In typical DJ Rabbi fashion, always some drama or issues.
I got the i7 back in December, rolling in my negative equity, so everything seemed fine. My first set of temporary tags expired in January, and the dealer claimed they couldn’t issue another set for some reason. During that time, I got pulled over for an unrelated offense, and the officer noted my expired tags, resulting in the car being impounded for about eight days. After pleading with the dealer, I finally got another set of tags. YES, I came out of pocket for that since dealer said “not our fault”
However, the dealer didn’t even submit the paperwork to the DMV until mid-February. A DMV agent later called me, stating that the paperwork showed the vehicle as a retail loan purchase instead of a lease. When I confronted the dealer, they dismissed it, saying, “That’s between you and BMWFS now. Your deal is funded, and we don’t own the car.” I found that to be a weak excuse for avoiding responsibility.
Now, my second set of tags has expired, and a cop warned me that if I get pulled over again, the car will remain in the impound lot until I have physical plates and registration in hand.
Then, out of nowhere, I received an email welcoming me to the BMW family. I assumed this meant they had restructured my contract from a loan to a lease. Instead, I discovered that they added a 2024 BMW XM to my BMWFS account, which no one—including the dealer—seems to know anything about. So now, I have:
- A BMW i7 that I can’t drive due to expired tags.
- A mystery 2024 BMW XM under my name that I never took delivery of.
When I spoke to BMWFS, they confirmed that it’s the dealer’s responsibility to correct the paperwork before BMWFS can process any changes. They also mentioned that if the dealer fails to submit the title within a certain timeframe, they can cancel the loan and unwind the deal—which would be ideal. However, the issue is that my trade-in (the Grand Wagoneer) has already been sold, so the dealer can’t return it to me.
I emailed the dealer 10 days ago and have yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, both BMWFS and BMWNA see the XM under my account, but there’s no attached paperwork on the deal.
My Question:
How much leverage do I have to force this deal to be unwound?
The DMV agent told me they can return the paperwork and have it resubmitted, but it would restart the process and take another 8 weeks. What are my best options here?
