[23109VC]

I'm curious what the consensus is among members of this forum as to how to handle what I think is an unfair charge.

My 75 year old mother recently bought a 2018 CPO vehicle from her local dealer. I also use this dealer and but for this experience, feel they have always been fair and courteous.

My mother bought her car about 6 months ago - at the time she bought the car she declined adding any additional warranty coverage, and wanted to research her options. She went back to the dealer recently to buy an extended warranty - and went there without me. She is not that old….but she is very UNsophisticated in terms of contracts / making deals, etc. My father used to do all of these things, and he passed away a few years ago, and my mother has not adapted well to handling these sorts of things on her own. I thought she could handle it and gave her my recommendations and told her to call me with any questions. I suggested she get the BMW CPO extension which should cost around $4000.

When she got to the dealer, the dealership told her that she had to have a pre-warranty inspection which was $350. she agreed to that. They told her if she purchased a warranty then the fee is waived. When she was given options for an extended warranty, they apparently only presented THEIR own warranty, issued by Hendricks Auto Group. That warranty was going to be $5000+. She called me wondering why the "BMW warranty" she asked about costs so much, b/c I had told her it should be about $4000. I had told her to ask about and ge a quote for the CPO extension. Whether it was confusion on my mom's part or misinformation by the sales person - she was only given options to buy the Hendrick's warranty and was never given a quote for the CPO extension. My mom had asked them if it was the "BMW warranty" and they told her it was. The paperwork they gave her however shows it was an "Auto-guard" warranty that is backed by the dealer, not a product sold or backed by BMW.

They NEVER offered her the BMW CPO extension warranty. The ONLY options they showed her was for THEIR warranty. I suspect since they issue/back it - the profit margin is much higher than if they sold her the BMW branded warranty. They reminded her that if she bought the warranty they would waive her $350 inspection fee.

My mother declined their warranty at my direction and I told her I would call them to try and get her the BMW CPO warranty.

I was never able to reach the finance person she worked with but I left a police voicemail telling them that I had a quote from another dealer local dealer for $4000 for the CPO extension. I told them that as they were our local dealer we would prefer to give them our business, and as long as they could match the other dealers offer we would purchase the CPO extension from them.

The finance dept called my mother (not me) and said they could not match the price and encouraged her to buy the other warranty elsewhere. That seemed odd since I assume these warranties are sold at any dealership and likely have a fixed price / profit built into it. If another dealer would sell it at a certain price, I didn't understand why another would not.
BUT, they also made sure to tell her that she still owed the dealer $350 for the warranty inspection.

I find this "warranty inspection" to be a likely made up service. It's possible they did actually look at the car, or plug it into their diagnostic tools, to verify it wasn't somehow modified or damaged in the six months after it left the dealer, BUT I can't imagine there was any significant work done to the car other than to verify it was in good working order.

I know that to buy a CPO extension - does NOT require any form of inspection, as the car is under a CPO warranty. I was able to buy the warranty, OVER THE PHONE, for $4000 for my mother from Steve Thomas BMW in Calabassas. That dealer did not need to see the car, they only needed the VIN to verify it was in BMW's database as a CPO car, and they add the coverage.

I do not know if the local dealers' Hendricks' warranty truly required an inspection, or not. I find it somewhat offensive that they only showed her pricing for a more expensive warranty they "they" sell, which required an "inspection" and then declined to even tell her about the BMW CPO warranty - which is just as comprehensive and less expensive.

Should I put up a fight and refuse to have my mother pay the $350. I think it is unfair. My mother says she "agreed to pay it" and feels she should.

I plan to call the dealer and try to work it out, I don't want to create a bad relationship with the dealer I routinely see. I was just curious as to what others here thought about a dealer charging a fee like this. Charging $350 so they can sell her a warranty, and then not mentioning that it's completely unnecessary for the other warranty she was actually trying to buy seems unethical.

[AF]

I purchased an extended warranty for my Audi R8 and for my Porsche 911, in both cases there was no pre inspection or pre inspection charge. I find it really disappointing that your mom who is new to this type of thing had to go through this especially at the BMW dealership she purchased the car from.

[CaboM4]

this is a bullshit money-grab ... tell them to stick the $350 as well as all your future service and new vehicle purchases

go elsewhere from now on

[LogicalApex]

That is bullshit. Get your money back and tell them to kick rocks.

There is no pre-inspection requirement for BMW extended warranties as they can only be purchased while you are currently under BMW warranty.

This policy can be purchased at any dealer too. Including from dealers on the forum such as Christine from Steve Thomas BMW.

[wakebord99]

I would contact bmw corporate and write a complaint to your states bepartment of banking and insurance. Seems they basically force you to pay 350 so that you will have no choice but buy their overpriced warranty

[RonronEG]

Sounds like they've created the bad relationship already. If a dealer outright ripped off my mother, I'm would never go back. It's a deal breaker for me.

[cclcal]

i bought Fidelity extended warranty for 2018 M550, no inspection needed.
additional 8 years or 80K miles for 3200$, 100$ deductible

i wouldnt pay the 350$, i wouldnt return to that dealership

[Joe-BMW33]

I know you have heard me say this before, but in general, the "Finance Guy" at any dealership is the closer who tries to sell you shit. Wheel and Tire, PDC, Xpel, etc. They are the biggest scumbags at the dealer, in general of course. They try to bend you over as the first course of action on pricing and hope some sucker over pays which mean more commission. They are incented to be assholes.

Most dealer "Finance Guy's" will push the third party warranty as hard as they can because they make significantly more commission on it. They will lie and tell you it is better than the BMW warranty. It is a total conflict of interest.

I am buying my CPO from Steve Thomas as well, 3,000 miles away from MA and they certainly are not doing an "inspection".

Call BMW NA and tell them your Mom's story. I would hope they would be a little ticked the dealer didn't offer the BMW warranty and then would not sell it to her! They are the same price everywhere! $4,000, no negotiation. What happened was the guy did not want to give back the $350 if she bought the BMW warranty because $350 is more than the commission on the BMW warranty.

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

What happened was the guy did not want to give back the $350 if she bought the BMW warranty because $350 is more than the commission on the BMW warranty.

Exactly!

[CHSBoater]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

Hendricks Auto Group.

There's your problem right there.

Have her dispute the charge on her credit card.

[TEF]

Some dealers add a "Document Fee" to every transaction, but it my understanding that some states limit the maximum amount of what can be charged. This inspection fee might be another way to add to a dealer's profits (especially with inventory in short supply) without violating state law. Dealers never seem to stop these scams. I recall being part of a class-action suit in 1980 against Toyota dealers (in the DC area) that inflated the price of every vehicle sold because it had a mandatory dealer-added wax job.

[23109VC]

Originally Posted by TEF

Some dealers add a "Document Fee" to every transaction, but it my understanding that some states limit the maximum amount of what can be charged. This inspection fee might be another way to add to a dealer's profits (especially with inventory in short supply) without violating state law. Dealers never seem to stop these scams. I recall being part of a class-action suit in 1980 against Toyota dealers (in the DC area) that inflated the price of every vehicle sold because it had a mandatory dealer-added wax job.

I am the OP.

I have called multiple times to speak with the finance employee who worked with my mother and charged the $350. They fail to answer my calls and have not returned any of my messages. I have left a couple of voice mails making it clear that I had concerns about the validity of the charge, but that I was willing to discuss it with them - I was extremely courteous in my messages. I told them if I determined it was in fact valid I'd direct my mom to pay it, but until I had a chance to speak with them, I had told my mother to hold off on payment.

After a couple weeks of no calls back, I called again - once again got the finance manager's v/m - and nicely said that I didn't think it was a valid change, and if they would simply "waive" the charge, there was no need to call back, but if they were pursuing the charge as valid - to please call me to discuss. I have not heard anything…so I suspect they have decided to cancel the bogus charge.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

I am the OP.

I have called multiple times to speak with the finance employee who worked with my mother and charged the $350. They fail to answer my calls and have not returned any of my messages. I have left a couple of voice mails making it clear that I had concerns about the validity of the charge, but that I was willing to discuss it with them - I was extremely courteous in my messages. I told them if I determined it was in fact valid I'd direct my mom to pay it, but until I had a chance to speak with them, I had told my mother to hold off on payment.

After a couple weeks of no calls back, I called again - once again got the finance manager's v/m - and nicely said that I didn't think it was a valid change, and if they would simply "waive" the charge, there was no need to call back, but if they were pursuing the charge as valid - to please call me to discuss. I have not heard anything…so I suspect they have decided to cancel the bogus charge.

The lack of call backs pisses me off for you and your mom. it's just a scummy situation. Given that you are a customer there, it is common courtesy for a call back. I doubt they are pursuing the charge. They tried to take advantage of your mom and they know it, so sometimes you steal and sometimes you get caught.

You are a better man than me. I would have already gone to the dealer GM, not as much about the charge, but to call out the ass hat who ignores you.

[TEF]

I had great results going through my state's Dept of Attorney General - Consumer Affairs with a problem my son had in getting the title of his car sold by Carvana. After submitted a documented letter, that office got involved and the "problem" was settled in two weeks. If you believe the charge is a bogus one, perhaps the appropriate consumers affairs office in your state can help. The other option is your Better Business Bureau. They are local and so are most car dealers, so they don't like to see complaints publicly posted against their business.

While phone calls are easier, I've found that a formal letter is very powerful. For some reason letter are never just thrown away and they somehow forces action by the subject of the letter. It seems like they represent a record that can be used later if a subject escalates into something legal.