Requesting Original Spec from BMW

[mattchubb]

Previously when I bought my last BMW I emailed BMW for the original spec and service history detailings for the car..... I've just emailed them today about the car I'm buying and I've got an email back saying the following

"We no longer offer this service by email. For all vehicle specification checks please call 0906 209 0001 for the dedicated Vehicle Information Team, who will provide you with full vehicle specifications and details of BMW Approved Dealership visits. The service is available Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Please be aware that calls to this line will be charged at the rate of £1 per minute"

£1 a minute!!! thats daylight robbery!

[bramley]

I had no problem spending 3 or 4 minutes on a call to that number when I was thinking of buying my 530. Gave lots of useful info and as such I don't understand why people whinge about the cost so much tbh.

How much did the car cost? Call cost as a %age of car value?

Now, the cost for screenwash etc, yeah, but this is one service I'm happy to pay for.

[Richair]

An area of fat that has been trimmed I guess! But if there is a (free) alternative I'd also like to hear it...

N270 FTR 328i touring; wink to any friendly dealers on here with access to the data

[mattchubb]

dont get me wrong bramley, i will probably give them a call from work but I guess I was just a bit surprised to get an email back saying that its not free anymore...

[pangster79]

mattchubb said:

dont get me wrong bramley, i will probably give them a call from work but I guess I was just a bit surprised to get an email back saying that its not free anymore...

I got the same email back as well.. I asked the about information around my car - I then received a response asking me to confirm what my country of residence was etc:

BMW Customer Services said:

Dear xxx,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Please send us your full postal address and country of residence. We will then be able to respond to your request or forward it to the relevant department.

Kind Regards,
BMW Customer Service Team

---

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
Board of Management: Norbert Reithofer, Chairman,
Frank-Peter Arndt, Herbert Diess, Klaus Draeger,
Friedrich Eichiner, Harald Krüger, Ian Robertson
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Joachim Milberg
Registered in: Munich HRB 42243

---

I then duly sent them in the information they asked for and got this initial response:

BMW Customer Services said:

Dear xxx,

Thank you for your e-mail.

We have assigned your matter to the relevant department for assessment. Please expect their direct response.

We highly appreciate your patience in the short interim.

Kind Regards,
BMW Customer Service Team

---

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
Board of Management: Norbert Reithofer, Chairman,
Frank-Peter Arndt, Herbert Diess, Klaus Draeger,
Friedrich Eichiner, Harald Krüger, Ian Robertson
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Joachim Milberg
Registered in: Munich HRB 42243

---

and then a day or say later (once it had probably worked its way round to BMW UK) - I got this response:

BMW Customer Services UK said:

Dear xxx

Thank you for your further email.

I am sorry to read of your disappointment with our response. The premium rate line reflects the cost to BMW of providing this service. The cost of continuing to provide this information by email would not represent good value for money so this option has been removed. The decision to introduce the premium rate line was a decision made by BMW UK.

The contact details for BMW in Germany are as follows:

BMW AG
Peutuelring 130
80788 Munchen

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

Yours sincerely

BMW Group UK
Darren Hough
Customer Information Advisor
Ellesfield Avenue
Bracknell RG12 8TA

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.bmw.co.uk

it transpires that it was a decision made by BMW UK going by the above.. which means that pretty much everywhere else it's free!!.. talk about rip off Britain - again!.. the best bit is that it probably takes them just about the same amount of time to ping you off the snooty response as it would to cut and paste your car details from their system.. It's my first BMW and I'm not that impressed with the customer service so far! - this is a service that most other manufacturers provide for free and surely costs them no more money to action than it does to send you the above email.

I have no problem in paying for services etc - it's more the principal I have an issue with as people have received this in the past for free from them and I also wanted the details in writing from them.. which means they would probably ask me to send them in a stamp addressed envelope!!! Grrr...

Edited by pangster79 on Thursday 2nd April 18:00

[Toilet Duck]

bramley said:

I don't understand why people whinge about the cost so much tbh.

Why should you be charged for asking for specific details on a car which you are interested in purchasing? If you are going to spend X thousands of pounds on a car, you shouldn't have to pay a single penny to find out what exactly you are going to get for your hard earned. I don't see what the difference is between this and charging punters an entrance fee to visit showrooms and charging for test rides. If they could get away with it, I'm sure BMW would like to charge you as a customer for using their public toilets as well, probably by the sheet if you're unlucky enough to need a poo.

[gavner81]

I can understand BMW charging for this facility because when I bought BMW's from auction I often used to ask BMW about service history, options and colour of the interior before bothering to attend the auction to buy a specific car. Guess I took up too much of their time. Fortunately British Car Auctions website now provides pics of cars and details of service history so that I dont have to.

[JimexPL]

As said above, I expect it was the dealers/traders that created this change. When I was in the trade BMW customer services was one of my speed dials to find out spec and history!
£1 per minute is fair considering the level of detail that BMW HQ pass on e.g every date that the car has been in to a dealer and that dealers address, as well as the full factory spec, supplying dealer, original list price for P11ds etc. Not many manufacturers go into that level of detail, partuclarily on older cars.

I rang them up when buying my E46 and found that the car had a service pack on with 2 services remaining - well worth the £4 I spent on the phone call!

I used to find that Reanult UK were one of the most helpful (and local rate if that bothers you), even investigating the warranty situation on a 2 year old Cyrpus import that I part exchanged and coming back to be with a letter saying that they would honour the 3 year UK warranty even though the car only came with 2 in Cyprus!

[Shropshiremike]

Richair said:

An area of fat that has been trimmed I guess! But if there is a (free) alternative I'd also like to hear it...

N270 FTR 328i touring; wink to any friendly dealers on here with access to the data

You haven't got rid of your Growler have you Rich? I presume the 328i is just a runabout?

[Richair]

O/T: the growler was sold in jan So yes I bought the '28 as a nice run-about! I still have the mk1 though...

Probably see you monday evening if you're going

[Shropshiremike]

Richair said:

O/T: the growler was sold in jan So yes I bought the '28 as a nice run-about! I still have the mk1 though...

Probably see you monday evening if you're going

Ah, I've got a 328i as a runabout as well.
Keeps the miles off my good car, a Ford....