2010 BMW 3 Series

WE LEASED A NEW 2010 BMW 335D (DIESEL) ON 12/12/09. ON 2/28/10, THE CAR FAILED TO START FOR THE SECOND TIME AFTER A VERY HEAVY RAIN AND WAS TOWED TO A NEARBY BMW DEALER. WE TOLD THE SERVICE SUPERVISOR THAT WE BELIEVED THERE WAS WATER IN THE SYSTEM RESULTING FROM THE RAIN. AFTER EXAMINING THE CAR, HE TOLD US THAT THE CAR'S FAILURE TO START TWICE AFTER A HEAVY RAIN WAS JUST A COINCIDENCE, THAT THERE WAS NO WATER IN THE SYSTEM AND THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THE RESULT OF FAULTY GLOW PLUGS, WHICH WOULD TAKE A WHILE TO COME FROM GERMANY. HE ALSO INFORMED US THAT REPAIR EFFORTS WOULD BE FURTHER DELAYED BECAUSE NO DEALERSHIPS IN THE AREA HAD TRAINED DIESEL MECHANICS AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO CONSULT A DIESEL EXPERT ON THE EAST COAST. WE PICKED UP THE CAR ON 3/11/10. THE FOLLOWING MORNING, THE CAR STARTED ERRATICALLY AND RAN POORLY, SO WE RETURNED IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. AFTER A MONTH OF FAILING TO FIX THE CAR, THE DEALER INFORMED US THAT THEY HAD SENT THE FUEL TO A LAB TO BE TESTED (THIS LATER TURNED OUT TO BE FALSE) AND HAD DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS WATER IN THE FUEL, THAT THE PRESENCE OF WATER IN THE FUEL COULD ONLY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY US AND THAT WE WERE, THEREFORE, FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL REPAIRS. EXHAUSTIVE EFFORTS TO GET BMW TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM HAVE PROVEN USELESS. WE WILL FILE A "LEMON LAW" LAWSUIT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SAFETY ISSUES: (1) OUR PROBLEM OCCURRED WHILE OUR CAR HAPPENED TO BE STATIONARY. IF, AS WE BELIEVE, THE PROBLEM WAS THE RESULT OF THE RAIN, THE STRONG POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT OTHER BMW DIESEL CARS MIGHT STALL WHILE ON THE ROAD IN BAD WEATHER AND PERHAPS AT HIGH SPEEDS. (2) IT IS CLEAR THAT BMW IS SELLING ITS BMW DIESEL CARS WITHOUT HAVING IN PLACE A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF TRAINED DIESEL MECHANICS, MEANING THAT OWNERS OF BMW DIESEL CARS HAVE NO ASSURANCE THAT THEIR CARS ARE BEING PROPERLY REPAIRED & MAINTAINED. THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT MISTAKES COULD BE MADE BY UNTRAINED MECHANICS WHICH COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. *TR