Filed under: Auction Action, Government/Legal, BMW
UPDATE: BMW North America notified of eBay winner's plight
We apologize for yet another update on the saga of Ken Tanisaka and his efforts to wrench a fairly won BMW M3 sedan from the iron grip of BMW of Lincoln, Nebraska, but this story just keeps rolling on providing new and interesting twists by the hour. Ken came this close to receiving the Bimmer today after his lawyer negotiated away the conditions that were demanded by the dealership. The first was that he not sell the car for two years, and the second was that he somehow "control the press" and end the onslaught of communiques sent to the dealership by phone, fax, email and flaming bags of pooh. (We're kidding on that last one. No one send flaming bags of pooh to BMW of Lincoln. Seriously.) After the lawyers wrangled for a bit, Ken was instructed to call BMW of Lincoln today and arrange his deposit over the phone by a certain time, but according to our distressed interlocutor, was instead lectured by the General Manager, one Fil Cataniam, for failing to stop the press from contacting the dealership. He refused to take Ken's credit card info over the phone, in effect reneging on the resolution that had previously been reached by the lawyers.
Ken's lawyer has now drafted a letter to BMW of North America (check it out after the jump) informing the big brand of what's been going on and simply asking for help. It must be noted that BMW NA likely does not have any jurisdiction here, as dealers usually operate on a very long leash from the mothership. Still, what has become a PR nightmare for this particular dealership could easily leave a bad taste in the mouth of many potential BMW customers. Perhaps it would behoove BMW proper to get this guy his M3 sedan prompto and slap the wrists of these knuckleheads in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Adding yet another facet to this gem of a story is news from Ken that other BMW dealers have contacted him offering great deals on an M3! Man, there must not be much brotherhood among BMW dealers. Ken states that rather than getting a different M3 and letting this dealership off the hook, he'd like to see BMW of Lincoln live up to its obligation.
We now return you to your regular posts...
[Source: m3post.com]
Herbert L. Klein, Corporate Counsel
BMW of North America
Herb:
I represent Ken Tanisaka in connection with his dealings with BMW of Lincoln.
No doubt you have heard of the controversy that became viral on the Web this weekend.
Ken and I had worked out a "no preconditions" deal in which BMW of Lincoln
was going to treat him as any other customer and sell him the M3 sedan at the winning
bid made by Ken on eBay. ($60,000 plus a $399 title or document fee.) Mike Maledon,
counsel for the parent company that owns BMW of Lincoln, instructed me to have Ken
call Fil Catania, the general manager of that BMW store, to provide credit card
information and place the deposit. Mike had told me that Ken had 24 hours (from last
night) in which to make the deposit.
When Ken called Mr. Catania, Ken was subjected to an abusive lecture and told
it was his (Ken's) responsibility to make the press go away. Mr. Catania refused to take
a deposit from Ken, effectively reneging on the deal that was reached yesterday, in which
BMW of Lincoln, through Mike Maledon, had agreed not to impose an impossible
condition that Ken "control the press."
Can you help us? As you may be aware from the blogosphere, thousands of
BMW afficionados are asking "What is BMW NA doing about this?" I think that's a fair
question. And, once we get this straightened out, perhaps BMWFS can also step up to
the plate
Sincerely yours,
SCOTT J. TEPPER
cc: Ken Tanisaka
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Robert Garcia 6:11PM (3/26/2008)
I love it
Reply
Vincenzo 9:56PM (3/26/2008)
I don't understand this Japanese guy's problem.
He wants to buy a BMW for $60,000; while a much nicer GT-R costs only $70,000.
mark lee 12:10AM (3/27/2008)
That general manager is a real asshole!
When is he going to realize that Ken doesn't really have the power nor is obligated to end those harassments? The dealership is the one who caused this so they should be dealing with the consequences. It's not that difficult either, all he has to do is publicly apologize on behalf of the dealership, promptly sell that M3 to Ken per the agreement on eBay, and throw in a PS3 and a Wii, I'm sure that'll stop most if not all the harassment.
vwluver 1:37AM (3/27/2008)
I would love to picket....
someone want to pay me to stand out there with a sign, let me know.. i hate bmw of lincoln / husker auto group..
seriously, hate them.....
jgp 1:10PM (3/27/2008)
Vincenzo, you're a troll. Stop race-baiting.
Josh E. Oliver 6:13PM (3/26/2008)
Seriously who cares?
It's one guy wrangling with a dealership over a deal that was supposed to be on the up and up but the dealer switched it up at the last minute.
Guess what? As you all know. It happens all the time. Let the guy deal with his issue all on his own.
Reply
Ken Choe 3:35PM (3/28/2008)
I can already tell you what BMW NA is going to do...
Nothing.
It's a waste of time. Great guys over there (used to work for them), but yeah, it's the dealership's fault, not NA.
Don't worry...BMW will still keep selling truckloads of vehicles!
dildomassive 6:18PM (3/26/2008)
Seriously bags of pooh man...bags of poohhh
jjpg2000 6:21PM (3/26/2008)
I care, it's the Streisand effect at work, and it's very interesting.
Fernando 9:14PM (3/26/2008)
I care. I would actually have people picket the dealership with signs saying that BMW of Lincoln does not honor the deals they reach with customers. A sign that says, "This dealership is dishonest!" would do just fine.
I'd do all in my power, if I were him, to take business away from this dealership and, hopefully, hurt them economically for being such an ass.
Derek 6:40PM (3/26/2008)
I care as well. At least he's just a "regular Joe" (with $60K sitting around) and not some idiot celebrity getting attention just because they are a celebrity.
f3rg 7:03PM (3/26/2008)
I don't even plan on buying a BMW probably ever, but I care. Everyone should care when someone is getting screwed over.
Serge Alexander 7:46PM (3/26/2008)
It starts with one, then to two then to everyone. This is important because there are those who will go through this and outcome of what happens can benefit the underdogs..
RJ 8:04PM (3/26/2008)
Josh E. Oliver, I'll let you know when my stomach hurts from laughing too hard when YOU get screwed by a dealer...
Maybe then you'll learn to have some compassion for people getting treated unfairly.
Toy Yoda 8:55PM (3/26/2008)
YEah, but how is the guy getting screwed? No money changed hands. No material loss for the potential buyer.
Greg 10:07AM (3/27/2008)
For the last time, this isn't the freaking Streisand Effect.
The Streisand effect is when someone tries to cover up wrongdoing, and in the process draws more attention to it.
The dealer hasn't tried to cover anything up. They've just been assholes. Trying to renege on a deal is NOT the Streisand effect.
MemphisNET 6:17PM (3/26/2008)
Who cares? This guy cares. He went through all the proper procedures, and got screwed. This dealership should be hung out to dry. Just because it's 'normal' doesn't mean its right.
Keep on fighting man! Get what is rightfully deserve. As for bad press, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Reply
shiftright 9:05PM (3/26/2008)
The dealer are being pricks, pure and simple, and there's no excuse for not honoring the ebay auction. The terms are very clear on their website. They deserve to get bitch slapped.
catgirlshyla 6:19PM (3/26/2008)
At this point, BMWNA should sanction BMW of Lincoln via stricter allotments a/or get their CS ratign up, and Ken should take up the offers by other dealers. The fact that some BMW dealers are gunning for some free Positive PR goes to show that there is no honor among thieves.
Reply
Christopher H. Kim 6:19PM (3/26/2008)
Internet will become more powerful.
Reply