[pcgold]

2015 650i

Last year my dash went blank. I had gone away for a couple of weeks, when I got back the battery was low. I charged that up but the cluster wasn't working properly. Only a few idiot lights were on. THen next time I turned the car on, nada. The Heads up display wasn't working.

I live in Canada. Took the car to my indy. Dash faulty, no good, not repairable, only replaceable. Quoted me $4600Cdn plus tax and install, so around $5,500 in total. Since it was an indy, and the part was electronic, he could not offer me a warranty. Further, if the part came in and was installed but didn't fix it, they would not give me a refund.

Thanx, but no thanx. Went to the local dealer.

Exact same diagnosis but I was ready for the sticker shock so simply said to please go ahead and order it. Also, and a bonus, two year warranty, further if it didn't fix the problem I wasn't on the hook.

Now, I could have yelled at the poor guy on the phone giving me the bad news (ie $5500) but, as I said, I was ready for that so not upset or anything.

Was told two weeks but got a call after only one week and it was all ready.

When I went in the same guy I had dealt with was grinning from ear to ear. He had called BMW Canada who agreed to eat most of the cost. Maybe he did that cuz I wasn't mad at him on the phone. Goodwill I think (and maybe they know it's a common issue). So, the total cost was only $1,700 Cdn. Still a lot, but almost $3800 less.

Now, however, I wish I'd seen this solution. Next time (God forbid), I will simply replace the boards.