[JStang]

I was having issues with not having any audio coming from my BMW 335i. I brought the car into Bert Smith BMW service for diagnosis and was told that i needed a new CCC module and the estimate was ~$2k for repair. I declined the repair because I didn't think the CCC was the issue. I paid the $140.00 diagnostic fee and went on my way.

Fast forward two months, I decided to try to figure out the issue on my own. I bought a jumper that is used to diagnose issues on the Fiber Optic MOST Bus for $27.00. I started by unplugging the Satellite radio tuner connector in the trunk and plugging it into the jumper. Sound was initially restored and 5 minutes into investigating the issue I knew the Satellite tuner was bad.

I sent an email to request a refund for the misdiagnosis. The service manager returned my email denying my refund request and basically said "if you don't like it, take your car to Reeves or Ferman." This statement sent me over the top and really showed me how poorly the service manager handled this. No apology or sign of sympathy was issued. His exact words were:

"If you feel our technicians are not diagnosing your car properly please feel free to check out the technicians at one of the other BMW authorized centers. Ferman and Reeves are the closest."

This review isn't so much about the $140.00 diagnostic fee as it is the poor attitude towards a customer.

If your car is out of warranty, do yourself a huge favor and take it to European Performance in St Pete for substantially less. My car and my wife's BMW's will be going there moving forward.

[Turkish Mafia]

I say that you have enough evidence to file a dispute with your credit card company if that was your method of payment...

Originally Posted by JStang

I was having issues with not having any audio coming from my BMW 335i. I brought the car into Bert Smith BMW service for diagnosis and was told that i needed a new CCC module and the estimate was ~$2k for repair. I declined the repair because I didn't think the CCC was the issue. I paid the $140.00 diagnostic fee and went on my way.

Fast forward two months, I decided to try to figure out the issue on my own. I bought a jumper that is used to diagnose issues on the Fiber Optic MOST Bus for $27.00. I started by unplugging the Satellite radio tuner connector in the trunk and plugging it into the jumper. Sound was initially restored and 5 minutes into investigating the issue I knew the Satellite tuner was bad.

I sent an email to request a refund for the misdiagnosis. The service manager returned my email denying my refund request and basically said "if you don't like it, take your car to Reeves or Ferman." This statement sent me over the top and really showed me how poorly the service manager handled this. No apology or sign of sympathy was issued. His exact words were:

"If you feel our technicians are not diagnosing your car properly please feel free to check out the technicians at one of the other BMW authorized centers. Ferman and Reeves are the closest."

This review isn't so much about the $140.00 diagnostic fee as it is the poor attitude towards a customer.

If your car is out of warranty, do yourself a huge favor and take it to European Performance in St Pete for substantially less. My car and my wife's BMW's will be going there moving forward.

[Fundguy1]

I use fields in Lakeland. They've been pretty fair.

[JStang]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

I use fields in Lakeland. They've been pretty fair.

I've never had an issue with Bert Smith until this one. It's not even the misdiagnosis as much as it is the "if you don't like it, take your car somewhere else" attitude.

I could not believe this was the way the service manager handled the situation

[xyaaeg234g234]

Originally Posted by JStang

I could not believe this was the way the service manager handled the situation

May want to contact BMWNA about that - definitely seems like they did a shoddy job diagnosing OR tried to pull a cash grab and when you called them out on it they basically said to screw off.

[JStang]

Originally Posted by prodigymix

May want to contact BMWNA about that - definitely seems like they did a shoddy job diagnosing OR tried to pull a cash grab and when you called them out on it they basically said to screw off.

I have called BMW NA twice. They said they are going to document the issues but I would have to take it up with the local dealer.

And just to be perfectly clear, I was very polite and not demanding when I requested the refund.

Here is the email that I sent to my service adviser:

Hi Natalie,

So I finally figured out what was wrong with the car. After paying to have it diagnosed and being told that I needed a new CCC, I bought a CCC, installed and had it coded and no changes. I bought a fiber optic jumper from the parts department about a half an hour ago, plugged it into the satellite radio fiber connector and all sound has been restored. It literally took me 5 minutes start to finish to diagnose it once I had the jumper.

Who do I need to talk to about getting the diagnostic fee refunded? I paid good money to have it diagnosed and it was misdiagnosed badly.


This email was forwarded to the Service Manager and here was his response:

Jeremy,
Please look at what the tech wrote on your invoice (attached). It says “possible CIC/Radio head unit”. Because we had no communication with all the most bus modules we needed to start there. If you had authorize us to continue and that wasn’t the cause then you wouldn’t have been charged the diagnostics. But with no communication we couldn’t be 100% certain. So based off of these circumstances I decline any refunds. You only allowed us to do half our job for the hour we spent. We really have no proof that a new OEM CCC was installed or even who programmed it. This work order was dated January 28th almost 2 months ago.

If you feel our technicians are not diagnosing your car properly please feel free to check out the technicians at one of the other BMW authorized centers. Ferman and Reeves are the closest.
Thank you


My response to the SA:

I respectfully disagree. The car was at Bert Smith for almost 48 hours. It took me 5 minutes to find the issue with the jumper and I consider myself an average mechanic. I declined the repair because I didn't think the CCC unit was the issue and I was right.

I'm sure there are steps involved when diagnosing most bus issues and if the steps had been followed, this would have been easily found.

I have a problem with your last statement. That is extremely poor customer service and I plan on escalating this to BMW NA. The "if you don't like it, take your car elsewhere" attitude is discouraging.

[Velocity26]

I would have expected them to blame it all on your catless-downpipes...

[Needbmwpartzz]

Looks like they are saying screw off to you refund request because you did not let them fix stuff that didn't need to be fixed and if they found out after that they would just find another way to waste more money...and since you fixed yourself they have no way to verify that and possibly think your being unreasonable.
This is a catch 22 situation

[08njSTEP]

Because you're not a sucker, and didn't let us run up your bill replacing every component on your car. We don't want your business anymore. We prefer our customers eat whatever shit we feed them.
-Natalie your SA

[2010MSPORT335i]

I only take my car to Reeves. My service adviser and I have developed a great relationship and I wouldnt trust it under anyone elses hands. Also, I have two friends who are very good technicians there and they are the only ones allowed to touch my car.

If youre interested Ill PM you the names for who to deal with.

PS dont take your car to Ferman, they are probably the worst dealership ive ever dealt with. They had the car for weeks trying to diagnose a steering problem. I ended up figuring it out myself and I never step foot in there.

[JStang]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Looks like they are saying screw off to you refund request because you did not let them fix stuff that didn't need to be fixed and if they found out after that they would just find another way to waste more money...and since you fixed yourself they have no way to verify that and possibly think your being unreasonable.
This is a catch 22 situation

Yeah, as I mentioned it's not so much denying my refund request as it is the way it was handled. I mean who tells a paying customer "if you don't like the way we do it, take it somewhere else."

[JStang]

Originally Posted by idk alex

I only take my car to Reeves. My service adviser and I have developed a great relationship and I wouldnt trust it under anyone elses hands. Also, I have two friends who are very good technicians there and they are the only ones allowed to touch my car.

If youre interested Ill PM you the names for who to deal with.

PS dont take your car to Ferman, they are probably the worst dealership ive ever dealt with. They had the car for weeks trying to diagnose a steering problem. I ended up figuring it out myself and I never step foot in there.

I have an indy that I use most of the time. I just thought this was a job for the dealer. That was my first mistake.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by JStang

Yeah, as I mentioned it's not so much denying my refund request as it is the way it was handled. I mean who tells a paying customer "if you don't like the way we do it, take it somewhere else."

I hear ya....that is definitely poor customer service....just keep going up the ladder to state your case,usually they will make things right..all things being reasonable.
GL

[JStang]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

I hear ya....that is definitely poor customer service....just keep going up the ladder to state your case,usually they will make things right..all things being reasonable.
GL

I sent the GM an email as well with no response yet. If the GM doesn't acknowledge a customer complaint they have serious issues.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by JStang

I sent the GM an email as well with no response yet. If the GM doesn't acknowledge a customer complaint they have serious issues.

Keep us updated...curious to hear the outcome.

[derryck]

Curious, who's the local indy shop you use?

[JStang]

Originally Posted by derryck

Curious, who's the local indy shop you use?

European Performance or German Tech. Joe at German Tech is mainly a Porsche mechanic but he really knows his stuff.

[fareast1]

Everyone gets busy, but no excuse for the poor attitude. Good luck!