestingly even my wife's last phone Samsung Monte did'nt last long, touch screen display failed in the second year for no apparent reason.

Really not sure what to do when it comes to ASS in this country. The manufacturers and dealers are least bothered about you once the products have been pushed off the shelf. So it's always Caveat Emptor in India.

I wonder how many times can you be 100% sure to avoid getting stuck with a lemon or poor ASS. Thumb rule remains the more money you are putting in more worried you should be to smell the rat.

Originally Posted by mohitk1993

Also, don't you think this publicity stunt could have repercussions on his ongoing case against BMW? I mean, if I were BMW's lawyer, I could say that if the owner had the courage to destroy the car, he would have also mishandled it during its ownership which somewhat aggravated the car's condition.

Thats a good point. I think, BMW can complain about the owner mishandling his car, however defining the word "Mishandling" in automotives is difficult. Because they themselves advertize the car using keywords like "sports car", "680 BHP", "Top speed of 240MPH", etc. So i think, they cant withstand the acquisition they made against their customer.

The second being, the owner reported the problem to BMW HQ, located in other country & to Local Dealer. Plus he hasn't received any response from manufacturer (As per article). I think, the manufacturer would be held guilty. If BMW has responded and then the owner smashed, the customer could be questioned. But BMW didnt respond, so it should be BMW's fault because he cant go and ask Merc !!

The third being, he reported the problems to local dealer ~10 times. It means, the customer is responsible enough to get all problems fixed. But BMW isnt towards its service & produts. Point 2 adds significant value to this.

The fouth, could be The owner isnt a mango man. Remember, he bought a 160K $ car. So he could/might influence local authorities too.

Lets see how it works out for both. I think for sure that, it would be an off court settlement?