Hey guys,
My family and I have been having a pathetic experience with our BMW 320i. I have tried several times--in vain--to speak with someone at BMW about this issue but nothing has been done. I even emailed them in Germany but received no satisfactory reply.
I recently wrote an article for the local newspaper in Dubai, UAE to bring the issue to the public limelight. The newspaper removed the name of the car company but I guess it shouldn't be too hard to figure?
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I write to your newspaper to bring to light the shoddy and lacklustre after-sales and technical support services of a German luxury car manufacturer based in the UAE, which put my family’s safety at risk and also cost us a great deal of time and frustration. I hope my letter will not only make car owners and potential car buyers in the UAE more careful and informed but also ensure that such substandard practices are not repeated by car companies based in the country.
A couple of years ago, my family and I purchased the German luxury car with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement, hoping it would be the ultimate driving experience. One of the offers presented to us while purchasing the car was a 5-year service contract under which we would get all periodic service jobs for “free” by the company at its authorized workshops. At that time, we thought this was a wonderful deal.
Even as our car went for its first service, we realized we may have been wrong. It took us almost a couple of weeks to get an appointment for the service, the staff at the company was far from polite and finally, our car was extremely dirty when we received it a few days later. When I called the company to file a complaint, I was brusquely asked to bring the car back for cleaning. My other concerns were conveniently sidelined.
A few months later, when my car developed a malfunctioning door, the same procedure played itself out. The company’s service centre was constantly on no-reply and I had to climb into the car from the back seats as I figured out how to contact the service station. Finally, I left work early and visited the service centre personally only to be greeted by impolite customer-service officers who asked me to bring in the car after 2 weeks and refused to speak with me before I took an appointment. When I asked for a supervisor, I was told he is busy. I was perplexed since I had never been meted with such behaviour in all my years owning several cars in the United States, Singapore and the UAE; that too from a car company of this stature.
Most recently an incident played out which prompts me to write you this letter and highlights the sheer negligence of the car company. A few days after my car returned from a service-centre after spending 11 days there, I noticed it was not handling very smoothly. On taking the car to a local fuel station, I was advised to stop driving the car immediately since its tires were completely worn out and further driving could put my family and I in danger.
I was taken aback. First, my car had only clocked about 25,000 kms and the average life of its tires (as mentioned by the company) were 50,000 kms. Second, I remember my drive being much smoother when I handed the car over to the service centre. Had my tires been replaced or my car been mishandled at the service centre? Finally, why had the car company not warned me of such a fatal shortcoming in tires, as is the regular practice with other car companies. On writing to the car company in Germany and calling them in Dubai, I was given no reply and a service manager simply told me sorry and that it would not happen again.
I cannot help but wonder if the “free” service contract is to blame for this pathetic customer service by the car company. By collecting a higher cost from customers upfront when the vehicle is sold, the car company effectively absolves its quality and commitment to high-paying customers. After all, what is the worst the customers can do once they have bought the car?
I believe things would be a lot more different if customers paid each time their car was serviced instead of falling into this clever marketing trap of a “free” service contract. Like my finance professor in New York once said, there are no such things as free lunches.
From an experience that quickly switched from the ultimate driving experience to the ultimate pain in the neck, I hope others can take some useful lessons. No car owners should be made to take issues concerning their safety and their hard-earned money lying down.
My family and I have been having a pathetic experience with our BMW 320i. I have tried several times--in vain--to speak with someone at BMW about this issue but nothing has been done. I even emailed them in Germany but received no satisfactory reply.
I recently wrote an article for the local newspaper in Dubai, UAE to bring the issue to the public limelight. The newspaper removed the name of the car company but I guess it shouldn't be too hard to figure?
--
I write to your newspaper to bring to light the shoddy and lacklustre after-sales and technical support services of a German luxury car manufacturer based in the UAE, which put my family’s safety at risk and also cost us a great deal of time and frustration. I hope my letter will not only make car owners and potential car buyers in the UAE more careful and informed but also ensure that such substandard practices are not repeated by car companies based in the country.
A couple of years ago, my family and I purchased the German luxury car with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement, hoping it would be the ultimate driving experience. One of the offers presented to us while purchasing the car was a 5-year service contract under which we would get all periodic service jobs for “free” by the company at its authorized workshops. At that time, we thought this was a wonderful deal.
Even as our car went for its first service, we realized we may have been wrong. It took us almost a couple of weeks to get an appointment for the service, the staff at the company was far from polite and finally, our car was extremely dirty when we received it a few days later. When I called the company to file a complaint, I was brusquely asked to bring the car back for cleaning. My other concerns were conveniently sidelined.
A few months later, when my car developed a malfunctioning door, the same procedure played itself out. The company’s service centre was constantly on no-reply and I had to climb into the car from the back seats as I figured out how to contact the service station. Finally, I left work early and visited the service centre personally only to be greeted by impolite customer-service officers who asked me to bring in the car after 2 weeks and refused to speak with me before I took an appointment. When I asked for a supervisor, I was told he is busy. I was perplexed since I had never been meted with such behaviour in all my years owning several cars in the United States, Singapore and the UAE; that too from a car company of this stature.
Most recently an incident played out which prompts me to write you this letter and highlights the sheer negligence of the car company. A few days after my car returned from a service-centre after spending 11 days there, I noticed it was not handling very smoothly. On taking the car to a local fuel station, I was advised to stop driving the car immediately since its tires were completely worn out and further driving could put my family and I in danger.
I was taken aback. First, my car had only clocked about 25,000 kms and the average life of its tires (as mentioned by the company) were 50,000 kms. Second, I remember my drive being much smoother when I handed the car over to the service centre. Had my tires been replaced or my car been mishandled at the service centre? Finally, why had the car company not warned me of such a fatal shortcoming in tires, as is the regular practice with other car companies. On writing to the car company in Germany and calling them in Dubai, I was given no reply and a service manager simply told me sorry and that it would not happen again.
I cannot help but wonder if the “free” service contract is to blame for this pathetic customer service by the car company. By collecting a higher cost from customers upfront when the vehicle is sold, the car company effectively absolves its quality and commitment to high-paying customers. After all, what is the worst the customers can do once they have bought the car?
I believe things would be a lot more different if customers paid each time their car was serviced instead of falling into this clever marketing trap of a “free” service contract. Like my finance professor in New York once said, there are no such things as free lunches.
From an experience that quickly switched from the ultimate driving experience to the ultimate pain in the neck, I hope others can take some useful lessons. No car owners should be made to take issues concerning their safety and their hard-earned money lying down.
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