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Promotion Fraud?

D

dhgeyer

Guest
I bought a new 2009 R1200R on 1/19/2010 from a local BMW dealer. They told me that there was a BMW promotion on the bike that included, among other things, sidecases at no charge. I was told that the recording of the sale itself would trigger shipment of the cases to the dealer, and it would take a couple of weeks, or at most, a month. They claim that they (the dealership) have no contact information for anyone to whom they could inquire regarding the progress of this delivery.

Another dealership nearby told me that, under the same circumstances, it takes a week or so to get promotional items, and that a month is "Ridiculous". This second dealership is a very large establishment, with a very good national reputation.

I'm not sure what to do. Every time I call the place where I bought the bike, they are very sympathetic, but claim that there is nothing they can do but wait, since they wouldn't know who to call. I find this kind of hard to believe.

Notice I'm not naming names here (yet), but I'm thinking of reporting them to the Better Business Bureau, and filing a claim in small claims court.

Question: Anyone ever encounter a similar situation? Any idea how long this really should take (from personal experience only, please)? I don't know how often they do this kind of promotion, so any history and experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Our cases from the same sales promotion took about a month to arrive.

If you wish to pursue a complaint then I recommend trying to get a hold of the local BMWNA rep. Perhaps the other dealer will help with the contact info. Otherwise see what you can find on their website (http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/index.html) for contact info.

 
Not quite the same, but I bought a used R1100RT last summer. I was told by the dealer that I was being given a $200 store credit for accessories. Told them that it could go towards touring lids and I paid the difference. I expected them to be with the bike when I took delivery two weeks later, just before leaving for a tour. Turns out the salesman did not order the lids from Germany until three days before I arrived to pickup the bike. Needless to say but I toured without the larger lids.

Maybe in your case there really was no BMW promotion and it was an in store promotion, similar to my deal, which like mine, was promptly forgotten to be ordered by the sales staff once you left the building. The reason no one knows who to contact at BMW is because there is no one to contact if it was an in store deal. :ca
 
AKBeemer, Thanks for the response. I tried the customer service number on that website a couple of weeks ago. I did get a human being (good) who knew nothing about promotions, or who to contact who might know (bad). It was a dead end. It's reassuring to know that I'm not the only one who has had to wait a month.

Paul_F, Thank you also for responding. Dealer #2 parts person did confirm that there was such a promotion going on from BMW on that bike in January, but since discontinued.

I guess I should have mentioned that I had covered those bases.

What's making me nervous is that one of the parts people at dealer #2 told me that, occasionally, due to personnel changes, human error, etc., these things just get lost completely, and someone has to nudge the system. I am very frustrated that no one knows how to find anything out, or at least that is the claim. Is seems to me like a very strange way to do business.
 
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I bought my R1200R in October, and it took 3 weeks for the bags to arrive. Part of the delay is they have to be keyed for your bike by BMW NA.

I find it hard to believe that the dealer can not follow up on it. It just may take more effort than they feel like doing.

Good Luck,
Scott
 
The BMW MOA club has (had?) a volunteer acting as a Consumer Liaison to help with issues such as posed by the OP. I didn't find much info on the club webpages. I did find something under club operations by Ray Zimmerman, the executive director. I would suggest that Ray be contacted.

From the club operations overview page -
http://www.bmwmoa.org/club/about_the_bmw_moa/operations/operations_overview
"there are a number of Volunteers that take on unique challenges such as serving as ... Consumer Liaison... The Executive Director is responsible for providing support, communication, and recommendations to our wonderful Volunteer Staff"

Ray's phone number is 636-394-7277 or email at RayZ@bmwmoa.org
 
TinyTrains: Thank you. I'm glad to hear that I'm only one week over what someone else had to wait, and that they have, on at least one occasion, come through.

robsmoto: Thank you, and that's a very good idea. I have bookmarked the link you gave me. I think I'll hold off a few more days before invoking volunteer work from an MOA official. Based on what TinyTrains said, I'm not out of the period during which there's reason to hope.
 
I'm pretty sure that I know which dealer you are referring to. I have dealt with the owner of that shop since he was the service manager and he has always gone the extra mile for me. I cannot imagine he would rip you off.
 
I bought a R12R in 08, tail end of the season, same bag promotion, the dealer had a pair in stock, they were installed before the bike left the store. They told me BMW would send them a parts credit or another set of bags their choise. I did have to pay for the mounts, they were installed N/C.

Ken G.
 
There is an area rep from BMWA for every dealer. The dealer can esclate any inquiries to BMWNA through this rep. I work for a dealer and I know this is the case. The dealer does have a resource to inquire about your bags and it sounds wrong to claim they have no recourse available to them.
 
I bought a R12R in 08, tail end of the season, same bag promotion, the dealer had a pair in stock, they were installed before the bike left the store. They told me BMW would send them a parts credit or another set of bags their choise. I did have to pay for the mounts, they were installed N/C.

Ken G.

I did not pay for the mounts but I installed them.
 
Side Cases for R1200R

I just bought a 2009 R1200R on Feb 2 under this promotion and the cases arrived at the dealer on Feb 16.

They told me it would take at least two weeks to receive them.
 
Thank you all for the responses! This is helpful and reassuring. I'm not sure why there would be such a variance in the time it takes to get these things out the door. Perhaps some dealers have more "pull" than others - like the larger ones.

The sales person at the dealership where I bought my bike has called and emailed his BMWNA rep a couple of times about this. He says that the rep has been unresponsive, and I think he's as frustrated as I am. I'm just amazed that a dealership would only have one point of contact with it's supplier. Why does BMWNA feel it necessary to insulate itself like that?

It looks like there may be some movement on this now. I was able to find a contact at BMWNA to email, and apparently that got some information flowing. If that information is correct, I will have my cases soon, although it will still be over a month, as I paid for the bike and signed all the papers one month ago today.

The cases are keyed to the bike at the dealership. I have inquired of several dealers, and that was what I was told.

Just as a point of information, since the subject has come up here, my bike came with the mounts, mounted, and if there was any charge, it must have been embedded in the sale price. They were on the bike in the showroom when I first saw it. I have since had to remove and replace them, as I bought a topcase, and the topcase mount replaces the sidecase mounts. It wasn't much of a job. If anyone wants the sidecase mounts, with all the installation hardware, they are no longer of any use to me.

I don't think for one moment that anyone at the dealership is trying to "rip me off", although I did use the word "fraud". I was thinking that that term might apply more to BMWNA, although I guess it seems now that that would be an inappropriate term. I think that at this point more accurate words might be "unresponsiveness", "dysfunctional bureaucracy", or "lack of communication skills".
 
The mounts were on my bike on the showroom floor too. So they seem to be inlcuded currently.

Hope you get your cases soon. Riding a bike without cases is like wearing pants with no pockets!

Scott
 
Now that I think about it you guys are right, the bike did come with bag mounts, I bought the rack for the top trunk, thats what I had to pay for but was installed for free.

Ken G.
 
They finally came this morning, minus reflectors. At last I can stop worrying about that one. I could have stopped worrying about it a lot sooner if BMWNA allowed better communication between all its dealerships and its parts department, or whoever is in charge of these things. No one seems to actually know exactly who that is.

I have the distinct impression (from my own experience, and from that of others on a whole raft of issues discussed here and elsewhere) that BMW Corporate will spend millions to promote their products and try to sell that spiffy new GS or superbike to you, but once the sale is made, they never heard of you and couldn't care less. I don't think, at this point, that it's the dealer's fault.
 
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