Terrible service at BMW.
Discussion
Wills2 said:
Sure you expect a bit of wear and tear but tyres/paint/wheels/panel alignment should be spot on and the car fully cleaned inside.
Which reminds me "...yes the carpets are a bit on the wet side but we've just given it a deep clean..."
Righto. So the stale smell must have been a special new cleaning agent, while the sodden roof lining and A-pillar couldn't possibly mean that the sunroof drain(s) had been blocked for some time.
Next!
gtidriver said:
No video offered and he said it was in great condition. He also knew I was driving 2hrs to see the car, he's probably on another forum slating me for wasting his time. What I would have liked was a small gesture for eating my time, maybe paying for my fuel..
I think the feedback is worth giving - not sure if you can leave feedback on the dealer's website if they haven't made a sale, sometimes you see the customer satisfaction stats. Seems to me they shouldn't have put the car under AUC.... condition is subjective I guess and some on here (me included) will be OCD about condition and/or expect too much, but it does sound like this car has been through the a hedge backwards and is it then acceptable for the dealer to say it is good condition. Also, I don't like the "lets get the paperwork sorted" before you've seen the car, just doesn't feel/sound right when you've travelled and not seen it. I don't know but sounds like the sort of practices you'd expect from an arthur daley.
I'm still looking but next time I will ask for a video and a confirmation of what needs doing first. I must say about the other car I looked at it looked like it had been through the workshop as the brake discs look new. Why not do everything to the car before putting it out for sale.
My current car came from Williams Manchester. That's a four hour drive for me and they offered to send a video, which they did. It was done with an iPad and whilst the quality was reasonable, it was still difficult to see any detail.
They asked me to put a £1k deposit on it, pending my drive north. I had their agreement that if the car wasn't as they described, they would refund my deposit without question. I think the Distance Selling Regs would cover that in any case.
Condition is subjective but I told them I would be less than happy if I drove all that way to find the car wasn't as described and to be fair to the salesman, he described things in detail and The car was actually better than I had expected.
I think sometimes it comes down to the morality of the salesman.
They asked me to put a £1k deposit on it, pending my drive north. I had their agreement that if the car wasn't as they described, they would refund my deposit without question. I think the Distance Selling Regs would cover that in any case.
Condition is subjective but I told them I would be less than happy if I drove all that way to find the car wasn't as described and to be fair to the salesman, he described things in detail and The car was actually better than I had expected.
I think sometimes it comes down to the morality of the salesman.
rev-erend said:
Just walk away.
Never give a deposit until you have seen the car and they agree the price and work to be done, plus do your own HPI check.
The problem with that is most cars are not on your doorstep, so a holding deposit is necessary. Never give a deposit until you have seen the car and they agree the price and work to be done, plus do your own HPI check.
I bought a car for my mum from Arnold Clarke in Inverness, I flew up to find the car was on fumes, I had asked for the car to be full of diesel before I arrived included in the price, the sales guy just asked had I booked a return flight of just one way. They had me by the b
ks and there was nothing I could do, will never cross a AC doorstep ever again.rev-erend said:
Just walk away.
Never give a deposit until you have seen the car and they agree the price and work to be done, plus do your own HPI check.
The problem with that is most cars are not on your doorstep, so a holding deposit is necessary. Never give a deposit until you have seen the car and they agree the price and work to be done, plus do your own HPI check.
I bought a car for my mum from Arnold Clarke in Inverness, I flew up to find the car was on fumes, I had asked for the car to be full of diesel before I arrived included in the price, the sales guy just asked had I booked a return flight of just one way. They had me by the b
ks and there was nothing I could do, will never cross a AC doorstep ever again.Edited by gtidriver on Friday 29th May 02:47
Jobbo said:
Depthhoar said:
Sytner BMW Leicester actively look for certain 'modern classic' models to sell on as AUC. They've got two 2001 cars for sale at the moment, although both are very low mileage.
http://www.sytner.co.uk/bmw/leicester/used-cars.as...
Erm - a 2001 Z3 2.2 for £17,850? I imagine there are five figures of haggling room on that one http://www.sytner.co.uk/bmw/leicester/used-cars.as...
turbobloke said:
... apparently the policy is that such indies must buy blocks of cars like fruit in a bowl on a market stall, and while there are some peaches there are also over-ripe plums.
That is exactly what the trader told me, he has to buy in bulk and doesn't know what he gets until they're delivered to him.The car I got has been serviced, no expense spared with Sytner its whole life. I rang the dealer who stamped the book to check what had been done and they confirmed they know the car and did all the updated injectors, fuel pump and coil packs needed on the n53.
Very helpful service from them even though I didn't buy from them.
silverous said:
I think the feedback is worth giving - not sure if you can leave feedback on the dealer's website if they haven't made a sale, sometimes you see the customer satisfaction stats.
If the dealer is part of a group then it might be worth a complaint to the group franchise manager - they ought to be quite concerned about the groups' image in representing the marque.I don't understand how the dealer could get so ar$ey about not refunding the deposit, I've often been asked for holding deposits often for when the dealer needs to ship it from another in the group, they've always said if its not as described then you get your money back no problem, I've rejected cars before on their condition wasn't as described but luckily the dealers all agreed and probably sent the car back on the next transporter
I'm glad I've seen this post. I have had similar experiences at BMW. I bought an X5 from AUC at 2 years old with 16k miles. Fully specced and looked excellent in the photos and video. I put a deposit down literally minutes after it was put on AUC.
On arrival I was knackered having completed an overnight flight from USA (my fault i know). I saw the car, paid and drove home.
A few months on the list of damage was this:
Scratch on boot.
Damage to all 4 doors from car park dings - to the white undercoat.
Scratch on pas door from rings.
Bad quality "smart" repair done to front bumper and wing - showing through now and paint soft enough to mark with finger nail.
Bonnet scratch - from a bird.
All 4 wheels repaired so badly that the lacquer had come off.
Front 2 tyres needed replacing as bald on outer rim. (Common on X5's and not something illegal - although it does look it.)
Interior trim scratched deeply in several places on the piano black expensive bits.
I am very sure I would have got a better deal going private and I would have had better after service from a private as well!
Because I didn't buy from my local BMW garage the service from them has been awful as well. The service manager was immediately uninterested in warranty issues when he asked if I had bought if from them.
I think BMW serve a purpose (they must do!?) but they are not for me. Its private sales or another manufacturer from now.
On arrival I was knackered having completed an overnight flight from USA (my fault i know). I saw the car, paid and drove home.
A few months on the list of damage was this:
Scratch on boot.
Damage to all 4 doors from car park dings - to the white undercoat.
Scratch on pas door from rings.
Bad quality "smart" repair done to front bumper and wing - showing through now and paint soft enough to mark with finger nail.
Bonnet scratch - from a bird.
All 4 wheels repaired so badly that the lacquer had come off.
Front 2 tyres needed replacing as bald on outer rim. (Common on X5's and not something illegal - although it does look it.)
Interior trim scratched deeply in several places on the piano black expensive bits.
I am very sure I would have got a better deal going private and I would have had better after service from a private as well!
Because I didn't buy from my local BMW garage the service from them has been awful as well. The service manager was immediately uninterested in warranty issues when he asked if I had bought if from them.
I think BMW serve a purpose (they must do!?) but they are not for me. Its private sales or another manufacturer from now.
wingman0401 said:
2 hours for a 6 year old 320d?
I'm not knocking anyone for travelling any distance for the right car, but surely 320d's are ten a penny?
Im looking for an auto 320d/330d thats not already knackered that has a good spec and is in good condition,i do about 90 miles a day just doing the school run so need something reliable cheep to run comfy and just nice to drive,whats the point in buying a new one for £35k and wrecking it in 3 years.Id lose a fortune on it.I'm not knocking anyone for travelling any distance for the right car, but surely 320d's are ten a penny?
Bmw cars have a lot of bad dealers. I bought a brand new one that was damaged whilst in for warranty then booked in not repaired, not repaired, not repaired then I sold it losing 10k depreciation. First visit for a brand new car and they wanted to charge me to diagnose a windscreen that wasn't properly stuck in place.
gtidriver said:
Im looking for an auto 320d/330d thats not already knackered that has a good spec and is in good condition,i do about 90 miles a day just doing the school run so need something reliable cheep to run comfy and just nice to drive,whats the point in buying a new one for £35k and wrecking it in 3 years.Id lose a fortune on it.
A 6yr old loaded 3 Series isn't an obvious choice for that sort of use. Especially a 330d.Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff