Life Quality BMW in Brooklyn, NY - Complaint

[dross333]

HI, I have a 6 month old X5. I just called the service dept to find out when I would need to schedule an appt as I have 2 green bars left. They said that If I need a loaner, there is about a 6 week wait time, so I should make he appt. now. I find this unacceptable. When I had my Infiniti, they always had a loaner for me, no matter how short notice. For this reason alone, I will never buy another BMW from this dealer. I wasn’t sure If I can put the dealer name here.

Thanks
David

[SILENTx5]

You can put the dealer name here .. thats what the dealer info section is for. And that's where i purchase my X5 from as well. Its like that at most busy dealerships. You have to make an appointment in advance in order to ensure a loaner or else they'll just set you up with a loaner from enterprise.

[Chris F.]

Agreed. It's about 6 weeks to get a loaner in Boston too.

[anatolych]

Life Quality is the closest dealership to us. When check engine light lit up and our 1.5 year old X5 35D went into reduced power mode on Thursday, I figured we'd go to them to save the time. I knew their reputation was not stellar, but I figured how bad could it be...
When my wife arrived next morning for a scheduled appointment at 9:30 and said she'd wait to hear what the issues are, they offered her coffee and magazines. Two hours later when she got tired of waiting, she approached the customer service representative. She was told that the mechanic will start looking at the car soon! And thats when everything started going wrong. 1. Despite a scheduled appointment, they did not have anyone looking at the car for 2+ hours. 2. They did not tell my wife about the wait so she could plan her day better 3. They did not apologize, but pretended thats normal and was our fault that we did not know they are not in the rush. The customer service representative was simply rude. 4. There are no loaner car available. They do not provide rental cars either. 5. And to top it off, when my wife picked up the car this Friday, the same error came up twice on on her 5 mile drive home.

To me its worth driving extra 15 miles to JMK in NJ to get both proper level of customer service and have the car fixed the first time.

[anatolych]

SilentX5: At LQ I was told they don't offer rental cars when loaners are not available. Which basically means that when you car breaks (unless you can schedule this accident 6 weeks in advance), even under warranty, its your problem/cost to get an alternative mode of transportation. To me this is not acceptable and I am not returning there for sure.

[rhyno46]

anatolych - Pardon me b/c I don't know. Just now working out my first bimmer purchase. Is the loaner just a nice thing the dealer does or are they contractually required? I've not owned a vehicle where the dealer was required to provide a loaner and am curious if I should expect this service from my dealer.

[Quicksilver]

Interesting thread:

Seems like this is a regional issue. In the 6 years i've owned my X5 I have always been given a BMW loaner. Didn't take 6 weeks either. In Fact even the indie offers one when I get service there. Having recently just come back from NY I was told that dealerships are not very plentiful in your neck of the woods and the ones that are available are not very customer oriented. Unfortunate If true.

[anatolych]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Interesting thread:

Seems like this is a regional issue. In the 6 years i've owned my X5 I have always been given a BMW loaner. Didn't take 6 weeks either. In Fact even the indie offers one when I get service there. Having recently just come back from NY I was told that dealerships are not very plentiful in your neck of the woods and the ones that are available are not very customer oriented. Unfortunate If true.

I agree, its a regional issue. My friend in ohio was getting loaners when his hondas and mitshubishis were serviced. In NY area, even luxury dealers often make it very difficult to receive one. We actually have plenty of dealers around here, but I guess they sell enough cars even with poor service so they are not in a rush to improve. According to the BMW USA, loaner policy is established by dealer, and they have no control over it. I know that because I called them to complain about my experience. BMW USA also does not provide you with a replacement car if yours breaks, even under warranty. That's why its important to buy from dealers who offer good service to support their efforts.