[darklord]

just a quick question here; I have a friend looking at buying a BMW in the states and bringing it back home to Calgary. He was told by the sales guy at the BMW dealer locally that if he did buy from the US that when it would come time to service (not maintenance) that he would be pushed to the back of the bus and wait times would be greater than 3 months.

Is this true? Any personal experiences or is that just a sales guy trying to get a new car sale???

[lovemy335]

That wouldn't surprise me too much as in my experience, the service in Calgary is not good even after purchasing here. And it's not like there are options to chose from.

[kalch]

i find that hard to believe, the dealerships get paid for warranty work, its cash in their pocket

[fanatic]

How's the dealership suppose to distingish the difference between someone who purchased a car from the US and imported into Canada vs someone who use to live in the US and moved to Canada?!?

I call BS!

[aspiring335]

You guys dismissing this have obviously never experienced the attitude of the guys at Calgary BMW. I used to take my cars to BMW Gallery, but it's not hard to find stories of people who've been all-but refused service at Calgary simply because they bought their car in Edmonton. They are also notoriously arrogant and dismissive of customers.

My father-in-law is actually banned for life from the premises for daring to take his niece there to confront them about failing to fix her leaking convertible roof years ago. And he's bought a couple of 7 series models there. Admittedly he's the kind of guy I would ban from my business, but still...

[fanatic]

Originally Posted by aspiring335

You guys dismissing this have obviously never experienced the attitude of the guys at Calgary BMW. I used to take my cars to BMW Gallery, but it's not hard to find stories of people who've been all-but refused service at Calgary simply because they bought their car in Edmonton. They are also notoriously arrogant and dismissive of customers.

My father-in-law is actually banned for life from the premises for daring to take his niece there to confront them about failing to fix her leaking convertible roof years ago. And he's bought a couple of 7 series models there. Admittedly he's the kind of guy I would ban from my business, but still...

I would think that at this point it would be time to report the dealership to BMW Canada. It may not solve the problem but at least it would get them in a whole lot of shit.

[darklord]

Well apparently their are only 2 BMW dealers in Calgary, both owned by the same guy and thus are the only show in town...I called BS myself when he told me just wanted to see others experiences...

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by kalch

i find that hard to believe, the dealerships get paid for warranty work, its cash in their pocket

I believe the question referred to routine service (eg oil changes). The dealerships are so busy right now that for warranty work they will push you right to the back. Additionally some dealers will try to deny coverage for any little thing. Take a look at "screwedbybmw's" thread regarding getting warranty coverage on his us-purchased 328 at Edmonton BMW. Not a good thing.

[benyl]

There was an article here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rce_login=true

Where the CEO said that Canadian cars will get preferential treatment and no Saturday service for US cars.

[fanatic]

Originally Posted by benyl

There was an article here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rce_login=true

Where the CEO said that Canadian cars will get preferential treatment and no Saturday service for US cars.

benyl, can't read the article unless you have a subscription.

[darklord]

Benyl...can you cut and paste that article for those that do not subscribe???

[sparkyg]

Originally Posted by darklord

Well apparently their are only 2 BMW dealers in Calgary, both owned by the same guy and thus are the only show in town...I called BS myself when he told me just wanted to see others experiences...

I am getting my car at BMW calg and hopefully I don't get treated this bad in Edmonton.

I went to Calgary since BMA Edm didn't even know a thing on the individual program.

I'd still call the BBB anyhow.

I think the whole thing is BS but given that BMW Canada has similar policies I wouldn't be surprised.

See if you can create some kind or realtionship with them, hell buy them a starbucks.

The problem in Calgary right now is too much business and not enough competition.

[fanatic]

Originally Posted by sparkyg

The problem in Calgary right now is too much business and not enough competition.

Naw.. the problem is that these guys have too short of a memory. If they can recall the last oil boom of the 1980's and it's subsequent bust, they may be a bit more humble.

I remember when Calgary was almost a ghost town because everyone was leaving for the West Coast or TO for work. Hopefuly the boom is managed much better these days. I remember seeing an old footage of a CEO of an oil company lighting a cigar with a $50 bill because he thought it would last forever. Talk about arragance.

I feel bad for all you guys in Calgary now. Given the labour shortage, I heard that people have to line up for an oil change at WalMart as they are book out the entire day within an hour of opening.

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by fanatic

Naw.. the problem is that these guys have too short of a memory. If they can recall the last oil boom of the 1980's and it's subsequent bust, they may be a bit more humble.

I remember when Calgary was almost a ghost town because everyone was leaving for the West Coast or TO for work. Hopefuly the boom is managed much better these days. I remember seeing an old footage of a CEO of an oil company lighting a cigar with a $50 bill because he thought it would last forever. Talk about arragance.

I feel bad for all you guys in Calgary now. Given the labour shortage, I heard that people have to line up for an oil change at WalMart as they are book out the entire day within an hour of opening.

Parts of the Calgary economy are already showing weakness. I sold a townhouse there earlier this year, and the unit next door (virtually identical) has been sitting on the market for months at $125k less than my sale price.

Calgary, like the rest of Canada, is by no means immune to fallout from the impending US recession. Not to mention that the Provincial economy is still almost completely dependent on resource revenues.

[darklord]

Sounds like the service is pretty dismal in Calgary for BMW.