At least I know my tracker works...
Discussion
So, I pick up my new M5 the other week and get instant problems with a faulty sensor. The dealership was very proactive, came and picked the car up, gave me a 6 series as a replacement, dropped the car back off fully valeted and topped up with petrol - the least you'd expect really.
When they fixed the problem, they told me they needed to put some miles on it to make sure it was indeed fixed, as the problem was intermittent. I consented to this and about 10min after the conversation I get a call from the Tracker company say the vehicle is on the move (I have a Cat5 tracker and they'd obviously forgot the fob). I explained that the dealer was test driving it and it was ok. I then get a phone call from them at 10pm saying the car is on the move again and has parked up about 5 miles from the dealership. It doesn't take a detective to figure out that someone has decided to "borrow" my car whilst it's in for repairs.
Ok, so we all know that employees of dealerships take customers cars home, but a car like that and a brand new one! Maybe it's just me, but I can probably be forgiven for being incandescent with rage...
I phoned my contact at the dealership and asked him how my car was coming along. Without any prompt from me, he said it was fine and that he took it home overnight so he could ensure the problem has been resolved. Well, I have a f**king problem with this, because whilst I consented to having BMW take it out for a spin, I don't see how it can be road tested when it's parked outside someone's house all night. I said to the dealer: 'If you'd told me that you were going to take it home for the night, what do you think I would have said to that?'. He could obviously see my point and apologised, despite insisting that it was fully insured and that he took it because he is the only M specialist at the dealership and thus has respect for the cars - pity he doesn't have respect for the customers too!
I'm in two minds about this. In his mind, he hasn't done anything wrong and certainly didn't try and hide anything. In my mind, he stole my f**king car, without my permission and any customer would be of the expectation that a road test would take place during working hours and that it would also be expected that the car would be kept at the dealership, securely, overnight. I'm tempted to write to BMW and tell them about this.
What do you guys think?
P.S. What I should have done of course, is to get a cab to where the vehicle was parked overnight and pick it up using the spare key and fob, then call the dealer first thing in the morning to ask when my car would be ready. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
When they fixed the problem, they told me they needed to put some miles on it to make sure it was indeed fixed, as the problem was intermittent. I consented to this and about 10min after the conversation I get a call from the Tracker company say the vehicle is on the move (I have a Cat5 tracker and they'd obviously forgot the fob). I explained that the dealer was test driving it and it was ok. I then get a phone call from them at 10pm saying the car is on the move again and has parked up about 5 miles from the dealership. It doesn't take a detective to figure out that someone has decided to "borrow" my car whilst it's in for repairs.
Ok, so we all know that employees of dealerships take customers cars home, but a car like that and a brand new one! Maybe it's just me, but I can probably be forgiven for being incandescent with rage...
I phoned my contact at the dealership and asked him how my car was coming along. Without any prompt from me, he said it was fine and that he took it home overnight so he could ensure the problem has been resolved. Well, I have a f**king problem with this, because whilst I consented to having BMW take it out for a spin, I don't see how it can be road tested when it's parked outside someone's house all night. I said to the dealer: 'If you'd told me that you were going to take it home for the night, what do you think I would have said to that?'. He could obviously see my point and apologised, despite insisting that it was fully insured and that he took it because he is the only M specialist at the dealership and thus has respect for the cars - pity he doesn't have respect for the customers too!
I'm in two minds about this. In his mind, he hasn't done anything wrong and certainly didn't try and hide anything. In my mind, he stole my f**king car, without my permission and any customer would be of the expectation that a road test would take place during working hours and that it would also be expected that the car would be kept at the dealership, securely, overnight. I'm tempted to write to BMW and tell them about this.
What do you guys think?
P.S. What I should have done of course, is to get a cab to where the vehicle was parked overnight and pick it up using the spare key and fob, then call the dealer first thing in the morning to ask when my car would be ready. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
I totally see what you are getting at and would be equally p1ssed off.
But, in reality, if there are no adverse effects or damage to the car (other than additional mileage) then you can ensure they know you are annoyed and leave them in a position where they know they need to keep you on side. They may throw in something as a gesture of goodwill.
I have been in a similar situation, seeing my AMG mercedes fly past me whilst it was in for a fault that didnt require driving so can empathise.
But, in reality, if there are no adverse effects or damage to the car (other than additional mileage) then you can ensure they know you are annoyed and leave them in a position where they know they need to keep you on side. They may throw in something as a gesture of goodwill.
I have been in a similar situation, seeing my AMG mercedes fly past me whilst it was in for a fault that didnt require driving so can empathise.
I know how mad you must feel that your pride and joy is being used by someone else. I can also see the point that the mechanic has made however the fault is not something that needs to be monitored by taking it home. If the alarm went off at night when it was dark or it didn't start in the morning when cold then perhaps there is an excuse however a faulty sensor? Come on. I would push for a free service or something from the dealer as compensation.
The bit which intrigues me, is the second call from tracker at 2200hrs!
I presume it was at the dealership until then, so why is it suddenly moved so late?
On face value that sounds like someone who wanted to borrow the car, not someone testing. Unless the fault requires night driving, or some other time related reason, surely the miles could have been put on it during working hours.
I'd be asking more questions, and then consider a complaint.
Oh and the fact he came clean, could be because he knew you had a tracker and would find out.
I presume it was at the dealership until then, so why is it suddenly moved so late?
On face value that sounds like someone who wanted to borrow the car, not someone testing. Unless the fault requires night driving, or some other time related reason, surely the miles could have been put on it during working hours.
I'd be asking more questions, and then consider a complaint.
Oh and the fact he came clean, could be because he knew you had a tracker and would find out.
In balance, I don't actually think it's that bad.
Provided he did actually drive it with care (which you'll never know), then I think it's a potential benefit. If he lived 50 miles from the dealership, then that would be taking the p**s, but only a few miles to check it over and then he spoke to you and said about it.
Don't sweat it, much worse things going on than a mechanic checking you car!
Provided he did actually drive it with care (which you'll never know), then I think it's a potential benefit. If he lived 50 miles from the dealership, then that would be taking the p**s, but only a few miles to check it over and then he spoke to you and said about it.
Don't sweat it, much worse things going on than a mechanic checking you car!
Can tracker do a more detailed log of the journey and timings, to prove or dis-prove what he told you?
In my opinion there is no excess for taking the vehicle home without clearing with the owner, being covered by insurance is not the point.......
I have experienced problems with my cars when under the responsibility of the garage, which they only admitted after the event, unfortunately I have very little faith in your average main dealer.
In my opinion there is no excess for taking the vehicle home without clearing with the owner, being covered by insurance is not the point.......
I have experienced problems with my cars when under the responsibility of the garage, which they only admitted after the event, unfortunately I have very little faith in your average main dealer.
Carlton Banks said:
I totally see what you are getting at and would be equally p1ssed off.
But, in reality, if there are no adverse effects or damage to the car (other than additional mileage) then you can ensure they know you are annoyed and leave them in a position where they know they need to keep you on side. They may throw in something as a gesture of goodwill.
I have been in a similar situation, seeing my AMG mercedes fly past me whilst it was in for a fault that didnt require driving so can empathise.
Ouch.But, in reality, if there are no adverse effects or damage to the car (other than additional mileage) then you can ensure they know you are annoyed and leave them in a position where they know they need to keep you on side. They may throw in something as a gesture of goodwill.
I have been in a similar situation, seeing my AMG mercedes fly past me whilst it was in for a fault that didnt require driving so can empathise.
w5pwr said:
Can tracker do a more detailed log of the journey and timings, to prove or dis-prove what he told you?
In my opinion there is no excess for taking the vehicle home without clearing with the owner, being covered by insurance is not the point.......
I have experienced problems with my cars when under the responsibility of the garage, which they only admitted after the event, unfortunately I have very little faith in your average main dealer.
They can give me a limited amount of information - full details, they'd have to pass on to the police. I do know that the car did go for its road test shortly after they called to check that it was ok. I then know that it sat at the dealership until near the time the tracking company called me - guess the guy was working late. From logging into my account, I was able to get its precise location, where it stayed until 7am, when the tracking company called me again to say that it was back on the move.In my opinion there is no excess for taking the vehicle home without clearing with the owner, being covered by insurance is not the point.......
I have experienced problems with my cars when under the responsibility of the garage, which they only admitted after the event, unfortunately I have very little faith in your average main dealer.
It's the nonchalance that gets me, as if it was perfectly normal to take someone's car without asking them. He even knew it had the tracker as he arranged to have it fitted!
Dinh said:
They can give me a limited amount of information - full details, they'd have to pass on to the police. I do know that the car did go for its road test shortly after they called to check that it was ok. I then know that it sat at the dealership until near the time the tracking company called me - guess the guy was working late. From logging into my account, I was able to get its precise location, where it stayed until 7am, when the tracking company called me again to say that it was back on the move.
It's the nonchalance that gets me, as if it was perfectly normal to take someone's car without asking them. He even knew it had the tracker as he arranged to have it fitted!
So is the problem that it wasn't parked in the dealership overnight, or did you not like the time that the test drive was done (10PM). If they had said upfront "do you mind if I take it home as part of the test, it will be fully insured etc." would you have permitted this?It's the nonchalance that gets me, as if it was perfectly normal to take someone's car without asking them. He even knew it had the tracker as he arranged to have it fitted!
This is absolutely wrong and, technically speaking, almost amounts to taking without authority.
Forget the "we are insured" bit, it wasn't because they did not have your permission to take it home.
Any garage, not just a main dealer, has no authority to take a car home without your permission. I speak from experience having worked as the workshop foreman in main dealers. Under no circumstances was it possible to take a customer's car home without the customer being contacted and explicitly told that there would be a need to take the car overnight to reproduce a fault or ensure that one had been sorted. A written record was always kept of that phone call.
Personally, I would be contacting the dealer principal in the first instance as working late till 10pm seems a bit strange to me too (if that is true). If no joy from this approach then BMW Customer Care.
Forget the "we are insured" bit, it wasn't because they did not have your permission to take it home.
Any garage, not just a main dealer, has no authority to take a car home without your permission. I speak from experience having worked as the workshop foreman in main dealers. Under no circumstances was it possible to take a customer's car home without the customer being contacted and explicitly told that there would be a need to take the car overnight to reproduce a fault or ensure that one had been sorted. A written record was always kept of that phone call.
Personally, I would be contacting the dealer principal in the first instance as working late till 10pm seems a bit strange to me too (if that is true). If no joy from this approach then BMW Customer Care.
contractor said:
So is the problem that it wasn't parked in the dealership overnight, or did you not like the time that the test drive was done (10PM). If they had said upfront "do you mind if I take it home as part of the test, it will be fully insured etc." would you have permitted this?
Spot on. The problem is that I would expect it to be parked at the dealership, in the same way that I would expect a bank to keep my money at one of their branches, rather than under an employees bed. If he had asked upfront, I would have categorically said no as there was no reason whatsoever for it to be driven outside of working hours.Not sure I see the issue here. You knew they would be driving it. Many problems occur in 'mundane' driving and not on a 'quick blast' test drive. By taking it home and driving in the next morning the mechanic did the best thing IMO. Only thing is a misunderstanding about how they were going to road test the car. It was insured, and I assume the mechanic did not live 100 miles away. If the fault was fixed then I'd be a little frustrated at the misunderstanding but no more.
Dinh said:
Spot on. The problem is that I would expect it to be parked at the dealership, in the same way that I would expect a bank to keep my money at one of their branches, rather than under an employees bed. If he had asked upfront, I would have categorically said no as there was no reason whatsoever for it to be driven outside of working hours.
Fair enough, I see your point and respect that. I also think that there might be benefit in an extended test etc. but that should be explicitly discussed with the customer beforehand. Oh, and you should know that the moment you deposit money into a bank, it ceases to be yours
Dinh said:
The problem is that I would expect it to be parked at the dealership.
If he had asked upfront, I would have categorically said no as there was no reason whatsoever for it to be driven outside of working hours.
Totally agree, I think without the owners permission this is totally unexpectable and like the OP, I certainly wouldn't give a garage permission to take home one of my vehicles. If he had asked upfront, I would have categorically said no as there was no reason whatsoever for it to be driven outside of working hours.
Targarama said:
Not sure I see the issue here. You knew they would be driving it. Many problems occur in 'mundane' driving and not on a 'quick blast' test drive. By taking it home and driving in the next morning the mechanic did the best thing IMO. Only thing is a misunderstanding about how they were going to road test the car. It was insured, and I assume the mechanic did not live 100 miles away. If the fault was fixed then I'd be a little frustrated at the misunderstanding but no more.
This is what can and does happen when mechanics take cars for a test drive. The Ferrari did not need a drive to test an airbag!!!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-ord...
And this one is well known. No further comment necessary.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117750/Kw...
While this one is not really the same, it does make you think.....
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/camaro-owner...
Happy reading!
Targarama said:
Not sure I see the issue here. You knew they would be driving it. Many problems occur in 'mundane' driving and not on a 'quick blast' test drive. By taking it home and driving in the next morning the mechanic did the best thing IMO. Only thing is a misunderstanding about how they were going to road test the car. It was insured, and I assume the mechanic did not live 100 miles away. If the fault was fixed then I'd be a little frustrated at the misunderstanding but no more.
This is what can and does happen when mechanics take cars for a test drive. The Ferrari did not need a drive to test an airbag!!!http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-ord...
And this one is well known. No further comment necessary.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117750/Kw...
While this one is not really the same, it does make you think.....
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/camaro-owner...
Happy reading!
N7GTX said:
This is what can and does happen when mechanics take cars for a test drive. The Ferrari did not need a drive to test an airbag!!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-ord...
And this one is well known. No further comment necessary.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117750/Kw...
While this one is not really the same, it does make you think.....
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/camaro-owner...
Happy reading!
or even this clown http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-ord...
And this one is well known. No further comment necessary.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117750/Kw...
While this one is not really the same, it does make you think.....
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/camaro-owner...
Happy reading!
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff