Vehicle Details:
- 2001 BMW 330Ci
- VIN: WBABN53431JU20463
- Steel Grey exterior
- Black leather interior
- Sport package
- Last known mileage: approximately 31750
- BMW CPO warranty until August 2006
- Purchased by Chevrolet of Lowell from an auction
Dealership Details:
Chevrolet of Lowell
831 Rogers Street
Lowell, MA 01852
(978)458-2526
Event Log:
This vehicle was advertised for sale by Chevrolet of Lowell on or around the beginning of May, 2006. The asking price of the vehicle was $22,995 dollars. The vehicle appears to be in very good condition. Exterior is near-mint with only a couple very minor dings. Interior is near mint as well. All signs point to the vehicle being very nice.
Below is a blow-by-blow log from the buyer of the events which took place before and after the purchase of the 2001 330Ci:
5/20/2006 - First attended Chevrolet of Lowell. Test drove vehicle. Took vehicle for a pre-purchase inspection at an independant garage. No problems, no service engine lights. Vehicle needed a left front ball joint. Vehicle was running smooth as any vehicle with 31k miles should.
5/24/2006 - Payed for vehicle in full. 31666 on odometer. Drove vehicle off lot at about 4:30PM - service engine soon light almost immediately comes on less than 300 yards from dealer. Car running rough and feels like it's misfiring. Also making fairly severe ticking sound from engine compartment. Turn right around and return to dealer. Sales agent takes car out for drive and says everything is fine. Agent also states there is nothing he can do for me since no warranty was purchased. Ask agent if the service department can pull the OBD-II codes. Agent and service manager state that since vehicle is a BMW they cannot pull the codes (OBD-II industry standard across vehicles - this is not true). Ask to speak with Agent's manager. Speak with sales manager. Am treated rudely and am repeatedly told that I "need to calm down" by Sales Manager. Sales Manager reaffirms that since I did not purchase the warranty they do not have to fix it. Leave dealership and go to independant shop where the pre-purchase inspection was performed. Employee explains to me that car will not pass inspection, and under law the dealer is required to fix the issue. Return back to Chevrolet of Lowell, explain the law to sales agent, and am told that yes if it does not pass inspection they have to fix any "SAFETY" related issues. Agent seems unsure as to what this includes. I state that I will get the car inspected in the morning and will return when it fails.
5/25/2006 - Show up at inspection station at 9:00AM . Inspection is run, and car fails as expected. Car throws two codes. Return to Chevrolet of Lowell around 9:30 with inspection report. Give report to sales agent who analyzes it, then takes it over to sales manager. I follow agent into sales manager's office and state to sales manager that the car failed Massachusetts state inspection, and they're required to fix the issue. Am rudely told by sales manager "Do not come in here in the morning and tell me what I need to do". Sales manager once again states that they do not have to fix the car as a warranty was not purchased. I state that the law requires them to fix. Ask sales agent to take me to the service dept to have them look up the OBD-II codes to find out what they are. Am told by the service department that there's no point since "the codes could mean anything". Sales agent states that I need to take the car to a BMW dealer and find out exactly what is wrong and then Chevrolet of Lowell will decide if they need to fix it. I state that this is not my responsibility and I refuse. Agent states they will take the car to BMW dealership, but they have no idea when they will be able to get around to it. I leave vehicle at the dealer. One hour later agent calls me and tells me the earliest they can get the car to BMW dealership is Tuesday 5/30/2006. Odometer reads ~31700
5/29/2006 - Called sales agent to confirm that they would be taking the car to BMW dealership on Tuesday. Agent informs me that the appointment is now for Wednesday morning (originally told me Tuesday). Agent also states "I also need to know if you want to pay for the diagnostics, or if you want us to pay and you can reimburse us". I state that I am not paying to diagnose the problem, since the car did not pass inspection and it is their responsibility to fix. I also told agent that I will be reporting the incident to the Attorney General's office and contacting an attorney. Request my money back on the vehicle - agent refuses. I tell agent that I will get back to him tommorow (Tuesday) regarding whether or not they should bring the car to BMW on Wednesday.
5/30/2006 - 9:45 AM called Chevrolet of Lowell General Manager and once again explained the situation. I was told by general manager "we discussed this when you bought the car - and you got the price you did only because the sales agent had put so much work into it. Any work outside of necessary safety work would be considered a favor". This is not true - nothing regarding warranty was discussed with the exception of the fact that I was declining purchase of the dealer extended warranty, and that the car is covered 90 days 3750 miles under Massachusetts law. I told general manager that the car did not pass inspection. He asked where I got it inspected - I gave him name of inspection station. General manager states that he is going to talk to inspection station and will call back within an hour. 11:00am general manager calls back and says he has been busy and that he'll get back to me soon. 12:00pm general manager still hasn't called back - am told by secretary that he's with a customer. 12:35pm general manager called back - stated he talked to inspection station and they said the car did in fact fail inspection and was emissions related. General manager states that they do have to in fact have to repair it since it didn't pass inspection. He's confirming appointment with BMW for 5/31/2006 AM and will call me back to confirm by the end of the day. General manager called back at 2:40 PM and stated the car will be going to BMW first thing in the morning on Wednesday.
5/31/2006 - ~6/12/2006 - Vehicle is brought to BMW dealership by Chevrolet of Lowell. BMW states that the vehicle is under CPO warranty until 8/2006, which was unknown to Chevrolet of Lowell. BMW dealership runs diagnostics on vehicle and finds misfires in cylinder 1 and cylinder 2. Minor in cylinder 1, severe in cylinder 2. BMW also verifies abnormal ticking sound. Under warranty, dealership replaces both catalytic converters/exhaust manifolds which does not resolve the issue. BMW removes the head off the engine to check engine internals for damage. BMW finds damaged valves and pistons, caused by a mechanical over-rev of the engine (ie a misshift). Since a mechanical over-rev is caused by user-error, this is not covered under BMW CPO warranty. Estimated cost of repair is $4000.00. At this point I demand my money back from Chevrolet of Lowell under the Massachusetts Lemon Law. Since the vehicle had been in service for more than 10 business days, I was entitled my money back. Also since the cost of repair exceeded 10% of the vehicle purchase price, I was entitled my money back under that account as well. I threatend legal action against Chevrolet of Lowell, and am told by the general manager that I will receive a full refund.
****NOTE**** Chevrolet of Lowell did the unethical thing and DID NOT choose to fix the vehicle. They requested that BMW put the engine back together UNFIXED. The car now stands at Chevrolet of Lowell and may be put back on the lot, or more likely sent to auction where someone else will end up with a very expensive paperweight.
Conclusion:
Do NOT buy this vehicle unless there is 100% proof of repair by an authorized BMW dealer, or proof of a completely new motor. The vehicle was only minorly over-revveved - not enough to cause bad compression, but enough to cause severe misfiring and ticking.
There are two theories on the history of this vehicle.
1. The vehicle was over-revved by the previous owner. Knowing what he/she had done and that it wasn't going to be covered under warranty, it was immediately traded in to an independant automobile dealership. This dealership attempted to fix the vehicle unsuccessfully, and sent it off to auction.
2. The vehicle was in fact fine when it was test driven and inspected. Chevrolet of Lowell caused a mechanical over-rev sometime between the time the vehicle was test driven, and the time the vehicle was picked up for delivery.
The most likely theory is theory #1. Either way, there is no doubt that Cherolet of Lowell knew something was very wrong with this car.
As far as Chevrolet of Lowell is concerned, do NOT give them any patronage. They completely disregarded the law and treated the customer rudely and terribly throughout the ordeal. It took threats of legal action for them to even consider obeying the law.