View Full Version : Explain this to me, Ginger
Or, better yet, explain it to my dad.
My dad took his '00 528iA in to VOB for his 45K service today. I told him not to as I can do everything provided under that service for about $50 (it's an oil change with wiper fluid top-off and a bottle of Techron in the tank).
They charged him over $208 IN LABOR and $155 in parts. Parts included 8 quarts of oil at $3.80/qt. Now we all know the car hold 6.9 and anyone who has ever changed their oil knows that it doesn't all drain. In fact, I doubt more than 6 qts were added (and, yes, i checked it and it was NOT overfilled).
Oh, the labor included rotating the tires, something explicity mentioned in the owners manual NOT to do.
$360 for an oil change for a 71 year old man who no longer can really catch these types of rip-offs. And this is from a dealer he has bought two cars from and a service advisor he has been going to for over 10 years.
Are your dealers really THAT desperate for an extra $7.60 that they have to charge for 2 qts of oil that were not used?
Needless to say, I am disgusted.
I hope you all can see how you are pissing off loyal customers left and right with this type of bull****.
SONET
06-30-2003, 07:15 PM
Sorry to hear this. :tsk:
If only it wasn't so expensive to start a dealership.
--SONET
I think I know the answer to this one:
"I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m so sorry to read about your INSERT_PROBLEM_HERE. If you or your BMW center need our help resolving this, you can phone us at (800) 831-1117 or email us through the Owners’ Circle at www.bmwusa.com."
I assume it was too late to call VOB? Will be interested to see how they choose to deal with this one.
What's was funny, IMO, is that on top of his invoice copy was the Xeroxed letter from the service manager imploring the customer to give all 5s when he gets the survey call.
I told him to threaten to give 1s if they do not rectify the situation. He really didn't believe me when I said that doing so would magically get things remedied.
It's still bull****.
Mathew
06-30-2003, 07:44 PM
:eek:
I'd really start nagging the service advisor daily until this gets rectified.
·clyde·
06-30-2003, 07:50 PM
Other than offering to do the work yourself, did you do anything to try and steer your dad away from having it done at VOB?
What I do not understand is why people keep bringing their cars back there. I have never heard a single good thing about service at VOB in the past two years, but plenty of horror/near horror stories.
In the late 80s when I had my 318i, I took it to VOB three times in the space of about two months. Each time they said it was fixed and it wasn't. (I don't remember what it was.) I wouldn't have given them a fourth chance, but the car was totalled before I had the chance to take it elsewhere.
Nick325xiT 5spd
06-30-2003, 07:55 PM
VOB needs the money... That new showroom looks damned expensive.
·clyde·
06-30-2003, 07:59 PM
Originally posted by Nick325xiT 5spd
VOB needs the money... That new showroom looks damned expensive.
If they stopped now, the total bill probably wouldn't be that much :D
(and don't go retorting with facts about construction costs...that's not the point :p)
beewang
06-30-2003, 08:00 PM
Hello, I’m Ginger with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m so sorry to read about your father's problem with his dealer. As you know Mr. TouchDown, each BMW Dealer is an independently owned franchise. To that end, we do not have any control over their pricing policy on their sales or servicing operating margin. For us to do so would constitute a "Price Fixing" and it is strictly prohibited by FTC. We apologize for your inconviniece, and sincerely appreciate your financial support of our dealer's network. If you or your BMW center need our help resolving this, you can phone us at (800) 831-1117 or email us through the Owners’ Circle at www.bmwusa.com.
Thank you,
Ginger
BMW North America
:p :neener: :jack:
Nick325xiT 5spd
06-30-2003, 08:01 PM
Originally posted by ·clyde·
If they stopped now, the total bill probably wouldn't be that much :D
(and don't go retorting with facts about construction costs...that's not the point :p)
Given their habits, I do derive a certain level of amusment from the fact that they're building on the old Fudgepacker's lot. :p
(OK, it's really "Fuddrucker's," but who the hell looks at that and reads it correctly, anyway?)
Jetfire
07-01-2003, 06:14 AM
Originally posted by Nick325xiT 5spd
Given their habits, I do derive a certain level of amusment from the fact that they're building on the old Fudgepacker's lot. :p
...
(OK, it's really "Fuddrucker's," but who the hell looks at that and reads it correctly, anyway?)
HEY! Fudd's makes great burgers! Great, juicy, greasy, humongous burgers. Mmmmmm. Their "new" location totally sucks.
It is my understanding that BMW NA has to approve any labor rate increase that a BMW Center is considering.
My local dealer increased their's after they built a new $12 million facility.
if it really pisses you off, why don't you call the dealer and speak to the service manager . . . venting here isn't going to do anything . . .
SARAFIL
07-01-2003, 06:19 PM
Originally posted by Sean
It is my understanding that BMW NA has to approve any labor rate increase that a BMW Center is considering.
My local dealer increased their's after they built a new $12 million facility.
BMWNA has to set the warranty labor rate (which is lower than what you would pay), but I can't see that they would be able to keep the dealer from raising their customer-pay labor rate.
Originally posted by SARAFIL
BMWNA has to set the warranty labor rate (which is lower than what you would pay), but I can't see that they would be able to keep the dealer from raising their customer-pay labor rate.
This is what I've been told via multiple dealership employee's including a BMW Tech that is a good friend. :dunno:
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