FWIW… BMW of North America has issued a stop sales of all CPO and used BMWs affected by the airbag recall to all dealerships. So unless the airbag has been replaced, no BMW dealer is allowed to sell any preowned BMW that has been affected by the recall.

I believe CarMax also has done the same.

There’s estimated 800k BMWs affected by this recall and it seems like parts will only start to be available in limited quantities in August of this year, with preference given to regions in hot and humid climates and to older vehicles

[quote=spdrun]There’s an option to disconnect the fucking thing and install a 5-point. Who needs explosives in their face anyway?[/quote]

Have you even bothered to think about what you say?

Aside from a 5 point being impractical for daily driver use.

Using a 5 point harness in a daily driver without a racing seat isn’t “safer” since they really only work effectively with racing seats. And using a 5point and racing seat without wearing a neck restraint like a HANS restraint is great way keep your torso strapped in while letting your head bobble around and snapping your neck should happen to be involved in a frontal crash that was serious enough to deploy the airbag.

Not to mention 5 points aren’t DOT approved, which means if you ever get pulled over, you will get ticketed or worse.

Ok… So I discussed this issue with a few friends, and went ahead and called a few stealers and some subcontracted car rental places and BMW of North America.

My first go around resulted in the following information:

1. BMW is offering to give people affected by this recall a rental car for up to $55/day, rented on a per month basis. You have visit a dealer, and sign a bunch of paperwork, and agree that you will not drive your affected car until after it has been repaired.

2. There is no concrete ETA on when the airbag modules will be available, but some of the dealerships are saying that for us (California), it will most likely be 2017, since priority will be given to people in humid climates.

3. No injury/death has occurred in any BMW’s (yet) as a result of this problem. Keyword is yet.

4. There currently is a stop sales on all preowned BMWs affected by this recall. Dealerships are not allowed to sell any preowned BMW with this issue.

#4 has interesting implications for folks planning to do a trade in…

Apparently, Honda and Toyota have a similar thing going on, because the fleet rental agency I called in Carlsbad referred me to the fleet office in Encinitas and Clairemont, because they said the Carlsbad one deals more of the rentals from toyota and honda customers.

So if you are affected by this recall, you have to ask/insist before they give it to you.

Hmm. A free rental until 2017. No maintenance, no repairs on wear and tear items on the rental, unlimited mileage… and if you own multiple cars, you can temporarily stop your insurance on the recalled car that you won’t be driving. (Your insurance policy probably says for a car rental, any policy on any car would cover the rental, like mine does..)….When I have time, I’m going to be calling BMW NA to ask to see if they’ll offer a direct reimbursement to me and/or to see if there’s any comps from #4 as a result of accelerated depreciation…not that I was going to ever trade my car in.

[quote=5yearwaiter][quote=flu]Ok… So I discussed this issue with a few friends, and went ahead and called a few stealers and some subcontracted car rental places and BMW of North America.

My first go around resulted in the following information:

1. BMW is offering to give people affected by this recall a rental car for up to $55/day, rented on a per month basis. You have visit a dealer, and sign a bunch of paperwork, and agree that you will not drive your affected car until after it has been repaired.

2. There is no concrete ETA on when the airbag modules will be available, but some of the dealerships are saying that for us (California), it will most likely be 2017, since priority will be given to people in humid climates.

3. No injury/death has occurred in any BMW’s (yet) as a result of this problem. Keyword is yet.

4. There currently is a stop sales on all preowned BMWs affected by this recall. Dealerships are not allowed to sell any preowned BMW with this issue.

#4 has interesting implications for folks planning to do a trade in…

Apparently, Honda and Toyota have a similar thing going on, because the fleet rental agency I called in Carlsbad referred me to the fleet office in Encinitas and Clairemont, because they said the Carlsbad one deals more of the rentals from toyota and honda customers.

So if you are affected by this recall, you have to ask/insist before they give it to you.

Hmm. A free rental until 2017. No maintenance, no repairs on wear and tear items on the rental, unlimited mileage… and if you own multiple cars, you can temporarily stop your insurance on the recalled car that you won’t be driving. (Your insurance policy probably says for a car rental, any policy on any car would cover the rental, like mine does..)….When I have time, I’m going to be calling BMW NA to ask to see if they’ll offer a direct reimbursement to me and/or to see if there’s any comps from #4 as a result of accelerated depreciation…not that I was going to ever trade my car in.[/quote]

More update on this : I called BMW Encinitas and they de brief that this is only precautionary but not much of anything danger. Upon asking the other alternative if I am not feeling comfortable to drive my car until the airbag removed, and I openly asked what alternative we can get, then very inconveniently brought up the point they can give $48 max and that is also from Enterprise Rental car. I am not really understand why this kind of bind over with particular rental company? Why not even they allow us to rent some good cars with the same amount of money they are ready to give and sure we do get few better cars from others with the same money.
I am not sure whom we can reach out to finalize this issue.[/quote]

Actually, I didn’t want to name dealerships but when I called 3 of the 4 dealerships here in SD, that one was the only one that initially didn’t give me an honest answer. They told me “not to worry”. BMW of SD was the first one to mention that I didn’t feel comfortable driving my own car, BMW NA has a rental reimbursement program and they explained to me how it works. What’s interesting is that BMW NA is saying $55/day, while as some dealers are saying anywhere between $44-48. So….. maybe this is something you want to take up with BMW NA directly.

Here was the detail of the financial aid package thrown at the dealers… You might get a better package if you deal with BMW NA directly. Haven’t tried (yet)…
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160321/RETAIL07/303219967/bmw-readies-financial-aid-for-dealers-hobbled-by-takata-recall

“There are many plans in the making to help our customers and our dealers get through the recall,” a BMW spokesman said. “We understand the urgency, and the details are being finalized as quickly as possible.”

Mercedes-Benz USA will help dealers offset flooring and depreciation related to the recall, according to the spokesman. It also will allow dealers to take affected vehicles in on trade, he said.