[Victor1818]

I just bought a 2015 328i xdrive on july 31st and brought it in for an oil change and brake fluid change cause the last owner didnt and it was about 1800km over. I bought my car at a Lexus dealership and brought it in to BMW cause it's still under warranty too. First of all I almost wait 3 hours, honestly I felt like the free maintenance wasn't even worth the 3 hour wait. I wanted to show the technician about a shaking that a felt on cold starts and before I even open the door I notice a big dent above the door. They claim they didn't do it but I know for a fact that it wasn't there before it. They claim they also have no cameras and aren't going to do anything about it. What should i do? I live in canada btw


not sure if i'm supposed to post here, i'm new here

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by Victor1818

I just bought a 2015 328i xdrive on july 31st and brought it in for an oil change and brake fluid change cause the last owner didnt and it was about 1800km over. I bought my car at a Lexus dealership and brought it in to BMW cause it's still under warranty too. First of all I almost wait 3 hours, honestly I felt like the free maintenance wasn't even worth the 3 hour wait. I wanted to show the technician about a shaking that a felt on cold starts and before I even open the door I notice a big dent above the door. They claim they didn't do it but I know for a fact that it wasn't there before it. They claim they also have no cameras and aren't going to do anything about it. What should i do? I live in canada btw


not sure if i'm supposed to post here, i'm new here

Most Dealers in USA work with a dentless repair service and would usually fix it if a plausible claim was made.

BTW, how could there be a big dent ABOVE the door. That’s either a glass window or a roof.

[Billfitz]

You live and learn. Most dealers take pictures of the car all around when it comes in for service, to protect themselves against claims that they caused pre-existing damage. Smart owners do the same. Since just about every cell phone made has a camera and just about everyone carries a cell phone there's no excuse not to take such a simple precaution.

[tuco44]

Unless you have some proof that the BMW dealer did dent the car "above the door"(where is that?), it's your word against theirs. You bought the car elsewhere, so there is no real reason to keep you as a happy customer. Did you not make an appointment, is that why you waited three hours? Was the shaking on cold starts there when you bought the car?

Honestly, I don't think there is a lot you can do without solid proof.

[Victor1818]

Originally Posted by tuco44

Unless you have some proof that the BMW dealer did dent the car "above the door"(where is that?), it's your word against theirs. You bought the car elsewhere, so there is no real reason to keep you as a happy customer. Did you not make an appointment, is that why you waited three hours? Was the shaking on cold starts there when you bought the car?

Honestly, I don't think there is a lot you can do without solid proof.

I did make an appointment but somehow it still took that long.

[rayxi]

Originally Posted by Victor1818

I did make an appointment but somehow it still took that long.

As much as I want to tell you that you should argue to get them to pay for it to be fixed, the effort probably won't be worth it. It'll be a lot cheaper in the long run after accounting for the aggravation and stress to just go to a dent removal place at a low cost out of pocket.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by Victor1818

I just bought a 2015 328i xdrive on july 31st and brought it in for an oil change and brake fluid change cause the last owner didnt and it was about 1800km over. I bought my car at a Lexus dealership and brought it in to BMW cause it's still under warranty too. First of all I almost wait 3 hours, honestly I felt like the free maintenance wasn't even worth the 3 hour wait. I wanted to show the technician about a shaking that a felt on cold starts and before I even open the door I notice a big dent above the door. They claim they didn't do it but I know for a fact that it wasn't there before it. They claim they also have no cameras and aren't going to do anything about it. What should i do? I live in canada btw


not sure if i'm supposed to post here, i'm new here

You have to suck it up. You can't prove it, and they deny it. What can you do?

[TheBingoBalls]

That is unfortunate but you really have to pick your battles when it comes to your car and dealership. I don't know how car savvy you are but looking at that, there doesn't seem to be any significant or noticeable paint damage so it looks like a dent that could be repaired either through DIY or shop that does dent repair.

If there was significant damage and you absolutely needed to go to a body shop, I would raise a stink but that dent, I would just take care of myself and never go back to that dealership again.

[otay]

Disagree with most other comments. That dent is very visible. Last time I dropped off my car at the BMW dealership, they did a walk around to look for damage while I was standing there with the service advisor. Did this not happen with you? Make them show you the document you initialed when dropping off, and see if it has language about damage.

If I were you, I'd be saying F that! If I knew for sure there was no dent when I dropped it off, I'd escalate to the service manager. And then the general manager, and then the regional BMW rep. They don't want you to escalate to BMW. You want to make it as painful as possible, so at the very least, they'll have better procedures in the future.

Doesn't matter how easy it is to fix yourself. No way I'd let them get away with it. You can be damn sure I'd go down swinging.

[rayxi]

Originally Posted by otay

Disagree with most other comments. That dent is very visible. Last time I dropped off my car at the BMW dealership, they did a walk around to look for damage while I was standing there with the service advisor. Did this not happen with you? Make them show you the document you initialed when dropping off, and see if it has language about damage.

If I were you, I'd be saying F that! If I knew for sure there was no dent when I dropped it off, I'd escalate to the service manager. And then the general manager, and then the regional BMW rep. They don't want you to escalate to BMW. You want to make it as painful as possible, so at the very least, they'll have better procedures in the future.

Doesn't matter how easy it is to fix yourself. No way I'd let them get away with it. You can be damn sure I'd go down swinging.

Yes but doing down this route takes up a lot of time and energy. I recently did something similar and to no avail, the dealership didn't offer a satisfactory resolution. I will simply be writing a scathing review and figuring out the resolution on my own dime.

[5ilver-5amurai]

Sorry to hear bud. I had a similar bad experience at Mercedes Benz Brampton.

The dealership scratched my fender by washing the car without my permission (and drying it by hand using what I imagine was a dirty shop rag). They were unprofessional, refused to acknowledge their mistake, and even unplugged my dash-cam during the process of swapping my winter tires out. Needless to say - I got zero resolution from the dealership and escalated to their customer service manager who was absolutely useless as well.

Good luck finding a resolution buddy. I hate bringing my car to the dealership because some employees have 0 respect for other people's property. It's always a gamble when you go in...

[Victor1818]

Originally Posted by otay

Disagree with most other comments. That dent is very visible. Last time I dropped off my car at the BMW dealership, they did a walk around to look for damage while I was standing there with the service advisor. Did this not happen with you? Make them show you the document you initialed when dropping off, and see if it has language about damage.

If I were you, I'd be saying F that! If I knew for sure there was no dent when I dropped it off, I'd escalate to the service manager. And then the general manager, and then the regional BMW rep. They don't want you to escalate to BMW. You want to make it as painful as possible, so at the very least, they'll have better procedures in the future.

Doesn't matter how easy it is to fix yourself. No way I'd let them get away with it. You can be damn sure I'd go down swinging.

They didn't do it with me, I went inside to find a service rep. They didn't ask me to sign or initial either. That's exactly what i'm thinking, I've emailed bmw customer service and talked to a manager at the location. The GM was always busy or in a meeting. What BMW customer service said was that because dealerships aren't owned by them that any repairs or compensation would have to come from the dealership itself. So essentially they're telling me they can't do anything..

[Victor1818]

Originally Posted by 5ilver-5amurai

Sorry to hear bud. I had a similar bad experience at Mercedes Benz Brampton.

The dealership scratched my fender by washing the car without my permission (and drying it by hand using what I imagine was a dirty shop rag). They were unprofessional, refused to acknowledge their mistake, and even unplugged my dash-cam during the process of swapping my winter tires out. Needless to say - I got zero resolution from the dealership and escalated to their customer service manager who was absolutely useless as well.

Good luck finding a resolution buddy. I hate bringing my car to the dealership because some employees have 0 respect for other people's property. It's always a gamble when you go in...

You would think bringing it in to a dealership would be safer than a private garage...I'm basically getting the same answer, i've tried talking to them,emailing customer service of canada, even tweeting them.. no real solution so far.

[Victor1818]

Originally Posted by rayxi

Yes but doing down this route takes up a lot of time and energy. I recently did something similar and to no avail, the dealership didn't offer a satisfactory resolution. I will simply be writing a scathing review and figuring out the resolution on my own dime.

lol this is what i'm realizing. I will definitely be writing a review, as long as I can change 1 persons mind from buying from that specific bmw i'll be fine.

[rayxi]

Originally Posted by Victor1818

You would think bringing it in to a dealership would be safer than a private garage...I'm basically getting the same answer, i've tried talking to them,emailing customer service of canada, even tweeting them.. no real solution so far.

I am coming to the conclusion that going to a BMW dealership is equivalent to going to chain/franchise restaurant like McDonalds. They are heavily depending on the brand recognition for customer attainment. Most McDonalds restaurants will have untrained "cooks" working there that will heat up edible food for you. Meanwhile, if you go to a hole in the wall restaurant, you may find yourself with an exquisitely cooked meal by a renowned chef.

I'm not saying technicians that work at BMW dealerships aren't trained. I'm saying that BMW dealerships have less to lose when a single consumer is unsatisfied. A no name garage will probably go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by otay

Disagree with most other comments. That dent is very visible. Last time I dropped off my car at the BMW dealership, they did a walk around to look for damage while I was standing there with the service advisor. Did this not happen with you? Make them show you the document you initialed when dropping off, and see if it has language about damage.

This is SOP at both dealers I use. Then another walk around when the car is picked up unless its an after hours pickup. Check in sheet is initialed by SA & me.

[kikcaffine]

good luck trying to fix a dent on an a-pillar like that. Something came down on top of it there.

[sspade]

Originally Posted by kikcaffine

good luck trying to fix a dent on an a-pillar like that. Something came down on top of it there.

Yep. Thats a real bad spot for a dent.

[jd_perspective]

Originally Posted by otay

Disagree with most other comments. That dent is very visible. Last time I dropped off my car at the BMW dealership, they did a walk around to look for damage while I was standing there with the service advisor. Did this not happen with you? Make them show you the document you initialed when dropping off, and see if it has language about damage.

If I were you, I'd be saying F that! If I knew for sure there was no dent when I dropped it off, I'd escalate to the service manager. And then the general manager, and then the regional BMW rep. They don't want you to escalate to BMW. You want to make it as painful as possible, so at the very least, they'll have better procedures in the future.

Doesn't matter how easy it is to fix yourself. No way I'd let them get away with it. You can be damn sure I'd go down swinging.

Yup this. They'd be calling the cops to get me to leave without resolution.

[jd_perspective]

also, I'd file a complaint against the BBB if you don't get resolution through proper channels.

[IDBGOD]

Unless you have proof/documentation this will always boil down to a "he said, she said" and the bottom line is you are 99.9% of the time going to be stuck paying for this yourself.

What can you do? Doesn't hurt to ask. If that fails, no point wasting the time and energy trying to win a loosing battle. The dealership has more resources to fight this than you do. Simply don't do business with that dealer again if you feel you have been wronged, write a review (if that's your thing), and call it a day and move on with your life.

Unfortunate but that's all you can do. Best of luck with the repairs.

[upsidedownfunnel]

If you complain enough and bug the manager enough, they might help you out with the dent. But you have to ask yourself, is that worth it? Paintless dent repair will probably make it look 95% better and cost $100-$200.