Today while in a snow storm my drivers side windshield wiper broke off the arm. Slightly annoying, but things happen...
After trying unsuccessfully to put in back together - in a stow storm- I took the passenger's side wiper off and installed it on the left side so I could get to a dealer. When I did this it left the right side's wiper arm bare metal exposed, so I took a roll of electrical tape and wrapped it up real good to protect the windshield.
I went to Elmhurst BMW, the nearest dealer. Upon arriving I explained my situation, and what I had done. I clearly pointed out the tape on the wiper arm, and explained how they were swapped. My windshield was not cracked. Period. The SA went to "check" on a few things after asking me if I had ever been there before, no I hadn't thank you. So you didn't buy it from us? No. I went and waked around the showroom, thinking of how nice a place this was. After I wandered back to the service dept. He then told me to have a seat, it would be about 30 minutes. I asked if I could just have a new blade and do it myself, so I could be on my way. No, a warranty claim has to be installed by us. OK, fine. So I have a seat in the waiting room and pick up a magazine. About 8 minute later the SA comes in and says" do you know you have a dent on your front left corner panel, and a scratch on the wheel? Yes I am aware of it, and my car is scheduled to go in for repairs on Monday, thank you. He then also pointed out another scratch on another wheel. Yes I know, thanks.
About 10 minutes after that the SA comes back again, and asked me to follow him, he had a few question, and wanted to show me how the drivers side wiper arm was a little bent (on the tab that the plastic cover goes on). He also asked if I knew where the plastic cover that holds the blade in place was. I pulled it out of my pocket, I had forgotten I had it... As we walk up to the car, he pointed out the slightly bent tab ( that I might have done while changing the blade, trying to get that same cover off)
I immediately noticed the windshield now had a spider web like bunch of cracks, centered on where the now bare metal wiper arm was touching the windshield! The technician had removed the tape, but not installed the new blade, and my windshield is now cracked!
I pointed this out to the SA, telling him this was not like this before. "well, it must have been because we didn't do it" is what he said.
I then asked for the manager, so the SA left for a few minutes, returning without the manager to tell me it must have been like this before, and they were already doing me a favor by replacing the wiper, because the arm in question was bent. Seeing exactly where this was going I told him to stop working on my car and get it out of here, I wanted to leave.
So you mean to tell me with me putting my finger directly onto the taped up right side wiper arm, both of us looking right at the spot where the windshield is now broken, and then in his thorough inspection that he noticed scratches on wheels, he never noticed many cracks on a windshield? But now that it's there, it must have been like that. NO WAY.
He said he had to pull the car around, fine. I went to the service managers office, and waiting until he got off the phone. While waiting thSA came up to me and asked me to sign this paer, just saying your car was worked on here, he said. At the bottom, next to signature line, it had something about them not being liable for damage to the car while it was here. I refused to sign it...
He came out with an bad attitude all over his face. I calmly explained what had just happened, all the while he had a glaze over his eye's, not really paying attention, or acting interested in what I had to say. He said it was like that before, then said," maybe a rock did it on the way here". Yeah, sure I thought.
I asked him if he wanted to go out and look at the car, "no I already did", he said. How could he? No one had "noticed" the cracked windshield until I pointed it out, and right from there I was with the car until it was pulled outside. He was obviously lying right to my face. He said he knows that they didn't do it. I asked how he could possible know that, since he was in his office, not working on my car. Because my techs don't lie, he said. BS
No one had even talked to the tech, the guy who had been working on my car was standing behind me while I talked with the SA, no one even asked him anything. This all went down in a matter of minutes.
He implied I did it myself and that I was now trying to blame them. I if did do it myself I would just turn in into my insurance and let them fix it, I have zero deductible for windshield damage....
Since I was getting nowhere, and just getting madder because I was completely being screwed around, I told him I should have taken it to Perrillo BMW in the first place and that I would take this up with BMW NA.
I'm posting this here to document it while it's fresh in my mind, and get some insight as how to proceed with this.
Besides the obvious things I'd like to do to all parties involved, anyone else had something like this happen? What was the outcome?
