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Service History?

2K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  spencerb 
#1 ·
This post turned into a rant so just bear with me...

The passenger airbag sensor is acting up, so I went to our local dealer to ask if the recall had already been done on our X3 (we bought it used). I drove my other car and brought a sticky note with the VIN on it. The guy asks the see the car key to verify it was my car, so I get the spare get out of my car and show it to him (not sure how looking at a key sitting on the desk proves I own the car).

Well, he then says there is no recall on the car but to just make an appointment if I am having problems. I told him the NHTSA has issued a recall and he just repeats himself and said to bring it in. I then asked what the service history shows out of curiosity. He just said "not much." I asked again if there was anything significant in the service history and he said no.

I left with the impression that he didn't believe it was my car. He said they have a lot of people come in looking for service histories of cars that they don't own (but may be interested in buying, for example). But most of all his vagueness and dodging my questions about the service history and the recall make me feel like I wasn't welcome there at all - maybe because I wasn't wearing a suit and driving a new 7-series?

I call BMWNA and the rep was great. He said the recall had been done on my car but there is a 10 year warranty on the sensor. The guy at the dealer didn't tell me any of this.

So I go back a few days later in the X3 and asked the same guy the same questions about the recall and service history and placed the title, registration, key, and my driver's license on his desk. He was a little nicer this time (and did remember my previous visit but made no apologies) and explained that the service history only shows dates and mileages and not what was done to the car unless it was done at that dealer. But he still didn't tell me about the recall - I told him what BMWNA said.

Even Saturn dealers (RIP) could show the full details of service done at any Saturn dealer in the country. They also had better customer service and treated me like I was royalty, even with my cheap car.

The moral of this post is, can the dealer see what was done to the car at other BMW dealers? I know that if it was done at an indy shop it would not be in the system.
 
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#2 ·
My impression is with the VIN they can see whatever was done at any BMW service center. The dates, the service/repair performed, and the mileage. Now I can't prove any of that, but that is my impression when discussing repairs with my service mgr. I am sure someone else on the board will have a more definite answer (which is why this board is so great!).:thumbup:
 
#5 · (Edited)
This post turned into a rant so just bear with me...

The passenger airbag sensor is acting up, so I went to our local dealer to ask if the recall had already been done on our X3 (we bought it used). I drove my other car and brought a sticky note with the VIN on it. The guy asks the see the car key to verify it was my car, so I get the spare get out of my car and show it to him (not sure how looking at a key sitting on the desk proves I own the car).Well, he then says there is no recall on the car but to just make an appointment if I am having problems. I told him the NHTSA has issued a recall and he just repeats himself and said to bring it in. I then asked what the service history shows out of curiosity. He just said "not much." I asked again if there was anything significant in the service history and he said no.

I left with the impression that he didn't believe it was my car. He said they have a lot of people come in looking for service histories of cars that they don't own (but may be interested in buying, for example). But most of all his vagueness and dodging my questions about the service history and the recall make me feel like I wasn't welcome there at all - maybe because I wasn't wearing a suit and driving a new 7-series?

I call BMWNA and the rep was great. He said the recall had been done on my car but there is a 10 year warranty on the sensor. The guy at the dealer didn't tell me any of this. And he was lying when he told you it will not show all service/repair history AFAIK.

So I go back a few days later in the X3 and asked the same guy the same questions about the recall and service history and placed the title, registration, key, and my driver's license on his desk. He was a little nicer this time (and did remember my previous visit but made no apologies) and explained that the service history only shows dates and mileages and not what was done to the car unless it was done at that dealer. But he still didn't tell me about the recall - I told him what BMWNA said.

Even Saturn dealers (RIP) could show the full details of service done at any Saturn dealer in the country. They also had better customer service and treated me like I was royalty, even with my cheap car.

The moral of this post is, can the dealer see what was done to the car at other BMW dealers? I know that if it was done at an indy shop it would not be in the system.
They do have a key reader on their computers. They'll just stick the key in the hole and and it will show all information about the car. And he was lying when he told you it will not show all service/repair history. As long as the repair/service histories were done at a BMW dealership, it should show when the computer read the key.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I know he didn't put the key inside any type of device. He just placed it on the desk when I gave it to him. Even if he read the key, how would that prove ownership? It might show the last known owner, but he never questioned it. If that name didn't match he should have offered to change the record for me - which BMWNA offered and was happy to do when I called them after I left.
 
#7 ·
I'm curious, were you dealing with someone in sales or in service?

Before purchasing my car I requested and received a copy of the service history. That's the centralized history that all dealers can access. Later I was told that per official policy they're not supposed to release that!

When I recently had my car serviced, I got a copy of the complete service records at that dealership. I think the original owner had all his dealer servicing there, as have I, so that's a complete record. But if any servicing had been done at another dealer, that wouldn't have been included.
 
#13 ·
Hmmm, I bought 3 BMWs and was given the service history prior to signing the deal, no questions asked. They should be proud to show you if there is nothing to hide.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I like the service manager and guys in the service bay at my dealership but the SA tends to be kind of a jerk from time to time.

He isn't terrible but he's not going to get an award for customer service either. What is really odd is that when I took in my previous car
- not bought there - for some minor things he was great. Now that I have bought the car there he isn't.

Go figure. Humans are weird.
 
#11 ·
You guessed right, it was him. The only reason I'm going is because it's a warranty issue. I'm just hoping now that they can replicate it - sometimes the airbag sensor works fine. I'm afraid they will charge me for looking at it if they don't find anything wrong.

It did feel like they were doing me a favor. Another time I was there to pick up a part and I spent a few minutes wandering around the showroom. The whole time I felt like I was getting "what are you doing here" stares from the sales guys. I know someone who tried to buy a car there on a Saturday and was told to come back on Monday because the sales manager was at home (she suggested they call him to approve the deal but they said no). Why a car dealer can't/won't sell cars during business hours is beyond me. She went elsewhere to buy her BMW.

I went to Memphis Motor Werks and was very pleased with their service. Great customer service and knowledgeable techs.
 
#12 ·
We were traveling this past week and I stopped at a different BMW dealer. They were happy to give me a printout of all the warranty and recall work done on the car with full descriptions of the work done. The guy there said all BMW dealers can access that information. I guess my local dealer/service guy just didn't want to give it to me so he made up the story about not having access to the information.

I believe that if the work was not warranty, it may not show up in the system even if it was done at a BMW dealer.

As for the airbag sensor, I took it in yesterday. Total waste of time. Since the airbag system did not register a fault, they wouldn't do anything. I'll keep that in mind next time I'm driving down the road with my wife in the passenger seat and her airbag off.

I was just glad to get in and get out of the local dealer. They gave me a loaner and said my car wouldn't be ready until today. They got finished early and called me a little after 5pm yesterday. I asked if I could pick it up this morning. He said yes but I had to get the loaner back to them by 8am because other customers need it. So they double-booked the loaner car, right? Well, I get there at 7:15 this morning and see a long row of unused loaner cars. I really get the impression I'm a big waste of their time. Not going back.
 
#14 ·
It is probably your passenger seat pressure sensor in the seat bottom. If it does not detect a passenger, no reason to deploy airbag. If intermittent, hard to show. Could be loose wire or bad solder joint. Keep at them! There was a recall fir the same issue on my wife's 530xi.

Also, find a different dealership. My SAs are great as has been the entire dealership. Nothing but 5 stars for the staff. Unfortunately, sounds like they may be a rarity.
 
#15 ·
There wasn't anything to hide, even though it wouldn't have mattered to them since I already own the car and didn't buy it there. There wasn't anything exciting in the history. Stuck CD and loose cargo light and ashtray.

The sensor recall is the same one on the X3. He said the airbag warning light in the dash has to be on before they can do any repairs. I'm just not going to worry with it until the sensor stops working altogether. And I'm not going back to that dealer. I felt like they didn't want me there.
 
#18 ·
This dealer is the only one in the Memphis area. There's no competition, except for a really great indy shop I just discovered, but that doesn't help for warranty work.

The airbag warning light never came on. If I knew that's all they would check for I wouldn't have bothered taking it in. What I have noticed is on more than one occasion we are going down the road and the "passenger airbag off" light is illuminated with my wife sitting straight in the seat and not squirming around.

According to them, for the warranty to cover it a code must have been generated.
 
#21 ·
So yesterday I drove with my wife in the car for 10 minutes with the "airbag off" light on. If the dealer would have been open I would have driven straight there to show them. But I'm sure the guy would have told me it still isn't covered by the recall/warranty because the dash warning light wasn't on.

I give up.
 
#22 ·
I feel your pain about Roadshow, is just uncomfortable since the minute you get in the door. About the warranty work, is your car affected by the recall? did you receive a recall notice in the mail? If your car is affected, then they MUST perform the recall work, regardless of the light being on or off, no questions asked. If your car is not affected, then unfortunately they have a point.
 

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