On the road to nowhere - a day to remember

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The day started off well. Breakfast as usual was served by Steve and we sat around the big table with today a Mexican family. Not much conversation was to be had as they spoke only Spanish and we had none so sign language, gestures and smiles were the only language we had in common. We had planned to visit a chateau locally but the day went rapidly downhill when we went to start the car. Nothing - Silence - it wouldnt start.

No problem we thought. BMW would come to our rescue. We had their extended warranty cover with roadside assistance and France wouldnt be a problem. How wrong can you be? Their glossy brochure showed a brand new BMW liveried with Assistance written all over it. They boasted that would send a fully trained mechanic who would have the necessary parts and equipment to get you back on the road again. A quick phone call to the customer service centre and we were assured that someone would be with us within 20 mins so that meant that the day wasnt going to be spoiled after all.

We sat in the sun and waited for over an hour. Eventually a big dirty tow truck appeared driven by a large French mechanic in dirty overalls. Hardly the flashy BMW and mechanic we had expected. He spoke not one word of English and we had no technical french however Steve came to the rescue translating for us explaining the car would not start. He tried the key, the horn, the electric windows and the locks shrugged and pronounced the battery was dead. We had guessed that already and asked what he was going to do next. He shrugged again and said nothing as he did not have the equipment and the car needed to be seen by technicians in the BMW garage. He offered a jump start and we accepted leaving the car running as we were sure if we stopped it again it would not restart. Steve in the meantime had located a garage 50 miles away in Perigueux.

We set off hoping the car would not stop and leave us stranded en-route. Our next problem was the fear of running out of petrol. We could not find a garage open as it was the usual closed hours between 12 and 2. We found one garage but the pump was self service and would not take our British credit cards. Eventually we arrived in Perigueux with only 9 miles in the tank and running on fresh air and fumes.

We arrived over lunchtime at the garage. There was no-one available to see us however we spotted a salesman and smiling I sweetly asked " Parlez vous Anglais?" To which he replied " No , do you speak French?" in perfect English and walked off leaving me standing in the middle of the floor. We then queued at the counter to try to get somone to book our car in but found the receptionist looked over our heads and served the lady behind us. We began to feel distinctly English and out of place. Eventually he served us and explained in broken English that we would have to wait for the receptionist who spoke English. She turned up booked us in and told us to go to the Buffalo Grill next door for an hour, have some lunch and by the time we came back they should know what the problem was as the car was going on diagnostics.

We had our lunch ribs and chicken before returning only to sit around the garage for an hour, outside for half an hour only to be told the car was still on diagnostics. This did not auger well.

By this time it was 4.00 another cup of coffee and wander around the showroom before asking what was happening . Only to be told again on diagnostics . At 6.30 she came over told us that they were shutting for the night. The diagnostics had been completed and they needed to analyse it the next morning before repairing whatever they found wrong with it. Er yes not good - problem here - our belongings and our bed was 50 miles away and we had no way of getting back that night. There were hotels in the area but we did not feel like paying to stay overnight. We decided to take the car, put up with the fault and use it as it seemed to be starting OK. They then gave us a bill for £90 despite doing nothing and despite the car being under warranty. We left fuming trying to find a Mr LeClercs garage to fill up before driving home. The on board computer now had a giant A in the middle of it and all the instructions including the radio were in French.

What did we think of BMW's extended warranty - not a lot!!!

What did we think of Perigueux - never wanted to see the place again!!!! We hoped to go to Perpignan tomorrow on our way to motogp in Barcelona - hopefully the car would start.

When we got home the local BMW garage put it on test and fixed the faulty on off unit quickly with no hassle.

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