Well, like many of you guys my car has the clunking transmission, the Harmon Kardon subwoofer rattle, the door rattles, the lack of LED rear view mirror, has a tire with cracks in it, and is now out of alignment. I also had a drive shaft that came separated from the rear differential because Gearhart determined that "the bolts were not torqued properly from the factory." ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS WITH ONLY 3400 miles on my 01 M3.
When I called the dealer to tell them about the drive shaft problem I stated to the service manager that I was upset at the initial quality of my car. "How could a car with 1300 miles have all these problems? (Especially when I thought I had a blown tranny.) He promptly replied watch your attitude and mouth with me young man. So, I apologized like a dignified person would do. However, I didn't think my language was that abrasive and it wasn't directed towards him! He told me that since it was the evening, around 5 pm, that he would not be able to accommodate me with a loaner car. At this point I knew that this service manager, Jerry Burt, was going to be a real pain. When having the car towed to the dealer, the next morning, I was informed that there would not be any loaners available to me and that a rental car would not be paid for until they determined that I didn't cause the problem. How insulting! They attempted to make me out to be guilty before proving so. When I picked the car up it had an additional 30 miles on it that were "road test miles" and the 1200 mile service wasn't done. So, I let it go and figure that it's not worth getting upset over because I am destined to use their services again. I should have realized that they are incompetent scum at this point.
Yesterday, I brought the car in again for the rattles and other miscellaneous problems. The service advisor informed me that they were not busy and that they would have my car fixed 100% by the evening. I was stunned! I was thinking to myself: well, at least they are trying to make up for the bad treatment from the first service visit. That evening, around 5 pm, the service advisor lady called and told me that they got busy and were unable to get to my car. I was not upset because it is pretty unusual for a dealer to fix that many problems in a day! I figured that they would have it done by today at the latest.
Today, I called up the service advisor at 3:30 pm to ask her if my car was ready. I told her that I had to drive several hundred miles and that I knew the dealership's policy stated that they don't approve of their loaner cars being used over 100 miles per day. So, she tells me she has to ask the service manager what the story with my car is. I am then told by her that "the service manager wants you to take your car elsewhere." I'm totally shocked at this statement and tell her that I would like to speak with the service manager. He informs me that since I cursed, several weeks back, that he doesn't want to work on my car. I said "Are you serious?" He replies, "Yeah, we also didn't like the negative evaluation you gave about your service visit." (I was called by a BMW representative a few weeks back and told them that I wasn't 100% satisfied with my service experience.) I asked Mr. Burt "Were my car's problems at least fixed?" He replied "Well Andrew you told the girl about several more problems which you had and we are not able to take care of your nitpicking!" Nitpicking, is this guy out of his mind? A car that I paid close to 60k for, after taxes, should be PERFECT and it's their responsibility to at least attempt to resolve the problems. He then informs me that he is going to road test my car to observe the problems and attempt to work on them before I leave for my trip. At this point in time I am internally very upset and would like to choke this guy. So, I decide to take a little trip to the dealer!
When arriving at the dealer I decide to be polite at first. I ask the service advisor if my car is complete and she tells me to speak to the service manager. He tells me "that our mechanics are completing the 1200 mile service right now and it should be done in 30 minutes." I ask if the rest of the problems had been addressed and he doesn't reply. So, I calmly walk away and wait the anticipated 30 minutes. I walk into his office and politely ask if I can complete the paperwork so that I can get on the road quickly since I have an appointment that is going to take 2 hours to drive to. He tells me that he didn't invite me into his office and that I would have to leave. I say, "You know I have a bone to pick with you." In a hostile tone tells me "I told you get out!" Now growing up in New Jersey with a father from New York, who is a VP in the merger/acquisition division of a large company, I have learned not to take crap from anyone. So, I get enraged and start raising my voice just a bit. LOL I tell this guy "You know your job is to ensure competent work, customer satisfaction, and be a representative of the dealer. Instead of attempting to fix my problems you send me away." He replies "Get out we have enough customers and we don't need you as one!" I reply "You have a lot of nerve you should realize that your future customers are potentially me, my family, friends and acquaintances." (I'm totally yelling at the top of my lungs at this point and don't allow this guy to say anything. If he did, I yelled LOUDER!)
The fellow attempts to discuss the matter in an amiable, impartial fashion. (I'm sure he sees that the veins in my neck are pretty swollen and that I was on the brink of creating a major problem.) So, he discusses the problems and states that he can't discuss the problem without knowing both sides of the story. So, I say fine go ask him his side. He says that it's not worth doing because life is too short to sweat small stuff like this. I said sure it's too short to sweat the small stuff, but when you don't you are destined to loose customers. He said, "Well I can count on one hand how many issues like this we have had." Sure, tell that to my neighbor, friend, and colleague. They have all complained to this dealer about sloppy service! (I keep going back because it's convenient and I figured how hard could fixing a few rattles be.)
In the end, the manager tells me to look around my car and make sure everything is ok. I tell him that it's fine and then open the drivers' door to discover what appeared to be oil smudges on the drivers seat. Fortunately, the stains came right off! Then, I proceed to tell the service manager that I hope he is ready for some trouble because I'm writing letters to BMWNA, the better business bureau, Assa (for you Tri-state people), and posting my complaint all over the internet. I sure hope some fire gets put under this jerks [censored]!!!! Anyway, sorry for such a long post, probably the longest in the boards history, and I hope you have better luck than I have had!
Oh yeah, I still have all of the problems...At least my 1200 mile service was finally done. Unfortunately at 3400 miles.
I am glade it was not me in that situation. I probably would have taken a swing at this guy. I also would have marched down to the sales department and informed them that I was blackballing this dealership because of the service department. I am sure the guy who is making commissions on sales would have taken notice to this piss poor behavior by an employee there.
How many sales has this kind of action cost this dealership? It sure sounds like a lemon car to me.
Every board I've ever been involved with has one or more of these stories posted. For me, it's important to remember that I am seeing only one side of this particular story.
That said, IMHO, the moral of this one (assuming the problems stated are in fact real and a result of poor design / quality control) would be:
Don't ever buy the first year's production of a car.
It's best to wait until the bugs get sorted. Besides, once the initial feeding frenzy passes and supply starts to meet demand, you won't have nearly as much trouble finding a car, and also not have to pay the ubiquitous (these days) "dealer markup" that everyone hates.
Unbelievable
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