How to handle a delivery door ding?

stim141 · #1 02-09-2009, 08:54 AM

Picked up my 3.0 in about 30 days ago - January 1st. Car has been driven ONLY 80 miles and the car had 120 miles when delivered. Must have been a demonstrator and was shipped from another dealer. Didn't drive it much since I had another leased car that I wanted to use to preserve the miles on the X5. Noticed a few things. First there appears to be some etching from bird droppings on the hood about the size of a quarter. Second there is a door ding crease about 1/2" on the rear passenger door that you can only notice at a certain angle and can be removed by dentless paint repair which I would pay for if I had to.

Have an appointment to correct a couple of defects - chip on iDrive bezel and a couple of squeeks. How can I go about getting the paint defects done through the dealer - especially since the car has been in my possession for 30 days. The door ding is definately not from my doing as I park the car away from ANYONE when it was used and the bird droppings are also not my fault.

StumpyPete · #2 02-09-2009, 11:29 AM

Given you picked it up 30 days ago, I doubt you will manage to convince anyone to fork out for it.

Craig · #3 02-09-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stim141

Picked up my 3.0 in about 30 days ago - January 1st. Car has been driven ONLY 80 miles and the car had 120 miles when delivered. Must have been a demonstrator and was shipped from another dealer. Didn't drive it much since I had another leased car that I wanted to use to preserve the miles on the X5. Noticed a few things. First there appears to be some etching from bird droppings on the hood about the size of a quarter. Second there is a door ding crease about 1/2" on the rear passenger door that you can only notice at a certain angle and can be removed by dentless paint repair which I would pay for if I had to.

Have an appointment to correct a couple of defects - chip on iDrive bezel and a couple of squeeks. How can I go about getting the paint defects done through the dealer - especially since the car has been in my possession for 30 days. The door ding is definately not from my doing as I park the car away from ANYONE when it was used and the bird droppings are also not my fault.

You should start off trying to get in touch with the dealers sales manager and explain the ding and bird droppings. See what he has to say and go from there.

Craig

morecowbell · #4 02-09-2009, 12:28 PM

I assume no Running Boards? Aside from looking sexy? The running boards, I think, likely provide some protection against door dings...

Ziggypup · #5 02-09-2009, 12:57 PM

Unfortunately the burden of proof is on you at this point.

About a year ago I took a ride with a friend of mine to pick up his new Caymen S. When we arrived they had the car out in the parking lot. It was sitting directly in the sun. My buddy took a quick look over and was satisfied. I said to him, do yourself a favor and ask them to drive it inside the garage for a minute so you can look at it without the sun glaring all over the place. Sure enough we found 2 scratches and a door ding. You would be surprised what you see with indoor lighting compared to being outside.

This is the way you have to deal with picking up a car these days. Don't be in a rush and take you time looking over your purchase.

stim141 · #6 02-09-2009, 11:50 PM

Yep, no running boards. Crease was pretty high up on the rear door right where there is the bulge out/flare out which does stick out pretty far. Think this thing is going to be a dent magnet esp since the car is pretty bulbeous and has sections that if someone were just a little too close could just touch with their door. If the panels were flat it would be less of a problem.

Suprisingly the dealer service rep didn't even blink when I brought it to their attention. Said something that they had to talk to the Sales dept and get approval but it wouldn't be a big deal. Dropped it at 8:30 and got a call at 2pm - said it was approved and would be ready tomorrow - said he would order the iDrive bezel as well. Was given a 535XI to drive.

As a long time owner of Jags, MB's and Porches this so far has been the best experience so far. With my MB - getting anything under warranty like simple flaws or even radio issues is a major PITA to get approval. Generally get either a Corolla or dirty Taurus as a loaner which I can't complain because its free. The only hassle at this dealer is they are pretty anal about service times - you can't be early or late - have to be exactly on time.

Penguin · #7 02-09-2009, 11:57 PM

Smart dealers react like yours did. Whether or not they think it happened before or after you picked up the vehicle, they figure the small cost to them is worth it as a sales development action, making it more likely they'll sell you another BMW down the road. They probably take care of quite a few door dings and bird droppings on their inventory vehicles, and the sales department picks up the cost in their budget as a sales development cost.

But then not all dealers are smart!

Glad to see yours is.

stim141 · #8 02-10-2009, 12:17 AM

Agree - my salesman has been selling BMW's for 20 years and from the onset is looking for a long term relationship and does with his other clients. I basically bought the car over the phone from him. Late December tried to get an 08 under the special lease program almost leased an ML350 which would have been a mistake or a GL450 which I would have bought ($18000 discount) - an even bigger mistake. Didn't have any on the lot but found two or three remaining and was willing to get one about 600 miles away without any extra costs for delivery. He will even make appointments to come to your home and go over anything that you don't understand or even program you garage door opener for those who can't.

Craig · #9 02-10-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stim141

Agree - my salesman has been selling BMW's for 20 years and from the onset is looking for a long term relationship and does with his other clients. I basically bought the car over the phone from him. Late December tried to get an 08 under the special lease program almost leased an ML350 which would have been a mistake or a GL450 which I would have bought ($18000 discount) - an even bigger mistake. Didn't have any on the lot but found two or three remaining and was willing to get one about 600 miles away without any extra costs for delivery. He will even make appointments to come to your home and go over anything that you don't understand or even program you garage door opener for those who can't.

Just curious, which St. Louis dealer? I purchased mine at Plaza and have purchased 3 others at West County. Not too happy with the service at Plaza...

Craig

stim141 · #10 02-10-2009, 09:02 PM

Suntrup West County - salesman was Julian Boyd. Saw him today when I picked up my car and we looked it over when they buffed out the bird etching and did the dentless on the crease. The crease came out perfect with just a small hint of clear rub. Same for the bird etching. Didn't want to go to far otherwise would go into the basecoat.

I also have a Mercedes CL that I originally purchased at TriStar because the car at the time was ridiculously hard to get - they are the absolute worst. Now the S's and CL's just sit on the lots. They never wanted to fix anything even under warranty. Now take it to Plaza and I never have a problem. Prior to the CL had several Benzes and an Audi that I bought from Plaza.