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Missing Ventilated Seats & DAPP

6.6K views 41 replies 17 participants last post by  fredfran27  
#1 · (Edited)
Hey everyone! I was hoping to have my first post on here be about how awesome my new BMW i4 M50 is, with some sweet photos of it, but unfortunately my delivery/purchase experience has been a bit frustrating and I'm hoping to get some thoughts from you guys. I've been reading these forums fairly regularly for about a year now, and while this is not the first post I wanted to make, this is my situation:

I recently purchased a BMW i4 M50 which I spec'd out and ordered with the dealership in May 2022. Unfortunately, the specs that the dealer and I selected and confirmed are not exactly what was added into the car.

When I arrived at the dealership (located in Los Angeles, California) the day after the car arrived, I was surprised to see that the ventilated seats that I thought were ordered were missing. There was never any communication letting me know they wouldn't be there, and I have written confirmation from the dealer in an email chain that they were added to my order. On May 8th I asked my dealer, because I saw some questions about this in this forum, "I wanted to make sure these seats still have lumbar support - in general does the ventilation option remove anything?" and his answer was "I believe they do. If they take it off they are taking it off the passenger side only". 2 weeks later he orders the car and that order does not include the ventilated seats.

That said, regardless of this mess up, I left the dealership about $83k poorer with a car I wasn't 100% satisfied with due to the fact that this mistake was made, and it wasn't completely clear if the dealer screwed up or it was something in BMW's system. I've been upset about the experience I had the last few days, and frustrated that I don't have the seats I wanted and was sure I was going to get for almost 8 months of waiting. The only reason I even upgraded to the Vernasca leather and chose the black seats (in a black car in southern California) was because it was a requirement in order to select the $350 ventilated seat option, which I absolutely selected because I literally added every upgrade except the carbon fiber exterior upgrade, and emailed my dealer the updated build code that included it all. On delivery day at the dealership I expressed my frustration with the situation and they gave me a $1000 discount off of MSRP that I was originally going to pay. This doesn't fully account for the unnecessary upgrades I had to make in order to select the ventilated seats, but at least it was something to help me feel like they at least did something to remedy the situation.

A few days into driving the car, I just realized something else was missing: Driver Assistance Package Professional. Since I chose every option when building the car, including that one, I assumed the only thing missing was the ventilated seats since that was not hard to miss. I was never informed at any stage of this process that it was going to be removed, or given the option to make any changes at any point in time. This means that at the dealership I thought I had left with a car that had that package, but only discovered later that it's not in the car.

Frankly I'm pretty upset with the lack of communication and borderline bait and switch I experienced (which likely was simply negligence by the rep I was working with). I'm blown away (not by my seats, sadly) that the rep/dealer wouldn't check that the ventilated seats were ordered even after I had emailed them asking a question regarding that option after we had selected it together.

I apologize for the long essay - just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone else didn't get what they thought they ordered.
 
#2 ·
I got what I ordered, but I was persistent and crawled through the info on my production number on the MyGarage site.

That said, how do you know you don't have DAPP? It was available for M50, so the only reason not to have it is your CA messed up the order. Do you have the order documentation?
 
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#12 ·
I got what I ordered, but I was persistent and crawled through the info on my production number on the MyGarage site.
Sad lessons from the story:
  1. Consider refusing delivery and starting over. Tough choice.
  2. ASAP, crawl through the information embedded in your MyGarage webpage using the instructions here and here.
I did #2 and everything thankfully checked out but mine is still "In Transit" due to arrive at the Brunswick, GA VDC on 16 Jan. We'll see what I actually get. 🤞 My condolences, @tmilly. I just hope it doesn't happen to me.
 
#3 ·
It might have gotten messed up at the model year change over. There was that brief period at the shift over where DAPP/PAP weren't available on the M50. When mine shifted over, I lost both, and I had to remind my CA multiple times to add them back once they became available again.
 
#4 ·
That's weird. I was right after the MY changeover (prodDate 8/3) and it was never removed. What a mess!
 
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#5 ·
My i4 M50 was in the change over from 2022 to 2023. I still received the DAPP/PAP. I had to chage my set color from Conaq to Mocha as Conaq was no longer available. Mocha being one of two set colors that offer ventilation seats. I added the ventilation option. I received my i4 M50 on October 29th. I had to stay on top of my dealership and reviewed my order a number of times.
 
#6 ·
When my '22 m50 order converted to a '23, I lost DAPP/PAP. I had to push my CA to re-add it once it was available again. Unfortunately, it probably depends on the CA, and whether they actually paid attention.
 
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#7 ·
That's gotta be an error by your CA. It was never not available on the M50.
 
#8 ·
I don't know how it works in the US, but maybe you can request your dealer to either fix the things that are missing and that are in your written contract (I assume they are) or get you a car with all the features you wanted (granted this would take another year probs)? And if nothing else works you should at least be able to backout, pay a small mileage fee (based on miles, not on car value), and get another car. If this was a 2-year-lease in a prius I'd say get over it, but paying 85k for a car you didn't order? No way I'd accept that.
Also some people always say you should've noticed before you took it, but that's usually not how it works. You have a binding contract with the dealer and both parties have to fullfill their side.
 
#10 ·
Hey everyone! I was hoping to have my first post on here be about how awesome my new BMW i4 M50 is, with some sweet photos of it, but unfortunately my delivery/purchase experience has been a bit frustrating and I'm hoping to get some thoughts from you guys. I've been reading these forums fairly regularly for about a year now, and while this is not the first post I wanted to make, this is my situation:

I recently purchased a BMW i4 M50 which I spec'd out and ordered with the dealership in May 2022. Unfortunately, the specs that the dealer and I selected and confirmed are not exactly what was added into the car.

When I arrived at the dealership (located in Los Angeles, California) the day after the car arrived, I was surprised to see that the ventilated seats that I thought were ordered were missing. There was never any communication letting me know they wouldn't be there, and I have written confirmation from the dealer in an email chain that they were added to my order. On May 8th I asked my dealer, because I saw some questions about this in this forum, "I wanted to make sure these seats still have lumbar support - in general does the ventilation option remove anything?" and his answer was "I believe they do. If they take it off they are taking it off the passenger side only". 2 weeks later he orders the car and that order does not include the ventilated seats.

That said, regardless of this mess up, I left the dealership about $83k poorer with a car I wasn't 100% satisfied with due to the fact that this mistake was made, and it wasn't completely clear if the dealer screwed up or it was something in BMW's system. I've been upset about the experience I had the last few days, and frustrated that I don't have the seats I wanted and was sure I was going to get for almost 8 months of waiting. The only reason I even upgraded to the Vernasca leather and chose the black seats (in a black car in southern California) was because it was a requirement in order to select the $350 ventilated seat option, which I absolutely selected because I literally added every upgrade except the carbon fiber exterior upgrade, and emailed my dealer the updated build code that included it all. On delivery day at the dealership I expressed my frustration with the situation and they gave me a $1000 discount off of MSRP that I was originally going to pay. This doesn't fully account for the unnecessary upgrades I had to make in order to select the ventilated seats, but at least it was something to help me feel like they at least did something to remedy the situation.

A few days into driving the car, I just realized something else was missing: Driver Assistance Package Professional. Since I chose every option when building the car, including that one, I assumed the only thing missing was the ventilated seats since that was not hard to miss. I was never informed at any stage of this process that it was going to be removed, or given the option to make any changes at any point in time. This means that at the dealership I thought I had left with a car that had that package, but only discovered later that it's not in the car.

Frankly I'm pretty upset with the lack of communication and borderline bait and switch I experienced (which likely was simply negligence by the rep I was working with). I'm blown away (not by my seats, sadly) that the rep/dealer wouldn't check that the ventilated seats were ordered even after I had emailed them asking a question regarding that option after we had selected it together.

I apologize for the long essay - just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone else didn't get what they thought they ordered.
Im curious how the out of pocket cost came to 83K without the carbon fiber package and after a 1k discount.
Just going by the amount you paid, assuming its msrp and you didnt opt in to any dealer maintenance packages, that final number looks like a fully specced car
 
#16 ·
So the price came out to $75020 after the $1000 discount off of MSRP. MSRP was fairly close to what it was when I ordered it, but I realize now that is because they charged me 2023 prices after removing those features. It came out to $83k after state taxes (9.5%) and registration related fees that were paid at the dealership at time of purchase on 12/28.

A few more details:
I spec’d the car out at the dealership with the sales person at his desk on 5/8/2022. I updated the order at home using the build code we created, and I believe all I changed was switched the color to black, and sent him the build code back the next day. The email between us regarding the ventilated seats a few days later.

He then sent me an email on 5/31 saying he placed my order (unsure why it took that long). In this email there was a PDF with all the options. Because the color was correct, and it had PAP, and Premium Package, MSport, etc, I didn’t notice the 2 things missing that are missing. This is because I was under the perception that a build code and your order would naturally be 1:1. Yes, I’m mad at myself for not catching it, which only makes it worse. However, we literally talked about ventilated seats in the email thread, and it should have been his responsibility to accurately input what was in the build code / website to the order without a customer having to triple check his job for him. I had no reason to believe some key things we selected wouldn’t be in there.
 
#20 ·
In this email there was a PDF with all the options. Because the color was correct, and it had PAP, and Premium Package, MSport, etc, I didn’t notice the 2 things missing that are missing.
Hate to say this but I don't think you have any chance here besides maybe refusing the car. The car was delivered as ordered by BMW and you had all the details before confirming it. So you either try to "give it back", which will be hard hence the circumstances, or you take the additional discount and keep it or even sell it privately afterwards. Best to speak to your dealer and count on him to try to correct his mistake as well as possible.

When I added in the eSim on mine, my salesperson (not BMW but Allane/Sixt) randomly got rid of the wooden interior choice and also changed the charges for more mileage (leased car) to their benefit. I told her to add it back and also add in the old charges and then she added the wrong color code (blue instead of green, because they used to be the same price). Next thing she did was to calculate the wrong price (off by 1000€) and it took me 3 tries and sending her the price list to get it corrected. So that's why I always double check everything before signing and it saved me so many times, that I'm always feeling bad for the all the poor people like you who trust their dealer and regret it afterwards.

Good luck with this!
 
#17 ·
Reading this has me really worried. I also ordered back in May, and my vehicle is scheduled to arrive soon (on the Galaxy Leader). I ordered DAPP and have it on record, however I looked up my VIN and it shows "5AS Driving Assistant" where there is another post here on the forum that says 5AU is DAPP. I never received any communication from the dealer about this change. Unfortunately this is a deal breaker for us, as we get all the extra safety features on our cars. What a disappointment.
 
#21 · (Edited)
@songsparrow If it’s scheduled to arrive soon then it sounds like it’s too late. These dealers don’t seem to care because they know if we don’t buy the car, someone else will gladly buy it within a few days or weeks since they are so slow to come by.

The funny thing is I am typically someone who is painfully detail oriented and borderline OCD when it comes to this stuff. In this case I really was just trying to trust the process and got this result.

One thing I kind of still don’t get is why there was no conversation about price changing between 22 and 23 as I ordered it in early 22. Part of the reason it seemed “correct” was because the price only changed by a few hundred dollars, seemingly due to the fact that 23 is the same cost without those two features as a 22 is with them.
 
#24 ·
One thing I kind of still don’t get is why there was no conversation about price changing between 22 and 23 as I ordered it in early 22. Part of the reason it seemed “correct” was because the price only changed by a few hundred dollars, seemingly due to the fact that 23 is the same cost without those two features as a 22 is with them.
If you received the pdf VIR it should include the msrp price of the build. Every change of the VIR will provide order details and price.
On my order in Jan 2022 that migrated to a 2023 model there was a lot of things missing during the transition. I had to hound them to get all the options I wanted added back.
 
#22 ·
How do you spec this car at $83 without DAP? Thats crazy they missed it! I'm so sorry!! I would ask for the full blow spec sheet to see what you were charged for to make sure the car matches. Seems like they may need to reduce the car price even more. I don't know many people willing to purchase a M50 without DAP.
 
#27 ·
That sucks! That would be my initial reaction too. I'll also say that i have DAPP in my x5 and I use it about 5 times a year. It is a really good feature but you can consider its impact over a year.

I was at my dealership in central Nj and i stopped by to chat with my CA. He says he has a couple of allocations. I can get you two in touch if you'd like.
 
#26 ·
I've waited probably longer than anyone here for a car, but the one thing that I can sympathize with is not getting what you want after waiting forever.

I'm sorry people are going through this kind of crap due to CAs that just don't care, are too busy or just don't know enough.

My dealership has been on top of it when it came to the VIR and options I wanted since day one. With every change, no matter how minor a new VIR was generated and sent to me for approval.

Each time my car was "scheduled for production" my dealer instructed me to go check to make sure the car they say they were building is the car I want.

My last check was right before and after a VIN was assigned. It is also unfortunate that MyBMW contains the option information but no longer presents it.

I had to mine the data and manually check against the order guide and my VIR.

To everyone going through this madness, I hope you can get a car you like as soon as possible.



Waiting for my M50......
 
#30 ·
I knew my i4 didn't have DAPP like I ordered it with (they cancelled that option on the eDrive40 for 2023), but I didn't realize until after delivery that it was required for the adaptive cruise control (I thought just the self-driving under 45mph). I wanted the self-driving but could live without it without much heartache. But once I paid the dealer and took delivery and found out there was no ACC that was truly disappointing. Our 2021 Honda Civic that was around $25k new has it, and I love it for long road trips. Our $63k + tax etc two model-year newer BMW does not :rolleyes:
 
#34 ·
Hi I experienced the same in France with my i4 edrive 40, ordered on October 21 and delivered late October 22 without DAPP and PAP. And of course nobody was able to warn me ! Those options were key features in the choice of my new car and the bmw dealer did know that ! It is a shame for a premium car manufacturer to show so little consideration for its customers. The sales manager told me that bmw could / should design an update kit, but I think it was to soothe my bad mood during the "delivery show"... Now I am trying to make them switch my car with an DAPP equipped one ... Still believe in Santa klaus.
 
#35 ·
I agree, and that would make me cancel my order. It is horrible that your dealer did not inform you and gave you an option to take the car without, or wait. There are three key parts in my order, PAP, DAPP and the laser lights. Without those I don't want the car.

I hope you got a reasonable compensation for the missing DAPP and PAP.
 
#37 ·
Hey everyone! I was hoping to have my first post on here be about how awesome my new BMW i4 M50 is, with some sweet photos of it, but unfortunately my delivery/purchase experience has been a bit frustrating and I'm hoping to get some thoughts from you guys. I've been reading these forums fairly regularly for about a year now, and while this is not the first post I wanted to make, this is my situation:

I recently purchased a BMW i4 M50 which I spec'd out and ordered with the dealership in May 2022. Unfortunately, the specs that the dealer and I selected and confirmed are not exactly what was added into the car.

When I arrived at the dealership (located in Los Angeles, California) the day after the car arrived, I was surprised to see that the ventilated seats that I thought were ordered were missing. There was never any communication letting me know they wouldn't be there, and I have written confirmation from the dealer in an email chain that they were added to my order. On May 8th I asked my dealer, because I saw some questions about this in this forum, "I wanted to make sure these seats still have lumbar support - in general does the ventilation option remove anything?" and his answer was "I believe they do. If they take it off they are taking it off the passenger side only". 2 weeks later he orders the car and that order does not include the ventilated seats.

That said, regardless of this mess up, I left the dealership about $83k poorer with a car I wasn't 100% satisfied with due to the fact that this mistake was made, and it wasn't completely clear if the dealer screwed up or it was something in BMW's system. I've been upset about the experience I had the last few days, and frustrated that I don't have the seats I wanted and was sure I was going to get for almost 8 months of waiting. The only reason I even upgraded to the Vernasca leather and chose the black seats (in a black car in southern California) was because it was a requirement in order to select the $350 ventilated seat option, which I absolutely selected because I literally added every upgrade except the carbon fiber exterior upgrade, and emailed my dealer the updated build code that included it all. On delivery day at the dealership I expressed my frustration with the situation and they gave me a $1000 discount off of MSRP that I was originally going to pay. This doesn't fully account for the unnecessary upgrades I had to make in order to select the ventilated seats, but at least it was something to help me feel like they at least did something to remedy the situation.

A few days into driving the car, I just realized something else was missing: Driver Assistance Package Professional. Since I chose every option when building the car, including that one, I assumed the only thing missing was the ventilated seats since that was not hard to miss. I was never informed at any stage of this process that it was going to be removed, or given the option to make any changes at any point in time. This means that at the dealership I thought I had left with a car that had that package, but only discovered later that it's not in the car.

Frankly I'm pretty upset with the lack of communication and borderline bait and switch I experienced (which likely was simply negligence by the rep I was working with). I'm blown away (not by my seats, sadly) that the rep/dealer wouldn't check that the ventilated seats were ordered even after I had emailed them asking a question regarding that option after we had selected it together.

I apologize for the long essay - just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone else didn't get what they thought they ordered.
“ I just realized something else was missing: Driver Assistance Package Professional.” I ordered a 2022 in Feb LY and when I was asked to reconfigure my car because it was going into production in Sept I had to update a 2023 which the DAP was not available. So like many others I took a 2022 canceled order that was a little different from what I ordered. I was satisfied with the car however the DAP was not working. My dealership could not figure this out. After 4 trips, 2-3 weeks at a time they were able to replace a faulty part. Now everything works.
 
#39 ·
My missing DAPP is a source of constant aggravation. I can live without PAP, it was just a toy. So would DAPP be, I suppose, but I was really keen to have it. I knew they‘d been taken out of the build spec - but only because of this forum, my dealer didn’t know. The first he knew of it was when I emailed him to moan about it!

My dealer checked again the week before I went into build - still not available. Two weeks after the build, it was back. Would it really have killed BMW to postpone my build for two more weeks? Clearly it would.

Don‘t get me wrong, I love the car. But for as long as I own it, I’ll always know my preferred options are missing. The dealer ‘kindly’ offered to take another order from me on delivery of this one, but I know they’d have offered me a stupidly low trade-in on my car so there’s no point.

This is the first brand new car I’ve ever bought. I very much doubt I’ll ever buy another. BMW have ruined the whole experience with their total lack of concern for their customers. ‘Oh, but wiring loom/semiconductor shortages!’, they bleat. Fair enough. But why not then just bloody well ask people if they’re happy to proceed as per the new conditions, or whether they’d rather wait or cancel? Their silence over the missing DAPP and PAP shows them up for what they are.

Sorry, I’m aware I do go on about this! But I’m almightily hacked off with BMW. I saved up for this car for years and they couldn’t even be arsed delivering what I ordered.
 
#41 ·
I'm sorry to hear so many people are going through this. The car I ordered is "at the port" so they haven't called me yet about taking delivery. After I found out about the missing DAPP I decided I would take some time to think about it. I spent a couple days trying to convince myself that I didn't really need it and the car would be fine without it. Well the exact opposite happened. I currently drive a 2022 Audi e-tron sportback with the prestige package, and I noticed how often I used the features equivalent to what DAPP provides. That combined with the i4's 4 star safety rating (with standard safety equipment) made the decision easy. After I read the report on the safety rating, I told myself it's because they didn't have the advanced safety features and mine would be better. I don't know if that's true, but I was convinced it was. Refusing delivery of a car that I have been waiting so long for (since May) definitely sucks, but oh well. I know that in the end I would regret trading in my Audi for it.

And to the OP: I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I am thankful you posted about it. I didn't even think to check until I read your post.