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      08-08-2018, 04:21 PM   #1
complexCarlo
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AutoNation Thornton Road Lithia Springs, GA // Customer Review

So picture this....

After a few months of looking for the right car you finally find the closest thing to what you believe is the optimal choice for you and your family. Its clean looking, has the options you were looking for and the carfax checks out!

So at this point youre ready to get serious enough to inquire about the vehicle which in this case is a 2012 BMW X5 35d and the salesman talks a little bit about it and how they just got back from filling it up. Says it drives nice, was taken care of, and is ready for a new owner. After about a week of back and fourth gathering information and relaying it to my wife we agree and send the check.

So im currently overseas while my wife put's around our beloved 99 Honda CRV in Orlando, FL and I tell her that the car is ready to be picked up all she needs to do is drive the 7 hours to go get it. Im already nervous because ive done all my research regarding these cars and im afraid she wont remember to check all the details I mentioned she should look out for.

She gets there and turns out everything looks fine, she drives it around and the saleman is nice enough to show her how everything works. After about an hour of signing some papers she is finally on her way back home.

Now here is when it gets weird...

After a few hours of driving a CEL pops up. Wife calls, I ask if the car is driving normal, she says yes, I say ok. Keeps driving. I call the dealer and telll them the situation, they say it could be something small, maybe a gas cap open. I say okay, I mention the 90 day limited purchase warranty and he says any AutoNation will take care of it. Cool.

Thankfully I have a badass wife and she makes it to Orlando but not before she sees this...


Yeah.... no fucking shit, its a mouse popping its head out to see hes made a 600 mile journey while he was sleeping on some Fivel Goes South type shit.

So at this point im no joke kinda upset and feel lied too. But I want to cover all my bases and prove that in fact the CEL and rodent were pre existing conditions. So we make an appointment for the follwing Friday with AutoNation of Winter Park here in Florida. They take a look at it and say they couldnt find any signs of a mouse and that they cant diagnose the car because they dont have the tools. So they refer us to a BMW dealer and say they will cover the expense. Okay, they sound like they will at least take care of the issue.

A week passes and we get to the BMW dealer and they confirm that a rodent had been present at least since they saw chewed up foam under the valve cover. They diagnose the issue as being the EGR. Says its $699 for the part plus labor. I say, okay np, let AutoNation take care of it. The dealer goes to call AutoNation after to inquire about the form of payment and AutoNation says they cant find squat for our car that we purchased literally 2 weeks prior and have all dealer paperwork. What in the world, strange....

So I calll them and we talk,then I call the sales manager at AutoNation Thornton Road and when I ask if he has a minute he replies with "Sure but I am very busy". I smirk cause im thinking in my head, if he'd say that to my face but I continue to explain the situation. Guess what,

THEY NEVER PUT IT IN THE DAMN SYSTEM!!!!

Whats it gonna take to get good service around here!

I say I want to talk to the next member that can do something. Full on "let me talk to your manager mode". I get a hold of the Customer Service manger and during the course of 3-4 days we get all the Warranty issues figured out.

So a few days later when I get some free time, I reach out to mention the problem with the rodent. He mentioned every vehicle is inspected before sale and that there is no way it would have made it to Orlando. I send him the picture the invoice from the dealer stating his findings because I want them to correct the issue at the lowest level. I want to give them the chance before I go on badmouthing. Now i'll be honest. My wife is someone I really care about. Shes taken care of me so I wanted to so something nice for her and put her in a car she would feel good in. She loves the car but she has also been let down and at this point the experience of buying the car of her dreams has been ruined.

Can you put a price on that? Well I can. I respecfully asked to be refunded the additional warranty we purchased from them and that we would call that fair and even and let my poor wife feel like they give a damn. A dollar amount of about $998.00 total. Hardly a drop in the bucket.

Well to my surprise, they get back to me the next day and say there is nothing they can do. Nothing, not even a counter offer. Its like they are so far up their ass that once they butter you and make the sale they couldnt waste their breath or be bothered.

How does it feel? For me its not bad, but for my wife that drove up there and then down it feels like shit. Absolute garbage and thats the one person I hate seeing upset or sad.

So what would you do. What do you guys make of it? Besides the fact to STAY THE HELL AWAY from AutoNation of Thornton Road. This is ridiculous and a shame these professional liars wont put in any effort to taking care of their customers.

Below are some pictures of the car for the people that stuck it out and read the post



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      08-09-2018, 12:14 AM   #2
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Did you nail them on BBB yet? Screw those people.
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      08-09-2018, 09:23 AM   #3
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I'll admit, at times I can be naive but they really had me going. Really thought they'd step up.

Whats BBB? We are a bit new to the Bimmer scene.
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      08-09-2018, 10:19 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by complexCarlo View Post
I'll admit, at times I can be naive but they really had me going. Really thought they'd step up.

Whats BBB? We are a bit new to the Bimmer scene.
BBB - Better Business Bureau

Basically it's like a writing a bad review in google but with much more repercussion for the business

Man.. I hate dealing with dealerships.. this is why they have such bad reputation across the board.
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      08-09-2018, 10:57 AM   #5
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BBB is useless. Get it fixed by a knowledgeable repair facility. Send Autonation time-bound letters certified mail, return receipt requested, summarizing the situation and asking for reimbursement. If no resolution after a couple of attempts, sue them in small claims court in your county for breach of contract, material misrepresentation and failure of duty of reasonable care. Look up the theories online. Tie the problem to what they did/promised. The filing fee is small, and they may respond to/resolve with you prior to your court date, but be prepared to state your case to recover repair and filing costs.

Last edited by Poppyboy; 08-09-2018 at 11:07 AM..
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      08-09-2018, 12:24 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poppyboy View Post
BBB is useless. Get it fixed by a knowledgeable repair facility. Send Autonation time-bound letters certified mail, return receipt requested, summarizing the situation and asking for reimbursement. If no resolution after a couple of attempts, sue them in small claims court in your county for breach of contract, material misrepresentation and failure of duty of reasonable care. Look up the theories online. Tie the problem to what they did/promised. The filing fee is small, and they may respond to/resolve with you prior to your court date, but be prepared to state your case to recover repair and filing costs.
Its not worth the hassle not to mention we will be moving the month I get back from this tour. Letting people know about this dealership is all I can really afford to do at this time.

I couldnt have painted a clearer painting. They even went on to say that the rodent must have gotten there right after we left the lot. i couldnt believe how low they would go to reflect the blame. Baffled really.
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      08-09-2018, 12:49 PM   #7
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My wife probably would have driven off the road screaming if that mouse popped it's head up while she was driving!

Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I just looked this dealer up on Yelp and they get terrible reviews. If you feel like venting further online, I'd post something there.
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      08-09-2018, 01:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by complexCarlo View Post
Its not worth the hassle not to mention we will be moving the month I get back from this tour. Letting people know about this dealership is all I can really afford to do at this time.

I couldnt have painted a clearer painting. They even went on to say that the rodent must have gotten there right after we left the lot. i couldnt believe how low they would go to reflect the blame. Baffled really.
I'm just answering your question to say what I would do. It's very satisfying to beat a company which has behaved so unjustly.
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      08-09-2018, 03:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by complexCarlo View Post
Its not worth the hassle not to mention we will be moving the month I get back from this tour. Letting people know about this dealership is all I can really afford to do at this time.

I couldnt have painted a clearer painting. They even went on to say that the rodent must have gotten there right after we left the lot. i couldnt believe how low they would go to reflect the blame. Baffled really.

If you don't want to take them to small claims court, the least you can do is give them a bad Yelp review, go to www.dealerrater.com and/or get on social media and share your bad experience. This website is a start but might not cast the widest net, so to speak...
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      08-09-2018, 06:15 PM   #10
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If the X5 is working as good as normal and you are happy with it in every other way, then just get the dealer to give you few free services or oil changes to compensate for the rodent found in the car. Also get the chewed foam repaired free by the dealer.
Make the best of the bad situation., as the X5 was otherwise up to your liking.

I would have done the same.

I had to spend $800 on a one week old X5 to get it to pass inspection in PA having bought it from an AutoNation dealer in MD.
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      08-10-2018, 02:48 PM   #11
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Its is so far so good with drivability but the experiience my wife had to go through and the uncooperative nature of the people running the dealer is unacceptable to say the least. We sent them the bill the BMW charges us after they said Auto Nation would pay it, we sent them the reciept from BMW that said the rodent was found, and a picture proving we werent full of it and they still wouldnt help. They wouldnt even counter offer!

I'll get on the Yelp review. It would be very interesting to see what they respond with there.
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      08-11-2018, 10:34 PM   #12
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My experience with AutoNation Ford in Ft Worth, Tx:
https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1400938

I wanna mention that things worked out good dealing with BMW of Dallas(who is owned by AutoNation), though they were getting paid by the warranty company. AutoNation Ford in Ft. Worth was absolutely horrible to deal with and washed their hands of me right after i signed the papers...
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      08-12-2018, 01:51 PM   #13
complexCarlo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Birdoprey View Post
My experience with AutoNation Ford in Ft Worth, Tx:
https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1400938

I wanna mention that things worked out good dealing with BMW of Dallas(who is owned by AutoNation), though they were getting paid by the warranty company. AutoNation Ford in Ft. Worth was absolutely horrible to deal with and washed their hands of me right after i signed the papers...
Thats how we felt. I never liked buying from the dealer, in fact, this was personally my first time. Times change, dealers stay the same.
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