Problem w/ Bluetooth & Misleading Dealership (Sonnen)

[helava]

Hey, all.

A few weeks ago, I got a slightly used 2010 DCT Sedan. As a step up from a 2002 Honda Insight... I love it.

Problem is, when I'd bought it, it was advertised as including Bluetooth. I've gotten used to BT on our other car (a Mazda 3), and use it all the time. While it wasn't obviously what I bought the car *for*, I bought it because it had what I wanted - a handful of other options and... Bluetooth.

When I got it home, I found that it clearly *didn't* have BT. Stupid time to find out, but I wasn't overly familiar with iDrive before, and I just figured I must be missing something. In any case, the car has no BT. Phone button doesn't do anything at all.

I called up the dealer (Jim Leavitt at Sonnen), and he said, no problem, they'd install BT. Sounded good. Made an appointment, and two weeks later, dropped the car off.

I went to go pick up the car today after having dropped it off a few days ago, and what they did was they put in a Parrot system mounted behind the iDrive, and stuck a display in the ashtray. Obviously, this is fairly different than the OEM installation, and after talking to the service guy, I said I wasn't going to accept the car with this system, as it's clearly not what was advertised.

I did some poking around on the forums, and it sounds like yeah, a BT retrofit for a car of this particular spec is fairly difficult - but honestly, at this point, I feel like that's really *their* issue, as the car was misrepresented on sale.

I called Jim, and expressed that I didn't think that this was an equivalent solution. He said, "The car was advertised with wireless bluetooth, and that's what you've got, now." I said that the car was advertised with bluetooth, and that BMW's OEM integration w/ iDrive makes it significantly different than having this aftermarket add-on.

I'm pretty upset with Jim's response, given that this was his error, and the fix has actually made the car *worse* (the control "pod" for the Parrot system was mounted behind the iDrive in a way that actually makes it more difficult to use the iDrive). If they'd at any time suggested that this was their remedy, I'd have declined, and simply suggested that they give me a discount on the purchase price to make up for the missing option.

So... yeah. Any thoughts? Am I just screwed at this point? I'd like to either suggest to them that they get a full OEM-style integration, or to strip this third party stuff, return it to stock, and then give me a discount (given what legit BT upgrades appear to run, I'm thinking in the $1600 range). Ridiculous? Sensible? I'm pretty annoyed at being jerked around like this, and I'm wondering whether there is any sensible solution, or if the initial lack of BT makes an upgrade so ridiculous that it's unlikely that I'd make any headway.

*sigh*

Other than that, absolutely loving the car so far. Not really loving the dealer at the moment, tho.

Thanks for any advice.

[THE TECH]

Guess I would have to see the ad for the car but unless it said aftermarket bluetooth or something else that suggested it wasn't factory then I would have assumed factory as well. If they don't take care of you right, get a lawyer.

[///M Ryder]

Hopefully you have a copy of the original ad, if not this will be a tough battle. The fact that they added a BT option will tip the scale in their favor. They can always claim it didn't say OE BT. GL...............Phil

[helava]

I have a screencap of the craigslist ad, fortunately. It just lists "Bluetooth Wireless". Personally, I think the fact that they acknowledged that the ad was explicitly wrong is fairly clear from the fact that they installed a third party system after the fact. I think it's also fairly clear that a 3rd party system wasn't in the cards from *my* perspective, given that if I'd have seen one, it'd have been fairly obvious on the initial inspection, and the only reason it wasn't obvious was that it was something that you *can* see on the iDrive (the buttons are there), and it was only not visible in software.

I don't know how it'd hold up, legally-speaking, but I can lawyer up if needed, I just hope that it doesn't come to that, as it'd almost certainly cost more than just getting the freaking system done up right. Still, I'm pretty pissed at the response so far, so it's probably worth it just to make sure they're accountable for their lousy response.

:\

[Prince_of_Persia]

If I were you, I would just push them to get some discount and then just enjoy the car. You wouldn't want to hear some one else voice in the car when you have such a high rev engine, believe me.

[helava]

That's something I'm sort of hemming and hawing about - honestly, Bluetooth isn't a dealbreaker to me, in and of itself. I LOVE having the ability to answer calls safe-ish-ly when absolutely necessary, and I really like the ability to stream music from the phone. Neither are critical, and I haven't listened to any music AT ALL in the car since I got it except the glorious sound of the engine.

But at the same time, part of the factor in negotiating the sale price was the presence of Bluetooth. I passed on other cars that didn't have it listed, because for that kind of money, and the time I intend to keep the car, I want to have it.

More, they said they'd retrofit, and then ended up retrofitting with this much crappier system, "modifying" some of the center stack panels to accomodate the new system, which is an aesthetic blight on an otherwise attractive interior. Basically, they made something I care about all the time worse for something I care about only a little of the time. They never asked for approval, they never said, "here's what we're going to do" - the discussion had been about retrofitting Bluetooth, and the implication at every stage was OEM or OEM-style, not an obtrusive aftermarket system.

So, honestly, at this point, it's more about the fact that 1.) they were incorrect in their advertisements, 2.) claimed they'd do one thing, then did another, and 3.) made my car *worse* in the process.

*facepalm*

I've written them, now, giving 'em a couple options (remounting the aftermarket system inside the center console (+$), removing it entirely and returning it to stock (+$$), or doing the full-blown OEM installation).

We'll see how it goes. Given Jim Leavitt's dismissive response over the phone, I'm not hopeful it'll get resolved without a fight, but I do have options if it comes to that. Trying to keep things optimistic and polite for the time being, though.

Man, I just wanna drive.

[Arben72]

Contact modmynav I'm pretty sure they do oem bluetooth retrofits.

[JulieDriving]

For someone like yourself, who searched and waited for the 'perfect' car, this is very disappointing. I would be just as pissed. I think you have a case because they have messed with the looks and functionality of your original car.

The road ahead will be frustrating and aggravating, but be persistent, polite and firm.

Good luck OP.

[Technic]

Does your 2010 M3 have the USB port in the armrest?

If so then follow this... http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=660738

... remove that Parrot install from your car first and request that all OEM trim scrathed/modified by the Parrot install be replaced.

[helava]

Sonnet has offered to pull the Parrot system, return the car to stock, & offered me a token rebate, which I accepted. Still pissed at the giant waste of time this has been, but at least it's moving forward. Will be talking to their techs on Monday, and hope to get some info whether the retrofit discussed above is possible or not. All signs point to yes, which is good news.

Thanks so much for all the input, I really appreciate it!

[nick3753]

Good to see that it was at least partially rectified, but how the hell can something like that not be standard in a 50-60k car in the year 2010?

[Erie Von Otto]

I had a similar experience when I bought a CX7 for the wife. Part of the bargaining process involved the fact it had Sat Radio ($300 option), I got tint, and a tow hitch to be installed later. Turned out it was Sat Radio READY (long story, got screwed) and they wanted to put a Uhaul hitch on. I found out when they called to tell me my powertrain warranty would be voided if they installed it... WTF?!? After much arguing, I got the OEM hitch installed on their dime and PT warranty stayed... some dealers just suck.

[tailgate1234]

Originally Posted by helava

Sonnet has offered to pull the Parrot system, return the car to stock, & offered me a token rebate, which I accepted. Still pissed at the giant waste of time this has been, but at least it's moving forward. Will be talking to their techs on Monday, and hope to get some info whether the retrofit discussed above is possible or not. All signs point to yes, which is good news.

Thanks so much for all the input, I really appreciate it!

The ad was likely an honest mistake. The dealer should have fessed up and given you a discount up front instead of acting like scumbags and putting in a cheap-ass aftermarket system and then claiming you got exactly what was advertised. How is that different than advertising a car with a nav system - and giving you a $99 TomTom? Even though in the end they did the right thing, the dealer showed its true colors.

[positiveions]

funny i inquired about this care 3 days ago, and I got a reply that it was sold.
Well i hope you can resolve the issue.

[helava]

Originally Posted by tailgate1234

The ad was likely an honest mistake. The dealer should have fessed up and given you a discount up front instead of acting like scumbags and putting in a cheap-ass aftermarket system and then claiming you got exactly what was advertised. How is that different than advertising a car with a nav system - and giving you a $99 TomTom? Even though in the end they did the right thing, the dealer showed its true colors.

Yeah, my perspective was the ad was an honest mistake, but since that was the negotiated price/options list, they should honor that - and it looked like that would be the case, but then pulled some nonsensical garbage. The nav system argument was almost exactly the argument I made... and then backed it up with a printout of the ad, and the California False Advertising law with the relevant sections highlighted.

I have no doubt - none - that without that last bit, I'd basically have been told to F off based on how the conversation changed after pulling that out. Just goes to show that you need to be prepared, even if you don't end up say, using the hammer, it's nice to know you have one.

I wouldn't buy another car at Sonnen based on this experience, nor would I recommend it to anyone else. But it definitely could have been much worse.

[helava]

Originally Posted by Technic

Does your 2010 M3 have the USB port in the armrest?

If so then follow this... http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=660738

... remove that Parrot install from your car first and request that all OEM trim scrathed/modified by the Parrot install be replaced.

So, one part of that process is down. The second, though, is that it's not entirely clear to me how to tell whether I have *everything* that's needed to do this retrofit.

I have the nav, I have the USB port in the center console, I have voice control. But it looks like there may be no TCU, which seems like it'd be a dealbreaker for that retrofit.

?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by helava

So, one part of that process is down. The second, though, is that it's not entirely clear to me how to tell whether I have *everything* that's needed to do this retrofit.

I have the nav, I have the USB port in the center console, I have voice control. But it looks like there may be no TCU, which seems like it'd be a dealbreaker for that retrofit.

?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

USB = MULF module = deactivated OEM Bluetooth.

Follow the link precisely except: run new wires from the existing mic pin 1 (+) and pin 2 (-) in the roof console to the MULF pin 1 (+) and 19 (-) .

That's it.

[helava]

Awesome. Thanks so much for the info.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by helava

Awesome. Thanks so much for the info.

See the correction above... your dealer could help you in getting the pins required for the Mic rewiring. They will not be able to code your car unless somebody in their shop can do custom coding, though.

[ksoze]

Originally Posted by helava

I got a slightly used 2010 DCT Sedan. As a step up from a 2002 Honda Insight.

That would be the understatement of the year

[beton6]

Originally Posted by helava

Awesome. Thanks so much for the info.

Where you ever able to do this?