BMW Gallops Autohaus (Ahmedabad) delivers a damaged & repainted 530i

Ravi_chd · 11th December 2018, 16:06

Dear Friends,

Please help me in solving an issue that has come up with my Brand New 530i purchased from Gallops Autohaus - Ahmedabad.

I purchased and took delivery of the car on December 1st. day of my wife's birthday. After the initial euphoria where i drove her for about 600 Kms, she's parked at home under covered parking in the basement as I don't stay at home most of the time and work keeps me away from being able to use it on a more regular basis.

As I intend to keep the car for a longer period of time, on January 11th, I took the car to 3M for a Ceramic Coating treatment - as strongly suggested by Mr. Priyank Bhatnagar at the dealership. The only difference being that although the dealership was pushing me to go to another vendor called Autobell, I decided to stick to 3M due to positive past experiences.

Left the car at 3M for the treatment only for them to call me back to verify paint damage to the side of the vehicle. Taken by surprise, we immediately went back to 3M wherein they pointed out that a portion has a layer of paint missing and that seems repainted.

We contacted BMW dealership again and they showed up at 3M Prahladnagar saying that this is not a damage while threatening the 3M staff that they'll lose their job for pointing this out to us. When my nephew told them that we might escalate the issue to BMW Germany, the guy from BMW by the name of Atul, literally threatened him saying that "Fine. Aap Germany complaint kar do fir hum dekhte hain ki aapka kaam kaun karega" (Translated - Fine. Complain to BMW Germany. Let's see who'll do your repair work.)

BMW insisted that we bring the vehicle back to the dealership so that the technicians can take a look at it. Ensuring us that they're just getting someone to look at it, they applied rubbing and polish on the paint without our knowledge or consent within ten mins of the vehicle being on the property. I resisted and stopped the process midway and said that lets keep that on hold while we figure out the next course of action. I was worried that after rubbing and polishing, the entire evidence will be gone.

Meanwhile, 3M told me that they are getting calls from BMW stating that they should not have bought this to our notice in the first place and should have instead covered it up in such a way that they entire mark had disappeared. Further raises doubts about the genuineness of the dealership.

A small scratch of paint doesn't worry me. What does worry me is that who knows what kind of problems has the car gone through before being handed over to me.

To clarify my doubts, the dealership has sent me a vehicle report (image attached) from their system which clearly states that the vehicle was taken through a PDI process back on September 15th. According to the dealership, the PDI process was carried out to activate navigation and use the car as a show car on the floor in the showroom. Case in point, the car had protective stickers on it till before a few days of delivery. Why would a car need to go through PDI and washing with stickers intact just to activate Navigation ? Was it supposed to be handed over to someone else and they backed out when they realized there is a damage and they needed more time to fix it ? Was the rubbing applied on the vehicle to cover their back sides ? Lots of unanswered questions remain on my mind.

The owner of the dealership is refusing to accept any blame, either on the product or on the behavior of his staff.

The purpose of writing this thread is two faced. For starters, I would like people to know about the kind of practices that are followed in dealerships in our country. Second, I would love to have the more experienced people give me a suggestion about the kind of approach I should take from here on.

Who_are_you · 11th December 2018, 17:15

Escalate matter to BMW, dealers selling a repaired car is common than you would imagine.

If you don't get a satisfactory response the only option is the consumer court.

Ravi_chd · 12th December 2018, 09:07

Yeah I'm going to for sure. Didn't expect such a service from premium car dealerships.

Couldn't even imagine they'll start calling 3M and say that 3M should have just covered it up so we wont get to know.

GTO · 13th December 2018, 09:36

Sucks to be in this situation. I'll go with 3M's opinion as they're the experts. At the very least, the dealer should have been candid & honest with you. Fact is that new cars do get small nicks & dents in transit or during storage. What I don't like here is the dealer's attitude.

Tell the dealer to buzz off and take it up with BMW India.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravi_chd

Meanwhile, 3M told me that they are getting calls from BMW stating that they should not have bought this to our notice in the first place and should have instead covered it up in such a way that they entire mark had disappeared. Further raises doubts about the genuineness of the dealership.

3M is very popular. What I'm more worried about is dealers giving nearby 3M outlets some business and telling them to shut up if they spot a repainted car. Today's repainting jobs are so good that it's hard for anyone but an expert to point out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who_are_you

If you don't get a satisfactory response the only option is the consumer court.

Let's not jump the gun here. If it was a severely damaged car, yes. But for what appears to be a much smaller one, you want to go to the consumer court? Do you realise the amount of time, effort & money that goes into such an exercise? Don't get me wrong, I'm always up to a fight, but the wise pick & choose their court battles.

IndigoXLGrandDi · 13th December 2018, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravi_chd

Left the car at 3M for the treatment only for them to call me back to verify paint damage to the side of the vehicle. Taken by surprise, we immediately went back to 3M wherein they pointed out that a portion has a layer of paint missing and that seems repainted.

Hi there, did you not check the exterior while taking delivery of your car ( I am not even talking of Full PDI Checklist as per Team-Bhp here)?

You might have caught this at that time itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravi_chd

The only difference being that although the dealership was pushing me to go to another vendor called Autobell, I decided to stick to 3M due to positive past experiences.

The dealership might be having tie up with Autobell and hence pushing to go to them. I am confident that Autobell wouldn't have informed you about this as they will lose the business with the car dealership.

From the picture it's not very clear which panel (part) has this damage (or am I unable to see on the mobile).

pavi · 13th December 2018, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

From the picture it's not very clear which panel (part) has this damage (or am I unable to see on the mobile).

Same here, I am only able to find a small scratch at the door panel edge.

dre@ms · 13th December 2018, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravi_chd

As I intend to keep the car for a longer period of time, on January 11th, I took the car to 3M for a Ceramic Coating treatment - as strongly suggested by Mr. Priyank Bhatnagar at the dealership. The only difference being that although the dealership was pushing me to go to another vendor called Autobell, I decided to stick to 3M due to positive past experiences.

Feeling sad upon seeing your plight.
To safeguard the shoddy work did the dealer suggested a ceramic coat with their go to vendor? This seems to be a whole cover up job. Glad you went to 3M, otherwise you wouldnt have witnessed the paint job.

When will the dealers realize that the generation now are pretty smart and have a social presence.

Please take it up with BMW India and also do post some clear snaps on the patch up work.

Ravi_chd · 14th December 2018, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

Hi there, did you not check the exterior while taking delivery of your car ( I am not even talking of Full PDI Checklist as per Team-Bhp here)?

You might have caught this at that time itself.

I did check the car before delivery and it was hard to make out anything at all to be honest. Not easy to figure out with the quality of the repair work available these days - just like GTO pointed out.

drmohitg · 24th December 2018, 07:49

I wonder if it makes sense to carry one of those hand held paint thickness testing tool along wit you each time you go to the dealership right from the point of taking delivery. I saw one being used by cars24 and it was quite accurate in detecting factory paint vs dealership/non-factory paint. Just saw one listed on Amazon for 1300 Rs. Small price for the headache saved.

11th December 2018, 16:06	#1
Ravi_chd BHPian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 39 Thanked: 48 Times	BMW Gallops Autohaus (Ahmedabad) delivers a damaged & repainted 530i Dear Friends, Please help me in solving an issue that has come up with my Brand New 530i purchased from Gallops Autohaus - Ahmedabad. I purchased and took delivery of the car on December 1st. day of my wife's birthday. After the initial euphoria where i drove her for about 600 Kms, she's parked at home under covered parking in the basement as I don't stay at home most of the time and work keeps me away from being able to use it on a more regular basis. As I intend to keep the car for a longer period of time, on January 11th, I took the car to 3M for a Ceramic Coating treatment - as strongly suggested by Mr. Priyank Bhatnagar at the dealership. The only difference being that although the dealership was pushing me to go to another vendor called Autobell, I decided to stick to 3M due to positive past experiences. Left the car at 3M for the treatment only for them to call me back to verify paint damage to the side of the vehicle. Taken by surprise, we immediately went back to 3M wherein they pointed out that a portion has a layer of paint missing and that seems repainted. We contacted BMW dealership again and they showed up at 3M Prahladnagar saying that this is not a damage while threatening the 3M staff that they'll lose their job for pointing this out to us. When my nephew told them that we might escalate the issue to BMW Germany, the guy from BMW by the name of Atul, literally threatened him saying that "Fine. Aap Germany complaint kar do fir hum dekhte hain ki aapka kaam kaun karega" (Translated - Fine. Complain to BMW Germany. Let's see who'll do your repair work.) BMW insisted that we bring the vehicle back to the dealership so that the technicians can take a look at it. Ensuring us that they're just getting someone to look at it, they applied rubbing and polish on the paint without our knowledge or consent within ten mins of the vehicle being on the property. I resisted and stopped the process midway and said that lets keep that on hold while we figure out the next course of action. I was worried that after rubbing and polishing, the entire evidence will be gone. Meanwhile, 3M told me that they are getting calls from BMW stating that they should not have bought this to our notice in the first place and should have instead covered it up in such a way that they entire mark had disappeared. Further raises doubts about the genuineness of the dealership. A small scratch of paint doesn't worry me. What does worry me is that who knows what kind of problems has the car gone through before being handed over to me. To clarify my doubts, the dealership has sent me a vehicle report (image attached) from their system which clearly states that the vehicle was taken through a PDI process back on September 15th. According to the dealership, the PDI process was carried out to activate navigation and use the car as a show car on the floor in the showroom. Case in point, the car had protective stickers on it till before a few days of delivery. Why would a car need to go through PDI and washing with stickers intact just to activate Navigation ? Was it supposed to be handed over to someone else and they backed out when they realized there is a damage and they needed more time to fix it ? Was the rubbing applied on the vehicle to cover their back sides ? Lots of unanswered questions remain on my mind. The owner of the dealership is refusing to accept any blame, either on the product or on the behavior of his staff. The purpose of writing this thread is two faced. For starters, I would like people to know about the kind of practices that are followed in dealerships in our country. Second, I would love to have the more experienced people give me a suggestion about the kind of approach I should take from here on. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Gannu_1 : 12th December 2018 at 09:30. Reason: Translation.
	(11) Thanks

11th December 2018, 17:15	#2
Who_are_you BHPian Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Pune Posts: 172 Thanked: 421 Times	re: BMW Gallops Autohaus (Ahmedabad) delivers a damaged & repainted 530i Escalate matter to BMW, dealers selling a repaired car is common than you would imagine. If you don't get a satisfactory response the only option is the consumer court.
	() Thanks

12th December 2018, 09:07	#3
Ravi_chd BHPian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 39 Thanked: 48 Times	Yeah I'm going to for sure. Didn't expect such a service from premium car dealerships. Couldn't even imagine they'll start calling 3M and say that 3M should have just covered it up so we wont get to know. Last edited by GTO : 13th December 2018 at 09:24. Reason: typo
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24th December 2018, 07:49	#9
drmohitg Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Liverpool/Delhi Posts: 5,439 Thanked: 7,539 Times	Re: BMW Gallops Autohaus (Ahmedabad) delivers a damaged & repainted 530i I wonder if it makes sense to carry one of those hand held paint thickness testing tool along wit you each time you go to the dealership right from the point of taking delivery. I saw one being used by cars24 and it was quite accurate in detecting factory paint vs dealership/non-factory paint. Just saw one listed on Amazon for 1300 Rs. Small price for the headache saved.
	(2) Thanks