Scammed by BMW of Mississauga Service Dept: Members advice req'd

[JCL]

Originally Posted by anaq110

JCL, you seem very knowledgeable and senior forum member of this forum.

Can I ask you a question, if I talked to the Service Manager, I have attempted to get appt with the GM and I'm getting pushed around where am I supposed to go? BMW Canada gave me the same response as you have Dealership is privately owned so deal with them. BTW it's not like I'm trigger happy and creating a post after a couple weeks of issue, this is ongoing since late Feb. My attitude is the way its is because I have been lied to and seems like you didn't really read my post or I wasn't clear enough. Not trying to trap them, they trapped themselves

Answer to your questions. Prior to agreeing to quote I got my cousin involved from Jersey. He has his own shop and works with Open Road BMW and Honda. He spoke to Paulo personally and his justification for quote was because the bulk of the charge is labor (28 hours) in dropping engine, while dropped its best to replace all parts associated with Timing Chain assembly, guides, tensioners, gaskets etc. All this is on my original quote I agreed upon and I have a copy of. This is not a case of misinterpretation of what I thought they were doing and what they did. Its actually a case of getting caught in a LIE. The initial arrogance was fun to watch but once my cousin went back and forth with the Service Manager it was clear they are trying to cover tracks with damages.

JCL there's some code of ethics dealerships have to follow and stand by their work. This is what separates BMW\Mercedes\Lexus from others. I will take your advise to take the names off after I talk to GM, I will make my 3rd and last attempt Monday. Not really worried about their lawyers, this is an open forum and I do have the right to my opinion.

I did read all of your post.

It isn't really a question for the GM, it is a question to be resolved by the service manager. You need to get him on your side. The GM will just defer to the service manager, IMO. If you are buying a vehicle, or have done so, at this dealership, then you would have reason to expect the GM to get involved, because they would be protecting their relationship with you in the interest of future vehicle sales.

Clearly document, in a calm and businesslike letter, what has happened so far. Leave opinion out of it. State what you believed they were going to do, and why you believed that. Ask them to see it from your perspective. That can be the beginning of a rational discussion.

It is the way you express yourself that suggests you are making it about them vs you. That won't come out well.

There is a code of ethics that all businesses have to follow, not just dealerships. There is no higher code for BMW dealerships than any others. If you think so then you are buying into the marketing. It is probably why you agreed to pay higher dealer rates for this repair. They have factory training, and use OE parts, by beyond that, they are a repair facility.

They don't have to do the repair any particular way. There are tricks to fixing things other than what is shown in the BMW factory instructions. If they can fix it more efficiently without removing a component, then they should do so. You can't go after them for not fixing it the way you thought they were going to. If the fix didn't work, then sure, but if they found a way to do it faster by using a more expensive tool (for example) then that is there benefit, not yours. When I installed a hitch I found ways of doing it that cut time off the BMW standard method as documented in their service bulletin. That is a good thing, not a bad thing.

I agree with PropellorHead; IMO, while you have the right to your opinion, the way you are expressing it is slanderous. You are also not on a public space, this is a privately owned site. You agreed to the terms of service when you signed up. Those terms of service don't include the right to slander others.

I've been a service manager. I have resolved tougher issues than this. But the resolutions that were most successful involved both parties meeting in the middle, not threats and so on. I would just cool it all down a notch, and try and have a reasonable discussion. Document everything, to protect yourself. But don't think that putting signs on the car and parking it out front does anything. You can't force them to do anything. You can assume that they are reasonable people (and to get there, you need to convince them that you are reasonable as well). This way, you have a chance of a successful outcome.

If you don't want to do all that, then just take it somewhere else, and pay for whatever repairs it needs. Then take the original shop to small claims court for whatever was fixed by them but needed redoing, ie a portion of their original bill.

[jspdr]

I agreed with JCL. You can stated the facts, not speculation, their attorney can go after you for DEFAMATION damage. You know all the facts, and what was written, you signed the estimate and invoice. Did they do what you and them had agreed to, was your cousin involved in this from the beginning? Either you or the service manager was wrong, and did not fulfill the agreement. I think you can talk to the GM at that dealership, because the service manager is working for him/her and he can override the service's decision. If they can't set you up with the GM, then you should write him/her a letter explaining your facts, why you have a disputed of the repair work, along with a copy on an invoice. Short, precise and to the point, and remember don't express your emotion in the letter. While you wait for the GM, you should call around for a attorney specifically contract dispute, using the free consultation offered, talk to at least a few of them. I don't know about Canada, but here you can sue them at small claims court for a minimal cost. If their final decision won't satisfy you and you know for sure it has to settle with the legal system, then you need to write them a demand letters, let them know your intention if you don't get respond from them. Sometimes it will solved the dispute.( you can Google how to write a demand letter) Here in the US you can post your legal questions @ AVVO.com for free. Good luck

[anaq110]

Thanks guys for your response and I agree with you gents to tone it down and I will take your advice to put together a professional response. As mentioned prior I will try the GM route again tomorrow.

On a side note I disagree with framing my post as slander or slanderous. Slander definition "The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation." My opinion is based on Facts retrieved from BMW Quotes\Invoices The quotes I can upload on here (Prefer to tone it down though) or Moderator of this forum can feel free to ask me.

I am merely here to get advice on next steps and not by any means convince forum members to no go to this dealership for service.

[bastereo]

They gave you a written quote ahead of time?
How does that dollar amount compare with the total you paid? Mostly curious...

More importantly was the quote itemized parts and labor?


But I agree with others that you need to get everything together and lay your issue out.

While the general manager is mostly concerned with sales, his overall job is the entire dealership including service. So if the service manager is no help, move up to the GM.