Indie shop vs BMW (Inspection before warranty expires)

[thebmw]

Unbelievable, Thue.

Reach out to BMWNA, though not sure how helpful they'll be.

Please let all of us know what dealership is causing these worries.

Post these issues on varies review sites. Specifically call out the service manager and the tech's name online. I firmly believe in accountability.

If you have a lawyer friend, send them a well worded letter. Don't spend too much money on that though as you're likely not going to get anything in return.

[stmoore01]

First, it is really horrendous that you are having this type of experience with your service center. I too have owned many BMW's over the past 15 years and have a BMW center 5 miles from my house so it is super convenient to get service work done that I don't do myself. About 5 years ago the usually great service I received became a struggle to get call backs, communication on status of repairs was almost non-existent and I became increasingly frustrated. Several emails to the service manager and ultimately the general manager received no response and the last time I picked up my car I walked over to the general manager and politely told him that I will never step foot in his dealership again. I decided on a BMW center closer to my office (no longer with that company so not so convenient anymore) and my experience has been nothing less than brilliant. I prefaced the first visit with my service advisor that all he needed to do to make me a happy customer was to provide communication as service is being completed. Now I drive over an hour to have my car serviced when I could drive 5 minutes. Sad that some BMW centers are just plain awful and really reflect badly on the brand. I think you unfortunately have found one of these bad centers.

[Thue]

So, this just happened after BMW replaced my seat rails as per the discussions in this thread - See picture.

Not only did it take 3 trips to the dealership to get the new exhaust fitted properly, the car was missing 2 quarts of oil after the service and they messed up a wheel in the process....

But getting a car back with the seat belt unsecured takes the grand prize.

What do I do here? I'm almost at a point where I feel like lawyering up - this is just not OK on so many levels.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Thue

So, this just happened after BMW replaced my seat rails as per the discussions in this thread - See picture.

Not only did it take 3 trips to the dealership to get the new exhaust fitted properly, the car was missing 2 quarts of oil after the service and they messed up a wheel in the process....

But getting a car back with the seat belt unsecured takes the grand prize.

What do I do here? I'm almost at a point where I feel like lawyering up - this is just not OK on so many levels.

Wow. But I am not really surprised. Every time I have had work on my car done I have to fix something. Every time. That's the main reason why I do all my own work after a warranty expires. I know it was done right by somebody who cares about my car. This example is just pathetic. Lawyering up won't do you any good. What would you be seeking? You have no damages. What I would do is go back and say "I am not making an appointment and I am not leaving it. You fix this right now and I want to speak to the service manager."

[Thue]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Wow. But I am not really surprised. Every time I have had work on my car done I have to fix something. Every time. That's the main reason why I do all my own work after a warranty expires. I know it was done right by somebody who cares about my car. This example is just pathetic. Lawyering up won't do you any good. What would you be seeking? You have no damages. What I would do is go back and say "I am not making an appointment and I am not leaving it. You fix this right now and I want to speak to the service manager."

You're right with the "no damages" but on the other hand - this is something that could've had severe consequences. I guess I'm just beyond frustrated here and to let them get away with another "sorry, our bad" is not teaching them anything. I don't know if calling BMW NA will make any difference either.

[Opie55]

Well, telling the service manager you are going to post that picture on every web forum and review site you can find unless he gives you some stuff might get you some stuff. Although I'm not sure what I would want from a dealer that I literally could not trust to change my oil.

[Thue]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Well, telling the service manager you are going to post that picture on every web forum and review site you can find unless he gives you some stuff might get you some stuff. Although I'm not sure what I would want from a dealer that I literally could not trust to change my oil.

At least the service manager called me back fairly quick after getting this picture in an email, sounds like they are going to fire the dude who worked on my car.

[Luftpost]

Originally Posted by Thue

At least the service manager called me back fairly quick after getting this picture in an email, sounds like they are going to fire the dude who worked on my car.

Well, I can see how these items are frustrating to you, however getting fired over it seems overly harsh. Lots to be considered before that happens, if it happens.

L

[thebmw]

Thue, the best way to serve justice is to tell everyone the truth about who they are we can all avoid going there. Please share details of where are all of these inexcusable experiences have occurred.

[Thue]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Thue, the best way to serve justice is to tell everyone the truth about who they are we can all avoid going there. Please share details of where are all of these inexcusable experiences have occurred.

My post was initially about getting the necessary information to deflect their lies about the hole in the exhaust, seat rails rather than slandering a specific dealership. Now I've contacted BMW NA and made them aware of the numerous mistakes and issues I've experienced and I guess at this point I'm disappointed enough to recommend anyone to stay away from this place.

The dealership in question is United BMW in Roswell Georgia.

[Thue]

They just towed my car back to the dealership - check out the ground clearance. Will be interesting to see if I have a front bumper when I get the car back

[Opie55]

I was going to ask how you were getting it to the dealer since they sure would not want you driving it. But yeah, check your bumper because that would not make it out of my neighborhood unscathed.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Thue

My post was initially about getting the necessary information to deflect their lies about the hole in the exhaust, seat rails rather than slandering a specific dealership. Now I've contacted BMW NA and made them aware of the numerous mistakes and issues I've experienced and I guess at this point I'm disappointed enough to recommend anyone to stay away from this place.

The dealership in question is United BMW in Roswell Georgia.

Thank you for sharing. Telling the facts, it's not slander. It's only slander when you make stuff up. What is probably even more important is to actually name the individuals who made these mistakes but I'm guessing you're too nice to do that :-)

[Thue]

Originally Posted by Opie55

I was going to ask how you were getting it to the dealer since they sure would not want you driving it. But yeah, check your bumper because that would not make it out of my neighborhood unscathed.

Yup - our subdivision has a 3 inch speed bump up front - sent the following to the service manager:

"I’m a bit disappointed that y’all sent a wrecker and not a flatbed to pick up the car. It’ll be interesting to see how many scratches the front bumper will get while it’s being towed.

Check the ground clearance on the attached photo. I’m assuming that you’ll inspect it for damages and rectify any before returning it to me."

[Thue]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Thank you for sharing. Telling the facts, it's not slander. It's only slander when you make stuff up. What is probably even more important is to actually name the individuals who made these mistakes but I'm guessing you're too nice to do that :-)

To be honest I have no idea who worked on the car. I think main thing here is that the dealership has a massive leadership problem which trickles down to the individual employees. I'm not sure that it'll make a difference naming the individuals either - it's not the Service Managers fault that the morons in the shop doesn't know how to add oil or tighten a seatbelt nut. We are probably just better off staying away from this place. Unfortunately for me, the next dealership is 1.5 hrs in traffic each way. (gotta love ATL)

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by Thue

To be honest I have no idea who worked on the car. I think main thing here is that the dealership has a massive leadership problem which trickles down to the individual employees. I'm not sure that it'll make a difference naming the individuals either - it's not the Service Managers fault that the morons in the shop doesn't know how to add oil or tighten a seatbelt nut. We are probably just better off staying away from this place. Unfortunately for me, the next dealership is 1.5 hrs in traffic each way. (gotta love ATL)

What I meant by the individuals was the techs. I am a FIRM believer in accountability. It's car malpractice and they should be held accountable and liable. So sorry to hear about your experiences.

There are a few BMW dealerships in the northern part of Atlanta. It is worth driving the extra distance if you know the other dealerships are better. I just had one of my cars (non BMW) sent to a dealership 2.5 hours away. They have one of the best techs in the state there. It is worth the time investment. As you have seen, a bad dealership will cost you a hell of a lot more time than a 1 hour drive (not including the aggravation).

Hope you post some reviews about United BMW online (with the names of the techs and managers).