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      03-24-2008, 08:40 PM   #881
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omaham3 View Post
To all,

I purchased my 2008 m3 at bmw of lincoln, so I feel that I must provide a unique point of view that I would like to share. I will keep it short and only to 3 thoughts.

To begin, I have had a purely business relationship with the Catania family on many occasions. The family comes from a hard working class of people. I have represented the family in a number of real estate dealings and know first hand that the family is a down to earth group of people. Fil's (the gm's) father always made sure that I was paid for my efforts and never taken advantage of, though some other real estate folks would like to backdoor most clients. With this, I know that Mr. Catania and his sons know the difference between right and wrong even when the lines are sometimes unclear at best. I personally respect the family very much. So the matter of this all being a big mistake, I hope that is the case and it can be worked through.

Secondly, I understand most people on this board have very little regard for car dealerships and car sales people in general. Our society has painted them both in a negative light. I can only hope that as many people who read and make these posts that at least as many stand up and tell their stories of the positive experiences. Today's car dealers are spending more and more to attract buyers with a product that has an ever greater shrinking margin. One does not need to be an insider to witness this!

Thirdly, The team of people at bwm of lincoln treated me with the greatest amount of respect. I felt like I was a being well treated throughout the purchase process. I know that I was buying a car at the high end of the market, but I believe this group would do the same for the average chevy buyer. The bmw manager went above and beyond my expectation. Both I and they knew that outside their doors, I was just a regular guy, but inside, I was a special buyer. I say this because I witnessed how another buyer was being treated while I was waiting for the my car to be ready. The staff was making sure this man was being made special also.

So, I hope all turns out for the best tomorrow for both parties. Stories like these only take away from the spirit of the brand and the aura of the car.
I think your post has a good point. I think it is slightly unfair to paint the whole dealership and the owners as crooks. This might be a case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. Although it does question how well of a grip the upper management has on their guys.
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      03-24-2008, 08:42 PM   #882
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> We're all anxiously awaiting the "conditions" details ...

I doubt that we are going to hear much more from Ken on this matter. Once
he takes delivery, I expect a brief post saying that the car is great and that
everything is now okay by him ... and thanking Huckster and BMWNA for
for growing a brain once this matter was brought to the attention of execs.

I think my mid-1990 experience of vaguely similar situation with a M-B dealer
may be instructive. In return for them deliverying an acceptable vehicle
on-schedule and at the contract price ... the dealer and MBNA both asked
(insisted) that I abide by the following conditions:

- Cease talking/faxing/emailing the media my press kits.
- Cease picketting their M-B & BMW auto-mall.
- Destroy (legally) recorded tele conversations w/dealer & MBNA reps.
- Agree to not pursue legal action against the dealer and/or MBNA.

Both Huckster/Larry (Van Tuyl) and BMWNA are *seriously* worried that the
voicemails and eBay screenshot histories will end up on YouTube, MySpace,
etc ... or that this episode become verb'd and part of the BMW/internet
lexicon.

Additionally; the sooner this all goes quiet and the electronic evidence is,
umm, lost, the less likely that the ~$6B VTAIG operation has to worry about
federal and state investigation(s) of their operation.

BMWNA will likely insist that Huskster/Larry schedule Huckster/Fil to attend
charm school and arrange for him to star in an episode of "What Not To
Wear." Nick's gonna have his hands full getting Fil's mop under control.

Mike Barrett will resign to spend more time with his family ... assuming his
bride knows about his MySpace friends. Otherwise; he'll be spending more
time with divorce attorneys. Regardless; his days working for Huckster/Fil
are likely over. His loose tongue cannot be trusted in any customer facing
role. If his initial call to Ken had simply said, "the car sold locally ~20 mins
before the auction ended" ... this internet effect would likely have never
occurred. It would've been fraudulent, but it's unlikely that any of the fraud
& wilfull deception would have come to light.

If Huckster/Larry doesn't already have a Crisis Mgt consultant on retainer,
he is almost certainly holding auditions.

In an odd sort of way, this gives BMW a hammer they need. Huckster/Fil's
BMW store has been a recurring problem child. BMWNA now has legitimate
cause to act and insist on adult supervision.

Don't worry about Mike Barrett - he'll marry one of his MySpace friends and
reinvent himself as an internet auto-mktg genius that was single-handedly
responsible for driving 10's of thousands of page hits and record setting auto
enthusiast community buzz.

Last edited by rainsux; 03-24-2008 at 08:59 PM..
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      03-24-2008, 08:52 PM   #883
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TahBOSS View Post
e-mazing thread. Congratz on owning the stealership, it is amazing what the internet can do now a days..
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      03-24-2008, 08:54 PM   #884
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omaham3 View Post
To all,

I purchased my 2008 m3 at bmw of lincoln, so I feel that I must provide a unique point of view that I would like to share. I will keep it short and only to 3 thoughts.

To begin, I have had a purely business relationship with the Catania family on many occasions. The family comes from a hard working class of people. I have represented the family in a number of real estate dealings and know first hand that the family is a down to earth group of people. Fil's (the gm's) father always made sure that I was paid for my efforts and never taken advantage of, though some other real estate folks would like to backdoor most clients. With this, I know that Mr. Catania and his sons know the difference between right and wrong even when the lines are sometimes unclear at best. I personally respect the family very much. So the matter of this all being a big mistake, I hope that is the case and it can be worked through.

Secondly, I understand most people on this board have very little regard for car dealerships and car sales people in general. Our society has painted them both in a negative light. I can only hope that as many people who read and make these posts that at least as many stand up and tell their stories of the positive experiences. Today's car dealers are spending more and more to attract buyers with a product that has an ever greater shrinking margin. One does not need to be an insider to witness this!

Thirdly, The team of people at bwm of lincoln treated me with the greatest amount of respect. I felt like I was a being well treated throughout the purchase process. I know that I was buying a car at the high end of the market, but I believe this group would do the same for the average chevy buyer. The bmw manager went above and beyond my expectation. Both I and they knew that outside their doors, I was just a regular guy, but inside, I was a special buyer. I say this because I witnessed how another buyer was being treated while I was waiting for the my car to be ready. The staff was making sure this man was being made special also.

So, I hope all turns out for the best tomorrow for both parties. Stories like these only take away from the spirit of the brand and the aura of the car.
Yes, dealers that treat customers like Lincoln BMW attempted to do early on can take away from the brand. That's why I hope BMW NA sees this thread, realizes the broad reach of this story and has a talk with Lincoln BMW about their practices. Maybe no more M3 allotment for a while will make them think twice about screwing over the brands customers.

Lets face it, you had done business with the owners family then bought a BMW from them. Of course you had a good experience. Its obviously not everyones experience. If I were buying and lived in Nebraska I'd travel out of state if needed to avoid the possibility of shady dealings at that dealership.

If the owner is such a stand up guy why did it take until this story got traction before he caved in? Why is he offering the car with additional conditions? There is a time when the owner needs to admit his employees mistakes and make things right. Not hide behind new purchasing conditions. If I were the dealer I'd be giving the guy the car for MSRP or even invoice just to show the world the dealership isn't that bad of a place. Sadly, anything less and the dealer will always be branded as a stealership because of the actions they took early on in this incident.

You can post how upstanding the dealer is all over this thread but the facts are still posted in the first few pages. They are only backing down because of the publicity of this matter & they would lose any legal action. If the buyer had no outlet the dealership would not have budged - just like they didn't budge when they thought they could get away with screwing with the buyer.

That pretty much makes Lincoln BMW the poster boy for shady dealers which is why car enthusiasts of all kinds have joined to post their support.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AML View Post
This might be a case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch. Although it does question how well of a grip the upper management has on their guys.
Well put I'd add that at the time the owner found out about this issue he should have worked to correct it - not wait until there was so much attention he couldn't ignore these bad employees then offer the car "with additional conditions". That still screams stealership.
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      03-24-2008, 08:57 PM   #885
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if all goes well this dude has to drive cross country to pick all of us up for a big party.
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      03-24-2008, 09:04 PM   #886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3aficionado View Post
That pretty much makes Lincoln BMW the poster boy for shady dealers which is why car enthusiasts of all kinds have joined to post their support.
Well put I'd add that at the time the owner found out about this issue he should have worked to correct it - not wait until there was so much attention he couldn't ignore these bad employees then offer the car "with additional conditions". That still screams stealership.
Very well said. I concur!
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      03-24-2008, 09:05 PM   #887
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Hi Ken,

So glad to see your post and to learn that things are heading in the right direction. Hopefully the "conditions" set by the dealer are reasonable and that you'll be able to take delivery soon. My guess is that they won't try to tie you up too badly, I would think at this point they just want you to go away.

You might be pleased to learn just how much this was discussed at dealerships today, even up here in little rural stores in ski country. Almost everyone I talked to was aware of the story and to a person supported your side. The general feeling among dealers and dealership employees (at least the ones I was in contact with) seems to be that the car business simply doesn't need these throwbacks and their old-school tactics any longer.

Best of luck....... and hold out for the good floor mats!

Don
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      03-24-2008, 09:08 PM   #888
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Ohamaham3

Ohamaham they maybe working class heroes but they got caught! You do NOT come out on the internet and try a scam without a huge uproar and they DID try a scam. They are learning first hand you dont come out here with weak assed shit without a huge outcry from the community. IF they were reputable as you claim they should have honored their commitment.... they didnt. AND we will be watching ebay for more of their "LOWEST PRICES ON EBAY" scams. bottom line their shit is RAGGED
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      03-24-2008, 09:12 PM   #889
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Glad it worked out.

As soon as you know, please post details of arrival of car and of course pics when it arrives.

Enjoy!
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      03-24-2008, 09:17 PM   #890
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I'm pretty sure this dealership is involved in Shill bidding.

check out the history for the past 30 days :

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...=3&completed=1

They use two other accounts to bid :

5***i and r***c

There is no way that this is just someone buying multiple cars.

Same bidder on m3, GTO, Z06, lx470... and others..

Last edited by Ron21; 03-24-2008 at 10:15 PM..
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      03-24-2008, 09:21 PM   #891
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Whoa congrats... ya this thread blew up in a short amount of time, couldn't read through it all but did see that they finally gave up to the pressure~ Congrats~

Very nice to see how the internet and word of mouth and just the support of fellow enthusists work =)
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      03-24-2008, 09:22 PM   #892
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OMG no lie! ya Ohamaham these peeps are salt of the earth nice folk not trying to shill anyone OMG THEY NEED TO GO
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      03-24-2008, 09:29 PM   #893
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron21 View Post
I'm now 100% sure this dealership is involved in Shill bidding.

check out the history for the past 30 days :

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...=3&completed=1

They use two other accounts to bid :

5***i and r***c

There is no way that this is just someone buying multiple cars.

Same bidder on m3, GTO, Z06, lx470... and others..
I understand how that seems logical and I would agree if I didn't look into it more myself.

Here is a quote from eBay:

"Bid safely: eBay limits how your bid history information is displayed by using anonymous names. Your complete user ID is shown to the seller of this item only. Bidders are assigned anonymous names, such as x***y. These anonymous names are used consistently across all auctions that exceed a certain level.

Note: Anonymous names may appear more than once in the bid history and may represent different bidders from different auctions"


My understanding on that it even tho the same "5***i" is used. That does not mean it is the same user-ID or account.
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      03-24-2008, 09:29 PM   #894
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BMW Lincoln

People can come here and drive by with all the warm fuzzy posts they want, but most of it is not true.

Unfortunately, BMW of Lincoln just isnt a good BMW dealership. Trust me, I bought my car there. I could list the jacked up things they did/do, but its not worth the time.

But I'll leave you with this one anecdote. I drove by there a few months ago, and noticed all the nice BMW's and Mercedes had window paint on them (Yes, the kind you would expect at a USED CAR LOT). It seemed a bit odd to see 535i that had $399/mo on the window, so I asked what was up. They were like "Well, its $399/mo on a 36 month lease with $12,000 down."

Needless to say, its not shocking that this happened to a dealership like this.
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      03-24-2008, 09:30 PM   #895
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SvB4EvA View Post
I understand how that seems logical and I would agree if I didn't look into it more myself.

Here is a quote from eBay:

"Bid safely: eBay limits how your bid history information is displayed by using anonymous names. Your complete user ID is shown to the seller of this item only. Bidders are assigned anonymous names, such as x***y. These anonymous names are used consistently across all auctions that exceed a certain level.

Note: Anonymous names may appear more than once in the bid history and may represent different bidders from different auctions"

My understanding on that it even tho the same "5***i" is used. That does not mean it is the same user-ID or account.

Yes but I think it means the user id starts with a 5 and ends with a i, no?
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      03-24-2008, 09:31 PM   #896
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Jeremy Clarkson said "m3 owners have no friends," ...900 responses later, I think we can confirm he was wrong on that one.
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      03-24-2008, 09:31 PM   #897
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron21 View Post
I'm now 100% sure this dealership is involved in Shill bidding.

check out the history for the past 30 days :

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...=3&completed=1

They use two other accounts to bid :

5***i and r***c

There is no way that this is just someone buying multiple cars.

Same bidder on m3, GTO, Z06, lx470... and others..
Agree...this is now the REAL story...shill bidding may be a criminal activity
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      03-24-2008, 09:37 PM   #898
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omaham3 View Post
To all,
Secondly, I understand most people on this board have very little regard for car dealerships and car sales people in general. Our society has painted them both in a negative light. I can only hope that as many people who read and make these posts that at least as many stand up and tell their stories of the positive experiences. Today's car dealers are spending more and more to attract buyers with a product that has an ever greater shrinking margin. One does not need to be an insider to witness this!
Yeah, I'll bite. First off, quite honestly your post sounds like being posted by a employee of said company that sees his sales bonuses going down the for the near future.

This link has been posted in this thread before, but I'll repost:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...ge001.html?new
A reporter goes undercover as a car salesman and uncovers some of the dirty tactics

Personally, as I am from Germany, I have gotten a pretty bad image of the whole industry by reading this and following the case at hand. However, that is partly a fallacy, because it is MUCH MORE likely that people get on the net and vent their anger over arrogant salesperson, faulty deals and shady outright illegal behavior. You hardly have anyone going online to post how great his treatment was, that the car was not a wreck in disguise or how great the free coffee was. That is because it is expected to treat the customer well, especially in a sales and service industry.

And I think the whole system is kind effed up in the US. You have huge dealership chains selling multiple brands and in some rural areas you may be limited to one or two dealerships / used car lots without driving long distance. Or at least this is what I gathered in this thread, it was mentioned that there are only two dealerships for BMW in NE.

Comparing that to Germany gives you quite a different pictures. Most often dealerships here carry one brand, maybe two that are somehow combined on the corporate level, or brands that are not "taking from each others market share". You will commonly find combined VW/Audi dealers. Most BMW dealers only sell BMW and Mini. Some have three brands, like Fiat/Alfa/Lancia, but I have never seen a dealer that carries BMW/Mercedes/Audi. The corporations do this in their corporate interest, because a dealer only carrying a few brands commonly acts more in the interest of the brand to save market share. So, I think the fault is in the whole system to some degree, allowing the dealerships to accumulate too much market share etc.

Well, yeah, considering that you will understand that buying a car is a much more pleasureable process here (only have it done once though) because the dealer has incentive to establish a good bond to the customer for future business.

</endrant>

Hope it was not too boring...

Last edited by 0.02eurocents; 03-24-2008 at 09:55 PM..
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      03-24-2008, 09:37 PM   #899
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyBeemer View Post
Jeremy Clarkson said "m3 owners have no friends," ...900 responses later, I think we can confirm he was wrong on that one.
+1
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      03-24-2008, 09:37 PM   #900
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runutzzzzz View Post
Yes but I think it means the user id starts with a 5 and ends with a i, no?
Again, I thought this myself when this new system started and I was totally flipping out when I saw it. Upon further reading about it on eBay I found that the letters and numbers have nothing to do with the true users-ID at all. It is TOTALLY anonymous.

Now the one thing I am thinking about is this quote."These anonymous names are used consistently across all auctions that exceed a certain level."


What exactly does "all auctions that exceed a certain level" mean? eBay doesn't specify.
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      03-24-2008, 09:38 PM   #901
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http://www.huskerbmw.com/index.cfm?a...rtmentid=48681
you can voice your opion to them
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      03-24-2008, 09:40 PM   #902
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainsux View Post
> We're all anxiously awaiting the "conditions" details ...

I doubt that we are going to hear much more from Ken on this matter. Once
he takes delivery, I expect a brief post saying that the car is great and that
everything is now okay by him ... and thanking Huckster and BMWNA for
for growing a brain once this matter was brought to the attention of execs.

I think my mid-1990 experience of vaguely similar situation with a M-B dealer
may be instructive. In return for them deliverying an acceptable vehicle
on-schedule and at the contract price ... the dealer and MBNA both asked
(insisted) that I abide by the following conditions:

- Cease talking/faxing/emailing the media my press kits.
- Cease picketting their M-B & BMW auto-mall.
- Destroy (legally) recorded tele conversations w/dealer & MBNA reps.
- Agree to not pursue legal action against the dealer and/or MBNA.
+1!! I really wonder if Dooma is going to submit a feedback on this auction. I doubt it.
Maybe the dealer lost 5~6k or what for the moment. But things will cool down pretty soon. Do you believe they learned a lesson out of this and change their business ethics? I have my dobts...

But anyways, two major events to be celebrated in this thread:
1. Dooma to likley get his M3
2. ArtPE finally banned

I will keep an eye on this thread for sure!
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