Is it just me, or does BMW have the worst customer service of all the luxury brands?

[BMW Lawman]

Sounds like you had one bad experience with one sales rep....not all of BMW. Wasn't the sales rep responsible for all the shortcomings? And for him to call and be less than cordial.....I would turned around and called his manager and complained.

The loaner issue.....my opinion is if you didn't buy it from the dealership, you shouldn't expect a loaner from the dealership.

[nostrum09]

With respect to loaners, I feel a dealer should, if they have any available, provide you with one should you request it. I look at it this way:

- If it's an out of warranty service, you're paying for it, and that's money they wouldn't have made had you not gone there.
- If it's in warranty, BMW reimburses for expenses, correct?

So either way, they are at the very least not any worse off than if they hadn't worked on your car. So why not give a loaner, and as other people have said, that will probably give that dealer a good image for when someone wants to buy a new vehicle.

Also, bad experience for me when getting quotes for my E90. I was faxing out requests and shopping dealers, and one dealer in NJ (which also happens to sell many other even higher-end brands) got mad at me that I dare shop around for the best price. He then said he didn't want my business and hung up. Meh, his loss.

[JamieA]

I think good bad or indifferent service is endemic to most brands. Here in dear old Adelaide the BMW dealership gives the best service, the Audi dealership is so-so and the MB dealership is woeful from all accounts.

Go to another city and it is all different. I worry when the head office of the brand gives bad service when you try to escallate issues beyond a particular dealer.

I have been extremely happy with Adelaide Motors so far, they have exceded all my expectations.

[NaTuReB0Y]

Originally Posted by Broken1

Her only but i mean ONLY flaw was that she told me to put dishwashing liquid in the windscreen washer fluid.

Did you listen to her? I did it once.....and it was a messed! Soap streaks .......I pumped it all out in one sitting......

[Oz]

It's sad that you have had a bad experience. What dealers did you go to in Northern NJ?

[carnuts3]

I also had problems with my dealer getting a loaner, even though I bought my car from them. In one instance, I called up for a service appointment a month in advance to ensure that I get a loaner assigned to me. When I arrived for my appointment, I was given an "Enterprise" car rental. Another time, I called for an emergency service appointment 3 days in advance of the appointment date and was told that I probably wouldn't have a loaner of any kind available for me. To make matters worse, when I called BMW customer service at HQ's, they wouldn't get involved and said that the dealer is an independent and makes up its own policy. You would think that with all the competition out there that HQ's would take this issue seriously, be proactive and demand that all dealers provide uniform treatment to its customers.

[txusa03]

for those of u who had bad experiences with BMW Customer services, I feel your pain. Take for example a regular guy like me who pays monthly car notes on a bmw vs a famous basketball or football players who pay cash on a 7 serries or M5. Man those guys and their families gets the special treatments everytime (anyhing they want). Even CEO, CIO, and CFO. It is all about your status and it sad. I can bitch all I want it don't make a big difference.

[puck724]

Originally Posted by txusa03

for those of u who had bad experiences with BMW Customer services, I feel your pain. Take for example a regular guy like me who pays monthly car notes on a bmw vs a famous basketball or football players who pay cash on a 7 serries or M5. Man those guys and their families gets the special treatments everytime (anyhing they want). Even CEO, CIO, and CFO. It is all about your status and it sad. I can bitch all I want it don't make a big difference.

hey JamieA, didnt you say you were a CIO. Test this theory out when you get your car.

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by puck724

hey JamieA, didnt you say you were a CIO. Test this theory out when you get your car.

I am and I will. Expect a report around Xmas when I finally get the car!!!

So far they have been excellent to deal with and gave me a VERY good price.

[txusa03]

Rest my case..., money talks...,guess i better start buying more of those lottery tickets...

[stressdoc]

Yea, Santa Klaus is too nice to CIO's. Bummer that it will be baking up north when JamieA gets his ride -- I was looking forward to stories about missing 'roos at 260kph.

[BMW786]

Yes, I had the same experience. When they're trying to sell the car to you, they act like they're your best friend and make sure you are taken care of. Once you sign on the dotted line, they act like they don't even know you.

[CnoteMD]

I just wanted to clarify a few things regarding my original post.

My main problem was with the salesperson, not the dealership. In fact, the dealership has done quite a bit to resolve the situation, and the service manager has been EXCELLENT.

I have no problem with the salesperson knowing the results of the survey and if he wants to discuss that with me, fine. But, I don't appreciate being blamed for his inattention to detail.

There are many views on the whole loaner car issue, but my main point was that I have never had any other car brand make it a point to tell me "If you don't buy your car here, we aren't going to give you a loaner". So far, I have had 3 local BMW dealers tell me this, and it seems others are hearing the same line.

Because my experiences with the service department have been very pleasant, I will likely continue to use them in the future which makes the availability of a loander a non-issue for me. Furthermore, in the off chance I went to one of these other dealers that won't give me a loaner I can simply drive one of my other cars.

But, my personal experience with Volvo and Acura has been a stark contrast to BMW. These other brands have always maintained that as long as you have a scheduled appointment, you will be taken care of. I have never even been asked about where the car was purchased from these other dealers (and this has been my experience with Volvo and Acura dealers in Boston, NYC/NJ, and Atlanta).

Overall my feelings on BMW mixed. This is an excellent performing car and pretty much sells itself. It appeals to both the driving enthusiast and the image conscious individual looking for the "name". This is a win-win situation for the dealer. People will buy the car without much coersion and even if the service provided is only mediocre.

Michael

p.s. In regards to a comment about dealers in FL, I am very suprised in how things are down there. Every dealer I have been to in the Atlanta area has treated me very professionally, even better than in the NYC/NJ area. In fact, a Porsche dealer in Atlanta let me take a car out alone. I returned about 15-20 min later and his reaction was "back so soon?"

[BrunoT]

Originally Posted by CnoteMD

I apologize for the long post, but lately I have noticed a very sad trend among BMW dealers regarding customer service. Some people report problems with arrogant and rude salespeople. I have even seen posts about salespeople contacting clients after the sale if they didn't get "all 5's" on the survey.

Personally, I went to 2 dealers before placing my order. The first salesperson seemed like a nice guy, but didn't know the first thing about the car. I can't see myself putting that much money into something and you have to keep referencing to a brochure to answer basic questions.

The second dealer had a much more knowledgeable salesperson, so I placed my order after having my questions answered. I placed the order about 4 months before my desired delivery date. I knew exactly what I wanted, so at the time of the order I also specified exactly which dealer-installed options I wanted. I also let him know that I will be using outside financing (I knew that I could get a better rate).

When the car was on its way from the VPC to the dealer, I confirmed the options again. Then a third time a week or so before I took delivery (when I finalized the time of my delivery appointment).

Only 1 of the 3 dealer installed options were on the car at delivery. Furthermore, they wouldn't accept the outside financing due to it being in the form of a "bank draft". They would only accept a certified check (which the bank would have done for me if the salesperson had let me know sooner). I ended up having to use the dealer financing, but I made them match the rate I had from the outside.

When I called the salesperson a day or so later to schedule a time to have the other items installed, he didn't return my calls. So I dealt directly with the service manager (who was GREAT, by the way).

Eventually, BMW called me to do the phone survey. I gave the dealer and service department all 5's, but the salesperson got a 3 for how he handled delivery and after the sale.

NOW, the salesperson returns my call. He was upset about the scores and started telling me how he could have taken care of everything if I went through him. I tried to go through him, but he didn't return my call, so I went higher in the chain of command and got immediate results.

This salesman also had the nerve to tell me that, "everyone makes mistakes, and he shouldn't be penalized so severely". I told him that his "mistake" inconvenienced me due to the 2 subsequent service visits to get items installed. He actually had the nerve to blame me me by saying, "You made mistakes, too. If you didn't try to pay for the car with a bad check, we wouldn't have had to spend an extra 30 minutes with finance and make me late for my other delivery that day." I quickly corrected him. I could have easily obtained a certified check if they had let me know about that policy ahead of time. With my income and credit score, I could easily obtain excellent financing anywhere, which is why they had to match the rate!

Since my wife will likely be getting an E60 in the next few months, we went to a different dealer. The salesperson was very nice and very knowledgeable. We will likely buy the car from him, so we asked about the service department. He said, we have 45 BMW loaners for service appointments. But, you can only get a loaner if you bought your car from them.

Right now my wife drives a Volvo S60 and we have never had a problem getting a loaner from any dealer. We also have an Acura, and we have never had a problem with getting an Acura loaner from any dealer.

What is the problem with BMW and customer service? True, these are amazing cars, but why can't the experience of buying and servicing one match the driving experience?

Sorry about the long rant, but I had to get this out.

Michael

To be fair, it sounds like you had one or two bad salesmen. It's hit or miss at most brands. My BMW buying experience and followup was great, but I hear that my dealer is an exceptional one. Another accross town was snotty and arrogant and others agree with that rep on them. My audi experience was worse, Infiniti was better. Acura had some good ones and some bad ones. The rating thing with salesmen is silly. Theyconsider anything less than perfect "horrible" which is whe he took it so seriously. He learned a lesson; return your calls! But he shows he doesn't "get it" when he harrangued you about his rating instead of using it to improve.

The bank draft thing was probably from your inexperience and their lack of attention to detail. There are so many bogus checks out there in car buying that they are going to be sceptical of anything they can't call up and check on immediately. It's become such a big problem in selling used cars that I will require doing used car deals at banks from now on. Computers can make near perfect forgeries.

I had another lux car dealer get back to me on a quote with the words "if you were really serious after all, we have your car in now". Like that was supposed to make me want to buy from him? He just suggested I was a liar.

[Xens]

I don't know, but I've gotten excellent treatment in both sales and service at my local dealership, and I didn't even get ripped off by them!

[BrunoT]

It's not just the dealers, it's the whole West Palm Beach/South Florida thing. I lived there last year and got out as soon as humanly possible. The whole "Vibe" there from a lot of people was nasty and it seemed like nearly everyone went out of their way to be uncooperative, from the government to homeowners associatons to busnesses to drivers. It put me on edge to even drive around. It made you paranoid. Even the pizza delivery places were rude. My wife and I both got the only tickets we've received in the last decade within a week of moving there. It was like everyone was out to get you. Perhaps it's the displaced NYer's thing.

Thank god I was able to move. And making a killing on my house (prices are soaring 33% a year there...god knows why) helped make it worthwhile. My wife's co-workers from outside the area agreed, it's like no place else. We would call Saab for service appointments and they would just not even call back. When my clutzy wife hit her head stepping into a low back seat in their courtesy van and got a concussion, their attitude was "hey, you hit my van!" They wouldn't even drive her to the hospital, only back to her office. Nice folks!

[StewtheBassman]

Originally Posted by brucec32

When my clutzy wife hit her head stepping into a low back seat in their courtesy van and got a concussion, their attitude was "hey, you hit my van!" They wouldn't even drive her to the hospital, only back to her office. Nice folks!

I think ZenDriver could represent your wife in a big 'ol lawsuit....

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

Yea, Santa Klaus is too nice to CIO's. Bummer that it will be baking up north when JamieA gets his ride -- I was looking forward to stories about missing 'roos at 260kph.

The great thing is that roos are not a problem during the day so much as they are at twilight. Will give you all the low-down after I go for a spin up north.

[Choon]

i never had problems "yet" from my dealer