BMW Not the ULTIMATE service!

BMW Not the Ultimate Service for the Ultimate Driving Machine.

BMW claims to have the ULTIMATE service. What more would you expect from the Ultimate Driving Machine. Well, this little incident at Santa Monica BMW has left an un-ultimate taste in this drivers mouth!

On Thursday, June 21 I took my car to the Santa Monica BMW service center for a wheel alignment and new brakes. I was informed that there was a recall for emissions, recall 06E A01 N52 and TCU 84-22-06 84-23-06. The service agent said it might take more than a day so I paid for my own rental, they did not offer to pay, even though the car is still under warranty and it would have to stay over night because of the recall.

The next day, June 22, the service advisor calls and says the car will be ready on Monday June 25, because they could not update the software.
On Monday, June 25 the service advisor calls and says they might need to install a new computer or send my cars computer directly to BMW. He informs me that I should come in on Tuesday, June 23 to get a rental that will be paid for by BMW, and he will have to "check" to see if they will pay for my previous rental.

I come in on Tuesday, June 26, and I was told the car should be ready by Thursday, June 28. Thursday comes and goes with no communication from the service advisor. On Friday, June 29 I receive a call saying that they will have to try to update the software again on Monday, July 2.
On Monday, July 2, I receive another phone call informing me that they had to order another computer. The computer should arrive on Tuesday and the car will be ready Thurs July 5. July 5 comes and goes and I do not receive any phone call. On Friday July 6, I call the service advisor. He informs me that they've installed the computer, and the car should be ready Monday, July 9.

At this point, I am obviously frustrated and a bit upset. The service advisor tells me "don’t get mad at me, I'm only the middle man!" If I cannot express my frustration with the service advisor, then who am I supposed to communicate with? It is not as though I can talk directly with the technician. At this point, I informed the service advisor that I do not want them to perform the wheel alignment and I want my car on Monday regardless of if they were able to update the computer with the appropriate software for the recall.

The service advisor told me that he would tell the technician not to perform the wheel alignment. This means that while the car has been there for over two weeks, they have not performed any other work on the car. Moreover, all the time the car was sitting around waiting for parts to come in, the other issues were not dealt with.

I called today, July 9. I have left two messages with the service advisor and he has not returned any of my phone calls. I was told the car is not ready to be picked up.

This is the worst service I have ever received. The service advisor is ignoring my phone calls. Furthermore, he has consistently misstated when the car will be completed. I understand the computer in the car is a complicated piece of equipment. The car has been there for over two weeks and it is still not ready. This is completely unacceptable.

I have had to drive a rental car for over two weeks and I am extremely displeased.

I would like to think that this is one-time incident that can still be remedied but until I see otherwise I am going to post this letter on a various BMW forums so that others can see how a BMW customer is treated at Santa Monica BMW. I am also going forward this to the California Better Business Bureau.

My service advisor is Vincent Angelotti.

Thank you very much for your time.