Are BMW and their dealers trying to lose customers?

[Qunadry]

Made an appointment three weeks ago to bring my 135i in for the rear brake light campaign. When I went in yesterday my usual SA was busy so I went to another. By late afternoon I still had not heard about my car so I called. The SA I saw today informed me that the needed parts were on back order and he had no idea when they would be in, but not to worry brake lights were working fine. I could not believe that they 1) did call me before I came in to tell my the parts were on back order and to reschedule the appoinment, 2) if they had the parts when I made the appointment they did not put them aside and 3) they never called me back to tell me the did not have the parts and to come get my car. When I went to get my car back (they did give me a 328Xi coupe loaner) they now said that the parts would be expressed and they made another appointment. Funny how the parts went from no idea when they would be in to being expressed in. This is the third car I purchased from this dealer and it will be the last!

[dragon1761]

thats due to the fact your not driving an M3 or 6 series. I had that happen to me At new century BMW. I pulled up my car for low tire pressure. The SA ran to the 6 series behind me before assisting me.

[Bimmer-Bob]

^ You seriously went to the dealer for low tire pressure?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by dragon1761

thats due to the fact your not driving an M3 or 6 series. I had that happen to me At new century BMW. I pulled up my car for low tire pressure. The SA ran to the 6 series behind me before assisting me.

Seriously dude... only soccer moms go to the dealer for the low tire pressure light.

[mineo77]

nice KOJ

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by dragon1761

thats due to the fact your not driving an M3 or 6 series. I had that happen to me At new century BMW. I pulled up my car for low tire pressure. The SA ran to the 6 series behind me before assisting me.

maybe it's because the dealer knows your car...and that you're in for something like low tire pressure.....

[michifan]

I think there was a service bulletin around ignoring customers earlier this year.

[Ash83]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Seriously dude... only soccer moms go to the dealer for the low tire pressure light.

[JimD]

It does seem like SA's underappreciate the issue of bringing your vehicle in for service and I would agree the OP's experience was pretty bad. I take most of the lose stuff out of my car before bringing it in - tools, windscreen, sun screen, flashlight etc. Taking that out, driving to the dealer, waiting or leaving, coming back, putting stuff back in the car all take time. More trips than absolutely necessary are most unwelcome.

Jim

[Judge]

Look at the brightside. You get to beat up on a pretty nice car (maybe not by our standards) for a few days. While miy 1 was being serviced I took a 328 loaner on a 200-mile roadtrip to Miami. If you haven't noticed BMWs that aren't yours are really fun to drive.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Judge

If you haven't noticed BMWs that aren't yours are really fun to drive.

Actually I find just the opposite to be true. When I have a loaner, all I want is my own car back.

[ChristianM]

Made an appointment three weeks ago to bring my 135i in for the rear brake light campaign. When I went in yesterday my usual SA was busy so I went to another. By late afternoon I still had not heard about my car so I called. The SA I saw today informed me that the needed parts were on back order and he had no idea when they would be in, but not to worry brake lights were working fine. I could not believe that they 1) did call me before I came in to tell my the parts were on back order and to reschedule the appoinment, 2) if they had the parts when I made the appointment they did not put them aside and 3) they never called me back to tell me the did not have the parts and to come get my car. When I went to get my car back (they did give me a 328Xi coupe loaner) they now said that the parts would be expressed and they made another appointment. Funny how the parts went from no idea when they would be in to being expressed in. This is the third car I purchased from this dealer and it will be the last

Must be swamped to treat a customer who's purchased multiple vehicles from them like that. Wish dealerships would get rewarded and acknowledged for CS, like they do when they meet or break sales records.

[Qunadry]

Originally Posted by ChristianM

Must be swamped to treat a customer who's purchased multiple vehicles from them like that. Wish dealerships would get rewarded and acknowledged for CS, like they do when they meet or break sales records.

They were not swamped, just inconsiderate. And yet they remind you that they need 10's across the board when BMW contacts you on your service experience.

[NL-J]

Originally Posted by michifan

I think there was a service bulletin around ignoring customers earlier this year.

LOL, that's the only service bulletin my dealer reads then!

I'm having seriously crappy experience with my dealer too at the moment. As soon as issues are solved I'll go try another dealer in the future.

[Ash83]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Seriously dude... only soccer moms go to the dealer for the low tire pressure light.

[Qunadry]

Originally Posted by Qunadry

Made an appointment three weeks ago to bring my 135i in for the rear brake light campaign. When I went in yesterday my usual SA was busy so I went to another. By late afternoon I still had not heard about my car so I called. The SA I saw today informed me that the needed parts were on back order and he had no idea when they would be in, but not to worry brake lights were working fine. I could not believe that they 1) did call me before I came in to tell my the parts were on back order and to reschedule the appoinment, 2) if they had the parts when I made the appointment they did not put them aside and 3) they never called me back to tell me the did not have the parts and to come get my car. When I went to get my car back (they did give me a 328Xi coupe loaner) they now said that the parts would be expressed and they made another appointment. Funny how the parts went from no idea when they would be in to being expressed in. This is the third car I purchased from this dealer and it will be the last!

So I bring my 135i in today for my second appointment to get the rear light seals replaced (The dealer was suppose to call me yesterday to confirm they had the parts so I would not go in again for nothing, but when I had not heard by 4 PM I called. They did indeed have the parts, but forgot to call.). I mentioned that the occasional long crank times which they addressed by new software in November had started again and they were able to duplicate it. They contact BMW to get approval for a new HPFP and BMW tells them they to re-program the car with a still newer software version and retest the car before they will approve a new pump. If I'm lucky, I may get my car back in 2-3 days. Yeah, they gave a 328Xi sedan loaner, but it is filthy, smells of cigarette smoke and drives like crap. Not only is this the last car I buy from this dealer, but it is the last BMW I will ever buy. The Cadillac CTS coupe is starting to look good.

[1013mm]

blame the dealer, not bmw as a whole.

[Qunadry]

Originally Posted by Qunadry

So I bring my 135i in today for my second appointment to get the rear light seals replaced (The dealer was suppose to call me yesterday to confirm they had the parts so I would not go in again for nothing, but when I had not heard by 4 PM I called. They did indeed have the parts, but forgot to call.). I mentioned that the occasional long crank times which they addressed by new software in November had started again and they were able to duplicate it. They contact BMW to get approval for a new HPFP and BMW tells them they to re-program the car with a still newer software version and retest the car before they will approve a new pump. If I'm lucky, I may get my car back in 2-3 days. Yeah, they gave a 328Xi sedan loaner, but it is filthy, smells of cigarette smoke and drives like crap. Not only is this the last car I buy from this dealer, but it is the last BMW I will ever buy. The Cadillac CTS coupe is starting to look good.

So they re-program the car on Wednesday, still get a long crank and call me to tell me they will replace the HPFP. Get a call this afternoon to come and get the car only to find out they did not replace the pump because the tech did not complete the re-program the first time and when he did the car was fine. Two visits to get the rear light seals replaced and three days to get a re-program that they hope will not fail. To quote my invoice, "OK at this time". Not very encouraging. I must admit the car started up fast and drove very well on the way home. Hope it has indeed been fixed, otherwise it may be time to be done with the car and BMW!

[Qunadry]

So after 2 lousy service experiences I get contacted by the dealer by both e-mail and phone asking me to fill out a service experience survey. I was reminded by my service advisor when I picked-up my car last week that anything less than perfect scores would reflect badly on him and the dealership. I opted out from participating in these and any other future customer satisfaction surveys. As much as I love this car, I can not see keeping it beyond that warranty expiration in 2013, and can not see buying another BMW.

[KingOfJericho]

WHAT!!

So after all of this, you opted out of filling out the only survey that could possibly result in better treatment in the future? That makes absolutely no sense! It's like finding a pile of hair in your burger and when the manager asks you how everything is you just smile and say nothing. Those questionnaires really do get back to the dealers and if you give them a poor grade they will do a great deal to get back on your good side. When I had my Infiniti I had a similar situation and ended up with a full set of snow tires. Opting out does nothing.

[jc_lbc]

The problem I've found with these surveys in the past is that they ask stupid questions like "were you greeted promptly?" or "did they offer you a bottle of water while you waited?" Any crappy service department can do that.

[Qunadry]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

WHAT!!

So after all of this, you opted out of filling out the only survey that could possibly result in better treatment in the future? That makes absolutely no sense! It's like finding a pile of hair in your burger and when the manager asks you how everything is you just smile and say nothing. Those questionnaires really do get back to the dealers and if you give them a poor grade they will do a great deal to get back on your good side. When I had my Infiniti I had a similar situation and ended up with a full set of snow tires. Opting out does nothing.

I have responded with problems in the past (I've owned BMW's for over 10 years) and if anything, things have gotten worse, not better. I believe my title to this thread has more truth in it than I thought.