Arden BMW Tunbridge Wells
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Cherished BMW held hostage 4 over 6 MONTH
Cherished BMW held hostage by ARDEN BMW after BMW recall work and MOT took SIX month to complete! Our cherished BMW K1200s (sports bike which is no longer available new) has been in the family since it was first produced in 2005. It has always been garaged in a heated garage is all original and has only covered 6k careful summer miles! Being the only BMW franchise dealership in Kent, who has always looked after it in the past IT WAS RECENTLY TAKEN OVER BY ARDEN! In April 2021, when we wanted to get it ready for the SUMMER 2021 season I discovered she was a none starter. I phoned up Arden who told me they have a pickup and delivery service. I was over the moon falsely believing our beloved bike to be in good hands. Arden agreed to pick up and return the bike, service and MOT the bike as well as sorting out accumulated recalls (one being a fuel pump BMW recall, believed to be the reason for the starting issues). They picked up the bike in April, with the service and MOT scheduled that same week. After SEVERAL weeks of silence I unsuccessfully tried to contact anyone of the service team, I was only able to leave messages with the front desk. Assuring me of a same day recall which never happened! Eventually I was contacted by an apologetic service manager (I think) who asked me to be patient stating COVID related staffing issues as the reason for the delay. I told him not to worry, explaining that quality rather than speed being more important to us, being our cherished BMW. He telling me not worry, and that she was in good hands and they would be looking after her! After several more month of infrequent communication we have had enough and decided to sell the bike, having found a buyer. We simply didn’t want to have to deal any longer with the ONLY BMW FRANCHISE DEALER IN THE VERY SOUTHEAST OF ENGLAND (Kent)! I relaid this information to Arden in June/July 2021 stressing the need to expedite the work and MOT in a timely fashion! It goes without saying that no action was taken! The bike’s MOT was FINALLY done in the later part of OCTOBER!?!??? We have lost the buyer, our lovely as new condition SUMMER ONLY bike is now ready for the WINTER? To add insult to injury Arden BMW is now refusing to return the bike to us as PROMISED. The ARDEN representative stated: RETURN BY US IS “NO LONGER VIABLE”! NO LONGER VIABLE? After pressing them for an answer he stated that they now save themselves the expense of a van and driver! THIS IS ALSO A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE LACK OF INTEREST SHOWN BY BMW UNITED KINGDOM! Yes, BMW UK themselves state that they WILL NOT take any action to remedy the situation! They state not to have any responsibility or influence on the “DECISION MAKING PROCESS OF THEIR FRANCHISE DEALERSHIPS! BMW Customer NONE Service washes their hands of the whole thing! Various different BMW Customer NONE Service consultants state ALL the reasons ANY one of them can think of to NOT deal with the complaint! From being “out of warranty” to “It’s my colleagues case!” All very, very disappointing as the bike was with BMW Arden Tunbridge in the first place to have more than 12 official BMW (safety) recalls sorted. Work BMW UK had written to us for the work to be carried out and paid for by BMW UK at one of THEIR BMW FRANCHISE DEALERS! But STILL “BMW STATES TO BE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR BMW FRANCHISE DEALERS!” Still after more than 6 month, loosing the SUMMER season we are STILL without the bike! No help from BMW UK or BMW Arden I will have to at least road tax and road insure the bike for a day (the bike will otherwise be SORN AS USUAL for the winter month)! In spring I will have to get the bike hundreds of miles away (round trip) to the next nearest BMW franchise dealer in order to get the bike summer season ready and to sell. I would not choose to have a fresh service and MOT done FOR THE WINTER MONTH when the bike is SORN! Whatever cheeky Arden is going to charge me will be undoubtedly TOO much! What about compensation for being without our beloved BMW for a lost summer season!