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03-28-2018, 06:49 PM | #1 |
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Bad news, advice needed.....
Hi Guys,
As you might know, we recived delivery of our new 2018 740i 2 weeks ago from BMW of Atlanta, we live in San Diego, CA. Car took just 1 week to arrive. for the last couple of days, upon trying to engage the Autonomous Cruise Control function (ACC), we kept getting error messages and it simply did not function. Thinking this might be a software issue, we immediately took the car to BMW of San Diego. The certified technician performed a " connect charger & short test" on the ACC unit and confirmed that it was malfunctioning. Upon closer examination, the certified tech noticed that the front bumper housing the ACC unit and its sensors, showed evidence of damage and REPAIR on the bumper. He also noticed damage on the ACC unit and a REPAINT job on the front bumper. Just to recall, we purchased the car brand new and it had only 4 miles on it upon delivery. The damage and repair cost are $5,000 plus. Obviously this was not done by us nor the delivery company since there was evidence of damage, repair and repaint on the front bumper. This leaves only one option, that the car was damaged when it was at BMW dealership in Atlanta. If they refuse to take responsibility and pay for the repairs, what are our options, what would guys do in our place if they refuse to fix this? |
03-29-2018, 09:59 AM | #2 |
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Unfortunately, the sensors are easy to damage and expensive to replace. I had similar repair costs with mine after an encounter with some road debris. It was covered by my collision insurance other than the deductible. Repairs were successful. But my car was a year old at the time. And your car was new and not repaired, other than the cosmetic repair that obviously missed the sensor problem. It was not delivered in working order. You should insist on a replacement or complete repair by the dealership at their cost; you may need an attorney. Don't expect BMWNA to do anything for you. I assume the transport company has its own records that support the conclusion that the damage happened at the dealer. If not, the dealer and the transporter will be pointing fingers at each other. Unless the dealer was responsible for the transport as well.
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03-29-2018, 02:06 PM | #3 |
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Wow I really feel for you, that's an awful situation.
Not sure about the laws in the US but even with our pretty strong consumer laws in the UK I can see this being problematic to solve. It's not a warranty issue as the cars been damaged and they might claim you did it, got it fixed up at some local shop. Do you have photos when you picked it up that might show the front the same as it is now? I'm guessing from the sounds of it the repair job is good enough that it takes a detailed eye to spot it so the photos won't help. Who transported the car? I know the US is a huge place but 1 week also seems like a long time to transport it. Could it be they damaged the car and then quickly got it repaired? You seem convinced that's not the case but I'd think if a dealer fixed the car up they'd have thought to check and fix any damaged sensors. I guess my point is I'd have more trust for the BMW dealers being a bit more honest than I would a delivery company. At least with the way they tend to operate in the UK. They'd not want to tell their customer, the dealer they damaged the car and risk losing business. So they pay to get it repaired cheaply at their own cost, telling no one. |
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03-29-2018, 06:03 PM | #4 | |
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03-29-2018, 06:10 PM | #5 |
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If it's been damaged in your care then your stuck on that, will have to pay to get it resolved. It's a shame it sounds like it's reasonably easy to get damaged.
However if they've repaired the bummer and repainted it that they clearly knew they'd damaged it. On a brand new car you expect to get it undamaged. On top of that to get hit with a bill to repair the car as well is just not right at all. |
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04-02-2018, 01:41 PM | #6 |
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They are bringing in a BMW Field Service Engineer to look at the damage. The good thing is we already have documentation from BMW dealer (local) that there is evidence of damage to ACC unit and that front bumper has been repainted. Will see where this goes.
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04-02-2018, 03:12 PM | #7 |
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Good luck! Hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction, shame to have this issue so soon in the lifespan but at least there is better chance of getting it resolved now.
Safe travels.
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04-05-2018, 11:02 PM | #9 |
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BMW Has Responded.....What should I do?
If you have already read my post earlier, a new 2018 740i was delivered to us from BMW via a transportation company. The car was supposed to be delivered in 5 days, yet for unknown reason, the driver took 8 days and delivered the car at night.
Here is the problem, upon closer inspection (after the car has been delivered and we signed paper stating so), we kept getting error messages whenever we tried to engage the Autonomous Cruise Control (ACC). We took the car to local BMW dealership and upon closure inspection, the technician found evidence of damage, repair and repaint on front bumper and damage to the ACC unit and its sensors in tine bumper, at a cost of more than $5,000+ We contacted the BMW dealership where we got the car from. Upon investigating, they show no records of damage or repair reports in factory or when delivered to BMW dealership. So they decided to send a senior BMW Field Service Engineer to take a closer look and report back. Upon closure examination he affirmed the findings and conclusion of the first BMW technician but added 2 crucial points: 1. an examination of the car's computer system revealed that the error messages where activated when the car had 4-500 miles range on it . In fact, we did recieve the car with 4 miles on the speedometer. so they are saying basically that the computer system shows the errors occurred only after the car was delivered. 2. the paint job done on the front bumper is not of the same quality nor does it match the same paint the BMW uses. From this, it is clear that while BMW had the car in its position, no damage was done, also it was inspected thoroughly before shipping. And since we did not get into any accidents while we had the car, this leaves one possibility: That the car was damaged during transportation and that could be why the driver was 3 days late and delivered the car at night. Also, the repaint job does not match that of BMW. This means that the car was damaged by the driver and he contacted the shipping company telling them so, afraid of loosing a customer or money, i believe they decided to use those 3 extra days to find an body shop, paint the front bumper and deliver the car to us without saying so. I think this is the most logical explanation to what might have happened. What do you guys think? At this point what are our options? Should we go after the transportation company? we did sign that we delivered the car in good order the night we recived it. Should we involve the police so they can investigate and see if there is any paper trail for repair? |
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04-06-2018, 01:26 PM | #10 | |
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04-06-2018, 01:33 PM | #11 |
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Just because the error log shows an issue starting after 500 miles off doesn't mean it wasn't damaged earlier but just didn't fully fail until later. Obviously it doesn't make your case easier but I don't think it proves that they didn't damage it, repaint it.
I mean at this point the only other possible idea I can come up with is someone hit your car when parked up. Headed off, got some paint and covered up the ding. It seems just highly unlikely, most if going to be dishonest would just hit the car then drive off never to be seen again. It feels like it has to be the transporter company at fault here. |
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04-30-2018, 10:55 AM | #12 |
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For painless and safe delivery I'll prefer reliable car moving service. so my car can be ship safely.
https://www.autotransportcity.com/car-moving |
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05-24-2018, 08:33 AM | #13 |
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New cars get damaged during transport all the time and it seems that yours may have sustained damage during shipping to the US. Cars that have damage due to shipping are often repaired at the PDC before they are sent to the distribution network (Dealers). Also if the damage falls below a certain threshold, BMWUSA nor the dealer is obligated to disclose it to you.
This is the reason why you should always closely inspect a new vehicle, it doesn't matter if it has 0 miles in the odometer. Take delivery during the day preferably and if you don't know what to look for or how to distinguish possible takeaways of body/paint/bumper repair, take with you someone that with a keen eye for stuff like that (Friend, family member, colleague, etc). People never realize how much damage and repairs new cars sustain before they get to customer's hands.
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05-24-2018, 08:36 AM | #14 | |
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06-22-2018, 05:42 PM | #15 |
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This stuff happens but it is very unusual for the party with possession to hide or not disclose it because there is almost no reason for them not to disclose damage. If this happened in transit from port/distribution yard to dealership, BMW or the shipping company will reimburse the repair no problems if it was caught at the time of drop off to dealership.
If your dealership you took delivery from say they didn't do it, then the ordering dealership damaged the car on lot and tried to hide. |
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06-23-2018, 04:00 PM | #16 | |
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The ACC has a start up routine that's tied into the collision detection system. This means the unit attempts to initialize upon startup of the vehicle. Well, the day the crash took place, there will be log entries for the initial ACC failure and initial collision detection failure. They will be time stamped with the date. You will then easily prove that he damage occurred before you took delivery. You will also be able to tell if BMW or the shipper were responsible. Finally, the one week delivery is a clue. The dealer was secretly steering you to this vehicle. Think back on the purchase—-did the dealer steer you to the precise options this car has? Anyway, the truth will come out when you decode the logs. |
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06-25-2018, 11:15 PM | #17 | |
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07-06-2018, 12:25 AM | #19 |
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F/U
We are consulting an attorney to subpoena the error and event logs. My intuition tells me it is most likely the shitty transportation company at fault. That could also explain the 7 days of delivery which is 3 days extra than what is required.
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07-12-2018, 06:30 AM | #20 |
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sorry to hear that the misery is still ongoing, hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction soon. Best of luck.
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