[OUGrad05]

Our local BMW dealership is downright awful. I'm literally the only person I know that's had a reasonably positive experience there. They've agreed to fix a door lock out of warranty since I've been complaining about it for a 18+ mo and took a video showing the issue.

The experience with the SA has generally been good since my previous SA left (he was not good). Yet my SA has jerked some friends around a couple times and fed me a line of BS about my mirror being bent backwards once...

However, everyone I know... and I don't think this is an exaggeration that has vehicles worked on outside of warranty has horror story after horror story. I'm the "car" guy amongst many of my friends so I get a lot of calls and texts when people are shopping for cars or have a problem.

Here's a small sample of things that have happened:
Mother in law quit going to local dealer 8 years ago after they held her car hostage because she said they would not be getting 10s on the survey when they asked her to give them 10s. Why are they not getting 10s? Because she took the car in 3 times for the same problem and kept charging her for it. She had to get the police on the phone to get her keys back...even after this third trip, her husband fixed the problem when it crept back up literally the NEXT day.

The dealership was sold and under new management and I started hearing good things about them in 2012-2013 time frame. A close friend of mine bought a new BMW from them in the fall of 2012 and generally had good service.

I went in car shopping in the spring of 2015 and was basically told I was not allowed to test drive a BMW because I was not a serious shopper, I had been in once before, perhaps 2 years prior and did not buy a car.

So I bought my car in Atlanta and drove it home. I figured well the service thing seems to be good again so no big deal, I just won't interact with the sales folks.

Fast forward to 2016 and several friends with cars begin going out of warranty and sure enough one by one the absurd failures and dealer treatment begin again.

For example, a friend of mine has a rough idle on his 2011 328i, he takes it in and the engine has a coil pack failure, they tell him to replace all 6 coils, he does. Approx 3 mos later, he has a day with rough idle, which seems to cure itself but he's concerned and takes it back in, they tell him he needs to replace his coils.

He calls them back and asks which coil, they say all of them, he tells them he just did that, to which they basically reply "Oh, we'll rescan the car and call you back", they wind up finding no problem.

Fast forward to this week, engine light on, rough idle, takes it in, they tell him the VANOS has failed and it's a $750 replacement and that probably won't take care of the the whole problem, so he calls me. I tell him that BMW has a TSB out or maybe a full recall on VANOS cars and that his should fall under that and the repair should be FREE. He talks to indy shop, they verify that and he calls BMW NA and BMW NA says yes the fix is free, dealer should have mentioned this to you.

He calls dealership, asks to speak with service manager, they refuse to call him back. He's still working through this issue.

Situation two: Headlight failure on an E90 car, taken to dealer for repair. Picks up car, next morning puddle of fluid under the car, clear (ish) liquid on the garage floor, I get a call, ask what was done etc. The washer fluid line is in a position of compromise under the front bumper and bumper was pulled to put in new headlight, they probably cracked the line remounting the bumper.

I told him don't tell them that right out of the gate you don't want to sound accusatory but take it in and tell them you believe something may have been damaged when they replaced the headlight.

He gets to the dealer they immediately say nope, damage couldn't have occurred they would look at the car and call him back. At that point he tells them the issue with remounting the bumper and they deny deny deny and tell him to wait for their call. They call and try to charge him $550 to replace/repair what they broke. I told him not to accept, call the manager explain situation, he calls and leaves 5 or 6 voicemails over a period of 5 or 6 weeks, no call back.

Finally, they agree to pay for 90% of it while denying fault.

I probably have 8 or 10 stories like this from my local dealer screwing people around outside of warranty. It's really REALLY turned me off to my local dealer and BMW.

I love the new X3 M40i but bloody hell dealing with this for friends stresses me out and it's not even my own car.

There's always a possibility of a move and access to better dealers, but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts? Would you buy another BMW dealing with this sort of dealer? Or would you pass?

I'm tempted to write something up and send to BMW NA.

[Run Silent]

So, this issue pops on somewhat regularly on nearly all automotive forums. Some points to ponder:

1) Some of the issues are probably accurate and the dealership is being slimy.
2) Some of the issues are probably exaggerated and the customer is the one who was being slimy.
3) There is no excuse to continue to go to a dealership that keeps giving poor service.
4) Writing to BMW NA will probably not do anything. The dealer is independently owned and it would take an enormous amount of letters from many people to get them to say anything to the dealer - or if they do say anything right away, that one problem will probably be resolved but it won't fix the 'culture' at a bad dealership.
5) Cars are just mechanical devices. There are plenty more. I really like my BMW, but if there was no dealer to service it, I would just buy something comparable.

Bottom line is that stuff like this isn't really worth loosing sleep over or making your life stressful over. If you really have issues with a local dealership, either start going to another one, use an independent, or buy another brand. With a few exceptions, if you are out of warranty, nearly any other shop can do basic maintenance and repairs. It doesn't have to be BMW, unless it is a very particular problem.

[CTinline-six]

For poor experiences, giving them bad online reviews on yelp, google, facebook, etc will usually do the trick.

Bad dealers are everywhere for all brands, since they are independently owned. I have experience with the local Mercedes and BMW dealerships which have been great, and they happen to be owned by the same people. The local Jeep dealer is ridiculously incompetent, but the one 20 miles further away is pretty good. It really depends on the dealership itself.

A lot depends on how you treat them as well. I've had dealers screw up before a couple times, but I always approach them with a level head and calmly explain the issue and ask them to resolve it reasonably. That has worked 100% of the time so far. If you go in there and call them all morons it won't get you anywhere. I also let them know that I understand cars and how they work (without being arrogant) and comment to them when I appreciate their quick turn around or a job well done. Having mutual respect with your service adviser and the technicians working on your car goes a long way.

[aBMWfan]

Check the dealership’s reviews. If they consistently have bad reviews, your bad review isn’t going to do much. Just go with another dealer.

On the other hand, if the dealer has almost perfect or mostly good reviews, they might try to work with you more. And your feedback might be more important to them.

Restating other advice above, always approach them the right way, there are very rare exceptions to this. Don’t over exaggerate issues. BMW dealers don’t treat you like royalty anymore.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by aBMWfan

Check the dealership’s reviews. If they consistently have bad reviews, your bad review isn’t going to do much. Just go with another dealer.

On the other hand, if the dealer has almost perfect or mostly good reviews, they might try to work with you more. And your feedback might be more important to them.

Restating other advice above, always approach them the right way, there are very rare exceptions to this. Don’t over exaggerate issues. BMW dealers don’t treat you like royalty anymore.

I haven't exaggerated and I spared you guys several more stories.

Unfortunately there is only one BMW dealer within 90 miles so choosing another dealer simply isn't feasible.

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

I haven't exaggerated and I spared you guys several more stories.

Unfortunately there is only one BMW dealer within 90 miles so choosing another dealer simply isn't feasible.

That's good news you aren't over exaggerating. My advice just applies to anyone. Who's having trouble with their dealer.

For you, I suggest you check their reviews to see if your feedback would make a difference to them, if yes, great. If not, I would either link-up with that other dealer or go for a different car brand.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

I haven't exaggerated and I spared you guys several more stories.

Unfortunately there is only one BMW dealer within 90 miles so choosing another dealer simply isn't feasible.

Where are you located?

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

Where are you located?

Oklahoma.

I'm also a big Audi fan, same folks own Audi as own local Lexus, my wife's Lexus experience has been exemplary.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Oklahoma.

I'm also a big Audi fan, same folks own Audi as own local Lexus, my wife's Lexus experience has been exemplary.

LOL - that doesn't really narrow it down.

I was hoping for a city - so I could do some research and see if there was a solid alternative to the dealer for you.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

LOL - that doesn't really narrow it down.

I was hoping for a city - so I could do some research and see if there was a solid alternative to the dealer for you.

Haha, there's only two in the state, but I'm in Tulsa sir

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Haha, there's only two in the state, but I'm in Tulsa sir

Have you checked out these guys?

https://www.europeanautospecialist.net/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikes...59898307364491

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

Have you checked out these guys?

https://www.europeanautospecialist.net/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikes...59898307364491

Both of them yes, I've recommended them both to friends. When my warranty is up I'll either jump into something else and/or start using them.

[Happy Motoring]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Oklahoma.

Well there's your problem right there

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by Happy Motoring

Well there's your problem right there

You can keep Texas

[BMR_CK]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

For poor experiences, giving them bad online reviews on yelp, google, facebook, etc will usually do the trick.

Bad dealers are everywhere for all brands, since they are independently owned. I have experience with the local Mercedes and BMW dealerships which have been great, and they happen to be owned by the same people. The local Jeep dealer is ridiculously incompetent, but the one 20 miles further away is pretty good. It really depends on the dealership itself.

A lot depends on how you treat them as well. I've had dealers screw up before a couple times, but I always approach them with a level head and calmly explain the issue and ask them to resolve it reasonably. That has worked 100% of the time so far. If you go in there and call them all morons it won't get you anywhere. I also let them know that I understand cars and how they work (without being arrogant) and comment to them when I appreciate their quick turn around or a job well done. Having mutual respect with your service adviser and the technicians working on your car goes a long way.

Totally agree with this. No matter how much we may not like it they still have the power to make our experience(s) more unpleasant if they are pissed at us. A well articulated argument in favor of your position goes a long way to getting what you need. It always seems to work for me, and man have I had to work hard at staying calm sometimes!

[alphaod]

I had a local dealer sell me a car, but then during service refused to give me loaner because I was under 25 even though I had an appointment for a loaner. Then they didn't fix any of the issues I told them about. Said I could come back next time to get them fixed. I told them I would be giving them all 1s, then they said I should bring the car back immediately get my issues addressed. I told them don't worry about it; I gave them all 1s and left a bunch of bad reviews online which not-surprisingly garnered the attention of other people who said they had similar bad experiences… and the attention of the service manager who wanted to make things right. Yeah right.

My current dealer I go to has very good service, both the service manager is pretty friendly (he was my prior service advisor) and the current service advisor is friendly guy.

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by alphaod

I had a local dealer sell me a car, but then during service refused to give me loaner because I was under 25 even though I had an appointment for a loaner. Then they didn't fix any of the issues I told them about. Said I could come back next time to get them fixed. I told them I would be giving them all 1s, then they said I should bring the car back immediately get my issues addressed. I told them don't worry about it; I gave them all 1s and left a bunch of bad reviews online which not-surprisingly garnered the attention of other people who said they had similar bad experiences… and the attention of the service manager who wanted to make things right. Yeah right.

My current dealer I go to has very good service, both the service manager is pretty friendly (he was my prior service advisor) and the current service advisor is friendly guy.

That’s awesome!

[BeEmVe]

Since our buggy is no longer under warranty I have started using an indy shop rather then the dealer. Our dealer was fine, rather generic. So I gave the indy a chance and started off with some simple stuff. Oil change and tire rebalance. Figured that was easy and cheaper than the dealer.

As for the OP. I would do the same find an indy shop. I would contact BMW NA and continue to give 1s. It sucks for the SA cause I am told not getting 10s dings them financially.

Side bar: Giving top marks for service that is expected and paid for is BS. Providing service that is expected and paid for is average. It is when the service is above what I am paying for then we can discuss higher marks.

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Oklahoma.

I'm also a big Audi fan, same folks own Audi as own local Lexus, my wife's Lexus experience has been exemplary.

solve all your BMW service problems: move to Doylestown Pa.
well, that's prolly not practical....

anyway, sorry to hear that story OP, that's awful, especially as it appears you have no choice. if you're off warranty it's time to find an Indy, you can ask about that on the BimmerPost regional subforum that's local for you. you can also search "bimmer shops (your city)", although forum or BMWCCA is way better.
hope this improves for you.

[overlook637]

Absolutely no reason to visit a stealership outside of warranty. Visit a independent small business repair shop that has experience with BMW.

Alternative is to buy a Camry or Prius then you never have to worry about a repair or crappy dealership.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by overlook637

Absolutely no reason to visit a stealership outside of warranty. Visit a independent small business repair shop that has experience with BMW.

Alternative is to buy a Camry or Prius then you never have to worry about a repair or crappy dealership.

Originally Posted by overlook637

Absolutely no reason to visit a stealership outside of warranty. Visit a independent small business repair shop that has experience with BMW.

Alternative is to buy a Camry or Prius then you never have to worry about a repair or crappy dealership.

I don't necessarily disagree but they shouldn't be purposefully charging for things that don't need replacing or trying to get a customer to replace the same thing twice or breaking customer cars...ethical business practices should be the standard not the exception

[commedeschatons]

Originally Posted by Happy Motoring

Well there's your problem right there

Depending on how you squint, Tulsa might be more cultured than dallas. They have an excellent art and music scene. The plentiful e0 93 octane gas is a nice plus.

but Tulsa is really weird, kind of like a beef-induced steampunk fever dream. People in cowboy hats and cowboy boots flying around in 911s. wouldn't go back.