My Purchase Experience at Budd's BMW in Hamilton, Ontario Ca

[daveysew]

Well, the replacement for my 2003 Z4 has finally arrived. I am the proud new owner of a Sapphire Black 2005 Z4 3.0, 6sp manual, sport package, ASA Stage 2 Supercharger, Eisenmann M exhaust, new rear bumper to allow for the M exhaust, an ACS rear spoiler, H&R Sport Springs, M Roadster OEM rims, and a custom interior with the BMW logo embroidered in the headrest and Z4 on the seat backs. When you stomp on the gas this thing looks and sounds like Darth Vader (that's a good thing). But I have to say getting the vehicle has been a bit of a process...

I first looked at the car on October 22, 2008 at the dealer, was interested enough to warrant booking a test drive to my mechanics garage for a Pre-Purchase Inspection for October 24. I point out that I live about an hour away from the dealer and informed them of this on October 22 when I booked the test drive/PPI. When I arrived on October 24 to take the vehicle for a test drive and for the PPI I'm now informed that they don't want me to take it my mechanic as it is too far away, but offered one of their mechanics to looks at it instead. Fair enough as the garage is 45 minutes away, but I told them they should have told me this when I booked it so they didn't waste my time today. I also countered that I'd take the vehicle without a PPI if they provide a complete warranty up to 6 years / 160,000 km for all OEM and aftermarket parts to mirror the BMW CPO warranty. They immediately declined and begrudgingly allowed me to take the vehicle to the garage of my choice accompanied by the sales staff I was dealing with.

So off we go, the guys at the PPI shop were very good and allowed the sales guy to come into the shop and watch the whole PPI and pointed out all deficiencies to him at the same time they showed me. One big problem, the "new" tires that were listed on the sales sheet were too wide for the vehicle and had steel showing from where they had been rubbing on the vehicle, the mechanics were very clear that the vehicle should be driven back to the dealer slowly and with no sharp cornering. Other points of interest found included repainting of the rear bumper (to be expected as it was modified to fit the M exhaust); repainting of the front bumper and front passenger's side quarterpanel (though the dealer listed the vehicle as accident free); loose item rolling around inside the driver's door; and a loose pulley belt on the supercharger. All in all they gave the vehicle the thumbs up and the supercharger install passed the mustard. This shop also has experience installing 15-20 similar superchargers in various BMW over the past few years and had good things to say about the unit and the install.

Carefully drive back to the deal to negotiate a price. We got pretty close to a deal but ended up about $500 apart by the end of the day so no deal. After the weekend I call back on Friday, we bridged the $500 gap, and I purchased the car with the cavet was that I provide the rims and tires for the vehicle, a set of OEM MZ4 rims (thanks to board member GP20).

Now the fun begins... I put a $500 deposit down on the car and the sales guy sends me the purchase agreement, that has no indication on it that I've all ready made a $500 deposit, he says sorry and says that it's his manager's fault, and sends a revised purchased agreement.

I drop off the rims and tires and with the sales guy present we measured the tread depth on the tires I was providing to ensure they would pass safety as I knew they were getting close to the end of their life. Front's had 6-7mm, rear's had 5mm, close but still good. Then less than 24 hours before I was to pick up the car I get an email from the sales guy telling me the tires don't pass safety so I can't pick up the car. My BS detector is now up and running, but I knew they would need to be replaced soon, so I call hime and ask him to get me the price to replace all 4 tires. I get no reply. 1 week later I drive to the dealer, it's the sales guy's day off, but his manager greets me, apologizes for the delay about the tire quote and introduces me to the parts manager, explains the situation, to which the parts manager assures that I will have a quote for 3 or 4 different tire brands emailed to me and cc'd to the used car manager by the end of the following day. A week later, I still haven't heard from them, but I do get an email from the sales guy wonder why I haven't told them what tires I want. A reply to let him know that I still haven't been provided with any price quotes. 2 days later I get an email from the parts manager about the tires, I order a set and arrange to pick the vehicle up the following Saturday.

I arrive to get the car, the sales guy has got everything ready to go for me. All of my paperwork is in a little folder ready to go and takes me to inspect the car. This is when I notice that there is a scratch down to the sheet metal the size of a quarter on the top of the trunk. I point this out to him asking what happened as this was noticed previously by me, on the PPI (that did notice other paint defects), and he admitted that he hadn't seen it before. Off we go to his manager who in a very aggresive/assertive manner tells me he guarantees that the damage was there as he remembers discussing it with the wholesaler when he brought in the vehicle, but the vehicle came from one of Budd's other dealerships not a wholesaler. When I told him this he became very hostile and informed me that the dealer would take no responsiblity for or repair this damage.

At this point in time I just want to get out of the place, they've all ready got my cash and pretty much told me where to go. I leave and drive home. When I get home I find out that the carpeted floor mats (rubber ones are in the cabin) and oil bag (zippered bag to hold a quart of oil, gloves, and funnel) that were in the trunk when I inspected the vehicle are now missing. I also look through the paperwork to find that they did not provide me with the vehicle's ownership, but they did leave me all of the personal information (name, address, phone number, fax, et al) of the previous owner. I call the dealer to raise these concerns, they don't even acknowledge their mistake, but tell me I can come by in a few days to get the ownership. As for the items missing from the trunk they say that they provide rubber mats to all new vehicle purchases. This isn't a new vehicle, and the items were in the vehicle when I inspected it and purchased it, they didn't care. I also find out that there is a service notice out for the vehicle that wasn't address in the month that it was sitting at the dealer prior to my picking the vehicle up. This one I really don't understand as this is free money for them by doing the work and billing BMW Canada.

Well on Monday I get an email from the sales guy telling me I can come get the ownership and he's bought me an oil kit for the car.

So as of today I've got the ownership of my car, and it's parked in the garage, under a car cover waiting for spring. Needless to say when I was asked to complete the customer satisfaction survey, I did, and told them exactly what I think of the service I received from this dealer. I've also opened a complaint file through BMW Canada, specifically asking them to act as a mediator between myself and the dealer to resolve my issues.

Moral of the story... I've got a great car, but Budd's BMW (actually any of the Budd's group of dealerships) will never see a dime from me again, and I'm more than happy to spread my dissatisfaction about this dealer. I would strongly advise everyone to avoid dealing with Budd's to avoid the experience that I've had.

Thanks for listening,
dave

[takedown8]

I live in Hamilton, and I do my best to bring my Zed to Parkview in Toronto. So that tells you how much I think of Budd's Hamilton. I will only go there for an oil change, and I may consider warranty work if I don't think it's too involved simply because they're close to home.

I'm really not surprised with your experience there, though I am sort of surprised because I thought that they would try to improve given their poor reputation. I know that a lot of Hamiltonians will go to Budd's Oakville or even to Toronto to get their bimmers. But for some reason, they just don't get it at Budd's Hamilton. I wouldn't be surprised if they close up shop within the next few years. I'm positive that it's a money-loser that is propped up by good sales from the Oakville dealer.

But anyways, congrats on your purchase. If you need a good body shop, I know an excellent guy who does amazing work for very reasonable prices. He's in Dundas though so it might be far for you since you're in TO.

And oh yeah:

[Mr Whippy]

What a lot of hassle.

It's a shame that some dealers can't accept their mistakes because it's not like you would do anything differently or they would loose out that much, all it would do is guarantee more future business from yourself and others who you recommend.

Instead, they have lost out a great deal for the sake of being lazy and not accepting a bit of damage to the boot lid.

Glad you got the car though, it sounds rather interesting with the M Z rear bumper and exhaust to go with the supercharger! I bet it shifts... is that fairly similar in output to the ESS stg2 ones (about 340bhp?)

Dave

[pmeloche]

Wow, you are a patient man. I have read on other forums about the poor service provided by this Budd's dealership. You are confirming the trend. I hope you enjoy your Z4.

You might want to move this thread in the Dealer Feedback section. Cheers.

[sp3ctre]

Sorry to hear about the bad service, but thanks for spreading the word... it's posts like this that might make people steer clear... and when they do that, BMW should (maybe I am over ambitious here) do something about it.

I have moved this to the dealer feedback section