Complaint Review: BMW of North America

On February 28, 2001, I purchased a brand-new 2001 F650 GS BMW motorcycle. This model is considered an on/off-road motorcycle. Less than two months after purchase, my motorcycle was exposed to the rain. In the evening I began to ride my bike towards the gym, and my motorcycle began to surge excessive, as the speedometer would go back and forth between 0-70 mph. I was nearly thrown from my motorcycle, and had I been operating my motorcycle at highway speeds I would have been either seriously injured or killed.

I returned home and had my motorcycle towed to BMW of Denver later that week. The BMW technician found moisture in a wiring connector under the seat that controls engine and ABS functions. Because moisture should not be able to reach this wiring connector unless the motorcycle is submerged "in water up to your chest" as stated my the BMW Regional Representative Jack Del Pizzo, BMW repair my motorcycle for free because it was defective.

In July I moved to Seattle and took my bike off-road for the first time. It was on a trail for motorbikes just east of Mt. Vernon, WA. It was a muddy trail, consisting of a few puddles about 4 inches deep. I rode for nearly an hour then returned to Seattle. Nearly three weeks after this my motorcycle was exposed to rain for the second time. This time my motorcycle wouldn't even start. I had it towed to Ride West BMW of Seattle. The technician found "brackish water" in the wiring connector, and held my bike for five weeks as they fixed it. The motorcycle was returned to me, and I left my motorcycle out in the rain to see whether or not it was really fixed. It wasn't--the same thing happened a third time. This time Ride West BMW of Seattle held my motorcycle for six weeks to fix it.

My motorcycle was finally returned to me, and by this point my motorcycle had been in the shop for over 80 days of the first 9 months I owned my motorcycle. BMW offered me $815 as compensation for my motorcycle being out-of-service for so long, but in accepting this compensation, they required that I sign a release form stating that it was my fault that my motorcycle had experienced all these difficulties, including submerging my motorcycle in deep water, and that BMW had fixed it for free "in "order to establish customer goodwill." I did not sign it because I never did operate my motorcycle "in and around deep water" as BMW stated that I had.

The day before the "one-year anniversary" of the date on which I purchased my motorcycle, I was riding my motorcycle and it died twice on me, both times while operating my motorcycle at speeds of approximately 30 mph. The second time I attempted to restart my motorcycle, and the starter stuck on my motorcycle and it was impossible to disengage it. Once again, the motorcycle was jerking and surging, and I nearly lost control of the motorcycle. I pulled to the side of the road, and the battery ran dead with the starter stuck. I had it towed once again to Ride West BMW of Seattle, and it was in the shop for over a week.

Therefore, within the first year of purchasing a brand-new BMW motorcycle, my motorcycle was in the shop over 90 days. In the BMW warranty it states that they are required to either purchase my motorcycle from me or give me a new motorcyle if they are unable to fix it within 30 days. They have blamed me for the difficulties, and they therefore say the warranty doesn't apply in this situation.

Because the trade-in value of this motorcycle is currently $4560 according to the Kelley Blue Book, since they will not trade my motorcycle in for a new one AS REQUIRED BY LAW, I want to receive either $4000 for the difference between the current trade-in value and the cost of a new motorcycle, or for them simply to replace my motorcycle with a brand-new one, as they should have done over a year ago.

Ken
Seattle, Washington

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