San Francisco BMW SUCKS!!

[gnhm3]

Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.

I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.

I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.

Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:

Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.

I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.

He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.

More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.

Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.

Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.

[jqsmooth]

Are you serious? Im wondering if they even had the car in the first place. Was it the ol' bait and switch? That's pretty jacked up and insult you further by offering you "$1000 above invoice" on a car you're not even interested in. That's ballsy. Wow. Sorry to hear man.

[schnell325]

Nasty situation.

Time for a return trip!

[8_is_enough]

sucks. maybe a deposit would have helped

[esquire]

Alright, well i won't be doing any business with SF BMW. That's completely unacceptable

[shendrick]

If they never gave you a VIN and sent you a rap sheet on the car - I'd question whether it really existed in the first place.

[jrlee53]

Wow, that's one of the shittiest stories I've ever heard. Well, if I ever planned to move to SF, I know I won't be going to that dealer for anything. What a slap in the face to offer you $1000 above invoice. I would've definitely had them send me a VIN number at least, it does sound a lot like bait and switching.

[eisenb11]

Originally Posted by jqsmooth

Are you serious? Im wondering if they even had the car in the first place. Was it the ol' bait and switch? That's pretty jacked up and insult you further by offering you "$1000 above invoice" on a car you're not even interested in. That's ballsy. Wow. Sorry to hear man.

Worse, because if he was interested in a new M3, it's very easy to get a better deal than that right here in LA - where he lives.

[Z K]

Yeah .. dealerships in general are pretty shady. They are motivated to sell cars, they care about nothing else.

You probably could have asked them to send you the paperwork and sign it before you went in. That would have guaranteed the car - but you would have purchased a car without seeing it in person.

[Tomislav]

Sorry, but until you put a deposit on a car, it's fair game. If you were serious, even a few hundred dollars as a holding deposit would have secured it. If you didn't like the car, the deposit would have been refunded.

[hc999]

dont do any thing until you make a depoist on your new car, I had this kind of situation before, I am sorry to hear this happen to you.

[MDyDinanM]

sue....just for the principal of the matter

[semperfi1776]

I know hindsight is 20/20 but you should have asked a local forum member to check it out for you

[Sean@PYSpeed.com]

Should have known... they screwed my buddy and did not give him his second key fob. They said sorry we can't find it! Ask them to make a new one, they said, sorry you would need to pay!

[chmura]

Wow, I feel for you!

I bought a few vehicles long distance myself and this is my worse fear. Getting there and the car is gone! One time I put a $1,000 credit card deposit on a car. But lots of dealers do not want a deposit because if a costumer comes in and wants to buy it they cant sell it to them. They also think you may back out of a deal and they will lose a potential sale.

I would try to call the GM at the dealership? Or another high official working there.

[Prince_of_Persia]

Wow that SUCKS! Dude if I were you, I would do anything to get my money back. This is just ridiculous! Pretty much the worst dealership story I have ever heard.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by gnhm3

Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.

I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.

I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.

Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:

Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.

I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.

He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.

More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.

Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.

Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.

gnhm3

You should copy and paste your post here .... --->Click Here for Dealer Review

1) They should have taken your deposit.
2) The car should have been identified as SOLD immediately.
3) The dealership having not done the above (item 1 & 2 above and knowing that the customer is flying in to pick up this car) must as a very minimum compensate the customer for his expenses.

An apology for something like this just does not cut it!

I just e-mailed my friend in the SF area he is planning to purchase a M5 to avoid this dealership.

[taylorcoleman]

San Francisco dealer is now scratched off my list. Thanks for sharing.

Although I recognize you failed to get the proper "protection" before your trip it's inexcusable for the dealer to not fully compensate you and then some assuming your communication with the SA was as you described.

[Art]

+1 on the deposit. Until money has exchanged hands, nothing is considered done.

10 years ago when I was buying my E46 M3, I was dealing with an out of state dealership. We faxed paperwork back and forth, including signed contracts from both parties. I was told the next morning the car has been sold to a local buyer. I contacted a few lawyers and they all told me the same thing: Since no money has exchanged hands yet, the signed contract didn't mean anything. Had I put a dollar inside an envelop and send it the moment we signed the contract, I would probably have a case.

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

Originally Posted by Art

+1 on the deposit. Until money has exchanged hands, nothing is considered done.

Sorry OP -- that is shitty what happened. But I gotta agree with some other posters, that until that deposit happens, the car is open market for anyone to get

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Midwest X6

Sorry OP -- that is shitty what happened. But I gotta agree with some other posters, that until that deposit happens, the car is open market for anyone to get

I do agree, however, if I read the post of the OP correctly. There was correspondence, there was an offer to make a downpayment, there was understanding that the OP was traveling to pick up the car.

I think I would have insisted on taking my credit card number over the phone for a agreed amount of down payment to hold the car until my arrival. If that was not possible then the sales lady should have told the OP that she cannot do this and that there is a chance the car would be sold when he arrives. or?

[Ben Choad]

Originally Posted by gnhm3

Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.

I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.

I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.

Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:

Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.

I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.

He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.

More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.

Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.

Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.

I am not surprised by this story at all, it seems completely in line with their past behavior. I bought 2 BMWs from them and then they turned around and completely tried to screw me. I wrote a lenghty review about them on Yelp but it was taken down because I referred to their staff as a bunch of uneducated neanderthals. You should post this story on Yelp for BMW of San Francisco. You will also note that they only have two and a half stars - it would be much lower but some negative reviews have been removed. Dont know why, I suspect due to similar reasons as mine was, i.e. a derogatory reference to the folks at that $hitty business.