Very Upset - My 135 is here but...

[imported_Katera]

I need to chime in here and say you are NOT over reacting. These are BMW's...not Honda's or Fords. We pay a premium for a premium car. I have asked my sales lady several times about what happens to my car when it gets there and my concern about someone else driving it. She said NO one drives my car other then to take it to the back and prep it. It should not have more then a mile on it, and she took me to look at several of their new cars, most of which had less then a mile on the odometer. She said she would immediately have fired anyone that tried to take my car out without her or my authorization.

10 miles on a new car is BS. How many dealerships don't have a gas station within a mile or so? Most have gas right there onsite. Also, they do not have to drive your car down the street for the state inspection...just hook it up to the machine, prep it and clean it.

You are buying a new car, if mine had a scratch that did not wipe off I would not take the car. Any paint work immediately lowers you car's value.

[M3Newbie88]

Originally Posted by Katera

I need to chime in here and say you are NOT over reacting. These are BMW's...not Honda's or Fords. We pay a premium for a premium car. I have asked my sales lady several times about what happens to my car when it gets there and my concern about someone else driving it. She said NO one drives my car other then to take it to the back and prep it. It should not have more then a mile on it, and she took me to look at several of their new cars, most of which had less then a mile on the odometer. She said she would immediately have fired anyone that tried to take my car out without her or my authorization.

10 miles on a new car is BS. How many dealerships don't have a gas station within a mile or so? Most have gas right there onsite. Also, they do not have to drive your car down the street for the state inspection...just hook it up to the machine, prep it and clean it.

You are buying a new car, if mine had a scratch that did not wipe off I would not take the car. Any paint work immediately lowers you car's value.

True but I wouldnt go as far to say that it isnt a Honda or Ford cause no matter what car I buy as long as I am spending a penney it better be in mint condition before I ruin it hehehe..

[energie]

jchandler1,

Not to make this more complicated for you, BUT, shortly after I purchased my SGM 330i 3 years ago, I got a couple of deep-ish scratches on the rear bumper (as a result of parking in a very close-quarters community parking garage). I took the car to the dealership, and found out that they are able to airbrush scratches to get them back to near-perfect condition. Cost me $150 for a scratched / scuffed area that was roughly 2"x3". After the work was done, I simply could not locate the specific area where the work was done. They did a fantastic job.

So, when your dealer told you that he "wiped it right off," he may well be telling the truth, but it's worth knowing that they also have excellent equipment at their disposal that they can use to make the scratches literally disappear!

[///MG]

12 miles is def. a NO GO. Especially since you mentioned the brake dust that was noticeable. How do you get brake dust after just 12 short miles. I understand they are BMW brakes, but seriously.... 12 miles?!?

I'm certain that your SA, or any other SA would not have given your car a joy ride... but that's not to say that the techs and service guys didn't.

At my BMW dealership (when I had an M3) people I knew that worked behind the scenes said they would take some of the cars home some nights so that they didn't need to take the bus/train home. That or they would take the semi-exotics (M3, M5, M6) out for joy rides.

I should also note that my dealship has a GASING STATION on site... never a need to go to a station for fuel.

[Larry_Legend]

How much do you demand back if the car gets work done? I would demand invoice at least, but in reality, how much does the car go down in value?

[Sherifftruman]

Is this the dealer in Chapel Hill? I went on a test drive there and we had to get gas (the car only had 15 miles on it and they had not added any yet). It was not 5 miles to the gas station, but it was probably 2 or 3.

I would definitely be weary of the scratch and ask to to see any and all printouts from the VPC or their own system that notes any damage. Maybe even have them take a paint guage and show you that the paint is normal thickness there. I remember a story from a MINI board where a dealer went and found out a certain panel had been repainted when the owner went to trade the car in. This owner had never had any damage so the Dealer must have looked it up and then when right to that spot with his paint thickness guage. It had to have been painted pre-delivery, but he still took a hefty amount off his offer.

Of the car has been painted, even if it looks perfecet now, you should get some money off.

[rossii]

Originally Posted by bmwzone

12 miles on an ordered vehicle? It should have 1. Period. Esp a six speed.

1 mile? Too funny........how do you know the car wasnt moved at the port from point to point in Europe or US? These car have to be road tested when they arrive as part of the PDI in some cases yes even driven more than others after a software update etc. Personally anything less than 20 is acceptable I would rather them find issues with car before I pick it up. There are so many things that can happen "$hit happens" The car isnt built and wrapped in bubble wrap.

I once had a client refuse delivery of a 7 series because they came in and saw someone sitting in it?!?!?! It was unlocked so it could be moved to delivery area. Hmmm when the car was taken to the port someone sat in it..........when put onto the boat at the port someone sat in it..........when they took it off the boat someone sat in it......tech, detailers even I sat in the car. Simple ordered him a new car........whatever make them happy but I have other things I would rather worry about.

[///MG]

Originally Posted by Rossii

1 mile? Too funny........how do you know the car wasnt moved at the port from point to point in Europe or US? These car have to be road tested when they arrive as part of the PDI in some cases yes even driven more than others after a software update etc. Personally anything less than 20 is acceptable I would rather them find issues with car before I pick it up. There are so many things that can happen "$hit happens" The car isnt built and wrapped in bubble wrap.

I once had a client refuse delivery of a 7 series because they came in and saw someone sitting in it?!?!?! It was unlocked so it could be moved to delivery area. Hmmm when the car was taken to the port someone sat in it..........when put onto the boat at the port someone sat in it..........when they took it off the boat someone sat in it......tech, detailers even I sat in the car. Simple ordered him a new car........whatever make them happy but I have other things I would rather worry about.

Sitting in a car versus putting 12 miles on a manual car are two very different things. Surely you can understand that.

Can someone guarantee those 12 miles were not redlined?

[Dan203]

Don't some cars get chosen at random to be driven around the track in Germany to check for rattles and what not? Also the VPC thread says they chose cars at random there to Dyno.

Couldn't either of those explain the break dust?

Dan

[Larry_Legend]

So what happened jchandler???

[gregthegr8]

I remember when I got my crossfire, I thought it had giant scratches on it, but it was residue from those shipping things they adhere to the car. I kinda freaked, but they all ended up clay barring right off.

[FreeBMW.net]

updates from the lunch time visit??

[rossii]

Originally Posted by grg

Sitting in a car versus putting 12 miles on a manual car are two very different things. Surely you can understand that.

Can someone guarantee those 12 miles were not redlined?

If he is that worried then have it hooked up at the dealership to see if it was redlined. They can pull that info from the ECU.

[imported_Katera]

If I got to my dealer and the car had 12 miles on it I would not get it. Every car I was shown that had never been test driven at my dealer has less then 2 miles and most had 1<. 12 miles is plenty of time for someone to hot rod in it, and you can't tell me they put 12 miles on it taking it off the ship. No way.

[sadu77]

Originally Posted by jchandler1

Talked to SA this morning. He went to the car when I was on the phone with him. He saw the "scratch" and then said that it wiped right off with a rag and some cleaner. I know quite a bit about detailing and scratches, and it certainly looked and felt like a scratch to me. (Maybe i'm losing it?!?) I am going to the dealer ASAP to investigate further. I am having a hard time believing it isn't a scratch, but I honestly don't think that my SA would lie to me. He's been great to this point and I have no reason to doubt his word. Stay tuned...

Also, he checked and the car has 12 miles on it. He said that it has been filled with gas and the gas station is 5 miles away. I'll be looking for tire wear upon viewing the car. I am going over that thing with a fine toothed comb before any paperwork is done...

the gas station is five miles away? i dont know man.... thats suspect. 12 miles is a lot. if my car has 12 miles on it, someones gonna hear about it. theres a gas station 600yds in every direction from the dealership im using.

[FreeBMW.net]

Originally Posted by sadu77

the gas station is five miles away? i dont know man.... thats suspect. 12 miles is a lot. if my car has 12 miles on it, someones gonna hear about it. theres a gas station 600yds in every direction from the dealership im using.

I was present when my car was prepped...and my SA took pics of it being unloaded from the shipper....so I know everything that happend with it...when I sat in it for the first time beofre the prep test drive it had 1 mile on it...after the prep ride it had 4 miles. there is NO EXCUSE for 12 miles....someone took a joy ride in your new car and thats BS.

[jchandler1]

Update... Went to dealership. My SA was mistaken in mileage. The car has 8 miles on it. They promised to repair the scratch to my satisfaction. It is actually much smaller than I thought yesterday (OCD). I am being well compensated for the inconvenience. They eased any concerns about the car being driven harshly. Excellent customer service!! Didn't try to BS me and just wanted to make sure that I am happy with the outcome. I couldn't have asked for a better result.

Thanks to all for the input and different viewpoints on the subject. I take delivery on Wednesday after Clear Bra and Window Tint are installed... CAN'T WAIT!!!!

[topvega]

Originally Posted by jchandler1

Update... Went to dealership. My SA was mistaken in mileage. The car has 8 miles on it. They promised to repair the scratch to my satisfaction. It is actually much smaller than I thought yesterday (OCD). I am being well compensated for the inconvenience. They eased any concerns about the car being driven harshly. Excellent customer service!! Didn't try to BS me and just wanted to make sure that I am happy with the outcome. I couldn't have asked for a better result.

Thanks to all for the input and different viewpoints on the subject. I take delivery on Wednesday after Clear Bra and Window Tint are installed... CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Well glad it has worked out for you....:smile:

[jeremyc74]

Good to hear it's working out OK. 8 Miles seems pretty reasonable to me. I know some people get them with as little as 2 miles, but it's not hard to imagine a couple more being put on at the port of entry under various circumstances, and then a couple more for the fill up.

Sucks about the scratch, but if they're being resonable about things I wouldn't push too hard either.

[Neo187H]

To add some input from a dealerships perspective, I work as a tech for Mercedes and I honestly don't think I have EVER seen a vehicle with less than 5 miles on it and when I PDI a car I am often the first person to touch that car once it comes off of the truck. Also, for Benz the PDI procedure explicitly calls for 3 to 5 mile test drive in order to check multiple components like GPS, suspension, vehicle power, shifting, radio reception. So how people get vehicles with less than 3 miles amazes me, how do you PDI a vehicle you haven't even drove? I personally wouldn't sign my name on that PDI.

[mrgoochio]

Originally Posted by Dan203

Don't some cars get chosen at random to be driven around the track in Germany to check for rattles and what not? Also the VPC thread says they chose cars at random there to Dyno.

Couldn't either of those explain the break dust?

Dan

If it was tested on the track in Germany or dyno'd at the VPC, the detail at the VPC or at the dealership would have cleaned it all up. The scratch would have been removed at the VPC, unless it was overlooked of course.

[vivid]

Originally Posted by jchandler1

Update... Went to dealership. My SA was mistaken in mileage. The car has 8 miles on it. They promised to repair the scratch to my satisfaction. It is actually much smaller than I thought yesterday (OCD). I am being well compensated for the inconvenience. They eased any concerns about the car being driven harshly. Excellent customer service!! Didn't try to BS me and just wanted to make sure that I am happy with the outcome. I couldn't have asked for a better result.

Thanks to all for the input and different viewpoints on the subject. I take delivery on Wednesday after Clear Bra and Window Tint are installed... CAN'T WAIT!!!!

that is fantastic news... a good dealer is a true pleasure to work with and it sound like you've got a good one.