BMW is Pregnant with my Baby!

[Sinister Crayon]

Well... got it in the mail this morning. After much talk, much hanging around the forums, a lawsuit and a lot of unhappiness... it's happening. OK, the lawsuit isn't finished yet, but that's something for another day...

I have a production number for my new 135i, for European Delivery on October 7th. I'll be walking off the plane, headed to the Welt and picking up my Le Mans Blue over Terracotta 135i. This'll be my third BMW after a 2001 330i and a 2004 545i (FAR too big, but man what a beast of a car).

So I'm getting a 135i with the M-Sport package (of course), Premium Package (why not?), Harmon Kardon, DCT, Convenience Package, Nav, heated front seats and "BMW Apps". I figure I'm going to have the car for a bit, why not have some fun toys in it?

All I've got to do now is finish up the paperwork, and I'm set. The great thing is; I was already going to Munich anyway... visiting my girlfriend's family in Ansbach and Kaiserslautern (yes... military, both of them) so this is just the icing on the cake for me. It's also been a long uphill slog as anyone who looks in my posting history can see (I had an ED planned on an M3 last year that was destroyed for me, hence the lawsuit mentioned above).

I think I can say this has made my day much better

[Hokie135Hi]

Your M3 order was....destroyed?

[Groundzero]

Congrats on the 135i! Now that you mentioned it though, you have to let us know the details on the M3.

[Sinister Crayon]

In summary;

Dealer took order and took sizable deposit / down payment of $2500
Dealer wrote up contract listing the car and options.
I planned my ED, including flights and hotels... all the fun stuff. Planned my entire vacation around it but scheduled my transatlantic flights through Dublin deliberately so I could visit family (yes, I'm Irish)
Dealer sent me a build sheet that missed about $5K in options. I argued with them. They told me they would cancel the order. I told dealer I would then get my deposit back from them.
Dealer then avoided my phone calls for three weeks. On the Monday of the third week I called BMWUSA and complained, but they couldn't do much. On the Wednesday the car went into production. On the Thursday I finally got a call back from the dealer telling me the car was in production and now they couldn't cancel the order. I told them I would be in touch.
The following day I retained an attorney to sue for withholding my deposit illegally.
I later discover the dealer ran my credit no less than 9 times, thus impacting my ability to get credit through BMWFS or any other ED friendly lenders.
I re-plan my entire vacation since it's now impractical to go to Germany.

Basically, the trip plan had us arrive in Munich and spend a few days there. Then we would drive down through the Alps to Lake Como for a few days, then over to Paris where I would drop the car off and fly to Dublin. Flights were booked as were hotel and other activities for myself and my then 10 year old son. Because I wouldn't have a car now, and a rental car one way from Munich to Paris would be both ridiculous and expensive, I instead took a vacation to Ireland only and included the cost of the European flights into my lawsuit.

It wasn't my M3 order that was destroyed though; it was the trip of a lifetime that I had planned in part to celebrate my independence from my ex wife. I had looked forward to the trip and planned for it for over a year at that point, and to have underhanded people take it away from me was more than I could bear. I still suspect they ran my credit so many times to make sure that I couldn't go elsewhere; to put me in a position where they thought I would just take the car sans the options they had removed (like DCT, Tech Package, EDC... lots of stuff that make an M3 fun) because I had no other options at that point (I didn't have a car at the time; I had sold my car before that).

Where it stands now... well, it's still pending. There is movement lately so I am hoping for a resolution, but probably not before November or thereabouts. Still, I know how much money I'm into that deal for, and I've already considered that money as spent in the same way a $5000 trip to the casino and a seedy strip club would be spent: Nothing to show for it and feeling a bit dirty. I'm disappointed in how it ended and now I'm just building a new ED for a new car that I think I'll enjoy just as much. Maybe more 'cos it'll get better gas mileage

[jpd]

There are a plethora of goofs here. At best, this is a small claims court case. First, I hope you have a strong paper trail. Phone calls are really heresy and not admissible. Second, get your $2500 back ASAP. Ask to see the finance manager for your check. Third, the dealer will claim that you made your reservations before you got a firm build date from BMW ED. Fourth, did you get a print out of the build when you ordered it? Hope you have this paper. Did you make changes in documented fashion? Phone conversations are almost worthless in a court of law. I can't emphasize enough the folly of using the phone. When you fail to hear from CA then you must go to the sales manager. A couple of questions to ask your attorney. What are my chances of getting damages? What kind of time frame are you looking at? Finally, set a limit on how much money you are willing to spend on legal stuff. Oh, by the way, you don't need an attorney in small claims court. Best of luck with the dealer.

[Sinister Crayon]

Fair warning jpd; but this was all a year ago now. The case exists, I have everything documented (the CA who no longer works there made the "mistake" of doing all the communicating by text message), I have the original signed contract and I have the build sheet that I signed and the build sheet they submitted (totally different).

This isn't small claims. There's a lot more to the case than just that but that is the part that's really pertinent. Small claims in Missouri is limited to $3000, and I'm in it for well over that, so no it doesn't count. I won't say more until the case is finished, but it *is* already going to trial and I am confident I will prevail. As is my attorney who has prior experience with this dealer.

Part of the problem is I never could get my $2500 back. They refused to give it to me and refused to return my calls until the car went into production... and I have all of that documented too (text message saying that the dealer was going to cancel my order almost a month before the car went into production.)

It interests me to know that somewhere in the world someone is driving a 2011 M3 that was originally built for me but based on a dealer trying to pull a fast one.

[Mephistopheles]

I hope you are documenting everything for your current purchase.

Congrats, and keep us all posted. About the car and the lawsuit.