I bought my first BMW new in March this year a 335i E93. I don't even have two thousand miles on it yet. A couple weeks ago, I had put some plastic grocery bags over the bag clip behind the back seat with the seat folded down. Upon trying to remove one of the bags the bag got caught and as I tried to pull it free the plastic clip mounted behind the back seat broke. Last week I needed to go to the dealer because I have a bubble on both the front and rear driver's side run flat tire and thought I ought to get those checked and at the same time brought up the broken plastic bag clip to the service writer. He was unable to get me an answer that day if that part could be replaced and if it would be covered by the warranty but called me back today saying he could get the part but that it was not covered by the warranty. It is a whopping $34 plus change. But isn't everything on the car covered under warranty from bumper to bumper? I know $34 is not much money but I am shocked the dealer would expect me to pay that. What was even more aggravating was that the dealer would not even order the part without me coming into the dealer and paying for it upfront. Talk about lack of customer service!!!!! This is my first BMW prior to getting this car I had 3 consecutive Toyotas. I can tell you without a doubt if this was Toyota they would take care of it without hesitation. I know this because I had something similar happen with a back window latch on a Tundra pickup. A ten year old child opened the extended cab side window and the clip broke. Without hesitation Toyota replaced the piece. Am I being unreasonable by expecting the dealer or BMW to take care of this? Am I expecting too much to find it ridiculous that the dealer will not even order the part for me without me coming into the dealership and pre-paying a $34 part?
I actually agree with the dealer in this situation. Coming from their perspective, you broke it, and it's your fault. As far as not ordering it before payment; well, this is probably a special order part, so they cannot order it without payment. This is policy, and is the case with my dealer as well. Special order parts have to be paid before ordered, and are not returnable. Not only that, but there is no place that orders still before you pay for it (I'm not talking about dealers). I'm surprised that the Toyota dealer you dealt with did such a thing; it wouldn't make sense for them to do that because if you don't show up for the part, they're out $xx. As a fellow enthusiast, I agree with you; the dealer is scum and should be obliterated. But, their point of view on the matter is reasonable.
I'll have to agree with Botond Pal on all counts here. However, you might try talking to the sales person and see what they can do for you. Most of them realize if they treat you well you're a repeat customer and they might "find" you a new clip. I had a similar instance with the driver's side visor in our '00 528i right after we got it as a CPO in '03 and my sales guy fixed me up. Since then we have bought 2 more cars from him.
I think that you are overlooking the more important question of the bubble on the tires. How was that resolved?
