I am standing at the parts counter waiting for a part and I over hear a conversation with a BMW customer checking out at the cashier. I am guessing he was just out of warranty, maybe around 60k, and got his first repair bill. Two guys were double teaming him telling him to plan on spending $2000-3000 per year while his car depreciates. My first thought is what an idiot, ditch the dealer and find an independent shop. I think this guy was so scared he was about 30 seconds from trading in his car on a new one. Then they said something like, maybe BMW isn't for you.

Wow talk about bad customer service. Absolutely no faith in reliability and combined with a little bit of snootyness. I know BMW does not have Honda like reliability, but can it really be that bad? Needless to say based on that performance, after warranty they won't be seeing me again. If I can't do it, there is an independent shop I just found that can.

If anyone is curious it was BMW/Mini in Bloomington, MN.

End Rant.

 

Yes.

Their estimate is pretty much right on in my own MCS's case, being only one year out of warranty. And that's not even using a dealer.

 

Wow, I mean even if that's true... who says that?? That's like a financial statement/insult right there.

 

You must realize that he is in a new car dealership, they sell new cars there. They really don't care about service! If the products they sold didn't have warranties they would not even be in the service business.

The rule of thumb is that you should expect to spend $100 per year for each year of age. For example if your car is 7yrs old you should expect to spend about $700 per year on maintenance, $400/yr on a 4yr car...etc....There will be plenty of years you spend less, and you should set that aside for major repairs as the car ages, so fixing a clutch or a supercharger at 120k miles is not a big deal.

 

Actually, the service and parts department of any big dealership is the bread and butter of their income. Sales is a mean to keep those other departments busy. I do think in the OP's situation, at least one of the doubleteamers was a salesguy trying to scare the customer into buying another new car.

 

BMW parts guys are a strange breed. When I was buying oil/filter to do a 1500-mile change, the guy at the counter pretty much implied I was a fool for throwing my money away. When I ran a business I made a point not to chase away customers with cash in their hand, but I guess BMW does things differently.

 

I would hate to work in a service department. Nobody is in a good mood when their car's in for work and I'd expect BMW drivers are worse then average.

If I were to stereotype (which is wrong) there are two main types of people who by BMWs rich ****** and Engineers (I'm an Engineer).

The richer people tend to be more intolerant of inconvenience so it's a personal insult that they have to take their car in for service. The rich also don't tend to treat those they think of as lower class very well which would include anybody working in the service department.

Engineers will probably be nice and friendly but it's pretty much guaranteed they will think they know better then the mechanic (which they don't). Anyone in the service department who will listen will have to put up with the engineer's overly technical crazy theories of what's wrong with the car and how to fix it.

 

I don't think it's just BMW, I think service industries in general are in significant decline anymore - and we are to blame - all of us. We created the conditions that led to them hiring less qualified and trained people because we want a significant discount on everything we buy. "Don't pay that much, you can get it on the internet for 30% off....."

Everyone wants good service, and no one wants to pay for it......

Back in the day when I was a service tech and later a service writer/mgr, the guy we hated to see was a dentist. For some reason, they all seem to think they not only are engineering genius', but that they also have the skills to get in there and turn wrenches. In most case, neither was true.....

 

Exactly. The whole thing sounds like they were trying to chase away a paying customer. I'm sure it's not like that at all BMW dealerships, but who knows.

 

I hope they at least gave him a reach around.

[FONT='Times New Roman']I was getting some parts at South Bay MINI and out of curiosity asked about getting a spare ashtray. He quoted my $35 and I said thanks, but I'll get it online. He then asked how much is it online, and then beat the price. He then told me to always call for a quote and he'll do the best he could. I was impressed and have since got a few odds-n-ends from them as opposed to online. I think a lot of it depends on your personal demeanor, knowledge, and the mood of the service personnel.[/FONT]

 

Wow I don't think I've ever been to a dealership like that. Consider yourself fortunate to have a hook up like that, most of my experiences and stories I've heard are more liken to the OP's

 

You're dead wrong. The service department is a critical portion of the dealership's revenue stream, probably making more money than selling cars. Probably ranks service, then used cars, then new cars, for generating operating income.

My guess here is that the shills trying to warn this guy about excessive maintenance costs were new car sales drones. Start over with a new car, get free maintenance and a fresh warranty again. Nice sales pitch, except for the little part about starting over financing a massive new car loan!

 

I had a similar experience to j-gregs. I had just picked up my new Mini at Northwest Mini in Fife (Washington) and I wanted to purchase some extras such as a boot mat and I had printed the pages of the items off of the internet with the cheapest prices I could find. The parts guy pretty much matched internet pricing and saved me the shipping and the wait.

Great dealership, and I highly recommend Rocky Matranga, my M.A. Great guy and he knows his stuff!

 

I would add a 3rd group those Enthusiast types that learn do their own mods, maintenance and repairs with the help of a Service Manual, and a BMW was their dream car, but a bit out of reach financially, but cut back on other necessities to own dream Bimmer. Checkout the letters on Roundel Magazine you will find them, they usually keep their cars for decades and pass on to kids or eventually track them exclusively with their local BMWCCA chapter. And eventually after the kids leave they usually got an extra nickel for a M3, but still keep that immaculate 1993 325is, 1997 540i or 2001 330i.
That is weird that is the 3rd time I hear that happen at a dealership. First time I heard it was o this thread, and mentioned might be a sales ploy, now I am convinced it is. Imagine the psychological impact the would have on a egotistical DIK type, that would get them to come back the next day to dealership and purchase a new BMW just to prove to that lowly salesman that he has the financial means.

 

I have both a BMW and a Mini and as soon as both went off warranty I ran, not walked from the service departments. Both have been very reliable for me and no where even near the cost to maintain as mentioned by the OP. Dealerships try and scare folks into new car purchases plain and simple by making enormous profits off service work. I always balance what it cost to maintain a PAID FOR car with the cost and depreciation of a new one. 2cents

 

Or, it could be said that they ALL were the only intelligent customers to question your bill Would not be the first time a dealer was caught charging for services not performed.....

Besides, in my book, smarter consumers doing so are providing the service of keeping the merchant on their toes for the next guy......

 

After owning two BMW's and having to sue BMWNA to get satisfaction, I'd have to say it's their attitude.

It took over 13 service visits, 100 affadavits from other drivers (of the 07 AT X3), a notarized statement from an ASE private certified bmw mechanic, a sworn statement from a police officer watching the near death collison (thanks to faulty AT), and a one inch thick binder of documentation for BMWNA to finally step up and offer a trade assist.

Now that they know I can't be bullied I get the best of service, but if I had not been that tenacious and wanted a BMW that worked that badly I would be driving an Acura instead.

Interestingly enough the sales on the X3 have plummeted since they introduced the GM6 AT in 07 on the X3.

However, I still see horror stories of "They are supposed to be that way" , and "It is the way you drive".

When we went shopping for the Cooper S I warned the dealers right up front of who I was, and that I would not tolerate any shenanigans.

On the flip side some BMW drivers do just deserve a swift kick in the pants.

So far I am finding the people and owners involved with the Cooper family to be much more inviting and dynamically involved.

Looking forward to years of fun,,


EE

 

i've found bmw service people to be scary.... that said. mercedes here in indianapolis is fantastic. still costly but night and day between the 2

 

Wow!
The day that I brought Little Wing home my cousin came over to admire her. This cousin is very well to do and currently drives a late model Mercedes which she loves. She used to have a BMW, but is in the habit of buying a new car every couple of years. It did not surprise me when she traded her BMW in for a Mercedes, as I have known her to change brands just to have something different. So, I admit that I boasted to her that my MINI's engine was built by BMW. She rolled her eyes and told me that I was in for some service nightmares. That's when she told me that she had dumped her BMW for the Mercedes for that very reason.
I was surprised as I thought that Mercedes had a rather bad reputation for problems.
She has had no trouble at all with her Mercedes and doesn't plan to trade it in as it performs so much better than her BMW had.
It did sort of take the wind out of my sails, but so far so good!

 

I'm in the same boat. And will do the same thing when the warranties are up.

Case in point: just had my BMW serviced. I brought it in for an interim oil change between the factory-paid intervals, paying for it out of my pocket. Also for a scratched door sill, which is caused by a known issue from a plug on the bottom of the door that causes the damage. An SIB (service bulletin) explains how to fix it with a redesigned part and new sill, and is covered under warranty. I emailed a copy of the SIB to my SA when I made the appointment. He never acknowledged the email until I showed up for the appointment.. at least then he claimed to remember it, may have been blowing smoke. In any case, he didn't have it he wound up calling me at home after dropping the car and asking me to resend it. Huh? He could have easily looked it up himself! They keep the car an extra day for the parts to come in (I'm in a nice new 328i loaner so I don't care), then they forget to order the replacement plug to keep the sill from getting scratched, so they keep it yet another day. But the part doesn't arrive and I want the car back, so I pick it up. My oil was overfilled by at least a half quart, and my tires had a whopping 43 psi crammed into them. WTF??!! He tells me on the phone that they're inflating ALL tires to 40 psi. I point out to him that this is crazy, Jiffy-Lube-type stuff, and that each car has different pressure requirements. He asks me "what does it say on your sidewalls?". I point out that the figure there is nothing more than max pressure for the tire, and has nothing to do with proper pressure in any individual application. Duh. I had to come back to get the ordered part and have the oil level brought down to the proper level. They just changed it over again (expensive at $12 list per quart for special 10W-60 oil that the S54 uses). I need to check it again, as I don't trust these guys at ALL at this point.

I wouldn't mind (so much) paying dealership prices for service, IF they delivered high-quality, factory-trained, competent service. But too much oil and grossly overinflated tires can be had for 1/3 the price at Jiffy Lube. Not that I'm going there either.

 

Bull! I stand by my statement!
There is no consumer product sold in which the manufactuer/dealer network actually wants to service....name anything sold that does?....Service departments at dealers exist to perform warranty work. Think about it. computers, appliances, cars ....you name it, If any service dept is offered at a dealer it is only because it exists to support warranty work alone! Take a look in any "service dept" and 90+% of the work is warranty work.

The sources of revenue at a dealership goes more like this #1. Extended warranties #2 Leases and Financing #3 Dealer installed accessories #4 Service #5 Used cars #6 new cars....in roughly that order

I don't dispute that it is a significant source of income....but that is from the manufacturer to the dealer....Not from the customer to the dealer. They dont have to try very hard for this work and they get paid from the oem, not the customer. Now, they won't turn you away if you want to bring your non-warranty work in, they will gladly bill you $120/hr but they know that they can't compete with independent mechanics due to their overhead costs and as a result really make no effort to win your non-warranty work as a means of making profit.

In other words....Service is not thier profit making focus at all! They will push you to buy, then push you to finance, then push you to accessorize.....They could care less about whether you return for service.

 

Planeguy, you clearly have never worked in a car dealership....

The #1 source of profit in a car dealership is the parts dept, mostly because their profit is fairly fixed and their chunk of the fixed expenses of the dealership is relatively small, especially if based on the amount of the dealership's real estate they occupy and the number of employees.

The second most profitable is the service dept.....

Most dealerships don't break out the F&I dept from sales, but if they did it would be used cars, new cars then F&I.......

I only worked in the car bidness for 30 years, several of those as GM of a big Porsche dealer in San Diego so don't feel the need to take my word for it......

And while warranty work is a significant chunk of the service dept's income, any dealer that plans to stay in bidness better be making an even more significant amount off of their customer pay work ....which they do.

 

Not to worry. I have found BMW service guys are like lying Bully's. Once you catch them in a lie and stand up to them they straighten right up.

 

And it's not very hard to catch them in a lie because I think its part of their training program. Either that or they filter out the honest people in the interview process.

 

Painting with a rather broad brush here, aren't we?