Santa Monica BMW - Service Center

Service manager (Bill) was very curt & rude to me when I was trying to find out about warranty options for my car, which was nearing the end of its warranty period (50k miles). Of the 6 problems I'v when I was trying to find out about warranty options for my car, which was nearing the end of its warranty period (50k miles). Of the 6 problems I've brought the car in for, roughly 1/3 of the work was not done, or done incorrectly. I'm going to take my car to Century West to get it done right, the first time. More

The service dept gave me a hard time because I did not have an appointment this morning, and did not care that the new 2005 745I stopped running with a major malfunction and they did not know if they coul have an appointment this morning, and did not care that the new 2005 745I stopped running with a major malfunction and they did not know if they could help...I felt that I was not wanted there so was my vehicle, and the dealer did not have a loaner for me to drive, so here I'm having paid $85.000 for a vehicle and getting stuck at Santa Monica BMW. More

over the years, i have worked basically with everyone at the dealership. they are condescending, rude, and patronizing. they cannot get work done in a reasonable amount of time - or, in many cases, in the a the dealership. they are condescending, rude, and patronizing. they cannot get work done in a reasonable amount of time - or, in many cases, in the amount of time promised. they treat you like a second-class citizen if you buy your car at another dealership and have gone so far as to say that if i want the warranty work done on my car in a timely fashion, i should go back to new century where i bought my car. they only give loaners to people who buy from them and will only give you a ride one-way. after waiting a week, each time, for an appointment, it's ridiculous to have to wait an entire day for them to hook up the computer to your car to check error codes (a 5-minute job, literally). sort of defeats the purpose of a warranty when you can't get anything fixed in a timely fashion and have to pay for the rental car in the meantime. if it weren't for the warranty, i'd never step foot in the dealership again. rude, horrible people who will NEVER return a phone call... More

This dealership is full of incompetent fools. My property has been stolen from my car on two different occassions and the Service Manager stated, "my guys don't steal." I told him I wanted to see t property has been stolen from my car on two different occassions and the Service Manager stated, "my guys don't steal." I told him I wanted to see the video surveylance and he refused. If he was so confident about this then why was he so unwilling? Obviously doubt. In any case a pair of $400 sun glasses and a $1000 camera were stolen. <br><br>There IS NO CUSTOMER SERVICE, RESPECT, OR COMPETENCE at this dealership. They make you wait and wait before you get helped, make you wait even more for an appt., and then tell you there is nothing wrong with your car when something obviosuly is wrong. I had issues with my fan for months and months and they kept on replacing it and the same noise occurred, until they finally gave up and said "some fans are louder than others." Well I doubt some fans sound like air blowers and jet engines. <br><br>On top of all this I have a 540ia with 53k miles and the reverse gear on the transmission is gone and now the dealer wants $5,400 to replace it, saying the entire transmission is gone, when in fact the car drives beautifully in 1-5. Please tell me how the transmission can not be fixed?<br><br>It seems BMW dealerships are the pits, especially the jerks in service. I will never buy a BMW (after 3 owned) I will go back to Mercedes where the cars are more reliable and the customer service is great. More

Where to begin... I just got back from having a $1,200 brake job done on a 2001 530 with 37,000 miles on it. I was told the brakes usually last about 25,000 miles, and that I was lucky. I've had 2 new 4-r brake job done on a 2001 530 with 37,000 miles on it. I was told the brakes usually last about 25,000 miles, and that I was lucky. I've had 2 new 4-runners, 1 new Ford SHO, and a new Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4. They all cost less, two of them had higher horsepower, one was about the same (220HP on the SHO, 300HP on the Mitsu, 260HP on the 4-runner with a blower). NONE failed as often or required brakes, turn signal service, or engine shutdown repair as early.<br><br>I asked them to fix a rattling sunroof, it rattled all the way home. Probably because it was still under warranty.<br><br>When I bought the car from this dealership I was PROMISED I would get a loaner BMW every time I came in for service. Del promised me that. Lying comes easy for some. I've never gotten a loaner. Even after bitching and moaning.<br><br>Here's a list of some fun things they've done in the last three years:<br><br>Were asked to patch a small hole in driver-side leather seat. They said the good news is I don't have to pay for the "fix," the bad news is that the seat has what looks to be a nickel sized tar patch on it.<br><br>After having the car for two months I noticed that the odometer and speedometer were 7% fast. This means my warranty runs out 7% fast. I verified this with mile markers, a properly calibrated vehicle driven by my wife, and a GPS. I had a screaming match with the service manager about it. He told me there was no way to calibrate the odo, and that I was safer if I thought I was going faster than I was actually going.<br><br>EVERY time I bring the car in I need to be sure to call them by the end of the day to see if the car is ready. If not, they will not call me and I'll need to catch a ride home. Yesterday I read my number to the service rep. He said "yep, that's what I have, we'll call you when the car's ready." They had my number wrong in the computer. After three years of getting the wrong number when (if) they tried to call me, wouldn't they think to correct it?<br><br>The rear deck factory speaker blew twice. Each time it happened I lost the car for two days to service. How long does it take to put a speaker in? Why do they keep blowing? I put an after-market system in after the second time.<br><br>Several times I've taken the car in for service and had something else go wonky as a result of their service. One example is the $4K sound system I had installed at Al and Ed's. It sounded great until I brought the car in for the malfunction of the month. When I got the car back the left/front speaker wasn't working. "It's not factory intsalled, we're not responsible for it." Yea, but you broke it ya jerks. I also love the big grease smear on my sun visor.<br><br>I'm too angry to recount any more of my experiences. These guys are incompetent crooks. Steer clear of them. I'll be test driving the C55 AMG this weekend.<br> More

After reading the other post, I feel like I am not the only one that after making an appointment a WEEK ahead that somehow that appointment was not in the system. Maybe, they are just saying it for the he only one that after making an appointment a WEEK ahead that somehow that appointment was not in the system. Maybe, they are just saying it for the hell of it. I have had Many BMW's in the past, went to SM BMW for the first time in 04/2004 with a car still under warranty. They kept me for about 45 min. before they even talked to me, then comes all this issue with not the appointment being set up. After a heated argument they tried to make me feel good by "arranging" the next available slot. Pissed as hell, I took off that place never to return. I have been to Beverly Hills BMW and Pacific BMW (Glendale) who have treated me and my wife wonderfully. So why take my car to place where none cares ? Everytime I pass by the dealer, it gives me the shiver! More

I have dealt with three Southern California BMW dealerships and the Santa Monica BMW dealership was hands down the worst of the three. In fact I would say they have the worst service of any dealer dealerships and the Santa Monica BMW dealership was hands down the worst of the three. In fact I would say they have the worst service of any dealership I have ever dealt with. Let me summarize my service experience that lasted three days. <br><br>I brought my 2004-530i into the Santa Monica service center to inspect an airbag light. I arrived at my scheduled time and everything went smoothly that morning. I did not receive an update call the entire day from my service rep. After a few attempts in contacting my rep, he finally got back to me in the early evening. I was told that they could not work on my car that day because they were busy with other cars. Despite my displease, I gave them the benefit of the doubt (mistake!).<br><br>I picked up my car and returned the following morning for a new appointment. The first hint of an issue was that my representative had no idea who I was and went on to ask what I needed done on my car. After a few minutes of explaining that my appointment was the day before and that he told me to come back that morning, he finally remembered. I made it clear that I needed the car done that day, and he assured me that my car would have priority. Once again I received no calls all day. I contacted the rep in the afternoon and was told to call back about an hour later, I did. I was then told that the car would be ready at about 5pm and everything looked great. I called back at 6pm to confirm that it was ready, the service rep told me the car was all done. Upon arrival I was told that they just had to finish some paper work and it would be ready in a few minutes. A few more minutes went by and my service rep came out to tell me that the car was in fact not ready and they needed it for another day. He went on to say that they will have to load new software that takes hours to do and they will have to do it in the morning. At this point I was livid and just wanted my car back. I knew this would cost me big because I had to ask my wife to drive an hour down to Santa Monica to pick me up.<br><br>Finally on the third day the car was ready, BUT they could not find my car. The id tags were switched and it took them 20 minutes to locate my car. I thought the nightmare was over, only to discover the next day that they did not fully reattach my dash. I have yet to go back.<br><br>This experience is unacceptable, especially at the premium paid for this car. I don’t know about the sales side of Santa Monica BMW but I know I would advise everyone to avoid the service department, if possible. <br> More

left car for routine service, and noted a couple of minor warranty repairs. Car was returned marked all work performed, but the two warranty problems still persisted. I went to the dealer, and the mechan warranty repairs. Car was returned marked all work performed, but the two warranty problems still persisted. I went to the dealer, and the mechanic told me they did not look at the warranty items because they "did not have time" and I would have to make another appointment to have them looked at, even though the paperwork said otherwise. I would not trust these guys at all, and will never take my car there again. More

Hard to know where to start. I can say I have never had a worse experience. The irony is that they have signs on their desks that say "Listen, Solve, Care." <br><br>An example: My X5 died on a Tuesday - a worse experience. The irony is that they have signs on their desks that say "Listen, Solve, Care." <br><br>An example: My X5 died on a Tuesday - wouldn't start - no click. BMW road svc was dispatched - got a 90 min estimate. In the mean time, the 3rd attempt at jumpstarting started the car, but numerous warning lts were lit. Called RoadSvc, and was told it was safe, but to bring it in to SM BMW in the AM. When I did, I was asked what the problem was. I told the svc rep, and was asked if the car was working now. When I said it was, he refused to write up a ticket. I told him that the car had died, and even had pictures of the warning lights. He would not write up a ticket. He said I should wait for it to fail again. <br><br>Finally, after 20 minutes of arguing, he wrote up a ticket with a due date of 4p later that day. He would not provide a loaner. I did not hear back, so I called that afternoon, Thu and Fri. Finally I got a call back saying "just like I thought, it was the battery." Of course, this warranty battery (2nd time for the car) cost me $160 in rental car charges which they refused to pick up even though they were late. On the failure to call back, the svcrep said "I didn't have anything to tell you so I didn't call you back." Listen, Solve, Care indeed.<br><br>Also: When you ask for the Svc Mgr's manager, they give you the number of their attorney. More

They charge exorbitant rates for service. A brake job costs twice as much as a brake job at Century BMW in the valley. This is not an exageration. The total at Santa Monica BMW was $990.31 for 4brakes/ro costs twice as much as a brake job at Century BMW in the valley. This is not an exageration. The total at Santa Monica BMW was $990.31 for 4brakes/rotors. The total at Center BMW was $501.54 for exactly the same service. They clean your car; however, they leave water marks all over the car bad enough that a real car wash is necessary. My gas tank was 1/4 full when I dropped off my car. When I picked it up, the yellow light was on. More