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      03-26-2013, 07:46 AM   #23
stealth.pilot
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Originally Posted by visualguy
It's hard to understand this, but it's common for dealership employees in the US to believe that it's ok to take customer cars on joy rides. They see it as a "perk" of the job, and I've encountered cases where they even boasted to me (a customer) about such joy rides, and driving customers' high-end cars hard over the weekend. Really pisses me off...
Interestingly I think this would have happened to me a few months ago.

My right rear TPMS sensor was faulty. They wouldn't replace it but wanted to keep the car for 3 days because they believed the software was misreporting the tire pressure due to a bug.

I went across the street to CEC wheels and had them replace the TPMS sensor in 20 minutes at my own cost and problem solved.

So lesson: dealer wanted car for 3 days for no good reason at all. Pretty suspicious.
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      03-26-2013, 01:31 PM   #24
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First time poster here.

I'm also in San Francisco and I think adding 3 miles for fixing a cup holder is absolutely ridiculous. When someone is joyriding, it takes less than 3 miles for something to go wrong (see Autobahn BMW). And regardless of the number of miles, the car should be treated with respect, just like any other property that belongs to someone else, not even factoring the 100k price tag.

The mindset that this is the norm is completely unacceptable. On BMW side, this is bad for business and has almost no upside. All it takes is one bad experience to have a customer reconsider buying another BMW. And this is relatively easy to remedy. Just enforce the policy that it is not okay to take customer cars for unnecessary drives.

Good luck nugent. You have my full support.
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      03-26-2013, 02:51 PM   #25
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That is unfortunate to hear. Really the only thing you can do is talk to your service advisor/ the service manage about the need for a test drive.Though be careful when doing that, you don't want to flat out accuse them of anything. As someone else said, make friends with one of the service advisors and they will probably take care of you.

I am not familiar with the cup holder issue. Is it possible that they were just doing rattle checks? If they did not re-flash (which they probably did) your car see if the average mpg is significantly lower. That could tell if it was a joy ride or a legitimate test drive.
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      03-26-2013, 08:18 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Batmobile123 View Post
First time poster here.

I'm also in San Francisco and I think adding 3 miles for fixing a cup holder is absolutely ridiculous. When someone is joyriding, it takes less than 3 miles for something to go wrong (see Autobahn BMW). And regardless of the number of miles, the car should be treated with respect, just like any other property that belongs to someone else, not even factoring the 100k price tag.

The mindset that this is the norm is completely unacceptable. On BMW side, this is bad for business and has almost no upside. All it takes is one bad experience to have a customer reconsider buying another BMW. And this is relatively easy to remedy. Just enforce the policy that it is not okay to take customer cars for unnecessary drives.

Good luck nugent. You have my full support.
I'm entirely in agreement. I've seen techs rev engines to redline right after a cold start and peel out. I don't treat a $100k+ car well just so that someone else can abuse the hell out of it. Joyrides are unacceptable and more people need to be aware of what's happening to their cars. This isn't uncommon; it's just that most people don't know to look for it.
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      03-26-2013, 08:48 PM   #27
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I tell them no test drive is authorized and I write it on the initial paperwork.
If they take it off the lot and wreck it then its on them.
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      03-26-2013, 08:57 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by URBAN LEGEND
I tell them no test drive is authorized and I write it on the initial paperwork.
If they take it off the lot and wreck it then its on them.
I'm pretty sure if that happened it would be "on them" regardless of paperwork.
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      03-26-2013, 09:17 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by nugent View Post
in regards to all the opinions expressed about what i should or shouldn't do, with all due respect, it's my decision. if some of you don't mind the idea of your $100K M5 being abused by someone other than you, then you are more tolerant men than me. i, however, detest the violation of my vehicle. and we all know it only takes 300 feet to do something bad, let alone 3 miles.

i will of course take it up with the dealership managers first before escalating it. however, just like when playing poker, i don't raise if i'm not ready to re-raise or go all in. hence, getting the email address.

cheers brothers.
its 3 miles, what "abuse" are you so scared of its brand new and on warranty...
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      03-26-2013, 09:31 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by whiteM5 View Post
its 3 miles, what "abuse" are you so scared of its brand new and on warranty...
It takes a lot less than 3 miles of abuse to burn the clutch and/or damage the transmission on a manual car.
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      03-26-2013, 09:33 PM   #31
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I'm going Kia. Those tech treat your shit right
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      03-26-2013, 09:50 PM   #32
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Originally Posted by URBAN LEGEND
I'm going Kia. Those tech treat your shit right
So true... So true
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      03-26-2013, 10:38 PM   #33
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so the service guy called me in response to my complaint. he stated that that it is routine on any car that is brought in to do a "multi-point inspection" which involves driving the car around a 2-3 mile loop. this multi-point inspection is actually documented in the paperwork.

i said fine, i accept your explanation (which of course is b.s. and just an excuse to drive my m5 around), and in the future, i request the car not be test driven after any service. he said of course.

this is far as i will take it this time, but i accomplished the goal of putting them on notice. the dealership is less than 1 mile from my house, so i do not want to completely alienate myself because of this issue.
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      03-26-2013, 10:45 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nugent View Post
so the service guy called me in response to my complaint. he stated that that it is routine on any car that is brought in to do a "multi-point inspection" which involves driving the car around a 2-3 mile loop. this multi-point inspection is actually documented in the paperwork.

i said fine, i accept your explanation (which of course is b.s. and just an excuse to drive my m5 around), and in the future, i request the car not be test driven after any service. he said of course.

this is far as i will take it this time, but i accomplished the goal of putting them on notice. the dealership is less than 1 mile from my house, so i do not want to completely alienate myself because of this issue.
So now that you have "put them on notice".......take a few minutes during your next visit and meet the service manager and the shop foreman. Trust me, that will go a lot further than your phone call. Glad you got this solved ...........Phil
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      03-26-2013, 10:54 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Ryder View Post
So now that you have "put them on notice".......take a few minutes during your next visit and meet the service manager and the shop foreman. Trust me, that will go a lot further than your phone call. Glad you got this solved ...........Phil
Good advice
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      03-26-2013, 11:08 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Ryder View Post
So now that you have "put them on notice".......take a few minutes during your next visit and meet the service manager and the shop foreman. Trust me, that will go a lot further than your phone call. Glad you got this solved ...........Phil
thanks, will do.
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      03-26-2013, 11:22 PM   #37
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For you guys that suggest putting a post it note of your mileage, what do you do if they ignore it and still put on a few miles?
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      03-26-2013, 11:24 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nugent
Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M Ryder View Post
So now that you have "put them on notice".......take a few minutes during your next visit and meet the service manager and the shop foreman. Trust me, that will go a lot further than your phone call. Glad you got this solved ...........Phil
thanks, will do.
I played golf today with a friend that owns several dealerships in town. When I told him your initial complaint/story his response was "we always perform a 27point inspection on any car in for service or repair, that includes a test drive. Do we forget the test drive on the Altimas? Often. On the GTRs? Never".
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      03-26-2013, 11:27 PM   #39
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I usually bring some coffee/donuts for my SA (they have a fancy coffee machine at the office but something different is always nice) and sometimes for the guys working in the shop too. Cost me a few bucks but I make some good friends who ensure my car is well taken care of every time. They usually tell me what will be done at check in and ask if they are allow to drive or wash my car. I really like this about my local dealer so far.
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      03-26-2013, 11:30 PM   #40
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By the way I once found a large pocket knife near my seat belt buckle in my former CLS63 AMG after picking it up from service. Must have slid out from his pocket when he was "test driving" it.

Also, I once brought the car in to the dealer to have a vibration looked at and decided to wait there for the diagnosis. A few moments I hear an exhaust I recognize at wide open throttle. I look through the glass in the sitting area and see my car speeding off. I immediately notify the service manager and he laughs and says he'll have a talk with the mechanic when he comes back. I'm positive he never did and could care less judging by the kind of laugh he displayed.
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      03-27-2013, 05:03 AM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tourbillon View Post
For you guys that suggest putting a post it note of your mileage, what do you do if they ignore it and still put on a few miles?
It is more a preventive measure. The techs will realize you are fully aware of the mileage and will think twice. And if they do drive it, you have solid proof of the actual mileage when you brought the car in. If they drove 15 miles on a 3 mile routine test drive....................

I am however surprised this issue exists at all in the USA. In my country rules on test driving are very strict and not once have they driven my car without permission. When they do, they also report that to me with mileage and reason.
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      03-27-2013, 07:31 AM   #42
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Every dealer does it. The only way to catch them or have anything done about it is to get it on camera.

A friend of mine texted me one day and said "your car sounds awesome", confused I told him ot was at the dealer.
Turns out, I had dropped it off at the dealer and they were driving it. They passed my friend at about 70 mph.
They wouldn't own up to anything.

I got a small camera (808 keychain camera) and rig it up in the backseat in plain sight of the driver and spedo.

I've seen techs "test drive" customers cars at BMW before any service is even done. I've also seen how hard they drive them without any regard to letting it warm up.
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      03-27-2013, 08:39 AM   #43
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Mine doesn't.
Proof is writing down the mileage at drop off (or take a pic), and do it again when returned to you.
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