[steve328ixDrive]

So, today I went to my first BMW dealership. I've been working with my CA through email for two weeks going over some preliminary lease numbers on a 320i or 328i (both xDrive) and asking a few questions. But I've never even driven a BMW before so I had an appointment at 3:00 today to look at and test drive both of these cars.

I arrived at 3:00, went to the front desk, and they called my CA who showed up a few minutes later. He was very friendly and enthusiastic but said he was working with another client so he sat me down in a cubicle with an empty table and walls (no BMW literature, no computer I could do some 3-series research on...just a chair and empty table). Then he said I could look at some of the cars on the floor if I wanted to...which I did...but that only took up about 10 minutes because they were cars WAY out of my price range. Beautiful cars, but nothing I could ever afford (M6, 6 Series sedan, M235i with some Dinan packages, i8, 5 and 7 series...you get the picture).

I was okay with all of this because I thought I might only have to wait 15-20 minutes. It is summer after all, and it's Saturday, so lots of people are out car shopping. But after looking at cars in the $65K - $140K range that I could never afford, I ended up watching a soccer game for about 30 more minutes on a huge 72" TV, then I looked at some of the BMW schwag (clothing, watches, etc). Then I went back out on the dealer floor and roamed around some more. It was in the mid-90s and very humid so taking a stroll through the dealer lot looking at their inventory was out of the question.

So, finally, after 50 minutes of this, my CA comes over and says it will be another 10-15 minutes (maybe). He didn't sound too confident on that figure so I just told him I'd get back in touch with him and maybe try to come out on a weeknight when they're less busy and I left. Totally professional, didn't say anything nasty, just said I understand he's swamped and I'll try back another time.

Now, like I said, I know it's summertime, peak car buying season, Saturday afternoon but the whole point of making an appointment is the hope that you'll be able to come in at that time (give or take maybe 15-20 minutes) and look at the cars you're interested in. It's a 30 mile, 45 minute drive to this particular dealership for me in heavy Saturday afternoon traffic.

And what was even more frustrating was there were 5-7 other CA's who were literally just standing around doing nothing. I understand that I'm the customer of my particular CA but, in the interest of customer service, do you think one of the free CA's could've at least sat down with me and gone over the features of the 320i vs. the 328i? Or maybe offered me a lollipop or something? I've done a lot of research myself on the web but I'm positive I don't know everything there is to know about each car so a CA who's an expert could've shared some of his product knowledge with me don't you think? Or would that be considered cutting in on another CA's customer?

I dunno...if I were the GM of a dealership I would not want customers just milling about for 50 minutes doing essentially nothing.

I'm fine if my CA is too busy to fit me in on a Saturday but it would be nice if he just would've told me that. It would've saved me the trip and the fairly aggravating experience at the dealership. I was really looking forward to driving both cars and that obviously didn't even happen today. And, again, I've never even driven a BMW so I was really looking forward to this.

Anyway, I'm not trying to blame BMW or this dealer or my CA...I'm just curious if this is the norm for a BMW dealership on a Saturday afternoon (having to wait so long and just milling about like a zombie for nearly an hour).

I have to say the dealership itself was very impressive...the facility anyway. They had a little cafe on site, TV's in the bathroom, several wi-fi cubicles, a big lounge area...all first class. But the customer service aspect...I dunno. Like I said, if I were in charge of that place I would not have customers just roaming around like zombies for nearly an hour. BMW's are not cheap and I guess I was expecting a bit better service than that. I'm not the Sultan of Brunei or anything but anyone fixing to drop nearly $50K on a new car...c'mon guys you can do better than this!! :dunno:

 

[jjrandorin]

So, today I went to my first BMW dealership. I've been working with my CA through email for two weeks going over some preliminary lease numbers on a 320i or 328i (both xDrive) and asking a few questions. But I've never even driven a BMW before so I had an appointment at 3:00 today to look at and test drive both of these cars.

I arrived at 3:00, went to the front desk, and they called my CA who showed up a few minutes later. He was very friendly and enthusiastic but said he was working with another client so he sat me down in a cubicle with an empty table and walls (no BMW literature, no computer I could do some 3-series research on...just a chair and empty table). Then he said I could look at some of the cars on the floor if I wanted to...which I did...but that only took up about 10 minutes because they were cars WAY out of my price range. Beautiful cars, but nothing I could ever afford (M6, 6 Series sedan, M235i with some Dinan packages, i8, 5 and 7 series...you get the picture).

I was okay with all of this because I thought I might only have to wait 15-20 minutes. It is summer after all, and it's Saturday, so lots of people are out car shopping. But after looking at cars in the $65K - $140K range that I could never afford, I ended up watching a soccer game for about 30 more minutes on a huge 72" TV, then I looked at some of the BMW schwag (clothing, watches, etc). Then I went back out on the dealer floor and roamed around some more. It was in the mid-90s and very humid so taking a stroll through the dealer lot looking at their inventory was out of the question.

So, finally, after 50 minutes of this, my CA comes over and says it will be another 10-15 minutes (maybe). He didn't sound too confident on that figure so I just told him I'd get back in touch with him and maybe try to come out on a weeknight when they're less busy and I left. Totally professional, didn't say anything nasty, just said I understand he's swamped and I'll try back another time.

Now, like I said, I know it's summertime, peak car buying season, Saturday afternoon but the whole point of making an appointment is the hope that you'll be able to come in at that time (give or take maybe 15-20 minutes) and look at the cars you're interested in. It's a 30 mile, 45 minute drive to this particular dealership for me in heavy Saturday afternoon traffic.

And what was even more frustrating was there were 5-7 other CA's who were literally just standing around doing nothing. I understand that I'm the customer of my particular CA but, in the interest of customer service, do you think one of the free CA's could've at least sat down with me and gone over the features of the 320i vs. the 328i? Or maybe offered me a lollipop or something? I've done a lot of research myself on the web but I'm positive I don't know everything there is to know about each car so a CA who's an expert could've shared some of his product knowledge with me don't you think? Or would that be considered cutting in on another CA's customer?

I dunno...if I were the GM of a dealership I would not want customers just milling about for 50 minutes doing essentially nothing.

I'm fine if my CA is too busy to fit me in on a Saturday but it would be nice if he just would've told me that. It would've saved me the trip and the fairly aggravating experience at the dealership. I was really looking forward to driving both cars and that obviously didn't even happen today. And, again, I've never even driven a BMW so I was really looking forward to this.

Anyway, I'm not trying to blame BMW or this dealer or my CA...I'm just curious if this is the norm for a BMW dealership on a Saturday afternoon (having to wait so long and just milling about like a zombie for nearly an hour).

I have to say the dealership itself was very impressive...the facility anyway. They had a little cafe on site, TV's in the bathroom, several wi-fi cubicles, a big lounge area...all first class. But the customer service aspect...I dunno. Like I said, if I were in charge of that place I would not have customers just roaming around like zombies for nearly an hour. BMW's are not cheap and I guess I was expecting a bit better service than that. I'm not the Sultan of Brunei or anything but anyone fixing to drop nearly $50K on a new car...c'mon guys you can do better than this!! :dunno:

One thing you have to remember is, that you are in charge of the experience to some extent. if that were me, after about 15-20 minutes of milling around, I would have asked for my CA to be paged, and asked if he could have someone else help me with the test drive since he was tied up. I would have done this in a very polite manner, but I WOULD have done it.

They dont like to do that because at that point they are "sharing" you with someone else and that someone else at the dealership will likely want compensation.... but I dont really care all that much about that if they start inconveniencing me too much.

The "commission only" nature of the business means that they will not just "jump in" to help each other.

Your experience was definitely sub optimal and even though it was busy, you had an appointment, so should have been treated like you had an appointment. Its a little different if you just cruise in on a saturday... then you should have had to wait till all the other people with appointments were helped.

If I were you, I would email my CA and state something like this:

"Hello <CA Name>,

I just wanted to write an email to let you know that I was actually a little frustrated by my experience last time in the dealership. I had an appointment, and while I understand business needs to happen, I waited over (XXX amount of time), and still did not get to test drive the car I wanted to determine if its the car for me, and if purchasing it from your dealership is the direction I want to go.

I would like to give you another chance however, so I would like to make an appointment at <Insert time convenient to me>. Can you accommodate me in this? Please let me know as soon as possible as my schedule is filling up quickly, and I would like to make a decision on the direction I am going with this purchase.

Thank you in advance.

<my name>

I would expect a reply from them fairly quickly confirming my appointment, and no funny business on my next one. If not, I would honestly not buy from them.

They only pushed you that far out because you let them (he was probably trying to close on a deal right then). You dont have to be rude or a jerk to want to get help in a reasonable amount of time after your scheduled appointment. The CA let you down IMO.

 

[like2ace]

The OPs BMW dealership experience was very bad. The worst thing you can do is ignore a potential sale prospect. If I were the GM of that dealership, CA heads would roll if I had seen CA's mill around when customers are present.

But, you were a bit passive as well and allowed yourself to be awed/pushed around as noted.

I think you should make your voice be heard, call the dealer customer service in charge and let them have it.

 

[steve328ixDrive]

One thing you have to remember is, that you are in charge of the experience to some extent. if that were me, after about 15-20 minutes of milling around, I would have asked for my CA to be paged, and asked if he could have someone else help me with the test drive since he was tied up. I would have done this in a very polite manner, but I WOULD have done it.

They dont like to do that because at that point they are "sharing" you with someone else and that someone else at the dealership will likely want compensation.... but I dont really care all that much about that if they start inconveniencing me too much.

The "commission only" nature of the business means that they will not just "jump in" to help each other.

Your experience was definitely sub optimal and even though it was busy, you had an appointment, so should have been treated like you had an appointment. Its a little different if you just cruise in on a saturday... then you should have had to wait till all the other people with appointments were helped.

If I were you, I would email my CA and state something like this:

"Hello <CA Name>,

I just wanted to write an email to let you know that I was actually a little frustrated by my experience last time in the dealership. I had an appointment, and while I understand business needs to happen, I waited over (XXX amount of time), and still did not get to test drive the car I wanted to determine if its the car for me, and if purchasing it from your dealership is the direction I want to go.

I would like to give you another chance however, so I would like to make an appointment at <Insert time convenient to me>. Can you accommodate me in this? Please let me know as soon as possible as my schedule is filling up quickly, and I would like to make a decision on the direction I am going with this purchase.

Thank you in advance.

<my name>

I would expect a reply from them fairly quickly confirming my appointment, and no funny business on my next one. If not, I would honestly not buy from them.

They only pushed you that far out because you let them (he was probably trying to close on a deal right then). You dont have to be rude or a jerk to want to get help in a reasonable amount of time after your scheduled appointment. The CA let you down IMO.

Thanks, jjrandorin! Having never visited a BMW dealership, I wasn't quite sure what to expect and part of me said, "Well, these are very popular cars so maybe an hour long wait is just to be expected". However, now that I know this shouldn't happen I'll be more forceful next time.

I think my CA was actually working two deals at one time. He had a man, woman, and two kids on the floor he was working with and when they left, he went outside and I saw him with a different customer. I'm fine with that if he can also fit me in at 3:00 but, obviously, he wasn't able to do that. That would've been three customers at one time!

The good thing is I'm also working with another dealer who has quoted me some much better lease terms than the first dealer. The first dealer wanted $430/month on a 320i xDrive with 7 MSD's while the second dealer had me at $384 on a 328i xDrive with 7 MSD's...even less if I want to lease a demo car. So, I may not even go back to the first dealer unless they can come WAY down on their offer.

Anyway, thanks again for the reality check and the quick response! :thumbup: When I visit dealer #2, I will definitely make my voice heard if my CA is tied up and can't see me within about 20 minutes.

 

[anselansel]

my experience was the same, twice. Walking around the showroom and having to ask for a salesman while people sat at desks or walked past me. The first time i said screw it and left and went and bought a different brand, this time i bit the bullet and asked a salesman who literally walked by me if he could help me. He was like uh sure. I think they are idiots frankly and if i didnt want the car i would have bailed again, some serious training needs to be done...

 

[steve328ixDrive]

The OPs BMW dealership experience was very bad. The worst thing you can do is ignore a potential sale prospect. If I were the GM of that dealership, CA heads would roll if I had seen CA's mill around when customers are present.

But, you were a bit passive as well and allowed yourself to be awed/pushed around as noted.

I think you should make your voice be heard, call the dealer customer service in charge and let them have it.

Yeh, that's exactly the thought that was running through my head. Actually, when I first walked up to the main desk to have my CA paged, I asked two of the other CAs that were up there if they'd had a busy day. And they both said a lot of people had come in that day but a lot of cars had NOT gone out the door and we all sort of laughed.

So, here I am, a first time BMW buyer wanting to get a 320i/328i and I was essentially ignored for 50 minutes in a dealership that was not moving a lot of cars this particular day. "Hello...General Sales Manager! My name is Steve and I might be willing to take a car home with me today if someone would be kind enough to let me test drive a 320i and 328i. Rumor has it that not a lot of cars are going out the door today!"

Technically, I could afford up to about $60K if I wanted to go that high so this dealer has pretty much lost a sale based on what happened today. I will definitely give them a chance to meet or beat the offer I'll get from dealer #2, however. Everyone deserves a second chance and since my CA already had two customers he was working with when I arrived at 3:00, I can see how "things happen".

But, yeh I agree, I should've been more forceful and asked if another CA could've helped me out with the test drive. Lesson learned and it won't happen again! :tsk:

 

[steve328ixDrive]

my experience was the same, twice. Walking around the showroom and having to ask for a salesman while people sat at desks or walked past me. The first time i said screw it and left and went and bought a different brand, this time i bit the bullet and asked a salesman who literally walked by me if he could help me. He was like uh sure. I think they are idiots frankly and if i didnt want the car i would have bailed again, some serious training needs to be done...

Did you walk in cold off the street? Or, did you have an appointment? If it was the former, I could see how they might ignore you, especially if they were busy. But if you had an appointment on both of these two occasions and they ignored you, that's unacceptable in my book.

 

[Kafkaesque328]

Pretty lame. Unless this is the only dealer in your area I would have told him after about 10 minutes that I was leaving, that he had lost a potential client and that I would visit another dealer.. You had an appointment, bottom line.

 

[anselansel]

Did you walk in cold off the street? Or, did you have an appointment? If it was the former, I could see how they might ignore you, especially if they were busy. But if you had an appointment on both of these two occasions and they ignored you, that's unacceptable in my book.

I walked in off the street ready to buy a car and the salesmen were too busy gabbing to each other or on their phones to get up and do their job. Both times there were hardly any customers there. I have bought numerous cars, both BMW experiences were the worst especially compared to my lexus experiences.....by the way in your case, unless the salesman called me and apologized for that experience , i would never consider giving them another chance,you can buy cars anywhere...

 

[Robin128]

Well, I don't know what is going on over your side of the pond. I have to say, without exception, with or without an appointment, whether in my glad rags or going shooting, I have always had the same impeccable welcome and left feeling I was important to them. And that's with the main dealers here...Trainers Swansea, Sytners Cardiff, Newport, Birmingham.

I bought my latest over the phone, they delivered it to me next day and paperwork over in 20 mins. Didn't even test drive it. And with a part ex. Honest.

:thumbup:

 

[anselansel]

Well, I don't know what is going on over your side of the pond. I have to say, without exception, with or without an appointment, whether in my glad rags or going shooting, I have always had the same impeccable welcome and left feeling I was important to them. And that's with the main dealers here...Trainers Swansea, Sytners Cardiff, Newport, Birmingham.

I bought my latest over the phone, they delivered it to me next day and paperwork over in 20 mins. Didn't even test drive it. And with a part ex. Honest.

:thumbup:

we have a lot of sales guys who if they didnt work for BMW, i suspect they would be selling phones in the mall....

 

[Eagle11]

I think you guys are pretty harsh on the CA, it is a Sat one of their busiest days, I ALWAYS make an appointment with my CA before showing up. Other people have made appointments to see the CA. Now the Ca should have explained to you that he was busy with another client and that he could get someone to help him. But in future make an appointment with your CA, usually not on a Sat.

edit.. Don't know how I missed the OP had an appointment.

 

[mcb220]

I suggest you leave. I went into a BMW dealership yesterday. They were busy, but not extremely busy. I'm in my late twenties and don't look that old. I'm in the Bay Area, so you'd think dealerships are used to all sorts of people coming in to test drive. The CA who saw me first wasn't very polite and didn't seem to believe that I was in a position to look at anything newer than a '12 or '13 CPO. He then handed me off to a "BMW Genius" for the test drive to go take care of an older man who was smoking a pipe who came in to test drive a 6. The Genius was very nice and didn't try to give me a hard sell, so I had a good test drive, but when I came back, I was told to wait for the CA. After 15-20 minutes milling around, I politely told the lady at the front desk that I had more ground to cover and that I would just take his card if I had any further questions. I was not impressed with the treatment. Went down the road to a Mercedes dealership since I was in the area and got helped right away by someone who was very nice and accommodating. Today I got a voicemail from the BMW dealership's GM basically apologizing, without coming out and apologizing, for the poor service and inviting me to come back if I have any more questions or want to check out any other models.

 

[jeffjaz]

I think you guys are pretty harsh on the CA, it is a Sat one of their busiest days, I ALWAYS make an appointment with my CA before showing up. Other people have made appointments to see the CA. Now the Ca should have explained to you that he was busy with another client and that he could get someone to help him. But in future make an appointment with your CA, usually not on a Sat.

I disagree. The OP did make an appointment, was punctual, and then was ignored. It shouldn't matter what day of the week it was; the CA should have honored his commitment, even if it meant saying to other potential customers that he's sorry but he can't help them at this time. If he double or triple booked appointments, then bad on him. Any way you slice it, I'd say the OP no longer has any obligation to this guy, especially if there is no apology forthcoming.

 

[SimiClyde]

I disagree. The OP did make an appointment, was punctual, and then was ignored. It shouldn't matter what day of the week it was; the CA should have honored his commitment, even if it meant saying to other potential customers that he's sorry but he can't help them at this time. If he double or triple booked appointments, then bad on him. Any way you slice it, I'd say the OP no longer has any obligation to this guy, especially if there is no apology forthcoming.

+1

Had an experience with a Sales Manager at a SoCal dealer 4 years ago (yes, yes, I still haven't let it go). The response was "I'm sorry the CA didn't call you back, I will personally call you on Monday with the information on the July rates." Still waiting for the call, but closed my transaction with Jon Shafer 10 days later.

I will never darken the sales floor of the other dealer again.

 

[Raryel]

So, today I went to my first BMW dealership. I've been working with my CA through email for two weeks going over some preliminary lease numbers on a 320i or 328i (both xDrive) and asking a few questions. But I've never even driven a BMW before so I had an appointment at 3:00 today to look at and test drive both of these cars.

I arrived at 3:00, went to the front desk, and they called my CA who showed up a few minutes later. He was very friendly and enthusiastic but said he was working with another client so he sat me down in a cubicle with an empty table and walls (no BMW literature, no computer I could do some 3-series research on...just a chair and empty table). Then he said I could look at some of the cars on the floor if I wanted to...which I did...but that only took up about 10 minutes because they were cars WAY out of my price range. Beautiful cars, but nothing I could ever afford (M6, 6 Series sedan, M235i with some Dinan packages, i8, 5 and 7 series...you get the picture).

I was okay with all of this because I thought I might only have to wait 15-20 minutes. It is summer after all, and it's Saturday, so lots of people are out car shopping. But after looking at cars in the $65K - $140K range that I could never afford, I ended up watching a soccer game for about 30 more minutes on a huge 72" TV, then I looked at some of the BMW schwag (clothing, watches, etc). Then I went back out on the dealer floor and roamed around some more. It was in the mid-90s and very humid so taking a stroll through the dealer lot looking at their inventory was out of the question.

So, finally, after 50 minutes of this, my CA comes over and says it will be another 10-15 minutes (maybe). He didn't sound too confident on that figure so I just told him I'd get back in touch with him and maybe try to come out on a weeknight when they're less busy and I left. Totally professional, didn't say anything nasty, just said I understand he's swamped and I'll try back another time.

Now, like I said, I know it's summertime, peak car buying season, Saturday afternoon but the whole point of making an appointment is the hope that you'll be able to come in at that time (give or take maybe 15-20 minutes) and look at the cars you're interested in. It's a 30 mile, 45 minute drive to this particular dealership for me in heavy Saturday afternoon traffic.

And what was even more frustrating was there were 5-7 other CA's who were literally just standing around doing nothing. I understand that I'm the customer of my particular CA but, in the interest of customer service, do you think one of the free CA's could've at least sat down with me and gone over the features of the 320i vs. the 328i? Or maybe offered me a lollipop or something? I've done a lot of research myself on the web but I'm positive I don't know everything there is to know about each car so a CA who's an expert could've shared some of his product knowledge with me don't you think? Or would that be considered cutting in on another CA's customer?

I dunno...if I were the GM of a dealership I would not want customers just milling about for 50 minutes doing essentially nothing.

I'm fine if my CA is too busy to fit me in on a Saturday but it would be nice if he just would've told me that. It would've saved me the trip and the fairly aggravating experience at the dealership. I was really looking forward to driving both cars and that obviously didn't even happen today. And, again, I've never even driven a BMW so I was really looking forward to this.

Anyway, I'm not trying to blame BMW or this dealer or my CA...I'm just curious if this is the norm for a BMW dealership on a Saturday afternoon (having to wait so long and just milling about like a zombie for nearly an hour).

I have to say the dealership itself was very impressive...the facility anyway. They had a little cafe on site, TV's in the bathroom, several wi-fi cubicles, a big lounge area...all first class. But the customer service aspect...I dunno. Like I said, if I were in charge of that place I would not have customers just roaming around like zombies for nearly an hour. BMW's are not cheap and I guess I was expecting a bit better service than that. I'm not the Sultan of Brunei or anything but anyone fixing to drop nearly $50K on a new car...c'mon guys you can do better than this!! :dunno:

I think the CA was wrong here and his management should have rectified the problem. If he had an appointment with you and could not meet with you, a different CA should have been designated by a manager to serve you. Salesmen are paid mostly through commissions and so they can guard turf jealously, but a professional dealership should have CAs helping each other and everyone wins, because a happy customer leaves the dealership with a car or at least thinking positively about one. Our salesman at Bill Pearce Motors did not close the deal on our first visit, but he did close it a week later by making and keeping an appointment with us and we ordered a wagon with just about everything on it.

 

[Raryel]

I think you were treated very poorly and there's no excuse. Age doesn't matter. If I were selling something expensive in the Bay Area and you came up to me, I'd probably assume you were a tech/software engineer making more money than I am! But even that's irrelevant. You are a customer. You deserve a warm welcome, a sales rep who listens to you and helps you figure out what you want to buy - whether its a CPO stripped down basic 320i with non-powered seats or a brand new 750LI with every possible option included and a sticker price that wraps all the way around the car.

 

[Mr. J3030]

The salesman at Kuni BMW in Portland Metro area was very lackluster and really didn't seem that interested in selling us a car. He was actually playing on his phone during both of the test drives we took. It was like pulling teeth to get him to explain any of the features of the vehicle.

The first MB dealership we visited had very aggressive sales staff that were a little sleazy. But they sure were attentive.

The second MB dealership we visited was exceptionally professional. The salesman was extremely attentive. When he left us briefly, the GM passed through and saw us and immediately made a B-line over to us to inquire if we were being taken care of and if we were happy with the process. These guys were also ready to deal and weren't scared to give me a good deal without a ton of back and forth. There was zero "let me talk to my manager" BS and no scribbled on papers. We went back and forth only twice for the trade value for the salesman to agree to the avg wholesale value and I was able to negotiate the discount from MSRP prior to even determining if we were placing a factory order or buying from the lot.

They plied us with good coffee and tea and snacks the whole time. We negotiated in a very bright and airy lounge in the middle of the showroom. It was very open and comfortable, definitely not the "interrogation room" atmosphere that I had experienced during some of my previous purchases. The part I liked the most is that they really went the extra mile to explain features and packages to my wife and made her comfortable through the process. Neither of us ever felt pressured by the sales or Finance guys.

These guys did a great job. If we buy another MB they will be the 1st place I call.

I will not be going back to the 1st Bimmer lot. If we consider a Bimmer for our next car, I will try the other dealership in downtown PDX and hope they aren't dismissive bores like the 1st one.

 

[mr_clueless]

It depends on your location and size of the dealership. I remember back in 2002, I only managed to get time from a sales guy on my second visit, but that was in the Bay Area. At least I managed to get that at East Bay BMW. At, what was then Allison BMW in Mountain View, the best attention I ever got over multiple visits at that time, was "let us know if you would like to order one".

More recently, in the Sacramento area, it has not been as hard to get time from a sales person.

 

[mcb220]

I think you were treated very poorly and there's no excuse. Age doesn't matter. If I were selling something expensive in the Bay Area and you came up to me, I'd probably assume you were a tech/software engineer making more money than I am! But even that's irrelevant. You are a customer. You deserve a warm welcome, a sales rep who listens to you and helps you figure out what you want to buy - whether its a CPO stripped down basic 320i with non-powered seats or a brand new 750LI with every possible option included and a sticker price that wraps all the way around the car.

Thanks. That's how I felt, too. You'd think in the Bay, of all places, they'd get people under 35 coming into their dealership all the time, many of them to buy something a lot more expensive than a 3. But I didn't feel like that guy wanted my business, and I didn't care for that. I agree with the other poster--the MB salespeople were much, much more attentive and professional. BMWs are great cars that sell themselves more than a lot of other brands, but that doesn't mean the salespeople don't need to be professional.

Also, the BMW Genius I rode with was great--but he did praise the C300 a little more than he should have considering he was on the BMW payroll! Not the best thing to hear when I was already thinking that the base model I was testing didn't feel that different from a C class. I'm going back to test an M sport, but not to that dealership.