re : ALLDATA

["Brett Anderson" <bretta@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 16:44:21 EST
>From: Asmaradezn@domain.elided
>Subject: Re: bmw-digest V9 #674 Alldata
>>
> ALLDATA SUCKS, their information is wrong, or misleading.
>
>Brett: It occurs to me that Alldata is only parrotting/reporting  what
any
>manufacturer, like BMW, supplies.  I would think you should be upset
with BMW,
>the originator, not Alldata, the messenger.  Or is it that you think
that they
>shouldn't charge for this service?  I could agree with that.  A BMW
Owner
>should be able to go to their dealer and get this info for free.  I
believe
>that Alldata exists for those people who don't have that access.
>Respectfully...Chas.
>'83 633CSi
>'85 528e
>'88 735i
>BMWCCA #44835

Chas, the information they receive from BMW is all valid and good info.
My problem is purely with the way ALLDATA organizes it.  Anything that
has a subject of ALL, such as training information bulletins, or special
tool bulletins, ALLDATA goes and lists it under EVERY model and year
car, then people look it up and see this recall number, panic and
contact me asking for details on it.

As to the fact that they charge $10 per bulletin, that is just criminal,
but has no bearing on my opinion of them.
FWIW NHTSA used to do the same thing as ALLDATA with the bulletins.  I
brought it to Pat Donahue's attention, who passed it on to the relevant
personnel.  Since then, NHTSA has been cleaning up their listings to
prevent the confusion.


Brett Anderson
BMW and ASE master technician
http://frontpage.bestweb.net/~bretta

Please include all correspondence when replying
to avoid confusion - Thank you

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