Need fellow members help in emailing BMW executives about my defective bike.

ponch1 said:

It's called an ombudsman.

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billy walker said:

sibud said:

....... Then the membership would have to buy into the proposition that our purpose for existing has changed.

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This is one of the better clubs on the planet, no doubt about it. I don't think anyone was proposing to change the purpose of the club. The purpose should remain as is. However, there is nothing wrong with adding some type of consumer advocate so to speak. It would perhaps be beneficial if hundreds of people could be heard at corporate given many of the allegations. If the membership feels otherwise they have every right to say so.

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GREGFEELER said:

I have been aware of your posts and this topic for some time, so perhaps my comments might help clarify a few points, and to be clear, my comments do not reflect in any way my views of the validity or lack thereof of your complaints.

The BMW MOA is not the right organization to represent the interests of, or become an advocate for, large numbers of aggrieved owners for several reasons. First, a large number of our members would not want us to take on such a role because it would be in conflict with the often expressed desire by our membership that we work "more closely" with BMW in order to provide more "inside" information, access to promotions and discounts, and more presence by BMW at our events. Secondly, and much more to the point here, such a task is just beyond the scope and purpose of the club. Any group that wants to make their case with a larger international company has to do their homework and have a vast body of hard empirical evidence documenting severe and excessive harm (financial or safety) because of that company's products or services. Documented cases have to be collected and validated and then a statistical basis established to (hopefully) prove some contention. Then negotiations would be opened with the company, and if not resolved by dialog or mediation, then the claimants would have to be prepared for a potentially long and expensive legal battle. Anything less would debase the credibility of their resolve right from the beginning, and greatly reduce their chances for a (to them) satisfactory resolution. Like it or not, in our current litigious society companies believe they must defend themselves against product defect claims to avoid punishing jury awards.

Clearly - at least to me and every Board of Directors I've served on for the last ten years - such a mission is way outside our mandate as a motorcycle club who's purpose is to build a community of BMW riders. Additionally, to spend club money and resources would be highly divisive since many would not support it. It's for exactly this reasons that we have a formal policy that the MOA is apolitical. We do not get involved in any "motorcycle rights" fight - not because we don't think defending our right to ride is not important. It is - and in my personal opinion highly important. But, there are other organizations specifically dedicated to that fight and those who believe in that mission can and should join them and support their work.

All of this is not to say that the MOA over the years has not had private discussions with officials at BMW Motorrad USA and BMW AG in Germany about customer satisfaction issues. We have, and on some occasions believe some good was accomplished. But, our goal was not some wholesale admission by BMW of a claimed defect with their products.

There are a lot of venues for someone to build interest in their cause, and especially so in this age when a web site costs a few dollars a month. However, it would seem very important to identify those options quickly and pursue them rather than, as in this case, rail against the MOA for not doing something for which is is not equipped.

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espressoforyou said:

I agree with every thing you said.

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ponch1 said:

It's called an ombudsman.

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