Dealerships

thepharcyde · 10 Jul 2006 at 13:07

I have only ever dealt with Ford, but now have moved onto Mini (BMW). My new car had a few marks on it, various chips, scuffed rear bumper, seriously curbed alloys. The dealership did not do the chip on the bonnet because they had to wait for a touch up stick to arrive but dropped the car of. I phone mid last week to book it in today, and after cleaning the car yesterday spotted a couple of impact marks which the dealer acknowledged and said they would look at. I got a call this morning, expecting "unfortunately, we cannot do anything with the front bumper etc/play Fords game "how do we know you have not done that etc". But no "Hi, its Mr x here, I am phoning on behalf of the dealership to ask if we can have your car in overnight, because we are going to source a new bumper for you, do you need a courtesy car?" I said no not required, I do not use the car Mon-Friday.

I would like to say what a breath of fresh air this dealer is, after some nighmare experiences with Ford well "Dagenham Motors".

They will also drop the car off for me too

I was trawling though Ebay trying to find a new front bumper as I so thought the dealership would say its wear and tear/sold as seen etc as it is 2 years old with 15k on the clock, but I am pleasantly supprised.

Would you say this is normal for BM dealerships or am I just lucky?

[TW]Fox · 10 Jul 2006 at 13:08

Becuase most dealerships are Franchised, every dealership is different.

Scrutinize · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:04

thepharcyde said:
I have only ever dealt with Ford, but now have moved onto Mini (BMW). My new car had a few marks on it, various chips, scuffed rear bumper, seriously curbed alloys. The dealership did not do the chip on the bonnet because they had to wait for a touch up stick to arrive but dropped the car of. I phone mid last week to book it in today, and after cleaning the car yesterday spotted a couple of impact marks which the dealer acknowledged and said they would look at. I got a call this morning, expecting "unfortunately, we cannot do anything with the front bumper etc/play Fords game "how do we know you have not done that etc". But no "Hi, its Mr x here, I am phoning on behalf of the dealership to ask if we can have your car in overnight, because we are going to source a new bumper for you, do you need a courtesy car?" I said no not required, I do not use the car Mon-Friday.

I would like to say what a breath of fresh air this dealer is, after some nighmare experiences with Ford well "Dagenham Motors".

They will also drop the car off for me too

I was trawling though Ebay trying to find a new front bumper as I so thought the dealership would say its wear and tear/sold as seen etc as it is 2 years old with 15k on the clock, but I am pleasantly supprised.

Would you say this is normal for BM dealerships or am I just lucky?

Probably becuase you would be within you rights to reject the car and the fact they hadn't done the other stuff before they gave it to you wouldn't bode well for them.

Also some dealers really try to ensure their customer serivce is excellent. A lot of dealer business can be repeat business. A friend of mine works for a mazda/honda group where their customers tend to change their cars pretty frequently every 2-3 years. because of their customer service they keep the customers business. This approach comes from the general manager and it practiced througout the delaerships. They still have to hit targets etc but don't let all the smiles end as soon as you walk out the door with your new car.

As Fox says it varies between dealers.

Phal · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:15

I recently had to get a new turbo for my A4. I got the Audi dealership to diagnose the problem but when they quoted me £724 for a new turbo I decided to source one myself and originally they wouldnt fit it as they didnt supply it themselfs but... I decided to give a call anyway when I got the turbo and they agreed to fit it as long as it was understood they couldnt guarantee it.

The turbo took around 5-6 hrs ( at least ) to remove because 2 of the studs were reluctant to come out and then they spent he next few hours cleaning the engine of oil which had leaked following a previous attempt to remove the turbo by another garage :/

So for around 8hrs of labour, i got charged £120 since that was pretty much what they quoted me originally

rather lucky since they normally charge £89 p/h for labour lol >.<

Oracle · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:40

I do find that everyday car dealerships VW, Vaux, Ford, Renault, etc are fine for day to day tasks, servicing etc, but BMW and the higher marques do seem to go the extra mile. Yes, its franchised so not every dealer will be the same, but I have nothing but praise for my local BM dealership who are incredibly reasonably priced despite residing in and marketing to one of the most afluent areas in the country!

Even for a pauper like me, they were very helpful.

Phal · 10 Jul 2006 at 16:14

Yeah, I doubt I look like the type of guy that can afford a new Audi but they were still very helpful

They even gave me a free bolt for one of my wheels! wow eh