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      11-07-2007, 02:45 PM   #1
chrisxy1
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Best Dealer to order in Northern California?

Hi, I plan on ordering my 135 when the pricing is released this month. Any recommendations on what dealer to order from in Northern California? I went to 2 dealer rating sites, and all of the BMW dealerships in this area didn't get great ratings for sales or service. Any ideas?

Thanks!
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      11-07-2007, 03:30 PM   #2
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East Bay BMW has a pretty good reputation and I was told they never charge more than MSRP. I'm actually #6 on their waitlist for the 135i and the transaction went smoothly. My CA was a pretty cool guy too. I wouldn't recommend going to Concord.

My other friend grabbed his 335i at East Bay BMW.
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      11-07-2007, 04:42 PM   #3
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I agree that Concord has a reputation for dealer markup but I told the sales guy there that I "Would Not Pay Over MSRP" and he told me that if I bought from him that was OK. I received a call from the sales mgr. at Weatherford in Berkeley that they will have a couple 1ers in December (not to drive) but for the people on there list to see, I also seemed to get agreement from them on the only MSRP pricing (we’ll see). I have a co-worker that wants a 3 series and have hinted at buying them both at the same time and that seems to make the numbers work in my favor. The real deal I think would work if a group of solid 135i buyers approached one dealer together, any takers? Of course the sales guys read this stuff too, but money is money, right. Just a thought. Back to the question I have also heard good things about East Bay BMW (why they call it East Bay I don’t know, they are way out in Pleasanton?). Lastly, the bigger the dealership is in sales the larger the allocation they receive will be, Concord, Weatherford, and SF are big.
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      11-07-2007, 09:31 PM   #4
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East Bay BMW.
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      11-08-2007, 12:00 AM   #5
cody joaquin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nvius View Post
East Bay BMW has a pretty good reputation and I was told they never charge more than MSRP. I'm actually #6 on their waitlist for the 135i and the transaction went smoothly. My CA was a pretty cool guy too. I wouldn't recommend going to Concord.

My other friend grabbed his 335i at East Bay BMW.
Hey Nvius, I'm 3 behind you in line @ East Bay; hoping to make their first allocation. They have been the only dealership willing to promise no markup. Still obsessing over color (SG/Coral Red, AW or Sedona/Black). Good luck, Cody
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      11-08-2007, 12:03 AM   #6
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I didn't want to say what spot I am but I'm #1 for a 135i, but #2 overall on the order deposit list at EB bmw. we should have a get together after we take delivery and do a quick photoshoot. There are some nice backroads out here with the wineries.
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      11-08-2007, 01:11 AM   #7
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I had a very positive experience purchasing my E46 from Weatherford BMW in Berkeley and had great experiences with the service department at East Bay BMW. I've recommended them to all my friends. And yes, DO NOT GO TO CONCORD BMW.
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      11-08-2007, 04:06 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cody joaquin View Post
Hey Nvius, I'm 3 behind you in line @ East Bay; hoping to make their first allocation. They have been the only dealership willing to promise no markup. Still obsessing over color (SG/Coral Red, AW or Sedona/Black). Good luck, Cody
Nice! East Bay BMW seems to be a fairly decent sized dealership so I'm hoping their allocation is fairly large. That way, us first allocation'ers can cruise together!
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      11-08-2007, 04:07 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phattbam View Post
I didn't want to say what spot I am but I'm #1 for a 135i, but #2 overall on the order deposit list at EB bmw. we should have a get together after we take delivery and do a quick photoshoot. There are some nice backroads out here with the wineries.
Totally down for that.

I'll be the Montego Blue 135i! :thumbup: Maybe a trip up Mount Diablo? hahaha
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      11-12-2007, 03:01 AM   #10
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Eastbay is cool and I've had good luck with Niello in Sac. Rick worked with us to get an awesome deal on my friend's M Zed. I'm not a fan of Concord or Valley BMW in Modesto.

p.s. Eastbay put on an awesome breast cancer drive this year! Our route went through the twisties and freeway and lasted like 30min!!
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      10-24-2012, 09:28 PM   #11
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Weatherford is out

I bought mine from Weatherford and wont make that mistake again.
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      10-24-2012, 10:24 PM   #12
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I don't know which dealer to recommend, but in the not recommended group I'd put both Steven's Creek BMW and Mountain View BMW.

Steven's Creek has a large inventory, but poor sales & service and loves jacking up the price with add-ons that may or may not be real.

Mountain View is very unresponsive for both Sales & Service. Also the inventory is less than SC.

I'd try what the guys listed above and try East Bay.
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      10-28-2012, 05:42 PM   #13
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Can you elaborate on your experience with Weatherford? I am looking to order a 128 vert soon and am looking for a good dealer with a great service department. You would think with all the dealers in the Bay Area, that would create more competition, but I have not heard any good things about the service dept in any of the dealer around here. I still remember when I bought a Saab back in 2004, they bend over backwards to deal with ANY issues I had, which was soooooo refreshing after dealing with VW and Audi dealers for so many years.
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      10-29-2012, 10:29 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thl70 View Post
Can you elaborate on your experience with Weatherford? I am looking to order a 128 vert soon and am looking for a good dealer with a great service department. You would think with all the dealers in the Bay Area, that would create more competition, but I have not heard any good things about the service dept in any of the dealer around here. I still remember when I bought a Saab back in 2004, they bend over back wards to deal with ANY issues I had, which was soooooo refreshing after dealing with VW and Audi dealers for so many years.
The service department has made numerous mistakes and has always left my car with a dirty or oily interior, they don't put covers on the seats and don't wear gloves when working from the engine bay to the interior. I have had to clean my interior every time it has gone in for work, it is very disappointing and I have talked to them about it and gotten no results. The last time it was in they replaced a part that had a factory sticker on it and did not clean the sticky stuff off and it is visible from the cockpit of the car. I also found a screw in the carpet that leaves me wondering if they forgot to put one back after the repair. They just seem to struggle with cleanliness and detail.

I should add that Brian Stegner in the service department is a top notch guy and very customer centric. He is a straight shooter and a customer advocate. If you use Weatherford Service I think he is their best guy. Mike Fung their coordinator is also a great guy to deal with. The parts guys have always been top notch as well.

As to the sales department, Greg Lapierre the Used Car Manager seems like a straight shooter, is new and I would suspect is there to help turn their reputation around. I have not dealt with the new General Manager Joe Crow but I have been told he too is all about turning their reputation around.

Atilla the New Car Sales Manager in my opinion is not a customer centric Leader/Manager and does not consider customers of any great value after they pony up their money and drive off the lot. Atilla seems more like a tail light warranty kind of manager, you know the warranty expires once he sees your tail lights and has your money; he does not represent the dealership very well in my opinion and from what I have experienced and heard on the street is a big part of their problem. It has been my experience that Weatherford is a very welcoming dealership and talks the talk as it relates to customer care but Atilla is the last word in the sales department and does not talk the talk or walk the walk. A dealership is only as strong as it's leadership and Weatherford has a problem in Atilla.

With Greg and Joe and Brian all working to turn the dealership around Weatherford will certainly turn their reputation around in time.

Clearly they are successful as they are doing a huge expansion so they must be selling a bunch of cars. My experience has me wondering about their after the sale satisfaction and customer retention, particularly as it relates to sales support.

By the by I have heard some pretty good things about Sonnen in San Rafael, they have a sales guy there named Bruce who worked at Weatherford for years and moved to Sonnen for reasons he is to much of a gentleman to discuss.

Good luck to you.
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