Funny, yet sad story, looking on advice how to address before resorting to lawsuits.
I bought my winter tires from OpenRoad BMW of Edison few years ago and they’ve been storing them for me ever since, i’d visit twice a year to swap back and forth. They changed management and moved, so when I showed up they not only said they can’t find my tires, but also said they have no records of my tires ever being there in the first place. I dug up a bunch of old receipts but they’re relentless in disclaiming all responsibility.
I’m an attorney and 100% planning to sue them, but hoping for some advice for a more efficient outcome
What about your service advisor? Do you have receipts of the swap specifically or were they charging for storage? Any email records? I would think you needed to to deal with someone there to get them stored, so unless that person is gone I would try to get them to vouch for you. Regardless, I’d pursue this doggedly, because that’s ridiculous. How high up the ladder have you gone yet?
They moved, changed management and seemingly all staff. I actually reached out to the former service manager Jim and my former advisor Brian, who both promised to talk to current management to vouch for me, but it didn’t help.
They never charged me for storage. I had a long relationship with OpenRoad, so Craig - the former GM offered to store them as a courtesy. It also means I go there twice a year to swap so I figure it’s a win/win for them. But it also means I don’t have a receipt for storage - something I never thought i’d need
I went on a quest to dig up years worth of receipts and like half of them say “TIRES STORED HERE” but many don’t, i guess it depends on what the tech writes. Since the last receipt makes no mention of whether tires were stored, they simply said no. Worse, it’s not like I can fit 4 tires in my small M8 but they don’t care, it’s insane!
I’ve emailed and left messages for Allison the new GM and she apparently agreed with the service manager.
yeah, they fired their GM Craig - great guy with whom I worked with for years. To boot, I’ve been patronizing Open Road for almost 15 years and now they do this to me!
well, I’ve got enough proof to convince any reasonable person they’ve been storing them. But also, what about customer service? Doing things because it’s the right thing to do and not try to get out of responsibility over a technicality they found in their own inconsistent processes to screw me over?
I would think the threat of lawsuit would inspire them to remedy the situation quick. The fact that you can represent yourself comes at nominal filing fees. I would Proceed on principle alone.
Sounds like a tumultuous situation at this dealership. Have you considered the possibility that someone from the now fired staff might have neglected to tell the new management, or even made off with them?
Siejammy - I contacted BOTH my former service manager AND advisor, whom I had a relationship with for years. They both reached out to the new management and verified that they stored my tires. Nobody cared, it’s baffling
nyhacker - they were charging to swap, but stored as a courtesy.
I wasn’t really “friends” with the manager as much as a longtime loyal client buying high-end cars regularly (M6,M8,etc) and had a good relationship with the GM, Service Manager and others, so once they sold me winter tires, they offered to store them, I didn’t even ask, but of course I agreed
Just playing devils advocate because I used to be a tech for a short period of time but they could have gotten misplaced, thrown out, stolen, who knows.
If it’s not something they offer as a typical service for normal clients than I find it likely there was not a designated storage area for tires that they could have either gotten misplaced with other tires laying around the shop or either just stolen or thrown out.
Especially once management changed over and they cleaned house, their could have been some rearranging going on, who knows.
Definitely a sticky situation because I’m not saying you should just take it on the chin either
part of it is the principle of the matter - they straight up lost them and basically told me to buzz off. It’s not the customer experience I’m used to, nor one I should be expecting. They’re also costing me a set of tires. Legally, of course they’re liable as well. It’s not like they were doing me a favor, I went to them twice a year and paid to swap at least 3x the price I could have paid to swap them at the local tire shop.
Second time in a month we talking NJ bailment law. At least you didn’t lose your car when the dealership burned down
They may have been doing you a favor since you weren’t paying for storage but that’s a close call. Whether they are actually liable may well depend on what type of bailment this was. But you will see how crazy the dealership is if you file a lawsuit. Do they spend somewhere between 5K and 30K defending themselves over a some tires worth at most a few thousand dollars when they lost them. Are you motivated enough to convince them you will go to trial over this?
they used to advertise here 2-3 years ago. Check if that Client Advisor still works there. Maybe he can help you.