Hey folks, I don't know how you feel about this thread. Hope this will help us (the owners) and the service team. If everyone can summit their experience with their service here, I think it will be informative and helpful for future references. If you get a bad service, by all means tell us. But if you get a good one, it should also be mentioned. I think it sure beats filling out the service eval forms from MINI. For this to work, participation is key. But let me know if I am wasting my time (I won't be offended). Here it goes....

01/28/04 Made appointment to replace the PCV valve hose because it is soaked with oil. Called Jesse and got the appointment on 1/30, 6:45am.

01/30/04 Got there at 6:40 am. The service rep that met me was Daniel Ahlgrim. Told him the problem, he immediately recognized it and said would replace hose. Asked me if the engine sounded loud. He was gonna send me off to work on a shuttle but I asked if this can be done quick so I can just wait. He called the service tech and ask if the tech could do it right away, and got word that it will be done. Unfortunately, when I pulled in the car lot, the two BMWs in front of me both have dead batteries. Daniel had to scamble to move both cars out of the way. To make the already long story short, my car was done before I could have my latte in the lounge.

Checked the engine at the car lot. Everything looked fine, including the new hose.

I would rate this service an "A" for the tech, even though it is minor. An "A+" for the rep, Daniel, who puts in extra effort.

 

Three cheers for Daniel as he's the new kid on the block! NKOTB? Now can he sing?

George - Glad to hear about your good service experience. I know most of the postings here reflect bad service experiences as that's what really gets people's goat, and of course, they use NAM as their sounding board.

 

hey that's great service...exactly what us owners expect from a bmw dealership.

i've got 2 service logs to report on:

1) mc back in spring '03 sometime for alarm - 4-5 stars. only complaint would be i didn't get an orientation to the alarm, even though it is relatively simple. for instance, it operates on motion and tilt sensor mainly vs. shock/impact sensor. aka's the one who told me to make sure i don't arm the alarm with my windows even partially open because it'll sound off by detecting any outside motion, including pedestrians or leaves blowing by. pretty important info, as i am used to leaving my window slighly open on a hot day.

2) mcs in fall '03 for jcw, alta intake, milltek header, alarm, roof racks - ben 4-5 stars, 2 stars for service techs. ben gave great service - setting up appt, picking up car, ensuring i got all the paperwork/accesories. the actual service techs did a good job on the jcw, header, alarm, roof rack install in that they work. but they did forget to take out the firewall for the alta intake. as a result, the intake had no air coming in, as it derives its air source from the driver's cowl instead of the front air duct. i, therefore, ended up taking the whole intake out to be able to remove the firewall before putting the intake back in, basically redoing exactly what the service techs did. in their defense, i realize that that was probably the first alta intake they had ever done. but there should have been instructions to follow.

now the main complaint...the cat scratches i have immediately under the rear driver's window and the fact that i had to discover this on my own. due to their location directly under the rear driver's roof rack housing as well as their scratch pattern, i can only theorize that they occurred while one of the service techs was screwing down that particular housing. the scratches were at just the right height for an exposed pants button or lower shirt button to rub against the paint while working on the roof. while concentrating on the job at roughly head level, the service tech probably did not realize the damage occurring at waist level until it was far too late. ben did try to resolve the situation, but there was really nothing he could do. an autobody shop worker who happened to be present basically stated that the whole panel would have to be redone, which would cost ~$400-$500. an offer was made to talk to the service manager, but i didn't really want to spend the time and energy to plead my case, especially since i was assured that the scratches were not down to the metal. fortunately, a fellow motorer was able to diminish a bit of the cosmetic sting by machine buffing the scratches, but the scratches do remain in a now-3-month old mcs, which at the time was < 1-month old and in near-pristine condition.

this is all in the past, but now my main concern is...what can i expect in future servicings? am i gonna have to carefully inspect before and after each service to ensure that my car is not damaged or erroneously put back together? i sincerely hope not, especially from a dealership with bmw's reputation for high quality cars.

 

hmmm, shall i cut and paste all my service experiences with ratings?

 

Ok, Ok...I had a good experience too and wanted to share. I needed oil change and was complaining about drivers side window drop and poor gas mileage.

5/8 Noticed i had 50 more miles until scheduled oil change.
5/11Called dealership to make appointment...scheduled for 5/13
5/13 (am) showed up a few minutes early and was immediately greeted by some guy who helped me out of the car. Was greeted and checked in by receptionist. Dan Inches completed my paperwork and before I could turn around to get out of the chair, the driver was waiting to walk me to the shuttle and take me off to work.
5/13 (pm) got call from Dan, says my car is ready and someone will be by to pick me up in 15 minutes. Upon my return, Dan explained some things to me about the window drop and my gas mileage which I will be monitoring for him. He was very thorough and explained things to me in a way easy for me (someone who frequents the word "thingy" in place of any technical term) to understand.

I've never had any bad experiences with the delearship, so I'm glad to have received exceptional service time after time despite what others have experienced. Hopefully things are looking up!

_________________

 

keikilee and I must be thinking about the same thing - I went in for my first “official” visit to MofH and was thinking about ghui’s old post about dealer service experiences.

On Friday morning my airbag warning light came on, and since I had my 10,000 mile oil change coming soon, I called in the afternoon. Daniel A. was my SA and got me in for the next day. He was very accommodating and gave me choices of many time slots. I set-up my appointment for 8:45 AM the following day.

I got to the dealer late but the service people who directed me to Daniel were very cordial. Check-in was pleasant and Daniel asked the right questions and I saw my car being picked-up by the technician. Daniel asked if I needed a ride and I said I needed to be dropped-off at Ward Center. I was talking to Randy A. and did not notice the shuttle arrive, however, Daniel came to get me. The shuttle driver was even cordial!

So my car was getting : 1) oil change, 2) airbag light investigated, 3) switch-out the PCV hose I put-in myself temporarily, 4) tighten and add missing nuts for supercharger scoop, and 5) Daniel noticed that my car had a power steering fan diode flagged in the computer system.

I was promised a 4 PM time but was told it might be ready around 12:30. My car was not ready early but luckily the_beastmaster picked me up at Borders and we headed for MofH. My car ended-up taking until around 4:30 but we bumped into keikilee at dealer and Darryl allowed us to hang-out there and BS (hope we didn’t slow down sales!).

Overall my first dealings with the service department was great. I guess if I had to be nit-picky I’d say I wish I was kept more up-to-date on the status of car. Also, I was under the assumption that wiper blades were also changed during first oil change – should’ve ask.

 

>> Also, I was under the assumption that wiper blades were also changed during first oil change – should’ve ask.
>>

Glad you had a decent experience..... for a first time, that is :smile:

 

i recently had my mini in for fixing of the rack and pinion leak on the driver's side. came in first thing saturday. was helped by tony. and he had me off on the shuttle to my conference at the kahala mandarin oriental. no probs. estimated completion time was 3-4 pm.

at ~3pm, i gave tony a call to check on the status. he checked and called back promptly to give me the bad news...that it'd take until monday to finish as an alignment needed to be done due to the sub-frame being removed to get to the leak. unfortunately, their alignment machine was geared for stock wheels and i only had my asa's on. so tony said they'd borrow some stock wheels to throw on and do the alignment after everything was about done.

so i picked up my mini late monday with no probs. tony even made sure that although he would be gone by the time i picked up my mini, i would be taken care of by one of the other sa's, stacy i believe. all went smooth.

my brother also had his mini in for a busted driver's door that wouldn't open all the way. he actually put this off for at least a few months due to his tight schedule and some hassles with getting transportation. he was a bit displeased with the fact that he came back at the estimated completion time but was forced to hang out for another 1-2 hours when his mini was not done in time. he thought that the service dept should overestimate rather than underestimate the completion times, as he wasted a few hours of work by hanging out at the service dept. he wouldn't have minded staying at the office a few more hours just to make sure his mini was done. at least that way he could make more efficient use of his time, instead of waiting around killing time.

if i had anything to complain about, it would probably be the same...i'd rather come in a few hours later and have my mini done earlier than expected, instead of coming in and having to wait due to my mini being done later than expected.

but still i was satisfied with my most recent service experience.

 

seems like things are getting better at the dealership.

i remember always having to call to check up on my car. often, the work wasn't completed on time or i was told that i would have to come back. a better system might be for the service dept to look at the car within 1 hour of drop-off and if it's something they can fix in one day and all the required parts are in stock, they should tell you so...otherwise, they can order the parts and another appt can be made when the parts arrive (of course, for any problems that aren't potentially dangerous). i think this would save a lot of time for everyone. my 2cents.

>>
>>if i had anything to complain about, it would probably be the same...i'd rather come in a few hours later and have my mini done earlier than expected, instead of coming in and having to wait due to my mini being done later than expected.
>>

 

That is a very good system. I believe Lexus of Hawaii uses that system as I was with a friend and she got a call that her car would not be done that day as parts needed to be ordered. They assured her it would not affect the safety or driveability of the car and that it could be picked up. They asked her if she needed a ride but declined as I could drop her off. This call came within 1 hour of dropping off the car and while we were having breakfast.

 

Hey...another gold star for MINI of Hawaii and BMW Service Department.

Lately I've been noticing that my powersteering has gotten incredibly loud. I also notice this morning that when I turn the wheel hard, i feel it start to skip. So, I called to make an appointment but earliest they could squeeze me in (due to my own time constraints) is Friday morning. In the mean time, the noise is really bothering me. So after work, I stopped by MoH and asked Darrel if he had a few minutes to listen. He did, and mentioned that it did seem louder, but that we should verify against another MINI. We checked out new MINI and mine was indeed much louder. Darrel then took it upon himself to check the fluid level and found that it was low. He hurried me to pull up into the service driveway so that he could get me some fluid. In the mean time, a Service Advisor (I don't know his name) came out to make sure I was being helped. He inspected my MINI for leaks and waited with me until Darrel came back with fluid and rag in hand. Both of them had a tag team thing going on...pouring...checking...fetching more fluid...and thoroughly explained to me what I was experiencing, the possible problem, and what to look for so that I can be prepared for my Friday appointment.

The noise is back to it's normal level....and I'm as happy as can be! I'm keeping my appointment on Friday just so that they can look into why my fluid level was so low in the first place.

Many thanks go out to Darrel and the nameless Service Advisor for going out of their way to help me today! I feel soooo special!

 

I'm glad things are getting better for you. However, at the HMMC meet, there seemed to be a few participants that are still having problems with MINI of Hawaii service. There was one person that took his MCS in for service 7 times and his problem is still not fixed.

That reminds me, I have to take my BMW in because it is being recalled for a faulty front suspension.

 

wow. seems like awesome service now. as for a re-occuring problem not being fixed after 7 attempts....

there were 2 irritating aspects i noticed while owning and going into service numerous times with my past mini. customer service and repair service.

1) the wait when you drop off the vehicle (customer service). go to appt early, wait til 15+ minutes past appt for the car to be checked in.

sounds like this has been addressed as of late and if they greet you instantly when you drop it off, i tip my hat(if i wore one) off to them. voices have been heard.

2) the quality of actual repair service. well, this still seems to be up in the air. this boils down to the techs that they have working there. if they remember to tighten this and that. if they don't scratch your interior or shiny MINI horn button.

keep these posts going. good and not so good.

b

 

1 step forward, 2 steps back. Doesn't seem like Shelly BMW in Buena Park is doing too well. Now something is happening with BMW of Honolulu.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...43#post2458743

 

woah...just read that post. for the lazy folks, i've cut and pasted the post here:

Judging from my father's experience BMW of Honolulu are a bunch of lying crooks. If these same people own the dealership this fellow had a problem at I'm not surprised. I would not let them get away with this if I were you. Seek recourse through BMW NA and also instigate legal action.

BTW, BMW of Honolulu can expect problems, it doesn't pay to get caught lying through your teeth by an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
__________________
-Harvey

 

No word yet on the probs with BMW of Honolulu. When my friend gets back to me I'll post the info.

 

You Guys!!!! This was supposed to be a happy thread! Don't rain on our parade!

Post junk stuff in the "other" thread, please.

Thanks!

 

Another thing I'd like to see them change the way their service dept. keep their appointment on time. If you called in for appointment and told you to bring-in certain time, mechanic supposed to work on your car right then not 4-6 hours later. Waited 7 hours to check serviced light??????

 

Happy? Did someone say Happy thread? This isn't a happy thread :smile: :smile: :smile: , but a MoH Service Incidence Log. As such, it can be good or bad comments. When comments are bad, hopefully, the dealership will take it as constructive criticism instead of pooh poohing things, saying the customer is being unreasonable and being reactionary and "outing" the writer.

Don't rain on your parade? I heard about your karaoke skills. Hopefully, you can sing it as well as Latoya London! If so, you would be our HMMC Idol!

 

umm, correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems like the point of this thread was to "submit (not summit) their experience.....if you get bad service, by all means tell us." and same goes for the good stuff.

 

dang...I didn't even read the first part! well, the thread was pretty pleasant for several posts...I was hoping this would be the "happy" (no, not that happy) thread...but maybe not. My apologies, carry on!

 

Okay, I found out about what happened on the BMW side. This guy paid a $hitload of money to have his Inspection 2 done on his BMW and then his dash lights up a few days later with these warning lights. He takes it back and the tech tells him he has a few broken parts that need to be repaired on his car. He asks the tech if these parts break all of a sudden or over a period of time. The answer was over a period of time. He then asks if these parts could possibly break within a few days. The answer was no. Then the tech was asked if these problems would show up in an Inspection 2. The answer was yes.

So, either the dealer did not do a complete Inspection 2 on the car and charged the customer for it, or whoever did the Inspection 2 on the vehicle did a half a$$ job.

 

so is there really a pending lawsuit by an assistant u.s. attorney?

what is an Inspection 2?

 

I believe legal proceedings are pending, possibly on a fraud statute.

As for Inspection 2, it pretty much covers everything that can wear or break on your car. Go to this site for Inspection 1 and 2 specs. I believe MINI also uses the same inspection procedures.

www.bimmerzone.com/inspection.htm

 

Latest news is that the BMW owner has spoken to other people who have been unhappy about service at the local dealer and the possibility worked was charged for, but never delivered. They may be filing suit as a group.