New BMW Owner needing help! - United Bimmer Community

**Mahendan** · 04-21-2007, 11:49 PM

Hi Guys,

I just picked up my very first BMW.. It's a 2004 330CI.... I love the car but the service I received at the dealership was very disappointing. When I got to the dealership the car wasn't ready and my sales person was busy with someone else and I pretty much wasted 45 minutes at the dealership doing nothing... The reason why I am raising a stinker about this is because my friend who recently got a BMW as well had a totally different experience but this was at a different dealership.

Anyways the 45 minutes wait is the least of my concerns... I was told they would do a full interior and exterior detailing of the car but they didn't do a proper job and I had wax residual all over the car. My car is black so it's really visible. They also said they would fix up some stone chips and align my bumper which wasn't done. The sales guy told me to take the car and bring it back Wednesday and he would redo the exterior detailing and align the bumper. This arrangement seemed fine because they said they would give me a loaner and I figured everyone makes mistakes including BMW. So I decided to pick it up anyways.

I drove the car for 170 KM's and now I get a high pitch sound coming from the brakes and when I turn off the engine, I also get a weird sound coming from the engine.

My current plan is to call them up on Monday and take it in and not wait until Wednesday according the initial arrangement. My car is a certified series and I am starting to think they didn't put it through the proper inspection. Does anyone have any advice as to what else I should do? or who I should talk to?

I don't feel the service ppl at this dealership are very friendly but I really can’t do much about that. However, I still have the option of returning the car because it's certified but I really don't want to

Is this the type of service normal at a BMW dealership?

Please Help,

Mahendan

witeshark · 04-21-2007, 11:59 PM

I think you should ask to speak with a manager - certified cars should bring you much better service

**BMWLotAttendant** · 04-22-2007, 02:29 AM

To answer you question.....NO! No, no, and no....That's not how you are suppost to be treated.

Yes, I would go directly to the Service manager and discuss the details of the problems with your car (engine, etc.) and tell them to get it resolved. It should be covered under the CPO, and if it isn't, then you need to tell them since it is their fault, they need to pay for it.

As far as the detail and rock chips, at our dealership we are very picky about our cars being clean and "showroom" perfection. Our sales guys are constantly taking the cars back to get re-buffed. I would talk to the Sales Manger and share your concerns with your purchase and how you are not satisfied. I sure wouldn't be.

Every purchase of a BMW through BMW recieves a CSI rating. I would rate that dealership badly on their report if they don't get it resolved to your satisfaction.

Then, I would shop around for a better BMW dealership.

Hope that helps. Anything else, just ask.

Btw, you have chosen a nice ride. I love the black 330Ci Coupe. Congradulations on the car!

**Dudesky** · 04-22-2007, 07:19 AM

I certainly wouldn't wait till Wed to tell them. Do whatever you can, document everything, and be very assertive. 2nd to a house, a car is usually the 2nd biggest purchase one makes, and you don't want to mess around when that kind of money is involved. And while you're waiting to bring it back in, drive it around some more- highway, city, trafic, rough bumpy roads, to see what other problems might surface.

**Mahendan** · 04-22-2007, 10:15 AM

One of my concerns is that the car wasn't put through proper certified series inspection. I was thinking about taking it to another dealership to get it inspected as well once these guys clean it up. This leads me to another question what process I should take if the other dealership finds something wrong or tells me I was sold a lemon. I am pretty sure the dealership I got it from would just discredit them and say nothing is wrong with the car and I won’t be able to return it because my 5 days are up to return the car.

I would love to drive the car around but I don’t want to exceed 300KM and loose my right to return the car. I have already driven the car 170KM and I need the rest to go to the dealership

. Honestly, I don’t want to return the car but I feel this might be the only leverage I have going for me and might be the only option if the dealership starts acting like assholes.

At this dealership when I told my sales guy about the stone chips he decided to pick up a bottle of touch up paint and patch the stone chips him self. I had to stop him and tell him it looks horrible the way he is doing it.

**BMWLotAttendant** · 04-22-2007, 02:15 PM

Every BMW that is CPO certified goes through a number of inspections to make sure it is up to BMW qualifications. If this is CPO certified, there is documentation, and if you don't believe them, you should ask for it from the Service manager.

I highly doubt you have a lemon, I have never seen an e46 (2004) 330Ci Coupe that was bad. It probably is just a belt or something that is causing the noise in the engine, and maybe the rotors or breakpads need to be looked at or changed since it is making that squeeking sound. Which should be free under the CPO.

I'd call and talk to the manager on Monday and if you aren't satisfied with talking to them, then I would bring it in and talk to them in person on Monday. Seems like they are somewhat trying to work with you, they're giving you a loaner....if they didn't like you they would have screwed you over and not given you one. So try and talk to them to get it resolved. It'll be alright. Probably something minor.

We have a different department that fixes up rock chips and cleans the cars for "showroom" delivery. Maybe you can go to that department and see what they can do.