I have never had a bad dealership experience and have had very few bad mechanic experiences, but I am an educated and realistic customer; I always do my pricing and reputation homework and I understand mistakes happen.
Two interesting anecdotes and one experience over the past few weeks:
-Mom has a 2018 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. They have gone to the local BMW dealer for service since I gave them my 318Ti in 1998, and have been happy. Mom had an oil change and brake fluid flush. She called me while at the dealer and said '...they say the rear brakes are very worn and should be replaced, especially the left side.' I ask how many miles? ~23k total... Suspicious, I tell Mom to get the pad thickness in writing and an estimate. Oddly, the tech's didn't note anything in the inspection write up when she checked out.... I looked at the pads and they are around 8-10mm. Apparently, the Dealer was recently sold to a large group and seem to have a new approach to business.
-Acquaintance's Daughter just went to college in the Midwest and her Parents got her an older but minty and extremely low mileage Accord from their elderly relative. They had the vehicle inspected and serviced at a well-respected indy before launch. ABS warning light came on and she went to local mechanic in the college town who told her that the car was extremely unsafe, didn't want to let her drive it home and the fix would be more than the car is worth, but he would give her $1500 for the car right then. Long story short, it was one wheel sensor according to another indy and the car is fixed and driving happily.
-My DD, a '20 Range Rover, went in for a software update recall and some very minor warranty work that should only take one or two days at most. I have used this dealer twice in the past and was happy. After a week I don't hear anything, so I call; 'should be a few days..'. Another week and I don't hear, so I leave a message for the Tech; no reply after another few days. Was traveling and have other cars, so I wasn't inconvenienced, but was getting a bit irritated. Another call or two, a week passes, then I tell the receptionist I will be in the area in a few days and will stop by. I get a call later that day saying the vehicle is done. I pick it up, all is good, it is spotless, minor squawks fixed, has ~20 more miles which is not unusual after the software updates. Then I notice that the front left fender liner is not quite aligned, it is on the wrong side of a plastic captive nut and I also notice that a portion of the bumper seems to be a very, very different shade from the fender....me thinks I now know why the car had an extended stay...
Two interesting anecdotes and one experience over the past few weeks:
-Mom has a 2018 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. They have gone to the local BMW dealer for service since I gave them my 318Ti in 1998, and have been happy. Mom had an oil change and brake fluid flush. She called me while at the dealer and said '...they say the rear brakes are very worn and should be replaced, especially the left side.' I ask how many miles? ~23k total... Suspicious, I tell Mom to get the pad thickness in writing and an estimate. Oddly, the tech's didn't note anything in the inspection write up when she checked out.... I looked at the pads and they are around 8-10mm. Apparently, the Dealer was recently sold to a large group and seem to have a new approach to business.
-Acquaintance's Daughter just went to college in the Midwest and her Parents got her an older but minty and extremely low mileage Accord from their elderly relative. They had the vehicle inspected and serviced at a well-respected indy before launch. ABS warning light came on and she went to local mechanic in the college town who told her that the car was extremely unsafe, didn't want to let her drive it home and the fix would be more than the car is worth, but he would give her $1500 for the car right then. Long story short, it was one wheel sensor according to another indy and the car is fixed and driving happily.
-My DD, a '20 Range Rover, went in for a software update recall and some very minor warranty work that should only take one or two days at most. I have used this dealer twice in the past and was happy. After a week I don't hear anything, so I call; 'should be a few days..'. Another week and I don't hear, so I leave a message for the Tech; no reply after another few days. Was traveling and have other cars, so I wasn't inconvenienced, but was getting a bit irritated. Another call or two, a week passes, then I tell the receptionist I will be in the area in a few days and will stop by. I get a call later that day saying the vehicle is done. I pick it up, all is good, it is spotless, minor squawks fixed, has ~20 more miles which is not unusual after the software updates. Then I notice that the front left fender liner is not quite aligned, it is on the wrong side of a plastic captive nut and I also notice that a portion of the bumper seems to be a very, very different shade from the fender....me thinks I now know why the car had an extended stay...
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