Does Everyone Hate Thier Dealer

[z44me]

I am glad to hear the positives. As I think back , I first met the salesmanager of my dealer at the autoshow in St. Louis. We spoke for about fifteen minutes. Two weeks later I walked into his dealership and he called me by name. That was impressive! I probably dont have a thing to worry about. He has thus far treated my wife and I with a great deal of respect. In fact, when we left, she said "Wow, that was nothing like purchasing a Chevy." This coming from someone who hates to purchase a new car, just because of how you are treated like a piece of meat. Thanks for the responses, you have set me at ease.

 

[Sandman]

Even here in Singapore we do.. we send in our cars for checks & it could take up to weeks before we see it again... on top of that our rides might end up with additional problems :thumbsdown:

 

[ewans]

I think attitude is more important than what you wear

I'd second that.

In addition I’ve found that being completely forthright about what your intentions are has a positive effect, i.e. walk in, straight up to the desk, and ask to speak to a salesman who deals with the car your interested in. Introduce yourself and tell them you’re here to buy a car today if everything checks out and a deal can be reached, you don’t want to waste their time and more importantly yours (love saying the last bit). On that basis ask if they can spend a couple of hours with you to go through everything, if not when can they? or should they speak to another sales person etc. etc. make it clear you not messing about and you want there undivided attention.

My I bought my Z, 60min test drive, 60mins checking everything on the car in micro detail, agreed what needed do to bring it up to scratch, agreed price, done deal.

I think you have to remember that these guys have quotas to make and leads to qualify so they can decide who they want to spend their time on, make it easy for them and take control, tell them what you want be clear about your explications and push for a good deal.

 

[ga41]

^^ Some good advice there. I'll keep that in mind next time.

 

[Wondermike]

^^ Some good advice there. I'll keep that in mind next time.

Yep sounds good to me.

 

[IDEASEngineer]

YES!

Since I purchased my Z4MC on 2/07....

They (PARK AVE BMW, in NJ) have:

Misadjusted my valve clearances
Made my seats loose by moving them back and tilting them farther than they are supposed to go
Dented my fender
Swirled up my paint with their so called car detailing...
Bent my manual (ALL OF THEM in the leather holder) in half as they moved the seat back to far.
Lost my headlight washer cover and told me it must have fell off when i was driving it.
Claimed they fixed my seatbelt that still doesn't retract properly.
Put the wrong brake pads on...

I am trying to switch to another dealer (Princeton BMW)as I moved recently....Anyone have any experience with them?

Has anyone switched their servicing to another dealer? And how can one do this painlessly?

My problem is that they don't even know about their cars properly, thats all for now otherwise this will turn into a rant like this guy:

http://www.illwillpress.com/vault.html

 

[baugelli]

YES!Has anyone switched their servicing to another dealer? And how can one do this painlessly?

Shouldn't be anymore difficult than just calling Princeton BMW to schedule your service like usual. I went from the dealer I purchased from, West German BMW, to DeSimone BMW only because they were closer to home. Never had any problems switching. Hopefully you will have better luck with Princeton BMW.

 

[Hawkeye]

Has anyone switched their servicing to another dealer? And how can one do this painlessly?

My problem is that they don't even know about their cars properly, thats all for now otherwise this will turn into a rant like this guy:

http://www.illwillpress.com/vault.html

I love Foamy!!! His best ones are not hosted on that site anymore though

I switched from BMW Des Moines to BMW Cedar Rapids and it was as painless as could be (actually it was less than painless). The service people made the appointment as if it were the deaership I bought the car from, brought it in the same, and got much better service! No switching paperwork or hassling involved!

As for the buying experience, I rode up on my motorcycle (at 23 yo) with shorts and a t-shirt on and the rep couldn't try harder to get me to test drive a Zed (I was trying to look at a 335 but he insisted). Well, it worked and here I am. This being said, I agree it is all about the attitude

 

[liTTle wHitE sHarK..]

What I don't get is why buying a car should be about attitude? Surely the dealer should treat you the same and take time to talk things through with you whether you're just test driving a car because you're comparing it with a non BMW or with the intention that you will be purchasing the car today? :? We have been to Mercedes dealers and had much better service, advice and after-care (sorry BMW dealers!) :fuelfire:

Maybe I'm just ranting on because I don't have that attitude, I just wanted to try out the car that I love! :lol:

 

[flyboyaj]

IDEASEngineer, DeSimone service is OK by my standards and probably pretty good by NJ standards. I go to Allentown, PA now, though (Daniels BMW). Chris and Jeff (salesmen) are SOOOOOOO knowledgeable of the Z4 it would put all of us on here together to shame!!! I love them! And they are just honest as it gets. Chris has helped me twice now on his day off from home (I didn't expect that!) and he remembered my nickname even after I signed a txt msg with my real name (I didn't even remember telling him my nickname). Jeff took me for a test drive while Chris was with another customer - nothing for him to gain, just a great guy . And they even washed my 2003 Z4 while I was test driving the //M and 3.0si. I haven't experienced the service department out there yet. It is a bit of a drive, so if required for the convenience factor I might continue using DiSimone for service. Hopefully I won't need any service anytime soon. And hopefully I'll be out of this armpit of a state very soon so I won't have to worry about the service I get from my BMW dealer... and don't get me started on Comcast!!! :x Thank God Verizon came to the rescue out here!

Hopefully you'll get better service in Princeton. Be sure to leave a review of both of the dealerships in the Dealer Feedback section!

Will you be joining us for the Spring CruiZe on April 19th???