[turbotime]

Hey Guys,

Uhg what a day I've had. So I took in my 03 m3 to VOB BMW in Rockville, MD:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ci...72&spn=0,0&z=4

I NEVER take my car to the dealership cause I have always thought they were shady and this experience just reinforces my worst fears. I took the car in for recall campaign 08E-A03 to address a premature SES light related to the emissions controls (getting car inspected soon, so had to get this fixed). Dropped the car off and everything was fine, rear view mirror was perfectly operational, no bubbles, cracks, leaks, or otherwise.

I dropped the car off around 10am, and they had completed the service by 3:30pm. I had my girl drive me to pickup the car and everything seemed fine- the SES light had been fixed. But as soon as I pulled out of the lot and checked my rearview, I noticed a giant light spot in it that definitely wasn't there before. I was like what the hell- so I pull a U and head back to the dealer to ask them what had happened.

I explained to the them that the rear view was pristine when I dropped it off, and now there was this huge light spot in it? They told me that it must have been there when I dropped it off and the service I had done would not require anyone to even touch the rearview. I explained to them that while I understand that the service may not have had anything to do with the rearview- the seats, and all mirrors had been adjusted, so clearly someone had touched the rearview mirror and now it had a large defect in it (almost like someone had pressed their thumb against it very hard). Then the dealer tried to imply that I was attempting to pull one over on them (which left me speechless) saying how this was the first time I had ever come to them and that I had come in for free recall work and now I was trying to get them to fix something they hadn't caused. I didn't even know what to say to that- to go to a dealership for recall work, have damage done to my car, and then have them accuse me of lying about it left me simply without words.

The manager of the dealership refused to help. He said they could happily replace the rearview and charge me for it, but refused to accept responsiblity for the damage. I asked him to please just DOCUMENT the incident and he refused. I find it hard to believe that coincidentally in the few hours it was on their lot that it just "broke by itself". The manager told me that it looked like the seal had gone bad and that "it just happens sometimes, especially when its hot out". I could tell I would receive no help at the dealership, as the manager and some desk jockeys started ganging up on me telling me how it was a defect and that its a common problem and there is "no way they could have caused it". Even though i maintained a civil tone the manager was now telling at me. I told him I was astounded that this is how they treated customers and got in my car and left- he continued hollering at me as I drove off the lot.

Normally I would not give a rats ass about this- but there is something to be said about getting a proactive notice in the mail to take your car to a dealership for service, just to incur more bills and damage as a result of that service visit.

Is there anything I can do to take this to the next level? I was going to call BMW NA to see what they could do, but wanted to gather some opinions here first... This rearview mirror thing is like $400 and I am going to need it to pass safety inspection, it really sucks that I go in to fix one inspection obstacle just to leave with a new one.

Here is a pic of the rearview after I got the car back, it was NOT like this when I dropped it off (it looked normal, one solid, undistorted tint), now this:


Please help!

[Foo2rama]

Odds are it was not the dealership, that is a really common failure... There are threads and a 3rd party recall on this.

[opey]

unless they switched out your mirror with a bad one, theres no way they could actually damage it

[JoaiM3]

Search.. my mirror did this too but the dealer replaced it under warranty. Very common problem and I have read from other threads that parking the car outside under hot weather can cause these failures.

[Six]

The mirror in my e46 had the same problem, at the time there was a thread going around for a company who was fixing them for like $60. I sent in my mirror and they sent me a working one.

But like every one says it's a common problem, but you should have taken Ur car to tischer IMO.

[turbotime]

Hey thanks guys, just seems absurdly coincidental it has stood up to plenty a 90F day and then in the few hours it was on the dealer lot somehow went bad- be it by them doing something to it or, i guess they just parked it somewhere very hot? Still pretty lame it happened under their care and I'm left to foot the bill.

I'll search around and see if I can find some recall info or something, is it worth replacing? Better put- will the new one break the same way or is there a better 3rd party rearview to pickup that isn't prone to this failure? $400 for a rearview ain't cheap, so I'd like to make sure its the last one I have to buy.

Thanks

[turbotime]

@Six yeah I know Tischer is the best they were just a lil too far for me today, even if the dealer doesn't cover it they could have handled the situation 100% more amicably than the manner in which they did. Can't believe they are still in biz...

[daytonaviolet]

yes.. its a common problem that these m3 mirrors will eventually go bad. but keep in mind that the OP had a pristine OVAL mirror... which is somewhat rare.

i believe, someone at the dealership swapped out the pristine oval mirror with a damage one. if this is the case, it will be very difficult to prove. but i know this happens because i've seen/heard it done before. shady stuff goes on at dealerships.

[Str8///Left]

nah....i think the whoever programmed the vehicle forgot to remove the fuse for
the rear view mirror. the rear view mirror must be deactivated prior to programming,
otherwise permanent failure may result.

[yaja23]

I've had this happen as well when I went to the dealer for the emissions recall. Next day, rearview mirror went out. I remember a few other threads where this happened to users who had the recall done. The dealerships should be sued. People always think its coincidence, but it's not.