Damage to BMWs in Service at Washington, DC Dealerships

[Osbcso@xxxxxxx]

Fellow Bimmerheads:

I have the luxury (or is it the curse) of owning two BMWs that are still under warranty and must be taken back to local BMW dealerships for warranty work, unless I want to pay an independent to fix them.  Since February of last year, I have had numerous "run ins" with four "4" that is F-O-U-R local BMW dealerships where, in addition to not repairing the cars properly the first time, they have a knack at damaging them also while under their care.  Issues/problems noted: breaking inner door panel in removing to repair glass seal, bent license plate frame, bumped/scratched rear bumper, 3 foot scratches on hood, crushed brake duct deflectors under car, pressed indentations on steering wheel.

All the above problems were taken care of by each of the dealerships (needing repeated visits to iron out) except the last one, the steering wheel, and that, I believe was caused by the newest dealership franchise in Northern Virginia yesterday.....but they are not admitting to it.  I am also running out of dealerships, and since this one is 10 minutes from my house, I am not kicking up a big stink on this last item.  But it angers me because I know the depressions were not on the wheel prior to the car going in under their care.

Now, I am an ethical person, and would not be trying to swizz dealerships into repairing damage to my car that they did not inflict.  I am also, as many of you are, very attentive to the condition of my car, and I know almost immediately when something has changed physically on the vehicle.  I always wash the cars weekly and look the car over each time I have left it parked...so I know changes in the car.

My question to you all in the Northern Virginia/DC area:  Are you getting the same treatment at BMW dealerships or is this just me and two black clouds hanging over both these cars?  I am not superstitious, so I believe this is happening all the time out there.

All I know is that because of it, I have lost all respect for BMW and their servicing network.  Follow up customer service survey calls from NA and even the dealership customer surveyors have not gotten me one call from an in charge person at these dealerships to say this is not common and we are sorry.  In addition, repeated calls to NA only got a "well they took care of the problems for you" but no understanding that the dealerships are not taking proper care of my personal property nor that I must repeatedly revisit these dealers to fix newly created dealership problems.  I am also on a first name basis with all the service managers at these facilities, expressing my concerns, but nothing gets better.

In addition, my anger has caused me to cancel an order on a 2002 M3 and I doubt very seriously if I will ever buy another BMW again..........VERY FRUSTRATING AS YOU CAN IMAGINE!!! I love these cars so much, but can't handle the service after the sale frustration!!!!  Life is complicated enough without this added BMW aggravation!  It ain't worth it!!

Thanks for letting me vent....

Chris Osborne
2000 M Roadster 25500 miles (a real problem car, dealerships cannot fix the problems)
1998 528i 49650 miles (not as many problems, much better build quality than Roadster that doesn't require as much dealership intervention)
BMWCCA #92573
Ashburn, VA

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