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RE: Dealer Service

Phil wrote:
 
 > the majority of the dealership's profit comes from the financing 
 > of the new and used cars they do sell.
 
and...
 
 > And USA Today says the average profit from used car sales through 
 > the big dealers (the last two mentioned) are about $5/car.  Do you 
 > believe that?
 
Not any more than I believe XYZ Credit Jewelers only makes $1 on the sale of 
engagement rings.
 
 > You know, most dealers are just trying to make a buck in a climate 
 > where the buyers would be just as happy with WalMart-type sales 
 > help, but with very expensive requirements for facilities and 
 > training that BMW forces upon them.  Of course you can solve all 
 > these problems with your dealer by just buying your cars from 
 > HottRod, or Circuit City, or Blockbuster Video.  They're all in 
 > the car business now.
 
My servicing dealer (from whom I bought my car) was one of _three_ dealers who 
was dying to sell me my car at the price I offered to pay.  Therefore, I have 
to conclude there was an acceptable amount of profit in the deal for them.  
It's just that I've had terrible luck getting things fixed right _the first 
time_ in the service department.  This is not merely a problem with my BMW 
dealer - it was the same with my SHO and a Ford P/U.  It happens when I have 
someone re-do the tile in the shower (because it wasn't installed properly in 
the first place), or fix the water heater, etc. etc, etc.
 
Heck, the last time I had the car in, which was to fix something that had 
been messed up during the previous trip, I dropped off my car with dried-on 
road grime from the previous day's rain storm.  When I picked up the car, it 
was waiting for me in the service reception area, all nice and cleaned up.  
However, when I got the car home, and looked at it in the sun, I could see 
that whoever "washed" the car had just wiped it down with a damp rag, and left 
a _bunch_ of scratches in the finish.
 
Personally, I'd _gladly_ give up the fancy service reception area, the service 
advisor with the white shirt and tie, and the loaner car, if the technicians 
would diagnose and fix things correctly the first time, and didn't mess 
anything else up while they were at it.  <Flame suit on>  Maybe it's just the 
Dallas/Ft. Worth area, where lots of people seem more concerned with show, and 
not very much with _substance_.  In my 43 years, I've lived in 6 different 
areas: Phila, Boston, Casper (WY), Billings (MT), Farmington (NM), and most 
recently DFW for 8 years.  I don't know if it's DFW, or just the way business 
and work ethics have changed over the years.  I'm not sure _what_ the problem 
is, but it's not just with my BMW dealer.
 
Sorry for the rant.
 
 Regards,
 Jerry
 Arlington, TX (22-Jul-96, 20:44)
 '95 540i-6 spd