unauthorized repairs/ are they playing w/ me

[jadonnia]

car went in for servicing because my fiance hit a large piece of metal in the highway, and the wheel eventually[after 2 wks] began to feel as if it would come off when turning towards the right[front right side hit metal]. the wheel locked and the tire blew out after he hit it. he changed the tire, removed metal piece lodged behind/under wheel and came home.
then the brakes started squeaking, and the wheel was too unstable to drive, so it went into bmw for repairs. it was supposedly fixed in service, until a test drive and they said they heard a sound, checked it out.
the car needed a stabilizer rod, so it had to go into their body shop, from service dept. i now have a second bill-the car went in only once- when they were paid already in service. should i have gotten or be getting a second bill for one visit? don't they get paid after everything is done-making it all one bill? did the car have to leave service to go to body shop, and should i be paying for a job that i was told about after they had aLREADY DONE IT?


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do i have to pay for these repairs, as they refuse to give me back my car w/o doing so? On the first bill[$1200.00], my ex-fiance paid via credit card[a photocopy left with the dealer], and now he refuses to pay ; they expect me to pay. what do i do now?

i am going to paste a synopsis into this post, and hope that you gain more insight into this problem, ok.

Here it is.:

i need some more advice about my car being at the dealership. this is nothing new for this forum,as i need some more feedback in reference to the loaner car situation, and the dealership.

Now, this is it in a nutshell. In March(29th), i took my car in to be serviced, and at that time i received a loaner from them. My car was supposed to be finished in a few days.....

Weeks went by, and no car. On April 27, my nephew borrowed that car[loaner], and was killed in it.[unbelievable, right?] So, now, the next day,I am finally told,miraculously, my car is ready, and the police [NYPD]are holding their car for evidence in his murder investigation.

At this point BMW decides to hold on to mine, until i either 'buy' their car[told to me by the Sales manager] or they get theirs back. Thats the best they could come up with. The police could keep theirs for up to a year, i was told. BMW still held mine, knowing[admittingly-Service mgr.] they had no true legal rights to it.

My bill for the car, at this time, is understood as paid in full. because on March31st, they took my ex-fiance's Amex card, photocopied it and billed Amex. So the car is paid for before April 27[more work being done- it wasnt fixed yet], and they were telling me that they just simply were not going to release it to me at all[even if paid-they all thought so, too]. I complained everywhere, and, still they held on to my car.

During this time, while my car is being held hostage,i got wind of some second bill, yet i told them, when they mentioned it, "frank" paid it all. No one disputed me on this fact, either. No one was keeping me abreast of what was going on with my car, and I left my direct numbers with them. See, they were communicating with my ex, yet NOW I am the only person with whom they are in contact

Footnote: he is a very important person at that dealership, as he owns 5 of their bmw's and also is an attorney, himself, who, by the way, knows the Owner of the dealership personally. He represented him in a case once, i was told-yet, HE couldnt affect the release of my car. Also, he was paying for the car damages, because he created them. This was all his fault.

The dealership avoided contact with me, after my nephew issue, in fact, and I was told as an explanation, as to why not, now that there has appeared this new bill, they don't require Frank to pay, only me. They told me,"frank has always covered your car before'-thats why they told him about MY car[they didnt know that frank's named as a co-lessee on my car, when that was said] when they should only have been contacting and speaking with me directly, before they performed extra work=extra money that i didnt have.

So, now that he is my ex, he refuses to pay the remaining bill with his Amex card or otherwise. The dealership said that in service dept, they can accept payment ,a photocopy, that way, yet body shop can't- and it needs to be someone who's name is on the car to pay only. in other words, we want it to come from you, not your fiance,our friend. Like i said before, when those statements were made, they weren't aware that his name was on my lease[ i pay, register, insure all alone,tho]. HE didnt know that his name appeared on co-lessee line-he simply wanted to be 'guarantor' only.

Now, here i am, facing an unauthorized bill, for work that i didnt ok, in order to finally retrieve my car after 4 months already.

What do you think? what do i do? what would you do? i cant afford $2,000.00 bill. i would never have told them to do it w/o at least a second opinion-besides, my lease is not up[2004BMW], its just begun. There is nowhere that says that i must take my car there and pay their fees. i have options, yet not in this case. Tell me-an atty will be costly-meanwhile here in august, i still have no car-i've been paying every month since march. help!!!!!

now do you get the picture, anyone??????????

I have posted this issue in other forums, and I thought since I found this one, that I would look for feedback here. Also, Kurt, a senior member, referred me to this forum thread.
I need advice, badly.
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jadonnia

[jadonnia]

Do you get the picture? My issues are more complex than what meets the eye, and I think that they are truly trying to punish me for their loaner, at this point, after all that time that they have been holding it, w/supposedly, bills paid completely. I also believe that their insurance company must pay out, to me, in lieu of my nephew's death, some benefits, as well. Perhaps, they are pissed? I owe $1,000 to dealership, for their deductible, as their insurance company 'totalled' the car, and they've gotten paid by them.( At one point, I was told to wait until they get that check in their hands, then they'd release my car) Now that they've gotten paid, there is a new bill, to be paid by me 'only'. How does this situation sound ?

They won't go to my ex for payment at body shop, yet they took his payment in service dept. when at that time, they were thinking that he was NOT the owner of my car[ he was only 'taking care of it' -meaning payment,etc...-reason why they kept him up to date on car repairs], yet now, since I have informed them that his name DOES appear on my lease, they now seem to still refuse to demand payment from him. What? How can they NOW say that the person required to pay for repairs, at their body shop, must be an owner of the car, but no mention was made to that effect in service[ they used a photocopy] [They, at body, aren't even considering using the same method] - But now that they KNOW that he IS a co-lessee on my car, they are still only asking me to pay for work that I didn't ok?

Even after I told the service coordinator that my ex was named on my lease, he asked that I bring in paperwork to prove it, and he asked me who's name are the payments under[mine, ofcourse]. Is that relevant info? Or, is it any business of theirs who pays for my car repairs, as long as it gets paid?This all sounds like a load of s... to me! Opinions, anyone????

[Purrybonker]

Your issues with your ex are your issues - not the dealership's. The only argument the dealership can make is that the repairs to the car be paid for before releasing the car to you. So...

* assuming the additional work was authorized by you or your ex, they will be able to hold (or at some point dispose of) the car until the bill is paid. They almost certainly cannot withhold your car in lieu of the issues relating to the loaner, but may be playing "hardball" with you in view of that situation.

* if you want to require your ex to reimburse you for the damages - you would have to pay the dealership and then pursue a separate action against him. This can actually be quite simple and effective, particularily if the the guy has money/assets and/or a profile in the community that he would like to protect.

Good luck.

[jadonnia]

thanks for your input. I do think that I will have to get the money together, and get my car out, and proceed that way. Is there anything else that can be done?

[Purrybonker]

Sounds like they probably have you over a barrel on the repair bill.

BTW - Do you suppose that Jessica Rabbit uses a shot of you as her avatar on some board, somewhere? If so, please give us a link.

..woo hoo, now that would be something to see!

(and yes, we do tend to be very shallow on this board)

[likemystoppie?]

^^^^sounds like a woman in need.