Bobby Rahal BMW of South Hills - Service Center

I've had 11 BMWs, currently own 3 and love the cars. When I moved to the Pittsburgh Area, I found that, unlike Atlanta where I moved from, 3-rivers, now Bobby Rahal, is simply out to make as much money When I moved to the Pittsburgh Area, I found that, unlike Atlanta where I moved from, 3-rivers, now Bobby Rahal, is simply out to make as much money as possible. A lack of competition will do that. There are NO BMW certified mechanics in the Pittsburgh area other than the dealers. Nearly every experience I've had with Bobby Rahal has demonstrated a total lack of consideration for the financial aspects of owning a BMW. I will drive to Sewickley if I need anything major for my cars. New car sales: I have visited this dealer many times in search of a new BMW. They will not negotiate as they are one of only two BMW dealers in town and don't think anyone will travel to get a deal. I ended up driving to a dealer near Columbus to buy a new, identical 5 series for over $8k less than Rahal's best price. Used car sales: I Asked for a particular year and model of X5 and was told they don't have one (shown several newer, MUCH more expensive ones), only to find the exact car I was looking for listed on AutoTrader from Rahal. Returning to the dealer, I found that the car was still there, way in the back on the back lot. The salesman told me when I found the above car that it was going to Auction TODAY and I needed to decide if I was going to buy it immediately. I returned a week later and found that the car was still there. Maintenace services: 18 months ago, I went to Rahal for a set of tires. The service rep kept calling me telling me there were issues with the car that needed service right away. By the time I picked up my car, he had called with over $4,400 worth of "needed service" on my 2000 328i. I declined all of it except a front wheel alignment. The car had 175,000 miles on it at the time, had no engine lights, made no noises and my own engine diagnostics tool said it needed nothing. A few weeks later I took it to a BMW dealer in the DC area and they said it needed nothing immediately but gave me a list of minor items to consider (belts, fluids, etc). A month later I had it inspected and it passed with no problems. None of the issues Rahal outlined have been brought up by any dealer or mechanic, including Rahal, in the 18 months since I was there. Last week I took my old 5 series (182,500 mi) to Pep Boys to see if they could diagnose a clicking noise in the engine that I could not. (I was prepared to pay for diagnostics only if they could not find it or if it was troo big a job for them.) They correctly diagnosed a belt tensioner but said it would be a few days before they could get one. I called parts at Rahal to see if they had the part. Here's what they said: Has the system been updated yet? I said no. According to Rahal, the tensioner system in these cars has been updated. The new assembly involves 15 parts and costs about $350.00. The old part is no longer available. It takes about 2 hours (at $125-150 an hour) to do the job. That's $650 to replace a belt tensioner! I said thanks anyway, hung up the phone and rattled off the story to the service guy at Pep Boys. He looked at his computer and said for $90.00 he could have the OEM part I need to fix my car in a day. I agreed. Total bill at Pep Boys? $218.50. I have a lot of other stories about Rahal that are simply infuriating. They include: Having to wait nearly two months for an "appointment" to see a service technician. Being told that my old tires or parts have already been recycled when I pick up the car. In one case, they charged me $50.00 to clear a sunroof drain but were unable to clear it. The service consultant said the drain was pinched when I had the chipped windshield replaced. I went home, jammed a wire down the drain and some dirt and water dropped out of the drain under the car. They charged me $50.00 but never even tried to clear the drain. In another, they offered to check the alignment when I was getting new tires. I said OK. The service technician told me they were unable to make any adjustments because the adjustment bolts were frozen. they would have to replace the control arms. I said forget it. They still insisted on charging me for the alignment because they put the car on the rack. They would not release the car to me until I agreed to pay the $100 for the alignment. I took it to a dealer in DC, told them about the bolts and they adjusted the front end and said the bolts were fine. Constant hints from service about buying a newer car. ("You know, this car is going to be really unreliable with so many miles on it. You should look at one of our new ones", etc.) And every time I go in for a part in the new facility, even an oil filter, I have to wait about 20 minutes to get and pay for it. It is amazing to me that car dealers can be so blind to think that they have a captive market. I keep hoping that this dealer will improve and occasionally give them opportunities to redeem themselves. Too bad they have never taken any of them. If you are looking for a car, call around. You might save thousands getting one from another city. If you have to get your BMW serviced. Consider using "lesser" service centers for most work and only taking it to a dealer for the big stuff. Again, you could save thousands doing this. BMWs are terrific cars. Rahal is NOT a terrific dealer. More