How should I approach this?

So, I've had my car for about a month... had some troubles getting it. I asked for specificly black on black with aluminum interior. I found a dealer that said they had one, went and got things set on monday, car was supposed to be delivered tuesday. Went down tuesday, car wasn't there, now to be delivered on wednesday.

So we head down wednesday morning, finalaize all of the paperwork and figure out the lease options. I was brought towards BMW because of the bmwusa lease figures. 328i coupe with the premium package for 349/month. That's what I thought I was getting.

We go outside to check out the car after their usual gas up and wash, as he's showing me stuff in the trunk I notice the interior and the fact that it has dark burl wood, not aluminum. I was furious at that point because I had waited 3 days for this car and been kinda knocked around by the dealer.

Anyway, their resolution was that I either wait 4-5 days for the "right" car, or take delivery of this car. I had a trip to take out of state that night so I just took the car they had delivered and dealt with it.

Now, I know I should have noticed this earlier, but the car that I got does NOT have the premium package. In fact, it doesn't have anything. It's bone stock as it can get on top of the burl wood trim that I did not want.

I'm currently paying about 370/mo for the lease, so my question is this. How do I approach the dealer about the fact that I am paying just about the same or more for a car that has less options than the advertised lease deal that they have, and I basically got screwed on this car? Is there any way they would deliver the proper car after a month & 1400 miles? Could they add the premium package at their cost?

If I can't get any resolution from the dealer, would going to BMW itself help any? I got my sales survey and made mention of the errors, the car was the wrong one... didn't have the options I was expecting (bluetooth, bmw assist, usb, compass mirror, auto dimming, leather, etc) and made sure that BMW hq got the letter. I did get a follow up from the Sales Manager at the dealership and stated the same issues to him... I have not received a response.

I don't know if I screwed myself by taking delivery of the vehicle they wrongly shipped, or if I still have some leeway because I'm basically overpaying for a car with less options than the advertised lease deal.

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated, if this is in the wrong section please move it to the proper one and I apologize ahead of time.

Thank you for reading.

Rich.

sorry to say, but I dont think you have any recourse unless your bill of sale differs from what you got. ie: if your bill of sale states prem package, sport package, 6AT and you have a car with just the 6at, you have grounds.


the advertised specials on bmwusa are not indicative of whats available at the dealer... they often require large cap cost reductions and the application of option incentives that vary form month to month.
at the end of the day, you cant unwind the deal because you are paying more than the monthly special, you signed a contract for the car you took delivery of... there's no way to add premium package after the fact...and you cant take the car back a month and 1400 miles later.


did you read the window sticker to know exactly what you were buying? did you check the lease numbers to know what you were being charged? i suspect you're going to have to chalk this up as a very expensive learning experience...

Originally Posted by prodigymix

I don't know if I screwed myself by taking delivery of the vehicle they wrongly shipped, or.....Rich.

The or part is just wishful thinking.

Well, unless it is on the FINAL Bill of Sales with those package, you are basically on your own however I doubt the final bill of sales will list options unless they have an "I OWE YOU" forums you fill during the paper work. It is just their words against your words as you already signed the dotted line on a bunch of paper work and the finance/lease paper.

Normally they should provide you or you should request the BMW build sheet of the car with the options, package, VIN #, Color, Trim, prices for each options etc before you agree to sign any paper.

The moral of the story is you should double check the VIN and the CAR itself to ensure it is what you getting. Never trust a salesman who selling the car....

Originally Posted by bmwKbiker

The or part is just wishful thinking.

*ouch*

unfortunately true

yeah it seems as though i kinda screwed myself on this one. ugh.

oh well, it's only 3 years, i still love the car i just really want that USB option, compass &leather... maybe some nicer wheels.

aftermarket here i come! maybe. :\

thanks all.

You drove the car for over a month and did not know the car did not have a premium pkg? The manual seats did not sound any alarm bells?

this sounds fishy to me. how could you not know? its not like your buying a digital camera for 100 bucks and once you got home you noticed it wont work with your pc.

you bought a 40k car, right?

Originally Posted by prodigymix

yeah it seems as though i kinda screwed myself on this one. ugh.

oh well, it's only 3 years, i still love the car i just really want that USB option, compass &leather... maybe some nicer wheels.

aftermarket here i come! maybe. :\

thanks all.

umm... do you even know whats in the premium package?
wheels and USB were not part of it. leather and the compass are.

Originally Posted by el indiano

this sounds fishy to me. how could you not know? its not like your buying a digital camera for 100 bucks and once you got home you noticed it wont work with your pc.

you bought a 40k car, right?

+1

Me thinks we have a troll present.

Next time, I buy a car and I'm not going to check out the sticker before signing the paperwork too.

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And people keep wondering why the US is quickly becoming a 2nd tier nation.

Originally Posted by prodigymix

aftermarket here i come! maybe. :\

thanks all.

I think that qualifies as "thowing good money after bad."

If you are truly wanting another car, put it up for lease assumption and then order the car with the options you want through a board sponsor.

Originally Posted by JW_BMW

You drove the car for over a month and did not know the car did not have a premium pkg? The manual seats did not sound any alarm bells?

i knew that the car did not have the premium package.. although i do have automatic seats. that's not the point, the point is that i did not know that the lease deal on BMW advertising a $349 monthly cost INCLUDED the premium package.

Originally Posted by el indiano

this sounds fishy to me. how could you not know? its not like your buying a digital camera for 100 bucks and once you got home you noticed it wont work with your pc.

you bought a 40k car, right?

how could i not know? you mean how could i miss something while glancing at a lease deals page on a website? if you would've read, i DID know the car was missing these items, i have made note of it through my BMW survey and contact with the dealership through their survey... what i did NOT know was that the $349 lease deal was for a car that DID have the premium package, which my car does not.

Originally Posted by Calif65GM

+1

Me thinks we have a troll present.

Next time, I buy a car and I'm not going to check out the sticker before signing the paperwork too.

And people keep wondering why the US is quickly becoming a 2nd tier nation.

can you not read? i told the dealer what i wanted, they told me that they'd have it delivered. THEY screwed it up, the sticker wasn't even ON the car when i got it.
excuse me for trusting a freakin' BMW salesman to get a specific vehicle order correct.

Originally Posted by Vitacura

If you are truly wanting another car, put it up for lease assumption and then order the car with the options you want through a board sponsor.

that's having someone take over my lease right? i don't know that i want to deal with the 5k downpayment all over again. my savings account is still recovering from that.. lol.

i guess it would've helped to mention that this was my first time leasing, second time going through a dealership for a car. i'm not completely experienced in this and i was more frustrated than anything about them getting me the wrong car in the first place.

i didn't post my question in order to get chastised and no, i'm not a troll, it was a legitimate question. if you think that was trolling you're obviously new2theinternets.

thanks to those that gave this a serious read and a serious reply.

ouch, a 5K downpayment for a stripped 328i yielded a $370 monthly?

live and learn. do your research before you lease next time... and i mean that sincerely...

you got caught up in the rush of getting a new car and didn't ask the questions you should have at the time... and its too late to do anything about it now.

Indeed. 5k down on a 36 month lease, so you are actually paying about 508 a month.
Well, just write this off as a learning experience and don't think about it, just enjoy the car for the next 3 years!

Well Rich, you're screwed- you know that now. It happens, perhaps others will learn.

Here is my story, now almost 20 years ago.

Bought a new Aerostar. (yeah, huh?) Signed all the docs, got a good price. But when I got home I saw the loan was not 'simple interest' (which I wanted to be able to accelerate payoffs) but had massive prepayment penalties. So I called the dealer and spoke to the salesman.. He said "sorry, you can ask Ford if they can refinance, but we cannot do anything for you. Sorry. Click".

Boy, was I pissed. But nothing could be done. I spoke to Ford, they couldn't refi it, and they couldnt help with the dealer (nor should they).

Roll forward a week. The finance clerk calls and explains that 'we need to get your wife's name on the car title- in California the loan and the title must have husband and wife... we've prepared the forms, could she stop by and sign them?"

Sweet, eh? I said "No". Silence. Silence. "But, but..." I interrupted, "have your manager call me"

After a VERY tense conversation with the finance manager, they somehow managed to re-do the loan. We sat down and signed all the docs at once. In fact they still had the original loan docs in house. Just handed me their original, signed the new and signed the title.

But from that point forward, I will never sign a document without reading the whole thing and ensuring **I** understand every term involved. I do not trust the verbal assertions of anyone, nor do I assume 'Oh it must be what we discussed.'




Anyway, this dealer really screwed you over- it is a classic lease scam.

Sorry

A

Originally Posted by ard

Well Rich, you're screwed- you know that now. It happens, perhaps others will learn.

Here is my story, now almost 20 years ago.

Bought a new Aerostar. ...

Anyway, this dealer really screwed you over- it is a classic lease scam.

Sorry

A

Great story and lesson... I demand that they give me the window sticker before the prep the car.

I would not be so quick to call this a lease scam. OP went to the dealership and shopped payment and negotiated the deal based on that. With all the information here, especially with the lease calculation spreadsheets that have been posted, the OP failed to do enough homework before walking into the dealership. With regards to the car driven off the lot, OP was given the option to wait for the car as requested to arrive on the lot but chose not to.

OP: Enjoy the car.

THEY screwed it up, the sticker wasn't even ON the car when i got it.

Dealer may have violated the US Code Title 15 Chapter 28 Sections 1231-1233. Get an attorney. You might also want to look into filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.






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This thread should be a sticky titled "How not to lease a new BMW"

Originally Posted by rmbear

I would not be so quick to call this a lease scam. OP went to the dealership and shopped payment and negotiated the deal based on that. With all the information here, especially with the lease calculation spreadsheets that have been posted, the OP failed to do enough homework before walking into the dealership. With regards to the car driven off the lot, OP was given the option to wait for the car as requested to arrive on the lot but chose not to.

OP: Enjoy the car.

Yeah, thats actually my definition of a lease scam! It doesn't need to be "illegal" to be a "scam", IMHO.

Clearly the OP brought this on himself, and he knows it- but the dealer sure took full legal advantage of it.

Dealer may have violated the US Code Title 15 Chapter 28 Sections 1231-1233. Get an attorney. You might also want to look into filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

I thought of this as well, but since he isnt the BUYER, the Monroney may not need to be there... the new onwer is the Lessor. Perhaps someone can comment...

yeah i understand i made a few mistakes in this as well which i have no problem taking full responsibility for.

i by no means dislike the car, i was just under the assumption that the car being delivered for me had a) the premium package and b) aluminum trim, of which the car had neither. (although i do have shadlowline trim &automatic seats w/memory?)
yes i probably sealed the deal and assed myself by driving off of the lot with the car i have now, but as i said i was frustrated and had an out of state trip so i really couldn't have waited.

i can chalk this up to two things. one; never trust a dealer to follow through on your requests... and two; read read read and INSPECT the vehicle before signing anything.

thank you all for the help and i apologize to those i may have seemingly went off on for chastising me.
i'll get a phone call into the sales manager and see if there is anything they would be willing to do but i wont hold my breath.

edit: those of you saying that they might have violated a law by not having the sticker on the car.... it WAS in my folder of paper work they gave me with the copies of what i signed but i was not shown it prior to doing so (signing).
i don't know if that makes a difference or not, but the car was naked and ready to go by the time we got there, the paperwork was written up and finalized before the car had arrived.

hmm... they did violate the letter of the law by removing the sticker. from reading the statute, its like one of those mattress tags, for removal by consumer only:
(c) Removal, alteration, or illegibility of required label
Any person who willfully removes, alters, or renders illegible any label affixed to a new automobile pursuant to section 1232 of this title, or any endorsement thereon, prior to the time that such automobile is delivered to the actual custody and possession of the ultimate purchaser of such new automobile, except where the manufacturer relabels the automobile in the event the same is rerouted, repurchased, or reacquired by the manufacturer of such automobile, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Such removal, alteration, or rendering illegible with respect to each automobile shall constitute a separate offense.

i'm not sure that this will be any help getting out of the lease contract, you would need to speak to an attorney.

Originally Posted by prodigymix

i can chalk this up to two things. one; never trust a dealer to follow through on your requests... and two; read read read and INSPECT the vehicle before signing anything.

So I have a question.... Did you actually say to the sales guy: I want a 328i Coupe for $370 a month with $5000 and I want a car with premium pack.

Or did you say: Whats the cheapest you can get me into a black black coupe?

To be quite honest if the sales guy is smart enough to pull off what you are claiming then he is in the wrong carear and should be a professional fraudster.

I think there is a slightly different version of events from the ones you mention.

Either way, sorry you ended up with a car you didnt want

so could you post the window sticker for us? even power seats add like $995 to the msrp.

Originally Posted by prodigymix

yeah i understand i made a few mistakes in this as well which i have no problem taking full responsibility for.

i by no means dislike the car, i was just under the assumption that the car being delivered for me had a) the premium package and b) aluminum trim, of which the car had neither. (although i do have shadlowline trim &automatic seats w/memory?)
yes i probably sealed the deal and assed myself by driving off of the lot with the car i have now, but as i said i was frustrated and had an out of state trip so i really couldn't have waited.

i can chalk this up to two things. one; never trust a dealer to follow through on your requests... and two; read read read and INSPECT the vehicle before signing anything.

thank you all for the help and i apologize to those i may have seemingly went off on for chastising me.
i'll get a phone call into the sales manager and see if there is anything they would be willing to do but i wont hold my breath.

edit: those of you saying that they might have violated a law by not having the sticker on the car.... it WAS in my folder of paper work they gave me with the copies of what i signed but i was not shown it prior to doing so (signing).
i don't know if that makes a difference or not, but the car was naked and ready to go by the time we got there, the paperwork was written up and finalized before the car had arrived.

"Don't sweat the small stuff. And it is all small stuff." Quote by a famous Calif cardiologist.