[pallymore]

So a week ago I dropped off my car at a local dealer ship to get factory maintenance and some minor repairs (door rattling and side view camera issues) done. It took them longer than promised to fix everything but I don't need the car over the weekend anyways so I'm fine with that.

When I got my car back, I noticed my dashcam is tilted a little bit, well it's probably because the guy who did the interior detailing accidentally touched it. So i moved it in place, and to make sure it's aligned properly I used my cellphone to connect to the camera (it doesn't have a screen). Well the app shows some thumbnails of the previous clips and I noticed lots of very dark pictures - I rarely drive at night so I opened those clips to see where the car was taken to when it was supposed to be at the dealership - it turned out someone used it to commute to somewhere ( I didn't check the exact location) north of the city - it's about 30-40 miles away from the dealership! And he/she drives it back to the dealership in the morning. The cam only recorded 2nights and 2 mornings (previous clips are overwritten) before I took the car back. So...I guess someone used my car to commute.

I think the dealership is only supposed to take your car on the road for diagnosis? I emailed the service rep about my concern a few days ago but haven't heard back. Is there anything else I should do?

[mwh2009]

Originally Posted by pallymore

So a week ago I dropped off my car at a local dealer ship to get factory maintenance and some minor repairs (door rattling and side view camera issues) done. It took them longer than promised to fix everything but I don't need the car over the weekend anyways so I'm fine with that.

When I got my car back, I noticed my dashcam is tilted a little bit, well it's probably because the guy who did the interior detailing accidentally touched it. So i moved it in place, and to make sure it's aligned properly I used my cellphone to connect to the camera (it doesn't have a screen). Well the app shows some thumbnails of the previous clips and I noticed lots of very dark pictures - I rarely drive at night so I opened those clips to see where the car was taken to when it was supposed to be at the dealership - it turned out someone used it to commute to somewhere ( I didn't check the exact location) north of the city - it's about 30-40 miles away from the dealership! And he/she drives it back to the dealership in the morning. The cam only recorded 2nights and 2 mornings (previous clips are overwritten) before I took the car back. So...I guess someone used my car to commute.

I think the dealership is only supposed to take your car on the road for diagnosis? I emailed the service rep about my concern a few days ago but haven't heard back. Is there anything else I should do?

So I still don't have my first BMW (waiting), but that seems out of bounds no matter what brand/situation. It's one thing for a test drive to validate a problem or confirm a fix. Driving it home for the night seems weird and I wouldn't want them to do that with my car....

[nicknaz]

people have different opinions on whether or not they car... I personally do, and am very very careful about which dealerships get access to my car for this exact reason

[zinner]

my dad was a service manager and he would drive customer cars home from time to time. In the end it's just a car, probably need to relax a bit and have a beer. If your car came back fixed and in good condition forget about it. If you had a rattle issues and they took the time to commute in the car to make sure it was taken care off, maybe that is a plus in their column for caring the car was actually fixed. There are tons of threads with people bitching that they took the car in and it was the same problem after it was fixed.

I know when I had my 335i in the shop for a new turbo they drove the car for several days to make sure everything was A OK. I have no problem with that.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Its only a car but its not his car. So you should be pi***d it was used without your ok. Be interesting to see what would happen if it came back with a nice crease down he side.

[chiefneil]

No, the dealer should not be using your car to commute unless it's diagnose a tricky intermittent issue.

There was a story on the news in the last year or two where a guy saw his car in a fast food drive-through after he dropped it off for service. The service guy driving it got fired, and of course the story made the news.

My dealer seems to have some very strict policies about it. My E46 had an intermittent issue that I'd complained about for years. Near the end of the warranty I begged the dealer to give my car to a service tech and let him drive it around as his personal transportation until he experienced the problem, no matter how long it took. The dealer refused, insisted they could only do test drives at the dealership during business hours.

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

No, the dealer should not be using your car to commute unless it's diagnose a tricky intermittent issue.


My dealer seems to have some very strict policies about it. My E46 had an intermittent issue that I'd complained about for years. Near the end of the warranty I begged the dealer to give my car to a service tech and let him drive it around as his personal transportation until he experienced the problem, no matter how long it took. The dealer refused, insisted they could only do test drives at the dealership during business hours.

I've had my service rep call to ask if he could take my car home to make sure my "tricky intermittent issue" was fixed. Of course I said yes, and it was a good thing I did because it broke down in 13 miles. It got fixed right that time though.

I'd be pissed if they didn't call to check first if it was outside the normal road test during business hours thing though. I'd never say no, but I think it's good business practice to keep your customers informed if the car is not locked up where they think it is.

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by zinner

my dad was a service manager and he would drive customer cars home from time to time. In the end it's just a car, probably need to relax a bit and have a beer. If your car came back fixed and in good condition forget about it. If you had a rattle issues and they took the time to commute in the car to make sure it was taken care off, maybe that is a plus in their column for caring the car was actually fixed. There are tons of threads with people bitching that they took the car in and it was the same problem after it was fixed.

I know when I had my 335i in the shop for a new turbo they drove the car for several days to make sure everything was A OK. I have no problem with that.

If he didn't explicitly have the customer's permission to do so, the fact that he's your dad doesn't make this right. Especially if the car is leased as he was using a customer's mileage allowance. All good if he stops by McDonald's and has a big meal in the customer car? Takes the family out for dinner in it? I don't even want to think about a customer car being used for a jaunt to a drive-in movie (not that such things really exist anymore).

I'd be tempted to call the police and file a vehicle theft complaint if I found out my car had been taken home to some random dude's house.

[zinner]

bri1042 do you live in the same world I do?

When you drop your car off and sign a work order that is not enough permissions to allow the dealership employees to drive the customers car? I think it is.

If someone doesn't like that arrangement, you can buy, not lease, a used car and fix it yourself in your garage. Otherwise you have to be a reasonable human being and deal with the rest of the human beings on this earth.

As for the police report comment, it's not some random dude, it's a dealership employee that you turned your car over to for maintenance or service.

[bavarianride]

To OP, our local service work order does say the owner gives permission to service techs to drive the car for the purpose of diagnosis, but definitely not for personal use. So the answer to your question is no, it is not acceptable.

Do note that any accident that occurs during those drives is still covered by owner's auto insurance policies.

[jinnrice]

Normal practice. My buddy is a shop Forman for BMW. If they see fit to take it home for test ride then they will. I asked him what if something happens to it... BMW will pay up.
Grab a beer and enjoy the weekend.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by pallymore

So a week ago I dropped off my car at a local dealer ship to get factory maintenance and some minor repairs (door rattling and side view camera issues) done. It took them longer than promised to fix everything but I don't need the car over the weekend anyways so I'm fine with that.

When I got my car back, I noticed my dashcam is tilted a little bit, well it's probably because the guy who did the interior detailing accidentally touched it. So i moved it in place, and to make sure it's aligned properly I used my cellphone to connect to the camera (it doesn't have a screen). Well the app shows some thumbnails of the previous clips and I noticed lots of very dark pictures - I rarely drive at night so I opened those clips to see where the car was taken to when it was supposed to be at the dealership - it turned out someone used it to commute to somewhere ( I didn't check the exact location) north of the city - it's about 30-40 miles away from the dealership! And he/she drives it back to the dealership in the morning. The cam only recorded 2nights and 2 mornings (previous clips are overwritten) before I took the car back. So...I guess someone used my car to commute.

I think the dealership is only supposed to take your car on the road for diagnosis? I emailed the service rep about my concern a few days ago but haven't heard back. Is there anything else I should do?

The only justification would be that the tech had to drive it to confirm that the rattling was resolved. 60-80 miles, to me, is way too much. And if you didn't hear back from the SA within 1 day, you should be on the phone with the general manager of the dealership, demanding an explanation by the end of the day.

Originally Posted by zinner

my dad was a service manager and he would drive customer cars home from time to time. In the end it's just a car, probably need to relax a bit and have a beer. If your car came back fixed and in good condition forget about it. If you had a rattle issues and they took the time to commute in the car to make sure it was taken care off, maybe that is a plus in their column for caring the car was actually fixed. There are tons of threads with people bitching that they took the car in and it was the same problem after it was fixed.

I know when I had my 335i in the shop for a new turbo they drove the car for several days to make sure everything was A OK. I have no problem with that.

Good--let them use your car. Customers' cars are not for the personal use of anyone who works at the dealership. If they said "We want to keep your car a few days and drive it to make sure there are no issues"--well then that was fully disclosed. And replacing a turbo is way different than fixing a rattle, which is what the OP had.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by zinner

bri1042 do you live in the same world I do?

When you drop your car off and sign a work order that is not enough permissions to allow the dealership employees to drive the customers car? I think it is.

If someone doesn't like that arrangement, you can buy, not lease, a used car and fix it yourself in your garage. Otherwise you have to be a reasonable human being and deal with the rest of the human beings on this earth.

As for the police report comment, it's not some random dude, it's a dealership employee that you turned your car over to for maintenance or service.

Not for personal use. Which is what "commuting" is. The car was turned over for maintenance and service, not to give some guy a ride home.

You are 100% right--we live in different worlds...

[spuntyb]

Sometimes the commute is, ostensibly, for the purpose of diagnosis or to double check a fix.

That said, I generally frown upon it, although I can assure you it's quite common. I personally prefer to bring it somewhere where they typically won't do this, if possible, but I'm not going to get too upset if it happens, within reason. Really shouldn't be more than like 20-30 miles.

It's really up to you and what you're comfortable with.

[zinner]

Originally Posted by jinnrice

Normal practice. My buddy is a shop Forman for BMW. If they see fit to take it home for test ride then they will. I asked him what if something happens to it... BMW will pay up.
Grab a beer and enjoy the weekend.

exactly.

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by zinner

bri1042 do you live in the same world I do?

When you drop your car off and sign a work order that is not enough permissions to allow the dealership employees to drive the customers car? I think it is.

If someone doesn't like that arrangement, you can buy, not lease, a used car and fix it yourself in your garage. Otherwise you have to be a reasonable human being and deal with the rest of the human beings on this earth.

As for the police report comment, it's not some random dude, it's a dealership employee that you turned your car over to for maintenance or service.

Honestly, I don't think we do live in the same world. I'm not sorry about that, either.

"Reasonable people" don't take advantage of their customers' trust.

I've read the drop-off agreement and nothing in it says that employees can joy-ride and personal-use my car. Thankfully, my dealership exists in my world, not yours. When they needed to drive my previous car more than a mile or two to find an intermittent rattle, they called for permission before taking it on a 20 mile drive.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by jinnrice

Normal practice. My buddy is a shop Forman for BMW. If they see fit to take it home for test ride then they will. I asked him what if something happens to it... BMW will pay up.
Grab a beer and enjoy the weekend.

LOL of course your buddy thinks it is normal practice; he is the one joy riding and knows BMW will foot the bill if he damages the car

OP, take it to another dealer where the SA sees things the way you do

Others might be ok with random joy riders but if you aren't you don't have to be; take your business elsewhere

[jgoens]

I think that's fucked up and don't agree it's only a car. You are "hiring" the dealership to work on your car. If they have to drive it to solve issues then it's good, but in this case the car was driven for personal use which was not cleared. If you hire a refrigerator guy to fix your fridge is he also entitled to drink the beers in the fridge just to make sure they are cold? C'mon.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by jinnrice

Normal practice. My buddy is a shop Forman for BMW. If they see fit to take it home for test ride then they will. I asked him what if something happens to it... BMW will pay up.
Grab a beer and enjoy the weekend.

Well except for this infamous case:

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=386265

[ronanz]

Exactly ^^^


Bet they wouldn't accept responsibility if they curbed your wheel...unless you've given them explicit authorization to take your vehicle off the dealerships property for a prolonged period of time, it's NOT O.K


.

[auf Deutsch]

Originally Posted by zinner

my dad was a service manager and he would drive customer cars home from time to time. In the end it's just a car, probably need to relax a bit and have a beer. If your car came back fixed and in good condition forget about it. If you had a rattle issues and they took the time to commute in the car to make sure it was taken care off, maybe that is a plus in their column for caring the car was actually fixed. There are tons of threads with people bitching that they took the car in and it was the same problem after it was fixed.

I know when I had my 335i in the shop for a new turbo they drove the car for several days to make sure everything was A OK. I have no problem with that.

No offense, but that's bullshit! Your dad having a management position should definitely know better.

In the end it's just a car.....seriously?

[CazuaLLUK]

Wouldn't like this at all, knowing the car could be anywhere, doing anything.