Making some progress through the BMW Takata airbag stop sale

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 04/27/2016 at 13:44 • Filed to: None

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Today I learned that it is completely impossible for me to trade in my leased 135is with a Takata shrapnel-bag because BMW USA is not legally allowed by the NHTSA to transfer ownership to anyone. It has to go back to the dealership where I leased it.

A couple weeks ago when I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , that morning when I tried to check my payoff amount, I got the error message above. I thought it was a generic website error, and I couldn’t call the customer service number anyway because it was Saturday. I remembered the payoff from a couple days earlier had been $31,375 so that was good enough to try and work out a deal.

After not getting the Infiniti, I left for my vacation, and now I’m back and trying to figure out my car situation. I’m catching up with the people interested in my Jeep, and seeing what to do about replacing my BMW. This morning, I still got the same error message when I tried to get a payoff quote, so I called BMW.

Turns out, that is not a generic website error, and the reason the payoff quote is unavailable is because my car is officially part of the Takata airbag recall stop sale. The BMW rep said they’re not legally allowed by NHTSA to transfer ownership of the car under the stop sale, so there’s no way for anyone to take the car and pay the payoff. The car must go back to the dealership where I leased it at the end of the lease.

On the plus side, this phone rep did address one of the main reasons I was trying to ditch my 135is a couple months early, by waiving the replacement tire fee on 2 tires. So even though my rear tires are toast, if my fronts are still in decent shape, I won’t be charged anything for tires. They’re working with me to give me some flexibility to get a new car without having to trade in the 135is. It’s a little complicated.

On the minus side, seriously BMW USA, maybe you could use a bit less generic of a message than “your payoff is currently unavailable”! Because if that Infiniti dealer in Chicago had given me a decent enough trade offer and took my trade, they’d find out on the following Monday from BMW USA that they couldn’t actually take my car and I’d have to go all the way back to Chicago to switch cars. That would’ve sucked!

Come on BMW! Can’t you instead say something like “Looks like you’re looking to pay this car off. Sorry, you can’t! Call us ASAP”?

My local BMW dealer where I got the 135is is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , except that model also falls under the Takata recall, so any car that’s a lease return that they try to get for me, they probably can’t sell it to me anyway. Unless they manage to find a rare option combo that also doesn’t have a VIN that’s recalled . I don’t have high hopes of that.

Oh, and remember that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ? The non-BMW dealer selling that car emailed me that they lowered their price a little and put high-res photos on their site. It looks cleannnnnnn. Probably because they did a full detail on it.

Even though I don’t generally like tint, I kinda like that this one has lighter tint on the front windows. I actually sort of dig it. And I luuuuuuuurve this interior!

Bonus points for the fresh brakes and clutch the dealer put in, and the BMW Performance short shift kit. It’s got 40k miles which is pretty low for a 2011, an aftermarket 3 year powertrain warranty from the dealership, and those cursed Bridgestone RE050A run-flats that I want to light on fire but would replace.

So, cool, I have a bunch of potential buyers for my Jeep, some flexibility from BMW USA to get out of the 135is, and this 335i xDrive is really growing on me. Things are looking good, right?

Only problem is, I ran the VIN on this car through the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and it’s also part of the Takata recall . I don’t know if it’s legal for this place to even sell me this car.

Dru > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 13:50

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Red seats hhhhnnnnnnngggggggggg

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 14:27

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The 335s interior is gorgeous, and I’m guessing it doesn’t have a steering wheel mounted anti-personnel mine. Bonus!

Textured Soy Protein > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 04/27/2016 at 15:00

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BMW’s recall site says this 335 is also part of the Takata recall.

His Stigness > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 15:11

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In BMW’s defense in regards to the error message, it wouldn’t be their fault if you traded in the car on a Saturday before calling the number to find out. And I’m sure the Infiniti dealer wouldn’t have taken the car without getting the actual payoff amount, in which case they would have figured out they can’t buy the car.

That still sucks though, this Takata thing is a nightmare. I’m still waiting to find out if my Golf is part of the recall. I’m sure it has a Takata bag, but it seems Volkswagen won’t recall any cars that have German inflators, becuase they’re arguing only inflators made in humid climates are affected. Thankfully I also live in southern California so it’s not humid, but if I have a Takata inflator, whether it was made in Germany or not, I want that shit out of my car, yesterday! I should probably check the inflator in my Mercedes too, just in case. It’s expired anyways...

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 15:12

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Maybe BMW will spring for a new racing helmet. I wonder if these are Snell approved?

Textured Soy Protein > His Stigness 04/27/2016 at 15:20

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The Infiniti dealer was totally ready to take my word for it on that $31,375 and sort out the final details the following Monday, they just didn’t offer close enough to that amount for me to accept their deal.

If I was local, it would’ve been no big deal if they found out a couple days later that we’d have to trade back cars. But having to drive 300 miles round trip to trade back cars would be pretty damn annoying.

Luckily that didn’t end up happening, but I still think the error message is needlessly vague since there’s obviously a very specific reason behind the message.

His Stigness > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 15:48

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But I don’t think the system knows that, and it never knows why. They just probably go to each account and put a “hold” on it and then when you call the rep finds out why there’s a hold on it. I’m sure it took them a minute to find out why you couldn’t get the payout amount.

N51fanatic > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 16:29

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So i have a financed 128i, i am looking to unload it sometime soon. Your last post got me worried. I just looked up my payoff, and its right there plain as a day. I don’t get the error message. I’m thinking it has to do with the fact that you are leasing and ARE NOT the actual owner. The car is registered to BMW Financial, right? Where i am financing and car is registered to me. So in that case, BMW cant sell the car for liability reasons.

Textured Soy Protein > N51fanatic 04/27/2016 at 17:32

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You should check your VIN on the BMW recall page to see if your car is affected by the recall. If there’s no open recall on it you’re totally in the clear.

In my case with a leased car that’s part of the recall, BMW Financial owns the car, and they are prevented by the NHTSA from transferring the title of any Takata airbag recalled car to anyone else.

I’ve only have spoken with BMW Financial about my particular situation. My guess is the NHTSA can’t stop private individuals from transferring the titles of the affected cars, but I’m not an expert on this stuff.

If your car is part of the recall, you could still have difficulty if you were planning to trade in to a dealer, especially a new car dealer, because they would likely be prevented from selling a car with an open Takata recall.

N51fanatic > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 17:49

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I am part of the recall. I got the letter and my car is listed under open recall when i check it online.

brianbrannon > Textured Soy Protein 04/27/2016 at 18:28

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Unless they changed the regs NHTSA doesn’t prevent sales. The manufacturer can tell the dealer not to sell them, though