Advice Needed!! Dealer Screwed me Over

[MPower1910]

So to give you guys an update..... Called BMW NA and complained about my poor experience there. All they could do was file an official complaint to the dealer and I was told it would be reviewed "internally" meaning the higher ups of the dealership would review the case. The representative from BMW NA also suggested I speak to the service manager's boss.

After getting off the phone with BMW NA I called the dealership and asked for that exact person. He had been informed of the situation already, but wanted to hear my side of the story. Long story short, he still didn't think the dealership had full responsibility in the matter, but at least made an effort to cut a "deal" with me. We agreed on cutting the initial $1,300 estimate in half, so in the end I'll be spending $650 to resolve this utter mess and have my adaptive headlight and xenon module replaced. I still don't believe I owe a dime, but that's a price I can deal with to move on from these assholes and never go back.

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback. Love this community.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by MPower1910

So to give you guys an update..... Called BMW NA and complained about my poor experience there. All they could do was file an official complaint to the dealer and I was told it would be reviewed "internally" meaning the higher ups of the dealership would review the case. The representative from BMW NA also suggested I speak to the service manager's boss.

After getting off the phone with BMW NA I called the dealership and asked for that exact person. He had been informed of the situation already, but wanted to hear my side of the story. Long story short, he still didn't think the dealership had full responsibility in the matter, but at least made an effort to cut a "deal" with me. We agreed on cutting the initial $1,300 estimate in half, so in the end I'll be spending $650 to resolve this utter mess and have my adaptive headlight and xenon module replaced. I still don't believe I owe a dime, but that's a price I can deal with to move on from these assholes and never go back.

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback. Love this community.

That's great! I'd look at it this way, you're getting brand new parts put in and only paying $650! That's not bad at all!

[nachob]

Originally Posted by MPower1910

Hey guys... I'm pretty upset with a recent experience at my local BMW Dealership. I apologize in advance for the length of story, but I want to be as detailed as possible.

So it all started with me needing an oil change and an inspection done to figure out why I was getting a service engine light. Turns out service engine light is due to an O2 sensor issue (not related to the story). Oil change was completed without issue, and before picking up the car, the dealership calls me and says "hey we noticed your right cornering light is malfunctioning, would you like us to fix it for $X?" The price was reasonable and I was tired of the notification every time I started the car up so I said sure, go for it. This is where my sad story begins.....

I came to pick up the car after work, after it was already dark out. Before leaving the lot, I notice I now have an adaptive headlight error. I immediately turn around and express my concern to my SA and he says "leave the car with him and they'll take a look at it." I get a call the next day and they explain to me that there's moisture in the headlight, along with standing water near my adaptive headlight module. I'm obviously disappointed in this and expressed that they were the only ones to ever touch my headlight during my ownership and they also happened to run the car through the wash, which is the likely reason that water got in the light after they replaced the bulb. Keep in mind I've never had any headlight errors (aside from cornering light malfunction which I understand is common) or moisture problems prior to visiting the dealer. The SA denies any responsibility for the problem and after going back and forth, I give up, realizing that my headlight still works just fine and I planned to have the adaptive headlight error coded out since I don't care for that feature. I thought that would be the end of my problems, but so they continue about 1-2 weeks later....

After washing the car, I drive around a bit during the day, notice that there's more moisture in my headlight (small world problems). Then as the sun sets, my low beams kick on automatically, except my passenger side doesn't and I get a low beam error.... That was my oh sh*t moment. The next day I call the dealership and again express my frustration with the fact that now another component of my headlight has failed and I believe them to be at fault. They again deny responsibility, even go as far to say that because of the LUX angel eye upgrade I have in the light, they can't do much about the issue, even though they created it!!!!

The dealer ends up asking for me to drop the car off so they can take another look. I don't receive a call for 4 days and finally receive a call today. They explain to me that they've pulled the bumper off, taken the headlight out, and have now noticed that my xenon module is also water damaged, explaining why my low beam is no longer functioning. They offer to replace both the headlight and the xenon module at a reduced parts cost and cover labor, and I refute this saying I should have no expense since I didn't cause any issue, nor did I have any major issues prior to visiting the dealership. I've been back and forth with them, both SA and service manager, both people don't seem to care.

At the end of all this my options are to fork over $1.3k in parts to fix the car, or they can put it all back together at no cost and I still have a broken xenon module and headlight. It seems like I have no other choice but to fix the car, but this is also my reasoning for sharing my story in hopes that maybe someone has advice on something else I can do to have them cover this or if I should take this up to BMW (if that's even a thing?). I have a half a mind to just pay it and forget them and never go back and get past this, but I can barely afford something like this nor do I think I should have to pay for it. If you think I'm in the wrong on this, I'd love to hear why (genuinely). Any help would be much appreciated!

I think the wash might have triggered the final failure but probably not the dealer's fault. If everything is in order, they should be able to wash the car. Unless they were working in that area and removed a water boot and left it off, it's probably just a coincidence caused by the automated car wash, but as I said, that wouldn't be the dealers fault. Look up Magneti-marelli. They sell OE lights under their name for less. I replaced the headlights on my ZHP and they were the exact same lights. Sorry about that, sucks!

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by nachob

I think the wash might have triggered the final failure but probably not the dealer's fault. If everything is in order, they should be able to wash the car. Unless they were working in that area and removed a water boot and left it off, it's probably just a coincidence caused by the automated car wash, but as I said, that wouldn't be the dealers fault. Look up Magneti-marelli. They sell OE lights under their name for less. I replaced the headlights on my ZHP and they were the exact same lights. Sorry about that, sucks!

Did you read the OP for the thread? He stated clearly he brought the car in for service and the dealership reported back he had a cornering light malfunction. Which means they did touch the headlight assembly. And why when they ran it through the car wash, it caused further problems. Even if the rear access covers are replaced, there is a chance the covers were not placed on fully as that area is extremely tight. This is a common problem with people who go into the headlights to put in different angel eye bulbs. And this is the reason why I have not touched my headlights at all.

What the OP did after was really more his fault as there was a clear issue with moisture and he chose to introduce more water in the equation by washing his car without getting to the bottom of the issue with the headlight first.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Did you read the OP for the thread? He stated clearly he brought the car in for service and the dealership reported back he had a cornering light malfunction. Which means they did touch the headlight assembly. And why when they ran it through the car wash, it caused further problems. Even if the rear access covers are replaced, there is a chance the covers were not placed on fully as that area is extremely tight. This is a common problem with people who go into the headlights to put in different angel eye bulbs. And this is the reason why I have not touched my headlights at all.

What the OP did after was really more his fault as there was a clear issue with moisture and he chose to introduce more water in the equation by washing his car without getting to the bottom of the issue with the headlight first.

Probably misread it on phone. If that's the case then my apologies.

[Tommm]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Didn't put the cover on correctly causing water ingress.

Other than a scripted law show that's going to be hard to prove.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by nachob

Probably misread it on phone. If that's the case then my apologies.

I think you had a phone malfunction

Next time I'm in town we need to get back together.