ComplaintsforBMW of Sterling

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing to file a complaint against a company that I recently made a purchase of ** from BMW. On March 17, 2023, I purchased a BMW ** CAR on loan and made a down payment of 20,000 $. It has been almost a month now, and I have not received any loan documentation. I have tried to follow up numerous times via email, but the company has not responded. I even reached out to them over text. They confirmed that the loan was funded, but they still have not provided me with any documents related to my loan. I am now approaching the due date to make my first payment on May 5, and I still lack finance details. This situation has caused me a lot of stress and frustration, and I feel that the company's lack of response is completely unacceptable. I would like to request that you investigate this matter and take appropriate action against the company. I believe that they have breached their obligations under our agreement, and I am concerned that they may be engaging in deceptive or unfair practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

  Business response

  05/11/2023

  We apologize for the poor communication and frustration. We will contact customer and provide the requested information.

• Initial Complaint

  02/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a car from this dealer in November 2022 as an out of state buyer. It has now been several months and I still do not have a registration and tag, and the temporary tags have expired, rendering my vehicle illegal to drive. I have attempted to contact the business several times via email, and have spoken to my sales person to no avail. I am beginning to have concerns that maybe the car is not registerable... perhaps there are title issues. Three and a half months with no tag or registration seems unreasonable. At this point, I'm happy to return the car and have the sale reversed with a refund if a tag and registration are not immediately forthcoming.

  Business response

  03/09/2023

  We have now completed the registration and plates are being mailed out.

• Initial Complaint

  02/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2020 *** ***** on May 24, 2022. I paid the dealership asking price and put $25,000 down. The DMV in my local area has not received the title or the taxes for me to register the vehicle and it is now February 2023. The sales manager or general manager will not call me to resolve the problem or offer a remedy. They have also failed to respond to my attorneys calls or text. The managers name is ****** ******. I would like either a refund on the vehicle or the title to it. I have paid the vehicle off that was financed with ******** finance corp.

  Business response

  03/02/2023

  For reasons that can not be explained the South Carolina DMV sent the title to the original owner. However, original owner continues to state that they have not received it. We have again, applied for a duplicate. SC DMV has confirmed they will send to us if we provide another Power of Attorney signed by the original owner. We have provided original owner with POA and return FedEx. We hope to have this resolved soon.

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  ---------- Forwarded message ---------
  From: *****, **** <****@************.com>
  Date: Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 2:36 PM
  Subject: complaint #********.
  To: Better Business Bureau <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>
  

  
  

  I still have not received the title or tax paperwork to register the vehicle. This claim still needs ti be opened. Any updates you can get would be greatly appreciated.
  

  
  Regards,
  
  **** *****
  

  Business response

  03/22/2023

  We have been in contact with the original owner and are awaiting return of documents from them to obtain a new title.

  Business response

  03/27/2023

  We spoke to the original owner of the vehicle and they did confirm that the title the DMV sent to them did finally arrive last week. We sent them a ***** to return the title to us so that this process can be completed. 

  Customer response

  03/29/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  I am rejecting this response because: I have not received the title or paperwork for the registration at the DMV. 
  
  Regards,
  
  **** *****  
  

  Business response

  04/17/2023

  We finally received the title to the vehicle purchased from the original owner on 3/37/23. We sent title to our out of state registration processor ****** via *** **. ****** has informed us that the customer personally showed up at local DMV and completed process on 3/31/23. If the information we received is incorrect please let us know.

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought a used 2014 ***** *** vehicle from a dealership called BMW of Sterling located in Sterling, Virginia on 11/25/2022. Extended warranty for three years or 36k miles was also included for a price of $3775.00. Because I reside in Maryland State, I took the vehicle for the state safety inspection on 11/28/2022 and successfully passed. At that point and time I decided to cancel the warranty and tried to reach out to the dealership to do so, however, for the whole month of December 2022, the Sales person ***************************** and the Finance Manager ************************* both men outright refused to respond to phone calls, voice messages, emails, any form of communications to my enquiries. On 01/06/23 with the help of the phone operators at the dealership I was able to speak to the Business Dev. Manager, ********************************* and through his intervention I received a cancellation request form, submitted my official request for warranty cancellation on the same day 01/06/23, Imagine this took more than one month after I decided to cancel. The process went on accordingly and the warranty company made the cancellation effective 01/10/23 and informed this dealership to issue the refund in the amount of $3,557.69. Where as even after being instructed to process the refund by the very warranty company, it is now more tan one month today, this dealership again outright refused to make any move to make this payment to the lien holder. As a result I have been subjected to unnecessary financial and emotional damage.

  Business response

  02/28/2023

  The cancellation process and payment to lender has been completed. It was explained to the customer at the ouset this process would take 4-6 weeks. In addition, multiple people from our finance department were in communication with the customer.

• Initial Complaint

  01/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In October of 2022 I purchased my ordered BMW x3 from this dealership. On day one the dealer had to give me a “We owe you” for a rock chip in the front bumper from delivery. On the second day I noticed a rip and paint missing from the rear bumper. And brought the car in for them to look at and was given an appointment for 11/14. Under the advice from this dealership I kept an appointment to have protective film placed on the car on 11/2 and if it had to be removed to fix the paint issue they would get it taken care of by the dealership. Was then sent to get touch up paint for the installer of the film to see if it could be corrected. On 11/14 I dropped the car off at Sterling BMW since the issue persisted. While they had my car and without a proper timeline and with a loaner I could not make my travel plans for Thanksgiving. Since I was going to travel in my new vehicle… I did have the car back on 11/22 but still wasn’t enough time to adjust schedule again. I was instructed to wait 30days before having the film applied to the rear bumper for the paint to cure and set. I scheduled my appointment for 12/20 and informed my service agent at the dealer. He told me to bring the car to the dealer on the 19th. With out any further explanation or follow up to my question. I contacted the film installer and rescheduled for 1/6/23 since i did not know why they requested to see the car and no clear explanation I stop by on 12/29 to follow up in person since my calls and e-mails went unanswered and find out they didn’t even need to see the car. While they’re for hours trying to speak with the GM. I finally speak to ***** an operations manager I was told there would be follow ups about being reimbursed… This still has not happened. We are almost at 3months with this whole ordeal. I feel so disrespected, lied to and the stress and anxiety. This dealer is terrible, the car sat on their lot for a month, and still sold it DAMAGED!!!

  Business response

  01/16/2023

  Nothing is more disappointing than having damage to your brand new car. We regret that we were not able to deliver it to you in pristine condition. Along the way there was some poor communication and for that we apologize as well. We discovered that there were  flaws in the paint from the factory and the repair was covered by BMW corporate. In addition, BMW reimbursed customer one monthly payment.

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased a BMW ***** ****** from this dealership in October 2022. I gave them the receipt to transfer my existing registration and tag fees from my previous car to the current car. I was charged a $995 processing fee and a $584.92 non-tax fee which the sales advisor told me was to cover any excess registration fees the state might charge (in addition to the existing registration receipt I gave them) and was told I would be refunded any amount that was not applied toward the registration fee. To this day, 3 months later, the title has not been processed and I have not received my registration and tags. The dealership has had no communication with me about this on their own. I contacted the Sales Advisor by text and phone several times over the last 3 months and was given the same answer that it is being processed. My text and emails to the Finance Manager and General Manager went unanswered. This has been a headache and I should receive the registration and tags immediately. I should also receive a refund of the $584.92 unnecessary non-tax fee I was charged as well as the $995 processing fee for not performing this service in a timely manner and the hassle, stress, and waste of time it has caused me.

  Business response

  01/16/2023

  We regret that this process took longer than it should have. The process has now been completed. Our $995 Documentation fee is not for processing registration. As in many industries it is a fee on all retail vehicle purchases regardless of weather we are registering the vehicle or not. Registering vehicles out of state requires a third party processor and additional cost. Any money collected exceeding the total cost of registering vehicle will be refunded to the customer as was done in this case.

  Customer response

  01/17/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  **
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2016 ***** ***** ***** from BMW of Sterling, VA on Saturday November 12th. There were some scratches to the front and the front driver side rim, they kept it to get these repaired and it was delivered to my home on November 16th. November 19th I reached out to the buyer because the car started stuttering when accelerating uphill. He, (****, the seller), talked to his manager and said they would need to see the car to see what was going on and could possibly set up a loaner for me or I could take it to a land rover dealership since i purchased an extended warranty. I said I'd prefer to bring it to him since that is where I purchased the vehicle. Monday November 28th I texted Stas because the low brake light fluid came on when driving to work. He said the car has a maintenence schedule saying the brake flush is due and to take it to a local mechanic or land rover dealer. I took it to a local shop and that is when they let me know there was a problem with the brake calipers and the e-brake was not even functional, at this point the vehicle had zero brakes. **** talked to his manager and said they wanted to see the car or use my warranty at a land rover dealership, at this point I asked for options on not keeping the car anymore, he told me there was nothing they could do. They wanted me to use my insurance or the warranty to see about getting it towed and that I had the best warranty so it would cover everything. I asked if they would reimburse me for a rental that I had to get and I was told to talk to my warranty company. I used my triple A to get it towed from a local shop to ********************** in Canonsburg, PA on Nov 30th. I called the dealership to ensure my vehicle made it there, at the end of the day they said they still didn't have it there. I called the next morning and was told that there was a miscommunication at delivery and the tech had an accident in my car. BMW of sterling sold me a car with faulty brakes and won't help fix this.

  Business response

  01/04/2023

  This is an unfortunate situation. However, the vehicle did pass VA State Inspection. Thus, brakes had been check and vehicle was safe to operate on the road. After the fact, the vehicle had an issue with the electronic emergency brake. That is not related to the regular braking system. The customer did not purchase a car without brakes. In addition, the customer did purchase a warranty to cover the vehicle long term. Unfortunately, a technician at the repair facility the vehicle was taken too had an accident in the vehicle. If there are mechanical issues with the vehicle prior to the accident (that are not related to normal wear and tear and maintenance) that are not covered by the warranty we will be happy to discuss those issues.

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of transaction 10/20/22 but car was not received until 10/25/22 transaction amount $44,820.76 I live in New York and purchased a BMW *** ** 2017 from BMW of Sterling in Virginia, the car was used but like new condition (supposed to be), my wife traveled to Virginia on 10/25/22 to pick up the car, after driving for about 5 hours back home to New York the car showed the engine light on, since it was very far already, we decided to continue and then contact the seller, he assured me that probably was something simple, to bring it to the BMW in the area to get checked out and they would take care of any issue. Since BMW just work by appointments only it took some time before they could evaluate the car and when they did they found major issues with the car that cost more than 6,000. BMW of Sterling is now saying they can't do anything because it is a used car even tho they know we had a problem with it the same day it was received, they even avoided our calls several times and didn't even try to help us a bit. We really thought a big company like this one would never play us like this.

  Business response

  01/04/2023

  Unfortunately, the issue with this vehicle was internal to the engine and unforeseeable. At the time of inspection there were no faults detected or check engine light. At time of sale the client was encouraged to purchase a mechanical warranty due to age and potential repair costs. He chose to purchase tire and wheel coverage at the time and the mechanical coverage at a latter date. We did try to get the warranty company to make an exception and provide retroactive coverage but they were unwilling to do that.

  Customer response

  01/10/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:A luxury car for 44,000 and within the first 24 hours of purchase the car showed problems, they’re just giving a lame excuse to get me out the way and by the way I still haven’t get my plates after three months and after charging me for them, more than enough red flags to see how irresponsible they are, anybody that purchases a car from a recognized dealer has 30 days to report any issues yet I had an issue the same day the car was picked up and they are pretending it has nothing to do with it? I believe ?? they played me to get rid of that car, my bad thinking that such a reputable place was going to provide me with a great experience at shopping my dream car
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On July 16th, 2022, I purchased a used 2019 BMW from BMW of Sterling. I was told the vehicle title would be mailed to me in a few weeks. It has been 3 months. After one month, I called to say I needed the title as my temporary tags expired. I was given new temporary tags for another month. Those have expired. I have called my salesperson and the finance department, but no one ever answers the phone. I have left several messages asking for an update, with no response. I can't drive the car, as I can't get license plates without the title. My bank has not heard from the dealer either. I am stuck with car payments on a car I don't legally own and can't drive, and cannot get a reply from the dealer. I would like to get the title as soon as possible.

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Date of the transaction with BMW of Sterling: July 19th 2022 The transaction was late in the evening around 6:45 p.m. I did not leave the dealership until 8:58 p.m. During the transaction, I was told it would be 15 mins after finishing with the client advisor to meet with last person for paperwork and was left standing for more than 45 mins. The client advisor took my car before I had seen the paper, and when I requestED the trade in price, I was told "don't worry we will get you taken care of." I was told on several occasions the car was going to auction, only to find that my vehicle listed the next day for 15k. No one told me my trade until I finally saw it in paper work, around 5k. At this point, they had already taken my car and it was past closing. I did not get a good look at the car in the light, and on the test drive saw a blank mark. When washing the vehicle days later, I discovered the black mark on the windshield was a repaired chip. Then I found a second one that had also been poorly repaired. This vehicle had an inspection sticker for 6/23. I am not sure how a vehicle with a damaged windshield passes inspection. I found the bumper had a mark covered by touch up paint and tail light had scuff. After buying the vehicle, I received several phone calls from sterling while at work but never a voice mail. I wasn't in the mood to argue until I got an email from a company called ****** asking for my insurance card and the back of my id. They did not have anything in their email signature associating with BMW of Sterling, so it could of been Phishing. They still had not registered my vehicle to PA, and my tempt tag had expired 11 days ago. I paid 995 for a processing fee, and the company could not meet the 30 day time they set with the tag, nor did they contact me before then to say they needed to extend this. At this point, I still don't have my license plate and the company ignored my email when I asked questions to the person who emailed me.

  Business response

  10/07/2022

  All of these concerns have been addressed.

  Customer response

  10/13/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The business has yet to refund the windshield and when the GM was emailed to find out that status I was ignored.  Since then registration was finally given to the car and at inspection I was informed the front brakes need to be replaced.  So I am still waiting on that refund to again replace equipment that should of been check at inspection.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩