Mark of Trabuco Canyon, CA, writes:
I have been fighting with the service department at Irvine BMW since I bought the car. I have recently entered an arbitration attempt with the Better Business Bureau to attempt to get my down payment and payments refunded.

I have a 1997 BMW 318i. It has been in the shop 9 times in 6 months, for a total of 23 days. Seven of those times, I reported the traction control defeat indicator was lit, and would not go out when the button was pressed. I discovered it was not a failure of the lamp - I could spin the wheels all day in a puddle. Traction control should prevent this, and when the lamp is not lit, it works just fine.

Seven times I reported it. They replaced the computer. They looked at it and said "Hmmm." They have taken the car gladly, stared at it for all I know. They have never been able to fix it.

I am afraid to drive the car. I won't let my wife drive it at all. The car has had one computer failure and a fried catalytic convertor - if this happens far from home it could get mighty creepy.