[TonyB58]

Has anyone experienced absolutely horrible BMW service departments? Brought my car to 3 different dealerships because of this interior ticking sound over bumps. The first dealership had my car sitting in the lot for 4 days without a complimentary loaner. The second dealership gave me a loaner but could not duplicate the sound at first until I test-drove with the technician and shop foreman. It was later determined that they could not fix the issue (the process took two weeks). They also stated that it is a common issue with no current fix??????? Whack. The third dealership that currently has my car has a shop foreman working on it but has only been working on the car since the day I dropped it off. The rest of the days, now currently 8 days, the car has been sitting in the lot. And every time I talk to my service advisor his responses are minimal. Any advice?

[DanG]

Call BMWNA in New Jersey. 800 831-1117.

[SYT_Shadow]

I'm fortunate to have bmw of Ridgefield as my dealer. Fantastic sales person, service advisor and the two head mechanics are awesome.

[tracer bullet]

The local Twin Cities MN service depts have actually been awesome for me. Seems all of the folks in charge are former mechanics and love cars, and aren't just sucking up to customers but actually do a good job. I've been given discounts, constant updates, and etc. the few times I've been to either of them. Never had an issue with the work that I can remember.

[chris3g]

dealer service depts are useless if there isn't a code and troubleshooting plan created by ISTA.

[TonyB58]

Originally Posted by DanG

Call BMWNA in New Jersey. 800 831-1117.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that they can do since these dealerships are owned privately after calling twice about it.

[TonyB58]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

I'm fortunate to have bmw of Ridgefield as my dealer. Fantastic sales person, service advisor and the two head mechanics are awesome.

Must only be a South Florida con. I used to live in CT and never really had any issues with dealerships until I moved down south.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by TonyB58

Must only be a South Florida con. I used to live in CT and never really had any issues with dealerships until I moved down south.

I am in South Florida and have absolutely no complaints about my dealer’s service department. Trust me, I am a nit picker and if there have been unresolved issues or the service was less than satisfactory I would say so.

[DocL]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

I am in South Florida and have absolutely no complaints about my dealer’s service department. Trust me, I am a nit picker and if there have been unresolved issues or the service was less than satisfactory I would say so.

Most of the BMW dealers I have found are sh!t. They overcharge and assume that us car guys don't know what we are talking about. When my car was making a loud hum from the rear, I told my dealer it need a new diff. Well they tried to repair it twice and then said "oh, your car needs a new diff." No shit, I told you that from the start.

It's just the way it is because customer service has gotten poor everywhere.

[TonyB58]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

I am in South Florida and have absolutely no complaints about my dealer’s service department. Trust me, I am a nit picker and if there have been unresolved issues or the service was less than satisfactory I would say so.

There have only been two dealerships where I haven't brought my car for service, Braman and South Motor BMW in Miami if that's where you bring your car for service. I've only owned my car for 5 months and in every dealership I go to for the first time I am less impressed (still haven't even gotten an oil change yet). Also adding to the fact that it is nearly impossible to reach out to a service manager, their response time is either 2 weeks or never lol.

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by TonyB58

Has anyone experienced absolutely horrible BMW service departments? Brought my car to 3 different dealerships because of this interior ticking sound over bumps. The first dealership had my car sitting in the lot for 4 days without a complimentary loaner. The second dealership gave me a loaner but could not duplicate the sound at first until I test-drove with the technician and shop foreman. It was later determined that they could not fix the issue (the process took two weeks). They also stated that it is a common issue with no current fix??????? Whack. The third dealership that currently has my car has a shop foreman working on it but has only been working on the car since the day I dropped it off. The rest of the days, now currently 8 days, the car has been sitting in the lot. And every time I talk to my service advisor his responses are minimal. Any advice?

Unfortunately there are no top rated BMW dealers in Florida. They should take note and improve their service. Meanwhile this list might be helpful while traveling if you have an issue.

2023 Center of Excellence Award Recipients (listed in alphabetical order):

Bert Ogden BMW (McAllen, TX)

Bill Jacobs BMW (Naperville, IL)

BMW North Scottsdale (Phoenix, AZ)

BMW of Anchorage (Anchorage, AK)

BMW of Des Moines (Urbandale, IA)

BMW of Grapevine (Grapevine, TX)

BMW of Honolulu (Honolulu, HI)

BMW of Lafayette (Lafayette, IN)

BMW of Little Rock (Little Rock, AR)

BMW of Minnetonka (Wayzata, MN)

BMW of Murrieta (Murrieta, CA)

BMW of Omaha (Omaha, NE)

BMW of Peabody (Peabody, MA)

BMW of Rochester (Rochester, NY)

BMW of Sioux Falls (Sioux Falls, SD)

BMW of Warwick (Warwick, RI)

BMW of Westchester (White Plains, NY)

BMW of Wilmington (Wilmington, NC)

Bobby Rahal BMW of South Hills (Canonsburg, PA) (This is my dealer, awesome service!)

Cain BMW (North Canton, OH)

Crevier BMW (Santa Ana, CA)

Flemington BMW (Flemington, NJ)

Galleria BMW (D’Iberville, MS)

Habberstad BMW (Huntington Station, NY)

Hendrick BMW (Charlotte, NC)

Passport BMW (Marlow Heights, MD)

Paul Miller BMW (Wayne, NJ)

Peter Pan BMW (San Mateo, CA)

Rallye BMW (Westbury, NY)

Sun Motor Cars BMW (Mechanicsburg, PA)

Tulley BMW (Nashua, NH)

United BMW (Alpharetta, GA)

[Rafichicago]

Why this happens is quite simple. Techs are paid on per job basis. If it takes long time for the tech to diagnose the problem he basically doesn’t get compensation for that. With that in mind they will move on to other projects that will make them (and the dealer) money rather than spend days chasing the squill or rattle. I have a specific rattle in my M5 ( thanks to fantastic Illinois roads) and I am not even trying to get this resolved. Waste of time.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

its much cheaper to do known cbs maintence then actually solve problems

[S1nner]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

Why this happens is quite simple. Techs are paid on per job basis. If it takes long time for the tech to diagnose the problem he basically doesn’t get compensation for that. With that in mind they will move on to other projects that will make them (and the dealer) money rather than spend days chasing the squill or rattle. I have a specific rattle in my M5 ( thanks to fantastic Illinois roads) and I am not even trying to get this resolved. Waste of time.

Erik Swanson from Barrington BMW is a great SA. I would recommend reaching out to him. It's the only SA and dealership I go to. Having Bill Jacobs 10mins away from me, I drive to Barrington.

[TonyB58]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

Why this happens is quite simple. Techs are paid on per job basis. If it takes long time for the tech to diagnose the problem he basically doesn’t get compensation for that. With that in mind they will move on to other projects that will make them (and the dealer) money rather than spend days chasing the squill or rattle. I have a specific rattle in my M5 ( thanks to fantastic Illinois roads) and I am not even trying to get this resolved. Waste of time.

Oh trust me, I know the process at the dealership. I would consider myself a veteran in the service department. I've experienced pretty much everything horrible you can think of, except a technician wrecking my car. The best solution for rattle noises is connecting yourself with a service manager and having him/her be your service advisor lmao.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

FWIW my car rattles a fair amount, can't ever hear it as I am playing music or exhaust

my g35 rattled, ticked like a mothaf

greeased multilink axle was there favorite fix always returned. idk man cars like this tick and rattle a lot

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by TonyB58

Oh trust me, I know the process at the dealership. I would consider myself a veteran in the service department. I've experienced pretty much everything horrible you can think of, except a technician wrecking my car. The best solution for rattle noises is connecting yourself with a service manager and having him/her be your service advisor lmao.

I understand the frustration this causes. However (and I am not defending them here) it’s not entirely their fault. It’s the white collars that are making this whole situation as ridiculous as it is. By creating this pay scheme to the dealerships benefitting corporate and shareholders we have what we have since at the end of the day end consumers are not significant enough to even matter.

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by S1nner

Erik Swanson from Barrington BMW is a great SA. I would recommend reaching out to him. It's the only SA and dealership I go to. Having Bill Jacobs 10mins away from me, I drive to Barrington.

Never tried there. The worst experience I had was Elmhurst and because of what my wife does I always go to Westmont for anything and everything. My friend had problem with his 2020 540i with oil consumption. This engine supposed to use no oil. B58 is great engine for what it is however since its consumption was just under that magical 1 liter per whatever miles each dealership considered it normal. I told him that this much oil does not Judyt disappears. It ends up inside your engine as carbon deposits and eventually it will damage the engine. I suspected PCV but dealer refused to replace valve cover. It turned out that there’s a test that can be done. Months later it was fixed at Perillo BMW since someone there actually knew how to do it. Oh well.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by TonyB58

There have only been two dealerships where I haven't brought my car for service, Braman and South Motor BMW in Miami if that's where you bring your car for service. I've only owned my car for 5 months and in every dealership I go to for the first time I am less impressed (still haven't even gotten an oil change yet). Also adding to the fact that it is nearly impossible to reach out to a service manager, their response time is either 2 weeks or never lol.

It wasn’t either one of those. Send me a message and I will give you the contact information for my service advisor at BMW of Ft. Lauderdale. I have been going to him for a few years for both of my cars and he is a straight shooter and extremely knowledgeable.

PS, I can’t remember the last time I had to contact a service manager.

[TonyB58]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

It wasn’t either one of those. Send me a message and I will give you the contact information for my service advisor at BMW of Ft. Lauderdale. I have been going to him for a few years for both of my cars and he is a straight shooter and extremely knowledgeable.

PS, I can’t remember the last time I had to contact a service manager.

It is a good thing you haven't reached out to a service manager because he hasn't answered my voicemail, and it has been over a month.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by chris3g

dealer service depts are useless if there isn't a code and troubleshooting plan created by ISTA.

pretty much.

[prostcfc]

Originally Posted by S1nner

Erik Swanson from Barrington BMW is a great SA. I would recommend reaching out to him. It's the only SA and dealership I go to. Having Bill Jacobs 10mins away from me, I drive to Barrington.

Bad experience at Bill Jacobs? I got my car there, but haven't had service there since it's almost an hour away. Warranty work has been done at BMW of Orland Park (can't really recommend them though).