[s0nu]

So a little bit of an annoying experience today.

So back story,

For those of you that have seen my other thread, I'm not entirely happy with my F30 because of various issues with the car. (see thread here: http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=996910)

I had an issue with my driver window with the window not rolling down for whatever reason (motor faulty probably), plus some maintenance that I need to do (brakes, oil change, etc) so I called the local BMW dealership to schedule an appointment for service (Competition BMW of Smithtown).

With this service appointment, I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity to test out another series car (specifically the 4 series or 5 series) so I called the service department and told them that I wanted to schedule a service appointment for x,y,z reason, and I need a loaner. "I'm in the market to trade in my 3-series potentially for a 4 series or 5 series so I would like to know if it is possible to request one of those two as my loaner for my service appointment so I can get some additional time to try it out before I buy." I told her I was willing to wait extra days if that exact loaner was unavailable soon, so they ended up scheduling an appointment for me for 2 weeks out, instead of the 3-4 days with a 5 series.

This morning was the scheduled service appointment (obviously today is saturday), so before I went at 8am, I call before I left my house to confirm that they had the car, and without me even mentioning it, she told me "yes I see your appointment for 8am, and I also see that you have requested a 5-series loaner car which we have put aside for you. Now, I live about 10 minutes away from the dealer. I get to the dealer, sit with my SA, get everything done, and as I'm walking over to pick up my loaner she tells me "bad news, all we have is a 3 series."

what gives??? I told her I called in advance, and as I pulled into the parking lot I saw plenty of both 4 series and 5 series loaners in the parking lot, and the service center was empty, no customers. "Each SA has an assigned number of loaner cars and they can only give out what they have".

I didn't wanna argue, I was tired, I left. They gave me a sky blue 3 series, with no navigation. First of all, I got made fun of for the color, but that's not really a big deal. But if my car is loaded, I think I should get another car thats loaded...but listen its just a loaner so I took it and left.

I get a call from my SA saying that the window wont be fixed until late in the week, probably thursday or friday because they need to order a part. I told him the whole loaner situation, and all I get is "we're not a rental company, you get what you get, deal with it or return it." Now, come on... After all the issues I had with the loaner situation, this is how you treat a customer? I told him not to do any work on the car, I'm picking it up later today, and taking my service business elsewhere. I don't pay anything, but I'd rather not have that dealer get the satisfaction of making money off of my car.


Sorry for the long post guys, had to vent a little cuz I'm annoyed.

/endrant

[jonkarn]

Eh that's poor business practices.

They don't have to give you any car you want, as a loaner, but then they should tell you that off the bat instead of leading you on. Why would they postpone your appt just so you can get the 5 series, then deny the request once you came in? That's irresponsible business for a potential long term relationship.

If another service center is close by, use this opportunity to show them what you think of their poor business practices and customer relations and take YOURS somewhere else.

Now, if this happens again at other service centers, then you are just SOL.

[OC40]

Originally Posted by s0nu

So a little bit of an annoying experience today.

But if my car is loaded, I think I should get another car thats loaded...but listen its just a loaner so I took it and left.

I don't pay anything, but I'd rather not have that dealer get the satisfaction of making money off of my car.

Your dealer should take care of you to an extent. My SA and the kind folks that work in the loaner area are great to me. I generally request a 3 Series (my preference) since I have been given 5 Series and X3's on multiple occasions (the 5 is horrible and the X3 has zero leg room). I agree that your dealer should have executed on your request especially since you are shopping for a new car.

That being said, you are getting a free loaner, which most brands do not offer. Additionally, some BMW dealers contract through a car rental company, so many BMW owners receive Yaris' as a loaner. Do you really believe that BMW should stock fully loaded loaner cars to cater to those of us that have a fully loaded car? That's a pretty ridiculous request.

Find a new dealer or a new SA.

[s0nu]

You know what, I'm not even upset about the loaner that I got it the color that it is. It's the service of the dealership that I got, and how much it seems they value my business.

If they postponed my service appointment to get me a Loaner I wanted, they should've had it.

If they confirmed for me in the morning, 10-15 minutes before I got to the dealer that they would have a 4 or 5 series available for me, they should've had it.

If they had multiple 4,5 series loaners sitting on the lot in front of me with no one in the service department waiting for one, they should've given it to me.

If I was upset, the SA shouldn't have been rude.

If they valued my business, they would've taken care of me.

I've had multiple BMW's in the past, and never complained about A loaner car no matter what model I got because at the end of the day it is a free car. But this time I got irked

[simongym]

I completely agree that they went about it the wrong way, giving you a false impression and such. That being said, I do not expect any dealership to stock great loaner cars unless they believe it benefits them. If you want to try a 4/5 series, just ask for a test drive.

Very few dealerships of any brand out there will loan you a $60,000+ car for a week or more just because you want to try it out. You're better off finding a friend who owns one if you want a long-term test.

[openwheelracing]

Be thankful you get a loaner car at all...why should the dealership give you a 4 or 5 series as a loaner? The loaners are simply a good gesture from the dealership.

Just because they have 4/5 series sitting, doesn't mean they "should" loan it to you for free. In fact, I would assume the opposite. Dealers should loan out the base 3 series before loaning out 5 series. Unless you drive M6 or 7 series.......

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

Be thankful you get a loaner car at all...why should the dealership give you a 4 or 5 series as a loaner? The loaners are simply a good gesture from the dealership.

Just because they have 4/5 series sitting, doesn't mean they "should" loan it to you for free. In fact, I would assume the opposite. Dealers should loan out the base 3 series before loaning out 5 series. Unless you drive M6 or 7 series.......

i believe if you're promised something multiple times, you should get it. So if I was told multiple times that I would get a 5 series loaner, they should give me one. That's what I feel

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

Be thankful you get a loaner car at all...why should the dealership give you a 4 or 5 series as a loaner? The loaners are simply a good gesture from the dealership.

Just because they have 4/5 series sitting, doesn't mean they "should" loan it to you for free. In fact, I would assume the opposite. Dealers should loan out the base 3 series before loaning out 5 series. Unless you drive M6 or 7 series.......

I paid for the car and was given the expectation that whenever I come in for service I will be given a BMW loaner car. So no, I will not be thankful for getting something that was sold to me when I became a BMW customer. Just like you shouldn't be thankful that a gym lets you use their pool, because the pool is one of the reasons you might pay more money to go to that gym. They aren't doing you a favor, they're providing the service they sold you.


That being said, I don't expect a 4,5 series loaner whenever I come in for service. But if you do make me wait an extra week because you promised to give me a 4,5 series loaner, then I expect it. If you set the expectation from the beginning then I would've happily taken a 3 series with a sooner appointment and then test drove the other cars at the dealer

[chiefneil]

I agree that's pretty poor service. Not that they didn't give you the car they requested, but that they promised it in the first place when they couldn't deliver.

In the future you'll have better luck working through the new car sales department. Those guys are incented to sell you a new car. The service department is often run as a separate business; they usually only care about fixing your car and getting you out of there.

In the past 20 years of owning BMW's I've learned to just take whatever loaner the dealer gives me and just be happy I'm getting something for free. My dealer has gone through different iterations where sometimes they give you free loaner, and sometimes they shuttle you over to a rental car place and subsidize part of the fee but you still pay a portion for the rental. The two times I've gotten extended free loaners of pretty nice models were when I went through my sales rep.

[daberlin]

I dropped off my 911 a few months ago to get a 30K service done. I was pointed across the street to the Enterprise rental car lot and told to pick any mid size car I want. I wasn't expecting a new 911 Turbo S rental just because I too own a 911.

Though you have every right to be upset because you were mislead and dealt with unprofessionally, in general people should understand that dealerships aren't stocking high spec vehicles to be thrashed as rental cars for service customers.

[openwheelracing]

Did the loaner desk specifically state they "guarantee" a 4 or 5 series as a loaner?

I don't know any dealer here in Southern California that actually guarantees a loaner during the car negotiation process, and this is the most competitive region in the nation. Anyone got this on paper?

You cant believe everything a car salesman tells you. The only thing that matters are words on paper.

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

Did the loaner desk specifically state they "guarantee" a 4 or 5 series as a loaner?

I don't know any dealer here in Southern California that actually guarantees a loaner during the car negotiation process, and this is the most competitive region in the nation. Anyone got this on paper?

You cant believe everything a car salesman tells you. The only thing that matters are words on paper.

I do have a piece of paper that says that I will get a BMW loaner whenever I come into the dealership, unless no more are available, in which I will get a rental car.

Once again, my issue here is not that they are telling me that I cant have a 4 or 5 series loaner. The issue is that they told me I could have one multiple times, and made me wait an extra week so I could specifically get a 4/5 series, and then when I came in they told me no.

[FC4]

Stop whining.

[openwheelracing]

Advice:

1. Better communicate with loaner desk and get a working relationship with them. Know them on a first name basis goes a long way in getting what you want. I dont know if you got the name of the person who offered you 4/5 series, or who rejected you, but it is up to you to coordinate and make sure you get the upgrade you desired. Don't expect the whole dealership to pass along notes to ensure you get a loaner upgrade.

2. I am quite interested in your contract that guarantees you a BMW loaner. Mind sharing?

[newoldbeemer]

Well, here's the thing. I guess the person who originally took your appointment was trying to get you a 5 series loaner, but he/she should've told you upfront that they can't guarantee that, and not moved your appointment.

The fact is, loaners are not for test drives. They are a privilige they offer customers - which they don't always offer. At my dealership, I don't always get a loaner. Many other brands don't even have loaners. It is a convenience for you being able to get to work, home and back to the dealer to pick it up again. They could give you a Corolla for all you know. (which I know some Audi and VW service centers do). It is also impractical for them to stock various levels of trim to match customers' trims.

Why don't you just get an SA to give you test drives? I test drove some half a dozen different cars at this dealership before deciding on the one I bought. I also test drove three cars at Audi and I ended buying nothing from them. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes, sometimes when customers get a different car as a loaner they use that opportunity to use it as a test drive. But that may or may not happen, and you can't be pissed off for that. Its a loaner, not a test drive vehicle.

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

Advice:

1. Better communicate with loaner desk and get a working relationship with them. Know them on a first name basis goes a long way in getting what you want. I dont know if you got the name of the person who offered you 4/5 series, or who rejected you, but it is up to you to coordinate and make sure you get the upgrade you desired. Don't expect the whole dealership to pass along notes to ensure you get a loaner upgrade.

2. I am quite interested in your contract that guarantees you a BMW loaner. Mind sharing?

As per point 1, it was the same person that promised me the 4,5 series loaner that ended up telling me she didn't have one. She basically said something along the lines of "I messed up, suck it up, here you go"

As per point 2, I don't remember the details exactly.. but it was a contract specific to the dealer that said something along the lines of:

As per your agreement, you will receive free maintenance for up to 50k miles, and warranty for any defects or malfunctions. For any services needed, for purchasing a BMW we provide all our customers with a BMW loaner by appointment. By signing this document you acknowledge that you will bring proper identification, and understand that the primary driver must be 21 years or older

somthing like that

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by newoldbeemer

Well, here's the thing. I guess the person who originally took your appointment was trying to get you a 5 series loaner, but he/she should've told you upfront that they can't guarantee that, and not moved your appointment.

The fact is, loaners are not for test drives. They are a privilige they offer customers - which they don't always offer. At my dealership, I don't always get a loaner. Many other brands don't even have loaners. It is a convenience for you being able to get to work, home and back to the dealer to pick it up again. They could give you a Corolla for all you know. (which I know some Audi and VW service centers do). It is also impractical for them to stock various levels of trim to match customers' trims.

Why don't you just get an SA to give you test drives? I test drove some half a dozen different cars at this dealership before deciding on the one I bought. I also test drove three cars at Audi and I ended buying nothing from them. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes, sometimes when customers get a different car as a loaner they use that opportunity to use it as a test drive. But that may or may not happen, and you can't be pissed off for that. Its a loaner, not a test drive vehicle.

I can be pissed off based on your first statement becasue if it wasn't a guarantee it shouldn't have been said to be like it was guaranteed. Furthermore, this morning before I went they shouldnt have said "We have your appointment and we saw that you requested a 5 series and it is said aside for you", the same lady later told me essentailly that "each SA has their own allotment, and we can't give you one".

[34.50]

You should just go and test drive a 4/5, and see how that works.

[s0nu]

Originally Posted by 34.50

You should just go and test drive a 4/5, and see how that works.

That's the plan, thanks for the input.

[OC40]

Originally Posted by openwheelracing

Advice:

1. Better communicate with loaner desk and get a working relationship with them. Know them on a first name basis goes a long way in getting what you want. I dont know if you got the name of the person who offered you 4/5 series, or who rejected you, but it is up to you to coordinate and make sure you get the upgrade you desired. Don't expect the whole dealership to pass along notes to ensure you get a loaner upgrade.

2. I am quite interested in your contract that guarantees you a BMW loaner. Mind sharing?

Agree. The loaner desk is your friend. I know them and they know me. I asked for a 3 series once because I knew that I would have it for a week (I hate 5 series and X3, which are popular loaners). She asks "how about a 4 series MSport?"

[Danman5666]

I would be very surprised if they had loaner 4 series cars already, but I guess they could.

I'm just happy my dealer provides a loaner every now and then. It's not guaranteed and they only have a set amount.

However, it sounds like it was poor communication from your SA.

[DASHOCKER]

im rolling in a white 428 sport line coupe while my e92 is in for service. Best looking loaner so far and it drives well