[AlanQS]

The day I bought my car, I asked them to supply a burr walnut handbrake lever so it would be fitted to my car when I picked it up. It was there but they charged me full list for it despite the fact (as I found out later) it had a discount code and they had the brass neck to charge me for fitting it. To add insult to injury, they threw the brand new one away without asking me if that was O.K.

When I had handed all the paperwork to them for my trade -in I reached out for the forms and suggested I had better fill in the DVLA thing I was supposed to send back. "Don't worry about that sir, we'll attend to that, no problem".

Last week, I got an £80 penalty notice in for not having tax on a car which had not been registered SORN. I'm still fighting it.

On Saturday, I picked up my wheels and tyres. Since BMW do not supply a wheel brace or jack for the car, I was a bit stuck for banging them on to the car so, having splashed out well in excess of £2,000 you would hope they would put them on as a thank you. No. Their idea was to charge me half an hour labour so there is another £57 down the swannee.
As an aside, they have two labour rates, one for cars under 4 years and one for cars over 4 years. Since they see over four year old cars more often (they hardly see the newer ones) the newer cars have a labour rate 50% higher than the rate for the older cars. IN other words, we don't get enough money from you guys so we bump up our rates for when you do show!

Tonight, I get a courtesy call from the dealer asking if I wouldn't mind answering a little questionnaire of 6 questions concerning my recent visit to the dealer (for the wheels).

She got through one and a half questions and I explained that the questions weren't really suitable to my experience (I was buying accessories not getting repairs or a service). So I launched into all the above and pointed out that I intended to get my wife a Mini Cooper in late summer and change my own car (I said for a Five just for the hell of it) a year in March and if these little irritants kept on, I wouldn't be making them my first choice.

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that. I'll speak to someone about these things and we'll contact you again. Very sorry."

Let's see what happens... might be a bit of a wait but they have been quite good at responding to things.

[Z4 Beemer]

I hope you do hear from them soon and get things sorted. Did you buy the car in Glasgow, and if so from which dealer? If you don't want to say on here PM me!

Gordon.

[F31-340i]

Alan,

Not fitting the wheels for free and letting you sort out the £80 SORN debacle without stepping in is taking the p*ss I'm afraid. Care to name and shame?

The 4+ discount is only ever about 10% and that can be hard work to get from some dealers.

Stand up to them - the way they are treating you smacks of them abusing what I suspect is your inherently good & trusting nature.

[mjh93sa]

That is truly appaling.

They certainly should not have thrown the old handbrake lever away, and should replace what is after all your property that they have destroyed. I had the blacklines fitted by the dealer during PDI and the original set are in the loft.

The fact that they haven't done the paperwork stinks and it just gets worse from there.

Hopefully you'll get someone from BMW call to ask your opinion of the new car as well. But then maybe the dealer doesn't fill the forms in to tell them who they've sold cars to.

[AlanQS]

Although I can be a moaning git, when it comes to public things I have that common British trait of "not wanting to make too much fuss".
As for the 10% change in rates, theirs are definitely close enough to 50% to make no difference.
Z4, I mentioned their name in an earlier thread, but it's Douglas Park.

The DVLA thing, either someone didn't bother their arse returning my part of the form or it got lost in the post or within the DVLA.

No one is going to volunteer discount if you don't ask, and of course, that famous canard "the Parts/Service/Sales department" all one company but strangely don't talk to each other, act autonomously, can't speak for each other and they have to follow the laid down procedures and the people who could rule are never there or you end up involving the bosses in every little thing you don't like - all designed to take advantage of that British trait.

It doesn't matter how much of a regular customer you are or will be, you are a cipher and I wonder if the owners of these businesses even comprehend the business they lose by sticking rigidly to procedures and compartmentilisation because the "don't want to make a fuss" brigade often vote with their feet and the bosses never even realise they have gone.

[scooba0010]

Chandlers bmw Brighton.are exactly the same thieving gits .

[AlanQS]

I finally got a letter from the dealer stating that they had sent my part of the form directly to Swansea on my behalf on the day I bought the car (12th January). But when I first brought it up with my saleman (on a Saturday) he said he couldn't check his records 'cos the Admin people weren't in on a Saturday and they dealt with these things. Yet he has sent me a letter saying they sent it away on a Saturday!

Also, the copy form he enclosed has absolutely no details on it apart from what was originally on it. Nothing has been filled in!

Tonight I opened my mail and got a reply from DVLA who said we haven't got it. If we had you would have received a letter four weeks after submission confirming it all. Pay by the 10th May and you'll only have to pay £40 - how nice of them.

Park owe me £40 minimum as fas as I'm concerned. Mind you, hopefully I've dropped them in it with DVLA (if they are to blame) as they have stated, in print, that they sent it. So I photocopied their documents and sent them to DVLA.

[TimsterC]

Go for it Alan.

We are too bloody nice to people serving us in this country. If you tried that sort of thing in the USA the customers would have you strung up from an engine crane by the end of the first week.

We should stand up to the dealers alot more. Come on folks, lets ask for things we want, or expect to happen, when they don't just make as big a fuss as you can. They will learn very quickly what you expect to happen when you deal with them and they will do it eventually.

[stephen3rd]

I have just bought my 320d from Douglas Park.

The salesman said to me that he was just popping out to get the mileage from my trade in. When he came back i noticed that he had written the mileage on the back of my tax disk and he stashed it quickly into a folder.

I had always intended to cash the tax disk in as it had only been on the car 2 weeks. Seeing the tax disk reminded me of that so i waited a minute or two and asked for the keys to my old car to get the tax disk out because i had forgotten it, knowing fine well that it was stashed in his folder.

Rather sheepishly he got the tax disk out and handed it to me, cheeky git!

And with them doing the V5 for my trade in, the salesman filled it in and then handed it back to me saying that "it is the customers responsibility to return it to the DVLA". Depending on the dates this could be a result of your complaint. I was dealing with Douglas Park in Glasgow city centre and this happened on Saturday 16th April.

I think on the whole that dealers can have good days and bad days, just more bad than good.

Keep us posted, particularly as this is the first time i have used Douglas Park.

[kend]

On my trade in I got section 9 of the V5 back, it was filled in by the garage and I had to send it off to the DVLA.

[Z4 Beemer]

Originally Posted by stephen3rd

Keep us posted, particularly as this is the first time i have used Douglas Park.

I'm not sure if they changed things a bit from when it used to be Henry Bros. To be honest, I have never particularly taken to any of the sales people at Douglas Park, although their servicing at Hillington has for me been very good. I have found Harry Fairbairn (Giffnock) to be very good at sales... but as soon as I smell a whiff of being disorganised or have to put up with what's been described here, it'll be time to look elsewhere!

[AlanQS]

Interesting. Telling you that it is your responsibility is probably because of my hassle as I have brought it up with them twice, prior to 16th April.

[kend]

Alan
It maybe the owners responsibility according to the DVLC but the garage has a responsibility to fill in their vat number on section 9, without the vat number it cant be sent off. so the garage should catch the fine.

[stephen3rd]

Now that Arnold Clark (have done for almost 2 years now) own Harry Fairbairn i am now trying not to use them again. I now feel when i go into Harry Fairbairn that i might as well have walked in to one of his "less exclusive" dealers and the sales staff couldnt give a monkeys.

They did have a great Business Manager there till the end of last year who was fantastic and i didnt use the sales staff at all. This was mainly because i know more about BMW products than their own dealers.

I bought 2 cars from HF and only used them this time to get a deal out of Douglas Park.

S

[AlanQS]

Stephen, was your salesman's initials, J.U. by any chance? The trick with the road tax disk doesn't sound like him, but who knows.

I have until 10th May to pay the fine at a reduced rate of £40 so I am giving them until Monday 5th to respond to me otherwise I am going in to see them.

[gIzzE]

The DVLA have lost the V5 from my 1 series, had to send a letter saying I sold it, then the guy had to fill out a form too, makes it a right chore come tax time. The system is a mess, I even sent it recorded.

It is your responsibility to send it off though, so you can't argue with the DVLA, only with the dealer.

[F31-340i]

Alan

Gizze is right - your only come back is with the dealer - but I can't see how they can wriggle out of it. They need to agree to pay up soon however or it'll cost them more - are they really provaricating over this?

Look at another way - what is their defence? They can only say technically it is your responsibility, so you should not have trusted us to send it back for you when we offered to do it for you? I.e. you should have realised we're a bunch of disorganised muppets who couldn't be trusted with your paperwork? Any way you dress it up it doesn't look good for them & they will just have to sort it out for you, even though, technically, it is your responsibility to send it back. They agree to discharge this responsibility for you so it is their problem. The only issue is that it may have got lost in the post, but again this is not your problem - where is their proof that they posted it? Surely they didn't send such an important document in the normal post, not recorded? etc.

[stephen3rd]

ALan, his initials were NP. To be fair to him i dont think he was really at the fiddle, but it is still the best part of £60 in my pocket.....

[Z4 Beemer]

Originally Posted by stephen3rd

Now that Arnold Clark (have done for almost 2 years now) own Harry Fairbairn i am now trying not to use them again. I now feel when i go into Harry Fairbairn that i might as well have walked in to one of his "less exclusive" dealers and the sales staff couldnt give a monkeys.

They did have a great Business Manager there till the end of last year who was fantastic and i didnt use the sales staff at all. This was mainly because i know more about BMW products than their own dealers.

I bought 2 cars from HF and only used them this time to get a deal out of Douglas Park.

S

Is the business manager SG by chance? I know the other guys name starts with R but don't know his surname. I have always dealt with SG and always felt like I was getting a good deal.

[stephen3rd]

SG was the chap i was referring to.

He told me the last time that i saw him that they were going to make 2 of the 3 business managers redundant, little did he know at the time that he would be one of them, which i was shocked to find out.

He used to let me through to the workshop if they had new models in, and one day i even got to play in an M3 CSL and an M5.

Big loss to that dealer.

S

[AlanQS]

Went into Douglas Park this afternoon - couldn't wait until Monday. Didn't see anyone senior - either not in or not about so was landed with the sales executive - who was partly responsible for a couple of the little "irritants". Discussed my future car buying intentions then told him why Douglas Park were at risk of not getting first shout for my future purchases.
Basically, the result was I told him that he could tell the general manager that if I had to pay the fine, I expected re-imbursement, that I wanted my handbrake lever cover back "did you tell them you wanted to keep it?" -no, but when did it become acceptable to throw away other peoples' property without first asking them?
I expressed the opinion that it appeared that if you don't make a fuss you are ignored. I also brought up the 15 miles on the clock when I got the car. It turns out that all their cars are delivered to their Hillington depot then taken into the centre of town which explains the majority of the excess mileage. I made the comment that Arnold Clark give a full tank of fuel to new car buyers - and he said, we don't, it's a quarter tank we give. But they don't give you a quarter tank - there's a charge of £25 in the invoice for fuel. In January, £25 would have paid for almost half a tank - so stung there as well!
I made the point that premium brand infers a better level of service and customer treatment but the only message I have gained is that no matter what business you give them, there is a charge for absolutely everything.
Nothing will come of it I am sure. If these incidents were in isolation, it would be a bit over the top to get annoyed about it.
To finish the story, I am going to include the other minor irritants. Before the order was frozen, I asked if lumbar control could be added to seats which weren't all electric and was told no. As far as I can tell now, that is a load of hogwash. I also asked for "Scottish" numberplates - specifically, the blue euro badge which you can get with either GB, SCO, or ENG at the bottom. "Aye sure, no problem". Didn't get them.
When I went in to buy the burr walnut gear knob, a week after getting the car, I asked for my handbrake lever back (I had previously phoned). Sure enough, it had been thrown away. I then said you owe me a handbrake lever then. Mumble, mumble, it was a Saturday so the junior guy didn't have authority clearly so he said did I want to speak to the General Manager. That old "don't want to make a fuss" syndrome kicked in but he offered me a discount on the gear knob so I let it drop with that. (Of course, turned out it had a discount code in their system and I would have got that anyway) - so in the end I got nothing.
I hope I got it through to the guy that although customers who "don't want to make too much fuss" make their lives easier, they tend to buy their next car elsewhere and since I am likely to be spending over £50,000 on cars over the next 20 months, I made it plain that right now, they weren't first choice when they should have been.
I an also getting mightily vexed with the State in the guise of the DVLA. I have now received sufficient proof that Douglas Park did indeed send the form to DVLA on 15th January and have expressed the opinion to DVLA that with this evidence, it is far more likely that either the Post Office cocked up or they lost it amongst the thousands of other pieces of paper they deal with every day.
The State is the worst of any of them since they don't respond to anything but their own closed set of rules and will no doubt pursue me relentlessly whilst other parts of the State will no doubt continue to treat the scumbag portion of our society with kid gloves.

[steve-p]

When I offloaded my E320 recently to a trader I had to send back the bit of the form for sale to a motor trader. After reading your post I sent it by Special Delivery so at least I know it arrived and they can't deny it because they signed for it. I can well believe it's possible for them to lose things internally though.