Audacity of Some Dealers, Or Call Me Crazy

[marcopolo]

This morning I rode to the dealer where I bought my RT (about 2 hrs each way) to buy, and have installed, a set of Pilot Roads before heading to the west coast. Pretty straightforward, wouldn't you think? Job's done, and I check the tires etc. before hitting the road for home. When I get off my bike back home, I walk around the back and lo and behold I discover that not only did they replace my tires, but they also replaced my licence plate frame. A bit of history: I was in LA a couple of years ago, and popped into BMW of Hollywood to kick some tires. I was chatting with a salesman, and upon discovering I was from out of town (way out of town) he offered me on of their licemce plate frames. I accepted it, thinking it would be a good conversation piece back home in Canada to have a bike with BMW of Hollywood on the back end. It has proved to be just that.

 

So, without my permission, the dealer removed my plate frame, and reinstalled my licence plate over top of some piece of plastic crap with the dealer's name on it - the kind of thing you see on showroom bikes that have no plates. That makes it almost useless as advertising, as most of it is not visible, but enough to be incredibly ugly.

 

In the grand scheme of things, it's relatively insignificant I know, but what really ticked me off about this was how they could be so presumptuous (sp?) as to remove a piece of my personal property from my bike -- without asking, or telling me afterwards -- and substituting some piece of dealer crap. What are these people thinking?

 

I left a voicemail for the service manager, saying I was pissed off, and that I expected that plate frame back etc., etc. He called me back, and apologized, and said that someone should have exercised better judgement. He also told me that my "Hollywood" frame was in my side case (I had checked the empty one, and it was not there, so thought they still had it). When I probed a little further he told me that that's what they do there, i.e., remove people's plate frames and put their own advertising on when bikes are in for servicing. So he readiliy admitted that this was not a one-off, and he did not seem to put much stock in my position that they should not be taking personal stuff off people's bikes.

 

Anyone else experience this? How would you react? BTW, I was not rude when I spoke to him, but left absolutely no doubt as to what I thought, and what I expected in future. Why do some dealers think it's still their bike even after you've forked over twenty grand +?

[Tony_K]

Pretty common pratice in the auto industry. Especially when being serviced by a dealer.

Buy your car at one dealer then have it serviced at another chances around here you'll have their plate frame when you leave. Only takes a moment to change it and you paid for it anyway with the service!!!

[outpost22]

I agree that it is a poor practice and shows no discretion whatsoever. It reminds me of the days when tourist traps like "sea lion caves" and "trees of mystery" used to put their bumper stickers on visitors cars when parked in their lots. Used to take a lot of scraping, cleaning, etc. to get the buggers off.

Same mentality in my opinion

[OoPEZoO]

I'd be pissed also. I think what they should have done was offered one of their plate frames to you.......that way you could politely decline their offer.

 

One the other hand.....I would be happy to have a plate frame period. I bought my bike in MD and I live in PA........the two states have different sized plates. my plate doesn't fit the previous owners frame so I kind of have it rigged together for the time being (going on 2+ years now )

[Agent_Orange]

Well, he put it in the side case. I really would not be too put out. Now if he would have taken it and round-filed it that would be different.

No harm, no foul.

(I hate that saying, but it seemed to fit.)

[UberXY]

Every so often a garage will do the same thing to one of my cars. Can't say it pisses me off; I just take a minute or two to remove it and throw it away. Spam for cars and bikes. I don't advertise anyone; not my local dealers, not BMW of Hollywood, not BMW of Tahiti.

[tallman]

I think they should have given you the opportunity to choose.

Could have been worse.

We had a bike come in for a trade. It had just left another dealership. It had new tires just put on.

In checking the bike, I asked the owner about the two different wheels.

"What?" was the reply.

There were 2 similar bikes getting tires. The rear wheels were switched. Inexcusable, but, people are fallible and mistakes happen.

Tell the dealer you'll keep the ad on, if they pay you by the mile.

Best wishes.

[EffBee]

As a dealer employee, it's inexcusable. We never presume we have the right to use your vehicle as an advertising medium without your knowledge and consent. And that's only when you buy a bike from us that it comes with one of our LP frames. When you bring it in for service, we don't even ask. You, and we, are there for a higher purpose. To make your bike run its best. If it comes in with BMW of Moscow on it, it leaves with BMW of Moscow on it.

[DaveTheAffable]

snip < In the grand scheme of things, it's relatively insignificant I know, > <He also told me that my "Hollywood" frame was in my side case>

 

I would have been mildly bothered... but not worth the angst! People dying all over the world... and we get to drive $20,000.00 motorcycles.

 

Complain about crummy service, or work not done well, but this is pretty minor.

 

Of course... I'm trying to be affable.

[E30TECH]

I would have had the same reaction / feeling as you did.

[Jim VonBaden]

I would have had the same reaction / feeling as you did.

 

Same here. It is unacceptable for a dealer to presume you would want such a thing on your bike or car.

 

Even when buying a car I insist on no license plate frames, no advertising stickers or plackards on my car or bike.

 

I'LL decide what I want on my car.

 

Is it that big of a deal? Not really, but it is still wrong!

 

Jim

[Fugu]

I almost didn't buy a truck once because in between when I struck the deal and when it rolled out of the "detailing" shop on site it fell into a pile of dealer stickers and plate frames and BS.

 

I made them take all that crap off. They thought I was kidding at first, then they complied.

 

 

 

I have left dealer plate frames on before, when the dealer has been good. You have to earn the spot.

[GregB]

One of my businesses has their own license plate frames. We give them away and will put one on any customer's car for free. We don't ask them if we can put them on but when a car is written up for service they are in plain sight with a "Free" sign on them. I can't even imagine someone putting them on without asking. I would be REALLY pissed!

[bmwk100]

What's worse is the car dealers that place stickers or plastic nametags glued onto the car that are basically permanent on the back of their cars. I would never buy from such a dealer.

[TF1200RT]

What's worse is the car dealers that place stickers or plastic nametags glued onto the car that are basically permanent on the back of their cars. I would never buy from such a dealer.

 

I had a dealer once that put a plastice decal on the rear deck of my new car when I bought it. I told them to leave it on if they were willing to pay me $500 a year for the next 4 years that I would be paying for the car for advertising. They promptly removed it .

 

My BMW service writer asked me about my license plate frame once (I guess they wanted to put theirs on). I told him to look it up:

 

Los Angeles

KMA-367

[E30TECH]

 

Los Angeles

KMA-367

 

http://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr34k.htm

[Bob Palin]

If a dealer was to remove my Denizens of Doom license plate frame I'd have the Denizens drop some Doom on him It's totally unacceptable, the only defense I can think of is that they saw a dealer frame on there rather than a custom frame, but still. I'd break up their frame and mail it back to them.

[RPG]

I'm with you Mark. What's on your bike is yours.

 

I get the same feeling when I see new cars going down the road with the dealer's decals/stickers all over the car and think to myself who do they think they are?

 

Just bought a new Chevy Truck. The dealer has been perfect but when I picked it up I was clear that I wanted no advertising placed on MY truck unless they were going to write me a check for $100/month.

 

You have your original frame in the case as you described but what's disturbing is that this dealer doesn't see a problem removing your property and replacing with theirs.

 

Maybe another follow-up call to see to see if they're going to start writing you royalty checks?

 

RPG

[Emerson00]

I agree completely: it's unacceptable. First thing I did - in the dealer parking lot with the salesmen watching - was peel off the fresh stickers, the plastic tag, and the license plate frame. I walked to the salesman and asked (I'm glad I'm not the only one who's done this) "You can put them back on, but I want Free service for life, including any and all major repairs, or you can write me monthly checks for advertising on this $30k truck I just bought! I think $100/month would do."

 

He quietly took the plate frame and pile of vinyl trash and laughed.

 

I heard the owner of the local BMW store kissing arse to a new buyer last summer; he was telling him how special their key fob was, and the license plate frame, and how those tell the dealer who gets priority service... I found myself wondering, what if a friend rode up from SC and needed service - would he be treated less well than someone with a bike around the corner and a key fob!? Ridiculous. The whole speech grated my nerves, and I started wondering about how much I wanted to deal with that dealership. He was saying that [only] people who bought from them would get treated the best. He actually said that two bikes arriving at the same time for the same service, the one with their stuff will get done first. I kinda thought anyone would get good service.

[Lets_Play_Two]

I'm with you Mark. What's on your bike is yours.

 

I get the same feeling when I see new cars going down the road with the dealer's decals/stickers all over the car and think to myself who do they think they are?

 

Just bought a new Chevy Truck. The dealer has been perfect but when I picked it up I was clear that I wanted no advertising placed on MY truck unless they were going to write me a check for $100/month.

 

You have your original frame in the case as you described but what's disturbing is that this dealer doesn't see a problem removing your property and replacing with theirs.

 

Maybe another follow-up call to see to see if they're going to start writing you royalty checks?

 

RPG

 

Yet you allow Chevy to have "decals" all over YOUR truck. How about the pony on your polo shirts, or the name on your helmet or jacket...do those come off too or are you getting checks in the mail for those ads?

 

IMHO, all this consternation over license plate frames and dealer decals is at the bottom of the list of the 1 million things I have to worry about in this life, or the next.

[Carnadero]

What's worse is the car dealers that place stickers or plastic nametags glued onto the car that are basically permanent on the back of their cars.

I seem to remember years back occasionally seeing the car with a raised (metal?) emblem mounted on the trunk lid with a dealership's name on it, and its location. And most, if not all, of them were from points east; the CA dealership advertising I saw were all confined to license plate frames.

[baggerchris]

Totally unacceptable. I have a frame that says "Chooglin'" (from a John Fogerty tune), and if someone took that off my bike without my permission, I would be very unhappy. Good on you!

[John in VA]

Audacity is right. I'd be annoyed. If they want to slap on an easy-peel-off little sticker on your mudflap like JiffyLube puts on your windshield, that would be different. But taking a screwdriver to your license plate to bolt on an advertisement while the bike's in for service is over the line.

[TF1200RT]

Yet you allow Chevy to have "decals" all over YOUR truck. How about the pony on your polo shirts, or the name on your helmet or jacket...do those come off too or are you getting checks in the mail for those ads?

 

There is a difference between a manufacturer sticker and one that say "John Brown Chevrolet"

[Lets_Play_Two]

Yet you allow Chevy to have "decals" all over YOUR truck. How about the pony on your polo shirts, or the name on your helmet or jacket...do those come off too or are you getting checks in the mail for those ads?

 

There is a difference between a manufacturer sticker and one that say "John Brown Chevrolet"

 

I see.

[E30TECH]

Yet you allow Chevy to have "decals" all over YOUR truck. How about the pony on your polo shirts, or the name on your helmet or jacket...do those come off too or are you getting checks in the mail for those ads?

 

There is a difference between a manufacturer sticker and one that say "John Brown Chevrolet"

 

Devil's advocate can be fun, but considering that the vehicle was purchased with the stickers on there, that is not an apples to apples arguement.

 

The issue is they removed personal property from something they do not own purely for their own benefit.

[Rottweiler]

I have to agree with most here that the dealer was way out of line. When I've bought auto's, I've always insisted that any dealer stickers be removed before the car is accepted by me. I didn't care about the plate frame because I was going to put on a plain black frame when I put my plates on anyway. Some dealers even try to hit you with an "advertising charge" in the fine print of the contract, which is a deal braker for me if they don't remove it, they can pay for thier own advertising thank you very much!

[Bud]

Your not crazy.

 

They had a large pair to remove anything from your bike w/o permission.

 

?

 

If it's not on the service order, you don't get to do it w/o asking me for permission first.

 

It is ethically wrong. There is no excuse.

 

Of course YMMV.

[feliz]

I'm with you, I'd be pissed as well.

[tgrrdr]

I seem to remember years back occasionally seeing the car with a raised (metal?) emblem mounted on the trunk lid with a dealership's name on it, and its location. And most, if not all, of them were from points east; the CA dealership advertising I saw were all confined to license plate frames.

 

I seem to recall hearing that the permanently mounted emblems (even stickers) are not legal in Calif. I have no evidence or code citation to suuport this, but I've never seen advertising like that from a Calif. dealer. (for a while after I moved here it sort of jumped out at me - didn't recall noticing the little ads when I was in PA but I noticed they were missing in CA.)

[E30TECH]

I seem to remember years back occasionally seeing the car with a raised (metal?) emblem mounted on the trunk lid with a dealership's name on it, and its location. And most, if not all, of them were from points east; the CA dealership advertising I saw were all confined to license plate frames.

 

I seem to recall hearing that the permanently mounted emblems (even stickers) are not legal in Calif. I have no evidence or code citation to suuport this, but I've never seen advertising like that from a Calif. dealer. (for a while after I moved here it sort of jumped out at me - didn't recall noticing the little ads when I was in PA but I noticed they were missing in CA.)

 

I recall those as well. Now they are mostly vinyl. I figured the change was due to cost.

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

That's just wrong IMO. You have every right to be annoyed.

[Bill Fowler]

I agree with you. Except that I would have gone totally ballistic as I almost always have solid billet black or chrome or polished aluminum frames. The more I think about it the more four letter words I would have used.

[MikeEdgar]

Overreaction, as far as I'm concerned. You still had your Hollywood plate frame and it was easy to put back on. I'm sure they wouldn't have done it if your frame was obvious aftermarket.

 

Of all the things to be concerned about in riding a MC and getting it serviced, this is the least of them.

[BiggerTwin]

They were totally out of line. It is your motorcycle and they don't have any right to remove your personal property and put theirs on it. I brought one of my numerous Ducatis into my selling dealer for service and they put two stickers on the frame. I went ballistic and told the mechanic to take them off. He refused and said the owner made him put them on all the motorcycles they service. I am in the market for a new Hypermotard and unless we come to terms on what goes on my bike this guy won't see my money again.

 

Alan

[fourteenfour]

Pretty common pratice in the auto industry. Especially when being serviced by a dealer.

Buy your car at one dealer then have it serviced at another chances around here you'll have their plate frame when you leave. Only takes a moment to change it and you paid for it anyway with the service!!!

 

Hell I have heard of dealers slapping on decals if you don't have any!

[E30TECH]

Pretty common pratice in the auto industry. Especially when being serviced by a dealer.

Buy your car at one dealer then have it serviced at another chances around here you'll have their plate frame when you leave. Only takes a moment to change it and you paid for it anyway with the service!!!

 

Hell I have heard of dealers slapping on decals if you don't have any!

 

I've heard of people getting shot for doing less.

[Lynn]

I would have reacted about the same way as you did-but with a bit less politeness.

 

In the end, since your property was still on your bike, there was no permanent harm done....but the audacity of someone removing your personal property from the bike to place their own ad would have me looking for another dealer. Especially since the service manager told you that it is their normal practice.