Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

driver100

abacomike said:

To hopefully solve the inadvertent trunk opening problem, they are going to reprogram my computer in the car so that in order to open the trunk, the car must first be unlocked.  They are replacing the trunk liners - top, sides and bottom - to avoid mildew and other problems.

I have no idea when my car will be returned to me.  

That sounds like a good solution to the trunk problem.

Replace the trunk liners because of mildew - they should do like the bathroom idea, have drains that reroute the water.

The windshield replacement....$2700! Wow, who would have thought? It doesn't make sense, if mine would have been $1300 (though it didn't have HUD) what would make yours worth double?

jmonroe

abacomike said:

Dealer estimate including tax to replace windshield is $2736.00.  Good grief!!!  I wonder if my insurance company will deny the claim.  

Mike, if you have a good insurance company they will probably pay for an OEM replacement. Especially since your car is not even 2 years old. I know mine does but the windshield in my '09 Genny didn't cost nearly as much as the one in you 740i. Then again, it did not have a HUD windshield either.

A little story about that. I guess I could have waited til after 10 PM when @driver100 goes to sleep but I'm not going to cater to his wants. Hell, he ain't even in this country now and for a while there he wasn't even on this continent.

About a year and a half before I retired, I got a crack along the very top right of the '09 Genny's windshield. Since it was well out of the viewing area I did not have a problem getting it to pass the PA state inspection. Since, I was still working and driving the PA pike every day for about 40 miles round trip, I decided that I would have it replaced when I retired in about 2 years. Because I didn't want to take the chance of it being hit again.

My plan worked but as a retirement gift to myself I decided to get a new car. Before I started working my deal with the dealer in Fairfax VA, for my '15 Genny, I realized that I had to get a new windshield. I called a local glass replacement store and tell him I wanted an OEM windshield. He tells me because of the age of the car I might have to get an aftermarket job but even if my insurance company agrees to an OEM, his coupon for a $50 savings would not apply. The $50 coupon would be nice since my cost after my $100 deductible would have made my total out of pocket only $50 vs. $100 but I didn't want to risk having an aftermarket once I got to VA so I called my insurance company. It turned out because I have a good company and I have some pretty good coverage, which I'm sure I'm paying for (maybe even over paying for), compared to some cheapo companies, I was entitled to an OEM windshield.

I called the glass place and told him I'm covered for the OEM. He reminds me about the $50 coupon but I said just get it from the dealer. I could wait an extra day because he did not have it in stock. He only stocked the aftermarket jobs.

As the guy is installing it in my driveway he wanted to know why I insisted on and OEM. I told him I wasn't driving around 300 miles, each way, to find out the dealer was going to get petty with me and kill the deal. His response was that the dealer probably wouldn't have even looked at the windshield and would have been happy to have my car on his lot.

More than likely he was right but it wasn't worth $50 to me to find out.

Before I leave, one more thing. About your inadvertent trunk opening. If this only happens when it is about to rain, it might be due to lightning causing RF frequencies being picked up by the car's trunk opening sensor. Stray signals can do that. Maybe a reprogram to work when the car is locked will solve the problem.

We all hope it does but if it doesn't, let us know the next time it happens and we'll send some goldfish. No sense in wasting some good Florida rain.

jmonroe

andres3

abacomike said:

To hopefully solve the inadvertent trunk opening problem, they are going to reprogram my computer in the car so that in order to open the trunk, the car must first be unlocked.  They are replacing the trunk liners - top, sides and bottom - to avoid mildew and other problems.

I have no idea when my car will be returned to me.  

If the parts take a while to obtain, tell them you are OK with driving around without trunk liner on the car; should get to 60 MPH 0.01 seconds quicker.

abacomike

stickguy said:

Mike, you lead an interesting life.

My car has an auto trunk feature. If you stand right behind if for the think 3 seconds, it pops open. Just a little, so you still have to grab the lid to raise it. Seems pointless.

After finding it open a few times, I turned the feature off.

My auto trunk release will still work - I have to put my foot under the rear bumper and move it forward and back.  So long as my key fob is on my person.  

My my trunk has two electric motors - one on each side - which raises and then lowers and locks the trunk and the car at the same time.

abacomike

driver100 said:

To hopefully solve the inadvertent trunk opening problem, they are going to reprogram my computer in the car so that in order to open the trunk, the car must first be unlocked.  They are replacing the trunk liners - top, sides and bottom - to avoid mildew and other problems.

I have no idea when my car will be returned to me.  

That sounds like a good solution to the trunk problem.



Replace the trunk liners because of mildew - they should do like the bathroom idea, have drains that reroute the water.



The windshield replacement....$2700! Wow, who would have thought? It doesn't make sense, if mine would have been $1300 (though it didn't have HUD) what would make yours worth double?

Driver, my car is a much better car than yours - thus it costs more to repair. 

abacomike

My insurance is Liberty Mutual.  I haven't made a claim from any auto insurance policy I have had in over 20 years.  I hope they approve the estimate.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

PF_Flyer said:

Just got back from a week in the Savannah, GA area, and I must say it's nice to be back looking at NICE cars. With no required safety inspections in GA, I can't recall the last time I saw so many cars on the road being held together by duct tape, wire, rope, or whatever else was at hand.

I know very well what you mean.

I lived in SC for 5 years (early '92 to early '97) and I saw quite a few cars that would never be on PA roads because they could not have passed the annual PA state inspection.

The first year I was there I asked some of the locals where I should take my car for inspection and was told to take it to an old time gas station that actually did service work on cars and it just happened to be very close to where I lived, so that's where I went.

I pulled into this run down station and parked right in front of the big plate glass window and went inside. There were 3 guys there and I asked if I could make an appointment for an inspection because I didn't want to drop it off then come back for it. The guy who owned the place said, "on that car right there" as he pointed to it (this was my '80 Park Ave). I said yes. He then says, "go out to the car and turn on your lights. When I raise my arm, turn on the high beams and when I lower my arm turn them off". I did what he said then he motioned to me to come back into the station, so I did. He starts to right up the sticker and I said, "is that it"? He said, "yep, that's it. Your car looks like it's in pretty nice shape so I'm not going to spend any more time with it". Then one of the other guys laughingly says, "you don't have to feel all that proud about your car, although it is in nice shape. He doesn't check too much more than that on very many cars he inspects".

Given state inspections were a total farce in SC at that time and everyone knew it, including the state legislators, the state did away with them by the time I was due for another one the next year (maybe it was the following year, not sure now). In any case that was the end of state inspections in SC.

I lived in a town close to Augusta GA, so I was in GA quite a few times so I saw a lot of what you are talking about, and so I was told, GA never had state inspections.

I guess you might say, "misery loves company".

jmonroe

THIS passed inspection in NY every year where they only care about emissions and window tint. Everything else is done with a wink unless you run into a place that has an open repair bay that need filling.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

My insurance is Liberty Mutual.  I haven't made a claim from any auto insurance policy I have had in over 20 years.  I hope they approve the estimate.

I thought you said you have USAA and mainly because you get a discount with MB and BMW purchases.

In any case, a good policy with a good company should cover your car.

jmonroe

roadburner

abacomike said:

Dealer estimate including tax to replace windshield is $2736.00.  Good grief!!!  I wonder if my insurance company will deny the claim.  

Dealer list is $1,182.25 for the windshield- it's part number: 51 31 7 357 266. I don't think the other parts add up to more than $100.

cdnpinhead

An interesting life indeed.

andres3

abacomike said:

My insurance is Liberty Mutual.  I haven't made a claim from any auto insurance policy I have had in over 20 years.  I hope they approve the estimate.

Liberty Mutual wanted $3,000 dollars for Insurance for one year. I just got a quote. That's highway robbery, literally!

Geico came in at $880 for 6 months, and that's $50 more than last time. I think the "glass zero deductible claims" are recorded, as I see them on their nifty claims history website. Although they don't h old it against me, I think other insurance companies do! No one can seem to compete with Geico for us. I have one ticket on my record that's less than 3 years old, that'll change in October, at which point I'll have other pending cases to deal with though.

andres3

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Dealer estimate including tax to replace windshield is $2736.00.  Good grief!!!  I wonder if my insurance company will deny the claim.  

Dealer list is $1,182.25 for the windshield- it's part number: 51 31 7 357 266. I don't think the other parts add up to more than $100.

How much does a BMW 740i cost if you order every part one by one individually? I wonder how much profit margin is in the list price.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rzF-KwTflQI

driver100

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Dealer estimate including tax to replace windshield is $2736.00.  Good grief!!!  I wonder if my insurance company will deny the claim.  

Dealer list is $1,182.25 for the windshield- it's part number: 51 31 7 357 266. I don't think the other parts add up to more than $100.

That sounds more inline with my windshield for the E400....$1300 installed.
That would make Mikes car more equivalent to mine, not much better like he seems to think! :@

driver100

JMonroe....you will be surprised to know I read your complete story....didn't even skim it (it's only 7:45).
You did the right thing.....$50 for a new windshield and no messing around trying to sneak an aftermarket by the dealer.
Like some of those articles said though, sometimes OEMs aren't available any more, and quite often the after market is made to the same standards, they were just made at a later date.

stickguy

one reason I decided to take the lease back, even if it needs to be replaced. No worries about getting hassled for an inferior quality aftermarket windshield.

Hopefully the repair job (guy is coming out tomorrow) does the trick, and I can avoid any charges.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

fintail said:

2016 model MB CLA (the one like a mini CLS).

driver100 said:

Was it a BMW?

My Kia had the trunk pop open for no good reason yesterday, first time it happened without me noticing right away (noticed it when I started up the car). Since it's the first time the error happened where it bothered me, and that's in over 9,500 miles, I'm letting it slide for now.

Maybe popping trunks are caused when someone else pops their trunk and the wrong trunk lid pops open.

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

fintail said:

2016 model MB CLA (the one like a mini CLS).

driver100 said:

Was it a BMW?

My Kia had the trunk pop open for no good reason yesterday, first time it happened without me noticing right away (noticed it when I started up the car). Since it's the first time the error happened where it bothered me, and that's in over 9,500 miles, I'm letting it slide for now.

Maybe popping trunks are caused when someone else pops their trunk and the wrong trunk lid pops open.

That was my guess, that someone else has the same frequency. Only way to find out is to reprogram Mike's key.

Mr_Shiftright

I heard tell of someone pushing a car down a mine shaft in Colorado in order to get rid of it. Seems like a wrecking yard would have been easier.

roadburner

In other news, my son and I really liked Baby Driver; it's a perfectly paced action film. The great driving scenes are icing on the cake. Great soundtrack, too.

fordfool

tjc78 said:

RE: Tire plugs. I've had several plugged and never had a problem.
None of the chains will do it anymore, only small shops.
I'm not sure why.

I believe I know why. $$$$$$

I lost a plug once when making a hard left turn pulled the plug out.
Have only had internal plugs since. YMMV!

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

I heard tell of someone pushing a car down a mine shaft in Colorado in order to get rid of it. Seems like a wrecking yard would have been easier.

The Province of Nova Scotia consists of two land masses: the mainland peninsula, and an island at the north end called Cape Breton. There is a community or two there that are on high cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. They are notorious for being home to guys who will "steal" your car - all carefully prearranged - and send it over the cliffs into the briny ocean tossed, for a piece of the insurance settlement.

ab348

andres3 said:

How much does a BMW 740i cost if you order every part one by one individually?

If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

andres3 said:

How much does a BMW 740i cost if you order every part one by one individually?

If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

Some 740i owners in the past got the chance to find out...

abacomike

jmonroe said:

My insurance is Liberty Mutual.  I haven't made a claim from any auto insurance policy I have had in over 20 years.  I hope they approve the estimate.

I thought you said you have USAA and mainly because you get a discount with MB and BMW purchases.

In any case, a good policy with a good company should cover your car.

jmonroe

I am a USAA member and carry their credit card.  Both my brother and I got our memberships to USAA through my Dad - who was a veteran.  

abacomike

andres3 said:

My insurance is Liberty Mutual.  I haven't made a claim from any auto insurance policy I have had in over 20 years.  I hope they approve the estimate.

Liberty Mutual wanted $3,000 dollars for Insurance for one year. I just got a quote. That's highway robbery, literally!

Geico came in at $880 for 6 months, and that's $50 more than last time. I think the "glass zero deductible claims" are recorded, as I see them on their nifty claims history website. Although they don't h old it against me, I think other insurance companies do! No one can seem to compete with Geico for us. I have one ticket on my record that's less than 3 years old, that'll change in October, at which point I'll have other pending cases to deal with though.

Geico wanted $300 more per year than Liberty Mutual.  I carry my condo policy with them as well so I get a bigger discount.  I also am an alum of NYU which is one of the organizations they provide additional discounts.  But I still pay $1900 a year for auto insurance.

qbrozen

fordfool said:

RE: Tire plugs. I've had several plugged and never had a problem.
None of the chains will do it anymore, only small shops.
I'm not sure why.

I believe I know why. $$$$$$

I lost a plug once when making a hard left turn pulled the plug out.
Have only had internal plugs since. YMMV!

Bingo! Exactly why it can't be left hanging out past the tread.

abacomike

As regards "frequency" duplication for opening my trunk, doubtful.  It's opened by itself in 4 or 5 different locations.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

As regards "frequency" duplication for opening my trunk, doubtful.  It's opened by itself in 4 or 5 different locations.

OK Mike it seems like you ruled out other fobs opening your trunk but I'm still curious if strong thunder storms are creating RF frequencies that are causing your problem. The thunder storms don't have to be right on top of you to create the problem. A mile or two away is sufficient if the storm is strong enough. Like I said, just curious but don't think for a minute that BMW has never seen your problem before. You can't be that unlucky again with another BMW purchase that the car has to be replaced.

If BMW can't resolve your problem, all I can say is...now who is driving a wannabe?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

I heard tell of someone pushing a car down a mine shaft in Colorado in order to get rid of it. Seems like a wrecking yard would have been easier.

Sounds personal like the guy who lit his Fiero on fire in front of GM headquarters. My older brother once helped a friend push an old broke hooptie over the edge of a gravel pit so they could watch it crash.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

As regards "frequency" duplication for opening my trunk, doubtful.  It's opened by itself in 4 or 5 different locations.

OK Mike it seems like you ruled out other fobs opening your trunk but I'm still curious if strong thunder storms are creating RF frequencies that are causing your problem. The thunder storms don't have to be right on top of you to create the problem. A mile or two away is sufficient if the storm is strong enough. Like I said, just curious but don't think for a minute that BMW has never seen your problem before. You can't be that unlucky again with another BMW purchase that the car has to be replaced.

If BMW can't resolve your problem, all I can say is...now who is driving a wannabe?

jmonroe

I think I mentioned before about the guy at work who swore his 3 series would open all the windows and sun roof during a snow storm while he was sleeping. Dealer tried to blame "butt dialing" even though he knew better.

nyccarguy

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I heard tell of someone pushing a car down a mine shaft in Colorado in order to get rid of it. Seems like a wrecking yard would have been easier.

Sounds personal like the guy who lit his Fiero on fire in front of GM headquarters. My older brother once helped a friend push an old broke hooptie over the edge of a gravel pit so they could watch it crash.

Now that sounds like fun!

driver100

nyccarguy said:

That little Prelude is a nice looking car....you need to use a better car polish though.

nyccarguy

Above is a picture of my beloved Prelude.  It sat outside uncovered all winter.  Between the water restrictions that have just been partially lifted, the torrential rains we've been having since May, & life in general, I haven't had a chance to wash it, much less detail it.  If you zoom in, you'll notice the pollen is literally caked on.

You guys inspired me last week.  It was great to see everyone's car looking fantastic.  Last night I washed, used the Griot's 6" surface prep pad (instead of clay using the orbital), then Griot's Machine Polish 3, & started to use the Griot's Best In show wax.  I only got to wax the hood since it was 12:30 Am.  I'll finish tonight.

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

As regards "frequency" duplication for opening my trunk, doubtful.  It's opened by itself in 4 or 5 different locations.

OK Mike it seems like you ruled out other fobs opening your trunk but I'm still curious if strong thunder storms are creating RF frequencies that are causing your problem. The thunder storms don't have to be right on top of you to create the problem. A mile or two away is sufficient if the storm is strong enough. Like I said, just curious but don't think for a minute that BMW has never seen your problem before. You can't be that unlucky again with another BMW purchase that the car has to be replaced.

If BMW can't resolve your problem, all I can say is...now who is driving a wannabe?

jmonroe

I think I mentioned before about the guy at work who swore his 3 series would open all the windows and sun roof during a snow storm while he was sleeping. Dealer tried to blame "butt dialing" even though he knew better.

That happened to me when I had my BMW.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

guys who will "steal" your car - all carefully prearranged - and send it over the cliffs into the briny ocean tossed, for a piece of the insurance settlement.

Crime! In Canada! Tell me it's not true... lol

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Is this a solicitation for cleaning supplies to wash that poor baby? I figure from the small size of your house in the background that times must be tough.

stickguy

I was thinking the trunk issue could be accidentally key button pushing. Once in a while I set off the alarm in the garage when I lean on my keys the wrong way.

fintail

Now that I think about it, a friend of mine with an MKZ also had a trunk opening issue last year. I wonder if random frequencies in the air via anything from garage door openers to remotes to phones can sometimes set them off.

graphicguy

Bradd......

Now we're talking. Looks great (so far).

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Is this a solicitation for cleaning supplies to wash that poor baby? I figure from the small size of your house in the background that times must be tough.

LOL. If you see @nyccarguy with a sign that says "Will Work For Car Wash Soap" you know times are tough...

thebean

@abacomike, I think a call to Ghostbusters might be in order.  I hear those Florida poltergeists are really vindictive.  

Mr_Shiftright

Does this car have one of those "leg-under the bumper" openers?

abacomike

I spoke with the insurance reps and they said the dealership is going to have to contact a "Pricing Department" phone line because their estimate is twice what the cost of replacing the windshield based upon "usual and customary" pricing. So, now the insurance company and the dealership will have to fight it out. And, of course, I am right in the middle with no say or power to speed things up. Not a fun position to be in.

I am just hoping the car is not going to be laid up at the dealership for another 2 weeks.

While the car is in for service, they informed me of several service bulletins that they need to perform on the car. One is the "Poltergeist" problem - inadvertent trunk opening. It happens in all their cars with motor driven trunk releases and closures, but less than 1%. I mentioned here that the fix for that is to reprogram the car so that you cannot open the trunk unless the car doors are unlocked first. I told them I had no problem with that if it will fix the issue. If it doesn't fix the problem and this happens again, that will be the third trip back to the dealership for the same thing. We will have to see.

There is another service bulletin that has something to do with fuel lines. I guess it is in all cars equipped with the 3.0 liter inline 6 with turbo. So they have already done that.

They have to wait to reprogram my car's computer because only a zone technician has the codes to do that. Interesting.

I'm just hoping that the dealership and the insurance company can come to some agreement to get this windshield replace quickly. They have already replaced the trunk lining, upper, side and lower panels, in order to avoid any chance of mildew.

It sure is an interesting life!

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

Does this car have one of those "leg-under the bumper" openers?

Yes it does. According to the BMW service manager, the reprogramming will not affect the "leg-under the bumper" opener function, surprisingly. We shall see.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, well, we'll see indeed.....

suydam

abacomike said:

I spoke with the insurance reps and they said the dealership is going to have to contact a "Pricing Department" phone line because their estimate is twice what the cost of replacing the windshield based upon "usual and customary" pricing. So, now the insurance company and the dealership will have to fight it out. And, of course, I am right in the middle with no say or power to speed things up. Not a fun position to be in.

I am just hoping the car is not going to be laid up at the dealership for another 2 weeks.

While the car is in for service, they informed me of several service bulletins that they need to perform on the car. One is the "Poltergeist" problem - inadvertent trunk opening. It happens in all their cars with motor driven trunk releases and closures, but less than 1%. I mentioned here that the fix for that is to reprogram the car so that you cannot open the trunk unless the car doors are unlocked first. I told them I had no problem with that if it will fix the issue. If it doesn't fix the problem and this happens again, that will be the third trip back to the dealership for the same thing. We will have to see.

There is another service bulletin that has something to do with fuel lines. I guess it is in all cars equipped with the 3.0 liter inline 6 with turbo. So they have already done that.

They have to wait to reprogram my car's computer because only a zone technician has the codes to do that. Interesting.

I'm just hoping that the dealership and the insurance company can come to some agreement to get this windshield replace quickly. They have already replaced the trunk lining, upper, side and lower panels, in order to avoid any chance of mildew.

It sure is an interesting life!

Hope they've given you a good loaner!

jmonroe

abacomike said:

I spoke with the insurance reps and they said the dealership is going to have to contact a "Pricing Department" phone line because their estimate is twice what the cost of replacing the windshield based upon "usual and customary" pricing. So, now the insurance company and the dealership will have to fight it out. And, of course, I am right in the middle with no say or power to speed things up. Not a fun position to be in.

I am just hoping the car is not going to be laid up at the dealership for another 2 weeks.

While the car is in for service, they informed me of several service bulletins that they need to perform on the car. One is the "Poltergeist" problem - inadvertent trunk opening. It happens in all their cars with motor driven trunk releases and closures, but less than 1%. I mentioned here that the fix for that is to reprogram the car so that you cannot open the trunk unless the car doors are unlocked first. I told them I had no problem with that if it will fix the issue. If it doesn't fix the problem and this happens again, that will be the third trip back to the dealership for the same thing. We will have to see.

There is another service bulletin that has something to do with fuel lines. I guess it is in all cars equipped with the 3.0 liter inline 6 with turbo. So they have already done that.

They have to wait to reprogram my car's computer because only a zone technician has the codes to do that. Interesting.

I'm just hoping that the dealership and the insurance company can come to some agreement to get this windshield replace quickly. They have already replaced the trunk lining, upper, side and lower panels, in order to avoid any chance of mildew.

It sure is an interesting life!

@roadburner's post has already told you all you have to know about your dealer.

You better believe your insurance company will have more success than you will. If not they will find another dealer that plays by the book.

We all know that car buying is a snake pit in Southern Fla. It follows that dealers service departments are not going to be left out of the lucrative game.

We await the next chapter.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I spoke with the insurance reps and they said the dealership is going to have to contact a "Pricing Department" phone line because their estimate is twice what the cost of replacing the windshield based upon "usual and customary" pricing. So, now the insurance company and the dealership will have to fight it out. And, of course, I am right in the middle with no say or power to speed things up. Not a fun position to be in.

I am just hoping the car is not going to be laid up at the dealership for another 2 weeks.

While the car is in for service, they informed me of several service bulletins that they need to perform on the car. One is the "Poltergeist" problem - inadvertent trunk opening. It happens in all their cars with motor driven trunk releases and closures, but less than 1%. I mentioned here that the fix for that is to reprogram the car so that you cannot open the trunk unless the car doors are unlocked first. I told them I had no problem with that if it will fix the issue. If it doesn't fix the problem and this happens again, that will be the third trip back to the dealership for the same thing. We will have to see.

There is another service bulletin that has something to do with fuel lines. I guess it is in all cars equipped with the 3.0 liter inline 6 with turbo. So they have already done that.

They have to wait to reprogram my car's computer because only a zone technician has the codes to do that. Interesting.

I'm just hoping that the dealership and the insurance company can come to some agreement to get this windshield replace quickly. They have already replaced the trunk lining, upper, side and lower panels, in order to avoid any chance of mildew.

It sure is an interesting life!

At least you have a hobby.