Unfortunate experience from new 330 owner

[mousecrab]

I picked up my 2003 330I last week from a local dealer and all along the salesman told me the car has the M package (ZHP in US) and has extra 10 hp. He even keeps on mentioning he CAN feel the difference of the extra 10 horses! Since I picked up the car I have noticed things where mine is different from the other ZHP out there. What caught my attention first were the 17-inch rims. Did lots of research and thanks for all the help I got from members here, finally was able to discover the truth from BMW Canada yesterday. My car is a 2003 330I with the M SPORTS package which is not the same as an M performance or ZHP. Back in 2003 there were no ZHP being offer in Canada. What are the differences? All the real meat, don’t get the extra 10 horse, not the higher red line, the red needle, the 18-inch rims and the steeling wheel is leather instead of Alcatara leather. Still need to find out about the suspension and gear ratio. It does look like a ZHP as it has the M body kit and all sort of M accessories inside out. The dealer is will to take some action to correct their mistake but would be nothing more than a few hundred dollars back to my pocket. And I have to say the customer service of the dealer is very good as I know many other manufactures would have gave me sh*t. I feel real bad about not having the extra horses as I thought I’m driving one just next to the E36 4 dr M3 and now is not any more. What would be the best use of the $$ that the dealer is going to (hopefully) give me? The manager offered me an M front lip for free but I want something more practical.
Performance wise would be good or a deal on snow tires as snow tires that will fit are hard to find now in Canada.
Sorry for the long message. Just want to share my unfortunate experience.

 

[mbquart3000]

Sorry to here about your situation. All I can say is try to get the most you can from them.At least get the 18" wheels if you really like the car.

If you are really unhappy about the car try to get a refund.Keeping a car you don't want will make your experience less enjoyable.
Misleading informarion from the dealer will hold up in court if you had to go that route.

It has happened to me once. I eneded up keeping the car (not a bmw) and regretted it the whole time I had the car.

Good luck.

 

[adrean8j]

Well let us see a pic of your car and then we will decide what to do with the extra money!

 

[mousecrab]

180 degree turn of the dealer's position. Now the salesman told the manager that he had NEVER told me about the extra 10 horses!!!
The dealer now give me two options. 1. Get my old car back and return the 330, I'll have to pay all the cost of doing safty and all that, still have to find out the admin cost and stuff.
2. Cut me a check with half of what we discussed yesterday.
It's not really a matter of a few hundred dollars. If you were driving a ZHP and someone says they are going to take your extra performance away, in return they would give you a few hundred dollars, what would your reaction be?
In the beginning I was like, this is not the end of the world specially the dealer is willing to take action on their error (the responsibility out weight the money)but now with the salesman trying to hide his wrong doing by using me as an escape goat, then it is not acceptable and non-professional.
I'm now more thinking of taking my old car back and trade it in next year for a 2005 G35 4 dr. Sad to say good bye to the BMW world but do believe this is the right thing to do.

 

[codex57]

What costs? I would throw a fit about the salesperson changing their story. If you want your car back, I'd demand they let you return it with no fees whatsoever. The sales guy screwed up so why should you have to pay for it? It likely isn't much money, so the dealership can eat it and yell at the sales guy.

Don't be all threats though. Just show your extreme unhappiness at the sales guy, but then mention that if you're treated with respect, you'll sing praises to friends, family, and on the internet about the dealer's good actions.

 

[///M SPEED]

Sorry to hear mousecrab, that really is too bad. As a parting shot let them know you're a member of many BMW Forums and you are going to spread the word of how you were treated by this shady salesman and the non-action the manager decided take.

Also, try getting in contact with BMWUSA and explain to them what happened to see if there is anything that they can do for you or at least the treatment you received at that dealer....

Good luck and hope in that the future you will one day give BMW a chance again. I promise you won’t be disappointed....

P.S. Welcome to the board and even when/if you get the G35 you are always welcome her to share your experiences, question, and/or stories with the car, because this is a car enthusiast site.....

 

[sly]

Sorry to hear mousecrab, that really is too bad. As a parting shot let them know you're a member of many BMW Forums and you are going to spread the word of how you were treated by this shady salesman and the non-action the manager decided take.

Also, try getting in contact with BMWUSA and explain to them what happened to see if there is anything that they can do for you or at least the treatment you received at that dealer....

Good luck and hope in that the future you will one day give BMW a chance again. I promise you won’t be disappointed....

P.S. Welcome to the board and even when/if you get the G35 you are always welcome her to share your experiences, question, and/or stories with the car, because this is a car enthusiast site.....

All good advice. I'm especially impressed with your last statement about the poster being welcome regardless of the car he buys. There's not a lot of quantity on this Board, but there sure is quality. Nice gesture on your part.

 

[codex57]

Also, try getting in contact with BMWUSA

Try BMW of Canada too.

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

180 degree turn of the dealer's position. Now the salesman told the manager that he had NEVER told me about the extra 10 horses!!!
The dealer now give me two options. 1. Get my old car back and return the 330, I'll have to pay all the cost of doing safty and all that, still have to find out the admin cost and stuff.
2. Cut me a check with half of what we discussed yesterday.
It's not really a matter of a few hundred dollars. If you were driving a ZHP and someone says they are going to take your extra performance away, in return they would give you a few hundred dollars, what would your reaction be?
In the beginning I was like, this is not the end of the world specially the dealer is willing to take action on their error (the responsibility out weight the money)but now with the salesman trying to hide his wrong doing by using me as an escape goat, then it is not acceptable and non-professional.

this would be about the time i would get my lawyer...after first of all going in and screaming at the guy...i mean he has to be lieing, you probably wouldn't have even known about hte 10 extra hp if he hadn't told u about it and it was a major selling point, well this would piss me off, mostly the lieing of the salesman, let us know what happens, and welcome to teh board

 

[BMW-FW26]

But you still have a BMW! I would be happy with an E12!

 

[Average Jae]

man, it seems like things aren't getting better as days pass by. i agree w/ the enthusiast, and start calling various lawyers around town to find out what you can do. i don't know how the court systems work in canada, but over here, i think you can at least take them to a small claims court to settle the matters. at least make them suffer a little for all the crap they put you through. (that if you don't get a lawyer, i'm sure the lawyer would have some creative suggestions to try.)

But you still have a BMW! I would be happy with an E12!

so you'd trade your m3 in fer an e12? bimmers are nice, but it's not a be all/ end all of cars. if you got screwed while getting it, why would you want to keep it? it's a matter of principle at that point.

 

[Average Jae]

All good advice. I'm especially impressed with your last statement about the poster being welcome regardless of the car he buys. There's not a lot of quantity on this Board, but there sure is quality. Nice gesture on your part.

as //m speed mentioned, while this is a bmw board, it really is an enthusiasts board, and most of us, spare for some idiots would bash someone just by what car they own. (fan boys can get annoying..) i remember one jackass that went off on someone's e60 530i, saying "i hope that's not your car" after seeing his sig. uttlerly classless. but overall, it's one of the better boards i've been on.

 

[mousecrab]

Thanks alot guys. This is really a good board and people are helpful and supportive!
Have been at other boards when I had my old car, people over there are nice but are different, guess the difference may be due to the average drivers over there are still students...
Enough said, back to the topic. Talked to the GM at the dealer after I posted the message and notified him my desire of getting my old car back. He is a cool guy and very understandable. He was willing to do that if that would keep me happy. Few minutes after I dropped off the phone, the used car manager called me to talk about the details of reversing the deal. He started off with an aggressive tone and I knew it won't be too smooth. He tried to tell me how much trouble it will caused me to reverse the deal and of cause in a nice way. Guess he understand if the situation gets any worst; it doesn't take me much efford to report this over to BMW Canada and to post the story on all the BMW boards. After a few attemptes he noticed I've taken action to minimized my cost of the reverse, then he started to sale me again... This time he told me to put aside what the salesman said and agree that the salesman MIGHT have told me the wrong info. But due to the fact that there is no witness to prove who lied, he is willing to take action to keep me as a customer happy. The compensation is a bit less than initially but money is not the key any more. What drove me so mad was the fact that the salesman lied. I understand it is difficult to be an auto sales especially for used cars. They have to know the details of all the cars of different models and the most difficult part is from different years where option and spec can vary alot. Making an error is fine but tring to lie afterwards to cover himself is really bad and should deserve a kick at the a$$.
I accepted the manager's offer mainly because himself and the GM are willing to solve the issue by not blamming the customer rather tried to make the customer happy. Most importantly the manager told me not to care about what the salesman said as they come and go easily and I'm now dealing with the management directly.
At the end although the compensation would never cover my lost of the extra performance, the management of the dealer did provide me with high level of customer service and the car itself is a nice car. Good job to the management but SHAME on the salesman.

 

[Andre]

If it makes you feel any better, the Canadian ZHP doesn't get the red needles and higher marked tach. (Yes, it does rev 300 higher though). BMW was too cheap to make a metric ZHP cluster, so we have to put up with the regular 330i cluster. We also do not get the M trim on the door sills, or the chrome dead-pedal - although I got my dealer to install those anyway, since the literature said it was supposed to have it.

 

[Average Jae]

hey Andre, welcome back, how's your zhp doing? hmm.. mine didnt' have M trim on the door sills, nor the chrome dead-pedal..

btw, i saw another zhp right behind me today for the first time in months, same color and everything.. would've been really weird if i were in my car, but i was taking my parents car back from a wash..

 

[///M SPEED]

All good advice. I'm especially impressed with your last statement about the poster being welcome regardless of the car he buys. There's not a lot of quantity on this Board, but there sure is quality. Nice gesture on your part.

Thanks sly, I appreciate the kind words. I love BMW's, but above that I love cars. I can find great thinks from almost any brand of car manufacturer. My thought is just because you don't own a BMW you can always contribute to the forum as long as you don't flame, slander, or all in all are not jerks.

There are too many other forums where you can find what I stated in the last sentence, which is why I prefer to spend most of my time here. The people here seem to be much nicer, willing to help (even if the question has been asked a million times; we were all new at one time), and it seems there isn't as much flaming here. You want flame go to E46fanatics. Again, thanks sly....

 

[///M SPEED]

Try BMW of Canada too.

Oops, sorry mousecrab missed that one. Thanks for the correction codex57. I failed to notice he is in Toronto.

 

[flashinthepan]

I picked up my 2003 330I last week from a local dealer and all along the salesman told me the car has the M package (ZHP in US) and has extra 10 hp. He even keeps on mentioning he CAN feel the difference of the extra 10 horses! Since I picked up the car I have noticed things where mine is different from the other ZHP out there. What caught my attention first were the 17-inch rims. Did lots of research and thanks for all the help I got from members here, finally was able to discover the truth from BMW Canada yesterday. My car is a 2003 330I with the M SPORTS package which is not the same as an M performance or ZHP. Back in 2003 there were no ZHP being offer in Canada. What are the differences? All the real meat, don’t get the extra 10 horse, not the higher red line, the red needle, the 18-inch rims and the steeling wheel is leather instead of Alcatara leather. Still need to find out about the suspension and gear ratio. It does look like a ZHP as it has the M body kit and all sort of M accessories inside out. The dealer is will to take some action to correct their mistake but would be nothing more than a few hundred dollars back to my pocket. And I have to say the customer service of the dealer is very good as I know many other manufactures would have gave me sh*t. I feel real bad about not having the extra horses as I thought I’m driving one just next to the E36 4 dr M3 and now is not any more. What would be the best use of the $$ that the dealer is going to (hopefully) give me? The manager offered me an M front lip for free but I want something more practical.
Performance wise would be good or a deal on snow tires as snow tires that will fit are hard to find now in Canada.
Sorry for the long message. Just want to share my unfortunate experience.

Man !, sorry to hear the frustration !! I would turn around and order a new ZHP from a diff, dealer....I have had great experiences both times ordering a BMW new.

Good luck !!

 

[Andre]

hey Andre, welcome back, how's your zhp doing? hmm.. mine didnt' have M trim on the door sills, nor the chrome dead-pedal..

btw, i saw another zhp right behind me today for the first time in months, same color and everything.. would've been really weird if i were in my car, but i was taking my parents car back from a wash..

My ZHP is doing fine.
The milage sucks, but Oh well...

Mine didn't come with the trim either, but I pointed out to the dealer where it mentions it in their advertising, so they got BMW to authorize the parts. They're nothing special, but if it's supposed to some with them...

 

[Average Jae]

just curious to Canadian zhp owners. do you have clear out lights? and side markers or the ambers? if clears, i think they are more the euro version than the american counterpart. could be the reason why the 03s only had the m style package only.

the reason why i mention it is because i was watching this one korean drama, and the lady in it drove an imola zhp look like, cept it had clears, and style 68m rims. just like the euro style.