Am I being paranoid?

[XGoober]

I want to run my current situation past you folks and hopefully you can tell me if you think I should be concerned or keep calm and carry on

A few weeks back I ordered an X5. Fortunately my dealer had an allocation going into production almost right away so the car was built and released to the carrier on Thursday April 14th. BMW's tracking system showed the car arrived at the dealer on April 20th and the dealer's inventory system confirms this date. However, my sales guy tells me the car has not yet arrived.

There are two things going on that have allegedly contributed to the delay:

1. There was a large storm between here (Arizona) and South Carolina, from where the car was trucked. I was told carriers do not truck through weather like that. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

2. I have also been told that the truck driver reported a breakdown and that he was stuck waiting for a part to fix his truck before he could complete delivery.

At this point, a delivery that would ordinarily take 3-4 days has taken 12 days and the car is still nowhere to be seen.

I'm ok with waiting for the car, although naturally I'm a little impatient as you would expect. Still, the fact that it went into production so quickly and should be here soon is just fine.

Here is where the paranoia starts to kick in.....

A lot of hail damage was reported in the news for cars exposed to that storm. I'm starting to worry that my X5 was hit and is being repaired somewhere. That could be at the dealer, or perhaps elsewhere by the carrier (less likely). The fact that the car shows in inventory at my dealer for almost a week now is not helping me dismiss this notion.

What do you think?

[2016sx5]

Would think a repaired vehicle have to be reported. If problems surface latter
and they covered it up. You could have good case against them

[XGoober]

Originally Posted by 2016sx5

Would think a repaired vehicle have to be reported. If problems surface latter
and they covered it up. You could have good case against them

I guess my concern would be they could say I must have had the car repaired elsewhere and it has nothing to do with them. Ordinarily I would not even consider such a situation but a good friend almost got ripped off by a Porsche dealer last week when trying to buy a Cayman R. They CPO'd the car and after the deal was agreed they told him that a paintmeter test showed the driver door had been repainted. There was no record whatsoever of any damage to the car. My friend wisely had an independent inspection done before taking delivery and they found 5 panels had been replaced or repainted, along with a wheel and strut replaced. Clearly it had been in a serious accident but there was still no record.

That is of course feeding my paranoia nicely too......

[Neuera09]

Paranoia is a bit**! If you cannot overcome it by the time you pick up your car then I would suggest you don't take delivery! I'm sure you're not going to loose your deposit but if you do then it's a small price to pay to have that piece of mind that you didn't buy something that wasn't new.

Unfortunately there are no guarantees in life. We eat out at restaurants hoping the food workers properly cooked our food or washed their hands after they used the bathroom. We buy things (whether it's a $600 iPhone or a $60,000 car) and we expect we are getting our money's worth and not something that is refurbished. We expect people to be honest with us but unfortunately its a roll of a dice with the auto sales industry. It's the only industry where we as consumer have to play a game with the salesperson to buy a car.

[Stinkyxy]

Show up at the dealer and tell them you want to see your car. If it is inventory then it is there - if it is not their insurance on the car is screwed up (bmw, dealer, carrier).

If they say the car is not there tell them that BMW NA shows the car in inventory and if they cannot produce the car then you won't take delivery because you suspect it is damage. That might push them to do something. You can always get your deposit back.

Also know that if the car is damaged the dealer can send it back to BMW and request a new priority car.

Did you get the vin and production #?

[brianns929]

man i remember when my ordered 335 was sitting in the prep facility in NJ during Hurricane sandy...
good luck

[XGoober]

Thanks for the input guys. I do have the VIN and production number. I just spoke with BMW Genius again and although the car is showing as being on the lot, he did confirm that the car has not gone through the check-in procedure that happens any time a car is delivered to a dealer. So there is clearly a disconnect between the inventory system and the check-in control system. They also confirmed that BMW have several processing centers along the trucking route and if the car had been damaged it would have been checked into one of those for repair. That has also not happened according to BMW Genius.

Anyway, I guess that puts my mind at rest somewhat. Now it's back to just being impatient to get my new toy

[Snow-Kidney]

In many states, dealers are required to disclose if repairs cost more than $500. And must disclose any repairs if asked. However some dealers are shady and AZ might be different.

Check this out: http://law.justia.com/codes/arizona/...8/28-4411.html

[Kzang]

When my X5 was completed and shipped, I called the 800 number and got the truck transport co information. I called them to trace the delivery which was pretty accurate.
Try that route.

[Kief]

It is fairly common for dealers to add cars already sold to their online inventory, despite the car not being in their possession, to generate traffic. People call in and say I'm interested in that White MSport X5 you have in your inventory only to be told "unfortunately that car sold, but I'd be happy to work with you to locate another one..."

I wouldn't worry about it OP. However, when my CA calls me to tell me my ordered BMW has arrived, I always make a trip to check out the entire car before delivery to ensure everything is kosher.

[XGoober]

As expected, I was indeed being paranoid. My X5 arrived yesterday and I took delivery today. She is a beauty. Thanks all for the advice.

[XGoober]

Not sure if pic made it in previous post.....

[MarineOh3]

Very nice. Congrats

[HansRobert]

Originally Posted by XGoober

Not sure if pic made it in previous post.....

Beautiful! Wishing you many safe and happy miles!