Les
Think Twice before a BMW
If you know what is good for you, you would stay as far away from BMW as whole. This may be hard but trust me there are so many better options out there. Even though the latter may seem impossible, maybe my experience would help prevent anyone else from going through similar experiences or worst case getting into one with more caution before and after ownership. I leased a vehicle from BMW and got warranties to cover pretty much all the possible incidents that may occur from dent to rims. Even though vehicle wasn’t driven as much, I got these warranties because in life you never know what the future holds. I even had over 6000 miles in unused miles when the vehicle was turned in. When lease had ended and vehicle was being turned in to Sharpe BMW in Grand Rapids, I was told there were some issues and that the warranty I had would cover them. I had a flight to catch later that afternoon so made sure I got confirmation before signing that everything would be taken care of. The person handling vehicle seemed new and wasn’t sure what they were doing so had to keep asking someone else, first red flag. After leaving the dealership and a few months later, I got a bill saying I owed for not just tire damages but also a dent to the door which wasn’t there before I left dealership. They didn’t want to even see my proof as I had taken pictures of vehicle before leaving dealership. They were able to generate digital documents showing I signed to this and even to the tire damages which were all false and generated after the fact. Simply placing my signature beneath a document doesn’t make that document one I saw before signing. The fact that the vehicle was so low on miles that it would turn a profit doesn’t mean I have to pay to get vehicle in excellent condition for resale even when I had a warranty to cover issues. When I called dealership to discuss, as usual I got the typical transfer all over the place with nobody willing to assist on their mistake. I left Grand Rapids to Maryland because I had found my next BMW there and was headed there to sign the new lease. I made it clear in asking that everything was clear on the old BMW before I got the new and I was told yes. I wouldn’t have signed a new lease had I not been tricked into doing so. Once signed both BMW and the dealership don’t want to handle the old BMW. The worst experience ever and to add insult to injury the agent at BMW who was handling case was super rude. He had even at a point told me they will not be discussing this with me any further and that case was closed and there is nothing I can do about it according to him. I called BMW who even agreed that dealership was at fault and to contact them only to like a modern day Robinhood be in agreement with the dealership since it suited them and after all Sharpe BMW acts on behalf of BMW of North America. I have no issue paying for issues I am liable for but when a dealership and a manufacturer work hand in hand to be dishonest, rip-off, be felonious and ignorant to an error they created, I would challenge that. This has been a 2 year back and forth thing and I caution anyone reading this to think twice before getting a lease or even purchasing from a dealership with this track record and reputation and manufacturer that stands by this. All they had to do was to come clean on their mistake rather than to blame it on the customer. I can go deeper into the incident but I think you get the picture. If this dealership is your only option for whatever reason, or all that you’re left to purchase is a BMW be cautious of this dealership or best try another manufacturer all together as the dealership is simply an extension of the manufacturer. With my worse experience when dealing with BMW of North America directly where one of their agents almost acted like he owned BMW whole and felt like talking discourteously or being impudent was OK, you may want to think twice. I Never want to see that BMW emblem on any steering wheel of mine ever and would ensure anyone who asks me gets to know the truth about what they may be getting into. I know this may not be the experience of most and not be typical behavior of this dealership or BMW as a whole but this was my experience.