Irvine BMW

I was in the market to replace my 2005 BMW 525i with a 2007 BMW 530i or a 2007 BMW X5 and like all customers have been receiving quotes from various dealerships within Southern California via the Internet 2007 BMW 530i or a 2007 BMW X5 and like all customers have been receiving quotes from various dealerships within Southern California via the Internet. After looking through 3 different quotes, the one I received from the Internet sales manager, Sean Teaque, was one of the best and he was also the greatest in responding and answering any questions in a timely manner. I made an appointment to meet with Sean on Saturday, February 03, 2007 and I arrived at the dealership at 10:45am. Unfortunately, Sean was with another customer at the time and told me that “George P.” would assist me until he was available to come back and talk with me about the quotes I was interested in going over with him. To make a long story short: · George was very impersonal. He could have cared less about me or the model of car that I was interested in purchasing. · George never offered me to test drive anything even though I expressed interest in both vehicles. · George left us cooling our heals in his cubical while he went off to get an appraisal on my trade. Never came back to check his customer?? Where is this guy???? After 25 minutes! · Once he did return from obtaining the appraisal for my 525i, the first thing out of his mouth is “we got a problem”. The only problem to me was his “low ball” wholesale quote. I don’t think this is a good way to begin the negotiation process with a potential customer by turning the process very negative. · He did not return the title of my car to me. I finally had to insist he return it me. · Accessed my BMW Lease account without my permission. After that, I was infuriated with him and just left. Not only did he waste my time, but I had just driven from Riverside to buy from your store. I have purchased many makes of cars including BMW, Mercedes and Lexus but this is by far the worst treatment I have encountered at a high-end dealership. I have also sent a letter to Damon Shelly and the GM of Irvine BMW. After reading other readers problems, I can see why neither one of them has responded to me. STAY AWAY FROM IRVINE BMW. More

Last week my wife mentioned to me that the iPod adapter in her 2004 325i was not working - plugging in an iPod did not give the usual 'BMW' display, and pressing the input button gave the 'no disk' error. in her 2004 325i was not working - plugging in an iPod did not give the usual 'BMW' display, and pressing the input button gave the 'no disk' error. so she called Irvine BMW and they asked her to book it in and they would fix it. The service guy left her a message that the iPod would not work because the car had XM, but they have changed the oil for her. Well yes she has XM, but its a $50 Roady XT rather than an XM direct unit, get this - it is not connected to the radio - it uses FM to transmit the music. She relays this message to me and I am already for a fight as I am at a loss as to how this might cause the iPod adapter to stop working, I figure that this is going to be 'interesting'. She calls the service xxxxxx - Billy - and gets his Voicemail - she leaves a 'what the heck are you talking about' type of message. Actually it was a fairly harsh message, but I digress.... We get there at about 3:30 and seek out 'Billy', he says that they have changed the oil, but the iPod adapter does not work with XM. My wife points out that it has worked for many months, Billy is absolutely adamant that BMW say that the two cannot co-exist and stops short of telling her that she is stupid - but only just. Finally I step in, I point out that the XM unit is not connected to the radio and the the iPod adapter simply stopped working a week ago, he just keeps repeating that BMW say that they two cannot work together, I explain, quietly, but forcefully that he is completely wrong. He just keeps stating that XM and iPod are mutually exclusive - obviously I am not getting through to him so I raise my voice and realize that I am causing a scene asking if he understands what I am saying. He says he understands, but it is pretty obvious that he does not understand me. I explain - pretty forcefully - that the XM unit is not actually connected at all to the head unit. I actually offer to bet him $1000 that it is not connected and that it therefore does not use the same inputs as the iPod / CD Changer. He however is adamant and will not be persuaded. He then tells me that the iPod adapter in the car is not a BMW one ? (yeah thats why the iPod says 'BMW' on it and the instructions for the unit are marked BMW and in the glove box. Eventually he calls the the service tech over, this guy also re-iterates that BMW say that you cannot have both XM and an iPod. I think that this guys is about as 'technical' as my goldfish and say so. I bet this guy $10,000 that he cannot find a connection, and that the XM unit that I am using does not even go close to the CD changer inputs. It finally dawns on him that the service xxxxxx that had written the report simply saw 'XM' and figured that it would not work - he calls the head tech. The head tech (who appears to be a smart cookie) offers to take a look, and if the unit is faulty will swap it out for me - hooray. Billy meanwhile tells my wife that she should be more descriptive on her fault definition, apparently writing 'iPod adapter broken' was insufficient and he tries to tell her that the confusion is all her fault. 30 minutes later The head tech has swapped everything and it all works, apparently the unit was 'faulty' so he replaced the whole kit. I give them 1's across the board, the attitude, the 'quality of fault finding', the extreme level of aggression and arrogance from Billy was utterly uncalled for. Considering it took the head tech less time to fix it than we spent yelling at each other I can honestly say that the experience was utterly terrible. Finally, they 'washed' the car. I am not sure exactly what they used to wash it, my personal theory is that they probably used a secret combination of muddy water and wire wool. There are so many swirl marks in the paint now that it is almost criminal. The only 'good thing' was that there was no cost, except the emotional and future car detailing ones... More

Terrible experience. I was in search for a 530i with premium / sports package. Having been to other BMW dealership, I was shown all kinds of neat options that was included with this package. To my best premium / sports package. Having been to other BMW dealership, I was shown all kinds of neat options that was included with this package. To my best understand (as a consumer and not a bmw sales rep) that the premium / sports package included various options like Navi, 20 position adjustable seats, heated seats, dakota leather, etc..., So with the basic knowledge of this in mind, I sent and email to Irvine BMW and a shady character by the name of George Panouvic whom I corresponded back and forth with for about 3 weeks via email in regards to pricing and payments. When he finally got down to the price I wanted we set and appointment to come in to complete the transaction. Upon our visit, he stated to tell us that the all the options come with additional cost and blah blah blah. Basically what It comes down to was a big waste of my time, having sitting in traffice for about 2 hours and all they try to do was the ol' Bate and Switch tactics. Get you in and try to sell you on something cheaper. So for all you future BMW buyers, AVOID IRIVINE BMW AND ESPECIALLY AVOID THE SHADY CHARACTER BY THE NAME OF George Panouvic. More

Irvine BMW has the worst sales/service experience that I have heard of. When purchasing my vehicle I was paying in cash and did not plan to haggle the price at all. For any easy customer like that one would have heard of. When purchasing my vehicle I was paying in cash and did not plan to haggle the price at all. For any easy customer like that one would think that the sales people would jump at the chance. Instead it was as if I was putting them out. Then after purchase, a year later the car has been in the service shop at least 4 times, and everytime it is a pain to get an appointment and find out what the actual problem is. On top of this they expect that you have other modes of transportation. No loaner cars are provided even when a brand new car is not working properly. I am very unhappy with this dealership. I also agree with previous reviews that the receptionists are very unprofessional, rude and unpolished. More

We went to Irvine BMW because we had been there before and appreciated the attentive staff and their willingness to back off when we just wanted to look at their certified pre-owned Z4s. When we went ove and appreciated the attentive staff and their willingness to back off when we just wanted to look at their certified pre-owned Z4s. When we went over last weekend, we had a good idea what we wanted. A.Z. was our salesman, and he was intelligent, responsive, accommodating about a test drive and answering even the hard questions, and he understood our needs exactly because he asked questions of his own and remembered the answers. After we decided on the car we wanted, we enjoyed a tri-tip and salad lunch from the grill they had fired up under the portico. This gave the finance department a chance to get our file together. We were soon in Ali Vossoughi's office, where the paperwork had been fully prepared for us. Ali went over every document with us, as attentive as A.Z. to our questions and answers. In the end, we had an agreement that matched exactly what we had settled on with A.Z. Our experience with Irvine BMW was the quickest, most pleasant automotive transaction we have ever had with a car dealer. We have since had three followup calls from A.Z., one to be sure we were happy with the car, second to followup on a small repair that he had handled in 20 minutes, and the third to wish my husband a happy birthday ... he even remembered the date we had mentioned as being a special day. I would recommend this dealership in general and the two gentlemen who handled our needs in particular. There was an air of dedicated service that I have seen only at a Lexus dealership. My husband has had five Lexus models in the past 15 years, and we have always considered those dealerships to be top-flight. Well, look out, Lexus -- Irvine BMW had taken your playbook! More

My husband leased a car at Irvine Bmw 3 years ago. Over a year ago, when we were looking to get married, he tried to sell his car. When his car wouldn't sell he decided to look on carfax and found out tha a year ago, when we were looking to get married, he tried to sell his car. When his car wouldn't sell he decided to look on carfax and found out that there was odometer fraud on his car. He immediately looked into it and foundout that it was like that due to a clerical error by BMW. He walked into Irvine BMW to talk to the GM and was given the run around for over 3 hours. He was told that the Gm was not there and the used car manager wasn't either, then as he was leaving, he saw them both leave for lunch. He contacted Irvine BMW by phone and they blamed the DMV even though we had proof that it was their error. They told him not to do anything and they would fix the problem. Well, they never did anything and he had to get a lawyer involved. They told our lawyer that they fixed the problem a month ago (over a year after we originally contacted them). Well, we went to trade the car in the other day and were told by the dealership that it isn't fixed and that the car is still branded. Now we have to deal with this all over again and Irvine BMW doesn't care to help! It is disgusting!!!!! NEVER NEVER do business with Irvine BMW!!!!!!! More

I have been in the market for a new X5 for a while now. When I was finally ready to make the purchase I went to Irvine BMW as they are my "local" dealership. Upon walking into the showroom I noticed both When I was finally ready to make the purchase I went to Irvine BMW as they are my "local" dealership. Upon walking into the showroom I noticed both receptionists were eating lunch. They looked put off by the fact that a customer was coming in and was about to disturb the meal of double cheeseburgers and fries. Judging by the way they were shoveling them in they must have been the best burgers on the planet. After standing in front of them silently for 30 seconds and wondering if I was in some bizaro world where car dealerships don't want to sell cars I asked the lady closest to me if she would call a salesman to help me out. After the eye rolling she picked up the phone receiver and proceded to dial an extension...no answer. She then said that...now get this "There is nobody available to help you." I replied "Excuse me...there is NOBODY that can help me?" Not even a 'Sorry, but have a seat and I'll keep trying' The bottom line here was that NOTHING, not even a paying customer was gonna come between her and lunch. At this point I turned around and walked out complety in shock. I would really love to know how good business is at Irvine BMW if they are turning customers away at the door. Having read a number of posts on this site I see how they treat the customer after the sale. But a pre-sale customer...heck that's the honeymoon stage. They should be schmoozing me. At least offer me the lame self-branded bottle of water while I wait for someone to become available. If you have found this site while trying to decide where to buy your next (or first) BMW please, do not give one penny of your hard earned money to Irvine BMW. It is my opinion that you will regret it. More

I needed to take my car in for emergency service due to a check engine light and very rough idle. David Stosich was my service advisor, and he treated me with the utmost respect and courtesy. He worked har check engine light and very rough idle. David Stosich was my service advisor, and he treated me with the utmost respect and courtesy. He worked hard to get my car taken care of in a timely manner. He was the ONLY service advisor at the dealership on the Saturday that I needed to drop off the car. He had my car back to me promptly and took care of all the warrenty paperwork without troubling me at all. David was knowledgeable and very friendly. I never would have expected such excellent service from a dealership, especially since I didn't purchase my car there. More

My partner and I purchased two vehicles in July of this year. One was a new BMW X5 and the other was a certified pre-owned 330 CI. While the X5 has been great the experience and have had no problems. year. One was a new BMW X5 and the other was a certified pre-owned 330 CI. While the X5 has been great the experience and have had no problems. The 330 CI has been the complete opposite. While the car itself is actually OK I have had to deal with the following issues: At purchase we added into the contract (and made a down payment ) the prema plate option, six CD changer and the extended maintenance option. The car was left at the dealer to install the options mentioned. The next day , we were notified the warranty was offered to us in error and BMW would not honor it. After a short discussion with the GM we let it go and they ended up paying for the perma plate option. In addition the prema plate was not done but by mistake they installed a security system. A week later they finally got it right and took possession of the car. Since that time I have exoperienced the following: IRVINE BMW kept the check for the first payment in lieu of sending it to BMW Financial. They then denied it was cashed by them and spent the next two weeks proving them wrong. ALL four rims started peeling. When we showed the pre owned manager he agreed to repair them and asked us to kleave the car and they would repair them. The car was dropped off for repairs and three days later ratjher than picking up the car repaired, they accused us of causing the damage to the rims and refused to do a thing. three days later and 12 different individuals looking into the situation they agreed to repair them. As of today 11/15 the registration on this vehicle is still not submitted to the DMV. BMW called and said they overlooked this by mistake. This was after bringing the car in to get the smog certificate done which they did not complete and apparently the paperwork was returned. Meanwhile we are driving a car that is not registered, has expired tabs and they won't return my phone calls. From the the local Irvine BMW management to BMW North America no one returns phone calls or e-mails. Only when we physically go into the dealer and demand to see the manager do we talk to someone and even then it is all xx! They are completely inept at resolving any situation and it will most likely fall us to take more time out of our schedules to get this resolved at the DMV ourselves. More

On Saturday night, my brother was driving his 2003 M3 on Culver Drive when the car suddenly lost power and ABS lights started to flash. This is the third time his car has had issues (but that is a whole di Culver Drive when the car suddenly lost power and ABS lights started to flash. This is the third time his car has had issues (but that is a whole different story)! Anyways, my boyfriend and I went with my brother on Sunday morning to drop his car off for service. We pulled into the service area and there was a man helping out some customers. He said to go inside and speak with the receptionist since the service department was closed. When we went inside, there were two receptionists sitting behind the counter with their homework spread out. Neither one once smiled or stood up from her seat to greet us. My brother explained the problem with the car and asked what to do. One girl handed over a blank Irvine BMW letter sized envelope and said to write his information on it and proceeded to continue to read her Chemistry book. He had to ask what information they needed and what is going to happen to the car. Only then did she say what the process was. The very least she could do is close her book! In the meantime, my boyfriend was checking out the new M5 when a saleswoman quickly approached him and said, "Want to wrap this one up?". Amazing how quickly she was there to help when we were looking at a new car. Where is the service AFTER you bought the car?? As we were leaving, we saw two salesmen standing outside. My brother started to complain about his experience inside with the receptionists. The asian sales guy kept on referring to my brother as "Bro" and "Man". He said, "Hey Man, I feel ya. I'm here just trying to get a date". What is that supposed to mean?? We were livid when we left. Neither salesmen said anything meaningful to help us, but instead made the situation worse. Irvine BMW seems to give great service when you are in the market for a new car. After you have the car, they could care less about your problems as they obviously have better things to worry about, such as their Chemistry homework and getting dates!! Very unprofessional and unexpected especially coming from a high-end name like BMW. Do NOT go to Irvine BMW!!! More