_Pace BMW #FAIL

That is right.  I am calling out Pace BMW in Port Chester.  Pace BMW is part of DCH Auto Group.  My gripe is not with Pace BMW or The DCH Auto Group but with the service center.  Here is my story.

I purchased a 2006 BMW 330xi CPO back in May of 2008.  During my test drive I did not hear this scraping sound that was coming from under the car.  I eventually heard it a few days later when driving in my parking garage at work.  I phone my salesman and he told me to contact the service center and all should be well.  I did that.  I got an appointment and a loaner.  All is well.  When I went back to pick up my car and driving it home the scraping was still there.

I phoned a few days later and got another appointment.  The first appointment they fixed some brake thing.  The second appointment they did some more adjustments.  Still having the noise.  The third time I went back I had a tech drive the car with me and he heard it.  Loud an clear.  All we did was drive the car behind the building.  Why did they not do that the first 2 times.  Turns out with was something with the exhaust.  Fixed.  Great.

A few months goes by and I need service again.  I bring the car in.  I mentioned to them not only perform service but the door trim popped off can you pop it back or replace it.  They replaced it.  Great.  They also replaced the window control trim as well.  I pick up the car and leave.  As I am driving, I notice the window trim is not sitting correctly.  It sticks out a bit.  Argh..now I have to bring it back again.  I will do it when I need service.

A few more months goes by and I need service, I bring it in and they fix the trim and perform some other items like new brake pads since they were squealing a bit.  FYI – the trim still is not quite right.

I then have an issue with my door locks not working.  Bring the car back.  They fix the door locks and work on the rotors.  i was there all day.  When I get back home I open the trunk to take out my baseball equipment and nothing was put back.  The trim that houses the side panel was off, nuts and bolts were rolling around.  I then go in the glove compartment and the same thing there.  Argh.  I failed them on the customer service survey and was phoned immediately asking the problem.  I told them just fix it the first time.  I did the same thing with the scraping sound as well.

Now, time goes by and I now need an oil change.  I bring it in on Friday to get oil changed.  Since I was not happy last time they did the service on the house.  Oil change, micro filter, air intake silencer and scope.  All is well.  They made up for lousy service.  Two days later I see a leak under my car.  It is windshield washer fluid.  Also, my service light is on.  Complaining about micro filter.  Now, I need to make yet another appointment to get this stuff addressed.

Is this a scam?  Sounds like it.  Luckily I have not paid a dime but someone at BMW really should check into this since they seem they are getting the most out of the free maintenance and warranty.

Next service appointment will NOT be at Pace BMW

_Alternator – Done

In order to trade in my car I have to get it running first.  I am pretty sure it is the alternator so here is a write up on replacing the alternator on a 2003 Ford Explorer.

Step 1.  Make sure you have fuel.  I chugged a few cups of coffee so I am all set.

Step 2:  It was a while since I changed an alternator.  So I Google’d to refresh my memory.

Step 3:  Now I am ready.  I then get the tunes on.

Step 4: Hmm…should I clean my bench?  Nahh.

Step 5:  My arsenal of tools is ready.

Step 6:  It is a nice day so I will leave the truck outside.

Step 7: After disconnecting the ground wire for the battery I can begin.

Step 8: Disconnect the power lead to the alternator.  This is done with a 10mm socket.  Also, disconnect the wire harness as well.

Step 9: After that is done it is time to remove the bolts.  There are 3 and they are 13mm.  The top bolt was easy to get to, the other 2 require a little maneuvering.  I put on a knuckle to make removal process a little easier.  Just a fyi, I removed the top bolt first, in hindsight I should of removed that last since the tension is still high on the belt which caused the alternator to slip from position a bit.  No big deal but just a fyi.

Step 10:  Same idea as Step 9, just different angle due to the air intake.  I eventually take the intake out to make more room.

Step 11:  Alternator out, now time to put it back.

Step 12:  Here are the bolts.  Reusing them again.  I put on some loc-tite for same bolting.

Step 13:  Once the alternator is all tight, it is time to put the belt back on.  Once it is looped all through the pulleys, you need to release tension on the tensioner.  There are some special tools to to this but I used my ratchet breaker bar, 1/4″ to push the tensioner down and slip the belt back on.

Step 14: Done!

Hope you found this helpful if you ever need to replace the alternator in a 2003 Ford Explorer.

Total time was under 1 hr.

_iPad – The Weekend

On April 3rd the world got their hands on Apple’s latest creation call iPad.  Our company (Story Worldwide) pre-ordered one and we got our hands on it the following Monday.  We all “oohed” and “ahhed” over the looks.  The screen was crisp, the movement was as expected.  We downloaded a few apps, surfed a few sites, hooked up email etc.  Some liked it, some dismissed it.  Overall it met the expectations that we had for it.

So after having it in the office for a week and messing around with it how would it really hold up with ‘real world’ use.  I decided to bring it home this weekend.  Here is my recap.

Friday Night: After running around when I got home and making dinner I was able to settle down with the iPad and my family.  I showed my kids and they instantly thought it was cool.  Probably because it was a new gadget in the house.  I went to the app store and downloaded a few games (all free) and they were hooked to the big screen.  So Friday was an A+ with the kids.

Saturday Morning:  Like most people, Saturday is the day to catch up on the week that has passed.  So with my coffee and my iPad I started to surf the web for the latest news.  I started with Google News like I always to on my Laptop.  After reading some headlines and clicking over to the news sites, I had hit and misses.  The resizing became more of a pain surfing the web for some time.  Flipping the iPad horizontal was better but still a pain.  Grade B.

Saturday Mid-Morning: While I was prepping to start running around with the kids, I flipped on Netflix for them and they watched Tom & Jerry for a bit.  Kids Grade A+

Saturday Afternoon: During my running around my car died.  That was it.  Time for a new car.  (we have been thinking about getting one so this just seemed right).  I opened up Google and did some searches for local dealers and their inventory.  Well, most of the sites are in Flash so it was very difficult for me to search and find out the info I needed.  Grade C-

Saturday Late Afternoon:  I did end up visiting some dealerships but more on that later.  When we got back we decided to do some DadPerfect basketball shots.  See DudePerfect.com for more info.  After hitting two shots from down the driveway and over the garage I went in with the kids to show them how the experts do it.  So we whipped up DudePerfect.com and….wait…that is Flash.  So we fired up the Laptop instead.  Grade F

Saturday Evening: After putting the kids to bed I started to check out the app store.  A few things I noticed.  1.  Not a lot of apps yet, that will eventually change.  2.  Not a lot of free apps.  3.  Why are these apps 1000% more than what the iPhone are?  Is it the bigger screen?  Anyway, I downloaded a few different ones.  Some for the kids, some books, magazines and games.  The one I was excited about was the Bible.  I can bring the iPad to church and have the Bible right there.  When I started to view it and read it, the glare from the screen was a little annoying.  It seems ok for web pages and images but when I really needed to focus on text I did not like it.  Grade C-

Sunday Morning: After looking at a few cars I wanted to do some more research.  I went to MazdaUsa.com.  That proved useless.  The site detected my browser as an iPhone so I got a skinny mobile site.  I tried to hack the url to get the full site but kept getting an XML error.  I Google’d some Mazda terms and found some links into the Mazda site but same result.  Argh.  I then went over to BMWUSA.com.  Mobile site appeared.  I could not do anything.  I tried entering my zip code.  I tried clicking on some dropdown menus and nothing.  Site was not working.  I went over to Ebay.com so I can just view some photos.  That worked but not as fulfilling as I wanted it to be.  Grade D

Sunday Evening: I skipped the afternoon since I ended using the Laptop to view the sites listed above.  So my car died again today leaving me and the kids stranded, has to be alternator.  I dropped my wife off at work earlier in the day and now it was time to pick her up.  We hop in the car that works and take the iPad.  The kids are playing Tic-Tac-Toe and having a blast on it in the back seat.  Kids A+.  Me – C- because the screen was so bright it was annoying me on the way home.

My overall impressions.  It is nice.  Videos look nice.  Kids love it.  When push came to shove and I wanted it to do what I do on a normal basis, it failed.  Until the Internet converts everything to HTML5 and out of Flash then it will be worth it.  Until then, you need to rely on ‘apps’ and pay for everything that is normally free on the Internet.  For another game console or a portable DVD player for the kids, sure it is good but I can get those for 150 bucks.

_HP or CDW Fail Take Your Pick

It was time for me to get a new laptop for me here at work. I was excited since I can now move up to Windows 7 from Vista and sink my teeth into the I7 processor from Intel. The HP Elitebook was chosen for the availability and specs. 4gigs of RAM,I7 Processor, DVD Burner, 14″ screen, 250GB hard drive..etc..etc..

Now my set up here at work is dual 19″ monitors for my development environment. Works well. So I really need a dock for the laptop.

Here is where the fun begins. I get the HP EliteBook and dock and get it all set up. Move over my files, install programs etc. Then I notice I only have 37 minutes left of battery. Wait. I am docked. Oh, the power cord must of came out. Checked the plug. That is not it. Maybe the power cord is the wrong voltage. Tried another. That is not it. Phone tech support, must be a Windows issue. That is not it. Argh. Must be the NEW dock.

They send me out a new dock. Awesome! I am back in business. Ah…no. No worky still. I have to send back the Laptop. The BRAND NEW LAPTOP. Fine. Then at the last minute they say we have one in stock and we will ship that back out to you. Awesome! I will get a replacement instead of waiting to get this fixed.

Now it is Friday and a full week has passed since the start of these events. I get the NEW laptop. I did not have to reinstall anything since we just swapped out Hard Drives. Look it charges! Yeah..

So all is well again with the HP Elitebook and it is charging when docked. I take the laptop home over the weekend and notice a scratch on the screen. C’mon. It is about 20 pixels big. I did not notice it when docked since the video card was outputting to my monitors. So annoying.

I then come in on Monday and dock my laptop and start my process of plugging in my headphones and listen to some music as I work. Hmm..that is weird, music is still coming out of my laptop speakers. After troubleshooting and doing a bunch of things, it turns out the headphone jack does not work. Seriously?

So, my NEW replacement laptop has a scratch on the screen and a dead headphone jack. Wait there’s more.

My IT guy is now phoning HP to let them know. In the meantime I still have to work. So I am slicing up some images using Adobe Photoshop, I have NetBeans IDE open for PHP development, Firefox running to view my site and MS Outlook. Then sloooooooooowness happens. What the heck it going on? I check the system settings just to see what the memory is and I see 2 gigs of RAM. Not 4 but 2. Really? They rob me of my RAM.

So I close all my apps and then try to install Windows XP on the VMPlayer since my Virtual PC Hard Disk for some reason has been corrupted. I get the DVD and go to my laptop and….what the…where is my DVD Rom?

I can’t make this stuff up. FAIL FAIL FAIL.

I will report back when I get my third laptop, hopefully three times IS a charm.

_BMW Fights Back

I enjoy a good brand fight every now and then.  Pepsi vs Coke.  McDonalds vs Burger King.  Now BMW vs Audi.