andy545

Hello to all E60's.
As promised I would post the reaction of my complaint letter.

For people who don't know what's going on...my 545i was delivered 12 days ago to the dealer. Being on vacation I saw the car only 1 day...and noticed it had clocked 60km.!! Asking for explanation I got mostly I don't know type reaction.
I took fotos of the car and odometer, and planned to write a letter and email it.

I called my dealer the next day from overseas to make sure he received the
email, I made clear all arguments and that I am prepared even to not accept the car. He promised to investigate this time. It's amazing that the sales rep. love
you before you buy, then act as they don't know you after the sale. Since I have
not paid yet, he is again my friend...!!!

In 2 days I got an email with a doc. attached. It is signed from the Sales Director of the dealership and my sales rep.
Here is an extract:



First of all we have to apologize about the fact that we did not good enough check the reason why your car has this milage, but after some research there is a simple explanation.


1) Every mechanic who does a predelivery check, fills in a form with the milage the car comes from factory in case of your car it was 15 km.
2) After the the predeliverycheck he makes a test-drive and drives also to the Shell Tank station, while test-driving he detects that there is wheel balancing needed
3) Back in the garage he balances the wheels and makes another test-drive to make sure you car is 100% ok but still there was still misbalance in the wheels
4) Our chief mechanic ( Bert Maassen ) decided to fitt a complete new wheel-set on your car ( 4 tyres en 4 wheels )which we had on stock and made another test-drive to make sure that the vibrations came from the wheels or tyres and not from a drive shaft, fortunately there where no vibrations anymore.
5) We called BMW and asked them what the best thing was we could do, they advised us to warm up the tires for about 3 km, lower the pressure and turn the tire clockwise app. 180 degrees on the wheel, balance them again and make another testdrive, so the mechanic did and there where no more vibrations.


With all the test-driving we drove 45km with your car to make sure that your car is 100% and forgot to fill up the tank again.

Hopefully you are convinced that this was needed to get your new car in the best condition and you satisfied with the explanation.

We wish you already : driving pleasure with your new 545i.

In case of more information needed do not hesitate to contact us.


Yours sincerely,


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Well, at least nobody non BMW test drove the car. Or used as joyriding.
Since the letter is coming from the Sales Director it's got to be valid and I think
more reassuring than just a letter from my sales rep. who BTW didn't even know
where my car was parked exactly when I came on that day to see my car for the first time!!!

I was planning to ask for compesation, but is my case still strong enough?
Their argument is to deliver to me a 100% ready car. Can you blame them?

I am happy the car is OK and has no problems according to them.

At this point I can accept the letter at face value or not. There is no in between.
Based on the above I accept it.
My question is, should I still insist for some kind of compesation or is this not valid anymore?

Request your feedback...

TIA

Andy.

Lomag

I think they were very honnest with you and that's to be commended. In the long run you won't miss those first 60 km's so take delivery of the car and enjoy it! [Assuming they 100% fixed whatever the original issue was.]

Good luck!

kscarrol

interesting Andy. If you really wanted to be a pain, you could ask to see the mechanics paperwork, noting each odometer reading that the sales director noted. But I think they have given a fairly reasonable explanation for the added kilometers driven. What I can't tell from his note is whether the tyres/rims were the cause and you got new ones or whether they reversed the tyres and that solved the vibration issue. If they simply reversed the tyres and balanced, I might be a bit concerned with what the ride might be like a few Km down the road, when there is some wear on those tyres. Otherwise, I say go get your new ride and enjoy!

PS Did you guys ever make it through New Orleans, or did Ivan chase you away?

juan2mini

andy545:
If I were a service manager, I would make sure all my new car customers were satisfied. I would rather have 60km on my car than received it with the wheels unbalanced. I personally would move on. You got the car you wanted, enjoy it now. By the way, thanks for all the great photos.

andy545

Thanks for the reply BTW, I will check the the point you made!

Yeah, we stayed in NO 3 days. One day we visited the D-day Museum and on the way a saw a beautiful E60, white , I think tinted windows... I was wondering could
that have been anyone from here??!!! I think the number plates started with
a JSF or something like that!!

Andy

Iceman

Well, they made their point. But for me there is that smell...
It is possible that they just made this up to have an explanation. It culd still be total different.
The thing is, no BMW is delivered with 15 Km's on the clock...
45Km's is very much...
For me it looks like somebody thought it'S a demo car and filled it up and took it for a joy ride. The next day they found out it's a customer car. Usually new cars don't get filled up. They just put a little bit of gas in the tank, so that you reach your home or the next gas station (at least here in Germany)...
Anyways, I don't think there is anything else you could do, since the explanation given to you is a valid point and you can't prove that they are lying.
I would now take the car, and you will sure get a better treatment the next time...

speedracerF4i

Andy, Andy, Andy...

Take the car as it is. I understand that it's better if the car came in Virginly with 0 km. But like a relationship between people, you can't have a good relationship if you keep worrying about who has kissed your girl before you Just don't let any smuck touch your car afterwards. It's all good Enjoy

JDN

Hi, Andy. Sorry about that first 60, but I remember the problems that your friend Dennis had with his wheels. Since it has happened before in that same country, I guess the problem was real. That being the case, it looks like they could have told you that up front. At any rate, considering the apology, etc., I do believe I would suck it up and go forward with a good experience ahead of me.

I am supposed to be picking mine up tomorrow. They blew the computer trying to upgrade the software.

yogibear458

Andy;

I'd just enjoy the car and forget about the 60km. Your time is worth alot more than whatever compensation you could get out of the service dept.

andy545

Yeah, like I said I can accept the letter, or make a mess..

BTW, all new cars here in Holland are tanked up full for the customer...it is
part of the 700 euro delivery charge for fuel, wash and wax and paperwork/admin
, numberplates etc. that you pay with the bill.....amazing isn't it??
Anyway my previous 2 BMW's were delivered that way as well. Personally, I don't
agree with this custom, what a risk!! , but that's how they work here....

I hope nobody mistook my car for a demo. When I asked my dealer at the beginning for a test drive of a 545i he could not find 1 in the whole country, let
alone at the dealer....! Yes ,believe it..
I ended up going to the BMW driving centre in Antwerp ( 450km round trip ) to test
drive a fully loaded 545i. Nice experience BTW!!! although far away...
I assure you, my dealership usually delivers E60 525's and 530d and the occasional 530i. They have a 530i and 530d as demos.
I cannot imagine my 545i been mistaken for something else...based entirely
upon the fact of it's "wow" factor here.!!

Your point however, Iceman, about a BMW leaving the factory with 15km is
something that I will still look into as a last cautionary measure.

Thanks.