Do you guys thinks is fair, sorry, not only fair, morally correct to deny 1/2 quart of oil top up when you arrive to a service bay at GERMAIN BMW in NAPLES, FL when the check engine is on due to small lack of oil ?
Well for the sake of BMW owners I do not think is morally correct to dispute adding a mere half quart of oil specially when you are not from that city and are passing by.
So What I was supposed to go to the highway and call emergency road assistance ? that would cost BMW NA more than a mere half quart of oil.
Service Manager Bill Emerson was rude and adamant to share a little tiny bit of oil, instead greediness took over and wanted to SELL a full quart.
Just by a sense of abuse I drove away to the nearest gas station and buyed them a quart to continue my journey.
So whenever you are close to GERMAIN BMW OF NAPLES FLORIDA, do not even try to receive the courtesy and service BMW owners deserve.
BMW NA makes lots of efforts to satisfy BMW owners and maintain loyalty, however people like Mr. Emerson make sure those costly marketing efforts go down the toilet.
So, what you're saying is, although BMW doesn't pay the dealer for top-ups, and you didn't buy the car there, and have never spent a cent there, and will never go there again, they're the bad guys? You're an idiot.
I thought BMW comes with 4 yrs of FULL SERVICE MAINTENANCE! Has that changed :dunnor are you guys who's been buying your own Breake /PS Fluid because you have money to burn??!!
i'm also very irritated by this. i noted before that i tried getting my engine oil topped off near alhambra, ca...forgot what the dealer is called - but it was because it was the closest dealership from my work at the time. they wanted me to buy it.
ive been getting it for free in both santa monica and beverly hills. not sure why they were so anal about it...
Top offs are NOT included in maintenance and if you read the owners manual it states that. This has always been the case. It is up to individual dealerships to make the call as to top off for free or not.
Let me get this straight, you are venting about a potential $8 oil purchase? Really? You went on a road trip, needed some oil, and with a BMW under your butt didn't have $8 to spare to buy your own oil?
Oh boy, either you are not reading or simply don't get it. IS NOT ABOUT 8 frigging bucks. Right so BMW 3 series is sooooo expensive that my pockets are so empty that I have no more dough to pay for oil, jeeezzzz, who can even think of that.
NO man, is about the company, the service... the customer, and as you can see many agree with me, even confirm there are dealers that do take customer service as a BRAND not as a local cheap dealer.
but if you guys don't get that, be happy, ......... you want to probably take your bimmer to a brake shop when you need the under warranty pad service is up to you.
We top up fluids on every car we service at the dealer I work at. I thought it was standard. I guess not. Not topping off fluids for the customer seems ridiculous to me. Washer fluid, oil, coolant, power steering, all of it. Every car we service. Now if you didn't buy your car there and are just stopping in.......I could see how that would be a different story.
I guess the moral of this story is keep a quart of oil in your trunk when you take long trips just to be on the safe side, save your self some time and money.
Actually, I'm not a service advisor or a wannabee, I'm a BMW parts manager, and I pay for my own oil for top offs...why should you be any different? BMW pays for scheduled maintenance, not top offs. RTFM.
I have to side with the OP on this one...even if technically the dealer isn't obligated to top up fluids per what some posters have stated doing so is a courtesy to the customers of the BMW brand themselves and creates loyalty to both the brand and that particular dealer. I've been pretty lucky that I've only had a handful of times where I've needed to stop by an out of town dealership for stupid things such as blown headlight and signal bulbs, I've always been greeted with a smile and never charged for the service (or even parts in the case of a couple of $8 bulbs). Things like that go a long way in my book when it comes time to pony up the cash for service, parts or a new vehicle. Even if they're not required to, doing so is a good business practice and will help to keep their current clientele happy and attract new ones.
A good non-BMW case in point, quite a few years ago I came out to a flat tire on my old 328Ci one day...I swapped on the spare and stopped by a random tire store nearby my work at lunch to see about getting it repaired...20 min later they guy comes out with my fixed tire and told me the tire was fine and they just had to replace the valve stem. When I asked how much he said 'no charge'...guess what, about a year later when I was in the market for new tires I went right to that store first, got a great deal and excellent service to boot. Moral of the story is the guy could've easily charged me $20 to replace the valve stem but he didn't and did his best to make sure I was pleased nonetheless...this earned my respect for his establishment and my business in the future.
my dealership tops off my fluids for me. just a couple of weeks ago i had the low oil light come on. i stopped in and they topped it off and i was gone in less 5 minutes. it sucks when some people are rude about simple stuff. what does a half quart cost them, like $2-$3.
why do some people on here get so offended by your post. they act like there isnt a principal involved. i thought it was called "ultimate" service.
Just to add my .02, purchased my 535 xiT from Pace BMW in Westchester but I live in NJ. Car needed service (light module failure) so took it to Park Ave BMW, Maywood NJ. Despite buying it from a different dealer, SA told me to come in any time for complimentary fluid check and top off. BTW, they did top off oil while servicing the computer issue.
Well, seems that the majority agrees. Call it, service, brand loyalty, customer service ethics, etc... Germain BMW acted very selfish for a mere half quart of oil. Even when they are about 130 miles from where I live, they could be considered potential dealers to buy a car from, but this little incident has taken them from my list for my next M shopping, and just for half a bottle of oil and the short criteria of the service manager. And again, was never about spending 10 or 20 bucks, it was about the "ultimate service". Thanks to all for your .02. Good luck
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