Another reason I love my BMW

If you have been reading my blog regularly (all one of you – hi DD!), you will probably recall that I am the proud owner of a 2009 BMW 135i, my dream-come-true car. I planned and saved for this car for a long time, so when I took delivery of it last June, I was just over the moon.

Further, you may recall that just two months later, I was involved in a collision in which I totalled said car. Yes, I did. I cried SO hard. For a car. I know, just a car, but it was so upsetting! Fortunately, I was absolutely fine, only a slightly sore nose where the airbag had bonked me – but that didn’t matter. I had just totalled a brand new car that I had owned for only two months! How could I!

I had no problems dealing with the insurance company, and since I had a full vehicle replacement cost policy, they paid me the full price of the car. But the car had been a custom order, and my dealer couldn’t find me the exact same one anywhere in Canada (I wanted a colour called Monaco Blue, the all-season tires, and a standard transmission.) So I had to custom order the car again. And I had to wait again. And I had to rent The Mighty Hyundai for a while – a very long while, it seemed.

But my new Beemer did arrive in October, just as good as the old one, and I was just as happy – and twice as careful, believe me! And at some point later, driving around, I allowed myself to really think about what had happened, and about what MIGHT have happened if I had not been in that particular car. What if I had been in that accident in my previous vehicle, a 1995 VW Golf GTI?

It was clear to me that I’d be either dead or badly hurt. The Golf had no airbags and it was a smaller, lighter car. I wouldn’t have had much of a chance to escape entirely uninjured in it.

So I decided to write a letter to BMW. I wanted to thank them for building such a strong and safe car. I recounted the whole story, and concluded my letter by praising my salesperson at my dealership, who was so understanding and helpful throughout all my lengthy dealings with him. I told them that I planned to drive my BMW happily – and safely – for many years to come.

I mailed it off, expecting perhaps a return form letter along the lines of “Thank you for your interest in BMWs”.

Ten days later, UPS delivered a package to my house. In it was a box and a personalized letter from the Customer Interaction Specialist for BMW Canada. He thanked me profusely for sharing my experiences with them, and expressed his relief that I was able to walk away from such a serious accident. He wrote that because of the time and effort I took to write them such a positive story, he was sending me a small token of their appreciation.

I opened the box. It was a folding, black BMW umbrella, with the BMW crest (it’s actually referred to as a “roundel”) on the handle. It’s big and sturdy. It also retails for 80$ (I know! For an umbrella?!).

But I got it for the price of a stamp. (Oh, and I guess I had to buy the car in the first place, didn’t I. Twice. But let’s not nit-pick.) Regardless, I was thrilled! I got a personalized letter from BMW! I got a present from them! They know who I am! They like me!

This is what a luxury car is all about. It’s all the little extras.

She’s baaaaack…

I have finally picked up my do-over BMW 135i! This is the car that I first ordered last March, took delivery of in June, drove for eight weeks, totalled, and re-ordered in August. I have spent a total of five and a half months waiting for this car, and only two months actually driving it. But the wait is over. She is parked in my garage, next to DD’s Honda Fit. I drove her home like a little old lady. I love her! She is my dream car, after I decided 25 years ago, upon sighting my first BMW 2002, that one day I would own a BMW. Well, to be fair, I don’t actually own all of her yet (the bank currently owns just over half of her). But I have the driving privileges, not the bank.

And I don’t miss The Mighty Hyundai one little bit.

If it ain’t broke…

Well, actually it IS broke. More precisely, THEY are broke. And I haven’t had them fixed.

It started with my built-in vacuum cleaner’s power head attachment, the one that cleans and beats carpet at the same time. One day, about three years ago, it just stopped cleaning and beating. No problem, I said to myself, I’ll just use the regular head that only cleans.

But then the actual vacuum canister itself stopped working. Oh, it made all the requisite noises, but it did not suck. I was built-in vacuumless. Fortunately, I have a lovely little Miele vacuum that I’d purchased prior to moving here and inheriting the built-in machine, so I was still able to vacuum to my heart’s content. So I didn’t replace the broken built-in.

Last winter, one of the sections of the lattice fence around my back deck blew down in a wind storm. Last spring, Porsche Guy took me to the local home reno outfit and I bought a new section, which he tied onto the top of his Porsche to bring home (the visuals of that little trip are stunning, to say the least). I painted the piece of fencing, and it is still sitting in my garage, waiting to be installed. Soon it’ll be a year that my deck has been missing that piece of lattice fencing, creating a lovely abandoned and dilapidated look to my back yard.

The shower door in DD’s bathroom keeps falling off, which is somewhat hazardous. It also scratches the finish on the tub every time it falls. Again, PG took me to the home reno mega-store and I bought new shower doors last summer. This time the box fit into the hatch, more or less, so the trip home was a bit less dorky-looking. And where are those spanking new shower doors now? Still in the box in the garage.

Now my garburetor is dripping water under my kitchen sink. Did I get it fixed? No. But I did put an empty yogurt container underneath to catch the drips. Can I still use the garburetor? Sort of – if I don’t mind wiping down everywhere underneath the sink after the liquidy mess is forced at great velocity through the crack in the garburetor as the blades pulverize whatever was in there.

And I’ve just had to extend my rental contract for The Mighty Hyundai due to the continued non-appearance of my BMW135i. Although I was told my new car would be here in mid-October, I really have no idea exactly when and I’m having trouble finding out any information at the moment, as my salesperson seems to be AWOL.

Maybe his phone is broken?

A tale of two cars

Big night for Darling Daughter yesterday:  she took delivery of her brand new shiny red Honda Fit and she is over the moon!  Transportation at last!  Freedom!  Independence!

The car (and the first year’s worth of insurance) is a 21st birthday gift from her grandma, my mother. Grandma is a bit old-fashioned in that 21 signifies adulthood to her, not 19 as our provincial government has decreed.  And since 21 is a big deal, your gift should be a big deal, she believes.  (If you’re wondering, yes, my 21st birthday was also a big deal way back when. My parents gave me a beautiful cedar chest that I am still using and am proud of today.  It wasn’t a brand new car because they had already bought me a second-hand car three years previously when I started university and needed to get there somehow.  The bus system in Vancouver was pathetic back then – but that’s another post.)

So DD and I went to pick up her car, which entailed a lot of decisions regarding additional warranty coverage, insurance, signatures, cheques exchanging hands, and in our case, a rude awakening as well.  To make a long story short, we were absolutely shocked to find that a year of insurance for her is 4000$!  There are a number of reasons for this (one of which is a small accident that she had while driving my old car almost three years ago), but it is still an enormous number.  However, Grandma was paying, even though none of us had anticipated the cost being quite that high.  I guess we should have done a little homework on the insurance website first so we at least had a inkling of what was coming.

After all the paperwork was done and the keys had been presented to her, DD drove straight to Grandma’s house, whooping all the way.  Grandma was suitably impressed, particularly with the roominess of the Fit. It really is a lovely little vehicle – especially to someone (me) who is currently driving The Mighty Hyundai and is anxiously awaiting delivery of her own new BMW 135i.

Interestingly, it also happened that today was the day to return to the rental place and extend my time with said Mighty Hyundai.  When the fellow checked the car over, he noted that one of its tires was low and that it needed an oil change.  I looked a bit dubious at that point, and wondered aloud how long this would take and should I wait.  He said I could do that, or he could give me a different rental car.  He had an orange Yaris available.  I shuddered.  I said, “I don’t DO orange. I look hideous in orange.”   He laughed.  I didn’t.  

There are now two new cars in my garage.  One is DD’s new red Honda Fit.  The other is Another Mighty Hyundai.  It’s blue.

Beemer dreamer

I am so missing my car!  I’ve been driving this little rental Hyundai for two weeks now, and while I am happy to have it and the mobility it affords me, I am so ready to get my own wheels back!

The car I totalled six weeks ago was a BMW 135i, one of the brand new Baby Beemers that just arrived in Canada in the spring (yeah, I know they’ve been in Europe for a couple of years already!  You Europeans have all the fun!), so I was literally the first on my block to buy one.  And then I crashed it.  Completely. And while I wait for its replacement, I am driving what I have dubbed The Mighty Hyundai.  It’s quite a step – um – down.

Hyundai is not known for its luxury vehicles, and this one is very bare bones – but oddly so.  For example, it does not have central locking (which even my previous car built in 1995 had) but it has air conditioning. It does not have electric windows, but it has a kick-ass stereo, especially the bass.  It does not have a remote button to open the hatch, but it does have one to open the gas tank.  Strange.

It also has no power.  I have to choose carefully my moments to turn or pull out into traffic, because The Mighty Hyundai cannot accelerate much.  It’s an automatic, which explains some of the lack of power, but really, shouldn’t I be able to drive up a gradual hill without having the gas pedal floored?  I suppose I’m just spoiled by the BMW, but still!

So, as I said, I am really missing my car now.  Then, earlier this evening, my BMW dealer called me to tell me that my new car started production at the beginning of the month and that it looks like it will arrive here sooner than expected, by mid-October.  And bonus:  no price increase for the 2009 model!  Yay!

Mighty Hyundai, your days are numbered.  I don’t think I’ll wash you now.