AUTOBAHN BMW Fort Worth ragged my car and wrecked/totaled it on a test drive! [case now closed - after 16 months...] - Page 55

Gustav · 6th September 2010, 10:14

A very good summary and analysis I would say. And by now we have over 200 000 views and that is thr majority from BMW M owners.

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman75

Yes but crashing the car is only one of the wrongs that the dealership did to this car. They fired the guy at the bottom which is easy to do.

That in itself would not make me comfortable taking my car to this dealer.

They committed several more concerning wrongs in my opinion:
1) They attempted to cover up what had really happened
2) They mislead the customer regarding the extent of the damage to his car - and in so doing left an impression that they would do a superficial repair and leave the customer with hidden damage and a dangerous car
3) They failed to step up to the plate and agree to a reasonable settlement (the settlement he suggested about them buying the car back at pre-accident black book retail makes sense to me)
4) They appear to have management processes which result in employees doing what they want and not taking responsibility - which is clear in this instance but also in the many reviews I have read online about this dealer.
5) They allowed a mistake to turn into a debacle that has hit the national media and the full enthusiast communities of BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, Infiniti, Audi and others. If their name were in this thread, I would imagine their service volumes in DFW area would be down 50%!

So firing the guy was a token response, just as offering $2500 in parts plus free repair labor was also a token response.

If I were the owner of this dealership, heads would be rolling at this point. I would have fired the service manager, I would have fired the chief who let his mechanic do this, and I would have read the riot act to everyone else - blasting them over the fact that I just spent $100,000 cleaning up this mess and paying for the damage and wasted time of a loyal customer.

And if I did that, I don't think it would happen again, and I don't think I would lose any customers.

Gustav · 6th September 2010, 10:43

Again,

very well spoken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman75

Since the dealer is clearly attempting to influence this debate in an underhanded way through one of his agents, and given that they have signaled that you should deal with their insurance company, I think it is unlikely the dealer is going to step up to the plate as most of us would expect them to.

I think you should send them a request to buy back your car at mint retail and compensate you a specific sum for legal fees, time and travel. If they don't respond by say close of Thursday, then you should switch tactics and do the following:
1) Pursue it through insurance. Claim for diminished value and attorney fees which means you will be in same place as if the dealer had bought the car back at retail as you asked.
2) Let all the auto enthusiast communities and Dallas media know which dealer did this to your car so we know where not to spend our money.
3) Allow the market to force personnel changes and process improvement at the crash dealership.

Gustav · 6th September 2010, 10:46

Members: please be wathhful for new Members or other Members that are tryng to get this thread off topic with namecalling, OT-posts and such. That needs to end and just report any post to me or other admins or moderators.

I would also remind people that the thread creator have been esoecially corteous and low key during the fact that he have NOT mentioned the dealership name yet. And this is to a dealership that have crashed your lovely -previously accident free- M5.

Gustav · 6th September 2010, 10:53

For the record 217 000 views.

marlow · 6th September 2010, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

You believe every word of what the OP posted. I don't. I see someone who is angry as hell and is fast and loose with his facts. I see someone who is very used to being in charge and giving orders and having them followed. I sense "embellishment" in the story. Kind of like that really big fish that got away.

So, why is it then, that the OP hasn't named the dealership yet, when he's after, what you think he's after ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

Was the OP actually carrying with him something to give him the measurements he gave?

Even if the OP wasn't, you can walk the distance. You know, it's called "foot" for a reason

It wouldn't be accurate, but you'd know the difference from 30 and 110 ft.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

If the car had impacted the curb as the OP claims there would still be evidence of that.

No, there would most likely not after a few days, which is when you started go looking. Especially not, if it had been cleaned up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

As most of you know, I drove around the entire area behind the dealership. It's not that big and has very little traffic, because there are no public businesses back there. I looked very carefully at the curbs as I drove to see any sign of the kind of impact described. I could not find any. btw - I did find loose gravel. Something someone might refer to a sand.

We don't know that. You are saying you did. Are you speaking the truth here ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

I'm not accusing the OP of being dishonest. I'm saying I think he let his emotions affect the details he gave.

Sure you are. You were even trying to patrol the area to find the spot, where the crash happened.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

How long do I get the chance to fix it before you take it away and give it to someone else to fix. If it's a really big item I hope you give me more than 24 hours.

Not a second. They have broken the trust given to them, the second they crashed the car. As I already stated in a post earlier (which you clearly have ignored), the right thing for the dealership would have been to get somebody from the outside, be it BMW NA or another dealership, to establish the quote for the repairs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

That's what we don't agree on. I question the accuracy of the reporting. I've lived here for 16 years. I'm pretty familiar with this particular dealership.

Yet you have not even spoken to the GM yet to check the other side of the story (as you clearly stated in your post). So you don't have their side either. What leg do you have to stand on with your accusations at all then ?

/M

Stu Scully · 6th September 2010, 17:24

The sad thing about this is that the OP will have to go through the legal system. Which means his car will sit in limbo for weeks, if not months, while the lawyers and insurance companies haggle and chest-thump this situation out. And if this was over a piece of furniture or a statute it wouldn't be much of a problem.

But through all of this, the OP will be without his car, an M-series car at that. A car that enthusiast pay a premium for because they want something more than a vehicle that will go from point A to point B. They want a vehicle that will make them forget that they were going to point B because they're having too much fun!

And that is not something he will be compensated for. The legal system has a hard time putting a monetary value to this and that is something he will end up truly losing through all of this. The only solace is that he will eventually get an M5 back (be it his current or a new one) and will be able to enjoy it or what it is.

And this is why people take their cars to a factory dealership. You pay more because you want the car treated "to specs" to minimize the chance that you'll run into an issue that will leave you without the car. The "crash" dealer in this cause has lost view of that. This is all a numbers game to them. Turn it over to insurance and move on. But, if your clients can't trust that they will get their car back in a better condition than they left it, then you are irrelevant. There are tons of indy shops that people can roll the dice with (and save themselves a lot of money) if they don't have the extra assurance that being a factory-certified sales/repair facility is suppose to bring.

So now, the only thing left to do is hope that the "numbers" game slaps the "crash" dealer upside their head and they re-evalute their purpose for being there.

bimmersrus · 6th September 2010, 17:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjav8b

I really don't mind people having their own opinion, however what does this have to do with anything other than reinforce my integrity of the situation?

I would not accept the stealer fixing my M5 after a disastrous joyride by a 28 yo tech. Think about the "Salvage" title once the work is completed, you could never recover the actual worth should you decide to sell your M5. You would be stuck with a reconstructed M5 with all the squeaks and associated headaches. My brother have your legal team take it to the next level, demand a new vehicle at the very least. I hope your nightmare is resolved satisfactorily in a timely manner, as I'm sure your stress level is immeasurable at this juncture. Please keep us posted as we are 100% behind you. Hooyah! Good luck!

bimmersrus · 6th September 2010, 17:42

This story has hit the nerve of the bimmer communities and forums around the country. I also belong to the following forum:
Dallas Dealer wrecks M5 - Xoutpost.com

NotQuiteFOB · 6th September 2010, 17:49

Haven't been on here since ditching my V10M5 for a series of p-cars because of dealership headaches few years back. Came across your story on a auto-blog (jalopnik) and wanted to come back to the community to show support. Please keep us posted. Best of luck.

EDIT: it's now posted on 6speedonline.com as well.

tjav8b · 6th September 2010, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bimmerguy

I can't find the post of whoever posted the link to the Russell and Smith Honda story. Thank you for posting that.

This is what I got out of it, the OP in that situation kept a level head, remained calm and acted professionally. And in the end because he did not go in with both barrels blazing and setting off the dealership in a defensive position he ended up getting exactly what he wanted from the beginning.

In this case it appears to me the OP didn't do any of those "good" things and did all of the "bad" things. People don't live and work in a vacuum. If you come in loaded for bear then the people who can help you are going to get defensive and their motivation to go the extra mile is going to wane.

For the record, I thought I made this clear, I have given the crash dealership every opportunity to do the right thing here. They shot down every recommendation I made to them to satisfy me. THEY OFFERED NOTHING! Everything that I have done and said to anyone that was involved or not involved was done with the utmost respect. Note that this is even after I knew they were lying about what happened and after I had to track down the guy in charge to talk about the situation. They didn't even call me first! There is not a single person working there that won't say that I have been nothing but super nice about the whole situation. They actually thanked me for this. Maybe this was a mistake on my part as to now I feel they are taking advantage of this.

Also...I never went to the crash dealership with a lawyer and as of today they have never been contacted by one. It is still their option to make but time is about to run out.

1bimmerguy...I thought too that you were affiliated with the dealer or owner in some way but now it is obvious that you have no idea what is going on and no one from there is telling you anything.