Disappointed with BMW's customer service

[Brian425]

I'm a long term Land Rover/Range Rover owner. It was a tough choice to choose the X5 50i over the Range Rover or Range Rover Sport.
I called BMWNA today on two issues:

1. I purchased BMW Apps and have the smart phone integration in order to get full functionality, I needed to buy the snap in adapted for the iPhone.

a. I think it is crazy that you can order an option that requires another piece of hardware; but, it is not included. Charge $150 more for BMW Apps and just include the snap in adapter. You already have added the monstrous mounting point in the console, include the stuff I need.

b. If you did not order the snap in adapter at the time of purchase, BMW expects you to pay $250 for the piece, a $100 premium. There is no installation, it literally snaps into place.

2. On Friday, 8/26, I used the Idrive to request an appointment from service to get the state inspection. (I did PCD, so inspection was not available) As of 4:00PM 8/31, no one had contacted me. I stopped at the local dealer at 5:00PM and was told "head over to service, they will take care of you. Inspections are not a problem." Get to Service at 5:20PM and was told "You can come in tomorrow at 11:30 or Friday at 7:40AM. No loaner cars available. I really would not mind; but, I just drove 20 blocks out of my way in rush hour traffic. It would have been much easier for the showroom to call service to confirm they could take me.

I ended up calling my Range Rover sales person to see about selling my truck to a person in service. I told her about my troubles. She called service, I can drop off my truck at their service for the inspection and she has a Range Rover HSE or Jaguar for a loaner. She also offered to buy me the snap in adapter for a "new car gift". She said they have some discretionary money to spend on customers and would not mind "making my BMW whole."

BMWNA must have learned customer service from the East Germans. They should hire someone from Range Rover or American Express Platinum to teach them customer service. 6 days into ownership and I already know BMWNA customer service is useless. So much for the ownership experience.

[bren3085]

Completely agree..BMW service is extremely bad now days..we have been buying BMW's for over 15 years and recently they have become so obnoxious and pompous towards us that it is appalling.

(from various dealer experiences)

1) I broke the bmw wheel lock nut and they made me wait an hour to go and get one small part from the back room for me. Even then they made it sound like a chore.

2) My mother sent her car into a different dealer to get it serviced and they could not even drive her 2 blocks to the office and she had some extremely heavy office bags with her. She ended up taking the car back and not servicing it with them because they were extremely rude to her about it.

3) The amount of issues I have had with my X5 is ridiculous and the dealer (different to the other 2 incidents above) tried to charge me for various things when it is under warranty.

4) It really annoys the hell out of me that BMW have programmed a "Vehicle Check" into the car every 6-12 months even if there is nothing wrong with the car, nor due for an oil change. It is their way of roping you back into the dealer and charging you an extra $100 to look at the car and do nothing.


My car is still under warranty and I am already considering selling it. When we picked up my girlfriends new VW GTI I was seriously surprised at how nice they were to us and even gave us a few freebies.


I seriously couldn't agree with you more about poor service.

[4.6is Ryder]

First. I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you guys are having. Next, it's a know fact that great service is part of a great relationship with your dealer. Any of us could've experienced similar things if we just pulled up to any dealership. I'm not saying this is right, it's just the way it is. The Rover dealer was really willing to help because there's a relationship already formed. Once you have a good foundation with a local service center, you'll be in and out without appointments and getting new cars as loaners .............Phil

[Brian425]

4.6is Ryder, this is my first BMW and I am only a own it for 6 days. I would have hoped we were still in the honymoon period. Rover treated me like an old friend from day one. Every experience with RR has been some variation of "Let me know what needs to be done and I will try to make it happen". BMWNA is "Let me get back to you in 3 to 5 business days" to see if I sell you the adapter at the $150 new vehicle order price as opposed to the $250 website/dealer price.

Funny how RR told me bring it in any time tomorrow and they will have a RR or Jaguar loaner ready for me. BMW told me sorry no loaners are available and limited time slots available. Not the nicest first experience.

Sorry, I have a sour taste in my mouth. Unless there is a remarkable turn around, when I make my next $70k-$100k purchase BMW will not be in the running. Customer service is part of the ownership experience.

[JCL]

You mention BMWNA several times, but your issues appear to be with your local dealer, a separate business.

By all means we should expect great service. But focus on who provides that service (the dealer) and not the wholesale distributor (BMWNA). They are completely independent businesses. If the dealer doesn't want to provide loaners, that is a dealer decision. If they don't provide training for their staff, it will show in the customer experience. At the end of the day, if your dealer sucks, you can try another one. If they all suck, buy a RR. That RR dealer seems to get it.

I have a great relationship with my dealer, and they have gone above and beyond for me several times. They are very successful, and I can see why. On the other hand, I had a LR Discovery years back. That dealer was a disaster. Their favourite line was "they all do that". They used it a lot. I paid money to get out of that vehicle. But I never considered it a slam on LR, only on the dealer that just didn't care.

There is a dealer sub-forum on this board, so you can document your experiences with your local dealer. That way other members can decide if they want to deal with them or not. Think of it as accelerated Darwinism. Speed their demise.

[rh71]

Originally Posted by Brian425

BMW told me sorry no loaners are available and limited time slots available. Not the nicest first experience.

It is a known fact at my dealer that loaners are first come first served and that's why there's a 2 week wait period. There just aren't enough to go around. One time there still were none available so they Enterprised Rent-A-Car'd me instead. Unfortunate for us that some dealers have them available immediately for whatever reasons.

I get pretty good treatment from my SA... 4 years now, and some munchkin treats at Christmas time. But he can't make cars appear out of nowhere.

[blondboinsd]

Originally Posted by 4.6is Ryder

First. I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you guys are having. Next, it's a know fact that great service is part of a great relationship with your dealer. Any of us could've experienced similar things if we just pulled up to any dealership. I'm not saying this is right, it's just the way it is. The Rover dealer was really willing to help because there's a relationship already formed. Once you have a good foundation with a local service center, you'll be in and out without appointments and getting new cars as loaners .............Phil

I believe relationships are a 2 way street and my relationship with my SA is fantastic. She always get things done right the first time and never has an issue getting me a loaner car. In turn I rate her all 10's when I get a service survey because I believe good service deserves an accolade

I'm sorry to hear about your issues but beyond the first issue (it is what it is) the 2nd part isn't BMW NA's customer service it's your dealers. If you don't like your dealer then find a new one

[aimtimes100]

sad story but sometimes its a matter of the dealer.when i got my new key for my X5 the programmed the a feature i normally would have had $120 for 30 mins of labor no charge

[ard]

I guess all one can say is sorry you didn't realize this prior to purchase.

You'll surely be miserable until you dump it.


Me, I have exceedingly low expectations- and hence when they are competent I feel that I am getting exception service.

If I wanted that smarmy service experience, I'd have gone with RR or MB.

[Brian425]

JCL, I mention BWNA because I called them to escalate the issue. Instead, I got the same response. Lexus, MB, RR all understand customer service. BMW does not.

Ard, There was no way to know about their CS before purchase. I'm not looking for smarmy service. I want a company that understands treating a customer well makes them come back. At RR, the service I get is sincere, not smarmy.

At the end, I'll vote with my $$$ and buy from companies that value my time and money. I love to drive the X5, I'm just really unhappy with BMW service at the dealer and BMWNA levels.