What annoys/puts you off most from BMW dealer service?
Discussion
Hey Guys,
I need your help. I work within the BMW dealer network (Senior Tech.) and have done for the past 9 years. In that time I have always given 100% in my job, making sure that the vehicles leave my care as close to perfect as possible and where complications exist this is fully explained to the customer. It therefore gets to me when I hear of many people's bad experiences and worse opinions of main dealer service.
So this is it; I need as many of you as possible to tell me what annoys you most about BMW dealer service and if applicable why you use an independent instead. Now I want to make it clear that I will not benefit from this information or it's use, what I would like though is to arrange some kind of benefit from dealers to Piston Heads members.
Be open and honest everything from dirty loan cars to grubby coffee machines, I want to know.
Thanks in advance.
I need your help. I work within the BMW dealer network (Senior Tech.) and have done for the past 9 years. In that time I have always given 100% in my job, making sure that the vehicles leave my care as close to perfect as possible and where complications exist this is fully explained to the customer. It therefore gets to me when I hear of many people's bad experiences and worse opinions of main dealer service.
So this is it; I need as many of you as possible to tell me what annoys you most about BMW dealer service and if applicable why you use an independent instead. Now I want to make it clear that I will not benefit from this information or it's use, what I would like though is to arrange some kind of benefit from dealers to Piston Heads members.
Be open and honest everything from dirty loan cars to grubby coffee machines, I want to know.
Thanks in advance.
Im a MASTER TECH leaving the dealer network on the 25th to start my own business,which is nice.
Through research there are many reasons for customers being disatisfied ranging from cost,lack of communication when a job is in,not knowing who's working on their vehicle,dirty finger prints,repeat repair,back ordered parts and so on.
Cost and the unknown seem to be quite high on the list...The car clunks,is it about to go flying off the road and will it cost hundreds????Service advisors have a hardest job dealing with this.
The techs do a sterling job behind the scenes its a real shame there are so many in between staff that shield us from the customers and prevent us from building a relationship with the them.
What i tend to do is to meet the customers and road test as many cars with them,talk to them get the fault from them and they intern meet the guy who will look after thier car....its all about reassurance...The cost however is a matter for BMW,we can only follow thier guidlines....
Hope I project this in my own venture ;-)
Through research there are many reasons for customers being disatisfied ranging from cost,lack of communication when a job is in,not knowing who's working on their vehicle,dirty finger prints,repeat repair,back ordered parts and so on.
Cost and the unknown seem to be quite high on the list...The car clunks,is it about to go flying off the road and will it cost hundreds????Service advisors have a hardest job dealing with this.
The techs do a sterling job behind the scenes its a real shame there are so many in between staff that shield us from the customers and prevent us from building a relationship with the them.
What i tend to do is to meet the customers and road test as many cars with them,talk to them get the fault from them and they intern meet the guy who will look after thier car....its all about reassurance...The cost however is a matter for BMW,we can only follow thier guidlines....
Hope I project this in my own venture ;-)
Forza West, i agree with you when you talk about the service advisors having a flippin difficult job.... Alot of the time, they have so much to deal with....
Things can go wrong when there is a communication breakdown between advisors and the technicians....
I`m a technician in North Wales, and every time i get a `problem` job, i always ask to speak to the customer, and get them to demonsrate the fault.... they are only to happy to do this....
Our master technician spends alot of time doing this also, and relays the info to the technians, which gives us the chance to get it right first time....
The thing is, we get a telling off for spending time with the customers, as we need to be efficient on every job we do.... can be annoying, but i would rather suffer a telling off, than have the customer come back 3 or 4 times with same fault! Can make technicians look stupid!
Things can go wrong when there is a communication breakdown between advisors and the technicians....
I`m a technician in North Wales, and every time i get a `problem` job, i always ask to speak to the customer, and get them to demonsrate the fault.... they are only to happy to do this....
Our master technician spends alot of time doing this also, and relays the info to the technians, which gives us the chance to get it right first time....
The thing is, we get a telling off for spending time with the customers, as we need to be efficient on every job we do.... can be annoying, but i would rather suffer a telling off, than have the customer come back 3 or 4 times with same fault! Can make technicians look stupid!
Bad communication. A lot of issues could be solved with a simple phone call or face-to-face chat - which rarely happens...
I put my X5 in today for an oil service and brake fluid renewal. Asked by service advisor "what time I would like to pick the car up?"; "between 4 and 5 pm" I replied... Turned up at 5:05 p.m. to be told the car was "coming off the ramps - be washed and ready for you in 10 minutes"... at 5:45 p.m. I left the waiting area to ask what the heck was happening... Just because they have a TV and free tea and coffee does not mean I want to sit there forever - especially since my better half then had to drive to the dealers to drop the kids off on a way to a meeting that she would otherwise have been late for!!! Grrrr!
I put my X5 in today for an oil service and brake fluid renewal. Asked by service advisor "what time I would like to pick the car up?"; "between 4 and 5 pm" I replied... Turned up at 5:05 p.m. to be told the car was "coming off the ramps - be washed and ready for you in 10 minutes"... at 5:45 p.m. I left the waiting area to ask what the heck was happening... Just because they have a TV and free tea and coffee does not mean I want to sit there forever - especially since my better half then had to drive to the dealers to drop the kids off on a way to a meeting that she would otherwise have been late for!!! Grrrr!
Communication.
Communication IME has been poor between sales (handover issues), service advisors and the workshop. Results in repeated visits, and more wasted time. I gave my car back to them this week for 3 days (which has now turned into 5) to sort it once and for all.
My neighbour went in to have a rattle looked at, he came back a few hours later to find a nicely serviced car, with a rattle.
Communication IME has been poor between sales (handover issues), service advisors and the workshop. Results in repeated visits, and more wasted time. I gave my car back to them this week for 3 days (which has now turned into 5) to sort it once and for all.
My neighbour went in to have a rattle looked at, he came back a few hours later to find a nicely serviced car, with a rattle.
drgav2005 said:
Just because they have a TV and free tea and coffee does not mean I want to sit there forever
- especially when it is tuned to Sky News and repeats every 5 minutes.They are getting better, when I picked the car up when I bought it I was only 3 hours late, now they are getting down to a more reasonable 30 minute delay.
My experience comes from 8 years of owning e34 M5s and using more than one dealer over that period when I've swapped from one to another to 'give them another chance' after receiving assurances things have been changed.
Since I've had my latest E34 M5 it's not been near a dealer. I now use a professional specialist in Darren Farrell in Essex - that's the Essex that's 230 miles from home, that's how much BMW dealers have pissed me off.
1) Lack of communication:
3) Doing unauthorised work:
Since I've had my latest E34 M5 it's not been near a dealer. I now use a professional specialist in Darren Farrell in Essex - that's the Essex that's 230 miles from home, that's how much BMW dealers have pissed me off.
1) Lack of communication:
- You take the car in to replace a timing chain tensioner (i.e. a 1 hour job) and expect to pick it up later that day;
- By 3pm you're getting concerned that the car won't be ready that evening so you call to check;
- You get through to Reception, but Service is busy and they promise to call back;
- By 5pm you're very concerned that you're not getting the car back that evening, so call them back;
- You finally find out the car has not been touched because the 'assigned technician' has gone home sick at lunchtime and they didn't have any capacity to take up his schedule;
- You are promised that the car would be done the next day, but you've got to leave it there all week as you've got to now hire a car to get to your meetings/work in another part of the country;
- Later that same week you arrive home late and don't bother to call the dealer until the next day;
- The next day you call up to find the car is sitting on a ramp with the sump off for the diagnosis of the oil leak I reported;
- Inform the f
kwits that the oil leak was coming from the timing chain tensioner diaphragm as diagnosed initially by themselves; - Finally get car back 12 9 working days after taking it in with a bill for £600 for what should have been £100 tensioner and £100 labour;
- Detail of bill shows they've charged me for the parts & labour for doing the sump gasket;
- Sit in service reception refusing to move until I'd spoken to the dealer principal;
- 3.5 hours later no sign of DP, but service manager settles the bill on the original £200 quote;
- Less than a week later my engine started playing up, and was diagnosed as a stuck/bent valve. Purely coincidence!?!?!
- Valve clearances;
- 'Forgetting' to put oil in;
- 'Forgetting' to put coolant in;
- 'Forgetting' to put oil cap on and ending up blowing oil all over the car;
3) Doing unauthorised work:
- I don't mean an extra £5-£10 for a spare bulb or a wiper, I mean the £600 Inspection II that turns into a £2000 'refurb' of all the suspension, gearbox & engine bushes & mounts after I'd asked them to 'have a look at' a bit of jolting over speed bumps. You don't realise that the parts they're waiting for are actually for the 'jolt' rather than shims for the valve clearances, mainly because they don't tell you.
- Book my car in 3 weeks in advance for work that's going to be expensive and required a couple of days in the shop, book a courtesy car, arrive on the way to work to find there is no courtesy car available and would I be requiring a lift - TO LONDON FROM LIVERPOOL FFS!!!!
- "Your tyres are illegal sir...we can change them for £200 each", when they've still got 6mm on then!
- Same with brake pads, discs, etc.
Another Senior Tech here, communication is the biggest downfall, I always ask to road test with the customer for noises or running problems even if they insist it does it all the time.
A job card with rattle from car on it is no help at all
That communication goes both ways though, we report work as advise sometimes if it is ok at present but probably would need doing soon or before the next service and some Service Advisors miss that and report it as needing doing.
As for the labour rates, well nothing to do with me sorry
A job card with rattle from car on it is no help at all
That communication goes both ways though, we report work as advise sometimes if it is ok at present but probably would need doing soon or before the next service and some Service Advisors miss that and report it as needing doing.
As for the labour rates, well nothing to do with me sorry
This isn't a complaint but it's what sometimes puts me off using my dealer for more complex faults where I dont know whats wrong.
Diagnostics lottery.
I know that it costs them time and money to find out whats wrong with my car but my local indy won't charge me for diagnostics. Whereas with BMW, I have to pay for several hours of labour time before I even know whats wrong and how much its going to cost. This is a complete minefield and means currently I use my main dealer for all servicing and repairs where I know in advance what is wrong and what needs doing but an independant for 'whats that noise'.
Not sure if there is even a way round this but you get the impression you need a blank cheque for fault finding at BMW dealers. At £100+ an hour this is often prohibitive.
Diagnostics lottery.
I know that it costs them time and money to find out whats wrong with my car but my local indy won't charge me for diagnostics. Whereas with BMW, I have to pay for several hours of labour time before I even know whats wrong and how much its going to cost. This is a complete minefield and means currently I use my main dealer for all servicing and repairs where I know in advance what is wrong and what needs doing but an independant for 'whats that noise'.
Not sure if there is even a way round this but you get the impression you need a blank cheque for fault finding at BMW dealers. At £100+ an hour this is often prohibitive.
Unlike the chap above I have no real problem with dealerships so far, except for the uniformly stupid pricing
2 tyres - £380... £100 more expensive than the first place I tried.
Front numberplate - £36 I think they quoted. Are you sure?
Wiper blades - £40 ish. I actually paid that because I couldn't be bothered to shop around.
They quoted me two hundred and fifty something to check tracking and geometry. I mean for f's sake.
But yeah apart from parts cost, mine are generally friendly, helpful and efficient.
2 tyres - £380... £100 more expensive than the first place I tried.
Front numberplate - £36 I think they quoted. Are you sure?
Wiper blades - £40 ish. I actually paid that because I couldn't be bothered to shop around.
They quoted me two hundred and fifty something to check tracking and geometry. I mean for f's sake.
But yeah apart from parts cost, mine are generally friendly, helpful and efficient.
[TW]Fox said:
This isn't a complaint but it's what sometimes puts me off using my dealer for more complex faults where I dont know whats wrong.
Diagnostics lottery.
Whereas with BMW, I have to pay for several hours of labour time before I even know whats wrong and how much its going to cost.
Several hours diagnosis is OTT, our place charges half an hour initial diagnosis occaisionally an hour if you know it involves stripping the car down to get to something, often that can go to two hours of a tech's time, rarely if ever have i seen diagnosis charges over three hours Diagnostics lottery.
Whereas with BMW, I have to pay for several hours of labour time before I even know whats wrong and how much its going to cost.
A minor point, but Sytner High Wycombe charges for use of wi-fi in their waiting area.
Bear in mind that I'll have foregone a courtesy car or home collection in order to have the service done "while I wait", I don't see why I should pay £10 just to use the sodding internet. Put an open WLAN in there.
Bear in mind that I'll have foregone a courtesy car or home collection in order to have the service done "while I wait", I don't see why I should pay £10 just to use the sodding internet. Put an open WLAN in there.
Edited by john_p on Wednesday 9th July 09:30
Problems with BMW dealerships service:
1. Car not actually booked in when turning up for a service pre-booked 2 weeks earlier
2. No loan car available for a service pre-booked with a loan car 3 weeks earlier
3. Tyres quoted at £110 each if in for a service or £70 if you ring up for a quote 2 weeks later
4. Just listening to the bulls**t the service reception guys spout to the customers collecting their cars justifying why they ahve not resolved a problem. Its usually my wife who picks this up as I am looking round the showroom and her technical knowldege is rather limited
1. Car not actually booked in when turning up for a service pre-booked 2 weeks earlier
2. No loan car available for a service pre-booked with a loan car 3 weeks earlier
3. Tyres quoted at £110 each if in for a service or £70 if you ring up for a quote 2 weeks later
4. Just listening to the bulls**t the service reception guys spout to the customers collecting their cars justifying why they ahve not resolved a problem. Its usually my wife who picks this up as I am looking round the showroom and her technical knowldege is rather limited
Having dealers look at any car over 5 years old as an old $hitter, unworthy of the time and effort.
I have worked on 3 cars in the last cupla weeks, a CSi, an 840 and an E34 M5, all at least 9 years old that conditionwise would spank any year old company car that WOULD get all the respect.
Just because an old E30 needs a clutch, does NOT mean its not worth fixing cos the cars only worth £300. Lets see the condition of a brand new E90 in 20-odd years and see if its loved as much!
I have worked on 3 cars in the last cupla weeks, a CSi, an 840 and an E34 M5, all at least 9 years old that conditionwise would spank any year old company car that WOULD get all the respect.
Just because an old E30 needs a clutch, does NOT mean its not worth fixing cos the cars only worth £300. Lets see the condition of a brand new E90 in 20-odd years and see if its loved as much!
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