I have been waiting 5 months. CCA is quick to respond to inquiries but it seems like there isn't much they can do to move things along if yours gets stuck. Based on reports from bimmerpost/bimmerfest, it's a bit of a crap shoot how long it will take. Even some applications submitted on the same date can be months apart in receiving the check.
I purchased my 2019 X3 on March 31, 2019 and didn’t get around to filing for the rebate a couple of weeks later. I got my check on June 17. Having the paperwork processed by BMWCCA took the longest time. Once it was sent to BMW, the check showed up in about a week and a half, even though I received a communication from BMW that it might take 4-6 weeks.
I have been waiting since January 2019. It was approved by BMWCCA relatively quickly and had been sitting since. Each email I send questioning the status, gets me a we'll check with BMW and ask that they expedite or we'll send your application directly to the auditors for immediate results and keep you advised. The most recent of those email responses was 4 weeks ago. Crickets since.
I just got my third copy/paste "BMW CCA Membership Reward Status Update" email. Exact same text as before, so basically no update. I am now past 7 months since submitting the rebate application. While I love my car, I've stopped talking positively about BMW or BMW CCA as a result of this, unfortunately - it's a very poor show of customer service and ability to address issues. Part of the email states "BMW NA has begun to manually process some applications in order to expedite resolution while they work on their systems. Once BMW NA resolves this matter they will be able to begin automated processing of rebates." This text has been there in all of my emails received since early April. Meaning that a) they are unable to expedite or manually process 8-month old applications across the space of 3.5 months AND b) they are unable to diagnose and correct the issues with "their systems" after 9-10 months of time (given that they said the issues started in November 2018). I can't see how this is at all acceptable. Every company I've worked for or with - if they allowed an issue to continue this long unsolved and without a timely workaround - that person/team would be out of a job.
Alex, While I share in the emotional pain of this seemingly interminable delay in the processing of checks, I cannot claim to know your full frustration as you also have financial stake here. The club office is doing all it can to assist BMW NA with any and all requests made to us. Unfortunately, we are not part of the company and my ability to influence change in NJ is limited. That said, please know that I agree with you that you should not still be waiting for a check on an application submitted in November of 2018. If there is any good news to share it is that the 2018 backlog is nearly cleared. We will follow up with NJ on Monday to see where you are in that process. In the meantime I hope you continue to enjoy your new BMW and will take the time to come to a one of more Club events. As we say, it is the cars that bring us together, but it is the people that make us want to stay. Thank you and have a great weekend. Frank
Thank you for the response Frank. I must be fair and add that I do appreciate the CCA staff themselves. While it is frustrating to be unable to get any other information, I understand (and certainly do not envy) the position that BMW NA has puts CCA into. I at least appreciate the usually quick responses I get when I reach out directly - so no fault to CCA in that respect. And your response further reinforces that - I do appreciate your ownership and willingness to check on what you can, so will look forward to seeing what you hear back from BMWNA. What I think is important for both BMW CCA and NA to understand, though, is that while we still love the cars and the club and the people and understand that CCA and NA are not the same organizations; CCA and NA both share in the same brand. For those of us who have gotten caught up in this mess, the extent to which this has been allowed to continue has tarnished the overall brand. I hope BMW NA will get their act together soon and find ways to prevent similar things from occurring in the future.
Just to follow-up on my situation, the CCA team did follow-up with me after Frank's previous post. They were able to push on BMW NA again and I received my check this past Monday. The long wait was certainly frustrating, but I'm glad it was resolved and I do thank CCA for their patience and efforts with this. I can't be certain what the ultimate trigger was, but I tend to believe that the CCA staff's intervention here helped things along, and am thankful for whatever intervention they provided. At risk of putting more messages in their inbox, I would suggest anyone else who has been waiting a similar period keep reaching out to see what CCA can do to help. And hopefully BMWNA gets their end of things cleaned up soon!
I fully agree with you that this is a problem and you never should have had to wait this long. You have my apologies on behalf of the company and on our behalf as we thought that rebates outstanding from January of 2019 had been cleaned up. I will reach out to NJ on your behalf today. Would you mind confirming if the car is in your name or another family member with you as co-signor. Thanks F
