- A BMW dealer blamed an AI chatbot for a $7,000 pricing mistake.
- The customer says he never knew he was negotiating with AI.
- After media scrutiny, the dealership honored the original offer.
Sometimes a phone call, as tedious as they can be, is the simplest way to ensure something gets done. That’s what one customer of BMW Toronto recently found out after having what he thought was a cordial interchange online with an employee of the dealership. The two agreed to a buy-back deal for his aging X3. Then he got a phone call. Apparently, he made the deal with artificial intelligence, and initially, that was enough to leave it dead in the water.
Meet “Quinn”
According to a report from CBC News, funeral director Zack Giacomelli was trying to sell his 2021 BMW back to the same dealership that sold it to him. After submitting an online inquiry to BMW Toronto, he began texting with “Quinn,” who appeared to be a dealership representative.
The conversation quickly moved toward a deal. Quinn reportedly offered $27,162.79 for the car, a figure that happened to match exactly what Giacomelli still owed on his loan. For the first time, the process felt like it was tilting his way. “I felt this Quinn person was finally hearing me out,” Giacomelli said. “I was feeling really good.” Better yet, the AI even scheduled an appointment to finalize the transaction, telling him, “Let’s lock in today at 3:30.” Then everything fell apart.
Read: The Next C9 Corvette Will Be Designed With The Help Of AI, But This Isn’t It
A dealership employee reportedly called Giacomelli and explained that Quinn wasn’t a person at all. Instead, it was an AI chatbot that had made the offer by mistake. “He said the offer is not valid,” Giacomelli recalled. “I was shocked, I was astounded, like my jaw was on the floor.” The actual buyback value, according to the dealership, was closer to $20,000. That left a gap of more than $7,000.
“I was devastated,” he told the news station. “If they’re going to be replacing their employees’ jobs with AI, then they need to be honoring what that AI says.”
The situation became even more awkward because Giacomelli says he had no idea he was talking to AI. The chatbot never identified itself as artificial intelligence during the conversation. After CBC News contacted the dealership, BMW Toronto reversed course and reinstated the original $27,162.79 offer. Giacomelli immediately accepted.
Who Should Know Better
The dealership’s sales manager told CBC that the error stemmed from a communication breakdown. According to the dealer, the AI mistakenly interpreted the amount remaining on the customer’s loan as the amount the dealership should pay for the vehicle. BMW Toronto says it is now changing its procedures so that only human employees present buyback offers and thus customers are clearly informed when they’re interacting with AI.
It seems everyone has a chance to learn something here. Dealers who are eager to cut costs with AI chatbots might want to be a little more vigilant. Customers need to be even more careful. Dealers can absorb thousands in mistaken deals. Most customers, even ones at BMW, don’t have that kind of margin.
Hat tip to DB!
