South Bay BMW

by DV on 06/27/2023

Unethical???? I have purchased 5 new vehicles over the years, and South Bay BMW ranks worst among the dealerships I’ve encountered for their lack of professionalism. A month after I took my car home, I received a letter in the mail from South Bay BMW stating that my credit application for the car had been denied. I was confused how my credit could be denied after already signing my vehicle contract. When I called the finance department at South Bay, they explained that there was a system glitch resulting in these letters to be sent to 90% of customers in the last 7-8 months. For my peace of mind regarding my credit, I asked for formal documentation stating that the letter was sent in error, but was told that no such documentation existed. They only agreed to send me an email confirming the faulty letter after I suggested it, and they seemed annoyed to do so. Given the scope of the issue, I was baffled that South Bay BMW didn’t have a system in place to notify customers about the glitch. However, the main concern I discovered shortly after bringing the car home was the crooked and off-center front license plate, along with a damaged bumper resulting from the reckless hole drilling. This was upsetting because other dealerships allowed me to turn down front plate bracket installation, which I intended to do at South Bay BMW, but they did not give me the chance before performing the installation that ultimately resulted in damage. My wife reached out to our sales representative to address the issue. She sent him pictures and followed up with a phone call. He said that he was busy with a customer and would call back but never did. After a series of calls we were transferred to the Service Manager voicemail. We left him a detail message, but he never responded. After 2 weeks, I received a routine thank you card from the owner with his contact info. I decided to escalate the matter by emailing the owner directly. Only after this action did the service manager contact me and offer to tow my vehicle into South Bay BMW for repair, but couldn’t answer my questions as to what the repair would entail. I decided to get a second opinion from one of the most reputable professional auto body shops in OC. The repair specialist gave me an estimate and told me the whole bumper would need to be replaced and painted to match my white OEM bumper. If done improperly, the paint would peel in 1-5 years. Due to my experience with the front plate installation and lack of professionalism, I didn’t trust South Bay BMW to perform the delicate repair. In my subsequent email to the owner, I included photos of the damages along with a preliminary repair estimate, requesting him to compensate me to perform the repair at my chosen auto shop. The general manager and I then engaged in a two-week email exchange, where he insisted that I bring the car to the dealership for the sole purpose of fixing the "license plate bracket correctly," completely disregarding the bumper damage and refusing to consider my request for compensation. Frustrated with the dealership’s dismissive attitude, I informed the general manager of my intention to pursue arbitration as outlined in my vehicle contract. Here is the GM’s response: “I rarely have to go this direction with a customer as most clients have an ethical perspective of resolution. Please continue to Google consumer legalities and do what you need to do. I’ll be there to support our reasonable, professional, and ethical resolution offerings we have stood by to take care of you, our customer. If you need to proceed from a legal angle, this will conclude our dialogue. Do as you need to sir, I’ll see you there!” The GM’s implications that I am unethical is uncalled for. Though we did not agree on how to resolve the issue, there was no need for the GM to respond to my arbitration notice in a passive aggressive manner. It appears that once South Bay BMW makes a sale, their commitment to customer satisfaction ends abruptly. Here is how I rate South Bay BMW: Minus 1 star for installing the front license plate prior to asking me if I wanted it and installing it improperly while damaging the bumper. Minus 1 star for lack of follow up from multiple team members for 2 weeks including the service manager. Minus 1 star for the lack of formal response to a system glitch that caused an alarming faulty credit decline letter to be mailed to me. Minus 1 star for the general manager’s unprofessional email, poor customer service skills, lack of patience and flexibility with a customer. His employees’ attitudes are a reflection of his example.

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