Dallas Dealer wrecks M5
 

Parts and labor total over $30k...

From M5 board via BMWblog:

Dealership rags my car and wrecks it on a test drive! - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)


An M5board member took his 2007 BMW M5 to a Texas-based dealership for a regular service appointment. A few hours later, the owner gets a call from the dealership which informs him that the M5 went through an accident. They stated that their tech took the car for a test drive and slid into a curb at 20 mph.

The wheel cracked, tire blown, front end needs a new paint job and the strut was cracked open. This was the official story.

The owner took the liberty to go check the accident site and found out that the 20 mph test drive was most likely a…fast drive that turned ugly.

http://www.bmwblog.com/wp-content/up...crashed_m5.jpg

Heard about this a few days days ago...i'd raise legal hell and require nothing less than either a brand new replacement or F10 M5!

If that mechanic wasn't fired on the spot the manager should be...

Wow. Are u kidding? I would never want that car back repaired, never would be the same. I'd definitely get a lawyer involved if the dealer tried to give that car back to me repaired.

Wow, I wonder what dealer that is here. The guy lives in Fort Worth so I am guessing it's Autobahn of Fort Worth.

This is awesome....I'm bringing my X down to this dealership, leave the keys inside and demand that same tech take my car off a cliff......that would be an easy way out....I thought I would have to perform insurance fraud.... :rofl:

The mechanic, service manager and GM should all be fired. If this happened to me I would have retained five lawyers. Some people do not understand what it means to mess with our bimmers. Some times you are better off going to an indy.

I've been on m5board.com since getting my first BMW and also just recently read about this...besides the OBVIOUS 20mph BS story, I still can't believe the manager had the nerve to attempt to place blame on the owner by saying that his tires were low on tread! Between stuff like this and valet videos I've seen on YouTube, NO ONE touches any of my vehicles. It's just not worth the risk to me. I've said this for years...my own cars, I'll do whatever in the hell I want, other people's cars...avoid it because I don't want the grief, as anything from a simple scratch to a total loss would absolutely stress me out, not to mention the legal ramifications of doing something completely stupid with someone else's possession.

What an asshole. He should have been additionally permitted to punch that moron in the temple with a roll of quarters.

As the saying goes...it's easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission ;) I'd have just done it, but I wouldn't apologize either...but wait till it's settled by the lawyers first!

This story is on like 4 or 5 other forums too. News is spreading fast! Won't be surprised if this dealer goes in the tank.

This is another reason why I love forums...telling of bad service, overpriced parts, etc spreads like wildfire. All it takes is one idiot, and this will probably cause a fair amount of damage. I haven't read the m5board post lately, but I wonder if this is going to make it to the local news as well.

There are 479 replies and 193k+ views and counting. I don't have time to read all that.

Exactly...I just wanted to see the page with the pics again, but it's getting so long now.

A few back down here in Australia a dealer tech crashed a Mclaren F1 Supercar and caused $500k worth of damage. The car had to be shipped back to the UK for repair.

Like all of you, I don't have time or the desire to read the whole story on the M5 board. But my question is, has anyone disclosed the name of the dealership yet? ..........Phil

What's with the urge of most Americans to sue the dealership for lots of $$$ ? Yes, they f.cked up and should own up to their mistake and give the guy a new M5. No questions about that. Second thing would be to get the ass manager who lied and any others involved in the lie fired.

But what good does it do to sue them? You, the customer, will be paying the lawyers bill and all other costs involved.

Agreed. I would attribute this reaction to our innate desire to not only hold those parties responsible for their mistakes, but to punish them.

I totally understand that. But getting the persons involved and make them loosing their jobs is punishment to me. Add on the over-compensation by replacing the car for a new one (from a 2007 to new) would be nothing more than fare.

I think it's greed, or the "now its my turn to cash in" attitude that drives these lawsuits. Feed by the excessive steeling that's going on in corporate America.

I disagree with the sue their a$$ of attitude, but totally understand. But I guess we are getting a bit off topic.:confused:

If the stealer does not own up to their mistakes and give the owner a new M5, what do you do next? Of course you will sue them. This stealer has lied, and they have expressed no desire to give the owner a new M5. The tech, service manager and general manager should all be fired, however, it doesn't buy the owner a new M5, does it? So you must sue for your legal rights. This is NOT about greed!!! Put yourself in the poor guys shoes, what would have done differently?

I understand that in america v. canada there is a more common perception that if you do not cya you will be sued for your negligence, and in some cases this is certainly true. But lets not turn this on the customer. This was not some mistake where his m5 fell off a lift or something. They were inappropriately using his 100k vehicle, subsequently ruined it, and then lied about it. My attitude would be you screw me I crush you without mercy. :D

I agree with you. If the dealership fixed it the way it should be fixed, then obviously no legal action is needed. But when they want to give this poor guy his M5 back now depreciated so much more, then legal action is necessary.

Even if the dealer fixed the M5 as it should be, the automobile title will be changed to "Salvaged", the depreciation factor is huge! You cannot sell it and recover the current worth of this vehicle, never! CarFax will pickup on it right away!

Now that's some funny S@*T :bustingup ...........Phil

Please don't get me wrong. If you read the first dozen or so pages from the post most of the people posting comments are suggesting him to sue his a$$ off. It was just a comment in general about sueing and getting sued.

If the dealer is not willing to solve this and owns up to it, he should be "hanged on the highest tree" and all possible actions from the M5 owner to get compensated for his loss should be taken. Me, as a business owner just can't understand the ignorance from this dealer if he does not compensate. The simple fact that this story and his trashed reputation is all over the internet will cost him fare more $$$ than compensating his customer.....It's just common business sense to me.

Sometimes you wonder how they survived this long in the first place with that kind of an attitude.

I would not go there anymore and for sure let the manager know why. This is the strongest weapon of the consumer. Get the word out and stop using their services. The power of internet at work.

I have to admit that I did not read the entire post on the M5 forum. (it's a bit long....) He has been given the runaround and this dealer should be taken out of business.

:iagree:

One thing the owner cannot change is the fact that the M5 title will be changed to "Salvaged" and there isn't anything the dealer can do about it. This is very unfortunate for the owner!

And he should be compensated for that.

But it's shameful how the dealer, and BMW NA is dealing with this. You don't buy a $ 100.000 + car to get it "rebuild" No matter what anybody said, it will never be as good as before. The more I read about it, the more it's pi$$ing me off. Can't imagine how the owner feels.

Did read somewhere halfway the post that BMW NA can't get involved as the dealer is privately owned. They should care as BMW reputation is dragged trough mud.

A sales manager told me not to long ago: I don't make them, but sell them, we will do as much as possible to get it fixed but don't blame us....Same crappy attitude. Told him he represents the brand and I don't give a sh.t who makes them. You took my money, so you are the one I will hold responsible.

Anyways, wish the owner of the M5 lots of luck and he is doing a great job getting it out there.

I agree that it has sadly become common place that we sue, but it's also just as sad that that is what it takes in order to get things done. The problem with this whole thing is that the dealership is more than likely only willing to fix the car, even though that doesn't solve the long term issue when the owner tries to resell, trade, etc and it has salvage written all over the title. Doing the right this isn't standard practice anymore, so unless they get sued with some arbitrary number that makes the owner feel better (and the lawyer gets a payday), then ultimately the owner will get left high and dry.

At this point, if the owner doesn't sue, the dealership will never "learn it's lesson" and the following day would be business as usual, minus some repair costs and a few employee changes. Sueing brings the game to a whole new level, widens more eyes and sadly will be what it takes to get the job done. Based on a combination of lies and trying to place some blame on the owner clearly goes to show that the dealership sure as hell isn't going to do the right thing on it's own.

But I do agree, American's sue far too much. This isn't some frivilous lawsuit where some stupid fat chick spilled coffee on herself andthen can't own up to the fact that SHE screwed up. In this situation, it's the only option to ensure that the right thing is done, because anything short of replacing the entire car would be completely halfass. It's not the owners fault, so he shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the loss when the day comes that he decides to get another car.

Hell, let the dealership buy it and turn it into a loaner car, at least then it's not a total loss. Don't forget though, per the manager, it needs some new tires in the back though :thumbup:

:iagree:

Ironically, even though some businesses do this to their customers, some people still keep coming back even after they've been treated poorly. Now I'm getting wildly off topic, but look at iPhone 4 spoof videos all over YouTube about the signal issues...yet look how many of those $600 phones are being sold. We do it to ourselves. Some people will read this story, but I doubt this dealership will miss a beat. But to take us back onto topic, that's why we sue...because as much as it may piss us off that it happened, they're going to be business as usual the following day, just with less of a slush fund.

Well said James !! :thumbup:

This will be a lesson learned for all of us at the M5 owner's expense...

Old story, but Savage BMW in Los Angeles, CA tried to do the same thing to an M3 owner. Sounds like the CA and TX Service Manager have been to the same customer service training classes....try to fix it, admit nothing. Once again, BMWNA wanted nothing to do with it as well, so I don't blame this guy for making the switch to Porsche.

Now It Can Be Told - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

they will probably get away with it and no to W :bustingup

Hey All!
 

Sorry, but I haven't been here much since I traded my X in for the M6. Been spending most of my web time at the M5/M6 boards and have been watching this story.

Hope you're all having a great summer. I've been on the road constantly (Air Force duty) but drove my M out here to Langley AFB while I'm here for a month. Hope you're all doing well & I miss you all!

I had to do a locate on my M and it came from the Dallas area where this M5 incident happened. Not sure on exactly what dealership this is there though. Took my car into a dealer close to my AFB here in VA and that was 2 days after the M5 incident. I told the service advisor about the M5 & that I did not want ANYONE driving my car except from the drive-up lane to the service bay. He was very defensive at first but eventually understood and was compliant. When I picked up my car I verified the odometer and all was good.

These cars have power that I would describe as "violent" and it takes time to understand and respect that power. I could easily see how a tech with little or no experience with these cars would get in trouble. Somewhat related to the M5 incident; I had a software update put in my M that now allows me to totally disable the DSC that the 2007 manual trans car could not do from the factory. BMW NA has now authorized this upgrade for free so I had it done. Now I can get it back on the dyno to check the RWHP as I tried that once and the DSC wouldn't even allow a dyno run.

Just wanted to say hello and share a few pics from the Great Smoky Mountains NP where I spent the last few days. Put on 1100 miles and it was a PLEASURE in this car on those awesome mountain roads.

Take care all & miss you guys!
Deno

Awesome!!

I made this point on the m5board thread...

The car was brought to the dealership for "Job A". This was the extent of their authority to hold the car.

Once the accident occured they were 'done'. They should have called the owner, asked what he wanted- they could have proposed a solution, but at that point it is purely the owners call.

Here is an analogy- you tender the car to a valet, you come to pick it up and they say "we crashed it". The say 'we'll fix it' .... you go nuts and demand it back.

Will you be accused of being 'premature' and 'failing to let them work it out'?

A BMW dealer is an independent company no different than a car lot, valet service, etc,etc.

Once the loss occurred (ie the owners car stopped moving) it was out of the dealers hands and into the owners hands. The dealer acting like they've been wronged by the owner, and people accusing the owner of 'not working with them' don't understand this distinction.

IMO

A

That's what I meant. They should replace the car and not repair. And I agree with you.

plus, his car will NEVER be fixed to the original spec, let alone the salvage, or rebuilt title due to the extent of the damage.

Of course.

The car is a total at this point. Value of the car minus repairs, minus Diminished Value put it near zero. Just my guess. (When trying to assess DV, I want you to imagine the following statement prior to the start of bidding for this car. "Here we have a car with a low blue of $43k, however it was in an accident and sustained 30k worth of damage including suspension parts- good news is that a BMW dealer fixed it.... who'll give me $30k?". DV is then 13k.)

The only question is what legal theory or exploit will the owner pursue to (a) get the DV claim allowed by the dealer or the insurer, and (b) be compensated for his time, energy, loss of use, and (3) possible punitive damages.

The easy part is getting an insurer to agree to the cost to fix. They'll do that in a week.

But that is FAR from where this issue needs to be resolved....

A

Ard, I read your postings on m5board and am fully supportive of OP's and your position. Hopefully, the crash dealership realizes the seriousness of this issue and soon offers a resolution that's acceptable by the owner.

So...was the dlr ever ID'd? I was getting fuzzy, reading through the m5 board
thread, and this thread...

OT...Titz car and pics, Lambeau!
You should dropped a dime; we are half an hour
from most of those shots. Stay safe.
GL, mD

How about a security gaurd test driving a new ZR-1 and posting the video on YouTube?

Dealership Guard takes $111,000 Corvette ZR1 for a spin, posts video on Youtube... - Carscoop

No wreck, but imagine buying this car and not knowing it was broken in with a few redlines and a cloud of gravel....

At first it wasn't nothing more than a little tailwag, but it'd still piss me off the nonetheless. That last part at the end where he's all proud of himself, idiots like that are the ones who need to be taught a hard lesson about being nieve and arrogant.

Stupid f...other than loosing his job, a good ass beating is in order as well to get that cockyness out of his personality.

It really makes you wonder what goes on at a dealership. Open hours, after hours....who has access to our cars?

In the M5 case, a lot of damage was done. In the ZR1 case, no one would have known if the idiot didn't post it on YouTube. I bought two Vipers from that dealership.

Well, when the rent-a-cop gets out of jail, Hollywood won't be calling him
to direct/shoot vids, :rofl:. Can I get my 2 1/2 mins back?! ;)

Haha he looked like mclovin from superbad when he got out with his hands in the air. That was like something out of a bad movie. What an idiot to post it online.

hence why hes a "rent a cop"

A security guard without a side arm is not even a "rent a cop" just an a-hole.

Damn....he didn't even have a flashlight. What the hell was he guarding, himself :bustingup .........Phil

You would think that after the Dominos Pizza video, employees would learn not to post videos of themselves doing foolish things. Imagine he cut the video just before exiting the Vette? He would still be working there and 'test driving' other peoples new cars.

Found this over on M5board:

Now It Can Be Told - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Dealer wrecks a car on an unauthorized drive, owner lawyers up, dealer cannot screw over owner, insurance jerks him around for 3 months...finally settle.

That certainly is the case sometimes. But most of the time I believe the lawsuits are driven by the fact that when it comes to significant expenses, most businesses do not pay attention or attempt to fairly address "making it right" until they get a letter from a lawyer. Their lying from the get-go in this case is the first indication that a lawyer might be required.

"So sue me," is an all too prevalent attitude among businesses.

I guess this happens more often. Read this:

Roof recall = totalled vette - Corvette Forum

Ok let's see "They stated that their tech took the car for a test drive and slid into a curb at 20 mph.".... :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Liar Liar pants on fire. Time to rent a car and wait for another M.
If I don't get another M5 I can't imagine a lawyer not taking the case.

But I guess the guy got what he wanted..... :dunno: Or did he.... :confused:

Update: This is how powerful the internet is. The dealers website got "overheated" and he got thousands of e-mails about the wrecked car. The story got picked up by the largest Blog in The Netherlands and it generated over 35.000 hits within a day.

The dealer got it figured out and worked out a deal with the owner within a few hours...

I love it! I lose more and more faith in people everyday when it comes to money. The OP is a better man than I by sending the guy flowers and a get well card in the hospital...I wouldn't have done that myself.

OT - :spit: OMFG James this is the funniest thing I've seen ALL week!

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...rer/pixels.png

Do you have it any bigger? I'd love to print it out and hang it up at work.

:D:thumbup:I don't, but I'll see what I can do. I use Avant Browser and zoomed the image larger and it still looks good enlarged, but when I did a Save Picture As... and enlarged it w/ Paint it came out more pixelated. Let me try something...

LOL ok... thanks :)

Zooming with Paint sucked and became overly pixelated, so instead I zoomed within my browser, did a Print Screen and then cut & pasted then cropped the image from my desktop. It's a little fuzzy, but it still looks far better than the image zoomed in Paint alone. I'll email it to you.