New CPO purchase, found front bumpers been painted

[KK22]

Originally Posted by BootlegBurton

Update-

Ziegler told us to hit the bricks. Originally offered us 300$ and then later told us "We arent going give you anything, stop trying"

BMW NA told us we needed to work it out with the dealer.

Ziegler began to get rude with us. Told us that we should have bought a new 750 instead of a used one since our expectations were so high. ( i guess receiving a car in the condition they described is high expectations)

Got back with BMW NA and they told us they would reach out to the dealer. A week goes by with no contact. Out of the blue, they call us back. The BMW representative began to tell us how they had a meeting with the sales manager of ziegler (the same one that was being rude to my wife) and the vice president of Ziegler (of all their dealerships).

The BMW rep went on to tell us how they offered to take the car back and reimburse us of our travel costs, how they offered to repair the car, and so on. All of which was absolutely a lie.

When the BMW rep asked them how they could of possibly CPO'd the car with a bumper cover with a non-matching VIN, the rep said they got awkwardly quiet and then offered to pay 2000$ for the repair, as long as we agree to "never contact them again"

They over nighted us a check.

Small victory for the little guys. The car goes to paint at the end of the month and will also be getting a OEM trunk lip painted and installed at the same time. Ill report back with pictures.

Wow! Awesome. Kudos to BMW NA!

[BootlegBurton]

Heres some current pics of the car. Hard to see the issues going on here but atleast some visuals.

[AlteBMW]

Ziegler should be ashamed at themselves.

[BootlegBurton]

Originally Posted by AlteBMW

Ziegler should be ashamed at themselves.

its a shame, but unfortunately nothing will change.

Part of me gets it, their industry is a machine that needs to constantly get fed with a revolving door of used and new car sales. They probably took this car in on trade or lease return thinking it was a pretty safe buy, and they probably paid too much for it considering the market right now, not realizing how much reconditioning it needed.

The other part of me doesnt get it in the sense of how many people were motivated to lie about this particular situation to my face. Surely not everyone is getting commission on the sale so why make this difficult for me. In fact, the sales guy was probably the most sympathetic and willing to work it out.

This whole thing just reiterates that salesmen can not be trusted, regardless of what logo is on their shirt. I know thats a massive over generalization but its been proving to be a fact for me.

[AlteBMW]

Originally Posted by BootlegBurton

its a shame, but unfortunately nothing will change.

Part of me gets it, their industry is a machine that needs to constantly get fed with a revolving door of used and new car sales. They probably took this car in on trade or lease return thinking it was a pretty safe buy, and they probably paid too much for it considering the market right now, not realizing how much reconditioning it needed.

The other part of me doesnt get it in the sense of how many people were motivated to lie about this particular situation to my face. Surely not everyone is getting commission on the sale so why make this difficult for me. In fact, the sales guy was probably the most sympathetic and willing to work it out.

This whole thing just reiterates that salesmen can not be trusted, regardless of what logo is on their shirt. I know thats a massive over generalization but its been proving to be a fact for me.

The sign of a good dealer (or any business for that matter) is how they behave when something goes wrong. Corporate integrity means owning the problem and solving it. One of the things that has kept me with my current dealer is they are up front. I had a '14 535 that needed suspension work after an encounter with a pothole. A day before I was to pick up the car, the service manager called and said they had improperly let the car down from the lift and damaged a rocker panel. He apologized, said it was their mistake and said they would replace the rocker panel (repainted) and would also not charge for any labor on the entire repair. They did what they said they would do. On my last purchase (lease) of a G12, it came with remote control parking, which meant the display key, but had only one "regular" key. I pointed out that the ordering materials noted the display key was part of the remote parking option but nowhere was it said that the option would omit the second regular key. They immediately said they would provide me with another key. Both the service and sales departments have consistently treated me with candor and fairness, and they have a repeat customer in me, and that works to their benefit too.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by BootlegBurton

The only thing i have in writing is the CPO packet that has nothing noted on the body repair section.

That is why I prefer to communicate via email. That leaves a paper trail. If I call I usually find a way to nicely leave an email confirmation.

Now you are down to a urinating match over whether they should have or did actually see the repainting. I doubt they will rescind the deal but, if you are nice, they may agree to repaint the part. But that means making the drive again, waiting for the car or arranging alternative transportation, etc.

[BootlegBurton]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

That is why I prefer to communicate via email. That leaves a paper trail. If I call I usually find a way to nicely leave an email confirmation.

Now you are down to a urinating match over whether they should have or did actually see the repainting. I doubt they will rescind the deal but, if you are nice, they may agree to repaint the part. But that means making the drive again, waiting for the car or arranging alternative transportation, etc.

They have given us 2000$ USD towards the repair. Oddly enough, the car got dropped of this morning for repair.

The next step (the first step of repair shop) is to take the bumpers off and determine if there has been structural repair because that will dictate how we move forward.

Ideally, i get a call in the next few days from the repair shop and they tell me its structurally perfect and it was just in fact a bumper repair. Less then ideally they call me and tell me the car was hit and then i assume we start handling it legally.

I like the car, its a unique spec, so im hoping its fine.

[sarafil]

OP-

In a former life I used to work for a BMW dealer as a CPO manager (albeit over a decade ago). From my experience I would bet that a good percentage of late model CPO cars have one or both bumpers painted to address cosmetic blemishes, especially if the car spent time in an urban area. A lot of cars get parking lot taps and scrapes from parallel parking, etc. Fairly common practice for dealers to have a 3rd party "scratch and dent" type operation that will come out and spray the bumper on the spot at the dealership, usually without taking the bumper off the car - hence the tape lines. They will literally go down the inventory list and fix a few cars a day.

To your point on accident damage - a dealer can CPO a car with accident damage as long as repaired with OEM parts and no major "structural" damage. Unfortunately you expectation of "VIN-matching bumpers" isn't the level any manufacturer holds their CPO cars to, as it's an unreasonably high bar.

[BootlegBurton]

Originally Posted by sarafil

OP-

In a former life I used to work for a BMW dealer as a CPO manager (albeit over a decade ago). From my experience I would bet that a good percentage of late model CPO cars have one or both bumpers painted to address cosmetic blemishes, especially if the car spent time in an urban area. A lot of cars get parking lot taps and scrapes from parallel parking, etc. Fairly common practice for dealers to have a 3rd party "scratch and dent" type operation that will come out and spray the bumper on the spot at the dealership, usually without taking the bumper off the car - hence the tape lines. They will literally go down the inventory list and fix a few cars a day.

To your point on accident damage - a dealer can CPO a car with accident damage as long as repaired with OEM parts and no major "structural" damage. Unfortunately you expectation of "VIN-matching bumpers" isn't the level any manufacturer holds their CPO cars to, as it's an unreasonably high bar.

Although your absolutely right and are describing the reality of the matter, the CPO guidelines paint a very different picture. According to them, it has to have matching VINS on all panels, and your right about the repairs, but unfourtanetly, some guy painting a bumper out of a van in a parking lot isnt the same as an authorized repair facility, furthermore, not being documented is an even bigger issue.

But ultimately the big issue i have with this entire deal is the fact that i explicitly asked about this very thing.

I dont intend for this to come across defensive or aggressive, in any way. And i think in the back of all our minds, we knew this kind of thing was happening. Its BS.

[Al Pinã]

The letters CPO lost any remaining prestige and/or credibility for me when I saw 3 years worth of Cheerios, hair clips, etc stuck in between the driver seat and console of my buddies new "CPO" X5.

It's just a marketing ploy to liquidate the thousands of off-lease vehicles that come in their doors year after year. So we end up with a bottom-rung mechanic going through these cars with a glorified checklist.

The fact of the matter is dealerships are always going to maximize their profit margins, even when it's at the expense of their customer base.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[BootlegBurton]

Originally Posted by ALPINA_DREAMS

The letters CPO lost any remaining prestige and/or credibility for me when I saw 3 years worth of Cheerios, hair clips, etc stuck in between the driver seat and console of my buddies new "CPO" X5.

It's just a marketing ploy to liquidate the thousands of off-lease vehicles that come in their doors year after year. So we end up with a bottom-rung mechanic going through these cars with a glorified checklist.

The fact of the matter is dealerships are always going to maximize their profit margins, even when it's at the expense of their customer base.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i literally could not have said it better and find comfort knowing others share the same feeling LOL

[AlteBMW]

Originally Posted by ALPINA_DREAMS

The letters CPO lost any remaining prestige and/or credibility for me when I saw 3 years worth of Cheerios, hair clips, etc stuck in between the driver seat and console of my buddies new "CPO" X5.

It's just a marketing ploy to liquidate the thousands of off-lease vehicles that come in their doors year after year. So we end up with a bottom-rung mechanic going through these cars with a glorified checklist.

The fact of the matter is dealerships are always going to maximize their profit margins, even when it's at the expense of their customer base.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think this is likely true but dealers will vary in how much effort they are willing to put into CPOing a car. Those who are strictly bottom line will be the worst.

[Markr]

Not all dealers are bad.. I have owned my G11 from new, and sent a detailing firm into the dealer to prep and ceramic coat. 3 years on, they collect car for its MOT etc, and service team washed against my wishes.

They phoned me, told me what had happened, said they could see some swirling under the lights in the workshop, and would I be ok if they got a company in to machine polish and reapply the same ceramic coating. Car arrived back 4 days later immaculate. No charge for anything, including the MOT - which is not covered under the 5 year service pack.

What more could you ask for, sh!t happens, but what is important is how it is dealt with. If only the OP’s dealer Ziegler had that integrity.

[BootlegBurton]

So got the car back and it came out amazing. I couldnt be happier. The paint matches better then stock with no blending. Its pretty amazing.

Airport Autobody in hartford CT did the paint work. Absolute pleasure to deal with. We talked, they understood my situation, called me a couple times with small details or comments, literally 10/10. While it was there, i had a new windsheild put in the car (rock hit days prior to going into the body shop) and i also had an OEM trunk lip installed. All came out perfect.

Left the body shop and brought the car to Northern CT Pro Detailing in windsor locks and had them ceramic coat the entire car, clear brah the freshly painted front bumper and they ended up redoing a couple windows of tint for defects i didnt even notice (for free because they tinted the car originally.) They absolutely did a fantastic job (as always) and i couldn't be happier.

Pics!

[Markr]

Looks great, glad you finally got it all sorted. Now to put that episode all behind you and enjoy the car.