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Century BMW Greenville, SC

6K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  need4speed 
#1 ·
Time Line

6/10 – Emailed Finance Manager about a quote for $3495 was a 84k/100k Platinum. Was told he would ask the GM for match approval.

6/15 – received email stating that Century BMW would match

7/27 – met with Finance Manager and signed paperwork and paid cash for 84k/100k plan. Pointed out to Finance Manager that the paperwork was incorrect and only showed the 72k/100k gold package. Finance Manager picked up the phone and called someone that the paperwork was incorrect. Was told it would be corrected.

7/31 – email form Finance Manager “Good morning , I sent over a change request to 84/100,000 yesterday. I will let you know when it finalizes”

8/8 – emailed Finance Manager asking for a status update, received email back stating “NOT YET , BUT I SHOULD THIS WEEK SIR. I HAVE SENT THE INFO”

8/9 – received paperwork in mail form BMW NA with the 2 year gold. called BMW NA and asked about the change request, was told nothing in the system and they filed a complaint. Emailed Finance Manager and he called me and said I needed to come in and sign a paper. I drove down and signed a cancellation document I asked Finance Manager what about new paperwork for the correct warrantee was told he has it handled.



Now I am not dumb, I should have signed new paperwork…..now it will be 4-6 weeks before I get a refund and buy a warrantee…I feel he was leading me on long enough that my factory warrantee would be up. He was flat out lying to me and I have it all documented.



I work for a supplier to the BMW Plant here in SC and I know the level of service that is expected from my company, too bad BMW does not expect this of the dealerships.




I am disappointed that what should have been the best car I ever bought has turned into the worst car buying experience.
 
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#2 ·
That sucks. Dishonest bunch of sh!t heads always trying to lie and steal from people, thinking they are so smart. It's good you have the contacts with them in writing and that you caught the slight of hand as you signed the documents. In the future I would recommend not signing until the documents have been corrected.
 
#3 ·
Time Line

6/10 - Emailed Finance Manager about a quote for $3495 was a 84k/100k Platinum. Was told he would ask the GM for match approval.

6/15 - received email stating that Century BMW would match

7/27 - met with Finance Manager and signed paperwork and paid cash for 84k/100k plan. Pointed out to Finance Manager that the paperwork was incorrect and only showed the 72k/100k gold package. Finance Manager picked up the phone and called someone that the paperwork was incorrect. Was told it would be corrected.

7/31 - email form Finance Manager "Good morning , I sent over a change request to 84/100,000 yesterday. I will let you know when it finalizes"

8/8 - emailed Finance Manager asking for a status update, received email back stating "NOT YET , BUT I SHOULD THIS WEEK SIR. I HAVE SENT THE INFO"

8/9 - received paperwork in mail form BMW NA with the 2 year gold. called BMW NA and asked about the change request, was told nothing in the system and they filed a complaint. Emailed Finance Manager and he called me and said I needed to come in and sign a paper. I drove down and signed a cancellation document I asked Finance Manager what about new paperwork for the correct warrantee was told he has it handled.

Now I am not dumb, I should have signed new paperwork…..now it will be 4-6 weeks before I get a refund and buy a warrantee…I feel he was leading me on long enough that my factory warrantee would be up. He was flat out lying to me and I have it all documented.

I work for a supplier to the BMW Plant here in SC and I know the level of service that is expected from my company, too bad BMW does not expect this of the dealerships.

I am disappointed that what should have been the best car I ever bought has turned into the worst car buying experience.
It's interesting to hear about an after sales experience with them. Can you pull the charges if you used a CC to pay, and use another dealer? I've never dealt with an extended warranty with BMW - Only Fidelity on a VW that was sold at purchase.
 
#6 ·
I'm about one more annoying lie away from canceling my order with century. My CA is great but the finance guy has been miserable and keeps making up new requirements in order to finish up our approval/deal with our trade in. We even called BMWFS and they said he doesn't know what hes talking about and to have him call them and they will straighten him out. At this point it makes me wonder what other crap hes going to try and sneak by us and I don't feel comfortable dealing with him anymore. I wonder if its the same guy you were dealing with...

If you read their reviews online too it makes me really nervous to buy a car from them..... makes you really wonder what they are doing here.
 
#7 ·
Alright, we picked up our car a few days ago from century and it couldn't have been a nicer experience. I'm willing to retract some of my irritation at century. They got a new GM (Tommy) a few weeks ago and he fell over himself to apologize for how we were initially treated. He seemed like he was sincere in trying to turn century around and even if he was BSing he made me feel like he cared which is what really matters. Our CA got us a different FI guy who was ridiculously nice, friendly, and not pushy and even though we still went with our credit union financing, he actually offered me a competitive rate. The GM also said he had let go of the majority of people in the service center and is working on turning it around too. So I will at least give them a chance where as before I was ready to just take my car to asheville for service.

Finally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another BMW from our AWESOME! CA, Jana Crain. We are younger buyers and a few other CA's we talked to didn't treat us with respect and didn't take us seriously. With Jana it was a totally different world. She listened to us, didn't push us, and fought for us the whole way. I would recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy a BMW.
 
#8 ·
Interesting story. I wanted to use century BMW for sales and service of my BMW. But a couple of people there were such tools to me. O well bought my M thru dealership in Atlanta and have it serviced in Asheville. I have heard the new general manager is trying to turn things around. My suggestion to him would be to tell his employees not to treat potential customers like crap.
 
#10 ·
My CA was great, but the finance manager was awful. I will never deal with them again!
 
#11 ·
Similar to the OP's original post, I have found this dealer to be completely unethical. Tommy (GM) tells you what you want to hear but then comes up empty in his promises. Will drive to Atlanta or Charlotte to avoid Century, even for service. They try to act first class since they are in BMW mfg's backyard, but it truly is a shady operation. Their "true price" strategy is a bunch of BS. Buyer beware.. Get a better experience elsewhere
 
#13 ·
Similar to the OP's original post, I have found this dealer to be completely unethical. Tommy (GM) tells you what you want to hear but then comes up empty in his promises. Will drive to Atlanta or Charlotte to avoid Century, even for service. They try to act first class since they are in BMW mfg's backyard, but it truly is a shady operation. Their "true price" strategy is a bunch of BS. Buyer beware.. Get a better experience elsewhere
+1. Their service department is fine, but sales really acts like they are the only game in town. I want to show them a map with Charlotte 1.5 hrs away and Atlanta 2.5 hrs away and the Performance Center (for PCD) 30 min. away and ask how they think their prices make any sense. I'll spend an afternoon to save 5k. N4S
 
#12 · (Edited)
I bought a 2010 535i from Century in October 2012. The CA, Shawn Vallini, was a good guy. I did get tired of that "true price" nonsense. I traded my 2007 525xi but the dealer was not empowered to deal. They are a Sonic dealer and had to get approval for everything from HQ in Charlotte. The finance guy was very demeaning when I opted not to purchase extended maintenance. He said something like"you like losing money." This summer I explored trading my car for a CPO Porsche Cayman at another Sonic dealer in Nashville. I asked if there was any loyalty incentive for previous Sonic buyers. I was told that was not needed since they had "true price." What a crock. They then went on to low ball me on my trade offering 6k less than my best offer. My advice is avoid any Sonic dealer.


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