From digest.v4.n845 Tue Jul 16 04:26:40 1996
From: borger_at_ascc01.ascc.lucent.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 07:12:37 -0400
Subject: <E36 M3>Blown off survey; tale of two dealers

the short version: if you've had the center underpiece(s) of your E36

                   M3 air dam blow off, please email me. tell me if
                   the dealer replaced the parts under warranty, if
                   the new parts were of an updated design, and
                   approximately what speed caused it (thmem) to come
                   off.

my version (long):

a couple of weeks ago, while honing my driving skills in Savanah, GA, an unfortunate event occurred. the middle underpiece of my air dam blew off at about 120 mph. there are two pieces involved, both made of the highest quality plastic. the bigger piece actually bolts up to the car; the two passenger-side mounts failed. this failure allowed the smaller piece, which fits into the bigger one to deflect air up into the radiator fan, to work its way out. it dragged on the ground a while.

with the car was jacked up, i removed the thing completely. while performing this operation, more than one other E36 M3 owner walked by and remarked, "oh, mine blew off, too". a master mechanic from a nearby dealer said he'd replaced them on four customer cars himself, under warranty.

i took mine into the dealer, Leith BMW, here in Raleigh last week. 'no way', the service adviser said. there was evidence of damage/scraping, even a small hole, on the underpiece, "caused by me", that ultimately led to the failure. 'no way', i said, 'this happens all the time. so much so that the replacement parts actually have some metal and venting on them! imagine!' 'it's news to us', he replied. 'read the car & driver review of this car; theirs blew off, too', i say. 'they don't provide the warranty,' he says, rather smartly. the dealer is not seeing things my way. the advisor isn't even feeling resourceful enough to see if there is a service bulletin on this item.

i've had my fill of Leith for one day, thinking how crappy my service has been ever since i bought this M3 at another dealer (Sale BMW, in kinston, NC). i try to think back to how good the service was on my previous car: a '93 325is that i bought at Leith...

in a huff, i leave. i call bmw customer relations and complain. later, i retract my complaint until i can get a second opinion. i take the car to the dealer where the mechanic (the one i met when this happened) works, Flow BMW in winston-salem. they examine the parts. 'yep, no problem. this happens all the time.' they ordered the parts and will install them under warranty. i'm amazed at the disparity in service, general niceness, and knowledge of the product demonstrated by two agents of the same company.

regards,

Dana "if i update the chip, will the roof blow off?" Borger

'95 M3, red, some parts currently riding in the trunk Tarheel Chapter, BMW CCA