UPDATE: Ken almost got his BMW M3 sedan this afternoon, but things fell through yet again. BMW of North America has now been contacted by Ken's lawyer. Click here for more.
Ken Tanisaka's battle to get his M3 sedan from BMW of Lincoln, Nebraska is not over, despite encouraging words posted by Ken himself on Monday. While the embattled eBay winner had reported that he would be sold the brand new M3 sedan for his winning bid of $60,000, there were "special conditions" that had yet to be discussed. Having spoken with the dealership now, as well as retained his own attorney who specializes in internet law, Ken has revealed what the conditions are.
First, the dealership asked that the car could not be sold for a number of years. How that has anything to do with the dealership, other than them not wanting Ken to profit from their mistake, is beyond us. Ken's lawyer got this condition removed, thankfully. The second condition is that Ken would be asked to help defuse the internet firestorm that began after he posted on M3post.com about this situation. Ken did just that when he posted on Monday that things were moving in a positive direction, prompting us to remark that we can call off the hounds now. Apparently the hounds need to be unleashed again until this dealership gets it.
Ryan Mathis, the sales manager for Husker Auto Group of which BMW of Lincoln is a part, was recently quoted in an article about the situation saying, "These bloggers out there, they have lots of time on their hands to do this." Ken shoots back in his latest post, "Did it ever occur to the dealership that they created a situation that compelled complete strangers to MAKE time?" Clearly there are many people out there who identify with getting screwed by a dealership, hence the outpouring of support and demands for internet justice, but until BMW of Lincoln sells the M3 sedan to Ken with NO strings attached, this isn't going to end. Seriously, BMW of North America, can we get a little help here? Thanks for the tip, everyone!
[Source: M3post.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
SPF @ Mar 26th 2008 11:35AM
Someone needs to kick that sales manager square in the nuts, I tell you.
bj @ Mar 26th 2008 11:38AM
O i totally agree. And prolly kick BMW of NA's responsible authority as well.
I love BMW's but
We've all read horror stories of BMW dealerships and bad BMW sales reps right here on Autoblog itself. That totally keeps me from buying one or even walking into a showroom to deal with such nasty people.
Galley @ Mar 26th 2008 12:16PM
Repeatedly
F..k beemer @ Mar 26th 2008 12:40PM
I totally agreed with you, kick him in the nuts and f..k beemer once for all.
If Ken had a brain he would not buy BMW, he would land his
hands on the IF Lexus and could be treated like a king, no seriously.
YupOldBull @ Mar 26th 2008 6:48PM
2 black eyes.
BMW and the dealership.
Piss poor.
vwluver @ Mar 27th 2008 1:32AM
Bmw of America wont do anything... I called them and got transfered several times in regards to my lawsuit from bmw of lincoln / husker auto group.
They basically told me, sorry.. but nothing we can do about it..
The nebraska dealer state licensing board will get more done that bmw of america.... at least they did in my case...
Tsunami Racer @ Mar 26th 2008 11:39AM
i had a dealer try to charge me for something they errored on. the service manager said, "hey, i made a mistake. have you never made a mistake in your life?"
i shot back: "i've made mistakes before. i've just never made someone else pay for my mistakes."
i think the same logic can apply to this situation...
novanglus @ Mar 26th 2008 1:22PM
Hooray for mob justice. Nice to see the blog-o-sphere has the same moral fiber as a pack of wild dogs.
And, no, I'm not affiliated in any way with the people involved on either side. I merely find the mob mentality on display, and the pride people take in it including all the ugly prejudices and lack of desire to even know the whole story, very disturbing.
Rushn @ Mar 26th 2008 1:44PM
novanglus, please do tell the whole story, if you have something OTHER than the quite detailed information that's been posted so far. Until then, you are yet another shill for the dealership.
Mel. R @ Mar 26th 2008 2:23PM
novanglus, there are so many ways I could tear apart your comment... Where do get off assuming people don't know the whole story, and delegating yourself as some "holier than thou" moral compass?
The comment you replied to didn't even have any mob-mentality sentiments to it. At least spare us the courtesy of using the reply button properly. Granted, there are a few comments that are quite knee-jerk, but I'd much rather have people display their aggression here in words as opposed to having them act out in real life, don't you agree?
What is on display here is just one of many paradigm shifts courtesy of the internet. The days of a merchant gouging a consumer on the price of a good or service, or treating a consumer with disrespect and getting away with are numbered. You could take and post this story on any forum dedicated to a product and you'd likely get the same reactions that are on display here.
People communicate on a global level now. If a good or service is deemed a good value, people share it with others who would be interested in getting the same good or service. The same goes for a good or service that is considered poor quality.
Moral fiber has nothing to do with this. This story brings out these reactions because it resonates with a lot of people. Obviously, people identify with this story, irregardless if the product in question is a car from BMW or an appliance from Black and Decker.
judd @ Mar 26th 2008 11:42AM
Come on BMW of Lincoln. Take one for the homies. You can't always be screwing people. Sometimes, you have to get screwed too. Like the buyers that walk in your store.
Mike @ Mar 26th 2008 11:43AM
Death to BMW and their overpriced cars!!
Scott @ Mar 26th 2008 3:13PM
Looks like someone has difficulty comprehending the difference between "BMW of Lincoln" and "BMW NA".
Let me give you a hint: Any jackass can become a sales manager.
Maestro1 @ Mar 26th 2008 11:44AM
I say we all call up this Ryan Mathis guy and start flaming him as well! :D
Let's mobilise my fellow internet bloggers!
tgcg @ Mar 26th 2008 12:05PM
consider the WWW mobilized. (http://goodcarbadcar.blogspot.com/2008/03/put-down-your-rifle-bmw-of-lincoln-will.html) when did customer service die? i'm not sure it was alive during my lifetime.
Ben Beauvais @ Mar 26th 2008 9:07PM
The dealership is still listing the car for sale!
http://www.huskerbmw.com/index.cfm?action=InventorySearch&subaction=SearchDetailNew&InventoryID=16711608
HotRodzNKustoms @ Mar 26th 2008 11:45AM
I don't think I'll ever buy a new BMW product ever again. Between my unsatisfactory sales experience (this story just furthers my opinion) and the worst service experience I have ever had and despite how much I would like a new M3 conv. I think I will go back to Mercedes (or perhaps Cadillac?) for all my German luxury car needs.
David(Postal) @ Mar 26th 2008 11:52AM
Good choice that is the direction my dad took (BMW => Cadillac) after his BMW experience. The M roadster that was constantly going into the shop for stupid repairs like the door locks (each door lock including the one on the trunk needed to be repaired, all at different times). I am constantly hearing BMW horror stories out there yet people still keep going to them
HotRodzNKustoms @ Mar 26th 2008 12:21PM
Oh yeah I took my car in to get the flywheel replaced because it was making this horrid chattering noise and they replaced it but I also mentioned there was another whining noise that I believed to be the AC compressor and they told me that it was the same noise I was hearing from the flywheel. Well I picked the car up the next day and about 50 miles later the AC compressor went out and I had to take it back again. Mind you the BMW dealer is a 50 mile drive from my home so dropping the car off is not the easiest thing to do. Well a few days ago I got the car back in good health, but now my flywheel is starting to chatter again and I don't think it's me!
Alex @ Mar 26th 2008 5:45PM
we have a friend who has bought BMWs from a dealer for over a decade and replaces them every two-three years along with all of his family and they refused to budge something like $3000 on a new 7 series. this is also the same dealership that couldn't figure out why the climate control in my moms 5 series wasnt working properly (took it to an indy BMW mechanic he reached under the hood to the water valve and $100 later it was fixed)