April Fools Day delivery - A joke alright!

[QSH17Z]

So I finally had my car delivered last Thursday and made an appointment to collect it at 11am. After waiting well over half an hour for my (new never met him before as my original salesperson had quit) salesperson to commence the handover process he turned up from a test drive with another customer somewhere, introduced himself and then got another salesperson to start the delivery process. After doing the paperwork and then moving out to see the car that salesperson was then almost immediately replaced by salesperson number 3 as he had another appointment. Never mind the appointment I made with salesperson 1 for 11am who was still dealing with another customer...So after being asked what I want to know about the car, I hesitate as I expected at least a brief rundown of basic features/functions. So I ask for the second time about sighting the build plate (as I requested a 2010 build, first guy assured me it was a 2010 but conveniently didn't show me) but no one knew where to find it until a senior manager was roped in.

Finding out right then that it was a Dec 2009 build wasn't my idea of an April Fools joke! I was furious! I told them I could've been driving a 2009 build ordered car the same since January (I ordered in Oct 09) instead of waiting until April for a supposed 2010 build only to have it arrive as a 2009. At this point several people all hurriedly tried to gather paperwork and the like to convince me it was a 2010 build and the sticker was wrong. This is in spite of the actual sticker being two thirds pulled off on a supposedly brand new car. Of course the sticker is easily replaced with a Jan 2010 I am told. I was shown the rego sticker as being a 2010 model and also the service database record showing a build date of first week 2010. I instantly recalled the same scenario described of an X5 owner in Adelaide who I believe is now demanding BMW get them a 2010 build or substantial discount to which they won't agree. So I went solely on the rego sticker evidence and hoped to hell that the sticker was a mistake and told them to order in a new sticker. They then had to fix up my front numberplate mounting (it was completely crooked) and also debadge the car even though I specified that as a factory option last year. They palmed me off in a car and called me back a few hours later to recommence delivery. I then returned to collect it and took some photos only to notice it had an almost unbelievable 44kms on it! I've bought demo cars with less mileage than that but I couldn't be stuffed arguing any more and said not a word. So I finally drove out of the dealer (near as to 7 hours after my initial appointment!) trying to further convince myself that it was indeed a 2010 build. I have since checked on another forum and found that my chassis number comes up with a late December 2009 build on that database which is supposedly the same as BMW even though they say it's a 2010.

I have since just delved deeper and ripped out the back seat to find a parts list for the construction of the back seat and low and behold it clearly showed a date of 4th Jan 2010 on it - oh the relief! So now I reckon that the car started production in the last week of 2009 and rolled off the line in the first week of 2010 but it would've been a hell of alot less stress and heartache if the correct sticker had been applied in the first instance. I'm still surprised that BMW dealers appear just like any other stereotypical dealer though so this should be a warning to anyone awaiting a 2010 build also to check the sticker on the car itself. Here's a few obligatory photos from my pretty eventful delivery day:

[BMWRX]

That dealership looks familiar.............and I'm not surprised you had the troubles you did.

Where exactly is the build date sticker on our cars?

[BigBoss168]

Sorry to hear about your bad delivery experience, that sucks, particularly when you've waited so long for your new car.

Originally Posted by BMWRX

Where exactly is the build date sticker on our cars?

Yes, I'm very interested in this too. Also, how did you "rip out the rear seats" to find the other evidence of 2010 build?

[Orlin]

That dealership does look familiar, I got my car from there also and I had no problems however since then most of the sales / service team that I once knew have left.

[chappy]

There are good dealers and very bad dealers just like real estate agents some think they are gods gift on earth.
My build date is stamped on the under side of the bonnet on the 3series is that the same with the 1 series.
Congratulations Hope it goes a bit better for you.

[Taymaishu]

Originally Posted by chappy

There are good dealers and very bad dealers just like real estate agents some think they are gods gift on earth.
My build date is stamped on the under side of the bonnet on the 3series is that the same with the 1 series.
Congratulations Hope it goes a bit better for you.

Mine is inside the passenger door sill.

[takahashi]

German like to party around Christmas new year so you may find a condom in your car somewhere...

just kidding.

Rotten luck mate. Hope the car is good. It may turn out that there is another 10kW in your ECU map .

[wmj73]

congrats mate, car looks great with the perf grills. hope you will be with us at the next meet!!

[Bimmerle]

I hope your experience is isolated. I bought my car from Brisbane BMW via Private Fleet. I was expecting ordinary treatment because I bought through a broker. Further, the salesman who was designated to my order was interstate so another guy did the handover. It was a very pleasant experience indeed. Everything was explained in extreme detail, and every question I asked was answered to my satisfaction. It helped that the guy was an ex-BMW mechanic, so his product knowledge was excellent.

My car is a September 2009 build, delivered in mid-October, so there is no drama about last year's car or not.

[BBK]

Brad sounds like a crap delivery! It's funny how one dealership can give great service to some, then horrible to others... But I guess you have ordered and paid for the car, so after that they don't care!

I might have to actually check my car too, because I asked for a 2009 build back in 2008 just like you and mine was delivered the 5th April last year. Very close to your situation.

But your car looks nice! Well done.

[BMW86]

Congratulations on the car mate!! Welcome!

I haven't had much experience with the sales team at Darra but they seem average, had a bad experience which turned me off buying a Z4 but a good one with the X1 I looked at the other day. I have dealt with the service team at Darra extensively and I highly recommend them. Only had one semi-okay experience with them but for the most part they have looked after me very well and get the job done. I will be taking my E46 there next week too and I'll take any future BMW's I own there as well.

[oz125]

sorry to hear of your hassle, but good idea checking some of the component dates over the car.

Sounds like the back seat will be coming out next week when I finally get it.

AW and boston red look great combo, great looking car.

[sparoz]

Sorry to hear about your experience as that is no way exceptable. No dealer, including a demo Ford that I bought fail to properly deliver my car - ie, a dedicated person doing the delivery, and thoroughly going through the car.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by taipan168

Sorry to hear about your bad delivery experience, that sucks, particularly when you've waited so long for your new car.


Yes, I'm very interested in this too. Also, how did you "rip out the rear seats" to find the other evidence of 2010 build?

The wait I could handle as that was entirely my choice but not when I could've had it three months after ordering and driving it in January if it was a 2009 build as I initially thought. The rest of the delivery experience is just poor customer service completely regardless of the price paid.

I also neglected to mention that I could've picked the car up nearly a week earlier had communication been better from the dealer. He didn't bother contacting me to let me know it was ready 5 - 6 days earlier as he was on a training session in Melbourne and as he was my new salesperson, he "had" to deliver it to me which of course never really even happened until close of business on April Fools day.

The build date is situated to the right of the bonnet latch on the underside of the bonnet. You have to look really closely though. I sold my last BMW so long ago now that I forgot I was meant to be loking for a sticker not a metal plate and didn't notice it at first. It is right next to the colour code sticker.

The rear seat is a 60 second job to remove. Just pull up quickly the leading edge of the seat squab roughly in the middle point of each seating position where it clips in and the seat cushion will come free. You may be able to tilt it up enough without removing it from the seatbelt buckles and see the paperwork. My paperwork was tucked between the wire frame and exposed foam on the underside of the seat squab and easily visible. Refit of the seat just involves a quick push down to lock the clips back in again and you're done.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

Mine is inside the passenger door sill.

I think you'll find that is Christine's compliance date but not actual birthdate Another one of the dealers tricks of the trade to say that compliance dates are more important than build dates.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by wmj73

congrats mate, car looks great with the perf grills. hope you will be with us at the next meet!!

Warren (?), thanks. Yeah I love the car to bits and will definitely be in attendance at the next meet. I'm looking forward to seeing your car inparticular too.

The Performance grilles appear to be a small consolation for such a lousy delivery. I asked for a price on them once I knew the car had arrived at the port and was told $300 fitted. I said I'd think about it. Then the car is delivered with them already fitted for no additional cost! Plus that's prior to any of the hassle that was to come.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by BBK

Brad sounds like a crap delivery! It's funny how one dealership can give great service to some, then horrible to others... But I guess you have ordered and paid for the car, so after that they don't care!

I might have to actually check my car too, because I asked for a 2009 build back in 2008 just like you and mine was delivered the 5th April last year. Very close to your situation.

But your car looks nice! Well done.

Wasn't the best by a longshot Richie. The buying experience started out great but wore off completely once delivery was imminent. Is it too much to ask for the most basic of customer service these days? Mate, I hope yours is a 2009 given as you say your situation was very similar to mine.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by sparoz

Sorry to hear about your experience as that is no way exceptable. No dealer, including a demo Ford that I bought fail to properly deliver my car - ie, a dedicated person doing the delivery, and thoroughly going through the car.

No, not really acceptable but what can you do other than grin and bear it. I didn't fancy rejecting the car even though I most definitely thought I might need to. I wouldn't expect someone to know the answer to every question on how a certain item on the car operates but being asked what I would like to know is a complete joke. Although I've had a string of E46s prior and could operate those functions with my eyes shut, the E82 is quite different for alot of things. The dealer wasn't aware of my previous cars so that wasn't an excuse to cut corners on explanations.

Thank god the car is every bit as good as I had hoped it would be.

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by QSH17Z

No, not really acceptable but what can you do other than grin and bear it. I didn't fancy rejecting the car even though I most definitely thought I might need to. I wouldn't expect someone to know the answer to every question on how a certain item on the car operates but being asked what I would like to know is a complete joke. Although I've had a string of E46s prior and could operate those functions with my eyes shut, the E82 is quite different for alot of things. The dealer wasn't aware of my previous cars so that wasn't an excuse to cut corners on explanations.

Thank god the car is every bit as good as I had hoped it would be.

Definitely not acceptable, and you will need to give a thumbs down on the survey.

7 cars I have bought, 5 new, and 2 demos - and none of the sales had failed to go through the car bit by bit with me. The last delivery - which was for two vehicles, he was even better as he didn't just went through everything with me and my wife (separately), but also know us well enough to emphasis on things that he knows which is important to us. He paired up our phones, go through the idrive settings with our preferences, emphasising on things which were new from our old cars. The gift was thoughtful, just from finding out more about us during the buying process.

What you went through was just slack customer service that you expect from a $2 shop. I don't think any car buyers should need to go through that.

[oz125]

my turn for delivery comes on Wednesday.
After reading about compliance date stickers that can be 'updated', can any of you guys who have taken 2010 build recently let me know what corresponding letter is I need to check for 2010 in the VIN?
Vin decoders I looked up all gave dodgy results.

[QSH17Z]

Originally Posted by oz125

my turn for delivery comes on Wednesday.
After reading about compliance date stickers that can be 'updated', can any of you guys who have taken 2010 build recently let me know what corresponding letter is I need to check for 2010 in the VIN?
Vin decoders I looked up all gave dodgy results.

I did alot of research into the whole build date stuff regarding mine and as far as I could find out, BMWs coming into Australia don't have a specific letter/number within the VIN that corresponds to the year the vehicle was built. I even found that manufacturers importing vehicles into Australia don't legally have to disclose either the country of manufacture nor the build date. I mean really, you shouldn't be worried as I'm sure you'd be up for an updated sticker if offered right I stand by my idea of popping the rear seat squab up and checking the date there as the seats are among the last things installed on the car during production. There's even a statement amongst the mountain of booklets they provide after handover that states something like: Build date is when the powertrain and body are conjoined and the vehicle is driven or moved from the production line. Interestingly as per my discovery on the legality of declaring build dates here, the statement is only printed in an Australian Market Specific booklet. Anyway, let me wish you the best of luck for Wednesday.

[BMWRX]

Originally Posted by oz125

After reading about compliance date stickers that can be 'updated'

They can be updated? I might have to see if I can give my cars birthday a bit of a facelift.