BMW Z8 Club e.V. survey update

[Juergen Wunderlich]

Dear BMW Z8 Club e.V. members, and BMW Z8 owners.

We want to give you an update to our schedule on our current frame damage survey.

Almost two weeks after our first statement we are still asking all BMW Z8 owners until February 15.2006 to give us a feedback about inspecting your vehicles and inform us if your car has the damage or not. This will be our first step. So far about 80 BMW Z8 owners have reported their cars to us and it seems that about 25% of the reported cars might have the damage. Thank you for your support.

The second step, until March 30.2006, will be to investigate and analyse the reported damages. We will do that simultaneously to the research of BMW AG to have a serious data base of our own so we are prepared for anything BMW AG in Munich likely comes up with. At this point in time counting numbers makes no sense to us because in a situation of arguing with BMW we have to verify any damage.

Please understand that we don't want to argue on an emotional basis, we want to deal with crystal clear facts to support them in finding a solution to the problem for us all and that will take to the end of March. The result of our survey will be released on this board at this time.

We know that it is not easy to check the car and to ascertain the damage since there is the possibility of unequal gaps occurring between the hood and the fenders during the manufacturing process. We own a hand built vehicle and they don't necessarily have to be identical at all.

Therefore we wil get in contact with the owners of damaged cars to get further information about the damage-history of the cars as well as pictures of the damage.

We would like you to know that we are doing our best to find a solution for this problem. We received about 600 mails since the release on this website and your support is very much appreciated and paramount. One positive side effect is that I will get an English course for free and my wife, Sylvi, alway knows where to find me when I am not at work... sitting at my computer at home or on the phone...

[macfly]

but I'm reluctant to take my car out to a dealer to get it checked, and I certainly wouldn't take it to the dealer I bought it from.

The only person I'd trust to do this in SoCal is Ernesto Heredia at Irvine BMW,
9881 Research Drive, Irvine, CA 92618 - 949 387 8320

Going to see him means driving over 130 miles to get there and back, which IMHO is a risk I'm just not comfortable taking with my car which I think that my car is in perfect condition, as it shows none of the signs of the damage. I agree that it makes absolute sense for all of us to have our cars checked by a BMW technician who is familiar with the issue, but I'd rather wait until we have more news before taking mine out of storage.

If you are in NorCal go to see Dana Caldwell at Peter Pan BMW
Service & Parts Director
Peter Pan BMW
650 294 2123

[dwz8]

Andrew, given the significance of this issue, would it be possible to get Ernesto to come to your place for that matter?

If the SoCal guys agree on him being the focal point for examinations, he could assess a reliably healthy car first, and then have a look at others for comparison.

Perhaps somebody might want to buy him a bus ticket?
Just a thought.

[macfly]

Getting a bus from that far behind the Orange Curtain to come up to LA would be a serious challenge, there are more Lear jets and Gulf Streams down there than buses!! Come to think of it there are more Z8's down there than buses, most of the Z8's in SoCal are down in the Orange County/San Diego region.

However the idea of having a place and time to do the checks makes great sense.

[///M Blitz]

Getting a bus from that far behind the Orange Curtain to come up to LA would be a serious challenge, there are more Lear jets and Gulf Streams down there than buses!! Come to think of it there are more Z8's down there than buses, most of the Z8's in SoCal are down in the Orange County/San Diego region.

However the idea of having a place and time to do the checks makes great sense.

Andrew, how about getting a group together early on a Saturday morning when we know traffic would be light. I can see driving to the meeting point ahead of time to identify any potential potholes, etc.

Like yours, my car has been storage since the news came out and frankly I'm afraid to drive it. You know that Murphy's Law is going to getcha!

[macfly]

and they're playing ostrich at the moment, not answering or returning calls on this matter, so I guess this means they are waiting word from the fatherland too.

[Dogsbreath]

Hey Andrew

You are probably right about not being comfortable going to the dealer. I am going to have my car measured at a different shop. It wont be before next week but I will keep you up to date.

Dave

[Z8Mania]

Andrew, how about a flat bed? What would the cost be? It might be worth it.

[macfly]

and BMW NA are seriously documenting the condition of each car I'll likely do the flatbed option to be safe, but I won't break it out of storage until there is good reason to. Like many of the other posters here, from the very first day I heard about this, I too figured that the Z8 will be out of service for 12-36 months, so I put my car into 'deep storage mode' and don't want to go through all the work of reviving it until there is a solid plan.

[Norcal]

I think I'll drive the 45mi or so to have Dana check the car. I like my local dealer, but Dana is already up to speed on the issue I take it, thanks to you.

[redz8]

Irvine BMW is around the corner and I've purchases/serviced all my previous BMWs there. I'll try to make an appointment to meet Ernesto and bring him up to speed with this issue. Who knows, perhaps he'll be interested in checking my car out (if I offer him a ride and a meal).

I think it might be a good idea to get involvement from the service department, assuming Ernesto will have a genuine interest and the desire to look after us.

But, I'm not really comfortable driving the car to the dealer, no matter how small the risk, until there is an official statement (and instructions) from BMW to owners and dealers.

[Khalil Ghalayini]

Is there a list of items that I should ask my dealer check so that he provides me with a written diagnosis of my car:confused:

[ZbobZ]

Is there a list of items that I should ask my dealer check so that he provides me with a written diagnosis of my car:confused:

Khalil, I think this is a significant question. What checks should be done? How will dealers quantify damage to the frame and shock towers? Can the dealers be uniformly trusted to provide an accurate assessment? Should there be coordination between owners to ensure the process is reasonable and accurate? Should the process involve BMWNA once they move beyond ostrich status. I've been on the fence regarding a check. Arguably it could be counterproductive if the checks are inconclusive or inaccurate.

[Khalil Ghalayini]

If we are at a point that we do not trust the input of our BMW dealers, then run for the hills!!!
Yet, I can also appreciate your point of view that after all, they are there to make mony!
If we resort to hire an independent expert and they (BMW) disagree with his findings then where do we go from there?
In my humble opinion, our dealer should receive a communication from the mother ship as to what to look for and provide us with a written assesment on the state of the union. So why dont our Club in Europe launch that volley on our behalf which will start the ball rolling on our side!
KG

[ZbobZ]

Khalil, I was not suggesting that we hire an independent expert, at least not at this time. However, my dealer services only a handful of Z8s and is typically not up to speed on recurring Z8 service issues. Until they have been instructed by BMWNA as to how to assess and quantify damage, I'm reluctant to take the car in. I agree with you that the Mother Ship needs to provide guidance.

[Khalil Ghalayini]

I think that we are all on the same page. Someone mentioned earlier that lets wear BMW's hat for a sec, and I only wish that they would wear ours and do the right thing.

[ron's rocket]

Irvine BMW is around the corner and I've purchases/serviced all my previous BMWs there. I'll try to make an appointment to meet Ernesto and bring him up to speed with this issue. Who knows, perhaps he'll be interested in checking my car out (if I offer him a ride and a meal).

I think it might be a good idea to get involvement from the service department, assuming Ernesto will have a genuine interest and the desire to look after us.

But, I'm not really comfortable driving the car to the dealer, no matter how small the risk, until there is an official statement (and instructions) from BMW to owners and dealers.
IF or when you take your car for an inspection I'll take mine and he can do a side by side comparison.

[redz8]

IF or when you take your car for an inspection I'll take mine and he can do a side by side comparison.

Ron,

Thanks for the kind offer. I plan to first meet him and, depending on his level of interest, take it from there. Given what I know, and sadly, I'm really scared of driving the car.

I'll keep you, and this forum, posted with meeting date/time. I think the urgency of the situation will be more evident if a bunch of us show up and discuss the issue. So, perhaps you can come by and bring your Z for him to look at.