BMW Service Quality- Ed's Response

[E3 <general@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All:

First off let me say the the responses I have received from this digest 
have been among the most informed and detailed responses I have received in 
response to my letter. What a great bunch of people!

I wanted to respond to a couple of letters submitted by fellow digesters 
and make a few more points. (Please see my comments below.)

Michael Barrett "Michael Barrett" <mbarrett635@domain.elided> said:

>Part of the problem, as I said, is that BMW does not regulate their dealer's
>service departments, beyond certain very basic requirements. But another
>part of the problem is that consumers tolerate this kind of behavior, when
>they should be voting with their dollars and their feet.  Go somewhere else.
>When enough people do, the quality will either improve, or the business will
>fail, and someone else can give it a try.  Heck, if I had to drive overnight
>to some other town and wait for one day while my car is fixed properly, I'm
>way ahead of the game compared to weeks without my car locally (with no
>loaner to boot).  Problem is, people don't see it that way, and tolerate way
>too much crappy service.

You are absolutely right Michael! That is exactly what I do. Ever since I 
bought the car (brand new via Euro Delivery) I have gone out of my way to a 
dealer over 75 miles away (the one who did the work on my car I wrote 
about) because they are least incompetent dealer in my area (SF Bay Area.) 
I have TWELVE dealerships within 100 miles of my location. I have talked to 
people that have visited every single one and the one patronize had the 
least complaints and really do try and make the customer happy. They 
provide me loaner cars when they can (even though I did not buy the car 
from them). So, I *DO* vote with my business.

Unfortunately in my area, BMWs are in *very* heavy demand (remember the 
.COM boom?) and dealers get away with what would be considered 
unconscionable business practices anywhere else. Remember that Car & Driver 
letter about the guy who pre-ordered an E46 M3 for sticker, then the dealer 
demanded $20K over list when the car came in? Guess where that dealer was? 
Here in the Bay Area! I've heard even worse stories about that particular 
dealer. I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole!

I would like to respond to Alex's <alex.fadeev@domain.elided> post:

>Oh, and this was at a dual BMW-Mazda dealership to boot, exactly the sort
>of a dealership if which the BMW NA has been blaming for low customer
>satisfaction #s.
>Since then I've moved to the DFW area served by four separate BMW
>dealerships. Each one of them is BMW NA's wet dream come true - they are
>all stand alone franchises of larger chains. From the customer perspective,

Every single one of the 12 dealers in my area are stand-alone dealers.

About Alex's point about loaner cars:
>One issue where I don't agree with you guys is that of free loaner cars. It
>would be nice if the dealer offered me one each time I came in for service,

I agree. I only get a loaner if I make my appointment one month in advance 
and can wait. On my last emergency repair I had to pay for my own rental. 
Rentals would be nice, but I do not expect them.

Another Point:

I'm not afraid of a wrench. I have rebuilt several engines and actually 
like working on my car from time to time. I wouldn't mind repairing my own 
car, but I find it very difficult to do so simply because BMW only provides 
information and special diagnostic tools to dealers. If I could interogate 
the systems on my car with a laptop via the diagnostic connector, I'd be a 
happy man. But BMW has gone out of its way to keep information and 
diagnostic tools out of anyones hands other than the dealer network. Even 
Dinan has a hard time getting up-to-date information from BMW.

Bottom Line:
- - I HAVE to take my car to the dealer because BMW will not pay for warranty 
work other than at a dealer.
- - I can't repair the car myself because BMW keeps diagnostic tools and 
information a secret.

What else can I do?

- -Ed

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