[F30aa]

I've been a member here for a while and usually just look around and never really post. However, I feel it is necessary that I share my recent experience at Santa Monica BMW with all of you.

On Monday, February 22, I scheduled an appointment for service at Santa Monica BMW. The Appointment was set for 2 P.M. Friday the 26th. I specified that there was quiet a bit of rust on my calipers and rotors that was causing a loud squeaking at speeds under 30 MPH. I also specified that I wanted to sit in the lobby while my car was serviced.

I arrive at the dealership about 10 minutes early and there are only two service advisors in the office. One is already busy with a customer so I walk over to the other. She is on the phone but tells me to take a seat and she will be right with me. She spends a few minutes on the phone and then leaves the room and comes back to talk to me. She fails to introduce herself to me but I later find out that her name is Alicia. I explain I have an appointment and that there is rust and I want to sit in the lobby. She immediately tells me that they are too busy to take me immediately and that I should take the shuttle service back home. I ask if it will be done by the end of the day (7 P.M.) and she assures me it will be. I leave the car with her and go into the lobby until my girlfriend picks me up.

At around 6 P.M., I still have not received a call from Alicia. I call the dealer and am transferred to her. She then proceeds to tell me that they have been to busy to inspect my car and that I can leave it over night and it will be done by 1 P.M. the next day. She also tells me that she will not be in and that another advisor will assist me.

The next morning at 10:30, I receive a voicemail from Alicia telling me that they inspected my car and that they see a large amount of rust on all 4 wheels. She also tells me that because my car is not due for a brake service that her manager will have to inspect the car in order for them to service it. She then says that if she had known about the rust the day before that the manager could have looked at it and everything would be done. She recommends that I come pick the car up and schedule an appointment for some time during the week.

At this point, I am appalled at how poorly everything has been handled that I don’t even want to call Alicia back. My car has been sitting at the dealer for almost a day and all they have determined is that they cannot fix it at the moment. My girlfriend then proceeds to call Alicia because I am too hardheaded to speak with her.

When my girlfriend is on the phone with Alicia, Alicia seems to make up some excuse about my car having sensors. My girlfriend asks how it is they have just discovered my car has sensors and why it took so long to even figure out what the problem really was. Alicia then proceeds to tell my girlfriend that they are very busy and then hangs up on my girlfriend.

I head to the dealer at about 1 P.M. and enter the service office where I find only one service advisor working. I explain what has happened and he tells me I can go to the cashier to get my car back. I do so and sign that papers saying my car is being released. I receive a receipt that has a large gold sticker on it saying “ IMPORTANT You may receive a Customer Satisfaction Survey from BMW in the next few weeks via EMAIL. If for any reason you cannot grade us with a score of EXCELLENT, please contact you Service Advisor IMMEDIATELY. Your Satisfaction is Our #1 Goal.

Overall, I am very disappointed with how I was treated at Santa Monica BMW and I will never return there for service or sales again. I also would never recommend the dealer to anyone I know.

Anyways, thank you for reading and I have a quick question. If I don’t end up receiving an email for a survey, is there somewhere I can contact to have one sent to me such as BMWNA or the dealers management office?

[E90SLAM]

Send your complaints to BMWNA by both email and letter.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/ContactUs/

If you receive phone calls from BMW USA for your service quality survey.
Tell them your experience and go to another dealership.

[htoudiee]

Sorry to hear your story. Sounds like more and more people are noticing that the "Ultimate Service" is nothing more than a alot of headache before they do the service since they are covering it.

[335OK]

Is Alicia a Africa American?

[Kilgore Trout]

Sorry Santa Monica BMW did not work out for you.

I've taken my car to Pacific in Glendale and to Century West in North Hollywood. Pacific has been OK, mostly good with some issues. Century West has been stellar. If you go to Century West, ask for Tony as your SA.

[Evil E90]

I know how you feel about this. You expect to at least be treated like a human being. Sounds like you are done with that place. I hope you find a dealer that will take care of you.

I have had some really bad experiences at New Century BMW in Alhambra. I've never go back to that place. It's ten minutes away but to hell with them. They never really fixed my squeaky brakes and they were very condescending when it came to fixing my MP3 CD problem. One of the SA's told me to not play burned MP3 CD's in any car. I felt like a second class citizen. I found my salvation at South Bay BMW. They updated my software allowing me to play MP3 CD's and they fixed my squeaky brakes. It took them three tries but they fixed it. The best part were the loaners...328i, 335i and 135i (convertible). I took back another 135i with M sport loaner today. They were busy and my regular maintenance took longer then normal.

[chromisdesigns]

That sucks. First of all, you'll get your chance to be heard. Amazing as it sounds, they WILL send you one of those surveys. Blast 'em! Then expect a whining call from the service manager as to why you did...

Then, do some checking around in your area to see if there are any decent dealers. There are some (well, maybe a few)...I was lucky enough to get one in DC. The two nearest to me now are both pretty dreadful.

Good luck -- you shouldn't have to just sit and take that kind of neglect.

[///Wald]

I have had alot of success at New Century BMW. The Service Advisor that I think is the best is John Velarde. He rocks!!

[Top_Gear_Fan]

Originally Posted by 335OK

Is Alicia a Africa American?

What does that have to do with anything............

[I335]

I'm lucky that my dealer and service dept. is one of the better ones based on everything I hear. I really hate this kind of BS and can relate to your frustration - I've certainly dealt with my share of people like this over the years

I'd also recommend either calling or sending a letter (a letter is probably better as you'll have a record) to the dealership's GM so, at the very least, he is aware of what's going on there. In fact, send it registered so they'll have to sign for it, you'll have proof that they received it, it will tell them you're serious, and he will likely be compelled to respond. That said, no matter how bad they were, don't bring yourself down to their level because if you do, it will appear that you are no better. Be courteous and professional explaining what happened in detail, and most importantly, how it made you feel. I can already tell by your post that you have good writing skills and you can certainly be mature and professional. Also tell the GM that you are trying to help his business by making him aware of the issues you're seeing there as this type of stuff typically doesn't reach that level unless the customer makes him aware. I.e. the SA's manager probably doesn't want the GM to know either as it'll show that his is not managing his people well.

Now, all that said, I don't know what you'll gain by doing that, but every little bit of feedback helps. If you think about it, the biggest gain for you would be if they replaced that SA with a truly good SA and you were able to get good service from now on - perhaps with a loaner every time instead of "take the shuttle" BS.

Just my $.02

[Overlord]

Don't let this experience taint you on all BMW dealers and services departments. There are two I have used and when I have had issues that required overnight stays, both offered me loaner cars at no charge. In fact, I did actually speak to someone at BMWNA and since I was getting quite aggravated over one particular repair taking two attempts they made a monthly payment for me.

The other option is find a good local shop that specializes in German cars or even BMW's for performance upgrades. Leave your car in the hands of a fanatic and you'll feel a lot better about people working on it (even if it costs a little more).

[HoustonScott]

Originally Posted by Top_Gear_Fan

What does that have to do with anything............

If you have to ask you don't understand, PC is no longer vogue....It's a fair question.

HS

[stickypaws]

Everybody on this side of LA (I live in Malibu) knows about Santa Monica BMW. The OP must be new to town.

BMW of BH is way better. And if the OP doesn't mind traveling, South Bay is great, as is Century West.

BMW Santa Monica has always had the WORST reputation in all of California. I think they're only in business because of new people moving to the westside of LA. Eventually they figure it out and go elsewhere.

[j330xi]

I must have the best Service department.
When I call to schedule anthing.. they Always make sure a Loaner is available.
Car is always done by late afternoon, So I can pick up on the way home from work, OR if they need to keep, I just rack up the miles on their car. When The E93 was in for the leak.. put 600+ miles on a loaner.

Car is returned washed and vacuumed..

They have brought the car to me at work when I could not get away before their closing time. Work is about 1/2 mile from dealer..

[335OK]

Originally Posted by Top_Gear_Fan

What does that have to do with anything............

because she was my adviser awhile ago.
and if she's the same person, i agreed she is not helpful and treat us without respect at all.

[John 070]

Your experience illustrates my surprise, after having purchased a BMW in 12/06. For some reason, I thought I'd have endless stories to tell about how I was treated first class, etc. It's not the case at all.

Your story shows that this particular dealership mismanages their appts. If they cannot work on your car, no need to make an appt. and have you come in. Your mistake as a customer (and mine too the first time I took my car in at 1600 mi.) was to be willing to wait. My dealership needs 2 days to do an oil change, so obviously it's not something you can wait for. I've heard people yelling before, what's the point of making an appt. if you (the dealership) don't honor it?

I think how this mismanagement is routinely masked is by giving customers a BMW loaner. If the whole time you had a BMW loaner, you'd be less annoyed imho. But I too feel irriated when 3 days later no phone call, it's Fri., and I have their 328 E92--I'd rather have my car back and I'm the one who has to ask what's going on....

[nukezero]

please guys , try to stick with dealerships that have earned BMW's reputable ratings.

These include:

Crevier BMW
New Century BMW
South Bay BMW


For all others, try to avoid their service because obviously if they've never won any type of award from BMW, that means their service is probably subpar.

[boogiee90]

make life easier...fcuk Santa Monica BMW

[Evil E90]

Originally Posted by ///Wald

I have had alot of success at New Century BMW. The Service Advisor that I think is the best is John Velarde. He rocks!!

I was suppose to get John but I ended up with that hot girl Donna. Most of the SA's at NC told me websites like E90post are stupid and filled with people who don't know anything about BMW's. The bottom line is I was treated like a second class citizen because I didn't buy my car from them so... to hell with New Century!!!

South bay

[RevC]

bummer. that's santa monica for you.

[F30aa]

Thanks for all the responses guys.

E90SLAM Send your complaints to BMWNA by both email and letter.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/ContactUs/

If you receive phone calls from BMW USA for your service quality survey.
Tell them your experience and go to another dealership.

I have filed a complaint with BMWNA and am awaiting there response. I also scheduled an appointment at Center BMW where I have been before and received excellent service from several different advisors. The only reason I scheduled the appointment last week at Santa Monica was because I had to be in the area that night. I never will make that mistake again.

335OK Is Alicia a Africa American?

We are talking about the same Alicia

[Bmoney2K4]

SM BMW is the worst dealership in Califonia. Worst Sales Team, disrespectful beyond belief and arrogant. My dad wanted to return his BMW 525i after a couple days and lied to him that it is not possible when it was. They are disrespectful, I know the whole staff. Mario, Taj, and Malcom, as well as Stephen are pieces of crap.