What annoys/puts you off most from BMW dealer service?
Discussion
How about not doing the job properly?
Going back a few years now my Z3M went in for VANOS (under warranty) and to sort the aircon (new condensor, stone hole so not under warranty). Eventually get the car back as they had to fit two VANOS units as the first one was faulty (impressed they did it to be honest).
Anyway a week later I was under the car doing an oil change and spotted a dangling hose clip on a pipe (breather to the airbox) and low and behold the pipe was dangling off. It's a good job it wasn't important.
What totally p*sses me off is you pay a stupid amount in labour rates and get crap workmanship. Hey we all make mistakes but don't jobs get checked over at the end even by the mechanic doing it?
Don't get me wrong it's not just BMW, I had the same problems when I had my Mits Evo 6 back in 2000. I was charged for stuff they clearly never did and they only took it off after I complained (had that with a Vauxhall dealership many moons ago too). I even had to explain how to fix a problem at one point because their supposedly Ralliart trained techs didn't have a clue and wasted a few days getting the head Ralliart guy down only for him to agree with me...I wouldn't mind but I'm not exactly a professionally trained mechanic just a hobbist and I knew more than them! Eventually I found a decent dealer but had to travel 120 mile round trip to get my servicing and repairs done properly (Brighton Mitsubishi incidentally, top guys and still are, they even explained the previous stuff I got charged for was a well known industry con).
I'm afraid, in general, there are too many bad dealerships out there in one way shape or form. I never go to a main dealer unless I have to because of a warranty which, luckily, I haven't had to for ages. There are some gems but few and far between, if you find them stick to them but if some people leave then even they can go downhill. In my opinion if you purely want a decent job done for a decent price it's far better to go to a small, recommended independent, at least they don't need a manufacturers badge to prop their reputation up.
Going back a few years now my Z3M went in for VANOS (under warranty) and to sort the aircon (new condensor, stone hole so not under warranty). Eventually get the car back as they had to fit two VANOS units as the first one was faulty (impressed they did it to be honest).
Anyway a week later I was under the car doing an oil change and spotted a dangling hose clip on a pipe (breather to the airbox) and low and behold the pipe was dangling off. It's a good job it wasn't important.
What totally p*sses me off is you pay a stupid amount in labour rates and get crap workmanship. Hey we all make mistakes but don't jobs get checked over at the end even by the mechanic doing it?
Don't get me wrong it's not just BMW, I had the same problems when I had my Mits Evo 6 back in 2000. I was charged for stuff they clearly never did and they only took it off after I complained (had that with a Vauxhall dealership many moons ago too). I even had to explain how to fix a problem at one point because their supposedly Ralliart trained techs didn't have a clue and wasted a few days getting the head Ralliart guy down only for him to agree with me...I wouldn't mind but I'm not exactly a professionally trained mechanic just a hobbist and I knew more than them! Eventually I found a decent dealer but had to travel 120 mile round trip to get my servicing and repairs done properly (Brighton Mitsubishi incidentally, top guys and still are, they even explained the previous stuff I got charged for was a well known industry con).
I'm afraid, in general, there are too many bad dealerships out there in one way shape or form. I never go to a main dealer unless I have to because of a warranty which, luckily, I haven't had to for ages. There are some gems but few and far between, if you find them stick to them but if some people leave then even they can go downhill. In my opinion if you purely want a decent job done for a decent price it's far better to go to a small, recommended independent, at least they don't need a manufacturers badge to prop their reputation up.
Two things from the last service....
1) Having paid near on £900 for a service, the car didnt even look like it had been in the garage. It was apparently washed (didnt look like it to me) and it certainly didnt get a vac out. The previous service at a dealer just down the road left my car like new! When I queried this, I was told to get the car valetted and send in the invoice "for say, 10-15 quid". Cheers then.
2) The assumption that as you have a nice car you'll happily pay "whatever" to keep it in tip top shape. After above service, I was angry at the service I had recieved but was a pacified a little when I say I had a 1ltr bottle of oil on the back seat, in a nice carry case. Nice touch, I thought....until I realised I'd been charged £16 for it!
I think that might be a one off. Other dealers I've used have been a lot better and the place above wont be getting my custom again.
1) Having paid near on £900 for a service, the car didnt even look like it had been in the garage. It was apparently washed (didnt look like it to me) and it certainly didnt get a vac out. The previous service at a dealer just down the road left my car like new! When I queried this, I was told to get the car valetted and send in the invoice "for say, 10-15 quid". Cheers then.
2) The assumption that as you have a nice car you'll happily pay "whatever" to keep it in tip top shape. After above service, I was angry at the service I had recieved but was a pacified a little when I say I had a 1ltr bottle of oil on the back seat, in a nice carry case. Nice touch, I thought....until I realised I'd been charged £16 for it!
I think that might be a one off. Other dealers I've used have been a lot better and the place above wont be getting my custom again.
I have a 'Forces import' 330ci bought from a Midlands BMW dealer with excellent customer service and my wife's Mini Cooper bought new from my local SE dealer.
They were happy to service the 330 but became a bit snobby when I was considering changing to a convertible so I have kept it anyway.
They always did a collect and deliver and apart from one spurious wiper replacement I was pretty happy.
BUT
The Mini was OK and the only issues I had were a floppy glove box and a badly fitting hatch lock that were both fixed.
Then it started stalling every time the temperature was 3C or under in the morning. The only way to get it moving for the first mile was to rev it to 4k and slip the clutch or it just stalled but restarted OK.
They had the car for a week but insisted that there was nothing wrong with it as their computer said it was OK and I even drove over to show them what happened but they still insisted it was perfectly OK as the computer said so.
Then cam the final straw (after a repeat of the wiper issue and low oil was claimed)- I was told that my wife and I effectively couldn't drive and it was out fault that it was stalling!!!!!
I have not been back to the place since and will have absolutely nothing to do with them any more and go to an independent with the right attitude.
PS they also denied damaging a perfect rim when they changed a run-flat for me but eventually grudgingly repaired it as a 'gesture of goodwill'. It was obviously not kerb damage as it was right into the tyre part of the rim but the attitude remained.
They were happy to service the 330 but became a bit snobby when I was considering changing to a convertible so I have kept it anyway.
They always did a collect and deliver and apart from one spurious wiper replacement I was pretty happy.
BUT
The Mini was OK and the only issues I had were a floppy glove box and a badly fitting hatch lock that were both fixed.
Then it started stalling every time the temperature was 3C or under in the morning. The only way to get it moving for the first mile was to rev it to 4k and slip the clutch or it just stalled but restarted OK.
They had the car for a week but insisted that there was nothing wrong with it as their computer said it was OK and I even drove over to show them what happened but they still insisted it was perfectly OK as the computer said so.
Then cam the final straw (after a repeat of the wiper issue and low oil was claimed)- I was told that my wife and I effectively couldn't drive and it was out fault that it was stalling!!!!!
I have not been back to the place since and will have absolutely nothing to do with them any more and go to an independent with the right attitude.
PS they also denied damaging a perfect rim when they changed a run-flat for me but eventually grudgingly repaired it as a 'gesture of goodwill'. It was obviously not kerb damage as it was right into the tyre part of the rim but the attitude remained.
Probably the most annoying thing is the variability of service dlievery. One time they'll be brillant, can't do enough to help. Then another time hopeless.
My car went back 3 times to replace a seat knob, and is going back again to replace a piece of trim. hopeless. But when I wanted some better bulbs put in they did it there and then, no charge. Excellent.
Ordered some mats recently. Well, not that recently actually, must be a couple of months ago.
Collect and deliver influenced my buying decision, esp as so many dealers now are at out of town sites.
Service package is good value £190 for 5 years I think. Almost makes up for being misled over the finance.
My car went back 3 times to replace a seat knob, and is going back again to replace a piece of trim. hopeless. But when I wanted some better bulbs put in they did it there and then, no charge. Excellent.
Ordered some mats recently. Well, not that recently actually, must be a couple of months ago.
Collect and deliver influenced my buying decision, esp as so many dealers now are at out of town sites.
Service package is good value £190 for 5 years I think. Almost makes up for being misled over the finance.
fixedwheelnut said:
[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.
What puts me off?
High prices, incompetence and downright arrogance.
I can think of a lot of things but the two that stick out most, from recently, are as follows.
1: Headlamp unit full of condensation from when the car was new. During all the years that the car was under warranty nothing was made of this. When I had the extended warranty with 'MOT Insurance' nothing was made of it. The first year I gave up on the warranty because the renewal fee had gone into the stratosphere I was told the headlamp was a fail item at the MOT and that it would have to be changed. Funny how it was always a pass item when they had to pay for it but a fail item as soon as I had to pay for it. I argued the toss and they eventually said they'd just charge labour. Anyway, the new unit was just as full of condensation as the old one. I suspect they charge me labour for fitting a new one and just left the old one in.
2: Advisory on MOT saying 'rear brake pipes slightly corroded'. After the previous year's headlamp fiasco I took the car outside to a trusted specialist for this seeing to. What the BMW main dealer stated were 'slightly corroded brake pipes' actually turned out to be disintegrating and fell apart when they were being removed. Incidentally, I got the headlamp through that year by sitting in the car park at the main dealer for an hour with the engine running and the bulbs removed to let as much heat as possible into the units. This year my car didn't have its MOT within the BMW dealer network.
I also think that diagnostic work should only be charged for if they succeed in finding a fault. If you walked into a shop and asked for a pair of shoes in a specific size and the assistant couldn't find any in the stock room you would be able to leave the shop without handing over any money, so why do you have to pay a garage for failing to find a fault?
High prices, incompetence and downright arrogance.
I can think of a lot of things but the two that stick out most, from recently, are as follows.
1: Headlamp unit full of condensation from when the car was new. During all the years that the car was under warranty nothing was made of this. When I had the extended warranty with 'MOT Insurance' nothing was made of it. The first year I gave up on the warranty because the renewal fee had gone into the stratosphere I was told the headlamp was a fail item at the MOT and that it would have to be changed. Funny how it was always a pass item when they had to pay for it but a fail item as soon as I had to pay for it. I argued the toss and they eventually said they'd just charge labour. Anyway, the new unit was just as full of condensation as the old one. I suspect they charge me labour for fitting a new one and just left the old one in.
2: Advisory on MOT saying 'rear brake pipes slightly corroded'. After the previous year's headlamp fiasco I took the car outside to a trusted specialist for this seeing to. What the BMW main dealer stated were 'slightly corroded brake pipes' actually turned out to be disintegrating and fell apart when they were being removed. Incidentally, I got the headlamp through that year by sitting in the car park at the main dealer for an hour with the engine running and the bulbs removed to let as much heat as possible into the units. This year my car didn't have its MOT within the BMW dealer network.
I also think that diagnostic work should only be charged for if they succeed in finding a fault. If you walked into a shop and asked for a pair of shoes in a specific size and the assistant couldn't find any in the stock room you would be able to leave the shop without handing over any money, so why do you have to pay a garage for failing to find a fault?
Indeed, the whats that noise thing someone mentioned is true, I had a knocking noise from the suspension, turned out to be a "drop link" I would probbably be charged 30 mins labout to find fault, 30 mins fitting and the part on top, probbably £130?
Communication - Xenon headlamps levelling low all the time making night driving impossible, call BMW dealer and tell them the problem, car comes back with the lamps realigned, I asked how do they stop bieng aligned "oh they do that because of bumps in the road", oh well if it was a level sensor they would have checked that on diagnostics, driving home it wasn't actually much better drove it around for a couple of weeks, I managed to obtain my own diagnostics system in the meantime and checked fault codes - the level sensor was broke, turns out my car was booked in specifically for headlamp alignment rather than finding out why the hell they are messed up. Dealer wasnt interested and said fault probbably occured after they had seen it!!! Couldn't really be bothered to chase this one up as I got the work done at an independent. I ended up paying £60 odd at another BMW dealer to get them realigned properly because they had been messed up my the other dealer.
Dodgy pricing - Called my local dealer to get that headlamp alignment done after the sensor was replaced "how much will it cost?" It depends on how long it takes was the response!! Seriously? Do you not have book times for these jobs? Another one, I called up for a quote on some work £40 was the price which I thought was reasonable downside was it was a 50 mile return journey, I was saving a good £30-40 on the next quote, so it was worth it.
I drive 25 miles, drop the car off, get the rental car and go about my day, I go to collect the car and get faced with a bill of around £65, not happy I question the bill, oh you were quoted incorrectly, I asked who gave the quote and apparently he was away at training. Essentially they were somehow making it out to be his fault, as though he was a 3rd party and not in any way affiliated with the Dealership, when in fact it's his fault which also meant its YOUR fault(as an organisation). As I was in a rush at the time, I had to get going so didn't bother taking the point further, they gave me the invoice in a little wallet, the wallet said "Are you 100% satisfied?" hell no I thought there was a phone number of the service manager, I called him and he said some rubbish, I can't even remember what he said. I therefore decided to email the dealer principal, the service manger (the guy i just spoke to) and BMW in Bracknell.
I recieve a response with BMW in bracknell with the usual sorry to hear that I am also communicating with the DP on your behalf he should respond etc etc.
A few weeks pass, no response from either of the other 2 goons. I reply to the email from bracknell saying noone has contacted me. Another response saying sorry this and that.
A few weeks later I recieve a cheque in the post for £25odd and a compliments slip, no letter, no explanation nothing. I thought it was pretty substandard, they could at least say sorry about it etc etc.
Oh well, won't be going there again, luckily I have found a dealer 25 miles away in lincoln who seem to have excellent everything, so will visit them from now on (their showroom is amazing!)
I am sure I could muster up more stuff, like mechanics thrashing customers cars in a car park (doing a burnout) but I will save that for another time.
Communication - Xenon headlamps levelling low all the time making night driving impossible, call BMW dealer and tell them the problem, car comes back with the lamps realigned, I asked how do they stop bieng aligned "oh they do that because of bumps in the road", oh well if it was a level sensor they would have checked that on diagnostics, driving home it wasn't actually much better drove it around for a couple of weeks, I managed to obtain my own diagnostics system in the meantime and checked fault codes - the level sensor was broke, turns out my car was booked in specifically for headlamp alignment rather than finding out why the hell they are messed up. Dealer wasnt interested and said fault probbably occured after they had seen it!!! Couldn't really be bothered to chase this one up as I got the work done at an independent. I ended up paying £60 odd at another BMW dealer to get them realigned properly because they had been messed up my the other dealer.
Dodgy pricing - Called my local dealer to get that headlamp alignment done after the sensor was replaced "how much will it cost?" It depends on how long it takes was the response!! Seriously? Do you not have book times for these jobs? Another one, I called up for a quote on some work £40 was the price which I thought was reasonable downside was it was a 50 mile return journey, I was saving a good £30-40 on the next quote, so it was worth it.
I drive 25 miles, drop the car off, get the rental car and go about my day, I go to collect the car and get faced with a bill of around £65, not happy I question the bill, oh you were quoted incorrectly, I asked who gave the quote and apparently he was away at training. Essentially they were somehow making it out to be his fault, as though he was a 3rd party and not in any way affiliated with the Dealership, when in fact it's his fault which also meant its YOUR fault(as an organisation). As I was in a rush at the time, I had to get going so didn't bother taking the point further, they gave me the invoice in a little wallet, the wallet said "Are you 100% satisfied?" hell no I thought there was a phone number of the service manager, I called him and he said some rubbish, I can't even remember what he said. I therefore decided to email the dealer principal, the service manger (the guy i just spoke to) and BMW in Bracknell.
I recieve a response with BMW in bracknell with the usual sorry to hear that I am also communicating with the DP on your behalf he should respond etc etc.
A few weeks pass, no response from either of the other 2 goons. I reply to the email from bracknell saying noone has contacted me. Another response saying sorry this and that.
A few weeks later I recieve a cheque in the post for £25odd and a compliments slip, no letter, no explanation nothing. I thought it was pretty substandard, they could at least say sorry about it etc etc.
Oh well, won't be going there again, luckily I have found a dealer 25 miles away in lincoln who seem to have excellent everything, so will visit them from now on (their showroom is amazing!)
I am sure I could muster up more stuff, like mechanics thrashing customers cars in a car park (doing a burnout) but I will save that for another time.
Unfortunately I've never had great service from any of the big posh BMW dealers I've used.
The bigest thing that winds me up it that they rely on a computer to tell them what is wrong and seem incapable of common sense good old-fashioned diagnostics!
Next issue is they always leave you waiting around for ages in their posh coffee shop, but I just want to get to work!
Last year I took the mini into BMW Bolton for a service covered under the TLC package. When I got it back I noticed the car was misfiring under acceleration. I took it back he next day and they "plugged it in" which showed an electrical issue, but didn't identify the issue. Eventually they changed all the plugs - still didn't fix the problem, so then they said I'd have to start paying for diagnostics. A mate in the trade suggested a mobile BMW specialist - he had a computer which he plugged in, but when it wasn't reporting the exact problem, he USED HIS EYES and pointed out that one of the HT leads was slightly discoloured. I ordered the lead for about £12 and fitted it in 2 mins. They wanted to charge me 30mins labour to change it!! They never washed the car either cos the valet guy was ill.
When I bought my used 325ti Sport from Castle in York I had to take it back twice to get problems they had promised to sort before I took delivery - guess this meant they could claim the money back on the warranty rather than from their sale margin.
When one of the hatch struts broke, the BMW dealer in Stockport (before it moved) managed to put the strut on up-side-down - FFS! Make you wonder if they can't get that right....
I suspect they charge you £100 per hour, even if they have the YTS numpty working on your car.
Best service I've had was at the BMW dealer at Bluebells Altrincham - it's BMW Approved but only sells secondhand Beemers and charges A LOT less than other BMW dealers - difference is you don't get a free courtesy car or a valet, but for £200 less for an Inspection II I can cope with that! Because it's not a flashy dealership there is no BS.
I hate to think how less car literate peeps get on...
The bigest thing that winds me up it that they rely on a computer to tell them what is wrong and seem incapable of common sense good old-fashioned diagnostics!
Next issue is they always leave you waiting around for ages in their posh coffee shop, but I just want to get to work!
Last year I took the mini into BMW Bolton for a service covered under the TLC package. When I got it back I noticed the car was misfiring under acceleration. I took it back he next day and they "plugged it in" which showed an electrical issue, but didn't identify the issue. Eventually they changed all the plugs - still didn't fix the problem, so then they said I'd have to start paying for diagnostics. A mate in the trade suggested a mobile BMW specialist - he had a computer which he plugged in, but when it wasn't reporting the exact problem, he USED HIS EYES and pointed out that one of the HT leads was slightly discoloured. I ordered the lead for about £12 and fitted it in 2 mins. They wanted to charge me 30mins labour to change it!! They never washed the car either cos the valet guy was ill.
When I bought my used 325ti Sport from Castle in York I had to take it back twice to get problems they had promised to sort before I took delivery - guess this meant they could claim the money back on the warranty rather than from their sale margin.
When one of the hatch struts broke, the BMW dealer in Stockport (before it moved) managed to put the strut on up-side-down - FFS! Make you wonder if they can't get that right....
I suspect they charge you £100 per hour, even if they have the YTS numpty working on your car.
Best service I've had was at the BMW dealer at Bluebells Altrincham - it's BMW Approved but only sells secondhand Beemers and charges A LOT less than other BMW dealers - difference is you don't get a free courtesy car or a valet, but for £200 less for an Inspection II I can cope with that! Because it's not a flashy dealership there is no BS.
I hate to think how less car literate peeps get on...
Couple of things - I had a minor problem with the turbo on my 520d which I reported at the service. They plugged in the computer for diagnostics and reported no problem. This meant I had to re book and get a technician to test drive it with me in the car to find the fault. There is a tendancy to just go with what the computer says instead of looking at the car.
Secondly - virtually every time I take the car in I am advised that the wipers need changing, last time I'd only had them on for a couple of months. This really makes me doubt the integrity of the dealer. I also agree with the communication points - one instance in particular when my car was not ready when it should've been, they told me at about 5.55pm that it would have to be in for an extra day - not acceptable.
My other cars have mainly been Audi's and in general they offer a better level of service. Having said that BMW are still a million times better than Alfa (though as TG say - everyone should try on... a better challenge would've been to try and get a 147 headlight bulb changed!)
Secondly - virtually every time I take the car in I am advised that the wipers need changing, last time I'd only had them on for a couple of months. This really makes me doubt the integrity of the dealer. I also agree with the communication points - one instance in particular when my car was not ready when it should've been, they told me at about 5.55pm that it would have to be in for an extra day - not acceptable.
My other cars have mainly been Audi's and in general they offer a better level of service. Having said that BMW are still a million times better than Alfa (though as TG say - everyone should try on... a better challenge would've been to try and get a 147 headlight bulb changed!)
noisebox said:
Couple of things - I had a minor problem with the turbo on my 520d which I reported at the service. They plugged in the computer for diagnostics and reported no problem. This meant I had to re book and get a technician to test drive it with me in the car to find the fault. There is a tendancy to just go with what the computer says instead of looking at the car.
Secondly - virtually every time I take the car in I am advised that the wipers need changing, last time I'd only had them on for a couple of months. This really makes me doubt the integrity of the dealer. I also agree with the communication points - one instance in particular when my car was not ready when it should've been, they told me at about 5.55pm that it would have to be in for an extra day - not acceptable.
My other cars have mainly been Audi's and in general they offer a better level of service. Having said that BMW are still a million times better than Alfa (though as TG say - everyone should try on... a better challenge would've been to try and get a 147 headlight bulb changed!)
Indeed, comparing BMW to more "common" brands like vauxhall and ford make it a stark contrast!Secondly - virtually every time I take the car in I am advised that the wipers need changing, last time I'd only had them on for a couple of months. This really makes me doubt the integrity of the dealer. I also agree with the communication points - one instance in particular when my car was not ready when it should've been, they told me at about 5.55pm that it would have to be in for an extra day - not acceptable.
My other cars have mainly been Audi's and in general they offer a better level of service. Having said that BMW are still a million times better than Alfa (though as TG say - everyone should try on... a better challenge would've been to try and get a 147 headlight bulb changed!)
I called up 4 vauxhall dealers, and every one of them sounded like they were doing me a favour by taking my car in for a service, they were also asking over £200 for a 1st service, which is no more than oil and filters, who the hell buys vauxhalls with their own money?
Computer says no so... **** off!!!
But we've replaced the wipers.
This is all getting sadly repetitive and seems to be way too common.
Just to take it away from BMW - I had VW Golf V6 4motion that had a suspension recall.
Left it with the dealer for the day (with loan car provided) and was told it wasn't one of those affected.
3 weeks later I was told to take it back in as so few were necessary they would do them all.
Back in again, loan car provided, but when I got back was told they have now ordered the parts and I will have to bring it back.
Took it back again then had a call saying they had only provided rear units and not the front aswell.
Took it back again when all four units were in but later told they hadn't got a spring compression kit for the Audi chassis on the 4motion and there weren't any in the south east, even at their own group Audi workshops.
Sold it two weeks later and bought a BMW and even with mine and others comments above on attitude, I am more than happy to have made the switch but niow use an Indie as the BMW and Mini are both 5+ years old.
But we've replaced the wipers.
This is all getting sadly repetitive and seems to be way too common.
Just to take it away from BMW - I had VW Golf V6 4motion that had a suspension recall.
Left it with the dealer for the day (with loan car provided) and was told it wasn't one of those affected.
3 weeks later I was told to take it back in as so few were necessary they would do them all.
Back in again, loan car provided, but when I got back was told they have now ordered the parts and I will have to bring it back.
Took it back again then had a call saying they had only provided rear units and not the front aswell.
Took it back again when all four units were in but later told they hadn't got a spring compression kit for the Audi chassis on the 4motion and there weren't any in the south east, even at their own group Audi workshops.
Sold it two weeks later and bought a BMW and even with mine and others comments above on attitude, I am more than happy to have made the switch but niow use an Indie as the BMW and Mini are both 5+ years old.
Cost is probably the main factor, independants are just so much cheaper for the same jobs.
Over exagerating time to do the jobs, hence raising the price. I needed a headlamp washer telescopic unit replacing, can't remember how long the dealer said it would take at vast amounts per hour, but I did it myself with limited tools in half the quoted time and I was just working it out as I went along.
When I first got my 330 I went to BMW for a quote for an inspection 2 service, no joke it took 35 minutes to get a price. When taking cars to the local mercedes garage they always had a board up in service reception with prices for the various services. According to the lady that quoted me at BMW, every option makes a difference to price, I fail to see how it being a sport or an se effects the price for a service.
Another gripe which stops me using my main dealers is that they now charge a fee to borrow a car, apparently to cover insurance admin fee's. I'm sure they don't actually have to do anything regarding the insurance as their trade policy would surely cover this. Even if it is for this reason, with the prices they are charging already for any work they could clearly absorb this cost. It's only about £10 or so, but the value isn't really the point.
The one time I did use them as my local independant were fully booked, was to have a camshaft position sensor replaced, a quick and easy job, which was done quickly and communication was great, went to pick up the car that evening and it had been 'cleaned' by the looks of it, with a scouring pad. 'Must of been like that when you dropped it off' was the response I got, it really wasn't.
Also being quite young, I find that the staff are very dismissive until they realise that I have actually got a BMW, I'm sure they get a lot of time wasters, but I'd rather they found out first before being rude/ignorant.
Over exagerating time to do the jobs, hence raising the price. I needed a headlamp washer telescopic unit replacing, can't remember how long the dealer said it would take at vast amounts per hour, but I did it myself with limited tools in half the quoted time and I was just working it out as I went along.
When I first got my 330 I went to BMW for a quote for an inspection 2 service, no joke it took 35 minutes to get a price. When taking cars to the local mercedes garage they always had a board up in service reception with prices for the various services. According to the lady that quoted me at BMW, every option makes a difference to price, I fail to see how it being a sport or an se effects the price for a service.
Another gripe which stops me using my main dealers is that they now charge a fee to borrow a car, apparently to cover insurance admin fee's. I'm sure they don't actually have to do anything regarding the insurance as their trade policy would surely cover this. Even if it is for this reason, with the prices they are charging already for any work they could clearly absorb this cost. It's only about £10 or so, but the value isn't really the point.
The one time I did use them as my local independant were fully booked, was to have a camshaft position sensor replaced, a quick and easy job, which was done quickly and communication was great, went to pick up the car that evening and it had been 'cleaned' by the looks of it, with a scouring pad. 'Must of been like that when you dropped it off' was the response I got, it really wasn't.
Also being quite young, I find that the staff are very dismissive until they realise that I have actually got a BMW, I'm sure they get a lot of time wasters, but I'd rather they found out first before being rude/ignorant.
dxb335d said:
sjj84 said:
Cost is probably the main factor
But Indies dont use the exact same parts as BMW use. Otherwise it still would only be a small percentage cheaper. The reason there so much cheaper is also the quality of the parts.Some may not, but if it is specified by the customer to use genuine BMW parts only my indie does exactly that.
My indie gets trade from the BMW dealer on parts and charges retail, as most do, but the dealer does the same thing, so the actual difference of the parts cost should be zero if comparing like with like, except the oil from the indies is also probably cheaper.
dxb335d said:
sjj84 said:
Cost is probably the main factor
But Indies dont use the exact same parts as BMW use. Otherwise it still would only be a small percentage cheaper. The reason there so much cheaper is also the quality of the parts.His labour rates are 1/4 of what my dealer charges - and he's more professional, drops me off & picks me up from within 30 miles, keeps me topped up with tea/coffee/biscuits/bacon butties/lunch/dinner, logs & photographs the work as he goes along and calls me well in advance if there's something else that needs doing or a part is late being delivered.
dxb335d said:
One indie i used with my old E36 used the same ''make of brakepad'' but not the same quality of pad.
Like cars, a basic 1er is not a quarter as good as a fully specced M6, but both are BMW's
But BMW only supply one grade of parts, they are the same parts you or I can go to the counter and buy, which are the same parts supplied to their service depts and to indies that chose to buy the Genuine Approved Parts. If your indie was charging BMW parts prices for GSF or similar parts then your using the wrong indie.Like cars, a basic 1er is not a quarter as good as a fully specced M6, but both are BMW's
EDIT; If your indie is charging BMW labour rates and using charging 'cheaper' alternative parts then again your using the wrong indie.
Edited by E30M3SE on Wednesday 16th July 16:00
dxb335d said:
But Indies dont use the exact same parts as BMW use.
What, all of them?Mine uses genuine BMW parts by preference but also offers me the option to use aftermarket at a reduced cost if i want. I always use genuine BMW when available, and still save 50% on labour costs (£98p/h v. £45p/h).
dxb335d said:
One indie i used with my old E36 used the same ''make of brakepad'' but not the same quality of pad.
Like cars, a basic 1er is not a quarter as good as a fully specced M6, but both are BMW's
It's highly unlikely the brake pad manufacturers for BMW will stop their production lines and manufacture different quality parts for selling under their own brand? Somehow I think this is unlikely! They don't want to give their products a bad name in the market.Like cars, a basic 1er is not a quarter as good as a fully specced M6, but both are BMW's
I bought a viscous fan coupling for my 530d, it was an OEM coupling, I compared it to the original part and it was identical in every way, they had made it from the same dye they make the BMW part from, however they had got a file or something and rubbed the BMW part number off it.
Edited by jamoor on Wednesday 16th July 19:14
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