[MarineOh3]

So... I am in Germany. And Germany has a bunch of speed cameras. Pretty straight forward, you drive... There is a speed limit... If you speed past a speed camera, flash of orange and a ticket magically appears in the mail (with a generally clear picture of the driver) in about 4 weeks.

Back in May I dropped off my F30 for oil change, rear brakes, and brake flush. We were spending a week in France and I didn't need the car. Since I didn't have an appointment, I dropped the car off and said "take your time." That was May 14; I picked the car up on May 23.

Today I got a ticket in the mail for someone doing 78 kph in a 60 kph zone on May 17. The service guy I imagine went out after servicing my vehicle and (I hope) was making sure all was right before closing out my ticket. Well, while he was testing it out, I got a sweet snapshot of him and his awesome giant mustache.

Do I go to the dealer and pitch a fit? Or do I let it slide? It's a 30€ ticket... And I don't know if this is common or if the guy will get fired over it.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by MarineOh3

So... I am in Germany. And Germany has a bunch of speed cameras. Pretty straight forward, you drive... There is a speed limit... If you speed past a speed camera, flash of orange and a ticket magically appears in the mail (with a generally clear picture of the driver) in about 4 weeks.

Back in May I dropped off my F30 for oil change, rear brakes, and brake flush. We were spending a week in France and I didn't need the car. Since I didn't have an appointment, I dropped the car off and said "take your time." That was May 14; I picked the car up on May 23.

Today I got a ticket in the mail for someone doing 78 kph in a 60 kph zone on May 17. The service guy I imagine went out after servicing my vehicle and (I hope) was making sure all was right before closing out my ticket. Well, while he was testing it out, I got a sweet snapshot of him and his awesome giant mustache.

Do I go to the dealer and pitch a fit? Or do I let it slide? It's a 30€ ticket... And I don't know if this is common or if the guy will get fired over it.

I can't imagine that this is the first time that has happened in Germany (or anywhere else). There is probably a mechanism to deal with such situations, both at the governmental level and at the dealership.

To me, worrying about the well being of the driver is irrelevant. He is culpable -- more so than would be typical because he's using someone else's property: yours -- and by extension, the dealer is culpable because you left your property in its care. Besides: low fine or not, it's still points on your record.

Take it up with the dealer. Chances are you will receive something in return for the trouble.

[AIRPOWER]

What ^^ This Guy ^^ said....... definitely take it to the dealer. If you got a speeding ticket in a loaner they gave you would they pay for it?????????

[cprx7]

Grill him. Don't know if Germany has points systems on drivers license but if they do I would not think twice about contacting the dealer.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

I can't imagine that this is the first time that has happened in Germany (or anywhere else). There is probably a mechanism to deal with such situations, both at the governmental level and at the dealership.

To me, worrying about the well being of the driver is irrelevant. He is culpable -- more so than would be typical because he's using someone else's property: yours -- and by extension, the dealer is culpable because you left your property in its care. Besides: low fine or not, it's still points on your record.

Take it up with the dealer. Chances are you will receive something in return for the trouble.

I was pretty livid earlier but decided to sleep on it a night before figuring out what to do. This same dealer is actually prepping our new X5 as we speak so I really didn't want to go in there with guns blazing only to have to deal with them again for the next year or so. You're absolutely right... I am sure it isn't the first time it happened and they probably have a process worked out. Appreciate the input.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by AIRPOWER

What ^^ This Guy ^^ said....... definitely take it to the dealer. If you got a speeding ticket in a loaner they gave you would they pay for it?????????

Originally Posted by cprx7

Grill him. Don't know if Germany has points systems on drivers license but if they do I would not think twice about contacting the dealer.

Thanks gents. No points here I don't think for speed cameras, but yeah, if I got a ticket in a loaner they would certainly come after me.

[AIRPOWER]

Originally Posted by MarineOh3

Thanks gents. No points here I don't think for speed cameras, but yeah, if I got a ticket in a loaner they would certainly come after me.

Hey no problem, say hi to patch barracks and panzer kasserne for me, I was at EUCOM from 07-10.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by AIRPOWER

Hey no problem, say hi to patch barracks and panzer kasserne for me, I was at EUCOM from 07-10.

Very cool; I'm not sure either has really changed much since then. I'm at Kelley Barracks with AFRICOM.

[cprx7]

Originally Posted by MarineOh3

I was pretty livid earlier but decided to sleep on it a night before figuring out what to do. This same dealer is actually prepping our new X5 as we speak so I really didn't want to go in there with guns blazing only to have to deal with them again for the next year or so. You're absolutely right... I am sure it isn't the first time it happened and they probably have a process worked out. Appreciate the input.

I see your point here. This same tech most likely continue servicing your cars . If you do complain you might have to find another dealer.

Wait. How about you take the pic and ticket with you and ask to speak with that tech. Confront him, make him pay the ticket and kindly ask not to do that again.
I bet he will become your best friend at the dealer

[Ric in RVA]

Call them up and ask the what happens if YOU got a ticker in their loaner....like you think you might have.

Then ask them to do whatever they would have you do.....Seems fair.




If it is like the system in Virginia all you have to do is show that it wasn't you and even if you pay the fine it isn't a moving violation.

Just a way for the state to make some money....

[MarineOh3]

So I drove over to the dealer this morning and, as I was getting off the highway, I pulled behind the truck that was delivering my new X5... Amazing timing...

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1241139

After watching them offload my X5 and resisting the urge to ask the folks at the dealership if I could just drive it home immediately, I remembered why I was there... I decided I wasn't going to make a big deal of it and just walked in to the service department. I showed the woman the picture on the speeding ticket and asked, "you wouldn't happen to know this gentleman by any chance?" Her jaw dropped and she said, "Yes of course, t hat is my friend Herr Diesel." She made a copy of the ticket, assured me it would be paid today, and apologized. She asked if there was anything they could do and I just asked that I not get any more speeding tickets when I bring my car in for service. So, alles gut.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by cprx7

I see your point here. This same tech most likely continue servicing your cars . If you do complain you might have to find another dealer.

Wait. How about you take the pic and ticket with you and ask to speak with that tech. Confront him, make him pay the ticket and kindly ask not to do that again.
I bet he will become your best friend at the dealer

I think this is the best option so far.

Talk to that tech on the side and tell him that you don't want to get him in trouble as he was probably in the middle of a "brake bedding procedure".

Give him the option to cover the cost and as cprx7 mentioned he will likely be grateful and help out down the road.

If he refuses to cover the cost speak with a service manager very calm without any frustration. As you said you have another car coming from there and will be dealing with them in the future, so why not try and keep good relations as long as possible.

Although it always seems that nice customers get shafted way more than the ones that throw fits and loose it on the staff.

[Shazz]

Ey?! Isn't it up to them to try and keep your business rather than you trying to keep theirs?!

[Luv2]

Like you guys have been saying, I would take it up with the tech. Especially if you want to continue going to that dealership. I bet that every time you take the car in and he works on it, it will get extra TLC.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by Shazz

Ey?! Isn't it up to them to try and keep your business rather than you trying to keep theirs?!

In the end it just didn't seem worth it to throw a temper tantrum in the middle of the service department so they would feel obliged to throw me a free oil change.

When all is said and done, I made a friend with the SA because I didn't walk in there demanding to see the service manager and raising hell. She remembered me from before and certainly will remember me in the future.

[08njSTEP]

Calm and reasonable always wins. People are random and shit happens. Making a big production is usually not the best long term solution. Pretty funny a tech surnamed Diesel.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by 08njSTEP

Pretty funny a tech surnamed Diesel.

And, that Mr. Diesel speeds.

It'd be that much funnier in VW dealership though.

[08njSTEP]

"I want Mr. Diesel to work on MY diesel please".

[larryn]

Something similar happened to me while in Germany. However, I didn't initially get a ticket, I got a letter with a picture of me driving my car, and I was given the opportunity to say that it was not me. they gave me 3 weeks to respond. There was no fine listed in that letter, only a correction form in case it was not me.

I did not correct them, as it was me, and am awaiting the fine notification.

Surprised that this story doesn't have that provision, as it seems like it would be too common that somebody else driving your car would speed.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by larryn

Something similar happened to me while in Germany. However, I didn't initially get a ticket, I got a letter with a picture of me driving my car, and I was given the opportunity to say that it was not me. they gave me 3 weeks to respond. There was no fine listed in that letter, only a correction form in case it was not me.

I did not correct them, as it was me, and am awaiting the fine notification.

Surprised that this story doesn't have that provision, as it seems like it would be too common that somebody else driving your car would speed.

Ummm, don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but when you get the letter like that with no fine, I think it generally means that it's not of the 30 Euro variety. You must have either run a red light or have done something more serious. The notification of the fine is coming and my guess is it's not going to be pretty.

And there was a form in with my ticket to say it wasn't me but part of that form is "if it's not you, tell us who it is." Since I don't know who it is, and since there are no points for minor speeding offenses, I just took it to the dealer to have them straighten it out.

Good luck with your whole situation.

[ElSenor]

Hey dude, I'm in Stuttgart as well. Assuming you went to the dealer right outside of Patch? I dropped of my M3 for an issue with the heated steering wheel. The first appointment I didn't check the odo. On the second time, they had to order a replacement part, the techs put 15km on my car. I was pretty upset, but I let it ride. I wouldn't let a ticket ride. I have also since installed a dashcam on my M3. It's due for service in 1500km. If the techs mess around, I'll have proof it. You already have proof, go get that squared away.

I did their cleaning service awhile back and they somehow scratched my wheels. They offered to completely repaint them. Just haven't dropped off the wheels.

[MarineOh3]

Originally Posted by ElSenor

Hey dude, I'm in Stuttgart as well. Assuming you went to the dealer right outside of Patch? I dropped of my M3 for an issue with the heated steering wheel. The first appointment I didn't check the odo. On the second time, they had to order a replacement part, the techs put 15km on my car. I was pretty upset, but I let it ride. I wouldn't let a ticket ride. I have also since installed a dashcam on my M3. It's due for service in 1500km. If the techs mess around, I'll have proof it. You already have proof, go get that squared away.

I did their cleaning service awhile back and they somehow scratched my wheels. They offered to completely repaint them. Just haven't dropped off the wheels.

That's the one... I took the ticket in and they took care of it. Apologized a lot and seemed pretty embarrassed over it. On a positive note, they delivered my X5 to me today. Actually did a really nice job prepping it.