Edit: Shop made it right, offered me free oil service, it was just some miscommunication. Good guys over there. No reason for me to say anything bad about them.
Well, I got off the phone with them. Apparently the manager was unaware that they installed the wheel locks, though I did say it a few times. When he understood that, he realized that the error was probably on their part, and has offered me free oil service, including the filter and labor and everything - which is about how much it cost for the labor anyway.
He said it took them 3 hours to get the wheel locks off, but he only charged me 1, and was trying to be as fair as possible.
I retract what I said before about them. They fixed it and are a good shop, and actually were very fair in what happened. I had a suspicion they would pull on through for me.
I let them know that I was trying my hardest not to make any sort of deal about it, and I would have absolutely gone to the people that installed the wheel locks had another shop had done it. Since they were the guys that installed it, I went to them. They just had no record of it. It was all just some mis-communication.
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ORIGINAL STORY
I've been going to an excellent BIMRS-certified shop now ever since I got my car. They've treated me right, and I've absolutely loved how personal their service is. I've gone there 3 times and have been happy every time - except this one.
I went to put on 4 new tires and get an alignment. They called me around the middle of the day to tell me that, when taking off my rear wheel lock, the lug was seized in there and they ended up breaking the wheel lock key. They were able to get the fronts off just fine, but when trying the rears, the key broke. As a result, they said that they needed to drill the wheel locks out of my wheels, and it would cost me a little extra.
I wasn't sure what to say or do, so I said "Sure, go ahead and do it." I've never encountered this situation, I needed the tires on my car (safety issue, they were well beyond worn and one was having trouble holding air), I was leaving that weekend, I needed it back that day, and I simply had no choice.
Keep in mind, after I got these wheel locks (OE by BMW), I went to this same shop to have them installed since I had trouble getting my lugs off with the standard tool in the trunk. It was a non-documented thing - the tech came out with a torque wrench, undid one on each wheel, torqued the wheel locks back on, and I was on my way. Probably a 5-minute thing. The tech recognized both me and my car, so I'm sure he might recall this incident if I bring it up.
I had taken off the front wheels a few days ago to do my FCABs and had no problems getting any of my front lugs off.
When I went to get my car back, they simply lumped the wheel install together with the labor of drilling out the wheel locks. I have no idea how much it cost individually to put on tires or take out the wheel locks. The total cost was $200 + a $120 alignment. I told them the same story above, but they said that they were just seized, had no record of them taking the wheels off. He said they always use a torque wrench on the lugs and not any air tools. I told him that I did not take the rear wheels off at all in-between them putting the locks on and now. They had my keys and my car, so I just paid the bill and figured that maybe the locks were defective or something. Since I bought them from a BMW dealership, I emailed them to left them know of the situation to see if they can get me new lugs or refund me.
I received a response from the dealership:
I sent my shop an email, being kind about it. I basically kindly requested that they refund me the labor as I am now out a pair of $60 OE wheel locks as well as having to pay them extra labor to drill the remaining ones out. I want to continue using them, I really do, but I am not going to use them anymore if they break things that they install and then charge me for it. That's simply unfair and would make me trust them less. If they make things right, and if they are a good shop they will, I'd definitely reconsider. I want to continue supporting their business if it is a legitimately good business. Other than that problem, they got my car all tuned up and it feels completely new. I am amazed at how well my car drives now.If the stud broke, there are two possible reasons. First, they might not have put the stud on the pattern correctly. By doing this and using an air gun, it eliminates the pattern thus not being able to catch the bolt. Second, if the shop used more than 90ft/lb of torque to uninstall or reinstall the wheel locks, it will strip the bolt. I'd be happy to sell you another set of wheel locks at my employee price, however I would give the bill to your shop. This sounds like a case of misuse/installation error. The BMW warranty covers a faulty party (say the wheel lock didn't fit to begin with, the pattern was off, etc) for 2 years or unlimited miles, whichever comes first. Their warranty does not cover installation error or wear&tear.
Let me know the next course of action.
What do you all make of this situation, other than me feeling really stupid for not being more up-front about it? Everyone told me I should've raised hell about it, but I'm just not that kind of person. I feel I may have been taken advantage of my kindness over things. What should I do if they do not reimburse me? I sent them the e-mail yesterday, but they have not yet responded. I will give them another day before I call them about it. If they're not going to do anything, well, they just lost my business and I'll be going to the BBB. I guess that's the best I can do in that situation.
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