BMW of Southampton

STAY AWAY. Distain for customers. Don't respond readily, or at all to phone calls; jack up labor times so as to gouge customers. Work that should be completed in two hours or less, takes two week readily, or at all to phone calls; jack up labor times so as to gouge customers. Work that should be completed in two hours or less, takes two weeks. They take no pride in their work. Fail to resolve problems. I have never met an organization that shows such a lack of competence, lack of integrity, and criminal gouging of customers. More

Probably one of the worst sales experiences I have ever had! My wife's car was dying and we needed a new BMW. Based on my own experience with BMW, and pricing being what it is these days, we focused on had! My wife's car was dying and we needed a new BMW. Based on my own experience with BMW, and pricing being what it is these days, we focused on a Certified SUV to get a bit more warranty from the marketplace. We were specifically looking for a light-colored X3 with a 6-cylinder engine (the M40i), a car that was hard to come by in that combination; BMW Southampton had one. Even though it was 3.5 hours between our home in Connecticut and Southampton (by driving or by ferry), the car that was on the lot “appeared” to be all that we wanted. After speaking with Scott, the salesman, we decided to put a deposit down and head over to see the car. Scott said, "this is a great car, clean, no damage, no accidents... why bother coming down twice, you already know how the car drives." (I had mentioned driving a black version at another dealer). That was his pitch, and we were the foolish catchers! Below summarizes the days/week(s) that followed the initial conversation: 1. Scott took a day (or two) off after asking for all the info needed for the finance and insurance paperwork. His emails were short, some salient points needed to be clarified, but after delaying our trip down by a day or two, it appeared that he had everything required. But as we approached Memorial Day weekend it became clear that Scott had not followed through and contacted our insurance agent! I called, messaged, emailed, and even called the Sales Manager, Stephen Melcher (who told me he had NO IDEA what Scott was doing with this deal)! In the end, I did Scott’s work and contacted my insurance agent, asked the agent to contact Scott (instead of the other way around), and on the day we were driving down, learned that Scott did try to call the agent ONCE, but then he went fishing and did not answer the 5-6 calls and messages that the insurance office had left him. As we were driving to Southampton I was in touch with my agent to make sure that the insurance rider was there when we arrived. 2. After a 3 1/2 hour trip, we arrived and were shuffled into the financial manager's office. He was very friendly, told us the salesman was probably with another customer or something (remember, I had no idea what any of these people looked like), and we started the paperwork. Foolish strike #2: We were NOT shown the car and I foolishly assumed that the salesman was reportable and had not outright lied about he the car. After all, this is a Certified BMW! 3. The chit-chat with the finance guy was friendly, perhaps a bit too much for a business dealing. He was tired. His daughter had her prom the night before (it was that level of conversation). While signing the papers, he ran through the terms of the loan, and misquoted when the first payment was due. He said 45-days, I said 90-days. He said, "no, BMW always does 45-days." I pulled up the ad on my phone and showed him, "nope... it says here 90-days." He got up, went to verify, came back and said, "I guess you're right... I really need a xxxxing nap!" YES, that is a DIRECT QUOTE IN FRONT OF ME AND MY WIFE. "I need a xxxxING NAP!" If it had not already gone downhill, that was the start of a steep grade! 4. Paperwork done, we finally met Scott Meyer "the Salesman!” If he spent 30 minutes with us delivering a car (used or otherwise), I am giving him the benefit of more than 10 of those minutes! It was also the most unsatisfying and confusing 30 minutes I have ever spent with a salesman. He had NO idea how the car worked! Not mechanically, not technically! He quickly explained away the loud engine startup sound (though I don't think he understood the “burble” of the 6-cylinder M40 is intentional). His only attempt at being helpful was to offer, "This is the map view I really like!” as he played through the menus without actually showing us what he was doing. When we asked about connecting Apple Carplay, which I had said over and over again was a REQUIREMENT for us, he said, "I don't use that stuff... if I want to use Waze or some other app, I use a Vent-Clip and just hang my phone on the dashboard." Yup! Quality salesmanship... tell the customer one of the most important features he is buying is crap! 5. My wife put her phone on the wireless charging tray (another great feature… if it worked) and the light turned blue, then red. It was not working. Scott tried to blame her phone case, my case, my brother in law's case. We took a case off and he dropped the phone onto the tray, it turned blue... he said, "there you go" and started to rush off to another customer before 10 seconds had passed. We learned that it takes about 10 seconds before the light turned red again! (He insisted that it was normal! We later learned the charger was NOT working). 6. I got out of the car and called Scott back, taking him away from his other “important customers," and pointed out that the hood was out of line. He opened the hood, SLAMMED it down, then opened it again and pointed to the "Hood Lifters" and told me that *I* should play with those to get the hood lined up. Isn't that something that should be noticed and fixed during the Certification process? I don’t know because we were never given a Certification Checklist (which is apparently the normal thing, at least according to BMW). 7. I walked Scott around the front of the car and pointed out a dent with some yellow paint under the driver's side grill panel. There was also a piece of black grill trim that was loose, the tabs obviously had been bent or broken. Remember now, this is a guy who had told me the car was "perfect" had "no dents" and had "never been in an accident". His response when I pointed out the dent and broken grill? "What do you expect? It's a used car, it's going to have some problems!” Since we were now 6 hours into the trip and had already signed all the papers (and handed over a check for more than $20,000), we decided to take the car home. I have a local dealer whom I trust and figured that we could argue about the dent, but anything else would probably fall under warranty anyway. I had NO idea how bad it could be. On the drive home, I called and spent more than one hour on the phone with BMW Customer Care. The agent I spoke with was shocked, sympathetic, and promised to raise the issue to a higher level (that’s another issue, below). Within the first 30 days, the car was in 3 times for multi-day repairs. The wireless charging tray was indeed broken. Once confirmed, the part had to be ordered (twice). The Air Conditioning also did not blow cold, so while the car was in the first time, the dealer hooked it up to an ODB computer and noticed a Fault indicating the Radiator Flaps were not closing properly. The car had to be reprogrammed. We were hoping that this was the reason the Air conditioning was not cooling properly. The second trip had was the replacement for the wireless charging pad, but as we sat in the parking lot with the Service Technician (whom I have known for a few years), the car did NOT cool down. We scheduled a 3rd service appointment and they found that the Fresh Air Flap had not been installed correctly, likely on the most recent maintenance visit (you all can guess where that was done). In the end, I called BMW Customer Care (a number of times). I worked my way up to a supervisor, then a manager, and at each step, amongst other things, they were surprised that I had NOT been provided with a Certification Checklist! I said that I would love to see that checklist, since there were so many problems, and I would really like for Southampton to pay the ~$250+ parts to get the grill piece checked out and repaired (that was the labor cost I was given by my local dealer to pull the bumper off to see if there was any damage underneath from the “non-accident”). BMW Southampton had stopped returning my calls and emails. Nothing from Stephen Melcher, nothing from the General Manager Jay Decker (who I called and texted directly on his cell phone). BMW Corporate said they would "ask" for the checklist to be sent... then called me back after two weeks and when I told them I had received NOTHING from Southampton, they said they could not do anything about it! BMW Customer Care says that BMW Southampton is a "franchise" operator. That they have NO CONTROL over what these guys do with the BMW name, and even though BMW Corporate has asked the dealership to do something to prove to the customer that they did their job and/or that they care about anything once the sale is done. Nope... I don't expect to ever hear from BMW Southampton again. I also don't expect I will ever go to this dealer again... nor would I recommend it. More

Worked with Mr. Henderson he was a pleasure and made everything easy. I called up and he told me to come in so they can replace my tire. Got me out within 40 minutes everything easy. I called up and he told me to come in so they can replace my tire. Got me out within 40 minutes More

Came in for a new vehicle and was pleased with my experience. Steve M and Rob made the process seamless. Keep up the great work and thanks again.. experience. Steve M and Rob made the process seamless. Keep up the great work and thanks again.. More

I had such a pleasant experience while at this BMW location. Nick G was extremely knowledgeable & friendly while helping me. I'll certainly recommend him & the BMW of Southampton family to everyone I location. Nick G was extremely knowledgeable & friendly while helping me. I'll certainly recommend him & the BMW of Southampton family to everyone I know. More

Nick was just extremely helpful. It was my first time purchasing a car by myself and made the process that is usually painstaking, very easy purchasing a car by myself and made the process that is usually painstaking, very easy More

The dealership was very friendly overall. I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for when I walked in, but I was assisted by Nick who was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to help. I will certai exactly what I was looking for when I walked in, but I was assisted by Nick who was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to help. I will certainly be back. More