Complaint Review: AutoNation / AutoNation Collision / AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach - Delray Beach Florida

This email was sent to Joe Viola (AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach Service Director), Carlanthony Dykes (AutoNation Collision Center) with no reply.

This is in regards to my car which I had left in the care of BMW of Delray Beach and the AutoNation Collision Center. I would like to know how you suggest resolving the following:

Time estimate for repairs was given to be 4 weeks at the high-end.  Without any major unforeseen additional work, AutoNation Collision went into week 9 until the car was declared ready for pick-up.  Throughout this process, we were lied to, strung along, and from what we were told the car sat idle for over 2 weeks waiting to go be painted.  Additional delays were blamed by AutoNation Collison Center on BMW of Delray Beach (who we were told were responsible for the technology within the car, a headrest problem, and detailing the car, neither being accountable and both pointing the finger at each other. When delays were blamed on BMW of Delray Beach, we asked for a contact person to speak there (whoever was handling our car there and were not given the point person's name there).  Upon receipt of the car, several parts were very obviously not repaired properly.  Some of these were fixed with attitude and reluctance, while we waited. Considering the car took almost ADDITIONAL 5 weeks to repair (which can be acceptable if the work is done well) but it was anything but. 



Not only is quality work expected based on the length of time, but however also based on the promise of the AutoNation Collison Center and BMW of Delray Beach; especially taking more than twice the time there is no excuse for careless work.  Actually, Tom from AutoNation Collision told us that he was extremely proud of the work done on the car, which was thrilling to hear until we saw the car. Upon pick-up of the car it had an additional 100 miles on it? It was identified that the back passenger door was not closing properly and that glue or paint (whatever the substance is) was splattered all over the back of the passenger seat and having eaten into the leather.  We were told that BMW of Delray Beach would resolve these problems and to take the car there. 

In addition, we were then told that despite the car having been delayed into a 9 week process, we now had to wait 2 weeks until the BMW of Delray Beach service department could coordinate the appointment with a loaner vehicle.  So we waited an additional 2 weeks.  During this time, it also became apparent that the blind spot assist was not operating properly and the on-board computer had several malfunctions.  Mentioning, that the AutoNation Collison Center had made extensive promises that the car had been at BMW of Delray Beach and that their techs had spent time assessing and checking all of the technology throughout the car (either this is not true or the service department of BMW of Delray Beach did an extremely poor job). Another example of lies, the location of the car.  Tom from AutoNation Collison Center had told us the car was at BMW of Delray Beach for work.  Since it had been several weeks, we went there and took a look at the car, seeing a lot of the un-repaired items.  Since the car was not ready to be handed over, we assumed they would be fixed prior.  We were wrong.



  On pick-up-day when telling Tom that we had looked at the car at BMW and saw these issues with the car, his reply was, “the car was never at BMW of Delray Beach” and “no one touched these areas of the car”.  Well, why were they now out of place yet in the opposite way (the hood)?  Being lied to twice.  When then motioning that we took photos of the car and some of the “obvious” outstanding issues at BMW of Delray Beach, no reply.  Why lie about where the car is, to begin with (when he is the one that originally told us about it).   It was more important to become defensive and lie rather than to simply say, “sure, no problem, we'll fix it” (some of these issues were not a big deal, and were obvious repairs, such as brackets not snapped in and seals out of place).  A second "instant" jump to defense and lack of accountability, “I have other BMW 7 series on the lot with things identical”.  Just like out-of-place items were not identical to the side that had "not" been worked on-on our car, the out-of-place items were not identical to the other 7 series present either.  These are just two examples of lies and BS that occurred within a 30-minute time-frame.  Imagine the number of lies and BS over the course of 9 weeks. 

TO fix further outstanding problems, the car was left with the service department of BMW of Delray Beach to be fixed as requested by the AutoNation Collision Center (two weeks later once we were able to get an appointment with a loaner car).  This process took another additional week. According to BMW of Delray Beach service and the AutoNation Collison Center, the car was fixed after this additional week and signed off on.  When in reality the glue/paint was removed from the back of the seat, however had eaten a hole into the leather.  Instead of replacing the back-rest to restore it to its original order, a pathetic and poor home-patch attempt was used to try to cover the damage.  The glue/paint or scratch on the wood of the back seat that was also supposed to be remedied remains.  The same glue/paint is on the dashboard also and has left a mark on the leather.  The passenger door, which was continued to be argued sounded “great” upon closing by both BMW of Delray Beach and the AutoNation Collision Center, has scratches inside of the car frame-paint and on the hard-plastic of the door.  Obviously, the door does not line up correctly and does not sound “great” when closing.  Additionally, the trunk-paint-job has a nob of paint sticking out of it.  The leather under the passenger door is ripped.  The buffer job done prior to pick-up of the car during this last visit must have been done with sand-paper.  In summary, we left the car at AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach, and with the AutoNation Collision department going into week 9, receiving a car that was trashed (are door handles used or are the doors simply kicked open?), with obvious parts sticking out and missing, technology not working properly, rips in the door, glue or paint on the dashboard and the back seat, a poor paint job with a nub, buffering scratches; being told that this is how they are on all 7 series BMWs and then reluctantly fixing them after being lied to; after 9 weeks, had to wait for 2 weeks to get the car into AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach service department, where the car spent another week, only to get it back with a home-kit-patch-job and all remaining issues (the only thing having improved, being the blind-spot-assist).  Both AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach and the AutoNation Collision Center promise a superior service experience, superior craftsmanship being performed by BMW certified technicians that reflect this standard.  Instead, we received poor communication, attitude, lies, endless hours of phone calls, appointments, an 11-week process (that was supposed to be a maximum of 4, and is still on-going because of additional damage the technicians caused during the process and a poor effort in repairs), and a car that is a butchered mess.  Is this the level of service and quality that AutoNation BMW of Delray Beach, AutoNation, and the AutoNation Collision Center find acceptable?  The sloppy work has ruined the dashboard leather of the car (how will this be fixed, another patch job? A new dashboard installation that will cause further-future problems? During which installation more damage will be done to the car as was during the original work?), the back panel of the passenger seat (leather and wood) (how will this be fixed, another patch-job like this first attempt? A new seat panel installation which will cause further future problems? During which installation more damage will be done to the car as was during the original work?), the leather under the passenger door (how will this be fixed, another patch job? A new panel installation that will cause further future problems? During which installation more damage will be done to the car as was during the original work?), and the trunk paint-job (how will this be fixed, another patch job, sanding it down, and spot-re-painting? Re-painting the entire trunk which will make colors not match, during the installation will more damage be done to the car as was during the original work (paint all over the interior that ruins leather and wood?).  These are not repairs, this is damage caused by careless and effortless work, that had it been done with care and regard to begin with, would have not been an issue.  What now? More patch-jobs? More ineffectual service visits?  Other several weeks of not having the car?  More of my time wasted? More attitude and lies while the car disappears into a seemingly black-hole?  How much more additional damage will you do to the car trying to fix the damage that you have done? I’m horrified to leave my car again, considering what has been done to it.  How do you propose resolving this matter?

Looking forward to your kind response.

#autonation #bmwofdelraybeach #bmw #poorservice #poorquality #lies #theydontcare #autonationcollision