Well, It's been more than a month since my not so pleasant dealer servicing.
Since I live more than 3 hours away from the dealer, I decided to pay for a Hotel and spend the night so they could have the car an entire day. I made an appointment 3 weeks in advance with a detailed list of what to fix, one of them being a inop front fog light.
When I picked up my car, I was informed that they didn't have the light bulb in stock, I would have to come back....I reminded them that I drove more than 3 hours and paid for a Hotel (and asked them what was the point of an appointment)... All I could get was "sorry! you'll have to come back".
I then suggested for them to send me the bulb when they'll have it, I would take care of it myself. Their answer: "can't do that, it's against BMW policy to ship parts under warranty". So I asked them if BMW had any policy regarding proper servicing....so they finally agreed to send me the bulb.
When I got it, I realized upon installing it that the plastic assembly part was missing, they must have kept it after removing the old bulb.
I call again. A guy tells me that they can't keep on sending me stuff, I'll just have to come back....sending me stuff? I just want the pieces of MY car back you jerk !!!
Oh, and did I mention that for some unknown reason they reprogrammed my car with the 10mph automatic door lock, which I hate !!!....What do they say about that? "sorry, you'll have to come back"....How about them driving 3 hours one way with their computer to fix it.

So after one month of phone calls, trying to get a stupid bulb, a missing part of my car and fixing a programming screw up, I decided on a new strategy: I called my credit card company and withdrew my $200 that I paid for the Ipod adapter install (didn't buy the part from them, just the install). If they can't do the warranty job right, I don't think I should pay for what's not under warranty either.

We'll see who will be calling whom now...


Thanks for letting me vent.

 

What dealership did you take your car too?

 

East Bay MINI.
There's a few really nice people there, but by the time I talked to them, the damage was done...

 

That is fraud, and you can be prosecuted for it.

 

So... the adapter install seems to be the only thing that didn't go wrong with your service trip.... but that's what you aren't paying for?

Don't get me wrong -- I totally understand your frustration. Totally. I'd be peevish, as well. But I don't think that refusing to pay for something that they did correctly is really going to drive that message home.

I hope you get your issues resolved -- and quick. Have you tried contacting MINI? Not that I think it'll really help, but it'll give you more of a proverbial leg to stand on than will denying payment for something altogether different.

Good luck!

 

$200 installation charge for less than a half hour install of the iPod thingie is freaking ridiculous!

You probably paid about $600/hr for labor!

 

Thanks,

I've talked to MINI and anybody I could think of. My main problem with the dealer is their attitude, they don't seem to care, I'm the one making all the phone calls, trying to find solutions etc, that should be their job...Withdrawing my payment is just a way to get their attention, to make sure they start being pro-active about a solution.
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that's fraud. I signed a paper with a detail list of things to do, some of which I had to pay for. They didn't fulfill their end of the deal, and don't care about it since I live so far (they always say, "come back and we'll fix it"). Maybe if they reimburse my travel costs, I'll consider it....until then, I'm not paying anything.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems, and I'm really surprised that they are with East Bay MINI. I've purchased two cars from them. My first car had a minor tic-tic-tic from the transmission with the clutch released when not in gear, and they replaced the whole tranny for me! I've always had good luck with their service, although I haven't had too much need to use it.

I hope you get everything ironed out. Good luck.

 

It's obvious you're not a lawyer. Credit card fruad is serious, and your credit card company can do a multitude of things including closing your account, holding you liable for the charges (after the get a statement from the dealer indicating the truth of the charge-back), and if you don't cooperate they can file charges if they choose.

Just a heads up, I don't really care what happens, I know you're wrong

 

Thanks for the heads up, but I would never do anything close to illegal.
I actually worked with my credit card company on that one. I told them the entire story, and they know exactly what I'm doing and why. For now, they agree with me and withdrew the payment. I'm not hiding anything from them or from anybody else. If they tell me later on there's nothing they can do after all, and ask me to pay the charge again, I'll do it in a second.

 

Withholding a part to your car that you paid money for, and giving horrible service when you were promised great service is serious too. I would have paid for the ipod install, just not my car note. Also, I would have called mini and told them why, and if it didn't get any better then you were going to seek legal action. Good luck.

 

Dont you think it would be a helluva lot easier to repo the car than it would be the labor time for an ipod install?

I see the point youre making, but honestly, this is the WRONG way to go about it. Just hire a lawyer. Or keep taking it back till you can lemon it out.

I would also make a call to the owner of the franchise.

Will.