BMW Giftcard - Quick Expiry

[BMWRX]

I've decided to go in and pick a BMW push car from the dealership store for my brother's newborn son (yes, I know he won't be using it anytime soon) using my $100 giftcard I received when I picked up my car.

Now, I collected the car on 31st August and it's now the end of February, not quite six months from the delivery of the car. I just checked the card and it expired on 1/1/10! I hadn't checked the back of the card, where the expiry date is scribed, until just now, as it was in a cardboard holder and I hand't needed to use it.

Has anyone else here been given a giftcard on delivery and only had a handful of months to use it?

[Rowdy135]

I got a $100 gift card when I got my new car last November. It is valid for 12 months, so I guess that the validity period might vary considerably from one Dealer to another. So which Dealer did you purchase your car from? But I do think that 4 months is definitely not long enough. It should be 6 months to say the least.

[sparoz]

doesn't matter if it expires - mine was like a year out of date (and I was given at least 6 months) and they still honour it.

[BMWRX]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll go into the dealership this afternoon and see what happens.

[BMWRX]

Well, went to the dealership and the response I got was "they are cracking down on expired giftcards. We'll have to check with the boss to see if he'll allow it." After asking why they are cracking down, I got "because people were misplacing them then turning up and expecting the giftcard to still be honoured." As I had the card in my hand, I thought this argument had no merit, but still I have to wait until tomorrow to see if Westside will allow me using it.

While I'm there I'll get them to have a listen to my car. When I get stuck into it, the turbos sound less like turbos and more like a supercharger whine. Now, as I can hear it from the cabin, I'd think it's even louder outside. Either way, I wouldn't think turbos would whine, but be more of a whistle.

[Dackelone]

Maybe your car has the "new" Honeywell turbos! :")) Hecho in Mexico!

[BrokenVert]

I think that this whole expired giftcards crap is a massive scam. Somebody gave that company $100 in exhange for the giftcard. Why do they have the right to say, well you didnt spend your $100 in 6 months, so were just gonna keep it. What kind of crap is that! If I had a $100 bill in my pocket for 3 years you would still have to accept it.

Its just a bullcrap way for companies to steal your money...

:end rant:

[BMWRX]

Update report: they will allow me to use the outdated card. However, the item I wanted to purchase with it is on back order from Munich and may take up to two months to arrive. D'oh!

[BMWRX]

I know I'm mining this thread, and if anything I've hijacked it too, but the car is in today getting the whining turbo checked out. Fingers crossed it's either normal or they find something wrong and it gets fixed.

On a related note, I got given a 118d to use as the loan car. How impressive is this little beast? It's super comfy to drive, got plenty of torque, and heaps of space inside. As a run-about vehicle it ticks a lot of boxes.

EDIT: The car has been checked out by the regional manager and he believes it's an normal operating sound. At least it has now been documented, so if it does go bang anytime in the future, then there is some record of it.