I booked my BMW in at Sytner in Nottingham for a full service and they told me the car was covered under the timing chain recall, so that work could be completed at the same time. This was potentially up to a 3 stage process, which mine needed the full work completing (tensioner, upper chain, lower chain) the latter which needs the engine removing from the car.

 

I picked up the car after the work was complete, to find this deep scratch on the font bumper (I had checked the car over in the car park when I dropped it off for the work to be done and it definately wasn't there before)

 

 

I was obviosly angry and brought this up with the guy who was dealing with me, who advised he will speak with his manager and got the manager of the paint department to assess the damage (I then took photos whilst the car is in their car park. On the way home I received a call asking for me to send the photos in which I took by email which I did when I got home.

 

The next day I received a call from the person I was dealing with who advised he has spoken to his manager and that they are not responsible for the damage.... I told him the damage was not on the car when I left it in there hands, he advised the damage was noted on the pre-work diagram of the car by the workshop. Immediately I asked is this form held by the workshop until the works complete or is it handed in to the admin before work starts to which he stumbled and said yet its handfed in before work commences.... I told him the damage occurred whilst on site, whether by the workshop, in the carpark or moving the car to be worked on and demanded to speak to him manager, who was in a meeting of course!! He said the manager will ring me on monday.... I asked for a copy of all documents they hold on my car to be sent to my address as well as cctv footage to be checked

 

The other strange thing is I was told the car hadnt been washed after the work was done and when I collected the car a valeter came and stood next to the person dealing with me and was talking quietly all I made out was something like "is this the car"...

 

My honest opinion is due to the direction of the scratch and how deep it is, it was done whilst the engine was being removed, as it looks like something heavy has been dragged down the paint to me (rather than being damaged by moving the car). My issue is obviously the manager will ring me Monday and deny all responsibility of it. Obviously I have no photographic proof from when I dropped the car off that the scratch wasn't there.

 

Has anyone had anything like this happen before?

Edited September 27, 201510 yr by Adam D

If they have cctv, they must have images of the car on their property from the day it was dropped off by you and therefore should be easy to prove either way whether the scratch was there, depending on the angle of pics, but going down the request for the cctv footage is the first port of call.

If they try to fob you off, then threaten with legal action which will demand they produce the cctv footage from the date of arrival, most companies have to keep footage for a certain period of time, so you could well prove your case.

 

Good luck :thumbup1:

Reg. Office: 2 Penman Way, Grove Park, Leicester, LE19 1ST

 

Registered in England. Company Reg. No. 2883766

 

FCA Reg. No 310540 | VAT Reg. No GB 610 6250 86

 

https://companycheck.co.uk/company/00813696/SYTNER-LIMITED/directors-secretaries

 

The address is the main head office for the group, the link give the names of the current directors.

I would suggest a polite well worded letter enquiring as to their procedure and policy in these circumstances.

Start by apologising for writing to them, but you feel that the people you have spoken to are just trying to palm you off.

State that you are awaiting a response from the site manager.

Copy in all the directors by name.

Sit back and wait.

 

I spent years in big business and the last thing any middle manager wants is their name mentioned in connection with a complaint.

That guy will do anything to make you happy.

If you want a hand wording it let me know.

ive had this issue once when a wheels refurbed. again for a crap remap on porsche and again for a dodgy clutch, all em them would not help or sort the job or give refund when i tried the whole going by the book routine. in the end i just used the pinned up on the wall routine, all payed me back this way, its all very well being nice and polite but some times in life you need to use other ways, dont dick about. get down there grab him buy the scruff of the neck and tell them how there going to sort the issue not can you sort,!! stand up for you self man its the only way

ive had this issue once when a wheels refurbed. again for a crap remap on porsche and again for a dodgy clutch, all em them would not help or sort the job or give refund when i tried the whole going by the book routine. in the end i just used the pinned up on the wall routine, all payed me back this way, its all very well being nice and polite but some times in life you need to use other ways, dont dick about. get down there grab him buy the scruff of the neck and tell them how there going to sort the issue not can you sort,!! stand up for you self man its the only way

 

cops will get called and escorted off the premises with a charge sheet for assault...not smart this early into the job Dan. There are other avenues to be explored 1st :sneaky2:

Persist and persist. When I took my old Leon FR to Seat Main dealer it came back with a dent on the door. Now I actually didn't even notice this as it was wet an dark when I picked the car up. I called them the next day and they suggested it could not have been them due to the process the car would have gone through which was complete tosh.

 

I kept at the for a few weeks and eventually they agreed the part-pay for the repairs. Now, as I couldn't prove it was them, I thought it fairly reasonable of them. Just keep calling - go in and see them and eventually they'll do something about it if they're to retain your business.

 

cops will get called and escorted off the premises with a charge sheet for assault...not smart this early into the job Dan. There are other avenues to be explored 1st :sneaky2:

 

Agreed! Violence is NOT the way.

Persist and persist. When I took my old Leon FR to Seat Main dealer it came back with a dent on the door. Now I actually didn't even notice this as it was wet an dark when I picked the car up. I called them the next day and they suggested it could not have been them due to the process the car would have gone through which was complete tosh.

 

I kept at the for a few weeks and eventually they agreed the part-pay for the repairs. Now, as I couldn't prove it was them, I thought it fairly reasonable of them. Just keep calling - go in and see them and eventually they'll do something about it if they're to retain your business.

 

 

 

Agreed! Violence is NOT the way.

 

worked for me 3 times, after i tried the nice way !

worked for me 3 times, after i tried the nice way !

 

You're my hero.....

only so much a man can take, not one to be pushed around, in total i got over over £1500 back that i would have lost,

Thanks for the advice guys, this is the first time I have taken a car to a main dealer for work and this happens....

 

I'll keep at them and will get a letter together, but won't be turning the place into a Royal Rumble!!

Thanks for the advice guys, this is the first time I have taken a car to a main dealer for work and this happens....

 

I'll keep at them and will get a letter together, but won't be turning the place into a Royal Rumble!!

 

am not saying you go in with a bat. but some times playing nice does not work by all means try it, i did and it was dragging on for months then i said sod this this, and it was all sorted in a week

cops will get called and escorted off the premises with a charge sheet for assault...not smart this early into the job Dan. There are other avenues to be explored 1st :sneaky2:

 

Agree 100% - you will never win this way....!

 

Persist and persist. When I took my old Leon FR to Seat Main dealer it came back with a dent on the door. Now I actually didn't even notice this as it was wet an dark when I picked the car up. I called them the next day and they suggested it could not have been them due to the process the car would have gone through which was complete tosh.

 

I kept at the for a few weeks and eventually they agreed the part-pay for the repairs. Now, as I couldn't prove it was them, I thought it fairly reasonable of them. Just keep calling - go in and see them and eventually they'll do something about it if they're to retain your business.

 

Agreed! Violence is NOT the way.

 

And agreed again! I had a similar problem with my local MB dealers following an accident back in 2008. They took my car in for repair after it was rear ended - works came to approx. £10k - but when I collected it, it was obvious they had done a half-arsed job at valeting it. The bonnet was swirled to buggery and there were similar blemishes to other panels that were not there prior to the repair. I complained to a manager and they took the car back and paid for a full paint correction job - and gave me a shiny new C-class Coupe for a few days.

 

A few weeks later - upon returning from holiday with the car, I noticed that some horse shit I had driven through, which landed on the new paint, had eaten through the new lacquer. Not best pleased I called the manager himself and they took the car back in, to respray the repaired areas again. Properly! They gave me a brand new ML350 for the duration..... There were a few more incidents which followed - and each time the dealers took the car back and either resprayed or had the affected areas professionally corrected at their cost. And each time giving me a decent courtesy vehicle for the duration.

 

The moral is, if they are a reputable dealership (particularly in the case of high end cars like MB, BMW etc) then they will not only care for their customers, but more so their reputation. Hence will go that extra mile to resolve such issues; even if there might be reasonable doubt as to their culpability.

 

Good luck mate - I hope you get it sorted.

 

Richard:clover:

Agree 100% - you will never win this way....!

 

 

 

And agreed again! I had a similar problem with my local MB dealers following an accident back in 2008. They took my car in for repair after it was rear ended - works came to approx. £10k - but when I collected it, it was obvious they had done a half-arsed job at valeting it. The bonnet was swirled to buggery and there were similar blemishes to other panels that were not there prior to the repair. I complained to a manager and they took the car back and paid for a full paint correction job - and gave me a shiny new C-class Coupe for a few days.

 

A few weeks later - upon returning from holiday with the car, I noticed that some horse shit I had driven through, which landed on the new paint, had eaten through the new lacquer. Not best pleased I called the manager himself and they took the car back in, to respray the repaired areas again. Properly! They gave me a brand new ML350 for the duration..... There were a few more incidents which followed - and each time the dealers took the car back and either resprayed or had the affected areas professionally corrected at their cost. And each time giving me a decent courtesy vehicle for the duration.

 

The moral is, if they are a reputable dealership (particularly in the case of high end cars like MB, BMW etc) then they will not only care for their customers, but more so their reputation. Hence will go that extra mile to resolve such issues; even if there might be reasonable doubt as to their culpability.Good luck mate - I hope you get it sorted.

 

Richard:clover:

 

yes 100%

I will say that the bosses do not like upset customers complaining so other potential customers are put off buying a New BMW...

Recently had a disgruntled customer with similar complaint loudly voicing their annoyance at their pride and joy being damaged whilst in dealers care....

Lets just say they calmed the customer by dealing with the problem, taking ownership of the situation and repairing the damage somebody caused....

They hate losing potential customers and usually do the right thing..... if they don't then call BMW UK customer care and ask to speak to the person in charge of the dealerships.....oooppppsss!....accidentally typed this....

 

BMW UK- managing Directors details.......

 

Mr Graeme Grieve Managing Director

 

Email Graeme.Grieve@bmw.co.uk

Telephone 01344 480207

Mobile 07823 536813

Website http://www.bmw.co.uk

 

Postal Address Company Secretary, Summit One, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom, GU14 0FBM

Company Number 01378137C

Company Status Active (Established 11/07/1978)

Graeme Grievance sounds like the man for the job!

I hate seeing things like this, they give dealers a bad name, our car park in particular is tiny, we have incidents all the time,

 

Definitely worth contacting BMW customer services. Rather then the dealer, take it over their head, I know from a personal point how much hassle those departments cause for dealers, chasing things and borderline harassing us over various issues.