Would BMWCCA really care? I am a member and whenever I read a copy of Roundel I feel like I'm reading nothing more than a collection of BMW's corporate press releases from the past month with a few cheerleading articles mixed in.
As for BMW NA - Are they really anything more than a glorified importer of goods manufactured by BMW AG?
I think the only way the OP is going to get any kind of satisfaction is through legal means.
I am obviously missing something here, if the insurance company has written the car off, is it not the insurance companies responsibility to either replace the car or stump up the cash?
How does the BMW conversation fit in with this, where they going to give you a car on top of the insurance companies compensation, so that you effectively were compensated twice?
I am obviously missing something here, if the insurance company has written the car off, is it not the insurance companies responsibility to either replace the car or stump up the cash?
How does the BMW conversation fit in with this, where they going to give you a car on top of the insurance companies compensation, so that you effectively were compensated twice?
Lets make this simple.
if you think that the value of a 2008 M5 with X,000 miles on it has one value, and there is universal and unwavering agreement as to the value, then your perspective is not in line with the rest of the world. Why don't you stop posting about "didn't this get settled" and "hasn't insurance already handled this", as these simply seek to argue with others and not address any issue pertinent to the OPs case.
The value of a loss- NOT THE VALUE OF THE CAR- is something that may take quite some time to establish. In this case, the dealer's willful negligence has created a larger issue. An accident is one thing, a loss of the OPs car due to their willfull and reckless failure to protect his property and manage their employees is the issue.
My guess- and this is just a guess- was that the OP was going to take the insurance settlement of 'book value' and BMWNA was going to tack on some 'goodwill', and put him into a 2010 with 2600 miles...an imminently fair solution.
PLEASE do not whinge about double dipping or how the OP is seeking to exploit a situation to obtain 'betterment'.
OP, sorry to hear. Hopefully there is some 'papertrail' somewhere....
if you think that the value of a 2008 M5 with X,000 miles on it has one value, and there is universal and unwavering agreement as to the value, then your perspective is not in line with the rest of the world. Why don't you stop posting about "didn't this get settled" and "hasn't insurance already handled this", as these simply seek to argue with others and not address any issue pertinent to the OPs case.
The value of a loss- NOT THE VALUE OF THE CAR- is something that may take quite some time to establish. In this case, the dealer's willful negligence has created a larger issue. An accident is one thing, a loss of the OPs car due to their willfull and reckless failure to protect his property and manage their employees is the issue.
My guess- and this is just a guess- was that the OP was going to take the insurance settlement of 'book value' and BMWNA was going to tack on some 'goodwill', and put him into a 2010 with 2600 miles...an imminently fair solution.
PLEASE do not whinge about double dipping or how the OP is seeking to exploit a situation to obtain 'betterment'.
OP, sorry to hear. Hopefully there is some 'papertrail' somewhere....
A
I wasn't whingeing about anything, i was trying to clarify what the situation is, factually, so that speculation doesn't get the better of me...
I was surprised to hear of the BMWNA "deal". Not because I doubt that they want to do right by the customer (OP in this case) but rather the logistics and money movement behind the scenes.
Let's say they they want to do this "deal" for Tommy. The would have to negotiate to buy the used M5 from the other dealer, then sell it to the crash dealer who collects from his insurance for the write-off/crashed M5 and then "gives" the "new" M5 to Tommy.
Or they induce one dealer to sell it to the other (crash dealer) who "gives" the car to the customer, yada yada yada.
In the end the crash dealer or his insurance company, not BMWNA, has to suffer the loss of the totaled M5. So I can see why someone at BMWNA reviewed the offer one of their people made to Tommy and said, "No we can do that like that".
It's nice that BMWNA cares but this uncompleted offer to help seems to be backfiring on them right now. That's too bad as it would have been nice if they could have stepped in and acted as the customer's agent (not the dealer's) in order to create customer satisfaction. Maybe they can still clarify what they can and can not do on the customer's behalf.
Sorry to hear this fiasco continues to remain chaotic and unresolved.
1st off BMWCCA does have an Ombudsman service which quite frankly in a situation such as this I doubt it would be effective....in fact it may be counter productive visa vi wasting valuable time forging ahead with a civil suit...
BMWCCA while a club for its members....still has close ties with BMWNA...so I'm not sure what can be gained here.
2nd: While it is true that strictly from a accident/insurance perspective...the Crash dealer's insurance is responsible for the total value (retail NOT Wholesale) of the vehicle at the time of the loss...factoring in mileage, options, extras (mods w/receipts) etc....and nothing more.
Here you have a unique situation where the employee for all intents and purposes took the OP's car out for "test" drive that was not warranted for the service provided....coupled with driving it in a reckless manner(excessive speed)...so this is where potential punitive damages come into play.....going into a civil case OP's attorney I'm sure will stress this...thus the punitive damages perhaps cover the spread $$$$ for the OP to get himself another M5.
Finally it is or should be OBVIOUS to all reading this that the crash dealer has wiped his hands of this....he will let the insurance handle all payouts....and he (dealer) will roll the dice when/if it goes before the civil courts...
to the OP...time to let the lawyers fight it out for you and just chalk this off to a learned experience....I cannot fathom how you will not be vindicated and made whole....just will take some time.
Best of Luck
S
I am obviously missing something here, if the insurance company has written the car off, is it not the insurance companies responsibility to either replace the car or stump up the cash?
How does the BMW conversation fit in with this, where they going to give you a car on top of the insurance companies compensation, so that you effectively were compensated twice?
What you don't seem to understand is that the car carries more "value" to the OP than the Blue Book value placed on the vehicle.
Let's look at an extreme example, let's say I just purchased a brand new car for 100k. I bring it in for it's initial 1200 mile service and the dealer totals the car.
The car has just depreciated say 10-20% from it's original price, but to me, it is a brand new car and was perfect. Would I be happy with just a check for the value of the car? Hell no!
How about another example...I have a 30 year old BMW that is priceless in my eyes, but the value placed on the car is virtually nothing. Would I be happy if some moron totalled it for no good reason, and I get a check for 5 grand?
So, yes. You are technically correct. The crash dealership has no further responsibility than to have its insurance company fork over a check for the value of the car.
But what the dealership SHOULD do is take the check and give the OP a brand new M5 and suck up the difference...
But what the dealership SHOULD do is take the check and give the OP a brand new M5 and suck up the difference...
The E-60 M5 has been out of production since December 2009, so it is unlikely there are any still in dealer stock. So, no new M5. But an equivalent, slightly used one of Tommy's choosing would be be appropriate.
Gents…the unthinkable has happened. I was looking forward to reporting some unbelievably good news this week to everyone that has been following this thread but that will not be the case. In my last update I reported BMWNA had been in contact with me and had been extremely supportive. I did not go into detail at the time because I wanted everything to be finalized. I had no intentions of ever contacting BMWNA after reading about everyone’s lack of support with dealership issues. I just didn’t need the rejection and more frustration. But, BMWNA contacted me first. To make a long story short, the executive offices of BMWNA called me and expressed their regrets about what had happened to my car, praised my military service and as an M owner wanted to make sure I was taken care of and “made happy”. They asked me if I was interested in another BMW. I said, “of course,” because one of their dealers had destroyed my perfect one owner car. I was told to look for a car of my choice and they would put me in it. I was extremely impressed that BMWNA was taking care of their customers like this. Well, there just happened to be a 2010 M5 with 2,600 miles down the street (at a dealer DIFFERENT than the one that trashed my car). I said I would take it and made a few requests to have the same set up as my old one. The deal was set, and the dealer was in contact with BMWNA and the regional manager. I was in contact with BMWNA a few times in between, all nice conversations. All that was left was the executive paperwork and for BMWNA to issue funding. The dealer and I waited for the last two weeks. No word. Then, I get a returned call today from BMWNA saying that I “misunderstood what BMWNA was doing for me” that they were just “reaching out to help me find a car”. Can you believe that? This has to be a joke! What “help” would I need “finding” a car??? You can guess how the rest of the conversation went. I didn’t misunderstand anything, and the dealer didn’t misunderstand anything. BMWNA is completely reneging on their offer. It sounds like to me someone made an offer they could not back up and when the powers that be got wind of it they shot it down, tearing me down to a whole new level in the process. Unbelievable. I could not have made up this chain of events if I tried. This has truly been an emotional roller coaster for me and BMWNA has taken a bad situation and completely made it worse. So much for “taking care of the customer base.” I have been doing my best to be patient and work with these people, but that time has come to an end. I will not deal with this unprofessionalism any longer. Stand by!
Tommy
I would lawyer up and go against the dealership.
What BMWNA offered you...sounds a lil too good to be true. And their wording with you on the numerous phone conversations may have just been an attempt to appease you with superficial concerns.
I'm surprised that BMWNA didn't work with the crash dealership to make it a 'concierge' service to attempt to win you back.
That's just not right, in my opinion.
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