Re: [e36] BMW/Rallye Motors Customer Service is NO service

[Zachariah George <zachg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I definitely wouldn't recommend Rallye Motors of Roslyn, either.

I moved from Florida, and Rallye was the nearest dealership that 
I could locate. I took my '95 325i thinking I would make them my regular
dealership. The attention I got was so condescending, not to mention
an utter lack of interest, that I left the place immediately.  I have
had excellent treatment from my dealership in Florida, I see no reason
why they have to be any different. I was very well cared for.
 
I have never gone back to Rallye, never will, and don't intend to.
Rallye Motors of Roslyn? A definite "no-no".
 
The only time I did call BMW-NA for specific model information, I can't
say I have anything to complain about. 
 
I'm sorry for your experience, Sean, but the three series are nice cars,
(particularly the M3 ) unfortunate quirks, notwithstanding. I use BMW of
Manhattan now, and they're nice, try them. The other dealership I hear that
is very good, if it`s not too out of your way --  "Wide World of Cars"
 
Zach
'95 325i w/ sport pkg.

> 
> 
> Terrible.  If I had to use one word to summarize BMW's customer service and
> the dealership that I purchased the car from, that's what I would use.
> Some background:
> 
> My 1997 ///M3 Sedan was delivered in early February of 1997 from Rallye
> Motors of Roslyn, NY (a BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls Royce dealership).  The
> car has about 14,000 miles on it now in roughly 21 months of ownership.  I
> drive it only on weekends and once or twice a week between Monday and
> Friday for work.  At about 7-8000 miles or 8 months ago, my car developed an
> intermittent lifter ticking problem.  On my first trip to the dealership,
> they were unable to diagnose the problem because they were unable to
> recreate it.  Eventually, the ticking became more and more frequent,
> usually at startup and then going away after a few minutes.  Shortly
> thereafter, a
> temporary location switch at my job required me to drive approximately 80
> miles roundtrip for one week with about 9.5K on the odometer.  At the end
> of that week, the engine was constantly ticking.  I took my car in to the
> dealer to have it looked at for a second time and they replaced a lifter
> and two spark plugs which took one week.  The problem went away but started
> again at around 11.5K on the odometer.  At this time, another problem
> surfaced.  The car's Check Engine light came on twice in one week, each
> time the car idled roughly and had almost no acceleration (0-30 in about 12
> seconds), yet restarting the car cleared up the problem.  This also
> happened twice in the past but each incident was never close to each other
> and the
> problem went away in a few minutes.  When it did happened I took it to the
> dealership to have it looked at and both times the OBD recorded "no fault."
> I made an appointment and the earliest date they could get me was 5 weeks
> away.  After explaining the history, I got an appointment 3 weeks away.  I
> called BMW NA customer service for the first time to complain about the
> service and to document all the problems I had with this car.  Within these
> three weeks, the rough idling got worse and out of frustration, I drove the
> car to Rallye Motors on a Friday night after the service department was
> closed and left it with a BMW salesperson and demanded that the car be
> looked at first thing Monday morning.  I also made this salesperson drive
> the car in its "rough idle" mode to prove to them that even though the OBD
> might say "no fault" there is a fault.  Monday afternoon, the service
> department became aware of my problem.  After over a week and one
> crankshaft sensor replaced, I got the car back with no ticking and no "rough
> idle"
> mode only to find that my aftermarket Sony headunit was damaged and the left
> turn signal no longer functioning.  I brought it back the same day to have
> the
> turn signal fixed and was told it will take 1 hour to do.  Not so.  They
> didn't have the right part in stock after I was told on the phone before
> bringing it in that they did have the part.  So I left the car there.  They
> ordered the part.  They received the wrong part.  After almost a week
> later, I got the car back with a working turn signal but with the four
> aftermarket
> valve caps with the Motorsports logo on my tires stolen.  I complained to
> Rallye's customer service with an empty promise that someone will call me
> to resolve the problem.  Three weeks have past and now the ticking is back
> constantly.  On Sunday, (11/15) I called BMW NA customer service at
> approximately 3:30AM to complain and was told someone will call me on
> Monday.  Nobody called.  I called again on Tuesday and was told that
> someone from Rallye Motors will call in two days.  Nobody called.  I called
> again
> on Thursday only to find that the person handling my case will not be in
> until
> the following Tuesday.  The person I spoke to promised that someone will
> call on Friday.  Nobody called.  I also called several times after hours
> during the week and was told that they would forward my requests to the
> daytime staff.  Nobody called.  So here it is almost 1 week later and all
> BMW of North America and Rallye Motors has done is record my complaint.
> I've requested that my car be repaired.  I also requested that the
> corporate office to reimburse the purchase price of the car.  Not a peep
> from anyone.
> 
> Other things that have gone wrong with my car:
> 
> Air conditioner leak - had to bring it in twice for this
> SRS sensor in seatbelt buckle failed within the first three weeks of
> ownership
> Battery holddown clamp not holding - had to bring it in twice for this.
> The first time they just screwed the clamp into a different position which
> didn't even touch the battery.
> Suspension squeak from front driver's side tire
> Squeak from steering column - they removed the entire steering column to
> fix this.  This is probably when they broke the turn signal
> Tire jack clamp in trunk broken
> 
> Carelessness of the Rallye Motors technicians:
> 
> On the second trip to the dealer, they failed to put the cover over the
> bolt for the  engine cover.
> Blue pen mark on the front passenger seat.  I keep only one pen it my car
> in the glove box and it's black.
> They changed the oil twice for me.  The first time the oil filter canister
> bolt was not torqued correctly and oil leaked from there.  The second time
> was at Inspection I.  I changed the oil myself after that.  The crush
> washers were missing on the drain bolt and the oil filter canister.
> 
> When the car works, it's great car and I love it.  Unfortunately, it's
> nowhere near as reliable as my 1994 Nissan Sentra.  It never went back to
> the dealership for anything.  It isn't as fun to drive, though.  I
> seriously doubt I'll ever purchase anything from Rallye Motors again.  I'm
> not even
> sure if I'll even buy a BMW again and I had my heart set on the new ///M5.
> 
> One of my major concerns of this is the resale value of my car.  A service
> record like this can't be good.  Any comments?
> 
> I'll post a follow-up later...
> 
> Sean Ganess
> BMW Car Club of America #147592
> 
> CC:     alt.autos.bmw
>         fido7.su.cars.bmw
>         rec.autos.makers.bmw
>         wiz.bmw
>         Rallye Motors
>         BMW North America Customer Service
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>         BMW E36 Digest
> 
> 
> 

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