An Open Letter to Steve Thomas BMW of Camarillo

simibimir

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California
#1
Thank you so much for the service we received at your dealership today by a service assistant who shall remain nameless. He was very efficient at turning my wife away in the rain today with her dead windshield wipers 30 miles from home. I was so pleased to hear you had such courtesy as to check the fuse. That was really a valiant effort on your part. I heard to that you also even managed to lift the hood and point a flashlight toward the wiper motor. That is a true demonstration of your technical skills. But I really admire your ability to quote the repair at $400 to $600 because the wiper motor would have to be torn down and inspected because what she was experiencing was a very rare problem. I also appreciate how you made my wife and 6 year old daughter risk their lives to get back home without the windshield wipers functioning, that really gave my family a lesson in bravery, I hope to return the favor to you sometime in the future. Unfortunately, that scam on my computer they call "The Internet" had some sort of urban legend that this problem is common. And that by removing the wiper motor cover (with no tools even required! HoHo!), the problem is probably caused by a loose bolt on the wiper motor to the wiper arm mechanism. Gullible "Me" tried this silly hoax, and incredibly, I was able to perform the same $600 operation you could. I promise not to let the secret out (except maybe for writing a letter to your Service Manager, BMW USA and post this message wherever I can on the internet). And in the future, should my car break down in front of your dealership, I will proceed to push it 11 miles uphill to the next BMW facility because I probably need the exercise.

Yours Truly,

Jack Brown
 

epj3

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#3
You should post what year car it is. If it's out of warranty he was just doing his job.

BTW service managers especially, let alone service assistants, don't know shit about car's. They are typically goofs with a business degree.
 

Big Daddy

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#4
My service writer (consulant) was one of the smartest guys I know. He had tons of repair service knowledge and usually was able to correctly sort out the problem the first time. In fact every one I have know was extremely knowledgable in repair work.

And I would say that if the car was out of warranty the least he could have done was arrange for a ride home for the family so they did not have to drive in the rain with no wipers, his "job" is service, regardless of warranty!
 

epj3

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#5
Big Daddy said:
My service writer (consulant) was one of the smartest guys I know. He had tons of repair service knowledge and usually was able to correctly sort out the problem the first time. In fact every one I have know was extremely knowledgable in repair work.

And I would say that if the car was out of warranty the least he could have done was arrange for a ride home for the family so they did not have to drive in the rain with no wipers, his "job" is service, regardless of warranty!
Alright but if they were driving a 1985 528e, I wouldn't expect the dealer to even blink an eye at helping them for free. I know he should've offered to let them use their phone or something, but otherwise he was just going by company policy (just assuming, again).

The service people at my local dealer and EVERY dealer i've been do are total idiots. Service manager told my friend you can't bleed the brakes on an e36, just flush them - but it had to be done with a special machine that they have and nothing else. He also told me ATE racing fluid was VERY bad and that you can't comprimise the brake system by going with NON-oem. Hmmm amazing, calipers are made by ATE, and the ate racing fluid is somehow bad. If I'm in there buying parts, I'll walk out if I see him and think he's going to try to "answer my questions"
 
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#6
I've met really bad ones and really good ones. Good ones are out there, contrary to popular belief. It's kinda like golf. You get frustrated as hell and are totally ready to quit (ie switch to Lexus), and then you get a great one who fixes your problem and makes you feel like a valued customer and you start the love affair with BMW all over again.
 
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#7
epj3 said:
Alright but if they were driving a 1985 528e, I wouldn't expect the dealer to even blink an eye at helping them for free. I know he should've offered to let them use their phone or something, but otherwise he was just going by company policy (just assuming, again).
Nowhere did he say he was looking for free help. He was just looking for an ACCURATE quote that requires HANDS ON instead of FLASHLIGHT ON. I dare say in that circumstance he would have been happy to pay for 1 hour of labor had they taken proper time (like 2 minutes) to diagnose it.

There definitely ARE good service centers out there. My dealer has ALWAYS been oustanding - Sales, Service Advisor, Parts Desk. I was just there today, I decided to replace the serpentine belt idlers (noisy and not spinning freely) and the hydraulic assembly for the AC belt tensioner, it was frozen up. The counter guy remembers me, asked me how I was doing since the last time I was in. He even caught a few errors in the BMW Parts explosion screen related to mid year parts changes.
 

epj3

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#8
Kirby said:
Nowhere did he say he was looking for free help. He was just looking for an ACCURATE quote that requires HANDS ON instead of FLASHLIGHT ON. I dare say in that circumstance he would have been happy to pay for 1 hour of labor had they taken proper time (like 2 minutes) to diagnose it.

There definitely ARE good service centers out there. My dealer has ALWAYS been oustanding - Sales, Service Advisor, Parts Desk. I was just there today, I decided to replace the serpentine belt idlers (noisy and not spinning freely) and the hydraulic assembly for the AC belt tensioner, it was frozen up. The counter guy remembers me, asked me how I was doing since the last time I was in. He even caught a few errors in the BMW Parts explosion screen related to mid year parts changes.
And asking a service manager for a quote on a mechanical fix is like asking a 2nd grade teacher to perform brain surgery. Yes I know it's not right but that's just how it is.

What dealer do you go to? I know there's one on 222 south in reading. I'm extremely happy with my dealer too. My parts guy knows me by name (is that good or bad??), I've never gotten anything but dealers asking me how I was doing. I'd also trust the master mechanic with every aspect of my car, but he is my friend's dad...so that helps.

But the service advisor at my dealer is a f***ing moron.
 
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#9
I go to Horrigan BMW, yup, the one on 222 South. The parts guy gave me a GREAT surprise today. They tell you that they give a 10% discount to BMWCCA members, you MUST show your membership card. I looked at my receipt tonight before I filed it away and he gave me 15% without telling me! How often does THAT happen? I did mention to him that I had bought the radiator on the web, maybe that's why he did it...
 

epj3

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#10
Kirby said:
I go to Horrigan BMW, yup, the one on 222 South. The parts guy gave me a GREAT surprise today. They tell you that they give a 10% discount to BMWCCA members, you MUST show your membership card. I looked at my receipt tonight before I filed it away and he gave me 15% without telling me! How often does THAT happen? I did mention to him that I had bought the radiator on the web, maybe that's why he did it...
My dad picked up flywheel bolts from Horrigan BMW back in october when I did the clutch in the E30, and he said he's never been treated so well at a car dealership, either walking through the showroom or the parts department.
 
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#11
all good stories guys. currently i think jmk bmw
has the best ratings....there is a site somewhere
that compiles these things...grrr *sorts through
800 million bookmakrs*
 
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#14
simibimir said:
Thank you so much for the service we received at your dealership today by a service assistant who shall remain nameless. He was very efficient at turning my wife away in the rain today with her dead windshield wipers 30 miles from home. I was so pleased to hear you had such courtesy as to check the fuse. That was really a valiant effort on your part. I heard to that you also even managed to lift the hood and point a flashlight toward the wiper motor. That is a true demonstration of your technical skills. But I really admire your ability to quote the repair at $400 to $600 because the wiper motor would have to be torn down and inspected because what she was experiencing was a very rare problem. I also appreciate how you made my wife and 6 year old daughter risk their lives to get back home without the windshield wipers functioning, that really gave my family a lesson in bravery, I hope to return the favor to you sometime in the future. Unfortunately, that scam on my computer they call "The Internet" had some sort of urban legend that this problem is common. And that by removing the wiper motor cover (with no tools even required! HoHo!), the problem is probably caused by a loose bolt on the wiper motor to the wiper arm mechanism. Gullible "Me" tried this silly hoax, and incredibly, I was able to perform the same $600 operation you could. I promise not to let the secret out (except maybe for writing a letter to your Service Manager, BMW USA and post this message wherever I can on the internet). And in the future, should my car break down in front of your dealership, I will proceed to push it 11 miles uphill to the next BMW facility because I probably need the exercise.

Yours Truly,

Jack Brown
Driving is a priveledge, not a right. If something goes wrong with your vehicle and you can no longer drive on the road safely, you shouldn't be driving. Your wife and child had a lot of options and you're just putting the blame on that BMW dealership because of the decision that your wife made to just "tough it out" and drive home when the dealership couldn't identify the problem on the spot. In order to resolve the issue, they have to figure out what went wrong, and just taking it to a dealership "on the spot" is barely giving the dealership a chance. I am sure your wife showed without any appointment and/or barely any warning at all and expected the dealership to be miracle-workers. Don't forget that the dealership didn't cause the problem.

You should have thought about this from other perspectives instead of being so close-minded and pointing a finger so quickly, and spamming your dumb worthless letter all over the internet.
 

Big Daddy

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#15
If you go to the link provided by Richard Thomas BMW only has a rating of 2 out of five, apparently Jack Brown is not the only person out there who thinks their service is poor!
 
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#16
Talk about not knowing much. A couple of weeks ago I went to my dealer to get a couple of parts including the engine block coolant flush plug washer and the oil filter. I asked him for a hose I needed, he comes back with the hose, "Anything else sir?", I told him to get me the engine block flush plug washer for coolant, "Ok", few minutes after he comes back with it, "Anything else sir?", I notice the oil filters behind him and decide to get one, change oil a little bit early. He gets me the oil filter and tells me that I don't need the washer because it is included in the kit. I couldn't see what oil had to do with coolant so I figured he never heard me say coolant. After a little explanation he finally understood what I need and told me there is no engine block coolant drain plug at all, that I can only flush coolant through the radiator. Sure are knowledgible parts people with the computer right in front of em.

Edit: No wonder, they have a 1.7 rating. I'll probably drop dy for fan blades and give that guy the part number for that washer.
 


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