[Boosted_TIAG]

hey guys, i just bought a 2007 335i 3 days ago from a non bmw dealer and took it to a bmw dealer today to get a few things fixed/replaced under warranty. SA tells me my car is ready so i go to get in only to find my leather side bolster is scuffed on the edge where the stitching is, leather basically scuffed off to the point where i lost the saddle brown color in the area along with some black oily crap im assuming from the techs clothing or dirty ass hands. i immediately go back to show my SA and he gets the service manager out to look at it along with the tech that worked on my car. basically service manager says that wasnt done by his tech and thats due to normal wear and tear...i get heated and explain to him that i just bought the car and that it was not there and i def would of noticed something like that since its the first thing i see when i open the door. the douche continues to deny that it was them who did it and the tech states he didnt have anything sharp or dirty on him when he worked on my car.

funny thing is the reason i took it to the dealer in the first place is because of some small nicks and scuffs on the car to get fixed ... steering wheel trim peeling, door armrest scuff etc...so im like u guys gotta be kidding me....dont you think i would of tried to get the SA to fix this scuff as well when i originally came in here??? long story short they offer to have one of their guys fix it by dying the leather or whatever they do as "good will"....my question is if when it gets "fixed" and its still noticeable can i do anything to have my seat replaced or am i basically screwed?

one of the reasons i bought this car was because the interior was in such good shape

needless to say i wont be going there anymore (plaza motors bmw) for the locals if they want to know

[Nightfly]

I'm thinking because the reason you brought it in in the first place to have some scuffs and such to be repaired, you're not going to get very far with these guys. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's an easy out for them.

Sadly, with the economy in the shape it's in, too many businesses are thinking short term squeeze rather than long term investment (in customers and service)

You might be better off to take it to an upholstery shop and just write the weasel dealer off....

[mike3000fl]

before taking my car around back my dealer puts a clear cover over the seat, a bonnet thing over the steering wheel, and a paper floormat.

[zzzbullseye]

You may be outta luck in this scenario as it appears Plaza is in "deny, deny, deny" mode. FYI, I purchased my vehicle and have received service through Autohaus and have been pleased so far, you may want to consider them for future service work.

[Mech_Man]

Every time I've taken my BMW into a dealership, they do a walk-around and mark off a very detailed list of dings and blemishes, and have me sign it - before they accept the car. That way we both know the condition of the car when it was dropped off, and we both are protected, me from their damaging it during their work, and they are protected from false claims I might make of damage that's already pre-existing.

Didn't your dealership do this???

[Boosted_TIAG]

Originally Posted by Mech_Man

Every time I've taken my BMW into a dealership, they do a walk-around and mark off a very detailed list of dings and blemishes, and have me sign it - before they accept the car. That way we both know the condition of the car when it was dropped off, and we both are protected, me from their damaging it during their work, and they are protected from false claims I might make of damage that's already pre-existing.

Didn't your dealership do this???

negative

[Boosted_TIAG]

Originally Posted by Takashi

I would take the car to a local upholstery shop to get it fixed. Techs are not trained to fix seats so chances of them doing a good job will be very little.

techs arent fixing it, some upholstery guy they work with is going to do it.

[grieverr]

Mech_Man,

My dealer doesn't do that either. Funny thing is, I've always thought they should, for the exact same reasons you mentioned.

OP, sorry to hear about your troubles. But at this point, it's your word against theirs. They may not necessarily be trying to be jerks. They may be trying to protect themselves from a false claim. It's hard to just take someone's word. Neither of you have proof that the other party is guilty.

I would ask for explicit details on what the work that will be done to your seat is, and what the expected result should be. If it sounds good to you, let them do it. Otherwise, you should take your car somewhere else.

I know it's frustrating and annoying, but I think the dealer is being responsible and maybe even nice enough to do a goodwill repair on what may or may not be a false claim (from their point of view).

[Couch]

If it's scuffed that much there is no way it wasn't there before.

[Chriztofor]

[Boosted_TIAG]

Originally Posted by Couch

If it's scuffed that much there is no way it wasn't there before.

Ok buddy I guess I'm lying...I guess the grease from his hands/tools was there before as well. I don't know about u but when I buy a car I look at the condition of the interior and something like that I would of noticed right away.

[Chriztofor]

That's why we need pics. Some people here are extremely anal and take out their microscopes to show us a scuff.

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Plaza sucks, people are dicks, and cars waaaay overpriced, IMO.

Suntrup is shady.

Newbold is too far away.

Try Autohaus from now on.

[Boosted_TIAG]

Originally Posted by MontegoGoGoGo

Plaza sucks, people are dicks, and cars waaaay overpriced, IMO.

Suntrup is shady.

Newbold is too far away.

Try Autohaus from now on.

def going to autohaus from now on

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by e60 545i sport

def going to autohaus from now on

Autohaus is also a Dinan dealership, so they are relatively mod friendly/tolerant. They also host the STL BMWCCA chapter's monthly meeting every third month - the other two locations are at Pujol5 and Growler's Pub (Sunset Hills). I'm sure you could dig around and find someone who's had a lousy experience with them, but overall I think they are fair to their customers and supportive of the enthusiast community.

[John 070]

Everytime I go to the dealership there's black grease on the a-pillar fabric. Of course, they never did that either. It's every time! I just imagine maybe Lexus service is just as c****, just that they never have anything to fix. Yeah, right!

[Mech_Man]

If you go to a dealership whom you don't trust, or have had bad experiences in the past, or just want to be careful, --- well almost everybodies phone now has a camera.
Just before you drop the car off, park it in a place with good lighting and take 20-30 shots of the outside and inside.
Then if the before shows a clean seat, and when you go to pick up the car and the seat has a grease smudge, you have proof. (And take several pictures of the 'damaged' condition too, just to be able to show your own insurance folk, or the small claims court, should such be necessary.

It can be really useful to get into the mindset of taking pictures -- just in case.
I had a friend who's windshield got cracked by a stone that came off a dump truck in front of him. He stopped the truck to let the driver know that the truck's back was leaking stone, and took some pictures of the pile of stone that was accumulating on the trucks bumper. That picture proved to the small claims court that the truck was negligent, rather than blaming the stone as a random rock from the road.

[fisherbln]

Originally Posted by shj266

OP: Sorry for your hassle.

I would suggest trying Suntrup Service. I've been through Plaza, Autohaus, as well as Suntrup, and believe the latter to be the best of them all. Plaza, as you can tell from your own experience, isn't all too good. The service manager and service advisors are not all that willing to help out. From their own admission, they are overworked and under-staffed. However, that is not my problem.

Autohaus scratched the living daylights out of my car, even after I told them to quit washing it. Good thing I had pictures of before and after. Still, I had to go through all sorts of garbage to get them to fix it.

Suntrup Service, on the other hand, has been great. Although I understand the shady comment, I think that applies more towards their sales department. I would suggest Jeff as the SA.

Hope my two cents provided a little bit of help. Best of luck and keep us posted!

I wouldn't touch Suntrup with a 10 foot pole after all the sales experience I've heard about first hand. I also know a former tech there that has nothing but bad stories about their sales practices. I've been quite happy with Autohaus for both warranty and out-of-warranty work. They give a hefty discount to BMWCCA members too.

[2kaccordocoupe]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

before taking my car around back my dealer puts a clear cover over the seat, a bonnet thing over the steering wheel, and a paper floormat.

+ 1
and do a walk around the car with your SA and have them sign off on the way the car looks so you get it back the same way - takes an extra 5 mins but completely worth it.

[shj266]

Originally Posted by fisherbln

I wouldn't touch Suntrup with a 10 foot pole after all the sales experience I've heard about first hand. I also know a former tech there that has nothing but bad stories about their sales practices. I've been quite happy with Autohaus for both warranty and out-of-warranty work. They give a hefty discount to BMWCCA members too.

I was referring only to service at Suntrup, but I am in absolute agreement with you with regards to their sales. With the stories that I have heard, also firsthand, I would increase the size of that pole tenfold.

Is there any particular service advisor that you would recommend at Autohaus? I guess giving them a try once again can't hurt anything.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you kindly!

[zzzbullseye]

Originally Posted by shj266

I was referring only to service at Suntrup, but I am in absolute agreement with you with regards to their sales. With the stories that I have heard, also firsthand, I would increase the size of that pole tenfold.

Is there any particular service advisor that you would recommend at Autohaus? I guess giving them a try once again can't hurt anything.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you kindly!

I've dealt with Bob White and Gregg Issit. I prefer Gregg.