[e9012345]

I just wanted to let everyone know about my experience with Maranello BMW in Vaughn and ask how I should feel about it/best next-steps.

On Christmas day, my waterpump failed. I called Maranello BMW the next morning and asked them if I brought my car to them if they could loan me a loaner car for the day while they replaced the pump and thermostat.

The service people ASSURED me that I would get a loaner vehicle but upon getting there I was told that Maranello BMW NO LONGER has a loaner fleet and that I am not eligible for the shuttle service because we're 2 streets too far east. After a fuss from both myself and my cold and tired girlfriend (keep in mind this is boxing day and my girlfriend shops with the best of them), they agreed to give us a shuttle lift home. I was later told that I was lied to and they indeed have a loaner fleet.. wtf?

So I get a call at 4 to come pick up the car and as I arrive at 4:45, the place is almost empty and I was told that the service staff wanted to leave ASAP as they were understaffed for the day and the staff wanted to get home for the rest of their boxing day. This is important because I specifically asked to speak to a mechanic and they assured me I would get to do so - - I didn't.

Within the next day or so I noticed a problem while I was running my heat - the fan and heat would suddenly stop and then start back up intermittently. This problem has carried on all month and is still constantly on/off in cycles. This problem never existed before I got the work done so I tried calling them for weeks, leaving messages without getting anything in return until I caused a shit-fit on the phone and got the Service Manager, Andre to return my call just to tell me that there is nothing they can do about it and that I have two options (this is after 5 back and forth calls and lots of arguing):

1. Pay for a $130 diagnostic to see if it was related to the work done or if it's an unrelated issue (hmm.. I wonder which they'll find)
2. He'll give me a free diagnostic ONLY IF I agree to fix whatever they find and pay for the repairs at Maranello BMW

He explained to me that it is likely an un-related problem and there's nothing they can do about it. From my perspective:

1. I wasn't given a 100% fixed product back...
2. My car wasn't appropriately tested/checked out...
3. I wasn't notified of additional problems in my invoice and given an estimate - instead I was told that the car was 100%

I know the ball is in their court and they have the upper-hand in this because I can't prove anything.

Thanks for reading.

[Zebra99]

Stealership is a stealership dude. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

[MOAB]

Originally Posted by Zebra99

Stealership is a stealership dude. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

This is an ignorant statement.

Some dealerships are good, some are bad. It's like everything in life. I've had nothing but positive experiences with Parkview. On the other hand, I hear horror stories about Maranello's service dept. Similarly, dealing with Pfaff Porsche's service dept. has been an unpleasant experience for me, but Downtown Porsche has been top notch.

OP, it sounds like you got treated poorly to me.

[Volasko]

Which service adviser were you speaking with at Maranello?

Also they do have a loaner fleet but they charge a 20 dollar admin fee to use them. If the service drags on longer than they expected the additional days are free. Regarding your problem, you say the heat and fan stops working? The fan is what blows the air over the heating coil and the water pump is what moves the coolant to the coil. It sounds like JUST your blower fan is intermittently failing. If your water pump stopped working for +30 secs you would surely see a high engine temp warnings. When you did the waterpump swap did you also do the thermostat (usually they do both as they are basically connected and in the same area). The thermostat is what signals the HVAC system that engine has warmed up and brings on the fan. So if your getting weird shit from your blower fan I would start there.

[e9012345]

Originally Posted by Volasko

Which service adviser were you speaking with at Maranello?

Also they do have a loaner fleet but they charge a 20 dollar admin fee to use them. If the service drags on longer than they expected the additional days are free. Regarding your problem, you say the heat and fan stops working? The fan is what blows the air over the heating coil and the water pump is what moves the coolant to the coil. It sounds like JUST your blower fan is intermittently failing. If your water pump stopped working for +30 secs you would surely see a high engine temp warnings. When you did the waterpump swap did you also do the thermostat (usually they do both as they are basically connected and in the same area). The thermostat is what signals the HVAC system that engine has warmed up and brings on the fan. So if your getting weird shit from your blower fan I would start there.

Yes - I wrote in my post how they told me that I was mis-informed about the loaner fleet after this huge hassle - someone clearly told me that they don't do it anymore.. even though I knew they do.

And I also got the thermostat changed with the water pump.. are you saying that it's just a coincidence that suddenly JUST after the work now my fan is failing and it has nothing to do with the thermostat replacement?

[Iceburg]

Talk to the service manager, I know here in Vancouver, BMW, they take negative feedback quite seriously.

[e9012345]

I've talked to the head Service Manager 5-6 times... but now I think I know what the problem might be with the car.....

Car is still on its original battery - the low battery warning came on earlier this winter and I've read from numerous posts about people having the same intermittent on/off blower behaviour (the car does this to save power when it is being worked too hard). I also have a barely 15 min commute to work every day so in the cold the car only gets ridden in 2, 15 minute short bursts so suffice it to say - the battery isn't getting much of a charge (first world problems, I know).

What's the best way to get a charge indicator/reading? I guess getting a new OEM battery at the stealership might be the only way to go?

[drevil2k2]

Maybe take your car for a long drive and see if the battery charges and retains the charge and the blower issue resolves?

[shaginwagon13]

My advice would be to call BMWNA and tell them what happened. If anyone can light a firecracker under their asses its corporate.

Here is the number: 1-800-831-1117

Originally Posted by Zebra99

Stealership is a stealership dude. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Originally Posted by MOAB

This is an ignorant statement.

No I am sorry but Zebra is right. BMW dealerships have been known to do this and its happens more than just on occasion. BMW will fix something, do a hack job and then say 'oh well whatever we fixed is fine, something else must be wrong so pay us $130 to do the diagnostic or we are not going to do anything'. And don't say this happens occasionally because I personally know a bunch of people that had this happen to them, myself included.

Gimme a fucking break.

OP next time don't waste your time or money. Take your car to an indy shop unless your CPO. It will cost you less, and if you find a good mechanic you will have him for life.

[Wolf 335]

Let me guess Andre spoke in a very calm voice trying to get you to understand that they are not stealing your money. That guys is a smuck.

Call head office immediately and complain man!

And they do have a loaner fleet! And if they are prebooked for warranty people they can provide you with a rental.

I'm not sure if BMWNA is for Canada or just USA. I think you might have to call BMW Canada

[abhishriv]

make a note to bmw north america.. they take that stuff seriously. i made a comment on one of their simple surveys about how the tow truck service bmw mississuaga uses is completely useless and i was left on the side of the highway for 3 hours. and i got a call within a few days and a letter asking for more information about why i had an unpleasant experience.

and just to throw it in there, ive never had good experience dealing with maranello.

[bobblehead]

everyone knows Maranello employeed bunch of lazy bastard service people, with the exception of Mike A. of Parts dept (Maxbimmer forum offering discounts).

BMW Toronto is one of the better & competent servicing dealer I have been to.

[farbmw]

Originally Posted by shaginwagon13

My advice would be to call BMWNA and tell them what happened. If anyone can light a firecracker under their asses its corporate.

Here is the number: 1-800-831-1117





No I am sorry but Zebra is right. BMW dealerships have been known to do this and its happens more than just on occasion. BMW will fix something, do a hack job and then say 'oh well whatever we fixed is fine, something else must be wrong so pay us $130 to do the diagnostic or we are not going to do anything'. And don't say this happens occasionally because I personally know a bunch of people that had this happen to them, myself included.

Gimme a fucking break.

OP next time don't waste your time or money. Take your car to an indy shop unless your CPO. It will cost you less, and if you find a good mechanic you will have him for life.

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Let me guess Andre spoke in a very calm voice trying to get you to understand that they are not stealing your money. That guys is a smuck.

Call head office immediately and complain man!

And they do have a loaner fleet! And if they are prebooked for warranty people they can provide you with a rental.

I'm not sure if BMWNA is for Canada or just USA. I think you might have to call BMW Canada

Originally Posted by abhishriv

make a note to bmw north america.. they take that stuff seriously. i made a comment on one of their simple surveys about how the tow truck service bmw mississuaga uses is completely useless and i was left on the side of the highway for 3 hours. and i got a call within a few days and a letter asking for more information about why i had an unpleasant experience.

and just to throw it in there, ive never had good experience dealing with maranello.

Take it to the next level, I know if I don't hear back from the Service Manager soon from Budd's I will be calling that number!

[n52330i]

I have question , is fan turning off or is air coming cold with fan still working?

If fan is turning off I do not believe it is connected, but if air is getting cold it is . My car had no heats when my water pump failed

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by shaginwagon13

My advice would be to call BMWNA and tell them what happened. If anyone can light a firecracker under their asses its corporate.

Here is the number: 1-800-831-1117





No I am sorry but Zebra is right. BMW dealerships have been known to do this and its happens more than just on occasion. BMW will fix something, do a hack job and then say 'oh well whatever we fixed is fine, something else must be wrong so pay us $130 to do the diagnostic or we are not going to do anything'. And don't say this happens occasionally because I personally know a bunch of people that had this happen to them, myself included.

Gimme a fucking break.

OP next time don't waste your time or money. Take your car to an indy shop unless your CPO. It will cost you less, and if you find a good mechanic you will have him for life.

Probably all with your attitude. If you are calm and polite you will get fixed up. If there were as many problems as you say dealers would be screwed. I don't think I have ever had a service problem that didnt get settled nicely. People here represent a very small percentage of BMW drivers but a large percentage of BMW drivers with problems. Get to know service department and stay with the same person if you can. Works ALL the time.

[KiX1911]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

Probably all with your attitude. If you are calm and polite you will get fixed up. If there were as many problems as you say dealers would be screwed. I don't think I have ever had a service problem that didnt get settled nicely. People here represent a very small percentage of BMW drivers but a large percentage of BMW drivers with problems. Get to know service department and stay with the same person if you can. Works ALL the time.

Amen.

I personally haven't had issues with Marenello but I do a majority of the work myself and deal with Mike. I'll tell ya one thing, if Mike leaves, so will I.

Brad

[e9012345]

Originally Posted by Killerx

Amen.

I personally haven't had issues with Marenello but I do a majority of the work myself and deal with Mike. I'll tell ya one thing, if Mike leaves, so will I.

Brad

Absolutely - Mike's the best and if he does leave there would be no point for me to trek up to Vaughn for my parts.

Someone also mentioned about how POS BMW roadside was - O M G - I was left waiting for 3 hours while the tow truck came who then stopped 10 mins into the ride and demanded I pay him some outrageous fee because he used up my "allowed mileage" COMING TO GET ME... WTF?!

[Zebra99]

Originally Posted by MOAB

This is an ignorant statement.

Some dealerships are good, some are bad. It's like everything in life. I've had nothing but positive experiences with Parkview. On the other hand, I hear horror stories about Maranello's service dept. Similarly, dealing with Pfaff Porsche's service dept. has been an unpleasant experience for me, but Downtown Porsche has been top notch.

OP, it sounds like you got treated poorly to me.

Not ignorant at all. I've had nothing but bad experiences at the dealer and I'm a pretty calm guy. I just don't have time to deal with their bs.

And like I said, stealerships are stealerships. They are in the business of making money, customers come second and that's a proven fact. Don't be so oblivious lol - your too kind

[MOAB]

Originally Posted by Zebra99

Not ignorant at all. I've had nothing but bad experiences at the dealer and I'm a pretty calm guy. I just don't have time to deal with their bs.

And like I said, stealerships are stealerships. They are in the business of making money, customers come second and that's a proven fact. Don't be so oblivious lol - your too kind

Again, where do you come up with this stuff? Guess what, businesses are in the business of making money. You think it is just car dealerships that care about profit? Customer service and profit seeking are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to accomplish both and many businesses are successful in this regard.

And please provide me with your proven factual evidence that customers come second? I'm sure it is just based on anectodal evidence.

[Zebra99]

Originally Posted by MOAB

Again, where do you come up with this stuff? Guess what, businesses are in the business of making money. You think it is just car dealerships that care about profit? Customer service and profit seeking are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to accomplish both and many businesses are successful in this regard.

And please provide me with your proven factual evidence that customers come second? I'm sure it is just based on anectodal evidence.

Business's run on our "needs" and "wants", it's economics my friend. Some, i'll agree, do a good job at balancing customers/profit - based on many experiences.

My experience however, with any dealers from BMW in the past year.... have been poor at best.

Demand / Supply - never faulters. There will always be soo many more "poor" customer services based business than "good" ones. But, someone has to do it.

[Wolf 335]

Seems as if they provide the best care for those that bought brand new cars or people that lease.

If you are CPO or just off the street, good luck bud.

Funny thing is, when i was shopping around for my car and have poken to a few private dealers even they said go to any other bmw other then Maranello.

Spoke with a few bmw mechanics that have their own shops and same thing, "go anywehre but Maranello".

And what do i do, I go TO Maranello and find the car i want. Damn it!

[Saturns]

You can pick up a battery charger at Walmart for $50 (Schumacher). It does a trickle charge until the battery is full. Since you do not take the car out too long during the week the maintener will keep amperage up on your battery. You only have to do this maybe once a week. A lot of exotic car owners do this as we have phantom drains on our batteries. Very safe for the car and extends the longevity of the battery.

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/6-4-2-am...H%3Aschumacher