Z4 gone - and glad to be shot of it.

[Anonymous]

Had the Z4 since Feb 2012, and ex dealer demo. Good price, good trade in and great service form Halliwell Jones in North Wales.

However having enjoyed the car, top down over the last few years, the list of problems was just getting longer, and in the end I couldn't face the run to BMW to get it fixed. Especially after the really poor service, random charges and ultimately the outright lies I was told on more than one occasion from Marshall BMW in Fleet Hampshire.

So the car has gone, and I don't regret buying it or enjoying it .... but I will never ever buy another BMW.

Enjoy your cars .... I know they can be great

 

[ihadablackdog]

I got mine from Marshall in Hook. They were the worst dealer I have ever dealt with.

Liars and sh1t aftersales.

Sounds like its similar in their other dealerships.

 

[Mr Tidy]

So the car has gone, and I don't regret buying it or enjoying it .... but I will never ever buy another BMW.

Enjoy your cars .... I know they can be great

That's a shame OP - I'm currently on BMW Nos 5 and 6 and can't think of anything I would rather have!

I suppose I'm lucky in that my nearest main agent is pretty good, but now my cars are older I've only ever used a BMW Indy who is better and much cheaper!

I did buy my 2nd BMW from a main agent whose service was appalling, but it was the car I wanted and I never had any need to go back there thankfully!

Hopefully you'll enjoy whatever you get next.

 

[buzyg]

Glad you enjoyed the Zed. I only took mine to a BMW dealer once. They ripped me off and gave me my car back dirty, after it arrived with them spotless. Never stepped foot in there again. Found a good local indie.

 

[bob4333]

That's a poor experience OP and I sympathise. This would cloud my feelings for the car.

But to keep a balance, not all main dealers are bad (just bl**dy expensive).

My car has twice been main dealer serviced and it came back clean inside and out: they even sent me a video of the car being checked whilst it was with them. When the car is out of it's 5 year service package I'll be off to Noel Butler, an outstanding independent at Earlswood which luckily is only a few miles away. Interestingly, having worked for a few main dealers he didn't have too many kind words for the species.

Don't know how rubbish dealers survive these days - with forums and comm's being so easy. I reckon we need a list of the Good, the Bad and the downright useless.

 

[R.E92]

Never had outright bad service from a dealer, just incompetence from their mechanics.

Rybrook Worcester were always really good, had a couple of really stupid mistakes made by mechanics but the dealership as a whole always looked after me. Halliwell Jones in Llandudno and Chester were also really good when I used them. Williams Manchester is now my local and they have been great too.

You need to manage expectations with dealerships though. They are great for routine servicing and simple warranty part replacement but useless with advanced troubleshooting. You either need to find a good specialist independent like Darren Wood in Manchester or learn to use spanners.

 

[RustyZ4]

Its shame you have had this experience from your dealers, I have to say my local Ardens in Maidstone have always been ok, as been said just don't expect them to problem solve, they have to work to BMW guidelines as well, so something that can be easily rectified, can for a dealer be a whole different ball game,
And yes they are expensive, someone has to pay for all that glitz and glam

 

[warmasice]

That's a poor experience OP and I sympathise. This would cloud my feelings for the car.

But to keep a balance, not all main dealers are bad (just bl**dy expensive).

My car has twice been main dealer serviced and it came back clean inside and out: they even sent me a video of the car being checked whilst it was with them. When the car is out of it's 5 year service package I'll be off to Noel Butler, an outstanding independent at Earlswood which luckily is only a few miles away. Interestingly, having worked for a few main dealers he didn't have too many kind words for the species.

Don't know how rubbish dealers survive these days - with forums and comm's being so easy. I reckon we need a list of the Good, the Bad and the downright useless.

Used him a few times, he get very busy. Unfortunately the last time I rang him for an oil service (previous car), his charges we're not far off main dealer. Although I'm sure inspections 1 and 2 will be cheaper.

 

[djstan]

This shows that owning a car is not just about the lump of metal on the driveway, it's about all the extra stuff like aftersales/aftercare experiences. Quite why some dealerships don't wake up to this is beyond me. :|

 

[RustyZ4]

This shows that owning a car is not just about the lump of metal on the driveway, it's about all the extra stuff like aftersales/aftercare experiences. Quite why some dealerships don't wake up to this is beyond me. :|

I know we moan about the BMW dealers,, but its all main dealers, of all makes, and I include bikes in that, there are some good ones, but more often or not that comes down to an individual working there you are dealing with, rather than company policy, and of course most Indies come from main dealers, they are small ,so can control prices and customer experience and are not shackled by BMW

 

[Dave1963]

I am going to big up my local BMW dealership who are Sytner Tamworth. Altogether very impressed with everything they have done for me on my 435, including some warranty work on a leaky diff seal.
Fast and efficient, maybe pricey, but you can "negotiate" the price down. When they quoted me for brake pads, I did ask if they were diamond encrusted and that I could get them a lot cheaper elsewhere....I got a significant discount.
5 years servicing for £500.00? Don't mind if I do....
I bought a second hand X1 for the Missus and she is over the moon with it.
Can't fault them to be honest.
The Zed won't be going there though, it's and old car and will be done by my local Mechanic, who I trust implictly.

 

[Hunter]

This shows that owning a car is not just about the lump of metal on the driveway, it's about all the extra stuff like aftersales/aftercare experiences. Quite why some dealerships don't wake up to this is beyond me. :|

I know we moan about the BMW dealers,, but its all main dealers, of all makes, and I include bikes in that, there are some good ones, but more often or not that comes down to an individual working there you are dealing with, rather than company policy, and of course most Indies come from main dealers, they are small ,so can control prices and customer experience and are not shackled by BMW

Every Porsche main dealer I have been to have been exceptional, it’s the cars that let them down

 

[Yorkie Z]

Main dealers are talentless monkeys, all they do is change parts that the computer tells them.
Specialist Indy every time for me.

 

[Rathean]

I feel your pain OP about main dealer service. Its a bit of a coin toss with Rybrook Wolverhampton whether or not they fail to spot a broken rear spring and instead claim the problem was with the roof shelf in the boot :x or do a partial engine rebuild under warranty perfectly with no issues since.

We all assume we're getting a premium service with BMW experts at the price they charge but that's just not the case, any good independent will give you the same or better service at half the cost in my experience 8)

 

[Anonymous]

As I said .... the car was. Great , the original sales / after care was also very good.

I don’t mind a few niggly problems and expected the charges to be high.

I have an indie who can deal with most things and he is very good ... but there were things he couldn’t sort for me. So I neede at times to resort to main dealer

However the attention to detail and lies made it untenable in the end.

Enjoy the cars - especially on this weather