I bought a used BMW Z4 and did a crappy job doing it. All I saw was shiny, cool and faster than my ford minivan --oooh, here's my money, thank-you very much.
Since then, I have compiled a list of all the things that need to be repaired. Some of them now, some later but all needing to be done. Some of this list comes from my own knowledge or cars and some from forums and other bathroom lawyer types who have nothing but doom and gloom to spread.
It happened one day this week that my car kinda died in downtown Portland on my lunch hour. It would start but it had no power and there was a funny idle, as well. I had stalled the car when parking and when I restarted it was all messed up and couldn't be driven. It's like it Blue Screened.
I called Kuni and spoke with their service department. "Have you ever heard of this before? can I wait it out??" to which they replied, "Hmmm, I never heard of anything like that. You should have it towed in to our Beaverton Center." Seriously?
Frustrated with Kuni over this and some really poor customer service we had last month, I googled other, closer BMW repair shops and found DynaSport just a few blocks from where I work in NW. I called them and the front desk guy gave me their towing company info. Then, as I was dialing, I tried the car again and VROOOM, back to life it came.
I decided to swing by DynaSport anyway as my check engine light was on. I explained to a couple of guys there what happened and I one of them said, "do you want me to tell you what happened?" GAWD, I love that answer!!! Of course I did. He explained to me that the problem is just a freaky computer deal and there's no residual effect at all. He then grabbed his BMW OBD2 machine and cleared the Check Engine code. Didn't want a dime.
Why couldn't Kuni tell me that? Oh yeah, because they wanted $500 and for me to sit in their waiting room eating chocolate strawberries for 2 hours before imparting such information as if they "solved the mystery!!"
So back at DynaSport, we started talking about my list of things that I thought needed repair and he said, "let's take it for a drive." Oh hell yeah! (this stuff never happens to me!) So off we go and here's what he told me:
I don't need a new clutch.
I don't need a flex disk.
I don't need to worry about my transmission (3rd gear issue).
I don't need new brakes (until the car tells me I do.)
I DO need to get my front struts fixed.
Now, maybe some of these things will break. Maybe california will fall into the Sea, I dunno. I just know that the odds are they will not.
Ryan could have soaked me for thousands of dollars and I would have gladly ponied up --cause really, he's a nice guy and it's close to work, and what do I really know about cars these days, anyway?
At 55, I'm older and I think I know something about cars but really that list of things I made up is based on outdated information. It's not the reality of today's vehicles. It takes a pro and an honest one to assess a car like this BMW. I may have done a bad job buying it, but really I just believed what the seller told me (and why should I be able to do that?). This time, maybe, just maybe I'll get lucky with this car. Time will tell.
The result of my visit to DynaSport sent me from completely bummed out to super elated all in the span of 20 minutes. I feel like I have a new friend in the industry --someone that has a proven record of being an honest broker.
I think he sleeps well at night.
DynaSport did me a good turn and they have a new customer (and as many more as I can send their way). read more