Wanted to share with you guys.
Needed to share my thoughts/experience with RFT's on my bimmer.

I was driving through Durham NC on my way to Richmond VA for business and got a flat in my rear passenger side tire at ~6pm this past Sunday night as I was exiting to city to make it to my hotel in Richmond on time.
The TPM sensor went off and I immediately called BMW roadside assistance(BMWRA). My first impression was that the car was unable to tell me which tire out of the 4 it was... weird? why have the TPM's if they can't even tell you which tire it is. BMWRA basically told me that they could have the car towed to the dealership in Chapel Hill and it would be evaluated in the morning (Monday). I had to leave my car in Durham and take my friend's car up to Richmond while setting up the towing to the dealership. I called the dealership at 7:30 am on Monday and to my great surprise, they have no connection with BMWRA, and have no clue what's wrong with the car. They then procede to tell me that they have a full schedule and are unsure if they will be able to get to it today. I explained to them that I have to be back in South Carolina for work the following morning and would appreciate if they were able to take care of the problem. I called back around noon and the car had not been in the workshop yet! I get a call an hour later and am told that they believe that the rear passenger tire has a flat due to a large nail in it. They refuse to patch the tire, citing BMW policy, and then tell me that they have actually run out of this particular tire and they will have to buy it locally. They then informed me that the total with tax will be over $600 for the replacement RFT!! I again ask to patch which they deny me. I then asked to place a conventional tire for the time being, and am told that they will not do that b/c they will not let the car run with different tread patterns, and that ultimately they are responsible. I again asked to patch or place a conventional tire and let me assume the responsibility - no way.

I cannot understand how BMW thought it would be good for their customers to place RFT on 3-series cars. I have never paid more than ~$140 (price of a new tire) to fix a flat before in my life, and it usually runs <$15 to simply patch it.

When I purchased the car I was told that the RFT's would go ~50 miles from the time os puncture, that it would save me from placing a spare, and that BMWRA would come and take care of me. I was also told that RFT's are only 30% more than conventional tires and that I BMW survey showed that the majority of BMW owners would rather not have to place a spare.
The reality is that the RFT's are 30% more than very expensive of high performance tire for the road priced at ~$220/tire meaning that on Tirerack they are ~$280 for the fronts and ~$340 for the rears. And they cannot be plugged/patched, so the price of an average flat repair goes from ~$15 to about $280-340, if you buy them for Tirerack, not the dealer. I was charged over $500 for my tire. A single tire.

My last car was a Benz. The only time I ever got a flat in it, I called M-B roadside assistance and they showed up in a Benz SUV, took the wheel off, plugged the tire in front of me, put it back on the car and offered me a handshake, not a bill!!!

If anyone else has had a similar experience as I, please send a not to BMW NA to let them know how you feel, so that they may understand the error of their ways. They should also offer an acceptable solution to anyone who wants to switch to conventional tires without having to be penalized by the lack of spare, or by any warranty issues in the future due to non-OEM equipment.

I believe the address is:

BMW NA
Customer Assistance Center
PO Box 1227
Westwood NJ
07625-1227

(800) 831-1117

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to share, inform, and unite.

TIA
Mike

 

I have written a letter to the editors at Car and Driver which they will hopefully publish and plan on contacting BMW NA to let the know how I feel.
Again, please feel free to do the same. We should not be taken advantage of in this way.

 

Dude, that's horrible. I'm actually very surprised and sad to hear that. The irony in your post is astounding and unsettling.

 

I've had similar issues with BMW dealers and my E90 and E92. My mother had a flat on the E90...the car was picked up by roadside assistance and delivered to a dealership quite a ways away from our home. After we specifically requested that the vehicle be delivered to a dealership within a reasonable distance. We ended up paying 355 dollars for a front RFT when they sell for 280 on Tirerack. I understand that dealers overprice items...just hate to be taken advantage of. The real kicker was that they found a way to chip the windscreen road testing the car and didn't let us know. After the dealership delivered the car to my mother home; she did a walk around and discovered the damage!

Needless to say she was a bit ticked off; especially with the fact that the employees from the dealership delivered the car and didn't disclose what happened. I was out of the country at the time, my mother decided to just repair the damage herself against my wishes. She contacted the dealership and let them know how upset she was and that she'd never allow them to do any work on her vehicle again.

Later the car developed a flat on the rear...we were promptly told that it couldn't be repaired and billed $100.00 for that revelation!

Now on to my 335 coupe. I developed a bulge in the sidewall on a front tire (cords split). I'd never purchase RFT's again. As soon as I get a chance I'm going to replace all 4. They are an absolute hassle. I only have 9k miles!

 

I know it is completely ridiculous.
It goes something like this:
1. BMW puts tires on the car that can't be repaired without the option of a spare if the customer wants to switch to conventional tires in the future
2. Customer gets a flat b/c ironically enough the RFT's are more prone to flats
3. Customer calls roadside assistance if he is >50 miles away from 'help', or thinks that roadside assistance is there for just that: roadside assistance..
4. Roadside assistance informs the customer that he will only tow to a dealership
5. Dealership refuses to patch/plug, citing BMW policy
6. Dealership forces you to pay for replacement tire at a rate of almost 2x as much as Tirerack, which is also about 2x as much as they would charge to sell you a conventional tire.
7. BMW and Dealership make money.
8. SCAM