BMW Of Tigard

What happens when a dealership loses sight of how loyal customers make them successful? They begin to trade their own honesty and integrity for a dollar. They lie about pricing information. They dupe and swindle. They change the rules when you are there. Unfortunately, I experienced this first hand at Kuni BMW and I will never do business with them again. Was working with the sales team to upgrade and trade in my 3 series. Together we found a 2019 4 series advertised online that matched my requirements and fit in my price range. I proceeded to have them send me all the information on the vehicle, final pricing, rebates/incentives, trade-in value, and financing options. They wanted me to come in, of course – so after doing my own research I called back and told them if they could do a little better on my trade-in I would agree to the terms. I live over an hour away, so I fought through downtown Portland traffic (dragging my teenage daughter with me) on a Friday afternoon to finalize our deal and go home with a new 4 series. Needless to say I was pretty excited. Absolutely beautiful car. But I ended up walking away with my head down and once again disappointed in the lack of value a customer has to a car dealership. After 2 more hours of negotiating my trade-in at the dealership and agreeing to finance terms, we shook hands and signed. Even though I knew I was being taken on my trade in, I felt the negotiations of the overall price were fair. All was looking good, until 30 minutes after I had cleaned out my things from my car and was waiting for the final paperwork, I was told there was a “mistake”. The negotiated price of the 4 series was incorrect. They had advertised it falsely online and worked with me for 8 hours – this includes managers, sales reps, and finance team – without knowing. They tried to increase the price of the car AFTER we completed negotiations. I was appalled. I felt lied to and cheated. After a whole bunch of bull and trying to get me to renegotiate, I asked their finance guy, “Are you going to honor your agreed upon deal and do what is right for the customer?” He flatly said “No, we will not.” Kuni BMW had EVERY chance to do the right thing. Follow their principles and maintain their integrity. Yet they chose the dishonest way out over a few dollars. Unbelievable and extremely sad to see how far a good dealership has fallen. I want everyone who reads this to understand that Kuni is no better than your local used car lot…perhaps less honest. Details: I was a returning customer, having bought my first BMW 3 series from Kuni in 2016. At that time, I was happy with their customer service, both during the sale and post service appointments. They touted their record of being the best dealership in customer satisfaction, and I will admit, it did feel different than other dealerships I had been to. And it should...considering the luxury prices of their vehicles. Like many customers in their loyalty program, I receive monthly emails about special promotions or discounts, rebates available for upgrades, etc. None of them caught my eye until recently. I proceeded to reach out about the possibility of upgrading to a newer vehicle to take advantage of their current sales and incentives. After speaking with one of their representatives, Scott Senkel, multiple times we found a car that suited my requirements and price range - ADVERTISED ONLINE at Kuni BMW. I had the sales rep send me some of the financial information, including the price, incentives, my trade in value, and financing options. It was all prepared and approved by their financial team. I then started doing my due diligence - looking up pricing, shopping for loans, checking on the value of my trade-in, etc. Of course Scott Senkel wanted me to come in (over an hour away for me) and take a look at my trade it. I said I wouldn't come in unless I knew I was getting the car I was after and the right price. He assured me they had it, even grabbed the keys, and was holding it for me. I proceeded to drive in, printing out all of the information and gathering up the data I would need to trade my car in and step into a new one. I even had to drag my teenage daughter along who kept asking if she could have my old one. When I arrived, I was showed the car by my new sales rep (Doug Herschbach) - a beautiful 430ix - and they took a look at my vehicle to give it a proper trade in value. Of course, it was very low, but this is a game we all have to play a bit with the dealer. After more negotiation, we were able to reach an agreement and we shook hands on the overall price and trade in. I also signed their offer sheet multiple times, with all of the pricing and details - including the VIN and Stock # of the car I was purchasing. With the deal done in principle, I begin signing all the other paperwork, getting my credit approved, cleaning out my other car, and sitting around for a few hours waiting to drive my new car home. After nobody had come by in a while, I started to look around and I saw my salesperson walking back to me with his head down. He was sad to inform me that they had made a mistake on the price of the car and cannot honor the agreement. He said the price I was given was for a different car and the advertised price of the one we agreed on in principle was actually a few thousand dollars higher. I pointed to the offer sheet and piece of paper showing the VIN, make & model, and asked if they were trying make a fool out of me or what? Obviously my patience was wearing a bit thin and all of sudden they are changing the price of the car AFTER we had already negotiated, signed, and shook hands on the deal. I was stunned. The sales person asked me to come talk to his financial manager, Willie Higgins - who had prepared and approved this offer 8 hours prior and multiple times after I got there. I asked "Are you going to honor our deal or not?" He was visibly shaken. I think he wanted to do the right thing but was handcuffed by managers. He asked me to show him online where the car was advertised at that price. I did and to my surprise, they had updated the price while I was there! I was infuriated because now they were making me look like a liar about the price! How the heck is that even possible? Lucky for me, there was the original sales person (Scott) who saw it AND a web log that showed it was updated late in the day after our deal was struck. With my honesty and sanity still intact, my sales person went back to Willie Higgins to try to get them to agree. I could very much tell he was on the side of the customer, deflated a bit at his management’s reaction. After another 20 minutes of waiting, he came back shaking his head and again asked me to speak with his finance team. This time I gathered my things and agreed to walk over. At that point, I met Willie Higgins in person and he proceed to tell me they made a mistake with the price of the car. An honest mistake he called it. After 8 hours and multiple people signing off on this, he says they did not advertise the correct price. I looked him straight in the eye and asked “Are you going to honor our deal, yes or no? I am not here to negotiate anymore. I am tired, frustrated, and dismayed at your lack of integrity.” He flat out looked at me and said “No, we will not honor this deal”. I turned and walked out, with Kuni BMW having forever lost a loyal customer.