BMW Z4 Coupe - Help needed please, mis-sold BMW approved used car - RobertW

Hi all, found the forum after a google search and hoping you can offer me some advice. I have set out the situation below which is causing me a great deal of stress so hopefully someone can help me to resolve this.

Recently decided to buy my dream car so got the finances together and started looking for a BMW Z4 Coupe. Decided on the BMWAUC route to ensure peace of mind when spending so much money.

Found the perfect car, but was in a BMW dealership 300 miles away (this was 4 weeks ago)

Registered March 09

22k miles

Knowing how fast good examples can sell I called up straight away and was assisted by the sales rep who was really helpful and pointed out all the small defects on the painwork etc. He assured me all service history was complete as it has to be, being a BMWAUC.

The next day I put a deposit down, subject to his description, and made plans to view the car the following week. Turned up and everything was fine with the car, the only thing he mentioned was that the former owner had forgotten to get one of the stamps entered into the service book. I asked to see the book, saw brake fluid service at 12k (car was at 22k when I bought it), Specifically asked the dealer to confirm the other service (oil) was done to which he said it was and he would get the book stamped and forward to me.

Fast forward 3 weeks, and after chasing for the stamped service book on several occasions it has turned up 2 days ago with no additional stamps in it from when I picked up the car!

This seemed very fishy so I was straight onto the dealer the next day. The car should have had an oil service at 12/15k and in any event after two years. He said he would look into it. In the meantime I called the BMW £1 a minute line and was told that the only time it has visited was in September 2010 (at 12k) which is the brake fluid change.

Spoke to the dealer again this afternoon who said still looking into it. I have email trail and well as record of phone conversations. He called me back at 5pm to say that it would appear that the oil service has never been done.

This means the service history is incomplete and therefore from what I can gather the BMWAUC warranty would be void as the correct servicing intervals have not been followed. I had already told the dealer of my concerns regarding this, to which he said he has spoken to the warranty team who advise that if a service is done now (which he has offered to pay for) then the warranty would still be valid.

I have asked for this in writing from the BMW warranty team and will also be on the phone to them tomorrow to confirm this.

I'm a little bit unsure what to do next and would really appreciate some advice. I would like to keep the car if possible as I do love it, but am obvioulsy concerned that the value will be adversly affected when I come to sell it with dodgy service history, can I request money off the purchase price as well as the dealer paying for a service now. I won't mention the dealer name for now but have no problem taking this to BMW or the franchise management if possible.


Apologies for the long post, tried to keep it as brief as possible.

Many thanks

RW

Edited by RobertW on 03/05/2012 at 00:02

BMW Z4 Coupe - Help needed please, mis-sold BMW approved used car - Happy Blue!

Very common situation. Clearly a leased car at end of lease and punted through the trade. Probably abused if the driver of a BMW can't be bothered to get it serviced, unles it was on variable servicing and the car didn't indicate it needed an oil change before the end fo the lease (v unlikely).

Get a letter from the dealer to confirm warranty despite missing the service and also get somehting else out of them, as your car wil be worth less than equivalent models which have been serviced properly. Alternatively, simply reject the car and get your money back.

BMW Z4 Coupe - Help needed please, mis-sold BMW approved used car - tony g
Hi Robert ,

It's dissapointing that having paid a premium price from a BMW dealer ,you have had less than a premium service .

However it's important to concentrate on the core issues ,

You say that you love the car and would prefer to keep it .Working from that perspective their are two issues .

One. the BMW warranty ,if the dealer can confirm in writing that the warranty will be valid if the car is serviced ,that will resolve the issue ,alternatively I guess that you paid the selling dealer extra,for the extended warranty.You could suggest that having negligently sold you a warranty that can't be used .That the dealer should be prepared to cover any repairs that are required ,under the warranty ,should be covered at their expense .But the repairs should be at your local dealer .All agreed in writing of course .

Two,the cars future value ,the car is three years old .Most people keep a car for three years ,so your BMW will be 6 years old when you want to change it .

At the age a complete BMW history is a small benefit on a car ,it doesn't have much effect on a cars value .

Finally as a minimum ,the car should have the missing service done at the selling dealers expense ,in addition because they were negligent at best ,or deceived you at worst .Ask them to pay for the cars next service at a dealer of your choice .

Good luck ,and please do let the forum know the outcome .


Regards



Tony g

BMW Z4 Coupe - Help needed please, mis-sold BMW approved used car - RobertW

Right after much time spent emaling/calling with the salesman I escalated to the dealer principal. Received a detailed response within 24 hours offering me:

Written confirmaiton from warranty that still valid. I have also spoken to them who said it will be fine given the low mileage.

Oil service to be done at my local dealer now, settled by them

Next inspection service to be done at my local dealer and settled by them.

Also asked for a years additional warranty to give me peace of mind but he wasn't willing to go this far. Reasonably happy with this outcome.

Cheers for the advice.

BMW Z4 Coupe - Help needed please, mis-sold BMW approved used car - doog

I had a similar situation with a Lexus . It transpires that a 'Lexus approved' service history doesnt mean its has a FULL service history....(its in the small print.)

My situation arose when I wasnt supplied with the service book. When they did it had simply been stamped up with one date (the date I received it) and mileages put in retrospectively. This showed a missing service but despite this missing service it was still 'Lexus approved'. It was laughable - this was a major dealer - the salesman was moved on afterwards.

I used this and another issue as a bargaining tool to get the next THREE services FREE including a major service and cambelt change.

That was 5 years ago, was offered my money back but decided to keep it - no problems since but now cant see that one missed service will affect its value.

How long do you intend to keep it?