Brand New BMW Car Turned into Refurbished and No Compensation

I received a MY23 BMW car last week and on the first day it had a major control display screen issue (Most features of the this new model heavily rely on the central control screen to function properly. Majority of previous generation physical buttons are deprecated). BMW only agreed to get the part replaced and refused to refund like 10 percent whatsoever. How fair is that?! A brand new car that needs part replacement on the first day is equal to a refurbished car! Would you ever pay the full price of a real zero defect brand new iPhone for a refurbished one?

Even if the part is replaced, we are still faced with a higher risk of the issue recurring in the future comparing with the zero defect brand new car. How could you fully guarantee the part replacement will fix the issue for sure? Couldn't there be another possibility of the issue caused by some other hidden part or mixture of parts altogether? To me, we would rather spend the full price in a defect free new car that doesn't break on the first day (although it can break in six months, that is a different story to me), which we are sure for now has a higher chance of becoming a lemon …Hence, why do we have to pay the full price?

I swear this was not meant to be a troll post at all! Just my first time signing in to Ozbargain and posting for my real life experience!!!! Would some of you please have more trust on others who are suffering from having purchased a faulty product?

closed Comments

  • +24

    following for others' comments as thread pertains to issues with brand new European car

    • +28

      Not to mention that OP has no idea what "refurbished" means..

      Talk about entitled.

      • +9

        Talk about entitled.

        It’s a beemer, op’s entitled by default.

        • Wait until he find that the indicators don't work either!!!

    • +5

      I'm just upset that you can't downvote posts.

    • Is the car really European or is it African, Yank etc.

      • Current Gen (U11) AU-delivered X1s are actually made in Germany

  • +61

    Member Since
    3 hours 34 min ago

    Troll post needs work to be more believable

    Try again

    • +6

      Please don't encourage OP to make another ridiculous post!

    • +8

      But…. but… it's a high yield investment!

  • +30

    How fair is that?! A brand new car that needs part replacement is equal to a refurbished car!

    I really hope you're not planning on owning it past 5 years, you'll be in for a shock.

    So you'd prefer a 10% refund and no control screen? Or do you want it replaced which is what warranty is for? But I guess you want both, greedy bastad.

      • +22

        That's what you get for buying a BMW

      • +2

        So OP each time my car recall for repair, they should offer me 10% from the purchase price ? LoL

        • +21

          Step 1 Buy a Jeep
          Step 2 multiple 10% refunds
          Step 3 profit.

      • +18

        ummm.. with the part being replaced and probably double and triple checked for faults, it would be less likely that the problem would reoccur, not more likely, i dont know where you came up with that conclusion, and no, it is not considered "refurbished", that thought process is borderline idiotic, i can understand your frustration, but your logic and critical thinking ability is way off, just relax and take a deep breath, everything will be ok

        • +1

          I love this reply

      • +3

        Really?

        You're hung up on something you shouldn't care about. The only issue I'd have in this situation is the waste of time and effort to have it fixed. But that's just part of getting a new car - they sometimes have defects.

        Rest assured, you'll have more issues over the next 2 years - but that's why they have warranties..

      • +3

        It's a car. It's not a small item.

        Car has many parts, which are complex.

        You don't get to ask for a 10% refund on a $100k item, though I'm assuming you've only purchased a $60k BMW from the sounds of you.

      • +1

        Brand new car doesn't me 100% defect free.

    • Many many moons ago, we were taught of a ruling in the uk, where the court ordered a dealership to replace a brand new range rover because of a faulty radio on delivery.

      I don't know if the same rules are here or even applicable today, but for OP if you are really pissed, talk to a lawyer.

      • For such a product the fault would have to be a major inconvenience to the operation, like an engine or transmission catastophically failing. A radio is no tcrucial to the operation of the vehicle, even if it runs the climate control. However if the dealer isn't able to rectify the issue after 3 visits, or there are 3 of these minor failures (radio, A/C, seat motors imoperative) then that can trigger a major failure under the ACL guidelines, just look at the case of Sally Morphy.

  • +29

    BMW only agreed to get the part replaced and refused to refund like 10 percent whatsoever. How fair is that?!

    Because that's not how warranty works.

    Would you ever pay the full price of a real zero defect brand new iPhone for a refurbished one?

    I don't think you understand what refurbished means. It's still a brand new car, not a used one. A factory repair under warranty doesn't make it refurbished.

      • +36

        You keep saying this, but why do you think that a brand new control screen is higher risk of faults than one inserted during the factory build? Its just a plug and play item, its like saying that a replacement computer monitor is going to be higher risk than the one you originally bought.

      • +18

        There is no higher risk of issue recurrence. The part will be replaced and is therefore no longer a defect.

        It is no different to the car rolling off the factory assembly line in Germany/Austria and final testing showing an issue with something which they replace.

        Or, the car coming off the container ship in an Australian port, going through check-up and realising there's a defective part and getting that repaired before it goes to dealer showroom.

        Or, the dealer has the car sitting in showroom garage for weeks, it gets sold, they prepare it for the customer and realise there's a defective part and get it replaced before handing over to customer.

        Your only difference is unlucky it happened during your possession so you're aware of it. That's what warranty is for, they will repair it good as new.

        Electronics generally have ~5% failure rates. It happens.

          • +20

            @[Deactivated]: The warranty is your guarantee. You have 5 more years to find out if there's any other issues or not.

          • @[Deactivated]: Even if you got the mythical "perfect" new car (which doesn't exist as evidenced by actual data), the one you received could have had parts replaced before it got to you.

            New just means nobody but you has owned / driven it (aside from delivery / shuffling around the lot). Doesn't mean no part has ever been replaced since the first time it was put in there.

      • faced with a higher risk

        Don't worry..you're all good until the warranty runs out… please come back and share your experience with the dealer when it's replaced out of warranty.

      • +3

        Are you expecting a BMW to last 20 years without issues or something?

        • -4

          Of course not, but it is insane to pay the full price for a brand new car that broke on the first day and needed refurbishment …

          • +4

            @[Deactivated]: They are not using a refurbished part, they are using a new part.

          • +1

            @[Deactivated]: "Refurbished" is something that was previously owned (and likely used) BY SOMEONE ELSE who returned it for some reason and THEN it is refurbished (made to be close to new again) and resold TO SOMEONE ELSE.

            A repair is NOTHING close to refurbished.

          • +2

            @[Deactivated]: If they took the car back, and gave you a car that someone else drove but cleaned it up and made it near new, that would be a refurbishment.

            They simply replaced a broken part for you, that is not a refurbishment.

            A refurbishment means the entire replacement they gave you was previously used by someone else.

            You are not ready to own a BMW.

          • @[Deactivated]:

            it is insane to pay… for a brand new car

            It sure is.

          • @[Deactivated]: So you are admitting to your own insanity?

          • @[Deactivated]: And the man in the repair shop will probably take more care to make sure the job gets done 100% than some Fritz on the assembly line throwing 100 together in a day.

      • +4

        Well based on this argument, I have a 5 year old car that I drive daily but no parts have been replaced. OP would you be interested in my "brand new" car? .

      • Go see the documents you signed when purchasing the car, does it say, replace with new car on defect fixes?

      • You couldn't be more incorrect.

      • Had to buy BYD

  • +26

    How do you downvote posts? they should really allow that if its not possible.

    This sh1t is so dumb

    • +3

      This is possibly the dumbest post I've seen here since I joined Ozbargain.

    • +3

      The post is in need of a total refurbishement.

  • +13

    BMW only agreed to get the part replaced and refused to refund like 10 percent whatsoever.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    • /r/contagiouslaughter

  • +15

    Tell me you don't understand how warranty works without telling me you don't understand how warranty works.

  • +1

    Oh boy…..

  • Would you ever pay the full price of a real zero defect brand new iPhone for a refurbished one?

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/702902

  • +5

    don't worry, most BMWs i see, new and old, never seem to have indicators that work, given that i'd say your experience is normal

    • Even refurbished indicators are an expensive option on a BMW 😅

  • +3

    while you're at it… get them to rebate the 30% depreciation after you drive it off the lot..

  • +5

    Imma run out of down votes again.

    A brand new car with one new(er) part is still a brand new car. The second you drove it out of the driveway it’s worth 10% less (in normal markets).

    That’s how warranty works with cars. If something breaks, they replace it with something that works. If many many things fail then you can start looking at lemon laws and potentially get refunded.

    If you’re worried about it failing again, you’ve got to reconsider your purchase. Cars have millions of parts. Sometimes they fail. They get replaced.

    If you really can’t cope with it take it back and get a refund and have no car. (I’d like to see how well that goes)

  • +3

    OP really living up to the dropkick entitled to "CoMPEnSazIoN" BMW driver stereotype.

    1. It's euro
    2. It's euro
    3. It's euro

    If owning it doesn't involve a multitude of problems, then you're not doing it right.

    Also your analogy doesn't even stand up. If it were equivalent to replacing an iphone with a refurbished one they'd have given you a lightly used replacement car. They haven't in this case…

    The moment you drove it out of the car yard you lost ~10%. A new MMI is the least of your worries let alone your definition of "refurbished".

    Imagine burning an email and username just so you could post this…

  • +3

    So you want a $5k-$10k refund because the screen isn't working?

    Give the dealership the time to fix the issue. There should be better QC but you're getting worked up over nothing.

      • +1

        Maybe you need to go with this guy.

      • +3

        Might want to ask for 60% discount then.

      • +2

        Most features of the MY23 model are based on the controller screen and many physical buttons are gone. With a faulty screen, it renders the car at least 60 percent useless.

        I understand the frustration as my Wife's Hyundai Tucson is very similar to is system controllers. However, that is why cars have warranty to cover in the event of issues or failures.

      • I hate it when the radio makes up 60% of my car's usability.

        JUST LET ME LISTEN TO ABC CLASSIC FM GODAMMIT

      • Can the car still be driven? You’ll be able to take it back for repairs then

      • Useless 60% of the time, everytime!

      • +2

        How would a 10% refund help with that?

  • +1

    This is just a part of life and bad luck…

    Seems like you've been lucky so far if this is the first time you've ever bought something and it hasn't worked. I've had to return numerous items over the years - it's pretty standard that you just replace the item and that's it though.

  • +2

    did ya pay for working indicators cause u should get a refund as well for a feature u wont use!

  • +1

    Your zero defect refurbishment argument doesn't even make sense. What if you bought a brand new car and the brake pad failed and they replaced it with a new one. What if the tyre blew up driving it home and they replaced with a new tyre. It's a car, things can break and they get replaced. Whether this happens in the first 1 hour or after 100,000km. The concept is the same.

  • There is basically no such thing as a defect free new car.

    In 2023, the industry average is 192 PP100
    source: https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-init…

    So thats 192 issues for every 100 vehicles sold. E.g. more than 1 per car.

    Forget about it and enjoy your new car.

      • +4

        Could be worse. You could have crashed your brand new car on day 1.

        • +1

          Actually that might've been better: some polices have new car replacement after write-off

          (major assumption of an OzB forum poster having car insurance notwithstanding)

      • So you knowingly ignored all the evidence out there and still pulled the trigger?!

    • -4

      I am not disagreeing, but if you had to choose to spend the full price on a new car that breaks on the first day or on one that could break in 6 months or years from a theoretical perspective, what would be your choice? I am an ordinary buyer and I would definitely not go with the first one …

      • +5

        First day. Get the repairs over and done with.

  • +4

    This is either a troll post, or the OP is completely unreasonable. Not sure which.

    • +2

      You don't have to choose as more than likely, it's both

  • +7

    I want 10% compensation for my time wasted reading this post.

    • +2

      Same but who am I kidding I’d probably just waste it again anyway

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