# BMW Bluetooth Boycott



## pharding (Mar 14, 2004)

I was set to order a $65k 545i early next week and take European Delievery on June 23. I am a repeat customer and I am disgusted by BMW's Bluetooth/BMW Assist fiasco. BMW has botched this issue big time. Why not learn from the Audi 5000 disaster and listen to loyal US Customers? Many of us are repeat buyers of expensive BMW automobiles. On this BT issue BMW has made the following mistakes: 1. Poor communication with it's loyal customer base. 2. Inept electronic engineering on a feature that is important to many repeat US customers. 3. Failure to solve a serious problem in a timely manner, once the problem is identified. In this country engineers work OT to solve serious problems. In Germany they don't aparently. 4. Shoving BMW Assist down our throats at the expense of Bluetooth. 5. Gross arrogance and a "I don't care attititude about it's US customer base". 

BMW talks of grandiose plans of company growth in the Asian markets while loyal US repeat customers get ignored. BMW needs to wake up before it goes the way of Audi in the US in the mid-eighties. 

What am I going to do? I will write every editor at automobile publications, newspaper automobile editors, and consumer publications and express my dissatisfaction with the BMW Bluetooth/BMW Assist fiasco and BMW's gross indifference to loyal US customers who hung in there with a very controversial design. 

I encourage others that agree with my dissatisfaction to boycott BMW, write automobile magazine editors, and write BMW. 

Paul Harding 
Harding Partners 
224 South Michigan Avenue 
Suite 245 
Chicago, Illinois 60604


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Good luck with your crusade.

One question though: why have spammed three different forums here with the same thread? :dunno: 


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## buddy (Dec 17, 2003)

*I agree*

I agree fully it is not just the fact that we do not have the tauted gadgets that we thought we would, it is the big fact that we can not get a true and defineing answer, if it can not work then say so with that degree of certainty. The problem is that with the idrive system any after market fixes may not never come it has to come from the bmw engineers that have all of the backdoors and locks. If BMW assist can call 911 and the assist center it can call all other numbers if it is reprogramed to do that give the ownership back to the owners hell i tore off the sticker on my matress as soon as i got it home we should not be forced to have a certin wireless carrier or phone for that matter remember only a few months ago we started takeing our numbers with us as we switched lets move forward in our electronics quest not backwards, i will compose another letter to the BMWNA staff to express my displesure with the currrent system the way that it is currently in its form.


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## buddy (Dec 17, 2003)

*buddy*

I do not look at this a spam this is what these boards are for. It is not as if we all in the us do not have the same frustrations and concerns, dont hate the messege lets get the answers from the messenger That is BMWNA, we should our prowes by purchasing a wonderful automobile now how bout bmwna showing there prowes to its loyal customers


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Whatever. Posting the same message in different forums is SPAM.

If anyone has an issue with BMWNA, there is always the Vatken's Heroes forum:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50

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## buddy (Dec 17, 2003)

*buddy*

That is a nice board seems a little behind according to the dates but a good read anyway. I guess if he posted in there it sould be double spames? a little jokey joke, However my take on spam was alittle different it does not seem to be unsolicited maybe being from the U.S. i have a different take on this issue or maybe it is because i am so frustrated with the answers or lack there of.


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

pharding said:


> I was set to order a $65k 545i early next week and take European Delievery on June 23. I am a repeat customer and I am disgusted by BMW's Bluetooth/BMW Assist fiasco. BMW has botched this issue big time. Why not learn from the Audi 5000 disaster and listen to loyal US Customers? Many of us are repeat buyers of expensive BMW automobiles. On this BT issue BMW has made the following mistakes: 1. Poor communication with it's loyal customer base. 2. Inept electronic engineering on a feature that is important to many repeat US customers. 3. Failure to solve a serious problem in a timely manner, once the problem is identified. In this country engineers work OT to solve serious problems. In Germany they don't aparently.


I understand your beef - if you like BMW Assist - but sweeping generalisations like that will just get you laughed at. Continuing...


> 4. Shoving BMW Assist down our throats at the expense of Bluetooth. 5. Gross arrogance and a "I don't care attititude about it's US customer base".


My understanding was that BMW Assist was seen as desirable in the US marketplace. A lot more than Bluetooth, which many US consumers aren't familiar with (partly due to the reluctance of US carriers to promote it). 


> BMW talks of grandiose plans of company growth in the Asian markets while loyal US repeat customers get ignored. BMW needs to wake up before it goes the way of Audi in the US in the mid-eighties.


That would require you to stab the throttle and brakes simultaneously, though . 


> What am I going to do?


Stab the throttle and brakes simultaneously? That'll show 'em.


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## Hoya Saxa (Feb 6, 2004)

*I hear you*

Hey, I hear you. I'm a little disappointed myself that BT isn't available. It's one of those "little things" that is annoying enough that I may postpone my purchase until I can get an 05.

That said, the CA I'm working with said that there may be some software updates that fix the problem sometime around 12/04. But I wouldn't make my buy/no buy decision based on that.

Hoya


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## mottati (Apr 15, 2003)

In my recent search for a BT phone (and provider) in the San Francisco East Bay area, i've come to the conclusion that most people have no idea what BT is at all. I thought it was impressive that bmw was going the BT route in the first place. I've heard on the X5 boards that it's BT or bmw assist. SO is the deal that it's bmw assist period? They probably figure most lazy americans like the 'onstar' type of deal, make your reservations, send your wife floweres etc....
Mike


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## ALEV8 (Oct 3, 2003)

hate to break it to you, but the E60 sucks. my buddy just gave his 545 SMG back to the dealer in San Diego after the car took a crap the very first day he had it. Drove it a week and said no thanks.

he can drive whatever he wants whenever he wants and that is a very telling experience. Grab an 03 M5 before the prices go up~!


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

ALEV8 said:


> hate to break it to you, but the E60 sucks. my buddy just gave his 545 SMG back to the dealer in San Diego after the car took a crap the very first day he had it. Drove it a week and said no thanks.
> 
> he can drive whatever he wants whenever he wants and that is a very telling experience.


I would say that would be a telling experience if he'd saved up all his life for this car, and it was the only car he ever wanted. If the car is just disposable to him, it isn't really saying very much at all...


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