re: US warranty in Europe???

["Charles Galunic" <galunic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

George wrote:

>Why can't military personnel and US government civilian employees
stationed oversees receive this benefit? If we buy a new US spec BMW
oversees, we only receive a 1 year warranty...and we still pay for all
inspections. ..I think England is the only European country that offers any
kind of extended warranty...and now I don't think US personnel stationed
there are authorized to purchase it. I can't see why BMWNA can't honor this
for people working outside the US..
>

George,  having recently bought a BMW in France, but not before comparing
what was on offer in the USA, Canada, and Germany, an attempted
explanation.  Foremost, BMW seems very decentralized in terms of
dealerships (price and marketing strategies).  US dealers would (no
surprise) rather that you purchase the car from them (so why make it
sweeter for you to purchase from an overseas dealer by giving you the same
deals on warranty and service as in the US).  (They don't seem to be very
patriotic either, given your posting situation.)  Local country dealers (UK
or France), on the other hand, will do what it takes to sell locally... and
no more, especially given the high demand these days for BMWs.  I.e., I
don't get the sense of any HQ forcing a unified marketing strategy on local
operations, and local European dealers probably feel little need to compete
in the same way as NA dealers, given the strong brand pull of the car in
Europe and the willingness of the consumer to accept higher prices and less
interesting warranty deals...I wish there were some of this commonality,
since the servicing arrangements  in France are much poorer than people in
the US receive (e.g., my warranty was also only 1 year) and the prices are
outrageous by comparison, but then again most of my French compatriots will
never know this and accept what is "normal" locally.  That is the rub.

I add that my experiences within Europe (in trying to buy in Germany and
bring the car into France) suggests that even within the EC the ability to
deal with a unified BMW marketing strategy is not on the horizon (even less
for island/right-hand drive UK) and local marketing customs and strategies
are prevailing.

Charlie
1989 316i
1999 328i

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