Re: BMW service in Washington D.C. area....

[SOPCHICKM@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

John wrote:
>I am moving from Minneapolis to Washington D=2EC=2E=20=
>and am looking for a good place or person to handle=20=
>my 525i's service=2E  I will actually be in Maryland, perhaps=20=
>towards Annapolis when I finally find a place to buy=2E =20=
>Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated=2E=2E=2EJohn

John:
Don't know if you're a dealer or independent type of guy, but
here are a couple of thoughts=2E
Annapolis has a BMW dealer - - Tate BMW=2E  They used be called
Genderson Chevy/BMW (with, IMO, a very heavy emphasis on the
Chevy)=2E  I used Genderson and was VERY dissatisfied, so
much so that I am still leery of the new Tate (they just split the
Chevy and BMW operations and BMW has moved into a
nice new building)=2E  I've now had some minor work done at Tate,=20=
and must say that I was happy with the level of service, the=20=
service writer, and their willingness to take me in without an=20=
appointment on a Saturday=2E  Because of my experience with Genderson,=20=
though, I doubt if I'd rely on them for more involved work=20=
(although the entire BMW service team may very well be new)=2E
I've had good experiences with their parts guys=2E  They usually have
what I need and are open on Saturdays=2E
For other dealer work (only when absolutely necessary) I've used VOB in=20=
Rockville and was happy with their service until a year or so ago
when they wrecked my stereo head unit, brought me back to replace it
with another only to tell me when I came back for the car that the replacement
unit had never arrived, brought me back to put in another unit whose cassette
deck was not working, etc=2E  (long story, and as always,=20=
there are two sides to this one)=2E  I now use Heischman in Arlington,
and have, so far (two minor services), been happy with the service=2E

As far as independent shops go, I just had a 3 series head gasket=20=
replaced by a guy in Annapolis who I used years ago in a
now-dearly-departed 5 series, was happy with him, but then I moved away=2E  He's
not cheap, but he is quite good, and I believe he's honest and
conscientious=2E  You may want to try him: Tif at Tif's Foreign Car 410-268-8288=2E
Also, there's Silver Star in Annapolis=2E  They used to do only Mercedes,
but now do BMW too=2E  I've used them, was generally satisfied, but my
wife has heard a lot of complaints about them from her clients who own MB=2E
Neither of us have had our own bad experience with them, and many in the
Annapolis area swear by them (at least as far as MBs go)=2E
I've also heard of a place in Rockville called BMW Excluservice, that several
of the folks on these lists seem to like=2E  I've never been there=2E
These are my own opinions=2E YMMV=2E
Regards=2E
Mike Sopchick
Washington DC
85 325 (with new head gasket)
89 535i (wife's ride)
83 380SL (tucked away for winter)

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