Illegal? Unethical? Untrustworthy?...You Decide!
This is a Public Service Announcement to be on the look-out for Bait and Switch tactics, disingenuous marketing, untrustworthy associates, and a total lack of credibility on the part of the BMW of Columbia Sales Team, including the Dealership’s General Manager. We agreed to pay approximately $34,000 for a 2019 BMW X3 that was listed on the BMW of Columbia Website with 14,291 miles…which correspondingly afforded us 3 years and 34,000 miles of remaining factory warranty. At 5:15pm the night before we were to drive 6 hours to Columbia SC, we received a call from the Dealership advising us that the vehicle actually had 18,425 miles – rather than 14,291 miles (and thus only 30,000 miles of remaining factory warranty). The General Manager of Sales (Mr. Reynolds) tried to suggest that this was no big deal because the SUV was an “active loaner vehicle.” Mr. Reynolds offered no corresponding adjustment to the agreed upon purchase price and then argued that the vehicle had the same $34,000 value, notwithstanding the 4,000 additional miles (and reduced factory warranty coverage). Consider the following before your visit to BMW of Columbia. Do you trust a Dealership that lists a vehicle and negotiates a price based on 14,291 miles, when the vehicle actually has 30% more miles (18,425) than listed on their Website? Hint # 1: The Website does not explain that the vehicle is an “active” loaner vehicle. Do you trust a Dealership that lists a vehicle and negotiates a price based on a remaining Factory Warranty of 3 years 34,000 miles, when the vehicle actually has only 30,000 miles remaining on the Factory Warranty (i.e., only 10,000 miles per year)? Do you trust a General Manager of Sales who argues, after negotiating a sales price, that the value of a vehicle in service less than 12 months with 14,291 miles is identical to the value of that same vehicle with 18,425 miles (and only 30,000 miles vs 34,000 miles of remaining factory warranty)? Hint #2: An online calculation of that BMW X3 with 4,000 additional miles (18,425 vs 14,291) reflects a $933 reduction in value on Edmunds, a $725 reduction in value on NADA, a $1575 reduction in value on Consumer Reports, and a $443 reduction in value on Kelly Blue Book. Do you trust a General Manager of Sales who argues that NADA value is the proper valuation of a vehicle? Hint #3: A March 11, 2020 article at CarsDirect.com emphasizes that, “NADA is usually used by banks or car dealers to show you an inflated price value. Therefore, you should never use NADA books for real [price] reference.” Do you trust the General Manager (Mr. Miles) of a Dealership who, when made aware of these concerns, responded by email without making any effort whatsoever to rectify the pricing discrepancy and failed to even apologize? We would like to thank BMW of Columbia for attempting to screw us before we drove 6 hours to Columbia, thus allowing us to abort the purchase before finding a “parade of horribles” with a vehicle that, as it turns out, has been operating at a rate of 72 miles per day/5 days a week to reach 18,425 miles in less than 12 months. BMW of Columbia will likely drop in their customary self-serving reply comments after this post -apologizing for the experience and suggesting that they will use it as a “learning experience.” Yeah…right.
By TJOTWO