BMW Main Dealer

[golfbluecustard]

Had my first experience today......

Did a live chat about a 2nd hand car we were interested in, got a call back, paid a £ 1,000 deposit to reserve it and booked a test drive for tomorrow morning

4 hours later get a call seemingly as they were taking my money it was being reserved by another branch.....

Now waiting on a refund which they're being very slow in processing

Appreciate ' these things happen ' but if that's BMW it's not a great first impression

GBC

 

[KenL]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

 

[golfbluecustard]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

That's what I'm now asking myself.....

It was at a dealer nearly 2 1/2 hours away and didn't want it to sell as I was on the M4

GBC

 

[Imurg]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

It's common these days as its not so easy to go and look at a car and get a test drive there and then.
More and more sales are being done online..the deposit will be refundable and holds the car until you can get to it.
I had it when I bought mine back in June..£500 down, held for 48 hrs, had a look, didn't like it, £500 refunded that afternoon.
Shouldn't take long.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

I paid for my car in full before I saw it. Spotted it on the BMW approved website, exactly the spec I was looking for. Spoke to the dealer, it came with the BMW warranty and was in 'as new' condition. As it was 3 hours away I wanted to sort everything out so I could collect the car and drive it home. The car was exactly as described.

 

[andycap]

I paid for my car in full before I saw it. Spotted it on the BMW approved website, exactly the spec I was looking for. Spoke to the dealer, it came with the BMW warranty and was in 'as new' condition. As it was 3 hours away I wanted to sort everything out so I could collect the car and drive it home. The car was exactly as described.

I did simular , it was the car i had been looking for , for 6 months , main dealer , video viewing , they took the same chance with px on my range rover , new car delivered , my car collected , job done , didn't leave home , The best car buying experience i've had

 

[Jamesbrown]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

My last two cars I got was without driving or looking at it and another coming in January.
The first time I did it, I didn’t even know what colour I was getting. (Dodgy deal making negative equity dissapear, deal done in golf clubhouse)

 

[Hacker Khan]

Why on earth would you pay a deposit before even seeing or test driving the car?

I know it's slightly different but I've not even sat in the last 5 cars I've had before they have turned up. They have all been company cars so I figure they will be fine, and if not I only had them for 3 years/

 

[KenL]

I did simular , it was the car i had been looking for , for 6 months , main dealer , video viewing , they took the same chance with px on my range rover , new car delivered , my car collected , job done , didn't leave home , The best car buying experience i've had

Would you have easily got your money back if it wasn't as described or had a fault?

 

[Deleted member 21784]

Would you have easily got your money back if it wasn't as described or had a fault?

https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

The world has changed.

Bought my last car April 2nd before they shut the dealers. Hadn't seen it. Arrived next day from 50 miles away.

Still ticking

Didn't use this service but this is another example

https://www.cazoo.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0K...EynTiN_FgHBGkq4VND8aAkvKEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Buy online, delivered to the door. Can buy your car and take away same time.

7 day to decide if it suits your lifestyle .. full money back

 

[Smiffy]

Would you have easily got your money back if it wasn't as described or had a fault?

The world has changed Ken. We advertise our cars on Autotrader, and because of this we are getting enquiries from all over the country.
We will take an initial deposit (usually £500.00) to reserve a car as people will drive a long way for the right one. This deposit is fully refundable if the customer is unhappy with the car for whatever reason, but to cover ourselves as much as we can we will always send a personalised video to the interested party. We explain that the deposit is fully refundable and is just to be seen as a "holding fee".
The alternative is somebody driving all the way to us to then find that the car has been sold during their trip. This has happened a few times in the past, so to avoid it we offer the holding fee service.
Obviously they can't decline the car because they don't like the colour. That's why we send a video!
What the BMW dealer did to the OP is a little bit off to be honest. Four hours between putting the deposit down and then finding out you lost the car to another branch?? I'd be asking to see paperwork to back up their story.

 

[golfbluecustard]

The world has changed Ken. We advertise our cars on Autotrader, and because of this we are getting enquiries from all over the country.
We will take an initial deposit (usually £500.00) to reserve a car as people will drive a long way for the right one. This deposit is fully refundable if the customer is unhappy with the car for whatever reason, but to cover ourselves as much as we can we will always send a personalised video to the interested party. We explain that the deposit is fully refundable and is just to be seen as a "holding fee".
The alternative is somebody driving all the way to us to then find that the car has been sold during their trip. This has happened a few times in the past, so to avoid it we offer the holding fee service.
Obviously they can't decline the car because they don't like the colour. That's why we send a video!
What the BMW dealer did to the OP is a little bit off to be honest. Four hours between putting the deposit down and then finding out you lost the car to another branch?? I'd be asking to see paperwork to back up their story.

The dealer hasn't now returned a message I left on Friday afternoon and my credit card payment out to them is still pending...

Am not for one minute thinking it won't be fully refunded but the sales man's interest ended when he took my deposit and it was a £ 6 k approved used low mileage 1 series (hens teeth) my son wanted to buy not the £ 30 - £ 50 k they'll be selling day in day out

As you say 4 hours is a long time, part of me thinks i was a cash buyer and the other buyer may of been going for finance .... Or it was one of their sons wanting to buy it .... Mistakes happen but give bad news early

Oh well.just means the dealer won't see a penny from me, ever, does make me wonder if I'd phoned them 4 hours later saying i 'd brought something else how they'd of reacted .....

GBC

P.s it's still for sale with deposits being accepted on the approved used bmw site.....

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/result/?distance=600&series=1+Series&sort=cash_price&source=home

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Both my eldest daughter and her hubby have had issues with BMW dealers. They can be exceedingly slow resolving issues.