Is my dealer trustworthy after today?

T

takedown8

Active member
 Ontario
Brought my Z4 in for an "oil service" at the stealer's today. They tell me that it involves an oil change, and they inspect tires, brakes, tire pressures, and a couple of other things.

I get the car back an hour or so later, and they tell me that everything's great, and I have x number of mm on each tire, and x mm on the brakes. Then the service manager tells me that they filled my tire pressures to 36psi on all four tires (recommended is 33 front and 36 back). I'm only slightly annoyed that they messed that up, but I figure no big deal.

I walk out to get my car, and check my tire pressures figuring that I would let some air out of the front tires to bring them back down to 33. Guess what, the tire pressures are exactly the same as when I measured them a couple of days ago: 32 in front and 34 in the back. Which means they didn't fill the tires with air at all.

So I call the service manager & tell her the situation. I tell her that it's not so much that the air is a big deal, but that it makes me worried that other things that they claim have been done have not actually been done.

She puts me on hold and gets back to me a minute later saying that the technician told her about the 36's all around, but he doesn't do the tire pressures. And that the actual guy who does the tire pressures and refills air told her that he refilled them to 33 in front and 35 in back.

Now i'm wondering if they even changed my frickin oil and filter! Am I being paranoid or what? I'm not sure if I can even trust going back to them. Feel free to tell me if I'm overreacting.

BTW, it was Budd's BMW of Hamilton, and I plan on posting this under the dealer section too.
 
If your oil was just changed it should be fairly obvious.. it will be a very light golden colour (compared to fairly black if it's approx 10,000 miles old)...
 
Wow, that's pretty annoying. As far as oil changes go, I'm sure they did that properly. As for the other things on their checklist, most times I believe they don't do it properly, if at all. I'm sure most people don't even notice these things so the dealer gets away with it.

I had a similar problem with my last car too. I had a Nissan Maxima and had it serviced at the usual place (Nissan Dealership). Well, on one occasion, the tech told me my brakes were ~ 65%. The next service, they told me my brakes were at a healthy 85%. That's when I called them out.
I asked, "How is brake wear measured?"
They replied, "we meticulously measure it with our state of the art machine."
"Well, can you tell me how my brakes have improved since I came here last?"
"..."
"You didn't even measure it today, did you?"
"Um... I guess not."

Heck, even my current dealership jacked me around. Took them 7 hours to do the 1200 mile service. Grrr...

Hope you feel better, takedown8. You're not the only one with bad luck.
 
Rick Hunter said:
...Well, on one occasion, the tech told me my brakes were ~ 65%. The next service, they told me my brakes were at a healthy 85%. That's when I called them out.
I asked, "How is brake wear measured?"
They replied, "we meticulously measure it with our state of the art machine."
"Well, can you tell me how my brakes have improved since I came here last?"
"..."
"You didn't even measure it today, did you?"
"Um... I guess not."
Click to expand...
Quite shocking really :thumbsdown:
 
sixspeed said:
If your oil was just changed it should be fairly obvious.. it will be a very light golden colour (compared to fairly black if it's approx 10,000 miles old)...
Click to expand...

One of the things that really peeves me about the N52 engines is the lack of a dipstick ... there is no way to look at the color of the oil
 
...and this is the reason I will NEVER go to a main dealer to get my car serviced, once my car is out of warranty!

...they don't call them stealers for nothing! :x
 
ay8306 said:
sixspeed said:
If your oil was just changed it should be fairly obvious.. it will be a very light golden colour (compared to fairly black if it's approx 10,000 miles old)...
Click to expand...

One of the things that really peeves me about the N52 engines is the lack of a dipstick ... there is no way to look at the color of the oil
Click to expand...
Stick your finger in the oil filler cap, when it's cold and not switched on obviously :lol:
 
Rick Hunter said:
They replied, "we meticulously measure it with our state of the art machine."
"Well, can you tell me how my brakes have improved since I came here last?"
"..."
"You didn't even measure it today, did you?"
"Um... I guess not."
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: That's priceless! I can't believe they actually admitted it though. Hilarious.

The stupid thing is, the oil change alone would have been $115, but with these additional inspections as part of the "oil service", the price came out to $158. That means I paid $43 for them to not check the tire pressures, to not fill them with air, and to check things that I could have either done myself (tire wear) or had another mechanic probably check for free. This is just so that they can reset my indicator.

Stealers suck! BTW, the service manager told me that Inspection I costs $590. If I make it to 47000km within my warranty period, that'll be worth the trip to Buffalo, that's for sure.
 
takedown8
That is exactly the reason one should lease. Give them the car that they have ruined!! :D

Plus, being abole to write some of it off as I am self employed helps!! :?
 
enfield said:
takedown8
That is exactly the reason one should lease. Give them the car that they have ruined!! :D

Plus, being abole to write some of it off as I am self employed helps!! :?
Click to expand...

It's always allllll about you, isn't it, enfield? You bastard. :lol: :lol:

Well, I love my Zed, so I'm keepin' her. I guess I'm loyal that way. I think I may have to go to Oakville the next time I need my car serviced though.
 
takedown8 said:
The stupid thing is, the oil change alone would have been $115, but with these additional inspections as part of the "oil service", the price came out to $158. That means I paid $43 for them to not check the tire pressures, to not fill them with air, and to check things that I could have either done myself (tire wear) or had another mechanic probably check for free. This is just so that they can reset my indicator.

Stealers suck! BTW, the service manager told me that Inspection I costs $590. If I make it to 47000km within my warranty period, that'll be worth the trip to Buffalo, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
Y'know, the simple stuff (oil changes, tire rotations, etc) can be done properly by yourself. I'm definitely not a wrench-head by any means, but I really like being able to do some of the simple things on the car. Your model still has the dipstick, right takedown8? So long as you're using the approved products, you can save yourself a ton of $$. And... you'll know it was done properly (i.e. by yourself). BTW, I tackled an interim oil change on my zed the other day (between covered service). Easy as pie.

On the flip side, however, I think you'll be able to sell your car faster (when the time comes) if you can produce the service reports that show you did all the required maintenance and in a timely fashion. Can't beat OEM records... I was able to sell my Nissan to the first looker and on the first viewing because of my service documentation.
 
takedown8 said:
It's always allllll about you, isn't it, enfield? You bastard. :lol: :lol:

Well, I love my Zed, so I'm keepin' her. I guess I'm loyal that way. I think I may have to go to Oakville the next time I need my car serviced though.
Click to expand...

It's just a bloody car. I believe in leasing cars and women. That way you get the latest model and do not have to deal with 'upkeep' :lol:
 
takedown8 said:
Rick Hunter said:
BTW, I tackled an interim oil change on my zed the other day (between covered service). Easy as pie.
Click to expand...
Where's the DIY? :D
Click to expand...
Oh... sure thing. It's available to you for just one low price of $39.99 :lol:

Try searching the other forums... I found mine on Bimmerfest. :)
 
That's why I service all my cars myself. Better quality workmanship and a lot cheaper. It doesn't effect your warranty either but that's a whole other story. :wink:
 
takedown8 said:
................
The stupid thing is, the oil change alone would have been $115, but with these additional inspections as part of the "oil service", the price came out to $158. That means I paid $43 for them to not check the tire pressures, to not fill them with air, and to check things that I could have either done myself (tire wear) or had another mechanic probably check for free. This is just so that they can reset my indicator.

Stealers suck! BTW, the service manager told me that Inspection I costs $590. If I make it to 47000km within my warranty period, that'll be worth the trip to Buffalo, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
It sucks when you don't feel you can trust them....

I guess I'm a little on the paranoid side too;
When I had the 1200 mile service done on mine,
I marked the drain plugs on the tranny & diff so that I could tell if they were serviced :oops: (they were)

Re: Inspection I... you can get most of that done & signed off by an independent tech.
Not only will you save mega$, you'll know it's done right.
 
Now I'm nervous about switching dealerships when I move this month. I really trust my dealer (Zimbrick BMW in Madison, WI). They are truely wonderful. If fact, Rob (my usual technician) typically pulls me back to the repair area to show me what he's doing or has done. He even wrote down part numbers and instructions for doing things such as oil changes should I choose to do so in between the ones covered under warranty. Too bad I won't be able to drive back to Wisconsin from Arizona when I need work on my Z 8)
 
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