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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) Ordering / Pricing / Order Tracking Forum changed the features of a customer's ordered car

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      03-03-2023, 05:42 AM   #1
MaquinCarimul
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changed the features of a customer's ordered car

Early October I built a 2023 BMW 230i online and took it to my local dealer located at a luxury auto sales campus to lock in the order. A deposit was placed, and I was assured frequent communication through the production process and that it should arrive in February (4 months), give or take a few weeks due to shipping delays, fine. Here is how the past 4 and a half months have gone….

I never received any updates from anyone, except for when I reached out to them. I reached out to them 5 times, just to check in and make sure everything was going according to plan, and to clarify questions about the process. Each time I was assured everything was going smoothly, and we were still looking good for the February delivery date.

From January 5th to February 8th I did not hear anything, even though we were supposedly coming up on the pick up date. On February 8 I reached out to tell them how excited I was and when I could plan on picking it up. This is where shit hit the fan.

I was informed that my vehicle still had not even started production, and there was no ETA. I was confused and frustrated. Two days later I get a message saying a 230i xdrive is available for a $2000 up charge. This made me even more frustrated because this is NOT what I had ordered, and this is not what we had agreed upon. One week later I was informed that my vehicle I had ordered had enter into production the previous week, and to stop by so we could talk about how we would proceed. Although I was happy to hear it, my first thought was why had I not been informed as it happened? This is where shit REALLY hit the fan….

I was informed that the car I ordered as it was, is not what I will be be receiving. Instead, many of the features I ordered (M sport package including, but not limited to: M sport variable steering, improved ceramic breaks, variable suspension, shadowline kit, aerodynamics kit, and more) were no longer included. Pretty much the meat and potatoes of the car, and everything that made it special and exciting, would no longer be included. Furthermore, the price would not change.

The only thing the sales associate, and furthermore the sales manager, would tell me is “this is not our fault, these are BMW’s changes, there’s nothing we can do about it.” This feels totally inappropriate and unprofessional, a total bait and switch. They will not, and have not over the past 4 1/2 months, do anything to try and rectify the situation or even admit that they have completely dragged me along, and then screwed me.

I feel, in the spirit of practicing good business and practicing in good faith to your customer, I think I deserve compensation for my time, their lack of professionalism throughout the whole thing, and most of all I think they need to do whatever they have to do to fulfill their side of our contract, however they have to https://omegle.ws/ do it. That is practicing in good faith.

What do you think, and what should I do.

Last edited by MaquinCarimul; 04-12-2023 at 06:21 AM..
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      03-03-2023, 05:57 AM   #2
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I think your expectations of receiving the car you ordered is fine. The rest of your expectations are neither reasonable or practical. Your recourse is to cancel the order and get back whatever deposit you may have placed.

You're not getting money for your "time"
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      03-03-2023, 06:54 AM   #3
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When the car specs are entered into the computer by the SA they go forward to BMW, are checked for option availability, and then the dealer gets back a Production Order for that specific vehicle configuration. The order should have had your name on it, and they should have provided a copy for you. You would be informed if there are any changes to the PO before the car was built. It’s not a complicated process.

Assuming your description is accurate, the dealer has apparently been lying to you. I’m not sure what they did, but it sounds like they never even ordered your car. They just assumed you would be happy if you got one they received for dealer stock in the next few months, even if it was much different from your specs.

Get your deposit back and walk away. That’s the best you can do.
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      03-03-2023, 07:49 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bc2005 View Post
When the car specs are entered into the computer by the SA they go forward to BMW, are checked for option availability, and then the dealer gets back a Production Order for that specific vehicle configuration. The order should have had your name on it, and they should have provided a copy for you. You would be informed if there are any changes to the PO before the car was built. It’s not a complicated process.
Not exactly correct, but close.

When I order a car for a customer, if there is already an available production spot, I just modify that spot to the customer specs, in their name, and watch the progress. Nothing is checked by anyone. If an option is available, it will be accepted. If not, the system just won't let me choose it or won't show me that option. At first it will say what week it is to be produced. Once it hits Status 150, no further modifications can be made, the full VIN is known, and the estimated DAY of production is indicated.

If there is no available production spot, I enter it as an "order-bank" order. Same process, in the customer's name, and same availability of options. But it will sit there either until I manage to acquire an open allocation from another dealership, or (infrequently) if BMW moves the "order-bank" car into a production spot they later allocate to my store.

Either way, I provide my customers with a printout of their order, whether it is "order-bank" or a production spot. All that is indicated on the "MSRP Report" I send out at a PDF.

The process is totally different from availability. Right now we have a stack of orders in "order-bank" for many models, 2-series included. M2s, are even worse. But there is no excuse for a customer to not have this information available to them well prior to when the car is no longer able to be modified.

I will always either have a customer sign the production order with me, or ask them to verify the content from a PDF I send at each stage of production. It is possible that BMW will make options unavailable, and even sometimes that will apply to standard equipment. These are tough times for BMW. I have a bunch of cars that have completed production and arrived already at our VPC but have been sitting under recall for months. I've had some cars that never left Germany and then got shipped to the west coast, sat in Oxnard for months, then finally got shipped via train to the east coast. By that time the customer had given up and just reordered the next-year model which actually arrived just weeks behind the original order (which took 6-months to arrive at our dealership AFTER it completed production!). But there is no way once the order has reached Status 150 that the customer should not know how his car is being built. The only deviation from that was the non-touch-screen cars last year. At first no one knew about that until the cars showed up at the dealership.

Sounds like you're working with a bad dealership but it is incumbent upon a buyer to look out for himself, too. Don't let your dealership get away with not keeping you informed. Demand a copy of your order showing current status with your name and production number at the top and a detail of complete build specs, with pricing. Any dealer can generate that in a minute for you.

Once there is a production number for your order you can even get updates by calling BMW customer service. But be warned, they often don't understand the process or the shipping and will give the customer false expectations.

The short answer is choose your dealership carefully. If you think you're saving money by placing your order with another dealership after taking a lot of your SA's time locally, then you got what you deserve. If you chose your dealer properly, you'll get honest answers from someone who is there to help. And I don't need to hear a lot about how all dealers suck. There are good ones out there. Do your homework. And don't forget to tip your waitress.
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      03-07-2023, 02:47 AM   #5
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^^ +1 - this is the OP’s answer. Probably his very first experience with this and was pretty naive to put so much trust in an uncommunicative CA and dealership.
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      03-07-2023, 11:55 AM   #6
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Don't know when this happened, but the M Sport Package disappeared for the 230i and can no longer be ordered. So what they told you is correct, but should have communicated this to you as soon as they found out.

Also, they should have provided you with the vehicle inquiry report which shows your order and what status it was in when you placed the order for the car. I suspect they didn't have an allocation and put you in the order bank (status 47). They got an allocation eventually for a 230i and specced it the best they could according to your original order. At that point, they should have reached out to you letting you know when your vehicle would be produced, given you the production number, and informed you of an option(s) that are not available.
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