BMW dealer reneges on '08 M3 eBay auction
 

I guessed this would be a hot topic already on the board, but I didn't see anything about it. It's too long of a story to go into detail here, but the basic summary is that this dealer put an '08 M3 up on ebay advertising it as "Lowest Price 08 M3 on Ebay" with a starting price of $60k and no reserve. MSRP is about $67k. Only one person bid so he won the auction for $60k. The dealer called him immediately and said, "sorry but we can't honor that price" and went on to tell him that "eBay will side with us because we're a multi-billion dollar corporation". Then the power of the internet responds with fury.

The whole situation has gone back and forth with the dealer first basically saying to screw off, then capitulation and agreeing to sell the car with "certain conditions" which were BS, and then flipping the bird to the internet community who has helped raise awareness for this guy.

It's a pretty interesting read and it's not even over yet.

The thread that started it all: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127993 (latest update from the OP is at the top of page 52)
The eBay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=230233277471
Here's one of the original stories about it: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/23/b...t-want-to-hon/
Here's their update: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/26/n...om-bmw-dealer/

I remember when a very similar thing happened with a Mitsubishi dealer in Arizona (IIRC) a few years ago when they first came out.

Its funny when car dealerships try to make extra money (thinking people on ebay will pay more than MSRP) and end up getting boned. Hopefully the internet mob will take care of this one.

Yeah, that Mark Mitsubishi thing went down in internet history. And when they finally agreed to sell him the car, the dude didn't want it any longer.

My guess is the BMW dealership will eventually sell him the car, or they're going to have to deal with weeks of harassment from pissed off internet citizens.

I got my STI off ebay. The dealership in Helena wasn't too happy that I was the only person to meet their reserve - $28k for a brand new '04 STI with 30 miles. But the deal went through no problem. An ebay auction is supposed to be akin to a legal contract.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...postcount=1871

Looks like he's getting his M3 now :D

And now it looks like he's not!

Post #1990: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...127993&page=91

What a bunch of BS! Their basis for refusing to honor the deal now is basically because their stall tactics and all the legal battling (and their own refusal to accept the deposit on the vehicle) prevented the buyer from providing full payment by the deadline specified in the auction.

edit: not to mention now the dealer plans on suing the buyer for libel. This story has got to hit mainstream press soon.

What a cluster. :roll:

What?! It's had to have been on their local news. I hope so at least.