Member
thanks for the clear directions!
On the forward piece of carpet in the trunk (of the coupe anyway) -- how do you get it out? I unscrewed a couple of screws, maybe all that was holding it down was those strips of velcro? I didn't try pulling too hard, since I usually break something that way.
Member
That area of a Coupe has an asphalt (sound deadening) mat on it, so it is much harder to determine if there is any damage without scraping it away.Originally Posted by optic
Since you're in Seattle, I strongly urge you to visit Haury's Lake City Collision and talk to Jeff Butler (he's the local BMWCCA president, IIRC). Jeff knows exactly what to look for and has installed several of my kits for local enthusiasts. Tell him Randy sent you
One ///M Coupe bwah-haha!
limk pimpin' in BusinessWeek
(see links down at the bottom)
Member
We need to get the Z3s a new artical just like that one. then maybe BMW will fix all Z3s.
I just sent this to the law firm that is handling the case for the law suit.
To whom this may concern,
My name is Chris last name. I read the news article on businessweek.com about the Z8 structural defect and saw that you Proskauer Rose was handling the law suit to get the problem fixed.
I own a 2000 M roadster and I am having a similar structural defect. My sub frame if started to crack. I have about nine popped welds in the trunk and about five popped welds where the differential is mounted to the car. There have been countless Z3 owners with the same problem that I just mentioned. It happens to people with the 1.9L motor too the people with the M models.
I have tried countless times to get BMWNA to fix my car and they are telling me that "that is normal." This problem will happen to everyone with a Z3, its just a matter of time until it dose.
There is much more information out here about this problem at the following sites.
http://bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402183
http://www.thelargeglass.com/bmw/subframe/
If you think that you can help us, the Z3 owners, get this problem fixed or inclue us in the law suit can you e-mail me back with a phone number I can call you at?
Thank you for your time,
Chris last name
Last edited by 2000Z3M; 03-11-2006 at 09:58 PM.
Member
Owned by the first sentence of the letter.
Member
Owned by the first sentence of the letter.
One ///M Coupe bwah-haha!
Sent this to the author of the BusinessWeek article. Who knows.
The Z3 cars were "Structurally Shaky" first!
z
http://bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402183
http://www.thelargeglass.com/bmw/subframe/
Sincerely,
count_schemula
Member
Any new legal updates?
Member
The following are excerpts taken from StarReaver's recent post on being Forbesized:
Name of the shop in SoCal was deleted in this post (by me) for allegedly copying my structural pieces. He did the job for StarReaver using my kit and now won't do the work for anybody unless they buy "his" kit.
Originally Posted by thrlls
Heh, no prob. I meant to tell you I was gonna have my mech contact you about the kit all those weeks ago, but I guess it all worked out in the end. Well, I figure that since he's done it once, he'd be able to do it again with each successive job. Address is posted above. Again, I'm thanking you, because I would not have known what to do with my subframe. In fact, Raineer told me it's good that I got it done when I did, becase my subframe was already messed up. I was in school up in Santa Barbara while this was going on, so I couldn't stop by and check out what was going on.
Originally Posted by Randy Forbes
Been taken care of.
Originally Posted by whoadude
The whole project came out to about $3000 (including Randy's kit and the necessary extra OEM parts). No new mods for a while...
Originally Posted by thrlls
Last edited by Randy Forbes; 08-31-2006 at 09:42 PM.
Member
Hey everybody, I am about to buy a 2000 M roadster and want to do the subframe PM right away. Does anyone know of a good shop to do the work, in the Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland area (within a reasonable distance of DC)? Thanks ahead of time to any feedback from anyone.
Member
The next car on my waiting list is from Arlington, VA. You may, or may not consider Toledo a reasonable distance...
One ///M Coupe bwah-haha!
It's time for the Randy Forbe's Authorized Installer List.
I even get e-mails about this.
Member
Yes, I need some shop names in the area that can do this junx
Member
That would be the best option since you certainly seem to be the man to go to for the install! I, however, am quite lazy when it comes to driving more than a few hours from my house (unless of course it is on a back windy road somewhere : ) ), so I was hoping that someone might have a lead on a shop in the DC area that has already done an install of one of your kits, or at least might be able to recommend a good all around shop that could probably do the work. What does your waiting list look like for cars waiting for the install to be done? Since I will probably end up begging you to do the install : )
Member
Hard to say at the moment, but it could be into June.
Another possibility is to have one of the fellow board members here transport/drive it for you; it's already been done.
Christmas Mistress
Things you might like to buy:
Lots of Z3 stuff!
Member
I decided to inspect my trunk area tonight while re-installing the battery from winter storage and think I may have the start of this problem. I got under the car last fall and looked pretty close at everything underneith and didn't see anything that looked wrong or cought my attention, but then again I didn't know every little thing to look for. Anyway, here are links to some pics I took tonight...sorry I'm not allowed to use image tags yet, so just follow the links.
http://x10.putfile.com/4/9920490710.jpg
http://x10.putfile.com/4/9920482152.jpg
http://x10.putfile.com/4/9920475098.jpg
So, Randy....do you have a web page with more info on your fix? What comes with the kit etc? I'm considering fixing this before it become a bigger problem.
- Chris
Member
If the damage was any less, you wouldn't have seen it at all!
You can see the play by play on one of the last cars I did here:
http://www.rfdm.com/gallery/album37
For more information, please send me an E-mail, and I will reply with a pdf.doc that outlines the work, the parts included and the remainder of parts required. erandyforbes@aol.com
Member
Thanks for the info Randy. I'll send you an email shortly as I'm interested in knowing more about your kit and the costs. I didn't realize your fix was so extensive. Cutting away material, welding in new heavier steel and repainting to look original is more than I will be capable of doing. It does look top notch though!If the damage was any less, you wouldn't have seen it at all!
You can see the play by play on one of the last cars I did here:
http://www.rfdm.com/gallery/album37
For more information, please send me an E-mail, and I will reply with a pdf.doc that outlines the work, the parts included and the remainder of parts required. erandyforbes@aol.com
- Chris
Member
Hey Guys....
I had the subframe tear apart from my Coupe last year in the summer time.
If you know anything about Toronto, Canada, you'll know that we covet our summers.
Anyhow, Toronto BMW was servicing my car and when they called me for what I thought to be a time to ourganize pick up for my service appointment, they told me my car was unsafe to drive.
Unsafe to drive? This car has 30K on it? it's an 01' and it's at your highest level of offering, being an M...shy of a Z8.
I wasn't too pleased to say the least!
I told them that they will have to fix it and they said they'll look into it.
They proceeded to sell my car to a Volkswagen body shop where they farm out their body and structural work. VW????? I don't own a VW? Nothing against them as I'm an old GTI, Corrado owner among others but this is NOT a VW, you idiots!
After VW could not complete the work and after I really heated things up by contacting BMW Canada, they sent it to Owasco Volkswagen to a state of the art facility and the head office of VW Canada. What's their deal with VW...who knows!
Non the less...the job was quoted to take 4 weeks and they had my car for about 2 and a half months to 3! basically I lost use of it for the summer and drove a 330 wagen, an X3 and an X5 in the meantime.
It was a bit of a hastle at the start cause I had imported the vehicle from Boston.
I wrote letters to the BMW Customer Service Manager, The Service Manager of the Dealership and after I struggled with all of that, I contacted the Regional Director and WOW...the whole damn story changed!
Instead of blaming things on me and down playing the whole issue....this guy actually sympathized with me...he saw the rediculousness of what the dealership and BMW Canada were putting me through and the seriousness of my lawsuit claims, stating that this car is to be driven hard and if I hadn't found out about this and had taken a corner at high speeds, would they prefer to be dealing with a fatality lawsuit caused by the malfunction of their products?
I am in media and settled for nothing less than 100% compensation from them and in the end they granted me 2 years extended powertrain warranty on my car as well as obviously guaranteeing the subframe reinforcement.
Bottom line and I'm sorry this thread is so long...is........
Go into your dealership and ask to speak to the manager and TELL him...don't ask....that if he doesn't resolve this, you WILL take legal action and the reprocussions will be far greater.
WE CANNOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS!
Ryan
Member
I dropped my 1999 M Coupe off at the shop today for some routine maintenance and they had a blue MC (unknown year) on the rack with a completely torn differential mounting bracket. The diff was scarred up from dragging on the ground. Luckily, my MC has no sign of any damage yet at 60k. This guy is going to be out around $2500 or more for the repairs according to the shop manager. This problem is pervasive! I'm going to give the shop the NHTSA complaint form to give to the owner of the MC and I think I may need to install Randy's kit before my MC ends up dragging its differential.
FITCH
'99 M Coupe
Christmas Mistress
couldn't hurt to pass on the info for the law suit or reinforcements as well
Things you might like to buy:
Lots of Z3 stuff!
Member
I should add that about 7K miles after i found 11 popped welds I just found a tear in my trunk floor. pics will come when i get back into town.
Member
CanMcoupe;
Thank you;
Sence I got on this bourd, I have been telling folks the same thing "Regional Factory rep" or as you called them the "Regional Director and WOW...the whole damn story changed"!
Please guys we owe this to these great cars. Thay (bmw) knows dang well thay have very bad Chassie failers. Yes VERY BAD. This is not normal on any car with even more HP .
I know the values of the cars we love is higher from us guys who love feed and wax them.
Quite a few have been selling from dealers now for 8 to 11K less than we want to sell them. And I think its the dang Quality problems....
Why else are dealers selling them so much cheaper.
One ///M Coupe bwah-haha!
This is almost the worst case scenario.
We make a bunch on noise, it only hurts our resale, we never properly went after BMW.
Basically we screwed ourselves and I rather regret my involvement in the whole affair now.
Last edited by count_schemula; 04-21-2006 at 12:03 AM.
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