Poor Raquel. She only wanted to return her leased BMW. Following instructions to bring her car to any authorized dealership, she arrived at Brecht BMW in San Diego. Brecht’s manager refused to accept the car, a decision he conveyed by screaming in front of her kids, threatening to call the police, and telling her to “go back to Volkswagon” because she didn’t “deserve to own a BMW.” Raquel writes:
On July 19th, 2007 I drove my leased BMW in Escondido, Ca. (Brecht BMW). I was told by Chase (the lender) to take the car back to any dealership. That I should take a photo of the car in front of the dealership I am leaving it with and have the dealership verify the odometer reading, leave the keys with them and I would be done. If I did not turn the car into a dealership by the 19th, then I would be financially penalized.
I walked into Brecht BMW and the first sales person I met asked me if he could help me. I said yes I am here to turn in my lease. He asked if I had bought my car from them. I said no, I bought it from Irvine, but I was told by Chase that I could take it anywhere. He said no he couldn’t help me b/c Chase was closed and he needed the buyout amount. I said no, they told me that he wouldn’t need to do that b/c they aren’t buying the car. He then told me that he wouldn’t help me. I told him I would be penalized if I didnt’ turn it in today and that it was a fast transaction. I also told him that I lived 45 miles away and have little ones (who were with me) and it was hard for me to get down that way. He said he would talk to the manager. After a couple of minutes he came back and said no again, they couldn’t help me but could if I came back the next day. I again explained that I worked and lived 45 miles away. I asked why they couldn’t do it now — telling them that I am sure they would be able to help me if I was buying a car.
Next the manager came out and said, you need to leave or I am going to call the police. I asked for his name. He took out his business card and threw it at me. I said, I don’t understand why they are unwillinig to help me. I then started to explain all the problems I had had with the car over the 4 years. Based on my miles my car should have been in for maintenace 2 times — it was in about 10 times. Each time was 3 hours round trip of my time and gas for the extra diving. I was starting to tear up and he smiled. I told him that I was doing everything I was told to do and that they could provide me customer service, but were choosing not too. I said, I don’t understand why they won’t just sign the odomoter form. I said that I had better treatment from VW when I owned my BMW. He told me to go back to VW, because ‘I don’t deserve to own a BMW.’ He again said to leave or he was going to call the police. By this time my children were in tears because he was yelling at me and threatening me. We left without them ever assisting us.
The next day My brother spoke to the GM and explained the story. He never apologized and still refused to help us with the lease return. We also called BMW of north america. The rep on the phone said that they are a franchise and that corporate has no control over them. He said he would note it down, but ‘don’t expect a call back.’ Basically, corporate doesn’t care about customers being mistreated.
My brother took my car across the street from Brecht to Mercedes dealership. Who took the car, filled out the odometer form and took the keys. My brother was out the door in 5 minutes. Why did BMW refuse to help me with their own product??? I still to this day have not received any explanation. The only thing I can think of is that they were not going to make any money off of me that night so they didn’t want to help. Why is there no one in the entire corporation that cares about customer service. I have emailed my story to BMW North America, BMW WorldWide, and Brecht BMW — no attempt has been made to contact me or correct the abusive treatment I received.
Still to this day, the home page of Brecht BMW reads ‘we are an authorized lease return facility’…………….
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@Blind But Now I See: Yeah, calling up the various dealers to verify what Chase is saying would have been best. Chase Bank can’t speak for all BMW dealers. In no way does this excuse that dealership and hopefully she’ll hear back from them.
Basically, don’t trust what one company says you can/can’t do at a separate company. Verify it first.
@G-Dog:
LMAO.
@INCONSUMER
they could have generated a future sale with raquel or had raquel possibly give some good referrals
Maybe they could’ve, but Raquel was unwilling to return to the dealership on a day when they could get in touch with Chase to verify the vehicle details.
For all the GM knew, that car could’ve been involved in multiple accidents, have a payoff value thousands of dollars more than it was worth, or have an unclear title. Would YOU be willing to personally sign off on that vehicle if you knew whatever loss the dealer took by taking it back came out of YOUR pocket?
And let’s face it, Raquel was never going to tell people what a great experience she had with Brecht because:
a) the transaction was never going to go the way she was expecting based on her conversation with the CSR at Chase – simply walk in, have them sign the odometer statement, take a picture, then walk away and
b) even after all this, she has absolutely no idea what a HUGE risk the dealer would be taking by signing off on that car.
It was a lose-lose proposition for the dealership. A simple phone call the the dealership before just showing up at the last minute or maybe actually reading her lease agreement rather than trusting the words of a CSR that makes $8/hr and whose main responsibility is giving out account balances all day could have saved a lot of trouble.
Just because she was ignorant in how her lease worked gives her NO RIGHT to take this out on Brecht BMW. I think there’s a big part of this story that we are missing. Dealers usually work pretty hard to salvage relationships. Raquel herself states that they were willing to work with her if she could bring the car back during Chase’s business hours. The fact that they had to threaten to call the police to get her out of there indicates she had gotten fairly disruptive and/or hysterical. Raquel’s statement about the GM “throwing” his business card at her just doesn’t ring true to me either.
@Blind But Now I See: i don’t speculate on what happens. just because you think there is something about this story that is missing doesn’t automatically mean there is. i’m not saying she was innocent, buyers are liars, however i have seen business cards thrown at people, and i totally believe her statement that the guy said she doesn’t deserve a bmw.
no matter who’s right, that, was wrong.
@marsneedsrabbits: I’m happy with my Subaru but buying it wasn’t great. Plenty good independent shops out there. 60K and oil changes and maintenance and that’s it. I’ll get another when the time comes. @Blind But Now I See: He still blew it by screaming at her. It’s on Consumerist now. Rudeness is still rudeness.
I don’t understand. Why the hell can’t we buy cars direct from the manufacturer in North America? We can buy computers, ipods, clothes, cellphones, even furniture, direct from the manufacturer, why not with cars? Puts all those sleazy dealerships out of business, especially if they had corporate-owned showrooms. You go to a corporate-owned showroom, test out the car you want, test out a few other cars that you’re considering, and then you sit down with the salesman and pick out the colors, options, and whatever else you want, and fax in the order to the nearest factory (or warehouse-shouldn’t be that hard for Toyota or even Lexus as they make most of their cars in the US or Canada). Put the salesmen on a decent salary so they don’t have an incentive to fuck you over. Car comes in in about a week, and in the meanwhile, you get a loaner. Is it THAT hard?
And since they only have to store the loaners on their lots, cuts down on inventory costs, since they don’t actually have to MAKE the car until the order comes in. Dell and Apple can do this (and they let you buy premade ones if you don’t want to wait), why not Toyota, Lexus or Mercedes?
@BuddyHinton:
Nobody was trying to buy a BMW. Read the story before you comment on it. Very effective.
@gatopeligroso:
Why would you NOT wait until the last day to turn it in? So you can pay them for a leased vehicle you’re not using? Same reason you occupy your leased apartment until the last day – because you fucking paid for it and have every right to gain the full extent of your lease!
You sound like the landlord who prorated me a day’s rent for turning in the keys at the start of business the day after the lease ended – what, I should have been out before my lease was over? I wouldn’t have been pro-rated the credit on that day. If you pay for it, it’s entirely reasonable to use it until the very moment your lease is up.
Why would she drive 45m? Because she wanted to? Dumbass, not everyone lives where there’s a BMW dealership next door.
It sounds like your attitude in life is, do whatever you’re told, and eat shit. Why capitulate to the manager because he’s an asshole? It’s his job to uphold the duties of his position, one of which is accepting lease returns. Do you cave immediately if you determine the person you’re dealing with isn’t peaches and cream?
What in the hell is it with this attitude that the person complaining is always wrong, they should have just put up with it, do as you’re told, deal with it, make the best of it, shut up and live with it? Where did this come from? Is it a symptom of the pro-capitalist, profit is everything, nothing if not for money, corporate Godhood attitude America has grown like a goiter or 200lb stomach tumor over the last few decades?
@RUSTED:I don’t think the OP ever stated that anyone at the dealership screamed at her, only telling her that she “didn’t deserve driving a BMW.” Personally, I feel if she lacks the ability to read and fully comprehend the terms of her lease agreement, then she shouldn’t be driving at all.
She screwed up and is now publicly denouncing the dealership. I think that’s wrong. Someone at the dealership probably made some snarky and inappropriate comments to a woman that refused to comprehend that Chase gave her some incorrect information. Unfortunately it escalated from there. But if she had turned her car in properly, to the right people, with the right notification, none of this would’ve happened.
Believe it when I say that I’m not a fan of car dealerships whether they be Kia or Cadillac. I think they are a breeding ground and bastion for slimeballs and douchebags. But Raquel’s in the wrong in this particular situation.
@IRSistherootofallevil: I don’t think it would be that easy, just due to the wait time. 10 days is very optomistic, and anything short of a couple months is impossible for anything built overseas. I have a Volkswagen GTI on order right now and will need to wait about 3 months for it to arrive. It will be about 1 month for sitting in the order queue and actual production, and another 2 for it to get from Germany to the dealer here in St. Louis. The loaner idea is good, but who’s going to pay for it? I don’t want to be making my payments on the GTI while driving a car that isn’t mine and is possibly a cheaper car. And since I’m under no obligation to buy the GTI once it arrives, I don’t think the dealer will want me to be driving a loaner the entire time, for free, when I can potentially drop off the loaner in a couple months and tell them I found a better deal somewhere else and to forget about the GTI. Hell, I can keep going around to different dealers doing that, and never make a car payment again in my life.
I like the idea of cutting out the middle man, and all dealers are corporate owned and salesmen don’t make commission, but I prefer how things are done now when it comes to cars being in stock and being able to drive off with a new car the day you go in to buy one (of course, I ordered my GTI to get the options I wanted, but buying one in stock was always an option). But also, keep in mind, we see it all the time on consumerist, corporate owned stores, with salaried salesmen, can still fuck over customers.
Why doesn’t anyone understand that this nothing to do with Brecht BMW or BMW North America? It has everything to do with Chase and whoever sold her the car!
The dealership was under no obligation to take this car back any more so than they would be obligated to perform warranty work on an after-market sunroof installed by the local chop-shop.
Chase auto leases are not a BMW product. Brecht BMW did not provide her with this lease. Thus they are NOT obligated to take this vehicle back and should not have to withstand this woman disrupting their place of business demanding that they do.
@Blind But Now I See: THANK YOU. People lost the target here and you said what I was thinking the whole time skimming the comments.
So and so should’ve called ahead of time and checked with the dealership(s). Not just Chase. BMW dealerships != Chase. Ugh.
And as a 20-something year old that has been a good customer of a BMW Dealership (the one in Norwood, MA), I have to say garbage in garbage out. The one time I was there dressed like a schlub I was treated like one by a sales guy that didn’t know me (what do you expect? they don’t want some jerk going in there and breaking something on the showroom floor). THe same would’ve happened if I went to MicroCenter and was looking at the laptops as if I didn’t know what I was doing. Anyway, I’ve had great experiences at the BMW Gallery Group in Norwood, and I’m sorry to hear there are dealerships out there like this. It puts bad marks on BMW’s name, and it’s disheartening to know someone was treated that poorly.
The dealership that is supposed to represent a high end product screwed up. Even if this woman was in the wrong and the dealership could not accept the lease.
When it got to the point of getting a manager they should have pulled her into a conference or sales room for starters. They could have bothered to help point out where and why they could not accept the lease if that was the case, including calling Chase on speakerphone. I am sure they have some sort of CSR monkey working the phones after hours that could have at least looked this up.
They allowed this to escalate into a nasty confrontation in the middle of the dealership.
One of they differences between high end service and what the unwashed masses get is that their staff should be able to handle a problem or a person being a problem without acting like a jerk or making things worse.
The local VW/Audi dealership gave us the snooty routine when we were shopping for a new car. They lost the sale new or used. We ended up buying one from a small car dealer we used to do work for.
I leased my VW from Langan Volkswagen in Meriden, CT. They were helpful, courteous, polite, reasonable, fair, and did not pressure me in any way. This is my third VW; the first two dealers (another in Connecticut and one in Maine) were both acceptable, but Langan will get my buy, lease, and service business for ever and ever, amen.
Obviously the OP went to a bmw dealership because of what Chase told her.
If she could go to other dealers, they should have told her that instead of her feeling like that crummy dealership was her only option that day.
Did she get penalized? Sounds like she did end up returning it the next day?
I think screaming and throwing a business card at the woman was a bit of an overreaction on this crazy dude’s part.
insane.
@ChaosMotor: Why not return the car to the dealership where she originally leased it? As someone else said, it might have helped her to have called ahead just to make sure she wouldn’t have any issues. But hey, I guess she got her money’s worth by using the car up to the 19th. Save the “it’s my right speech”, you should use common sense.
@INconsumer:
I suspect the management made a judgment that another sale was not ever going to come from this woman. Having gotten just her side of the story, it seems to me she went rolling to the dealership with an ax to grind and got it. We can post all day in this thread how they could have acted, but that’s just second guessing. Those guys are the ones trying to sell cars. I suspect if they had any hope of generating sales from the woman they would have tried to appease her rather than call the cops. My guess is she was one huge pain in the ass who didn’t have her crap together to begin with and they wanted nothing to do with her or her car.
i guess people are just nicer in indiana because i’ve never had any problem like this at my dealership.
this thread has cycled 3 times. i’m not going to be reading this anymore as it just keeps going in circles from posters not reading previous posts.
No matter who was at fault, the dealer’s behavior was inexcusable. Raquel, you need to contact all your local TV stations and ask for their consumer affairs reporter. I bet your your story will be on the evening news the same night.
Oh, and you know the difference between a porcupine and a BMW, right?
Porcupines have pricks on the OUTSIDE.
@e-gadgetjunkie: my ex used to tell me about his friend who leased a lot of bmws, and they always had to drive up in an expensive car or the salespeople wouldn’t talk to them. he also said you couldn’t test-drive a hummer without leaving a $15,000 deposit on your CC.
Brecht BMW is an absolute nightmare. Doesn’t suprise me to see this article. I was put through the ringer for months with our Brecht experience. I setup http://www.myspace.com/brechtbmwsucks a few months back and tried to point some people elsewhere on google buying keywords and point to /brechtbmwsucks. They don’t deserve to be in business.
I just sent them a nasty gram email via their website saying “how DARE you treat a lease customer liike this!” and link to this page
good luck!
Scott
Raquel wrote:
“The only thing I can think of is that they were not going to make any money off of me that night so they didn’t want to help. Why is there no one in the entire corporation that cares about customer service.”
Sadly that’s Capitalism 101. All the talk about ‘customer service’ and ‘assistance’ is only if they can make bucks off of you. It’s a ruthless, dog-eat-dog mentality.
Bimmers are for impractical sleazeballs. Get a Merceds.
Just for you “useless information buffs” BMW stands for
Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works in english.
Their neat logo is from the sweep of an airplane propeller, a Messerschmitt I believe.
YG17: we’re not talking about withholding payment until it comes to your door or local showroom. We’re talking about a model where you plunk down a “deposit (or down payment)” when you walk out the door with the loaner vehicle (therefore, it’s in your interest for the car to come in ASAP, as well as the dealer’s, since he wants his loaner back, and you want your car because you invested a good chunk of money in it), and then starting payments when you accept delivery of the car. And, of course, this deal would put you under an obligation to take the car when it comes in. I think they can cut that time down to a month. For a company like Toyota that produces cars in the US, warehouses them in the US, and sells them here, it’s very possible. And I’m not talking about keeping NO inventory. I’m talking about keeping LESS inventory (i.e. making a few cars with the most popular options). No company can function without keeping ANY inventory.
Tesla motor already does this. You buy the car and pick all your options, you put down a deposit and then pay the rest when the vehicle arrives at your house.
@Blind But Now I See:”Personally, I feel if she lacks the ability to read and fully comprehend the terms of her lease agreement, then she shouldn’t be driving at all.”
Wow, so as part of the driving test, you should have to obtain a law degree to decipher all the mouse type and submit to a test of your comprehension?
You’ve made a number of assumptions, both about the situation and the minutia of or dealerships, their relationships with the manufacturer and how they deal with different types of leases. Care to offer any facts to back up yuro assumptions?
Even if she was completely in the wrong their is no reason she should have been treated like this. BMW corporate should care because it is heir brand being associated with the actions and attitude of their franchisee.
Your kids aren’t a shield, and they’re not a valid excuse after the fact. Towing them along doesn’t earn you special points nor does it save you from abusive business treatment, especially when you’re contributing to or even causing the problem.
@Blind But Now I See:
What you don’t appear to understand is that it has everything to with Brecht BMW and the way they ALLEGEDLY treated her. All the manager had to do was patiently explain to her all the reasons you have, as to why she couldn’t return the car there. You don’t know that he did and we don’t know that he didn’t. However I have a feeling that if the manager had calmly and politely explained his reasons for not wanting, or being able, to accept the car we wouldn’t be here posting on this story today. But then we’ll never really know because only one party is here telling their side of the story.
Some BMW dealerships are made up of slimy jerks.
It’s too bad she had to deal with this one.
I would get the story out. I would also contact the leasing company and let them know. I assume this was bmw leasing, so they should know that some dealerships do not comply with the guidelines of their leasing agreement.
Then I would call the BBB.
And I would write a letter to the general manager. Try to find out who the owner is and let him know as well. Most of the time, the owners only hear the GM’s story, not the customers.
And by god, never spend a dime with those condescending prigs….
Of course, tell everyone you know so they’ll avoid them too.
@Blind But Now I See:
Unless, of course, the leasing company has a preexisting business relationship with BMW, which they likely do, and is authorized by BMW USA to have any leased BMW’s be returned to any BMW authorized sales company.
Which is probably the case. Some leasing companies have written contracts with car manufacturers that are supposed to be adhered to.
@ BOHEMIAN
I agree that people will treat you differently depending on how you dress and how you appear in general. It sucks, but tis a fact of life. I work in the IT field, and have since before I was out of high school. It hard walking into a meeting with the CEO of a multi-million dollar company looking really young, and almost impossible to get any respect if you are in ratty jeans and a t-shirt. So I played dress up for the first year or two until my reputation was solid. Now I wonder around in jeans and a Hoodie and get job offers frequently. So appearance is what gets you the interview, but eventually you get the respect you deserve. Car dealerships see you only a couple of times so you need to dress the part.
Got any birdseed and a ladder?
BMW Financial Services web site has a lease turn in guide where some of the steps include making an appointment, review for repairs, and verify the odometer. Considering this is BMWs own leasing/financing company, why would they have many more steps to a lease turn in than Chase?
And Raquel’s experience with Chase is not the first…
[www.complaints.com]
“they said any Suzuki Dealer can take it. I called the closest Suzuki Dealer. They said no, they can’t take it. Called Bank One back, they said OK, we’ll come pick it up.”
A google search for Brecht BMW has this site come up 4th overall. 3rd is a ratings sites for car dealers.
Welcome to the world of owning a BMW. Same will happen if you buy a Mercedes as well. As I always say, anyone can buy a BMW. Not everyone can maintain a BMW.
@gatopeligroso: And, ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a Blame the Victim Bingo!
I must also take exception to the Lexus dealer never doing that. About three years ago a friend and I dropped in to a Lexus dealership in the north west burbs of chicago. I was looking to trade in my four year old volvo. First, there was no one in the show room, when someone did show up he was not interested in selling me the car. In fact he went out of his way to tell me that he would not give me a trade in value on my existing car. Now, I don’t know if this guy was having a bad day, was about to quit, or was completely clueless, but needless to say one stupid comment like that made sure that I didn’t buy a lexus that year and most likely won’t be getting one any time soon. Do I blame the car manufacturer, yes, some, but I blame the training and management of the dealership more. If you’re taking my hard earned money, can I get at least some respect? I could have sworn they got paid based on selling me the car, I guess I must be mistaken. Oh, and I did buy a car that day, another new volvo, I guess I am not worthy of a Lexus.
@D-BO:
Wow, so as part of the driving test, you should have to obtain a law degree to decipher all the mouse type and submit to a test of your comprehension?
In January 1998, the Federal Consumer Leasing Act, Regulation M, was revised to require that certain key information and figures are in every automobile lease contract. It also required that this information be displayed in a uniform way, and using standard terminology. Vehicle lease contracts are fairly easy to understand and lay out the terms and conditions of the lease and its termination that someone with the reading level of 7th grade or above can understand.
You’ve made a number of assumptions, both about the situation and the minutia of or dealerships, their relationships with the manufacturer and how they deal with different types of leases. Care to offer any facts to back up yuro assumptions?
I worked as what’s most commonly known as a sales division zone rep for Ford Motor Company for 5 years and then spent another 6 years working in corporate finance in Dearborn for Ford Motor Credit.
Even if she was completely in the wrong their is no reason she should have been treated like this
I’m not saying the dealer did not make any mistakes or that the situation could not have been handled better because I really don’t know. What I AM saying is that she has no right to demand the dealership do as she wanted – which was to have them sign off on that car to them on that day. It’s obvious the dealer was willing to work with her if she returned during Chase’s business hours and she was not willing to do that. It’s obvious that she was not even willing to leave the premises until the GM threatened to call the police. I would definitely be interested in hearing the dealership’s side of the story – I suspect she threw a hissy-fit when the dealer refused to take her car that day.
BMW corporate should care because it is heir brand being associated with the actions and attitude of their franchisee
In reality, there is nothing that BMW North America can force the dealership to do. This is, in effect, a used vehicle transaction. BMW NA could not tell the dealer what to do any more than if this was the return of a Honda or Hummer.
BMW should be glad that most of the people that drive their vehicles are not as ignorant as this one. Even after all that has transpired, Raquel still does not “get” it. She has a legal agreement with Chase Bank. Brecht BMW is not Chase Bank nor do I see that they have any sort of agreement with Chase bank to act as a return center for vehicles leased through Chase and thus are not obligated to accept her vehicle. The dealer was willing to consider the return of the vehicle given the ability to get in touch with her lender. The dealer could not contact her lender that day. Raquel was unwilling to accept these facts.
@SUDONUM
What you don’t appear to understand is that it has everything to with Brecht BMW and the way they ALLEGEDLY treated her. All the manager had to do was patiently explain to her all the reasons you have, as to why she couldn’t return the car there. You don’t know that he did and we don’t know that he didn’t.
A beg to differ. If you read Raquel’s own words, she states that the dealership DID explain to her why they could not take the vehicle back that day and she was unwilling to accept that answer. I have spent a lot of time in a lot of car dealerships. Most of them had a great customer service oriented attitude. But even the worst of the worst would NEVER alienate a potential customer that was standing on their showroom floor in such a way as Raquel describes without some serious provocation from said customer.
@FEJJNAGAF
Unless, of course, the leasing company has a preexisting business relationship with BMW, which they likely do, and is authorized by BMW USA to have any leased BMW’s be returned to any BMW authorized sales company.Which is probably the case.
No they don’t. BMW has it own vehicle finance product and it is not affiliated with Chase Bank in any way. Dealers are free to offer loan products from entities other than BMW Finance.
Some leasing companies have written contracts with car manufacturers that are supposed to be adhered to
That is possibly one of the most ignorant statements I have read on this thread today. Every major automobile manufacturer has their own vehicle finance unit that is not affiliated with any leasing company, bank, or credit union. There are only a handful of financial institutions that would even be able to deal with the number of transactions that occur in the dealer network within the US and Canada on any given day.
It is possible that the dealership could have a written agreement with Chase to offer Chase brand financing on their vehicle and accept Chase lease returns. In that case, Chase would be paying them X number of dollars to complete that transaction and there would be no reason for the dealer not to accept the vehicle. If the dealer does have a contract with Chase then Raquel needs to complain to Chase, not BMW NA.
@Sudonum:
I doubt the confrontation was started by the manager. Sounds she went in there with a chip on her shoulder and unloaded on the guy when she didn’t get her way. She didn’t want to here no for an answer and immediately went into beligerant victim mode. The giveaway is here whining about the maintenance record. WTF does that have to do with the lease turn in? The woman has some issues.
I used to have a BMW and I never have a problem with them. I guess it is because they were making money out of me?! However, I definitely have much better experience from Toyota. Three years ago when I was shopping for a Toyota Sienna, a salesperson at a Toyota dealer tear up the paperwork and asked me to leave when I pointed out the extra $200 window etching on the invoice that I didn’t agree to have. So we left and my 8 month pregnant wife called Toyota and complained about the poor treatment from that dealer. Toyota took the whole situation very seriously. The lady on the phone offered us $500 if we buy a Sienna from any Toyota dealer. The GM from that Dealers called us to apologize two days later, and asked us to return and promised to give us a good deal. Of course we didn’t go back there, but we did buy a Sienna from another Toyota dealer. A week later, the same lady from Toyota called my wife to make sure the GM from that Toyota Dealer has called to apologize and she also mailed us a $500 check right away. She called us again a month later to make sure we were happy with our Sienna, and to see how our new born baby girl was doing, which is a nice personal touch. I was so amazed that I told myself that my next car will either be Toyota or Lexus. I really have to thank that salesperson for tearing up the paperwork, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to get a better price from another dealer and with extra $500 from Toyota.
- Look, I’m not going to get into the whole “it sounds like she was a bad consumer” argument. Frankly, I could care less.
- EVEN IF the woman had a chip on her shoulder, her experience with Brecht wasn’t just ‘far from ideal.’ It was terrible. The manager could have reacted in a better way.
- BMW is a lifestyle brand. It advertises itself based on the luxury of owning a BMW; the amount of pampering you get. The most recent commercial I saw related DIRECTLY to the excellent service you receive from BMW: mercedes and other luxury car owners trying to take their cars in for service at the BMW stations. When you are trying to give your brand an identity, you have to live up to it. In the minds of some consumers (i.e. this particular woman,) your brand is only the story you have told.
You have to try as hard as possible to make everything into a positive. When Apple screws up, Steve Jobs (and exec customer service) step in. Where was BMW’s executive customer service, to turn this horror story into a positive tale?
@peggynature: When a victim decides not to use common sense, yes. Just for a moment, lets say that she had called the dealer before she went there. She remembered to write down the name of the person she spoke with and verified that they in fact could accommodate her. In a situation like that, yes I would side with the consumer (victim?). Was what the dealership allegedly did wrong. Without a doubt. Should she have been treated that way. Absolutely not.
@Blind But Now I See:
Once again you are assuming things that we don’t know. The only “reason” that she was given, according to her post, was that they needed to verify the pay off. None of the other reasons that you stated regarding the condition of the vehicle and the liability the dealer would be assuming. You are basing your position on the theory that Raquel MUST have done something to provoke the manager. According to her post, the manager came out and immediately told her to leave or he would call the police. He never gave her any reasons, the salesperson was the one who told her they needed to call Chase for the payoff.
My brother has worked in the auto sales industry for many years as The Finance Guy at a mega-plex. I hear the comments all the time about the “mooches” that come in. I can assume that the GM didn’t want to waste his time with her and tried to blow her off just as easily as you can assume that she was some dumb ass customer from hell who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
I also find it hard to believe that she would make up the line about “….driving a VW”. Since we are stereotyping I can see someone in a dealership telling her that. My brothers favorite line is “There’s an ass for every seat”.
Could/should she have called the dealership before showing up? Absolutely. But the dealership, specifically the manger who should know better, should not have threatened her with the first words out of his mouth being to tell her he was going to call the police if she didn’t leave. That’s why, in my opinion, the dealership is at fault. As someone who works in the industry, I can see why you’d have a different opinion.
@cadillacman03: I call bullshit on you. I had a really bad experience at an Infiniti dealer in Manhattan. When I filled out the customer satisfaction survey reporting the bad service I was later told by the service manager to never bring my car in again.
The Infiniti dealer not only mislead me by stating that they were a Corporate store, i.e., owned by Nissan North America but the sales person who sold me on the lease lied about certain features.
Contrast that with my POSITIVE experience with BMW. They always bent over backwards to ensure I was happy.
So end this comment the way I think it should be ended. Mileage may vary. I have had bad experiences with many dealers and then I have good experiences with other dealers. On a case by case basis is the best way to deal with this type of behavior. Generalizing that BMW service stinks doesn’t get you anywhere. And as for your generalization regarding Infiniti – I just provided you with an example the disproves your rule.
@smarty: So wouldn’t you blame Chase then?
I’ve owned 3 BMWs.
Never had an issue.
2 of them had zero unsceduled maintenance.
Dealer was great.
You really need to be upset with Chase. They are the finance company for the car and owned the car that you rented from them. It is their responsibility to send you to a location or auto auction that they have contracted to except their lease returns. The BMW dealer owed you nothing on this transaction. Just because it was a BMW doesn’t make them responsible for the car. Chase did you wrong not the dealer.