Shocked at BMW parts dept

ejhunter

I needed a new factory wheel to replace a damaged one on my '99 BMW. Went to the same dealer who sold me the car. They had one in stock last week when I originally asked for it, however it was scratched and of course was not acceptable. So they order another from the warehouse. I show up yesterday to pick up my "new" wheel and after a brief inspection find out that's it's been repainted. The color doesn't match and the surafce finish is softer and not smooth as factory coating.

I hate to think it was the same wheel they had last week, but there is no way what I saw yesterday came from BMW.

Needless to say, I lost my temper big time at the dealership. To fuel my fire even more, the service manager didn't see any problem with it. He insisted it was a "factory wheel". OK, I'll play along , it was a factory metal wheel minus the factory finish. I would never expect this kind of scam from any reputable dealer, and especially not BMW. Because of this, I'm now questioning everything the service dept has done or may do to my car. I would change shops but the next closest is almost 2 hours away.

Mr_Shiftright

Well, the factory could have also pawned it off on the dealer.

I think your guns are out and blazing a bit too soon here. No doubt SOMETHING is amiss, but who did what to who is still undetermined, in my opinion.

Rather than sever the relationship with your dealer, or spoil it, just have them order up another wheel and forget it.

Actually, repainting a wheel is a hassle and since BMW buys back all defects I can't see why they'd bother.

bretfraz

To prevent being shocked at the parts counter, always wear a ground strap. Protective clothing is also recommended.

Many people die each year from being shocked at the parts counter. Proper precautions are your responsibility.

Regarding the spazz you threw at the dealer, I don't know which is worse - - your total overreaction to something you had no definitive proof of, or me and the other 500,000 Town Hall readers who had the grave misfortune of reading of your temper tantrum.

ejhunter

Replacing the wheel was a result of bad work done by a local refinishing company. I needed a minor curb scratch fixed and they ended up repainting the entire wheel. It looked terrible, and this was after about 30 man hours of labor.

After five weeks the company owner finally agreed to get me a new wheel. That was the order I placed through BMW. I found out this company also does work for them occasionally, mostly prepping wheels on resales.

I found out from a cashier at BMW late Friday afternoon that wheel guy intentionally substituted the repainted wheel for a new one. The part I find hard to believe is that the BMW people played along with it.

So you guys wouldn't be the least bit pissed off over it?

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I don't mean to rag you about this....of course you are upset with being lead around on a string when all you want is a new wheel.

I was just questioning that there is no motive for any of this that I can discern, and this leads me to think that the BMW people were just making a stupid mistake, not intentionally trying to scam you. I always look for a motive when someone yells "treachery!"

I'm sure there's more profit in selling you a new wheel than having an old one painted--so I'm just puzzled by it all.

Humans are far more often stupid than dishonest or mean-spirited. You see this in traffic all the time....somebody cuts you off....you scream "Hey, didn't that jerk SEE me?"

Well, maybe he didn't, right?

lokki

Methinks you exaggerate about 30 man hours of labor. At a conservative $30 an hour for labor costs for a wheel repair shop that's about $900 the shop would have in that wheel.

I'm not doubting your story....exactly.... but there are other possibilities here. Not all factory wheels of the same design may be made using the same batch of paint or even made at the same plant for that matter. Generally that wouldn't matter since you'd put 4 wheels from the same batch on a car - they would match perfectly with each other. However if you tried to substitute a wheel made in YOUR batch for as a replacement for one made differently, YOURS wouldn't have the same factory finish or look to it.

You'll see plenty of examples of the differences in silver paints (as an example) when you try to match paint after a fender-bender...

isellhondas

3 and not 30 hours.

Body shop labor is more like 60.00 per hour.

That would be 1800.00 plus materials to repaint a wheel.

Give me a break!