Terrible service at BMW.
Discussion
Evening all, what level of condition should a 6yr old forecourt car be at a main dealer ? I put a holding deposit down on a 320d on Sunday and arranged a time to view on Monday, i turned up at just after 10am which was our arranged time to find the car not there, "whilst,waiting for the car to be brought round lets sort the paper work" is what the boy at his desk asked,this got started and i kept asking to see the car,but it was "being prepared" so i waited, eventually it arrived by the front door, i walked out to look at it and its a shed, it has 3 different tyres, the leather was filty the front wing/bumper/headlight are out of alignment,the rear bumper had about 12 scrapes down the side,the rear passenger door had a crease and a very badly painted parking dent, all four wheels are wrecked and need complete refurb, the bonnet has 3 nasty rock chips that are painted with the wrong colour paint and both mirrors had been badly hand painted and looked terrible. The sales t
t said most of it would "polish out", now I'm good with a machine polisher but even i can't get dents out with one or replace paint 
and the i think finance manager would only refurb the wheel and "see" what he could do about the rest of the car i.e. fk all. When i said as i was buying from a main dealer i expected perfection or near to it the smug git answer was the only way to get that was to buy new, if i did it would not be from that dealership.
Is this worth taking up with the dealer principle or BMW UK?
I was bloody annoyed as id driven 2hours to see this car. Why put a car out for sale when its obviously been abused. There was a white car on the forecourt with a lot of the paint missing on there front bumper, this was clean and marked up for sale.
t said most of it would "polish out", now I'm good with a machine polisher but even i can't get dents out with one or replace paint and the i think finance manager would only refurb the wheel and "see" what he could do about the rest of the car i.e. fk all. When i said as i was buying from a main dealer i expected perfection or near to it the smug git answer was the only way to get that was to buy new, if i did it would not be from that dealership. Is this worth taking up with the dealer principle or BMW UK?
I was bloody annoyed as id driven 2hours to see this car. Why put a car out for sale when its obviously been abused. There was a white car on the forecourt with a lot of the paint missing on there front bumper, this was clean and marked up for sale.
silverous said:
Sorry if I've missed it but did you actually take the car? I assume not but it isn't 100% clear. You would hope that a BMW dealership wouldn't put a shed up for sale as it isn't what you expect, but I think there's a middle ground....I accepted a tiny mark on a 6 month old X5 as I didn't think I'd have any luck getting them to respray a whole panel (although they said they'd sort it they sort of patched it up). I think it is par for the course that they try and get away with the minimum, perhaps more so on remote sales.
No I did not buy the car, it was in worse condition than the one I was going to trade in I think a phone call to BMW UK later is the way to go. What grates me is that they took that car in as a Px so the previous owner would have been hammered down on the price over the condition of it.Someone will buy it though it's a very well stocked car, pro nav xenons auto low mileage SADDLE BROWN leather metallic grey paint.
silverous said:
gtidriver said:
Not sure on name and shame but it's £13995 it's a grey E91 320d se. With saddle brown leather. It's on autotrader and BMW website. It looks ok in the pics
Is it a "business edition" on a 59 plate? If so I'd be wondering why they've taken so few photos of it (in hindsight I know that is easy) but also the one wheel photo the edges of the wheel look pretty scuffed to me but I'd agree generally the pics look good. Some dealers seem to take more pics than others but from a quick look even those dealers seem to take fewer photos of "sheds" ... wonder why ! 
Yes that's the one. If i wanted a battered unloved model I would have searched eBay, I wanted the best I could possibly buy. They just didn't care.
silverous said:
turbobloke said:
There's a similar policy around here - I know one of the sales execs at an independent trader. He's also an ex-BMW main dealer staffer and I can only suspect he left for all the right reasons. His business takes cars from the Cotswold BMW group, 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. One car I enquired about over the 'phone was an immediate blind alley as the guy refused to discuss it with me because he knew my expectations and the car was a total lemon (plum). He couldn't consider even the most basic sales patter around it. The thought that other lemons get retained at main dealers because the criteria don't cut it is credible in my view. There's more to a car than low mileage and age, even service history.
I must admit, this seemed a bit old and shed like for a BMW dealer. Maybe it was a favour or something... clearly not done their reputation any good. I'd just move on - not intending to wind the OP up but what is he hoping to gain from BMW ? Did he ask about the condition on the phone? I've only bought one car "remotely" and I asked for a video (which I believe most/all dealers will have the capability to do) and even asked if the car had a "new/leather smell" which the dealer promptly went out, sat in it, and emailed me back. I suspect a video would have highlighted a fair bit of what you saw e.g. hand painted mirrors - I could still see a minor scratch on the video they sent me.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.
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
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?
I have an 08/08 320d at the moment, its done over 108000miles but I've kept it on a rolling monthly BMW warranty.
Not really interested in an suv, loads in the school car park though, i avoid parking in the carpark if possible,I've seen/heard of too many accidents involving normally FFRR and mummies in high heels.One woman has to park in 2 spaces as she can't get her 4x4 in a single space, i avoid her the most, then theres the woman that reversed her RR over the bonnet of a pug 206cc, dangerous place the school car park.
Not really interested in an suv, loads in the school car park though, i avoid parking in the carpark if possible,I've seen/heard of too many accidents involving normally FFRR and mummies in high heels.One woman has to park in 2 spaces as she can't get her 4x4 in a single space, i avoid her the most, then theres the woman that reversed her RR over the bonnet of a pug 206cc, dangerous place the school car park.
Edited by gtidriver on Thursday 28th May 23:43
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