UK New 94Ah delivered at dealer, but they can't register it

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terminus

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2016
Messages
17
Location
United Kingdom
Hello,
I have had a new 94Ah REx on order since May. It arrived in the UK this week and I am told today that it is now at my dealer. But (I'm tempted to shout!) they can't register it! Has anyone else in the UK had the same problem and/or know what the reason is?
I am suspicious that BMW UK have not done the appropriate registration of the 94Ah version as a new vehicle type and so it's not on the DVLA (central government driver and vehicle register in the UK) records. I don't know. I have phoned the central BMW i UK importers and they say "they know of the problem". The dealer themselves have no idea how long it will take to have the car registered and so available to me.
So near and yet so far!
Anyone else have any knowledge of this situation?
Best regards.
 
I have been running an i3 since early March 2014. Having done around 35000miles in it I decided to chop it in and get the larger capacity battery version.

I've just had the same news from Sopers in Lincoln. Delivery would be this week but for the DVLA refund delay.

I have suggested that I pay the balance and they refund me when its paid. They are taking time to consider my suggestion.

Regards Chris

27.07.2016....latest news. Sopers will not allow me to pay the grant myself as they say the DVLA may refuse to pay it later if the car is driven before they check the new model.
 
My 2017 is on the way across the North Atlantic now, expected to hit Halifax on Friday. I am in Ontario and the big concern I have is on our rebate for the EV incentive. The 2017 is still not listed with the Ontario government and until it is I cannot claim. It is a $13,000 CAD rebate, so that is money I am fronting until I get the rebate cheque. Also, we have up to $1000.00 rebate for the install of an L2 charger. That rebate cannot be claimed until the EV rebate has been confirmed. For both the car and the charger, I have up to 6 months to claim from purchase date.

I have inquired at the dealer level and they state it is a BMW corp responsibility to get the vehicles registered with the ministry to qualify for the rebate. I contacted the head office and they said to talk to my dealer. :roll:

Hearing your dilemma, I REALLY hope we don't have yet another hurdle to contend with.

BMW Canada appear completely disorganized and customer service is somewhat lacking at this point.
 
I too am told there is a delay with registering the new i3 for the electric vehicle grant, something one imagines would be high up the list at BMW given how many they are likely to sell without it!

Awaiting an update although my car is not due to dealer until next week anyway.
 
I think that the 94Ah i3 was supposed to be available from August. If this is correct I wonder if DVLA were given a date and won't release anything until that date.

I also ordered an i3 in May and have been given a delivery date of 30 Sept. I really want it earlier so that I don't have to have an MOT on my Z4. It also very close to the mileage when it needs its next service.

Hope DVLA & BMW sort it out so you get your i3 ASAP.
 
Update:
I had an email from a very kind man at OLEV this afternoon that said
"Malcolm,
The BMW i3 94Ah has now been added to the list of vehicles eligible for the plug-in car grant.
Enjoy driving your new low emission BMW!
Best wishes, ..."
I have forwarded it to the salesperson I am dealing with at the BMW dealer in the hope that I will have the car by Sunday?
I must say that OLEV have been very helpful and open about what is going on - unlike BMW. It turns out that BMW did not submit the final documentation until Monday this week. (I am not impressed so far, I have bought VW's for the forty years before my Ampera last year.)
Good luck to new owners of the 94Ah - let's report on our experiences with it in this forum.
 
At least One has been delivered today Friday - so storm in a teacup. Enjoy your new car; plenty of help and useful info plus banter over on the i3 UK facebook group.
 
Nearly there. I now have the reg. no., insured, etc. Subject to my "Faster Payment" arriving in time (I think it will) then I shall be collecting 12:00 tomorrow.
------------------
It will be REx with absolutely "all the trimmings" except music subscription and cigarette lighter. May be I'll regret the choice of the blue, but, what the hell. It's more like a late-life-crisis for me than a mid-life-crisis. Been there, done that - a BMW K750 bike - delicious, but a bit scary.
 
terminus said:
Nearly there. I now have the reg. no., insured, etc. Subject to my "Faster Payment" arriving in time (I think it will) then I shall be collecting 12:00 tomorrow.
About an hour after that posting I had a phone call from the trainee salesperson with the difficult job of dealing with my purchase. Yes, they now had the documents back from me, proof of insurance, and most importantly my money in their bank, BUT the car is faulty and cannot be charged! Given that by that time I understand they'd had the thing (sic) on their premises for a week, and I had been told a number of times that it was being made ready and that they only glitch was not due to them but to the stalled registration process, I was not pleased, to say the least.
If it weren't so damned annoying it would be funny - no it wouldn't. It is really almost incredible. The only sweetener they have offered is that when (I'm sondering if?) it ever is ready they have offered to pick me up and drive me to collect it (only 15 miles, but over a two hour journey by public transport otherwise).
So, I have to sit back and wait further news. It may be fixable by them? I can't work out how a car gets through their final checks off the production line and somehow on the train/ship/transporters to Leicester gets "broken".
I have totally lost faith in BMW, never having owned one before. No probs -quite the reverse - with good old VW through all these 45 years to date of buying new (petrol: Golf, Polo, Polo, Polo).
I really feel angry/helpless with the situation. I am told that Facebook is a good place to air complaints. Should I do that?
Given that my cash is now in their account, can anyone suggest what levers I can pull to get some redress?
 
Reject the car as ‘not fit for purpose’. See http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-advice/your-new-car-rights and http://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/new-laws-protecting-car-buyers-come-into-force-on-october-1st
 
terminus said:
No probs -quite the reverse - with good old VW through all these 45 years to date

This isn't me trying to plug any particular manufacturer but just an observation regarding chance experiences with cars.

I've owned 8 BMWs in recent years and other than one faulty blower fan in a new 320d, I've had no problems.

I've owned 11 Fords and other than a window motor blown on a new Mondeo, no other problems to speak of.

Contrast that with my experience of VAG and their stealers

New Passat, CEL within days due to faulty sensor resulting in car being recovered

Passat just out of warranty
- first diagnosed wrongly as a faulty air mass meter (estimated repair £400) - they claimed they had changed it for me to test it, I know they didn't cos I marked the old one before taking it in to the dealer!
- second diagnosed wrongly as a blown turbo (estimated repair £1400) - the turbo was fine and I knew it!
- blown solenoid on waste gate valve resolved in 10 minutes by an Indy for £70

Nearly new TT drinking oil like there had never been a war in Iraq, diagnosed as "it's just one of those quirky thinks about our engines Sir" - part ex'ed it faster than it could drink the oil!

IMO it's just luck / chance / fate / Friday afternoon car syndrome, whatever you want to call it, I've learned through bitter experience that any car from any manufacturer can have faults.

That said, as has been pointed out earlier, it's a new car and it ought not to be broken before you even get it. I would ask for the money back by return with interest as they have no right to be keeping it without having fulfilled their side of the contract especially with no indication of likely time scales. I would then be asking them what exactly was broken as if it is relatively minor then I wouldn't worry.

Whether you trust them to tell you the truth of course is another matter and my experience of car dealerships is that I wouldn't trust them to tell the truth, period. The delay in fixing it will probably be your best indication of the seriousness of the problem.

Feeling your pain though :roll:
 
When dealers treat us like this it just reinforces the Tesla sales model. My Bro purchased a Tesla some time ago. No haggling, knew what he wanted and got it for the recommended price. No up-selling, or bait & switch tactics as tried by the dealer here. Tesla Model S delivered to his front door and was provided a comprehensive induction to the car. No rush through as was my experiecne with the BMW dealership. My next EV will be a Model 3, not because the i3 is a bad car, on the contrary it is brilliant and the best car I have ever owned, but the purchase experience left lots to be desired. Oh and Tesla give an 8 year unlimited km warranty, not so with BMW.
 
It's a game of chance. If you have bad luck, you can have these kind of problems from any make.

I took delivery of a VW Golf with 13km on the clock. I drove home and the engine expired at 22km. The car was flat trucked back to the dealer and the engine was inspected and partly disassembled. After 2 days, I was notified that a replacement vehicle was on the way and the original delivered car was faulty and was being shipped back to Germany!

These are very uncommon issues. Better that they happen early.
 
I have seen a few posts here and on other sites about i3s either with the dealer or actually on the road.

I would be interested to know when the cars were ordered. I ordered an i3 Rex Protonic Blue in May and am still been told to expect delivery 30 Sept. When I ordered the dealer told me I was only the 2nd person to order the new i3 (I assume they meant at that dealership).

I am hoping for early September to avoid having to MOT my Z4 and also to avoid getting it serviced. The thought has crossed my mind that as they knew how many miles to the next service when I they offered a trade in price that they are delaying delivery so that I either have to pay for another service or they can knock the price down if it is overdue for a service.

Maybe I am a cynic, but then again...
 
How many miles was it to service? They would service it as a matter of course anyway before it went on the forecourt so I would expect that to have been factored in. MOT won't cost them anything other than the fee. A few months additional depreciation will dwarf all that.

FWIW I signed the order on 11th June and was given a delivery date of 3 September

Their systems are such that they should be spot on with production line slots for the build. It's not as if it's in competition with other models being from a dedicated assembly line.

Delivery is a bit more of a variable as the car needs to get on a ship in competition with many others and then find its way to the dealer.
 
You are right about MOT and service not costing the dealer very much. However, it is a cost to me if I have to do it before trading in. I could possibly get away with missing the service but I can't put off the MOT.

WeBuyAnyCar are offering about £1000 more than the dealer and they will certainly use a missed service to knock the price down. Then again, by time we get to September, the price is likely to drop to similar to the dealers offer as convertibles are more desirable in the summer.

Hope you enjoy your i3 when it arrives
 
I tried WBAC too, they offered better than dealer and I used it to barter dealer up. I had the advantage of a second car though so I traded the part exchange in to stop the depreciation clock running.

I wouldn't bother with service, I traded a Z4 in a while back and I'd not realised the service indicator was on, I just missed it somehow.

They didn't bat an eyelid when it went in.
 
terminus said:
terminus said:
Nearly there. I now have the reg. no., insured, etc. Subject to my "Faster Payment" arriving in time (I think it will) then I shall be collecting 12:00 tomorrow.
About an hour after that posting I had a phone call from the trainee salesperson with the difficult job of dealing with my purchase. Yes, they now had the documents back from me, proof of insurance, and most importantly my money in their bank, BUT the car is faulty and cannot be charged! Given that by that time I understand they'd had the thing (sic) on their premises for a week, and I had been told a number of times that it was being made ready and that they only glitch was not due to them but to the stalled registration process, I was not pleased, to say the least............. So, I have to sit back and wait further news. .......
MY UPDATE (Thursday evening, 4th Aug) - little communication from the dealer. Today I phoned them to ask on progress, having finally got the name of the service manager at the dealership. He said they had ordered new LIN* board from Germany (when asked what that is he said couldn't say because it's in German). He said something about "it's the bit between the charging connectors and the battery". They expect it to arrive in middle of next week. Why I can order stuff retail on Ebay from Germany and have it arrive with me within two days, yet it takes a week to get a part from BMW to get one of their broken brand new cars back on the road I don't know.
The dealer, having consulted BMWi headquarters in Farnborough, is offering a loan car (anything small will do me, just enough to and do the shopping!) I hope that happens pretty soon - like tomorrow?
Still my little Blue i3 sits motionless and tantalising at the dealer - it's been there for getting on a fortnight.
------
*I have learned a little about LIN, courtesy Google/Wiki. It stands for Local Interconnect Network - a serial network protocol - the way components of a car communnicate with each other. Because of the relatively low-tech and slow speed needed in automobile comms., it can be implemented much more cheaply and simply than more generic alternative protocols and hardware. It was originally developed by BMW/VW/Merc/Volvo but has now become an ISO standard. It can typically be used (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Interconnect_Network#Applications) to control and respond to things like roof, steering wheel, seats, engine, grille, climate, doors, illumination (and presumably charging the battery in EVs!).
 
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