[am_ver]

Shipping company looses key- anyone got any ideas on what else to do to get BMW's attention??? TIA

I bought my BMW from BMW of Fremont and chose the European Delivery option. I dropped off my car at London on Aug 8th and I was told by the drop off person that the car was going to be shipped off on the vessel Bujin from South Hampton with the ETA of 9/13 into Port Hueneme. Today (9/13), the ship made it to Port Hueneme and I got a call from someone from the shipping company saying that the BMW had reached, but the KEY IS MISSING. This person at NYK shipping said that she needs to have the key sent to her as the key for the car is missing and they need to take the car out of the ship. After a few hours, she mentioned that they managed to get the car out of the ship, but they still need the key to be able to move it around. I am concerned about how on earth did the key get lost. When I dropped off my car at London, I presumed that I was entrusting my car in safe hands and that BMW would have responsible people take care of the car and ensure that it reaches safely to me. The fact that an important item like my car keys can go missing has made me really upset on how my car is being handled. BMW's shipping means has really disappointed me. I would also want to know on how the shipping company "managed" to get the car out of the ship without the key - was they car towed, was it dragged out of the ship, or was the glass window broken in.

I just cannot express on how disturbed I am at this point on how my priced possesion is being handled.

There is still no resolution yet on how the shipping company is going to get a key to my car. As per my dealer, BMW is going to get a key cut and thats how the car will get mobilized - I would like to know on who is responsible on getting the key made and when is that going to be sent to the shipping company - and what kind of delay is this key making business going to cause, and how will I get compensated for the delay.

Things have gone wrong with my delivery and I am hoping BMW cares enough about its customers to make things right. I will not hesitate to escalate/publicize this issue to the highest level possible.



Email from drop off person at London:

Thanks for the email.Sorry to hear the car key is missing!!Im a bit baffled,The car left here with the key and would have been loaded with the key at Southampton so the only place the key can have been mislaid is onboard ship or at the port of arrival!Please let us know if this problem has been resolved.
Best Regards,
Heathpark Services Ltd
Heathrow
Simon

[E90Fleet]

You droped you car off in LONDON ??

[06graphite]

That sucks.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I would think BMW will make things right.

Let us know how things turn out.

[E90Fleet]

It all sounds a bit strange to me

Ive never heard that you ould drop the car off in England
Also the car is supposed to go to the BMW VPC where the car gets checked, software updated ect ect. They would do everything needed to get a new key and programme the car for it

[am_ver]

Not sure why you don't know about the London drop off location, it is on the BMW Ed website. Here is the email from the London staff:

Thanks for the email.Sorry to hear the car key is missing!!Im a bit baffled,The car left here with the key and would have been loaded with the key at Southampton so the only place the key can have been mislaid is onboard ship or at the port of arrival!Please let us know if this problem has been resolved.
Best Regards,
Heathpark Services Ltd
Heathrow
Simon

The key is still not there with the car, the car is sitting someplace (I'm hoping it is not right next to the ocean with the salt water splashing all over it) - what all was done to the car to get it out of the ship (dragged??). Any guess what I will never find out what all happened to the car -there is only so much that you can inspect visually.

I know NYK shipping company screwed up - but it wasn't me who picked NYK, BMW did and should be responsible for all of their goof ups.

I am so disgusted with BMW at this point that I would just take my money back and call it quits. I didn;t pay 40g's for this kind of treatment. To make things worse, my dealer is a complete a$%$%$. Can you beleive it, he has not once given the hint of being apologetic. I will NEVER do ED again. And if you are in the bay area - stay away from Chris Neal at BMW Fremont.


Good luck to all u ED'ers.

[marcus330i]

am_ver....you're over reacting.

ED was the best European vacation I ever had.....I'll never buy a BMW any other way....I hope they find you a key so you can get your blood pressure down.

[Pangearox]

hey man..you know...it really really sucks that this is happening to you right now....

but dude...take a deep breath....relax for a second....think about how awesome the drive was from munich to london in your new E90....

ok...got that in your head...

ok now realize that mistakes happen from time to time and im sure it will all get worked out...

i bet before this you thought that the ED was awesome and loved every second of being in europe driving your new bmw....

just relax...it will all get worked out.

(you should change the name of the thread to "bmw's shipper sucks" something like that)

[am_ver]

Originally Posted by marcus330i

am_ver....you're over reacting.

ED was the best European vacation I ever had.....I'll never buy a BMW any other way....I hope they find you a key so you can get your blood pressure down.

Looks like you are lucky - looks like you need a lot of luck for your car to reach you in the same state you dropped it off

[exclusivo]

dont relax one bit, make your voice heard. doesnt matter if its a bmw or a civic, you joined a program and trusted other people with your car and they screwed it up. u have every right to be mad. make sure u get something outta bmw for this.

[ZenDriver]

looks like you need a lot of luck for your car to reach you in the same state you dropped it off

I am so resisting the temptation to tell you to cowboy up...

[wyrm11]

geez, don't tell the guy to "relax" or that he's "overreacting". Have some sympathy for cryin out loud. You guys act like if your car key was missing you'd be all relaxed and thinking about the great times you had before some idiot lost the key. It's a BMW...the man loves his car, like most everyone else on this forum does. I think he's actually being quite calm.

Good luck, I hope everything works out ok.

[LEDZEP]

Is it the electronic fob, or just the metal insert? They obviously can't "cut" you a new fob. Talk to your dealer and BMWUSA and see what they are offering to do about it. My guess is that they will try to make you happy. I don't blame you for being upset (mostly for the delay), but give them a chance to make it right. If they don't, then you can scream.

[ag]

BMW made the first set of keys, I am sure they can make another set and may be swap your remaining two with the new ones.

As far as handling the car is concerned, I am sure VPC should take care of your car. If there was any major damage then they would have told you.

I think most of the cars come in containers and you can move it off and on the ship using a crane. It is highly unlikely that somebody drove your car onto ships deck and parked it in some corner.

Either way dont sweat too much, BMW do have 10 years rust warranty, it can handle a bit of sea water j/k.

I'd be highly pissed-off too :mad: and I'm on your side. But the best thing for you is to try to relax and take some deep breaths. The problem will work itself out soon, and I'm quite sure BMW with take care of you.

[agarbati]

Man I'd be pissed as hell. It's definitely people at the port of arrival.

[metallic]

I am wondering why would the shipping company called you? That doesn't make any sense at all! Also, how did they know you were the owner of the car, and your phone number???

[am_ver]

Thanks u guys... I was thinking that no one was able to understand my pain. MY heart used to sink if I used to find another car parked next (fear of door dings) to me in Europe - and now I don't know how these "evil" NYK shipping people are treating my .......

[am_ver]

At the drop off location (in Europe) you enter your SSN, addr and tel # along with the dealer to whom the car is to be shipped to. Besides the contact info, they also take a copy of your passport and give you a complete report on the condition of the car at the point of drop off.

[lxapilot118]

I'd have to say that while what happens sucks, it's not BMW ED you have the problem with, but the shipping company.

[marcus330i]

I guess I'd be upset too but only if I found out the car got damaged or delayed more than a day or two in the process....neither of which has yet happened.

But to title the thread "BMW ED SUCKS" is really over the top.

[KUweatherman]

They lost the key, not the car. Chill. BMW will make a new key and you'll get your car. There are many ways to move cars around without keys that don't damage the cars.

[am_ver]

I really wish some thing similar to my case happens to your car - you will understand the situation then. In case of little information, one typically thinks of the worst. I will never get to know what is happening to my car, and will probably never know. There will always be this element of doubt in my mind.

Talk about all those remarks that the car is being handled by pro's here. Well, this is something they do day in and day out - and you are saying that it is acceptable for them to loose something as vital as a key that starts the same car that they are delivering. For me that is the same as the shipping company saying " Geez, we really can't find you car, but here is the key" (we have really looked after it the entire time the key was with us)