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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 18, 2019 15:59:23 GMT
...well, almost. X1 went for the MOT today. It doesn't really seem like I've had it for three years. It has been stood for nearly a month, except for a short run yesterday. I climbed in this morning and set off for the MOT appointment (combined with a free, BMW initiated "End of Warranty Check", and I have MOT protection as part of the servicing deal, so it was back to the dealer). Within 100 yards I'd noticed a distinct noise from the back which I can only describe as similar to that from a failing CV joint (i.e. intermittent in time with wheel rotation). Stopped and got out, checked the rear tyre (nothing noticeable) climbed back in and did another couple of hundred yards - same noise. Decided to carry on and get it looked at. Whilst it diminished somewhat, I could still hear it when I arrived at Stratstone, had another check of the wheel, pulled a large chunk of gravel out of the tyre tread (which I suspected was from immediately outside the dealers, as there had been half a mile or so of surface dressing), and asked them to check it out whilst working on it. When I returned, the mechanic had moved an ice-scraper from the rear boot pocket, and suspected that was the problem (not that sort of noise) so I said I'd take it for a spin, and if I could still hear it someone could come out with me. Nothing! Nada! It wasn't the ice-scraper, so they either disturbed the cause during their work, or it was the chunk of gravel I removed. Some things are sent to try us! I've also come up against BMW's crappy less than user friendly online presence again (they're for ever moving and breaking things - sometimes I can get to the info I want, but a good proportion of the time they have either moved stuff, or links are broke, or I simply can't get a response). A number of subscription services have expired/are expiring with the three years (you'd think they might all do it on the same day, but no). They have also bundled a set of services together at an attractive price (6 services for the price of two I definitely want to extend). So, when the first one expired and I got a reminder for it, I attempted to buy the bundle. The online portal allowed me to select the bundle; check that it was available for my car (by VIN), put it in the basket, and login to pay for it - at which point it told me it wasn't available for my car. (all this whilst in Canada). 'Phoned BMW once back and was informed that the services were initiated at factory gate, (which explains why the first one has just expired) and that the second one that I want, which expires next month, generally has an extra 90 days on it. Can't say I believe that explanation, surely one would expect any validity to start on registration date, but what can you do (the amount of time involved isn't worth arguing about as, though bought from stock, it was a very recent build). I was also told that the discrepancy between being told that a new subscription was available and then being tol it wasn't was because I hadn't added a payment method to my login. So, tried that, no change in the discrepancy. On 'phoning back, I was (eventually) told by a different person that the reason I couldn't actually buy the bundle was that the second of the two items I really want was still active (for another month) from the original car purchase. So, supposedly, if I wait another month I can buy the bundle then. (and as the one that has expired is the navigation updates, which seem to be once a year at the moment, and I've recently updated, I can wait without impact). Not the best user experience, though. Oh........and it passed the MOT  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2019 17:31:03 GMT
Sounds like a recipe for a buying a Fiat Punto....
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Jul 18, 2019 23:29:04 GMT
It's stories like this that convince me that computers, and AI generally, have some way to go before they can match the human brain. Any reasonable person can see that what you were told was stupid, but the computer software can't. It hasn't been programmed for T&E's particular needs - and as a customer who paid a lot of money for his X1, he's entitled to have those needs met.
I've no doubt that I'll get shot down for saying that....
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jul 19, 2019 6:59:20 GMT
That might explain one of the i3’s services, which expired on a date I couldn’t relate to purchase, delivery or any memory of signing up for it. MrsB1 never learned to use it anyway, and I’ve not missed it much, so I’ve not made a fuss, but the car is due for its first service in a few weeks so I might question it with the dealer then.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 19, 2019 7:28:03 GMT
...my (mechanical) service anniversaries (all calculated by the car itself under condition-based criteria) also seem to be largely aligned with factory release rather than registration. The one online "connected drive" service I was told has a 90 days extra allowance seems to align directly to that factory release date plus 90 days, so what I've been told may well be true.
My own theory, however, is that the dealer really should have reset a load of things to registration date before releasing the car, but hasn't. Given that I have it from BMW's equine mouth, however, that mine is largely as expected, there really isn't much mileage in chasing that theory up.
As I say, I bought my car from stock as a match for my basic requirements (and with some expensive non-specified extras thrown in "free" regardless of a discount against my requirements) but it hadn't been hanging round. The factory date is 10 weeks before registration date, so not a lot of discrepancy. That, combined with the fact that I took a (very*) cheap 5 years service plan as part of the deal negated any issues on mechanical servicing intervals for me.
The service that expired first, and at a date that bears no direct relationship to anything I can identify, is the Navigation updates - roughly 1 month before the 3rd anniversary of registration. I have had a number of systems before where the clock started running at the time of first navigation GPS "fix", and I wonder if something similar has happened here (i.e. someone invoked the Nav system during PDI or whatever). Given that I'm currently on the latest map anyway, a wait of a month before re-subscribing is of little consequence.
* The 5-year (BMW, not dealer) service plan price looked too good to be true when I negotiated it into the deal. Very quickly afterwards, it was removed as an option and replaced by a 3-year deal at almost the same price. It has never been re-introduced.
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Post by tyrednexited on Jul 21, 2019 18:56:48 GMT
....well, I told you their (BMW's) systems were dysfunctional. I logged on again today to check whether there really was a two-week window in which I could renew the Navigation updates. Remember (keep up at the back there) I knew they were slated to expire in June 2019, received an email from BMW reminding me they just had done (albeit it was somewhat after the quoted expiry date) and implying I had a two-week window for extension (what happened if I didn't extend and subsequently wanted to renew was not covered!). I tried to buy this renewal as part of a bundle, but it wouldn't let me because I had one other (bundled) active service which still had a few weeks to run. I was advised to let that expire and then buy the bundle (and there wasn't really a two-week window for renewal). On today's login, I noted that the Navigation updates now expire in June 2020 on the anniversary of the date on which they have just expired. I haven't paid for extension, the website has no record of me having done so (it has an "orders" section), and I haven't made any payment anywhere. FWIW, though I haven't been through the full process, it would also appear that the update capability is functioning for me. Vorsprung Durch Technik wasn't it  (I know that was Audi, I just couldn't resist the reference. Incidentally, my neighbour has just bought an Audi Q8, brand new (or the business has - I understand bought not leased, and £70K+ of car). Parts of the economy are doing OK, then). |
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Jul 21, 2019 19:15:15 GMT
I think I'd prefer the Q8 to a Q7. And both to a Bentley Bantayga. Underneath they will be sharing an awful lot. An SQ8 will be cheaper than the cheapest Bentayga.
Connected services though.... I think it's all more complicated than it needs to be and the likes of VW Group, BMW etc. could just throw in the updates for free for a few years for sure.
My Skoda has connectivity for emergency calls/accidents/service and this is used for the connected apps. The free period is 1 year. But the top end infotainment has a SIM slot for data which is used for the other connected services. It is now standard but an option when I got the Columbus sat nav (standard)... I just use a wifi hotspot when I go on a long journey.... and switch to Google maps on Android Auto if needs be. Built in sat nav gets traffic updates from TomTom if there's an Internet connection.
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Post by dixinormus on Aug 2, 2019 23:02:06 GMT
How on earth did we live without all this tech in our cars 20 years ago?! How has the human race survived.
Manufacturers are starting to put stuff in cars that really doesn’t interest me. This Lane Departure Warning schmozzle for example... if you can’t steer within your lane then perhaps it’s time to give up?!
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Aug 3, 2019 16:58:59 GMT
That makes me think back to my first ever car, a much-loved Austin A50, 14 years old when I got it in 1969.
It started first time every time. It never let me down on the road. Its performance was lively enough, and it pulled up quite steep hills in top (4th) gear. Its steering column gearchange was far smoother and easier than the floor change on the four BMC / BL cars that succeeded it. It was supremely comfortable, with leather seats as standard. To demist, you opened the quarterlights. For ventilation you turned the quarterlights right round. If you got lost, you stopped and looked at the map. And I enjoyed driving it.
Yes, of course, I could make an equally long list of things that modern cars do far better, starting with primary and secondary safety. But if you think what a car is for, that Austin did a pretty good job. And it was both British and reliable (eat your heart out, JLR).
I suppose that it's the 'tech' that Dixinormus reasonably complains about that goes wrong on Jaguars and Land Rovers, not the basic components that are common to both them and the 1955 A50.
Final thought: 20 years ago - maybe 25-30 - the human race survived without forums like this.
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Post by tyrednexited on Aug 3, 2019 17:25:45 GMT
Final thought: 20 years ago - maybe 25-30 - the human race survived without forums like this. ...that started something. I just had to check, and I can find traces of me on Usenet that are over 20 years old (and the nature of the debate was not much different from current forum practice - though a somewhat more "niche" userbase). |
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Aug 3, 2019 23:00:26 GMT
>> I can find traces of me on Usenet that are over 20 years old
I must have first used Usenet 30 years ago this coming October. But first used Buletin Boards more like 35 years ago. The monthly phone bill at the school was very very high but nobody said anything. One month it was over £1000 :-) I blame the slow speeds.
In teen years some friends had Prestel at home - the phone bill for that some months was hundreds too! We spent a lot of time on that. T'was the time of Robert Schifreen.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2019 0:16:20 GMT
I can remember BBS discussion groups based on dial-up uucp or Kermit connections from that era. Essentially unstructured flat 7bit ASCII text transferred over modems.
Shortly after that came Usenet which was still dial-up based but the newsgroup articles were structured and much easier to follow with a good newsreader. The problem was that while most of the early newsgroups were academic, just about anyone could create their own group to discuss any subject they wanted. Then came AOL and Usenet quickly descended into anarchy and chaos. Not only did traffic (and spam) increase exponentially but administrators of machines used for Usenet feeds and archives (often universities) had to be very careful about which groups they allowed because nothing was policed and a lot of illegal carp was being posted.
A quick Google shows that most ISPs do not provide Usenet and full access is a fee based service. I haven't used it for about 20yrs and can't see why anyone would want to pay for it.
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Post by tyrednexited on Aug 4, 2019 7:22:18 GMT
A quick Google shows that most ISPs do not provide Usenet and full access is a fee based service. I haven't used it for about 20yrs and can't see why anyone would want to pay for it. I certainly used other facilities before Usenet, but the point I was making is that the nature of the "conversation" that went on on the latter was little different from, say. this forum. Usenet newsgroups, and their (full, or at least comprehensive) archive, are currently hosted on Google Groups. Access there (free) looks very much like reading a more modern forum. In teen years some friends had Prestel at home...... In the very early years of commercial Prestel use, I implemented on-line access to Sealink's ferry reservation system via Prestel. Travel agents were then able to fully book via terminal. Prior to that, the Sealink pages were simply an online timetable, with booking requiring a 'phone call. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2019 22:07:23 GMT
Oh, I agree with the forum comparison. In the early days Usenet was informative and quite civilised, but once everyone and his dog got online it was total anarchy. Just about every newsgroup was flooded with pr0n, viagra ads and trolls.
>Usenet newsgroups, and their (full, or at least comprehensive) archive, are currently hosted on Google Groups.
Google got the archives when they bought Deja. They provide a partially cleaned up subset of Usenet but it's still littered with carp. It should be left to die disgracefully. I'm also a bit wary of reading newsgroup articles in a browser.
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Post by tyrednexited on Aug 23, 2019 18:58:34 GMT
...and the saga continues.
The service that was a "blocker" above has now expired, so I've had an attempt multiple attempts at renewing it.
The online service fell over with two different "internal errors" whilst logging in.
Then when I finally managed to login, I was able to select the required service, but attempting to buy it continually prompted me to check/alter my personal details. They being correct, I hit "Next", at which point it told me they were either incomplete or invalid, and refused to move on. All the details were correct, no mandatory fields were missing, no items were flagged (and either removing a mandatory field or entering an erroneous value caused the field to be highlighted). Checkmate.
Then I had a brainwave; you can actually purchase in the car via i_Drive. Went through the process, entered my username and password, "Internal Error". Checkmate in spades (to mix metaphors).
Now, I know IT is not BMW's core business (though it is becoming integral for most car manufacturers) but such failures do nothing for the image or customer relationships.
They'll be getting the call tomorrow - "Can you take a word of constructive criticism about your IT systems - they're crap!".
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