Horrible Service Departments

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by TonyB58

It is a good thing you haven't reached out to a service manager because he hasn't answered my voicemail, and it has been over a month.

In all of the years of auto ownership I have rarely contacted a service manager and when there was a need I did it in person and never bothered calling.

They can run but can’t hide when you are face to face!

[S1nner]

Originally Posted by prostcfc

Bad experience at Bill Jacobs? I got my car there, but haven't had service there since it's almost an hour away. Warranty work has been done at BMW of Orland Park (can't really recommend them though).

Yeah, one time, though, but enough for me not to go there anymore.

[tranquility]

Generally-speaking, very rarely am I satisfied w CS anywhere, most are just passable but they lack finesse or tact or ppl skills or genuine care about your car/situation. There was one guy that was great at a dealer but he left and as soon as he did, I ran into a big prb immediately the next appt and then I had to quit that place.

The most outrageous exp was when I had what was supposed to be a routine battery change at another dealer, which is located in my trunk. Suddenly, the trunk couldn't close but the dude claimed that it was a pre-existing defect(!). GTFOH. I argued a bit and ofc got it fixed, but, still, wth, how the hell did he have the nerve to deny liability?

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by prostcfc

Bad experience at Bill Jacobs? I got my car there, but haven't had service there since it's almost an hour away. Warranty work has been done at BMW of Orland Park (can't really recommend them though).

I have nothing but good things to say about Bill Jacobs service department. I live about a mile from Perillo and drive to Bill Jacobs for anything service related. They’ve been great with both mine and my wife’s cars.

[OUGrad05]

All the brands could learn a thing or two from Lexus. But as long as they sell huge numbers of cars, they won't, simply because they don't have to.

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

All the brands could learn a thing or two from Lexus. But as long as they sell huge numbers of cars, they won't, simply because they don't have to.

Guys from Lexus are so thrilled that something finally broke that it’s like an event so everyone in the shop is on it 🤣

[Rux]

Does putting my winter tires (staggered) on my G82 19s on the left side and both 20s on the right side count?

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by Rux

Does putting my winter tires (staggered) on my G82 19s on the left side and both 20s on the right side count?

Calling mechanic someone that does wheels/tires, oil changes in the shop would be exaggeration but yeah an ASE certification seems to be enough to be called mechanic.

[S EyeLand]

Tenefly put 80 miles on my previous X5M, they were just asked to spray the front bumper they messed up in the first place. Disgusting service department.

[Rux]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

Calling mechanic someone that does wheels/tires, oil changes in the shop would be exaggeration but yeah an ASE certification seems to be enough to be called mechanic.

It was at a BMW dealerships so i foolishly assumed they would know how to
put tires on

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by Rux

It was at a BMW dealerships so i foolishly assumed they would know how to
put tires on

So I went to the dealer and had vibration starting at about 83mph that would become gradually more noticeable with speed increase up to about 95mph. After a day got a call from the dealer that all is good and that they did not find anything. Got the car back and vibration was still there. Dropped it second time and the second time they found one of the wheels out of balance. They rebalanced the wheel and said it was good to go. Picked up the car next day. Dove it. Vibration was completely gone. Now the question is. What was checked and went over first time if such basic thing like wheel balance took care of the problem 🤔

[prostcfc]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

So I went to the dealer and had vibration starting at about 83mph that would become gradually more noticeable with speed increase up to about 95mph. After a day got a call from the dealer that all is good and that they did not find anything. Got the car back and vibration was still there. Dropped it second time and the second time they found one of the wheels out of balance. They rebalanced the wheel and said it was good to go. Picked up the car next day. Dove it. Vibration was completely gone. Now the question is. What was checked and went over first time if such basic thing like wheel balance took care of the problem 🤔

I see you're in Chicago? What dealer was this so I can avoid?

[2heeldrive]

Yes, they are horrible. There are two that I have to choose from. One, sold me a "certified" car that was missing an air bag .

The other took four tries to repair a leaking rear pinon seal... ended up replacing the diff... (with a unit from a salvage yard ) And, they managed to tear the CV boot on one of the axles. At least they replaced that with a new one.

Incompetent doesn't even begin to describe these guys.

[allinon72]

A good majority of retail businesses, when it comes to serving customers at a high level, have essentially given up based on hiring difficulty. Dealerships are no different, they plug staffing holes with who they can find and hope for the best. It's even creeping into healthcare.

[MonaJB]

The wife's 2022 X3 no longer receives the complimentary dealer service, so it will be going to our trusted indy from now on. When I used a dealer for my E39 years back, I always had it scheduled with the same master tech.

[tranquility]

You know what I really hate? Besides just the general 'passable' ppl skills of the CS staff throughout this industry sector (who are supposed to be the most smooth/tactful/diplomatic personnel cuz they deal directly w the public), I can't stand that whenever there is a prb w the car, they will IMMEDIATELY deny responsibility at first response like some freaking kneejerk reflex. It's so damn annoying, esp when the prb was obviously caused by them.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tranquility

You know what I really hate? Besides just the general 'passable' ppl skills of the CS staff throughout this industry sector (who are supposed to be the most smooth/tactful/diplomatic personnel cuz they deal directly w the public), I can't stand that whenever there is a prb w the car, they will IMMEDIATELY deny responsibility at first response like some freaking kneejerk reflex. It's so damn annoying, esp when the prb was obviously caused by them.

IMHO, it really depends on your SA. Some are programmed to blame everything on you and others always do the right thing and accept responsibility when it is justified. 😉

[sspade]

I had terrible experiences with the following dealers:

Melbourne BMW - Melbourne, FL
East Bay BMW - Pleasanton, CA

On the other hand Niello BMW in Elk Grove CA was very positive and I utilized their service department several times while under warranty. The others were one and done... never to return.

Reflecting on these experiences over the past 6 years, the dichotomy is astounding. Could be bad luck, not sure!

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

IMHO, it really depends on your SA. Some are programmed to blame everything on you and others always do the right thing and accept responsibility when it is justified. 😉

Ok, I have to be more accurate and will stop making blanket statements, but my post is true for most of the SAs I've encountered. There were a couple that tried to do the right thing, but sadly the majority is always 'deny first unless the client proves it/lets me have it'.

[tranquility]

Piper1 I think you need a blog lmao.

Ya, I get it, you and your wife are retail workers. Anyway, I am always reasonable and not one of those crazy masses asking for the moon, just to be made whole due to some stupid thing the dealer did to my car outta negligence and/or generally not giving a crap about other ppl's property. Like I said, I hate that reflex reaction of just denying when it doesn't make sense and they obviously were the culprits.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Piper1

Oh no. Former. And I do miss a lot of people there both customers and colleagues but plenty of reasons for us as the domino affect in seeking a different path. Been a machinist for Ford and my machines don’t talk back. But any rate just understand that your perspective of reasonable is just that your perspective. The situation I brought up in this thread about my experience with midloathian bmw was because they signed off on approval of items that I called them out on their bs for that weren’t done and they hold themselves to lower standards than my local dealer does here even giving them the runarounds trying to figure out why they checked off work being done that clearly wasn’t. As I said there are plenty of douches that I wouldn’t stick up for in any industry. Again first calm and check that your perspective is the best and not completely bias. There are plenty of cases yes a customer is wronged but also plenty of cases where most definitely the customers are not always right. And all of us have been in both. Both situations can and can’t be as transparent as you’d like.

Hey there’s a reason I’ve not stepped into a pep boys since I was 17. You live you learn you move on hopefully not making the same mistake over again.

Dude, that example I stated earlier is not about "perspective"or prone to any subjectivity. The lousy dealer *broke my trunk* while trying to change the battery. That is a FACT. They then tried to pretend that prb was 'pre-existing'. You can't make up that garbage.

Needless to say, sanity won in the end, but the damn gall and nerve to try to pull this one over on me. Like I said, I dislike many of those CSs' primary reaction, which is to deny, deny, deny. I am always reasonable and would never make someone else hold the bag if it wasn't their fault. However, if they try to screw me over, there will be hell to pay. Period.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Piper1

So few questions here.

What actually broke? Was it a latch? Were there plastic components involved that “might’ve” had a hairline crack that you hadn’t noticed but by the time they got their hands on it it gave out?

I like to say the best problem solvers are problem preventers.

How many times have you gone to this dealer? You said other dealer and it was a routine change so was this your first time at this location?
Issues prior to this with them if you’ve been there more than once?

Was it only a battery change? If so why not do it yourself? Can get a code reader that registers new battery’s for pretty much the price of one diagnostic charge from a dealer. So to prevent the dealer from breaking your trunk to replace a battery or even light bulb for that matter why not do it yourself? I’m pretty selective of who works on my car besides me. For as meticulous as you sound of the way you might want something done, why not change your own battery and this instance could’ve been entirely avoided. Since I was 17 I’ve changed all my own batteries. One of the reasons that got me into tinkering on cars, looking at manuals for that matter and reading them was a dealer sold me a car with blown fog lights said those weren’t covered in used cars and it’d be $220 to replace both. Cost me $2 and just reaching under not even lifting the car to replace them myself. And the owners manual told me how to do it. That was before the internet with the umpteen million how tos that are on this board alone.

So guess moral of this is if it’s simple and your baby why didn’t you change your own battery?

And I do feel your pain of a broken trunk problem. Canada customs broke my trunk on my way home on my second car I ever had. No liability for them to cover that I had to bungy it to get home. So you got off lucky having the dealer ultimately cover it.

I'm not reading all that and not sure why you insist upon defending this dealer...you dunno the facts at all. You wanna bet your life on it? Your net worth? Bring it. SMH. They ended repairing the thing for free so that is proof enough; they checked their own cams - my car went in, they asked to open the trunk before the service, everything was fine, they meddled w the trunk and battery, and then the trunk didn't work anymore after they returned it. Nuff said. You're trying to blame the victim cuz I didn't diy? Get outta here. I don't wanna work and feel like paying others to do the grunt work, good enough for ya? The Z4's battery work is not as routine as other cars, so I left it to the 'supposed' experts and not an indy but they still screwed up somehow.

EDIT: I didn't "get off lucky" gimme a break dude. Totally different situations talking about car work vs border customs...stay off the pipe man and something tells me you were asking for it w that attitude.