Two years ago, an arbitrator ordered a car dealership in Queens, NY to refund a customer’s money under the “lemon law.” You’d think that would be the end of the story, but no… it’s the beginning. Jessica Harrison says she returned the “lemon” 2004 BMW to “Planet Auto Mall” but the dealer claims that they don’t know what happened to the vehicle. Now Jessica has to keep making payments on the missing BMW.
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International Motor Productions Screws Reader Over $500 Deposit On Misrepresented, Wrecked, BMW
By 11.13.08
Aaron went shopping on AutoTrader and saw a BMW he liked sold by International Motor Productions. The lady over the phone, Brigette Brown, told him everything about the car was perfect. He put down a $500 deposit and flew down from Chicago to check it out with his friend Nathan. There he discovered the body panels didn’t line up and the tires were mismatched and worn. When he took it for a test drive, it pulled under acceleration and made horrible noises. He took it to a reputable dealer who inspected the car and assessed it had been in an accident and had frame damage. When he took it back to International Motor Productions and asked for his deposit back…
The Mini Cooper In A Nutshell
By 7.29.08
I just drove a Minicooper. Here’s my quick n’ dirty review of the experience:
Car Stereo Company Tries To Install GPS, Causes $12,398.54 Damage To Your Car
By 6.30.08
Reader Brandon took his recently purchased 1996 BMW M3 to a car stereo installation company to have a stereo, speaker set, and GPS system installed. When he got his car back, he noticed that the climate control system was no longer functioning the way it used to. Hot air was leaking from his air ducts when he selected cold air. After a few unsuccessful attempts to get the car stereo installation shop to repair the damage they caused, Brandon took the car to some BMW experts and found out that the botched installation had caused over $10,000 in damage to his car. Brandon then tried to get the car stereo shop’s insurance company to pay for the repairs, but they denied his claim on the basis that procedures used for the installation were typical. Brandon says he then took the car stereo shop to small claims court. but the judge ruled against him because the car stereo shop employees claimed that he entered into a oral contract to release them from liability in exchange for a partial refund. Brandon claims he never entered into such a contract. Read his story inside.
America's Most And Least Admired Products And Services: Budweiser Is Good, Coors Is Not
By 5.28.08
Each year Fortune magazine does a survey to determine America’s most admired companies. We took a look at their data and found the top 10 most admired companies for the quality of their products and services. We also found the least admired.
eBayed BMW M3 Resolution Hits Pothole
By 3.27.08
The guy who won a BMW for $60k on eBay only to have the dealership back out is chaffing at the conditions the dealership imposed after the two, following an international onslaught of criticism, came to terms. The two conditions the dealership asked for were 1) That Ken not sell the car for a certain number of years after he bought it and 2) That Ken has to go around to all the internet sites that picked up his story and tell them that the dealership worked out the deal. Ken’s lawyer was able to get the first one struck but Ken really doesn’t like the second one, especially after the following quote from the dealership appeared in the Journal-Star, “These bloggers out there, they have lots of time on their hands to do this.” To this, Ken wrote, “I got placed under the impression that the dealership really isn’t sorry for anything they have done here. Their attitude, it seemed was that I am to blame for the firestorm that culminated, implying that I wasn’t being proactive enough in getting the word out…I had no intention of becoming a pawn for this dealer, not after the way they treated me!” For their part, the dealership says they are ready to sell the car at the agreed-upon price once they receive payment from Ken.
BMW Catches Fire, Everyone Tries Not To Pay For It
By 2.6.08
Poor guy. Buys a 2000 540 Bimmer and while he’s driving home, it catches on fire. Some sort of thermostat failure. At first, he was screwed. Commerce, his insurance company, wouldn’t pay for it because they say they don’t cover mechanical failure, and there was no flame. “No flame, no claim,” was their clever explanation. BMW said there were no recalls or faulty parts for that model and so they weren’t going to do anything either. Then the BMW owner posted his complaints on an online message board, got a lawyer, and filed a complaint with the State Insurance Commission. All of a sudden, magically BMW now sends out an engineer to the guy’s house and found that yes, the car had failed. BMW offered him enough of a settlement that he no longer feels queasy about buying BMMs in the future. Ah, the power of putting your dukes up.
Brecht BMW Tells Customer "Go Back To Volkswagon, You Don't Deserve To Own A BMW"
By 10.6.07
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:
TiVo Fast Forward Ads Are Back
By 1.15.07
- While not quite as bad as their original design, the fast forward ads are back. I was fast forwarding through the commercials of tonights episode of 24 and I noticed a still image applied over one of the commercials.
We don’t have a TiVo and we never have, but we understand that these ads annoy TiVo-ers. True?—MEGHANN MARCO
The Case of the Slightly Different Silver BMW Wheel
By 12.8.05
As far as the finished product is concerned, The Consumerist is a big fan of BMWs. Sure, there are the occasional hare-brained mistakes like iDrive, but even those missteps seem to be born of an attempt to improve the driving experience. Plus their cars go really fast around corners, our favorite variety of road.
