To, 13/10/09
BMW.

Sub : Complaint about non-avaibility of Parts & Appalling service from authorised service centre.

I bought BMW-530-D in March-09 from BMW-Infinity Car P.Ltd., Mumbai, India. The car Regn.no MH-04-DW-6796 is registered in the name of M/s Metro Exporters P.Ltd C/o, Mr. Bharat Kamdar. We have gone for Platinum Package as well as a secure package as offered by BMW.

In continuation with the above details, I would like to inform that I, as a customer owning a car worth INR 5million, am wholly dissatisfied with the car and the services provided by the authorised dealers of BMW in India.

My dissatisfaction with the car started approximately before 3months to date or for a fact 3months after the purchase of the car. The rear left side window’s glass once rolled down wouldn’t come up. After 15 minutes of trying when nothing worked and since monsoons were on-going in Mumbai I frantically called up the authorised service center of Infinity Motors, Mumbai to inform them of the problem and to get it resolved immediately. To my surprise they wouldn’t give me appointment before 7-8 days since they were completely booked. After explaining them the situation that if the glass would not roll up & if the rains started again (which had halted for sometime then) then the whole interior and the upholstery would be ruined, they accomodated me and gave me an instant appointment to resolve the problem. Luckily after 20 minutes the window glass started working properly & it rolled up. So I cancelled my so called ‘accomodated appointment’ and I took the appointment for a later date for a complete check-up to avoid such urgent problems in future.

My Contention - How can INR 5 million with a repute of BMW run in to such problems just after 3 months of purchase. Please explain.

On the appointment date the car was checked by the service center and they concluded that it was just a ‘one time’ problem and it would not occur again since the check had shown no flaws in the car. To my surprise just after 2-3 weeks when the car was parked in my compound the same window glass automatically rolled down. Luckily the driver was around and it wasn’t raining and the car was parked in my compound. I called up the service center and spoke severely to the service manager to resolve the problem once and for all. He gave an appointment and after the second check-up it was concluded that the winder motor has to be replaced. I was relieved temporarily and the glass was rolled up with instructions to me to lock the window glass and not to use it unless very urgent till it was replaced. I gave instructions for replacement, but suprisingly the SPARE (winder motor) was not available with the service center. The service manager very conviniently told me that since it was not a regular SPARE they are not stocking it but the same would called for and within a week it would be replaced.

My Contention – If the same situation would arised anywhere in the world other than India then would the reasoning of ‘’NOT STOCKING THE SPARE AS IT IS NOT A REGULAR WEAR AND TEAR SPARE’’ be accepted.

My Question – Who would have been responsible if the rains had ruined the upholstery and the interiors of the car. Is it not mandatory for service centers to stock atleast 1-2 parts of the whole car so that the replacement of the parts is done as & when required and the customer is not stranded with a faulty car. Why should the customer bear the brunt of non-avaibility of any SPARE OR SERVICE after buying a car which is worth a fortune.

The worst is yet to come. After promising the replacement after a week, it is still pending from the service center’s end. Its been a month and there is no follow-up or call from any of the service managers involved informing the status of my work or the avaibility of the spare. Infact I call them up every week to know the status, and on every call I get a new date and a promise for getting my car fixed.

My Contention – Why should I, as a customer, not sue the service center and dealers of BMW and ask for appropiate compensation for such ridiculous reasoning and postponement of the repair and replacement work.

My Conclusion - I feel there is no difference between a BMW Authorised Service Center and a BACK STREET CAR REPAIR SHOP, since both of them work on same statistics and same mind sets of taking customers for granted. Inspite of already been charged substantially for a maintainence package the customer is still at the mercy of irresponsible service centers and service managers .

These are the problems faced by me just after 6 months of purchase, whereas I have already entered in to an agreement with BMW in way of Platinum Package for a period of 3 years and a Secure Package. As a customer I frankly now do not know what to expect from the service centers in terms of service, but I surely never expected this kind of service and problem from a company called BMW.

I request a practical and logical reply to all my questions and contentions at the earliest, before I approach any other associations to solve my problems. Also inform me as to how the company would compensate me for all the mental stress and follow-up I have gone through due to the reckless and negligent attitude of the whole service team of BMW-India.

Thanking You,


For Metro Exporters P. Ltd
Mr. Bharat D. Kamdar
(President)