[Sara]

Originally Posted by Wild Squid

Sorry to hear this, I could have told you to stay away from BMW SF. Absolutely one of the worst dealerships i have ever stepped foot into. I've visited them only several times to look at cars and every single time was ignored by anyone and everyone. It appears they only have time to deal with rich white boy trust fund baby types, or you must be a middle aged white guy that appears to be a Market St. suit. The atmosphere in there was if you didn't fit their ideal profile they didn't have the time to deal with you. So I went to their toilet and upper decked it with remnants of a Super mexican burrito and corn and cheese. I then sat in several showroom cars and hacked a loogie and spat it on the seat next to me. I fucking despise car dealers who think they are better than you just because they work in a bit of a upscale showroom or dealership brand.

So what you're saying is you're just as bad as they are?? Is that correct?

[ceb]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

ah ? my buddy has a dealership and deposits are not refundable and he has never refunded them obviously......what the hell is the point of the deposit.....and dealerships previously held cars for me with deposit. just last week the guy ended up purchasing the car he didnt want because didnt like the idea of loosing his deposit.

Totally and completely incorrect. The deposit is refundable.

Here is an exerpt from the MA code:

(9) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a dealer to fail to refund the full amount of a purchaser's deposit promptly when:

(a) The purchaser cancels the motor vehicle purchase contract before it has been accepted by an authorized dealer representative;

(b) The dealer and the purchaser have agreed to make the contract subject to the purchaser's ability to obtain financing of his or her choice and the purchaser cannot obtain such financing after exerting reasonable efforts to do so;

(c) The dealer does not accept the contract;

(d) The dealer fails to deliver a motor vehicle to the purchaser which conforms to the terms of the contract; or

(e) The purchaser cancels the contract because the dealer has failed to deliver the vehicle to the purchaser within the time period specified in the contract, or, if no time period is specified, within eight weeks after the date of the contract, unless the delay is caused by acts beyond the control of the dealer and manufacturer."

And for California:

"Section 11736. It is unlawful for any dealer licensed under this article to do any of the following when brokering a retail sale:

(c) Fail to refund any purchase money, including purchase deposits, upon demand by a consumer at any time prior to the consumer's signing of a vehicle purchase agreement with a selling dealer and taking delivery of the vehicle described in the brokering agreement."

[AndreyT]

Deposit would not have changed anything in this case at all.

The purpose of the deposit is to prove to the dealership that you are serious about your intention to purchase the car. It (or portions of it) can also be used to cover dealer's expenses in situation when you change your mind. It does not in any way tied to the dealer being serious about their intention to sell this car to you. I.e. the deposit works in the opposite direction from what was really needed in this case.

In this specific case (the car sold to another customer) the dealer would have to return the full deposit to you immediately, no question about it. And they would have done it, of course. But that would put you in the very same situation: no car, and no refund for the airfare.

In order to reserve the car, you'd have to have some sort of contract in place, which could be verbal (there's a proper procedure for that as well). Deposit is really irrelevant.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by ceb

Totally and completely incorrect. The deposit is refundable.

Here is an exerpt from the MA code:

(9) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a dealer to fail to refund the full amount of a purchaser's deposit promptly when:

(a) The purchaser cancels the motor vehicle purchase contract before it has been accepted by an authorized dealer representative;

(b) The dealer and the purchaser have agreed to make the contract subject to the purchaser's ability to obtain financing of his or her choice and the purchaser cannot obtain such financing after exerting reasonable efforts to do so;

(c) The dealer does not accept the contract;

(d) The dealer fails to deliver a motor vehicle to the purchaser which conforms to the terms of the contract; or

(e) The purchaser cancels the contract because the dealer has failed to deliver the vehicle to the purchaser within the time period specified in the contract, or, if no time period is specified, within eight weeks after the date of the contract, unless the delay is caused by acts beyond the control of the dealer and manufacturer."

you dont see a word CONTRACT in there ? of course there is a contract, otherwise you are just giving money to a random person....

you sign a contact, you leave the deposit, deposit is NOT refundable, and dealer CANNOT sell the car during specified time frame in contract.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by AndreyT

Deposit would not have changed anything in this case at all.

The purpose of the deposit is to prove to the dealership that you are serious about your intention to purchase the car. It (or portions of it) can also be used to cover dealer's expenses in situation when you change your mind. It does not in any way tied to the dealer being serious about their intention to sell this car to you. I.e. the deposit works in the opposite direction from what was really needed in this case.

In this specific case (the car sold to another customer) the dealer would have to return the full deposit to you immediately, no question about it. And they would have done it, of course. But that would put you in the very same situation: no car, and no refund for the airfare.

In order to reserve the car, you'd have to have some sort of contract in place, which could be verbal (there's a proper procedure for that as well). Deposit is really irrelevant.

Bingo. Except it may be very difficult to enforce a verbal agreement.

I'll say it again - the purpose of a deposit is to bind you emotionally to that purchase. Until the contract is accepted by both parties it isn't a contract.

[mofbb]

Thats BS man !! Call BMWNA or e mail them !!!

[hwa786]

well guys this is my brothers experience with Lexus recently...he put a $500 deposit on a car one night and they said they will call back tomorrow morning and give him a price on his cars trade in so my brother and I could drive about 8 hours to trade the car in and bring the Lexus home....what happened? The next morning my brother didnt get a phone call, so he called them later on in the day and they said they have sold the vehicle...and my brother was like are you kidding me? I put a fricking deposit on the car blah blah....long story short, I dont think deposit really mean much to many dealers and yes he was refunded his deposit.

[doubleIN]

yea I think most dealers would not turn away someone who has cash in hand ready to buy a car, even if someone has put a few hundred bucks deposit on it. to them, why take the risk of the guy who put down a deposit backing out of the sale? unless they actually know you and have a vested interest in preserving their relationship with you as a customer. if you're from out of town and they have no idea who you are and will likely never see you again, they probably don't give a fck about you

[Jon2168]

Recently, I purchased a car from LA. I put the deposit over the phone and faxed over signed paper work. Flew in, took a taxi to the dealership and the car had a sold tag with my salemen's name already on it. This is how it should be done with all dealerships. If you make a deposit, they should hold the car for you giving you the first right's to buy it. Otherwise what's the point of a deposit?

Hopefully at the end you'll at least get back your air and taxi fare, which they should have done already.

[tntsE90]

You should lodge a complaint with BMW NA customer service line. Although each dealership is independently owned. BMW NA will step foot into some situations where the reputation of the company is harmed.

You should also to speak to the GM (General Manager) of the dealership, not the "manager" . The person , "Alex" may had just been a floor sales manager.

This is one reason why I treat all car salespeople as crooks. They will through their teeth to make a sale.

[sfhondapilot]

Originally Posted by bpsf83

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. Sounds like it was a case of poor follow through on the Sales Persons part.

However, If I were you I would have INSISTED on putting down a deposit. Because as we all know, its not yours until money is on the table. I bought my car at BMW of San Francisco, and I had a great sales person Adis, he was courteous, helpful, and really went to bat for us concerning price. When we got it home we noticed a few issues that werent to our liking, and he set it up quick to be fixed right away (minor stuff like roundel spotting, old DVD nav disc etc) He even had the service guys take care of it on a sunday.

I can say also that the Service dept ROCKS. I only deal with my SA Mrs. Tran when I go in there, and she takes care of my baby as if it were her own. Always goes out of her way to get me a good loaner and a solid early appointment.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, and I hope you get the M3 you want.

+1. I would not get on a plane without a contract (conditioned upon your personal inspection and test drive of the vehicle) and deposit. That allows the sales person to reflect the car as sold in their inventory system.

+++1111 on Tongvi and the service department. She has been one of the best service advisor's I have ever had at SFBMW (and I have had cars serviced there since 2003).

[EngineCo52]

Originally Posted by EZ_TUR90

Wow man. That sucks. Call the BBB.

Did you get anything in writing that they would pay for your expenses? Either way, take it to small claims and have both those idiots fly out to LA on their own expense. HAHAHAHAHa

BBB is pointless....My Brothers Repo Company has been an "F" for over 2 years now....he couldnt be happier he doesnt care still making 6 figures a year lol...

sucks to hear about that though...i would call BMW NA and call them everyday until they answer why they havent paid yet

[Bobble]

I've bought 5 cars form out of town dealers, the only legal way to hold the car is a signed purchase agreement, giving them a deposit without it simply won't cut it legally and then things come down to ethics and business practices and frankly they could just give you your deposit back and say see you. I've never put one red cent down on any of them prior to arrival but always have a signed purchase agreement. Nyomi should have done that for you her bad and the settlement check I got thru BMWNA came directly written from the offending dealership not BMWNA so I call BS on Alex. Sucks but live and learn.

[TheStigsTwin]

I"m gonna back up the people that said to contact BMWNA.

[matrix76]

OP, not sure if you saw this, or are even interested, but here is an 03 in VA. It is a bit of a drive though.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=599292

[John 070]

My advice is to let it go, plain and simple.

But I do know how the OP feels as he's totally taking it personally. I once flew for a job interview arranged by a headhunter--he was to pay for the whole trip, but he only fronted the hotel, I had paid the airfare and rental car.

Up until the interview (this was like 1999) I was the 30 thousand dollar man to him. I remember he told me to make sure when they were going to make a decision and what was the next step. It was August, I asked as the headhunter said, and the interviewer said we'll probably make our decision in Jan. or Feb.

When the headhunter heard that, I was no longer a $30k commission for him, I was the $0 man. One month later, still no reimbursement for the flight, car, and per diem. I called him and told him I'm holding him to reimbursement as promised, and he was a co*** moth** f*****. I'm sure at that point I felt exactly like the OP. He told me you'll get your money so relax. Here's my boss' email, feel free to light a fire under his a** if you want. I did, and got my money. But like I said, I was young, it was 1999, and today, I'd let it go.

[49ER ROLL]

i don't know if you saw this when you were here but Weatherford (berkeley) has this. i have a few manager friends there, service and sales. i can make sure you get handled properly.

this just came in there.

[jkman510]

Weatherford bmw is almost as bad as bmw sf. (But probly not for you trevor since you know people there)



The only bay area dealers I've liked are BMW Concord and Peter Pan BMW.

[HitBoostTwinTurbo]

sorry to hear that :S, once you finally get your m3, do a crazy burnout at night on their parking lot

[johnnyboi418]

i got my car from bmw of SF and it was a great experience for me. However it really depends on the sales representatives that you get

[ceb]

Originally Posted by HitBoostTwinTurbo

sorry to hear that :S, once you finally get your m3, do a crazy burnout at night on their parking lot

Great advice. Screw up your car to annoy them.

[lucas.kent]

Bummer, OP. I still will never understand why dealers do this kind of thing. At the end of the day is it really worth that extra couple hundred bucks they made by selling it to some sucker? If only one person on this forum decides to go elsewhere, they've already lost that money. When will they learn...?

I have also had a tough time with a dealer, but after posting here they reached out to me and cleared it up. I can only hope that this dealer does the same for you.