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Damage incurred during shipping?

3K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  cwsqbm 
#1 ·
It seems damage during shipping is not unheard of from a couple of threads that I saw. Bumpers getting scraped and I recall one guy had a hood damaged among other things. Are these isolated incidents or not? Who covers the damage done during shipping? Harms, I guess? I hate the thought of picking up my car at redelivery and find some sort of damage. Almost makes me want to reconsider doing ED. But the thought of being able to drive on the autobahn and visit Germany and pick up my "baby" at his birthplace is very hard to pass up on...
 
#2 ·
damaged during shipment is covered under the ed purchase. if u dropped the car off clean at harms, then there should be nothing to worry about. when i took redelivery it was in the condition i dropped it off, near perfect. there should be nothing to worry about and even if there is damage during transit it will probably be fixed before you find out about it. the incidents u mentioned above on scratched bumper and damaged hood, they probably either failed to file a gerhling insurance claim or minor enough to be overlooked at by vpc. these are very rare circumstances that should not be a major concern to you. i had the same questions before i decided to do ed as u.
 
#3 ·
jcatral14 said:
Are these isolated incidents or not?
They seem isolated. Most people have not experienced any damage.

jcatral14 said:
Who covers the damage done during shipping? Harms, I guess?
Harms is a shipping agent. Clearly, a shipping agent is not in the position of providing insurance (they are not even the transporter, e.g. Wallenius or NYK which BMW engages separately). Marine insurance from your insurer covers the shipping portion of the journey.
 
#4 ·
I also would like to know BMW's official policy regarding customer's acceptance or refusal of an European Delivery vehicle that's damaged during shipping.

A few years ago, more than three hundred BMW vehicles were badly damaged in the cargo ship Courage:

http://www.bmwblog.com/2008/01/24/how-will-bmw-deal-with-the-cars-damaged-during-shipping/

According to the article:

Vehicles with damage greater than three percent of their value will be repaired and used as employee vehicles for a period of time before being sold at dealer auctions with full disclosure of the damage and repairs. After being sold at auction, the cars will carry the balance of the original factory warranty.

Cars with less than three percent damage will be repaired, after which the dealer, or the customer in the case of a special order vehicle, will be notified of the damage and repair and then given the option of accepting or refusing the car. Any repaired car that is rejected by either a dealer or a customer will be sent to a dealer auction and the vehicle will be replaced with an identical one at the earliest possible time. All repaired vehicles will carry the full factory warranty.

And here is the important part for all of you that have done the ED program: Those customers who were waiting for their European Delivery vehicle to arrive will have the same options and everyone else. Essentially, they can take a similar vehicle from dealer stock, or they can order an identical replacement new from the factory.


I am wondering if that was (still is?) BMW's official policy or if it was just for that specific incident.
 
#6 ·
I'm sorry but I have to chime in. You can't refuse the car. It's your car by that point...

Part of the ED deal includes insurance. Marsh is the provider. Like any other accidental damage to an insured vehicle, they repair it.

Just imagine if your car was aboard Tricolor when it sank!?!? I lost cars on that one. I should say that my customers lost their cars. Insurance covered the loss.
 
#5 ·
I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you have a good relationship with your dealer I'm sure they'd work something out.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have completed 5 BMW Euro Deliveries and I have posted here for approximately 10 years. I have never experienced any issues with my cars getting damaged in shipping. I do not recall hearing others complain of it, although surely someone would have posted a complaint that I don't recall. Shipping damage is extremely isolated and not issue. People do BMW Euro Delivery over and over again because they quite happy with the experience. I consider shipping damage to be a non-issue.
 
#15 ·
#19 · (Edited)
When visiting the VDC in Port Hueneme the facility manager advised about 2% of all BMW's received there incur some level of damage requiring remediation by the VDC. ED cars are included in the ~2% but contribute slightly more to the total since they have been on-road and get banged up by their owners.

So....USA delivery doesn't mean your car hasn't received transit damage/repair. I don't worry about it after touring the VDC, they are experts at repairing these cars.
 
#22 ·
So....USA delivery doesn't mean your car hasn't received transit damage/repair. I don't worry about it after touring the VDC said:
experts[/I] at repairing these cars.
Indeed. Do not be dissuaded by potential for shipping damage. ANY damage-including that which you may cause/sustain- from your ED adventure, will be repaired at BMW VPC stateside.
For all intents & purposes, you will be receiving a brand new, ED seasoned BMW at redelivery.
 
#25 ·
Thanks!

Thank you all for your responses to my question on how BMW deals with this issue. From what i read so far, the risk is not high enough to dissuade me from purchasing a vehicle via European Delivery.

That said, i think this information is important for anyone interested in picking-up their cars in Europe so that they don't have to come crying and whining about this on the forum when their vehicles are damaged during redelivery. I could not find any information about shipping damage on both the Bimmerfest wiki on ED and also on BMW's website. Perhaps, it would be better to include such information on the ED wiki:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php?title=BMW_European_Delivery

When i read about BMW's response to the Courage disaster, i was like, take that Audi USA (speaking as a current Audi owner), especially after reading this guy's account on his bad Audi European Delivery experience. But it appears BMW's appropriate response in dealing with damaged vehicles on Courage is not the norm. I can understand why BMW decided to give hundreds of affected owners, including some ED ones, the choice to refuse acceptance of their damaged cars. Can you imagine the PR disaster, not to mention angering many BMW owners, if BMW had done otherwise?

I can also see why European car makers are able to offer discount off MSRP for ED. Because by picking up your car in Europe, the vehicle is legally yours as soon as you drive off the lot. Anything that happen to the car during its 2-month voyage, however tiny that risk, is no longer the car maker's responsibility. Sure, the vehicle is insured but the car maker does not have to deal with owners refusing to accept patched-up vehicles and this actually saves the car manufacturer some money.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Thank you all for your responses to my question on how BMW deals with this issue. From what i read so far, the risk is not high enough to dissuade me from purchasing a vehicle via European Delivery.
Sorry for the tone of my first reply. Go ahead and :throw: me.

You are right! Information is vital for risk assessment.

IMO the best advantage of European Delivery is the car has not been test driven (by potential buyers) on a cold engine.

Check out this links video: Dealership Employees get fired for joyride aboard BMW 1M.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581727
 
#31 · (Edited)
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