By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Jim Ogden’s new BMW is a lemon, but he can’t get his dealership to fix it or take the car back. What are his options?

Christopher Elliott

I purchased a used 2023 M240i Coupe with 3,200 miles and a full factory warranty recently from Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara, Calif. After completing the transaction, but before even leaving the lot, the technician who was demonstrating the operation of the car was not able to connect the car to my BMW “ConnectedDrive” account.

The dealer advised me to wait another day for BMW to connect my account and see if the problem resolved itself. It did not.

Fast forward to today. The car has been in the service department for the last six weeks. Since taking the car to the shop, the problems have gotten almost infinitely worse. The dealer has replaced the instrument console and other electronic modules. The current status per the service department is that “the car has four modules that will not code,” including the new instrument panel.

They have been unable to repair the vehicle and have turned the car over to BMW, where it has been for several weeks. There is no ETA for a fix.

The dealership has made it crystal clear it will not take any responsibility for the car and that this is between me and BMW. The general manager at the dealership advised me the car meets all the requirements for a buyback and advised me to contact BMW and start the buyback process.

I made the buyback request to BMW last week and am supposed to hear back this week but am not optimistic. Since then, I have contacted several reputable Lemon Lawyers for advice dealing with BMW. To my surprise, all told me variations of the same thing: I’d have a great case if the car were brand new, but they will not take on any cases of used cars, and my odds with BMW are very low. Can you help? — Jim Ogden, Los Gatos, Calif.

The M240i Coupe is a gorgeous car, and I commend you on an excellent choice. A non-working M240i Coupe, however, is not an excellent choice. But you had a red flag or two before you even drove the vehicle off the lot.

I run into this issue with rental cars all the time, and my advice is the same: If something is wrong with the car, do not accept it. You could have ripped up the contract and walked away, and maybe you should have.

I’ve purchased a few cars in my lifetime, and the fact that they were selling you a vehicle with just 3,200 miles on it should have also raised a red flag. I would have wondered what BMW used the car for? Was it a courtesy vehicle? Or did someone return it after driving 3,200 miles because something was wrong with it? I might want to get a straight answer from the dealership before buying the car, as well as any relevant repair records.

I once bought a “used” car with just 1,000 miles for a price that seemed too good to be true. I found out later the dealership owner’s wife had used it as her personal car and just didn’t like it. The likely reason? The model was being discontinued.

The fact that your car was pre-owned should have had no bearing on its warranty, which would have covered all your repairs. But clearly, BMW should have taken the car back if it was so deeply flawed. We’ve had a few problems with BMW in the past, including one customer who had a problem with her title. But they are few and far between.The company fixes most customer service problems when you appeal to one of the executive customer service contacts at BMW, which I publish on my advocacy site.

I contacted BMW on your behalf. The company agreed to repurchase your car and offered a discount on a new vehicle, which you accepted.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him at https://elliottadvocacy.org/help/