Bad luck? Or just useless dealerships?

[Paulington]

Recently, Mother & I seem to have had awful luck with our motor vehicles. Just asking what you'd do in certain situations which are currently happening to us! .

Our Mitsubishi Lancer GS4, it is SPOTLESS due to almost never being used, black metallic-esque paint. We took it in for a routine MOT and were told it would be out two days later.

A day later, we get a phone call saying that when the car was on the ramp having the underneath inspected, a huge halogen lamp, think one of these:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wKFWr1fA8d0/0.jpg

but much bigger, exploded and fell from the ceiling resulting in a huge dent in the roof and loads of scratches from glass on the roof, bonnet, boot, spoiler, A pillars and wings.

They said they'd repaint these parts and sort it out, four days later asked to come inspect it and it was a MESS. Pieces of GLASS under the paint that they hadn't bothered to remove! Basically told them to shove it and do it again, properly. Basically we've told them now that if it's not up to standard (scratches, visible/able to feel a 'lip' in the paint or anything that means it's not exactly as it went in to them) we want the full private value of the car, i.e., they buy it from us. This is about £10k. My question is, do you think this is unreasonable? Or is there another way around it? We gave them a chance and they tried to fob us off.

Secondly, my turn! I ordered a new BMW 1 Series Sport on the 28th(?) of December or so, really excited, picked my spec and as it had to be built for me was told it would turn up first week of March.

Come first week of March, nothing. Then I get told it will turn up on Friday the 9th of March but due to a handover period or whatever I can't get it until the 13th of March, frustrating, but fine.

Anyway, I get a phone call today to come up. Lo and behold my car has arrived, proper spec, looking beautiful but it has a MANUAL transmission when I ordered semi-automatic! A HUGE mistake! I couldn't believe it. As we've sold the Mondeo pretty much I needed a car. I was pretty frustrated already.

Then I am told that they have to build another car for me and I won't be getting it until the start of May () which annoyed me even more.

They gave me a courtesy car in the end which I have until my new car comes, but still, my thoughts are how the hell could this even happen? It's a professional factory that prides itself on just BEING BMW, how good they are, excellence and all that when they had the car for FOUR DAYS and they didn't notice it had the complete wrong transmission until pretty much the last second before I was due to pick it up, so annoying as I now have to wait even more time for no reason. Is it justifiable for me to be annoyed? I know it's not the salesman's fault and he has done everything he can to help me out but still, this could have been done a heck of a lot better...

I just had to rant this out, it has annoyed me, especially on top of my bike playing up because of the alarm which I hate.

My courtesy car, same as the one I ordered just mine should be red:

https://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/430116_10150575080361371_544131370_9482292_690498606_n.jpg.

Fantastic car, would recommend to anyone.

My question is, has anyone else had similar experiences and how has it been resolved? This is the first time I've ever heard of anything like both of those happening let alone both happening to my family in the space of two weeks or so! !
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Current Vehicles: '89 Kawasaki KDX200, '99 Yamaha XV535, '00 Honda ST1100 Pan-European, '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GS4 2.0 TDCi, '15 BMW 1 Series 116d Sport Turbo.
CBT: 27/08/08. Theory: 04/09/09. Module 1: 16/09/09. Module 2: 01/10/09.

[0ddball]

I feel so sorry for you pet. Honestly, i'm sat here in tears. I hope life gets better.
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ZXR750L

[bazza]

This is awful. Channel 4 should do a documentary about Britain's hidden shame of BMW dealers occasionally getting things a bit wrong. I'm proper upset now - do you know, I just went for a shit, and couldn't give one.

I need a cuppa and some digestives.
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[jimspeed]

I think you are being fair with the mitsi as it was in good condition when you left it with the garage and you should expect the car to be in the same condition afterwards, they won't be happy with buying the car tho as their trade insurance will only cover trade prices/values so the extra will come off them.
I'll be interested to see how that one pans out but stick to your guns and don't accept anything below standard.
As for the BMW, well mistakes happen and I would think a letter to customer services may get you a sweetener in the shape of a free service or 2 maybe?
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Hyosung cruise 125(passed test on, sold) Kawasaki el 252 (better than expected but sold on) Kawasaki GPZ500S first "big"bike.(sold) ZZR600 E5..Z750 2007,ER5, currently on a 2008 Enfield bullet electra x and loving it..
,"Alpha-9: Is there any correlation between dyno rod and dyno kits?"

[stonesie]

It looks like a good comparison between a good and bad garage to me. On the bad side you have the MOT monkeys trying to bodge the car up and fob you off, on the other you have the BMW dealer giving you a brand new car to swan about in until the mistake is sorted at no cost to you (will cost them a few £ in depreciation and not having that demonstrator available).





I would have had a 1 series coupe if I had the money (135I would be nice) but what the hell have they done to it's nose? It was never a pretty car but now

Still gonna buy a lottery ticket

[Rogerborg]

Me and my two 9 year old busted-up Citroens with a laundry list of pending MOT failures offer our deepest sympathy for your dreadful woes.
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[Paulington]

[Paulington]

[mistergixer]

After retiring, Mistergixer senior took a 'pocket money' job delivering and collecting cars for a large, local BMW dealer.

He descriptively summed up their organisational skills with the comment that 'they couldn't find their arsehole with their finger'.
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Space Monkey #7
Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no one left to fight for. Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die!
Mistergixer's videos on YouTube

[D O G]

I think you will be hard pressed to get them to buy the Mitsi at the price you want.

Their liability is to return the car to its previous state, rather than buy it off you. Any trouble, get on the phone to Trading Standards, but you're not going to get them to buy it, only fix it properly.

As for the other story. More proof that you don't live in the real world.

[Paulington]

[Shaft]

[JP7]

I worked for BMW for several years and while their production process is good, it isn't foolproof. Misbuilds do sometimes occur at the factories. I once had a MINI turn up at the dealership with different coloured back seats to front! And one with one tinted rear window and one untinted! Although granted that's from a UK factory rather than German, etc. Wrong interior trims is a common misbuild.

The order is placed directly with the factory from the programme the salesman uses to take you through the options. It would be worth checking your signed order form to see what it says about the gearbox. If the order form says manual, you'll have been quoted the price for a manual. If it says auto or semi-auto, then somewhere it's gone wrong along the line!

If they've given you an equivalent courtesy car, it does sound like they've gone wrong somewhere. In the meantime, see it for what it is. As much as you're disappointed about not having the one you ordered, you have a free car for several thousand miles, saving your new one miles and money.

Hope the new one comes through ok.

[nowhere.elysium]

[Hetzer]

Even into a lottery-winner's life a little rain must fall.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[LordShaftesbu...]

[P.addy]

So you wanted a semi auto BMW. Got a manual... I'd prefer the manual to semi auto but agreed, I'd be pissed if it was the reverse (got semi instead of manual)

With the light falling onto the car...I'd demand it was sent to a decent body shop, probably where mitsubishi send theirs to be repaired.

[angryjonny]

I had a similar problem last week. I had a supermodel round and after the third blowjob she went down to make me breakfast and came back with eggs that she'd *clearly* done for 45 seconds too long so the yolks weren't soft enough. Then later on when she was washing my Aston Vanquish in her bikini she didn't even get in between all the spokes on the wheels. Is there anything I can do?

Seriously though - BMW messed up and they've done the best they can to rectify it. Mistakes happen. When you work out how to be perfect you can expect perfection off others. If you'd bought a nice Renault they'd have fobbed you off with a poverty-spec Twingo at best, so just be glad BMW seem to actually feel a bit bad about it.

As for the Evo, yes you should expect it back as you delivered it. If they can't do that you should get compensation. If you're lucky they'll have insurance and it'll all be dealt with nicely. If you're unlucky it'll turn out you've signed a "Garage X cannot be held responsible for..." style disclaimer when you handed it over. So use the goodwill you've built up with them to get a resolution before you wade in with the big legal guns.

[DrDonnyBrago]

[Visitor Q]

And this is precisely why I'd rather live frugally with a sensible amount of money...



Thanks for the reminder.
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From September 2014 to January/February 2015 I will not be using any English, nor reading any. As such, I won't be on here. PM at will, but I won't be checking/posting unless in emergencies. Certainly not for the first couple of months. Please berate me savagely if I break that rule...

[mistergixer]

At least he hasn't mentioned kart racing.......yet.


____________________
Space Monkey #7
Don Eladio is dead. His capos are dead. You have no one left to fight for. Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die!
Mistergixer's videos on YouTube

[Visitor Q]

[pits]

skipped through lulzy replies.

First car, ask for how it was and how it should be, no need to get them to buy the car from you, but perhaps ask them to use your paint shop of choice to get it painted, not theres, they have insurance for this, but I doubt insurance would cover them to buy your car for £10k as it is merely cosmetic damage, not binned it on road test.


As for the BMW MTFU and take the manual, semi auo is shit.
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[D O G]

I suspect the reason for the semi auto are the injuries he has to his legs.