geez, Uncle Duane, you'll scare the kiddies half to death!

[madsman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Duane wrote:

Now while ya'll are condsidering a 'factory demo', keep in mind that covers
a LOT of cars.  I imagine the new M Coupes that were 'broken in' at ///M day
by Hans Stuck, Dieter Quester, Boris Said and Bill Auberlen along with 200
rabid Bimwads on the autocross course were probably not thrown in the
dumpster at the end of the day, eh?  Or how about that those "Drive for the
Cure Cars"...the ones that you take out and do donuts in the parking lot
with 3 miles from the dealership (740's are not very good at this, BTW - ask
me how I know)......Or there's that new ///M Roadster they brought out at
PizzaFest I Autocross for Klaus Schnitzer to photo shoot while Gary Bossert
REALLY put it though its paces...Wow!!!  Gary can REALLY drive that thang.

All the above...."Executive Driven".

Also falling under this plan are cars that have been rejected by the
customer at the dealership or Port of Entry for in-transit damage from
Germany, bad paint, lemon law returns, etc.  This is a catch-all category
for sure.  Think about all the things that could happen to a new car getting
from Germany to the U.S.  Think about all the new cars they have to replace
for complaining BMW customers.  They don't crush those problem cars now, do
they?

BMW has a limited history of every car they make in its database.  You can
call BMWNA with the VIN number and get some of that history before you buy
one of these 'factory demos'. They will disclose documented defects if you
ask and they meet certain thresholds (damages over a certain amount, etc.).

Personally, I'd not touch 'em unless they were very steeply discounted.
I'll take my new cars with 4 to 6 miles on the odometer, please.

Duane Collie

Hi all,

In my experience, (same dealer for the last four new BMWs, a guy I trust ), the cars are 
represented as BMW NA Executive cars. I don't know what BMW does with the Drive for the Cure 
cars ( I do know they're all silver, so if any of you are contemplating a silver "demo", ask 
lots of questions<g>, especially if it has checkered flags on it ), but all kidding aside, BMW 
could get in a world of trouble for selling a lemon return or similar vehicle as a "exec car" 
when in fact it wasn't...in fact, if any of you bump into any of the NA fols at auto shows and 
such, ask'em about ther Dr. in Alabama a few years back, the guy with the paint defects?

I've had less trouble with my 5 than I've had with all the rest of my brand new 3's...

The idea of doing the research on your prospective purchase is an excellent one - frankly, if I 
hadn't known and trusted my dealer, I would have called BMW NA and spoken to the fellow who 
drove my car. (Conspiracy theorists please note that Oliver Stone has expressed interest in the 
film rights to this one).

This does raise an interesting question, though...where do those lemon law returns go? Or those 
poor BMWs that Duane and co . have ridden hard and put away wet?  Any ideas, anyone? 

Oh, one other thing..that guy who posted about the rusted M3? Sounds like a flood - damaged car 
to me...I'd check for a periscope fitting in the roof, and fish under the seat...'course, if 
there was a "U" number on the side, then we'd know it had seen service as a submarine...what was 
that line in "Risky Business"?...something about a service advisor asking who the U -Boat 
commander was, after Tom Cruse let his dad's 928 coast into the ocean? 

regards,


Mike Capaldo

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