I took my car into Heights Autohaus 3 months ago because the passenger mirror was juttering a little and I have a service contract (extended warranty). The new mirror (or installation of it) turned out to be faulty so I took it back to Autohaus Wednesday last week. They have full 12 month labor and parts warranties, so I figure I was covered. I call to check on the car Thursday end of day and the guy says the part came from BMW Midtown (a dealership I’ve had issues with in the past) and they need to drop it there, and that he would Friday. I look on my app on Tuesday this week and see my car is still at Autohaus, so I call and they say they will call me back. 5 hours later I see that the car is at BMW Midtown end of day Tuesday. Autohaus guy says all is good and they will replace the mirror. I then get a text from the advisor at BMW midtown on Wednesday saying they haven’t even looked at the car yet. I call Autohaus and the guy says that’s weird, and I just ask if he can push it so I can get my car back Friday. Today I get a link from BMW Midtown showing all sorts of issues: brake failure, transmission warning, and restraint system failure. And they say that the car was towed in and undriveable on Tuesday.
I then call Autohaus and the guy I was working with has the day off. The owner says that sounds weird but he’s not going to call the employee on his personal phone. Then I ask what I should do and he basically says he’ll look into it tomorrow but he’s “not going to kiss my ass”.
BMW Midtown has history on me and my car. Hell, you can see one star reviews all over the internet from me. So there’s motive there to mess with my car and play dumb.
But the guy at Autohaus lied multiple times and acted shady the entire time, so maybe he stripped parts from my car or went joyriding or who knows.
Bottom line is I take it into one place for a faulty mirror. Now two auto shops are involved and my car isn’t drivable, now with thousands in needed repairs. I’m thinking of getting the sheriff involved or having them tow the car to a different shop, paying out of pocket and suing both shops.
Anyone dealt with this kind of shady stuff before? Any advice?
UPDATE: Manager from Autohaus called me yesterday 10am saying “we always use tow trucks to transfer to other shops, and the car was working fine when it was towed, so I don’t know what to tell you”. I asked if they were going to get the car back from Advantage so I can pick it up, and they said no, they were done with it and I need to go to pick up up from Advantage myself. Spoke with Advantage and asked them to clear the codes to see if it was driveable and not surprisingly, it was. They still claim the rear wheel speed sensors are now messed up, probably from the tow, but we will see if that’s true if a warning light comes on.
For a DTPA claim I need to prove damages, so that might just be the quote on the speed sensor ($1k) or an opinion on the decreased trade in value from this whole debacle. Probably will send a demand letter to Autohaus for the $1k plus attorneys fees and point out that I’m entitled to treble damages if it goes to court. This is my third BMW, but I think I’m done. Going to probably wait for the new RX or rumored Lexus TX.
I then call Autohaus and the guy I was working with has the day off. The owner says that sounds weird but he’s not going to call the employee on his personal phone. Then I ask what I should do and he basically says he’ll look into it tomorrow but he’s “not going to kiss my ass”.
BMW Midtown has history on me and my car. Hell, you can see one star reviews all over the internet from me. So there’s motive there to mess with my car and play dumb.
But the guy at Autohaus lied multiple times and acted shady the entire time, so maybe he stripped parts from my car or went joyriding or who knows.
Bottom line is I take it into one place for a faulty mirror. Now two auto shops are involved and my car isn’t drivable, now with thousands in needed repairs. I’m thinking of getting the sheriff involved or having them tow the car to a different shop, paying out of pocket and suing both shops.
Anyone dealt with this kind of shady stuff before? Any advice?
UPDATE: Manager from Autohaus called me yesterday 10am saying “we always use tow trucks to transfer to other shops, and the car was working fine when it was towed, so I don’t know what to tell you”. I asked if they were going to get the car back from Advantage so I can pick it up, and they said no, they were done with it and I need to go to pick up up from Advantage myself. Spoke with Advantage and asked them to clear the codes to see if it was driveable and not surprisingly, it was. They still claim the rear wheel speed sensors are now messed up, probably from the tow, but we will see if that’s true if a warning light comes on.
For a DTPA claim I need to prove damages, so that might just be the quote on the speed sensor ($1k) or an opinion on the decreased trade in value from this whole debacle. Probably will send a demand letter to Autohaus for the $1k plus attorneys fees and point out that I’m entitled to treble damages if it goes to court. This is my third BMW, but I think I’m done. Going to probably wait for the new RX or rumored Lexus TX.
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