NHTSA Complaint #10200859 — 2000 BMW 323I

IN LATE MARCH,2007, MY BMW 323I BLEW A HEAD GASKET AFTER ONLY 82,000 MILES.THIS WAS AFTER THE CAR BEING BABIED WITH SERVICE ETC.THE DEALER I TOOK THE CAR TO, PRESSTIGE IMPORTS IN SANTA ROSA,CA. FOUND THAT THE COOLING SYSTEM WAS RUNNING AT OVER 300 DEGREES AND WARPED THE BLOCK, RUINING THE ENGINE. THEY WERE AS CONFUSED ABOUT THIS AS I WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD PERFORMED ALL OF THE SERVICE AND HAD JUST SERVICED THE CAR 2 MONTHS BEFORE, WITH NO INDICATION OF ANY PROBLEM. THEY ASKED BMW FOR SOME HELP IN THE REPAIR COST SINCE THIS WAS SO UNUSUAL.THEY ALSO GAVE ME A LOANER CAR AT NO CHARGE, AND HAVE BEEN UNBELIEVABLY WONDERFUL THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE EXPERIENCE. BMW CAME BACK AND ANNOUNCED THAT THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND WON'T INTERVENE AT ALL,CAUSING ME TO HAVE TO PAY ABOUT $6000 FOR A " USED" ENGINE TO BE PUT IN. I HAVE SINCE GONE ONTO GOOGLE AND FOUND HUNDREDS OF POSTED PAGES ABOUT OTHER OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM.THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM THAT BMW REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE, AND I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT OR THEM. THANK YOU FOR ANY ASSISTANCE THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE. ROBERT LACKEY *TR