Dealer drilled 6 freakin holes into my bumper!!!

[Mark's M]

Originally Posted by wkndracr

A guy at work got a Silverado and the plate was put on way off center, enough that if you centered it, you would see one of the old holes. The dealer replaced the bumper.

This. Demand no less.

[AlterZgo]

Just buy 6 bumper plugs. Problem solved!

Seriously though, that sucks. I'd ask them to replace the bumper but make sure they don't drill any holes into the new bumper. Then, go and get one of those front license plate mounts where the brackets are ounted under the bumper so you don't see any holes in the front.

[The Wind Breezes]

I would ask them to replace the bumper. Put the focus on the SA directly and intentionally lying to you, that makes them look really bad.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Well they need to drill to fix it so it's not off center. I get the fact that you asked them not to drill it but you did ask for the impossible.

See what you can get out of them but keep it mind it's unreasonable to want the license plate centered without more drilling.

If there is anything I learned from dealers it's that they rarely listen and usually make more mistakes when you ask them not to do something specifically.

Like the time I asked them to make sure the car is kept clean and not damaged and it came back with tar all over it and they left the window open for 3 weeks. Interior was trashed greased up and all kinds of stuff.... Yea.. I raised hell that day...

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

GL

[azfootdoc]

This thread is interesting to me as I just emailed my BMW sales manager to not put a license plate frame on the front of my not yet delivered M2. I'm picking it up in NV which is a two plate state but live in AZ which is a one plate state. Here's hoping some dumb valet/attendant doesn't put one on anyway.

[overcoil]

I'm in Maryland and my BMW dealer wouldn't drill front bumper before asking me.

You got to tell me which Mercedes dealer?

[IndotagSwizz]

if that's how they centered it...wait till you see how they plug and fix those holes!!! PLEASE RUN FROM THAT DEALERSHIP AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

[Wolf 335]

Holes are not visible, live with it and keep that factory matched paint job and better resistance to stonechips.

If you replace the bumper, you better believe they will send it to one of their body shops for painting and within a year you will have stone chips plus colour match will be off.

Just live with it.

[BMWFanatic2008]

Originally Posted by Rockapotomuses

They should give you a new car

At the very minimum. He should get brand new c63 for the inconvenience.

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by Rockapotomuses

They should give you a new car

Yeah, and it better be at least a c63 upgrade

[Chez]

I'd push for a fully loaded AMG GT S at a minimum. The trauma this must have caused you won't be resolved any other way.

[NorthernDancer]

I'm on the side of the OP. In cases like this it's always BEST if your requests are written down. Anyways, I would demand a new bumper cover, 1st with your SA and if no satisfaction, then Service Manager, then MB USA. MB USA don't want this kind of issues with their dealers. As someone has said, what do you do if you move to a state not requiring a front licence plate. You're screwed. You bought a MB, not a Chevy Cobalt. I'm using a Skene design bumper bracket on the front of my BMW.

[tom @ eas]

This sucks to see.

A local dealer was sued a few years back by an owner that received a front plate ticket and somehow was able to blame the dealership for not mounting a front plate. The court decided in the owner's favor.

For this reason alone, the dealership installs front plates on all vehicles on the lot.

[WHL102]

Originally Posted by gvan1998

I know this is a BMW forum, I just want to know what is the correct resolution to this situation.
In this situation, what should I do? Do I ask for new bumper? or have them fix it? or leave it as it is and have them compensate for the damages?

Bottom line, your SA shouldn't have lied to you. That is worth filing a complaint to the dealership. Compensation? Eh. Maybe free maintenance, some parts, but I don't know about a full on bumper replacement. I think you could have used a bit of common sense on this one. How did you expect them to re-align the plate without drilling new holes? If someone said they could, the first thing I would ask is HOW? Does not excuse your SA lying to you, though.

Also, judging from the screw holes, it looks like the plate was just a few mm off, not inches. I highly doubt the contour of the bracket would allow a three inch offset. You would have noticed something that big at delivery. I think you might have had a chance at that point to say, "Fix it, new bumper, or I'm not taking delivery."

[WHL102]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

I As someone has said, what do you do if you move to a state not requiring a front licence plate. You're screwed. You bought a MB, not a Chevy Cobalt.

This is sort of a moot point. If that was a serious concern to the OP, he should never have had the front plate drilled and found an alternate mount when taking delivery. Some brackets require dime sized holes just to fit the thing. Add 4 more for actually screwing on the bracket and possibly another 4 if they use screws too long for the plate that end up touching the bumper.

My non M-Sport bumper has like 10 holes in it from the front plate bracket. You could toss a nickel through 2 of them from 20 yards away. M-Sport had just two small drill holes from the bracket.

This was a concern to me when shopping for my GTI, so I turned down great offers from dealers who pre-drilled all cars on their lot. Simple.


This does not change the fact that SA lied to OP.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by azfootdoc

This thread is interesting to me as I just emailed my BMW sales manager to not put a license plate frame on the front of my not yet delivered M2. I'm picking it up in NV which is a two plate state but live in AZ which is a one plate state. Here's hoping some dumb valet/attendant doesn't put one on anyway.

Here's how I did it: I told my CA that I wouldn't take delivery of the car if they drilled holes. No excuses. No mistakes.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Here's how I did it: I told my CA that I wouldn't take delivery of the car if they drilled holes. No excuses. No mistakes.

Get them to note it on your paperwork and then annoy them about it.

"The car is in port, ready to ship to the dealer? Remember not to drill holes in it"
"Ohh you got the car off the truck today? Remember not to drill holes in it."
"Im picking up the car today. Did you drill holes in it?"

Thats how it worked when my dad picked up his 235. Dealer wouldnt let him off the lot without a front plate, fair enough. So I brought a tow hook plate bracket with us to the delivery and mounted the plate while pops signed the paperwork. No holes in the front bumper and their plastic plate frame in the trunk.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by gvan1998

Whats the big deal is that I gave specific instructions to SA "DO NOT DRILL HOLES TO MY BUMPER." But they gone ahead drilled 4 more additional holes. They disregarded my instructions. I told him that if they had to drill holes to realign the bracket then leave it as it is.

If a had a dollar for every very specific instruction I gave to SAs over the years that was completely ignored...

Anyway, unless you have your very specific instructions in writing on work order, I think you're out of luck about them doing anything about it. They messed up not once with wrong install, but second time too. In a way, it's not a huge deal as long as you own a car since it's covered by license plate, but I can see you being annoyed with them.

Also you might want to sell one day, and if it potentially goes to out of state buyer, say to a state where front plate isn't required, this becomes a bit of an issue.

[Chez]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

This sucks to see.

A local dealer was sued a few years back by an owner that received a front plate ticket and somehow was able to blame the dealership for not mounting a front plate. The court decided in the owner's favor.

For this reason alone, the dealership installs front plates on all vehicles on the lot.

I hear they usually make you sign a waiver if you decline the front plate.

I didn't have to and my dealer didn't even want to drill my M4.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Chez

I hear they usually make you sign a waiver if you decline the front plate.

I didn't have to and my dealer didn't even want to drill my M4.

Some will. We've talked with owners that have come through the doors that never got presented a choice.

[Chez]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Some will. We've talked with owners that have come through the doors that never got presented a choice.

I made it VERY clear to my dealer that I didn't want a front plate and he said they always ask first.

Also, as the plates don't come in until later, they just put the paper one on the back. They mailed my actual plates to me, so wouldn't have even had a chance to drill holes in my car.

[Twixboy]

I don't get it. Every car in MA has a few holes in the front bumper after you remove the license plate holder too. It's just something you deal with if you live in a state that requires front license plates. It's only a problem if you need to move to a state that doesn't require front plates.