Devastation!

[UK135i]

yes i agree izzodesh good luck with sorting the situation out to both parties...i hope you can find a solution easily enough to suit both sides

[john970]

So if the dealer can sell the car after a deposit was put down, what is the point of a deposit?

[UK135i]

that was what i was saying as my main point.....

[john970]

Originally Posted by UK135i

that was what i was saying as my main point.....

Yeah, I mean why didn't they just keep the car for a few weeks and if you didn't want to buy it, keep the deposit and then sell it. Seems like a win-win for the dealer.

I can't believe I just explained what a deposit was, you would think dealers of all people would understand this concept. haha.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by UK135i

yes i agree izzodesh good luck with sorting the situation out to both parties...i hope you can find a solution easily enough to suit both sides

ty

that is a good point about the deposit.

If a car has a deposit and a SOLD sign
i figure it would be safe...

maybe we should let fast lane daily know about this!

[ARES45]

I would definitely let the Maryland area news hear about this, they asked for a deposit and still sold the car which violates what a deposit is meant for and that is to show intent to purchase. Then, they sold the car without expressly informing the customer who had a stake in the vehicle of their intentions. They never gave the customer a valid time frame to purchase either. One other thing is that it looks from pictures that they had plenty of 1ers to sell, so could have really waited a week to sell this one. Personally, I feel it is borderline illegal and grossly unethical. They could have waited a day or two to sell the car to the other person who was interested, it isn't like that person could have picked one up down the street. I almost wonder if the other guy agreed to pay over msrp and greed muddied the waters because the CA was CERTAIN if he contacted Joraq, Joraq would say I am buying the car and they wouldn't get more than msrp. On the topic of being certain on what someone elses intentions are, that is a load of bs because you can not be certain as to what someone will do.
I honestly wish you out of the car business and feel you shouldn't be allowed to call it your profession because you are by no means a professional which is a prerequisite for having a profession.

[ramair311]

Originally Posted by ARES45

I would definitely let the Maryland area news hear about this, they asked for a deposit and still sold the car which violates what a deposit is meant for and that is to show intent to purchase. Then, they sold the car without expressly informing the customer who had a stake in the vehicle of their intentions. They never gave the customer a valid time frame to purchase either. One other thing is that it looks from pictures that they had plenty of 1ers to sell, so could have really waited a week to sell this one. Personally, I feel it is borderline illegal and grossly unethical. They could have waited a day or two to sell the car to the other person who was interested, it isn't like that person could have picked one up down the street. I almost wonder if the other guy agreed to pay over msrp and greed muddied the waters because the CA was CERTAIN if he contacted Joraq, Joraq would say I am buying the car and they wouldn't get more than msrp. On the topic of being certain on what someone elses intentions are, that is a load of bs because you can not be certain as to what someone will do.
I honestly wish you out of the car business and feel you shouldn't be allowed to call it your profession because you are by no means a professional which is a prerequisite for having a profession.

Ya, what he said +10000!

[fe1rx]

Perhaps it is just me, but when you get the call "it is here", that is a pretty good indication that it is time to go and finalize the deal particulars. Saying "it is my goal" is not a very decisive statement. Waiting for a call on Saturday, instead of following through on one's goal and actually showing up is not a very decisive action (notwithstanding the car wasn't available anyway). It is very easy to place a deposit in the heat of the moment and quite a bit harder follow through with the rest of the deal. A fair number of 1addicts have backed out after placing their deposits. Most 1addicts would cut a vacation short to pick up their car. If you weren't in a position to actually go and close the deal on Saturday (which it would seem you weren't because you were "waiting for a call"), then presumably on Sunday, the dealership would have been justified in selling your car. That they sold it the previous Monday probably means that you have been less than decisive throughout the process, and they correctly read the situation early on. Your test driving the M3 did not improve the message you were sending the dealership.

Yes the dealer is scum. They should have said "if you don't do this by x date" we will sell your car but it appears to me you send a bunch of ambiguous signals regarding your true commitment to the deal.

[Nixon]

Originally Posted by fe1rx

If you weren't in a position to actually go and close the deal on Saturday (which it would seem you weren't because you were "waiting for a call"), then presumably on Sunday, the dealership would have been justified in selling your car

FYI - Russell BMW is closed Sunday. Blue Laws I would assume.

[Nixon]

Originally Posted by UltimateCA

...
---to those who prematurely judged me without knowing the "other"side of the story, please this is my livelyhood. I take this sort of thing very seriously---

Regards,

Korey

Dear Korey,

Thank you for sharing your side of the story for us who had prematurely judged you. Now that we know the "other" side of the story, we can now "decide where to put the blame". Having read the entire thread and your post again, I now feel confident to lay the blame upon the correct party.

You.

You Korey, and Russel BMW are to blame, sir.

A deposit was left with Russel BMW for nearly 3 months. In a matter of just a single weekend, you took it upon yourself alone to decide the intentions of the buyer who left that deposit in place for those 3 months. You were not direct and honest. You did not inform the customer of your intentions to sell the vehicle out from under him when you clearly had the chance to tell him while you had him on the phone. You did not have the honesty and integrity to first sever the deal that had been held in place with a $1,000 deposit for 3 months before you entered into another deal on the same car with a different customer.

Had you contacted the customer and informed him that you were going to sell the car and gave him his deposit back PRIOR to entering into a second deal on the same vehicle, we would not be here today. If you had been 100% fully honest and up front, and given him first right of purchase before selling the car behind his back, we would not be here today. There should have been no surprises. You had the responsibility to fully and completely communicate the situation before you made the sale. This responsibility was yours and yours alone, not the customer's.

If you believed that he was interested in the M3 instead of the 135i, you had an obligation to get the customer's approval to move the deposit to the M3 prior to selling the 135i to somebody else.

This blasting is more than warranted.

Korey, you say that Russel BMW "would not have been able to last 50+ years" unless they ran their business with these less-than-upfront-and-honest sales tactics you have displayed. If that is the case, Russel BMW does not deserve to last another 50+ years. Russel BMW does not deserve to last until the end of this weekend, if your behavior is how Russel BMW believes their Mission Statement and Guiding Principles should rightfully be executed.

The next we should hear from Russel BMW is how Russel BMW has apologized for this exceedingly poor form that has been displayed, and has closed a deal that satisfied the customer at a substantial discount to make up for the additional months of waiting that your actions are causing him to suffer through. The expense of closing this second deal should be funded out of the profits that you and Russel BMW made from selling his first car. Russel BMW, and you, Korey, should not make a single penny on the sale of either car.

[edge350]

Perfect. Well said, Nixon.

[happywalmartcustomer]

Bump- let this thread live forever as a reminder that dealer rankings are misleading indicators of dealer quality.

[Robert]

I wonder if you can sue for grievance. Did you lose sleep? Did it affect your work performance? Aggravated existing injuries?

[Robinc]

Originally Posted by Nixon

Dear Korey,

Thank you for sharing your side of the story for us who had prematurely judged you. Now that we know the "other" side of the story, we can now "decide where to put the blame". Having read the entire thread and your post again, I now feel confident to lay the blame upon the correct party.

You.

You Korey, and Russel BMW are to blame, sir.

A deposit was left with Russel BMW for nearly 3 months. In a matter of just a single weekend, you took it upon yourself alone to decide the intentions of the buyer who left that deposit in place for those 3 months. You were not direct and honest. You did not inform the customer of your intentions to sell the vehicle out from under him when you clearly had the chance to tell him while you had him on the phone. You did not have the honesty and integrity to first sever the deal that had been held in place with a $1,000 deposit for 3 months before you entered into another deal on the same car with a different customer.

Had you contacted the customer and informed him that you were going to sell the car and gave him his deposit back PRIOR to entering into a second deal on the same vehicle, we would not be here today. If you had been 100% fully honest and up front, and given him first right of purchase before selling the car behind his back, we would not be here today. There should have been no surprises. You had the responsibility to fully and completely communicate the situation before you made the sale. This responsibility was yours and yours alone, not the customer's.

If you believed that he was interested in the M3 instead of the 135i, you had an obligation to get the customer's approval to move the deposit to the M3 prior to selling the 135i to somebody else.

This blasting is more than warranted.

Korey, you say that Russel BMW "would not have been able to last 50+ years" unless they ran their business with these less-than-upfront-and-honest sales tactics you have displayed. If that is the case, Russel BMW does not deserve to last another 50+ years. Russel BMW does not deserve to last until the end of this weekend, if your behavior is how Russel BMW believes their Mission Statement and Guiding Principles should rightfully be executed.

The next we should hear from Russel BMW is how Russel BMW has apologized for this exceedingly poor form that has been displayed, and has closed a deal that satisfied the customer at a substantial discount to make up for the additional months of waiting that your actions are causing him to suffer through. The expense of closing this second deal should be funded out of the profits that you and Russel BMW made from selling his first car. Russel BMW, and you, Korey, should not make a single penny on the sale of either car.

I could not agree more with what Nixon just said.

Why beat around the bush Korey? The customer should have been told that if he doesn't come get his car, that he has had a deposit down on for three months, then it will be sold out from under him. I think I might know why, I believe that if you had been up front with him and told him this, then he would have shown up that day to pick his car up, and there goes your sale and your nice little commision.
What a terrible way to make a living.

I hope that Russel BMW steps up and rights this wrong.

[0002s]

Korey,

1. When a dealer asks for a deposit and receives one they and the buyer enter into a contract for duties to be preformed by each party under the contract.

2. You agree to deliver the specific vehicle in a certain time frame. The buyer agrees to purchase the specific vehicle in a certain time frame.

3. Any changes to this must be agreed upon by both parties.

You clearly didn't preform (3).

You sold the car to another buyer because you wanted the sales NOW. On a side note I hope you didn't sell it for more than the original buyers sale prices because that would make your dealer and it's sales department even more unscrupulous.

Now you are now trying to make up excuses as to why you felt the buyer was not going to honor his end of the contract. Whether or not this are true is not the issue.

The issue is you did not ask the buyer to preform his responsibility to the contract before you BROKE THE CONTRACT. This is WRONG and there is NO EXCUSE for this other than GREED.

Since there is nothing legally the buyer will be able to do (you know this....:wink, you are really telling future buyers of BMW that your dealerships sales people are not to be trusted. Even if this only effects ONE CUSTOMER you have lost in the end more than the "quick sales".

It would have been better for you not to have responded to the issues at hand. At least there would have been a question as to the buyer's story. Your lame excuses only further the buyers arguments as true.

[Smallbodybimmer]

DISCOUNT OR BAN!!!


(1Addicts as customers from Russel that is....)

[smcgt]

This is really amazing. There is always an escalation path with any customer facing business. There are are two people who need to read this entire thread and act accordingly after discussions with all parties: General Sales Manager of the Dealership and Customer Advocacy Representative of BMWUSA.

What we are talking about here is a concept called NPS, Net Promoter Score. BMW has benefited from owner recommendations to potential customers for a long time. Although the initial post and complaint hurt the dealers reputation, I beleive they would be displeased with an employee of the dealership posting a response that exasperates the situation and makes the whole think worse!

Honestly, when a customer speaks he/she represents one person. When a person posts as an employee of an organization, he/she is seen to represent the values and beliefs of the entire organization. Like it or not...that's the way it is. The Dealer will understand it and should react accordingly.

[fourcylsgood]

Originally Posted by UK135i

i am only asking because when you have a deposit in the UK on a car the sales rep and the buyer have entered an agreement with eachother so this exact thing that has happened to Joraq does not occur.

Same thing in Canada.

When you put a deposit (doesn't matter how much) on a car, the car is essentially yours until the deposit is returned (conditional bill of sale). The dealership can't do anything with it until your deposit is returned.

[yellowsv]

Has anyone posted a link to this thread on other boards?

[e49er81]

Originally Posted by yellowsv

Has anyone posted a link to this thread on other boards?

good idea we should put a link to this EVERYWHERE! I really hate slimy people like this trying to take advantage of other people. I'm sure BMW of North America would love to hear about this.

[UK135i]

absolutely right fourcylsgood

[ronnyek]

I guess the moral of this story is that people dont quite understand the times are changing... you jack one customer and you could be potentially seriously hurting your business. Its supprising the degree of seperation people have with others... One person might get the word out to potentially hundreds of potential customers..

Regardless of who's wrong, I'm frankly supprised that Russell BMW isnt trying to do SOMETHING to make it right, though I guess that kinda goes to show you the type of people that typically work and own bmw dealerships. Out of the 4 dealerships I've talked to so far, there was only one employee that didnt come across as a complete and utter douche, and I suspect thats because I know people associated with the dealership.