Z4 Coupe with "strange" SH - Advice please!
Discussion
Hi- I'm test driving a Z4C at my local BMW main dealer (Arden, Maidstone) on Saturday. However - I'm easily spooked by non-perfect service history and this one scares me. After the PDI, the service book shows nothing for 3 years, then its first service at just under 20k miles.
I'm sorely tempted to walk away. Should I be reassured by the BMW Approved label, and go ahead with the test drive?
I'm sorely tempted to walk away. Should I be reassured by the BMW Approved label, and go ahead with the test drive?
Vroomer said:
BMW HQ would take a very dim view.
You've obviously had better experiences than me over the last 10 years then, as in my experience BMW HQ won't give a damn, and will tell you to take it up with the dealer who will also not give a damn.I've seen cars with the wrong size tyres, dodgy service histories, bald tyres, etc. up for sale as AUC - and have simply walked away.
andrewthehat said:
You guys are clearly having some effect. The AUC badge appears to have parted company with the car on the dealer's website, which presumably means HQ won't mind as much. Needless to say, my enthusiasm for the car - especially at its unchanged price tag - has waned somewhat.
I imagine your questioning has maybe made them realise it, do dealers really read the BMW forums?Personally, I think they probably do. There is a ghastly little sub-industry growing quickly in the wake of the social media bubble - it's called "reputation management". The theory behind its sales pitch is that "one bad online review can destroy your business" - so you'd better know what people are saying. Complete horse-manure on fundamental terms, but since a whole generation of cowardly marketing directors have swallowed Andy Grove's mantra of "only the paranoid survive", reputation-management (meaning scouring the widely-read forums, blogs, twits and other e-channels for anything remotely negative) grows like Japanese knotweed.
It is for this reason - and no other - that I think the world of braver marketeers like Michael O'Leary, who refuse to waste time listening to the blogosphere, in favour of knowing what his customers actually want to buy from him.
Sorry. Rant over. It's just something I kinda feel passionate about.
It is for this reason - and no other - that I think the world of braver marketeers like Michael O'Leary, who refuse to waste time listening to the blogosphere, in favour of knowing what his customers actually want to buy from him.
Sorry. Rant over. It's just something I kinda feel passionate about.
Vroomer said:
But with the caveat that the maximum interval between services is TWO years, and this one wasn't serviced for three.
Is that for any service, or just brake fluid change?Personally I wouldn't worry too much as long as the price is right and there's not a long list of issues since.
Do you know how long they've had it?
Sticks. said:
Is that for any service, or just brake fluid change?
Personally I wouldn't worry too much as long as the price is right and there's not a long list of issues since.
Do you know how long they've had it?
It's a max of 2 years for the oil service, and it's a stipulation of the AUC/insured warranty.Personally I wouldn't worry too much as long as the price is right and there's not a long list of issues since.
Do you know how long they've had it?
It might not cause any problems to the car, but it might let them wriggle out of a warranty claim.
The solution is to get then to provide assurances, in writing, that this abnormal gap will not reduce your warranty coverage.
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