Former BMW Employees Charged in BMW 1M Coupe Joyride

[M-Power111]

i guess i dont know alot about dealership practices but i cant believe this is considered normal. whether the car belongs to the dealer or not they sell it as a "new" car. this car is clearly used now. if this is normal then ill buy a BMW straight from Munich if thats what it takes. rediculous.

[aajami]

I love the people on here claiming that this is blown out of proportion because it happens all the time.

I'm not worried about the mechanical impact on the car. I'm worried about the severe lack of professionalism and good faith that this dealership (and others) operates under. Why should we look the other way because a shady practice is supposedly accepted within an industry? I'm glad that these two are being punished, but I also want to see some repercussions handed down to the owners of that dealership. I'm not foolish enough to believe that this will put a dent in the amount of joyrides that will continue to happen, but if it makes even one punk think twice before enjoying someone else's car, then so be it.

Oh, and equating a joyride by two pubescent assholes to the shakedowns that happen on closed circuits by professional drivers and engineers is laughable.

[knifegun]

To the original owner of this car, congrats. Good on ya for sticking in there and ensuring people responsible are made an example of. I am glad you were able to ignore all the people who claimed it was no big deal, etc, etc. In life, there are two types of people, meat eaters and grass eaters. You were a meat eater. All the others who said it was "no big deal" can go ahead and pay 84K for the infamous car. Let's save all the well taken care of cars for people who appreciate quality.

[numba1guju]

Originally Posted by b33g33

Next time you buy a new car, gimme a call. I'll come break it in for ya.

+1....who wants someone else to break in their car for them?

[issabmw]

The fact of the matter is the owner bought a new car, and agreed to such terms which did not involve the practices of these two hooligans. They took the car and did what they did beyond the owners will. That in itself is violation of terms, clear and simple. You no longer received a new car.

Whether or not this was blown out of proportions relies on personal feeling, sympathy and understanding, which is all subjective and varies between people. Stressing to others that they are overreacting is childish.

[ORIGIN M.]

QFT

Originally Posted by Robert

Pacific BMW should be charged for defrauding customer trying to sell this joy ridden vehicle as prestine and new. For those of us who know better its likely they will push the blame unto lowest level employees just as they have done here.

[issabmw]

Originally Posted by aajami

Oh, and equating a joyride by two pubescent assholes to the shakedowns that happen on closed circuits by professional drivers and engineers is laughable.

How about downright ludicrous.

The thought that Ferrari, as mentioned, and their post production tracking is at all analogous to BMW's production, engines, and break-in aspects is foolish and senseless.

[Nang Vann]

What a beast!

[torquedemon]

Originally Posted by josephvman

If I'm correct, the car belonged to the dealer. When you buy the car, it's your car. Until you buy the car, it's their car.

watch the video again, there is a sold tag on the car

[bonzilla]

I see this car every day. It doesn't move, and has a description of what happened on the dash. I think it's sad that it's just sitting there and the dealer is trying to hide it from future customers. I think they need to drop the price to actual MSRP and tell the customer straight up what happened. It will be covered under warranty, and someone will be perfectly satisfied with the car. As for the employees, I didn't know them, but from what I hear they were good guys who were fellow enthusiasts. It would be so tempting to take out a car. It was just a stupid decision that is getting blown out of proportion IMO. Lose their jobs? Maybe. Court, fines, jail etc.? Taking it too far. I very much agree that corporate should take more heat for this.

[Amnizu]

I gotta say, if you are dumb enough to commit a crime and post a video of it online you deserve to be prosecuted for it. I don't care if they owned the car or not. Driving like a asshat on public roads and endangering others is NEVER okay.

[paul386]

Originally Posted by Legion5

Based on the video of the joy ride and as someone with an extensive automotive engineering background I would say that the joy ride actually helped break the car in properly, and in no way would be deterimental to the car.

The whole public reaction to this I think really shows just how little people know about their cars and how much of their reactions are based on paranoid uninformed assumptions.

While I potentially agree with the wreckless driving charge depending on how fast they were going, I think everything else is totally ridiculous.

I think you are an idiot. To make a claim on an internet forum that you have "extensive automotive engineering" almost screams that you really don't. Without claiming I have extensive automotive engineering experience I can say that I worked on a Formula SAE team in college and know how critical it was to break in the motorcycle engines we used. I also know that manufacturers recommend break-in periods and those break-in periods continue to increase... not decrease. Suggesting it really is important to treat the engine right when it is new.

Regardless... it doesn't matter. If the buyer of the car believes they car should be sang to every night and have roses rubbed in the exhaust that's fine. Its their car and they should be able to treat how they want. It is absolutely unacceptable to treat someone's car like this.

Originally Posted by joshuo

This is exactly what I was thinking. Everyone is seriously overreacting here. Modern engines are built to be able to handle a beating right off he boat. Somehow it's worse when someone else drives your car hard But when you do it it's okay?

See above response... and it doesn't matter if it is okay or not to do it. It isn't their car and it isn't professional.

Originally Posted by josephvman

If I'm correct, the car belonged to the dealer. When you buy the car, it's your car. Until you buy the car, it's their car.

The dealer is selling the car as new. And I'm guessing the person already agreed to buy it. Don't be naive.

Originally Posted by aajami

I love the people on here claiming that this is blown out of proportion because it happens all the time.

I'm not worried about the mechanical impact on the car. I'm worried about the severe lack of professionalism and good faith that this dealership (and others) operates under. Why should we look the other way because a shady practice is supposedly accepted within an industry? I'm glad that these two are being punished, but I also want to see some repercussions handed down to the owners of that dealership. I'm not foolish enough to believe that this will put a dent in the amount of joyrides that will continue to happen, but if it makes even one punk think twice before enjoying someone else's car, then so be it.

Oh, and equating a joyride by two pubescent assholes to the shakedowns that happen on closed circuits by professional drivers and engineers is laughable.

+1

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Diver

Joy rides in fast cars by dealership employees are fairly common. It happened to someone I know and his car, a modified Supra, was wrecked.

Originally Posted by SoCali E90

i have to agree with you on this one. Even though the employees were the cause of the initial problem. The dealer knowingly sold the car without disclosing any bit of information of the cars past. It's like selling a know lemon without telling the buyer. Now even tho the car was driven hard like that. I still think the person who had bought it and had made such a big ass deal about it probably drove the shit out of it right out of the dealer too. Then found out that someone else had done it to his car first lol.

As he should since he paid for it with a significant mark up as well. Just as Diver mentioned this is a common occurence there's no way the dealership not know about it. They are sending the sheep to the wolves just to cover their ass.

Originally Posted by Legion5

Based on the video of the joy ride and as someone with an extensive automotive engineering background I would say that the joy ride actually helped break the car in properly, and in no way would be deterimental to the car.

The whole public reaction to this I think really shows just how little people know about their cars and how much of their reactions are based on paranoid uninformed assumptions.

While I potentially agree with the wreckless driving charge depending on how fast they were going, I think everything else is totally ridiculous.

People aren't arguing whether the joy ride has caused damaged to vehicle but rather the principle, moral, or perhaps legal obligation in selling a car as new and especially in this case with a $30-40k mark up. You can mathematically prove no damage has been done, nevertheless people are emotional beings when they are promised a new car they expect one, not ran hard by someone else.

Like another poster said if thats cool, call us and we will come break in your cars next time. Actually doing you a favor.

[samchoi604]

I am always happy to see sweet justice being served. Also, Pacific BMW needs to ball up and be responsible, compensate to the owner, fire the two clowns, etc.

[bonzilla]

Originally Posted by sf_loft

Read my previous reply. Employees should understand their corporate ethics guideline and professional conduct policy. Corporate should not take the heat because they have no control over people's motives or behaviors. They tell you what is acceptable or not. Every company you work for nowadays will make you sign a corporate ethics policy and guidelines document.

I guess I didn't mean to say corporate should take the heat, but I can almost guarantee that if BMW N/A hadn't found out, nothing would have happened. The dealer wants to cover it up more than take blame and be in the spotlight for something like this. I really just think they shouldn't mark up this car to some rediculous price since its definitely not new anymore. The future customer deserves to know.
I'm sure things like this happen everyday, but not everyone is dumb enough to put it on YouTube.

[JulieDriving]

Originally Posted by aajami

I love the people on here claiming that this is blown out of proportion because it happens all the time.

I'm not worried about the mechanical impact on the car. I'm worried about the severe lack of professionalism and good faith that this dealership (and others) operates under. Why should we look the other way because a shady practice is supposedly accepted within an industry? I'm glad that these two are being punished, but I also want to see some repercussions handed down to the owners of that dealership. I'm not foolish enough to believe that this will put a dent in the amount of joyrides that will continue to happen, but if it makes even one punk think twice before enjoying someone else's car, then so be it.

Oh, and equating a joyride by two pubescent assholes to the shakedowns that happen on closed circuits by professional drivers and engineers is laughable.

Originally Posted by sf_loft

What you do to your car is your personal choice and getting caught is no better, but it is at least your personal property. These guys were joy riding in company property and whether it is a car dealership or a corporate high-tech company, it is unethical behavior. I know software engineers in high-tech that got fired for viewing and distributing paid customer content because he happened to know a way of bypassing the authentication. He and his buddies got to watch pay-per-view content for free due to his insider knowledge. The customer found out, called the CEO who then did an investigation, and the employee was terminated. You are hurting the business' reputation and losing trust from your customers.

Those two employees deserved to lose their jobs and need to learn about professional and ethical behavior on the job.

Well said, both of you.

[FlashTwoSix]

the owner of the 1M is on here (a fellow member). Did anyone know the update? i know there was a pending lawsuit. just curious whatever came out of that

[fly135]

Originally Posted by paul386

I think you are an idiot. To make a claim on an internet forum that you have "extensive automotive engineering" almost screams that you really don't. Without claiming I have extensive automotive engineering experience I can say that I worked on a Formula SAE team in college and know how critical it was to break in the motorcycle engines we used. I also know that manufacturers recommend break-in periods and those break-in periods continue to increase... not decrease. Suggesting it really is important to treat the engine right when it is new.

Regardless... it doesn't matter. If the buyer of the car believes they car should be sang to every night and have roses rubbed in the exhaust that's fine. Its their car and they should be able to treat how they want. It is absolutely unacceptable to treat someone's car like this.



See above response... and it doesn't matter if it is okay or not to do it. It isn't their car and it isn't professional.



The dealer is selling the car as new. And I'm guessing the person already agreed to buy it. Don't be naive.



+1

Agreed 100%. Those dickheads probably didn't even warm the car up properly and it is well known and accepted that it is not good for an engine to be thrashed like that when the oils aren't at operating temperature.

[M5007]

This thread is back!

It got a lot of action last time and it's happening again. The guys got fired, the car was bought back, the dealership name tarnished. Now the DA has nothing better to do in LA but to charge a couple of Armenians for a joy ride?!? Give me a break. The dealership should be hit with a fat fine for the Rediculous attitude.

Oh well. It's over now...right?

[SilverII]

took them awhile to do something

[cmk227]

Originally Posted by J-boogey

they should heavily discount that car if it hasn't been sold yet haha

Some should post that the 1M sold for $84k is the joyride car so the dealer won't stick it to another forum/car fan.

[Q4P]

The guys are most guilty of being complete idiots for putting this video online. They took a car out for a joyride; sure that shouldn't be done but at the most they should be fired. The dealership defrauded the original customer by selling the car without informing the original buyer of condition. Nothing was done to the car and the car was broken in properly if anything... typical media overreaction. Fire them and story's over.