Avoid Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas (Bad review)

e46hijinks · 03-21-2008, 10:45 PM

Mods, forgive me if this is in the wrong forum. I do not see a dealership review forum, so I'll try my luck here.

Here's a synopsis of my situation and a link to my blog, http://boycottbobsmithbmw.blogspot.com/

The following information is my personal experience with Bob Smith BMW. Also included is the experiences of others. Your experience may vary but please consider the following information before giving this dealership your business.

Bob Smith BMW

The following is an excerpt of my post on http://www.complaints.com/2008/febru...e_d_161876.htm

I took a friend's vehicle in for service at this dealership (a BMW 545i, $72,000) and received a loaner car in return, a BMW 3-Series. I have a BMW from this dealership as well. I had an accident with the loaner car, which my insurance carrier covered, less my $1,000 policy deductible. The dealership was notified of the accident where they informed me all I had to do was pay them the $1,000 deductible. The person who told me this was John Brison. He said there is no rush to pay the $1,000 and to pay it when I can. It took me a while to gather the funds to pay but I eventually made a payment plan with Service Manager Brian Howard. One day I took my own BMW in for service where they refused to release the vehicle (even though my vehicle had nothing to do with the $1,000 I owed them) at that time, after much arguing, they released the vehicle to me under the condition I pay them $250 a month to correct the $1,000 situation I owed them. I agreed to this payment plan as it was better than coming up with the $1,000 all at once. I made the first payment, then I receive a call from LA county dispatch accusing me of check fraud. Apparently BMW tried to debit my card for $3,000+ wherein it was declined for insufficient funds. After explanation to LA county Sheriff dispatch, barely NOT getting arrested, the lady symphathized with me and contacted BOB Smith BMW and she was convinced I wasn't trying to commit any wrongdoing and rectified the situation by dropping me off their "fraud list". Bob Smith's John Brison, not knowing what Howard Smith (Service Mamager) arranged with me (the $250/mo payment plan) referred me to collections, not only for the $1,000, but $3,250 in additional loss-of-use charges. Charges I never heard about until an attorney for the collections company called me.

Obviously, in the case of Bob Smith BMW, they are very unorganized--the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I'll guarantee you that other customers who are involved in accidents did not incur loss-of-use charges. I dare Bob Smith to prove otherwise.

Business Manager Girard (don't know hislast name) even admitted to me that this referral to collections should not have happened without his consent--consent John Brison did NOT have.

Not only that, the Service Dept. at Bob Smith is unattentive, unprofessional, and needless to say, disorganized. I have waited around for 45-60 minutes just for them to tell me my car is ready--on several occasions. My car was also scratched up by their detailing technicians who overbuffed the paint on my 3-Series and left it swirly. They fixed the problem (not even to my satisfaction still) after 2 more attempts and hours of waiting. Without even an apology.

Keep in mind I had every intention to pay what I owed--I have no issue with that. But in the end, one Bob Smith promised me one thing at first, then another did his own thing, overriding approval, and sent me to collections for an amount way over and above what I was told I owed. You live and you learn.

e46hijinks

xquisit · 03-21-2008, 10:50 PM

WTF

Bobby_Light · 03-21-2008, 11:58 PM

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Getting the cops and collections involved is never a good time. I would not be a happy camper. I hope things work out in your favor.

aut0sh0cker · 03-22-2008, 12:16 AM

Woah, that is ridiculous. I also had a bad experience there (though it was like getting free candy next to what happened to you). I was shopping around at different dealerships in the area (Bob Smith, Rusnak, Steve Thomas) and by far the Bob Smith guys had the worst attitude toward me. I felt like every minute of the time I spent asking questions was just a waste of their time. I think the sales rep was named Robert, or something like that, and he kept trying to get me to buy options he knew I didn't want. After that experience, I went back to Steve Thomas the same day (who were by far the nicest of the bunch) and ordered a SB E92 335i===>

McLuVan · 03-22-2008, 12:51 AM

I Fucking Hate Bob Smith
My Sa Told Me, Me, To Call Bmw And Ask For An Oil Cooler
Wtf Yo

David 12 · 03-22-2008, 01:30 AM

No matter which dealer; in the circumstance above it is always best to get everything in writing, signed off by management level personnel.

That may not have totally avoided your scenario, but it could have helped.

hypertech · 03-22-2008, 01:36 AM

they sucks. There is guy named eddie is a liar who wanted to sell me a car(CPV) involved accident before!! Get Away from them!

sk8erfox805 · 03-22-2008, 01:39 AM

ive been to bob smith once looking for a cooper for my gf, and they treated us like we werent customers with big mark ups on their cars, i was also on my e90 but their customer service is just awful.

KkSc · 03-22-2008, 03:59 AM

wow..sucks man..it's horrible!!

BMW/Lakers · 03-22-2008, 04:02 AM

went there once. Got a horrible quote. Rusnak FTW

xquisit · 03-22-2008, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW/Lakers

went there once. Got a horrible quote. Rusnak FTW

A friend's father is a dealer there.

SantaClawz · 03-22-2008, 05:07 AM

Rusnak BMW service is AWESOME. talk to Scott Gomez. he is a good man.

jmonier · 03-22-2008, 08:24 AM

Just to add a little info on the other side of the coin I had a great experience with Jeff Kline (Internet Manager) there. I would recommend him without reservation.

I have no experience with their service or their CA's that work the floor, however. (I only deal with Internet Managers when I buy a car.)

0utlier · 03-22-2008, 09:33 AM

You took a friends BMW in for service. You got a dealer loaner. You crashed the dealer's loaner. The dealer was cool since your insurance was going to pay, minus your insurance deductible of $1000. This is where the story should have ended by you paying $1000 for the deductible.

I'm not judging here, but I'm a little confused. You have a BMW, but you don't have $1000 to pay your insurance deductible?

McLuVan · 03-22-2008, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utlier

You took a friends BMW in for service. You got a dealer loaner. You crashed the dealer's loaner. The dealer was cool since your insurance was going to pay, minus your insurance deductible of $1000. This is where the story should have ended by you paying $1000 for the deductible.

I'm not judging here, but I'm a little confused. You have a BMW, but you don't have $1000 to pay your insurance deductible?

hmmm
i guess.....
but in general
they suck when it comes to service
they wouldnt even give me a loaner cuz i didnt buy the car there
while lexus gives me SHUTTLES and i didnt even buy the car from them
i still cant believe my SA told ME, the customer, to CALL BMWNA and order the parts
doesn't that defeat the purpose of a SA?
they suck....
never going back to them
i kept my car there all day,
and all they could do was replace a lightbulb
there's squeaking from the rear right wheel well and they dont giva #@#@ cuz i didnt buy my car from them.....
they suck................

thekurgan · 03-22-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utlier

You took a friends BMW in for service. You got a dealer loaner. You crashed the dealer's loaner. The dealer was cool since your insurance was going to pay, minus your insurance deductible of $1000. This is where the story should have ended by you paying $1000 for the deductible.

I'm not judging here, but I'm a little confused. You have a BMW, but you don't have $1000 to pay your insurance deductible?

+1 man, I don't get it, are people spending all their income on the car payment and nothing "just in case"??? I don't discount the story, but shit, all could have been avoided with a grand, not to mention, if I took a "friends" car in for service, I wouldn't get a loaner, the "friend" would.

AJayE92 · 03-22-2008, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utlier

You took a friends BMW in for service. You got a dealer loaner. You crashed the dealer's loaner. The dealer was cool since your insurance was going to pay, minus your insurance deductible of $1000. This is where the story should have ended by you paying $1000 for the deductible.

I'm not judging here, but I'm a little confused. You have a BMW, but you don't have $1000 to pay your insurance deductible?

no offense to the thread author but i kinda agree

even though that situation definitely got out of hand

sorry to hear that it went so wrong

0utlier · 03-22-2008, 09:56 AM

There may very well be numerous reasons not to do business with them. I'm very far removed from the situation and dealer. The OP owes the dealer $1000. It seems he doesn't have the money to pay. He says he made some type of verbal deal with someone there as to some type of payment plan. All pretty sketchy sounding to me.

The lesson to be learned here is get important things put in writing. Do not leave financial matters to chance and a handshake. Stupidly, the dealer sounds like they were going to provide him a 0% interest loan for his insurance deductible. That sounds very generous to me.

I don't want to sound like I'm berating the OP. I do feel for him. I've been in bad situations financially too. It is absolutely no fun. I hope he gets this worked out while going through the least amount of pain, yet learning a valuable lesson.

lauer87 · 03-22-2008, 10:02 AM

I agree with what others have said above, plus if you took time to read the rental contract, I'm sure there is a provision in it for the $3,250 additional loss of use charges you have incured, so they could be well within there legal rights to pursue this even without telling you.

bigbirdincali · 03-23-2008, 12:44 AM

I purchased my 335 from Bob Smith and they were absolutely great. Actually, I would highly recommend them, they have full disclosure -- they show you invoice and every up front. No BS.

I bought one of my BMW's from Steve Thomas -and- always got shafted on service. Never did I get a loaner and sometimes they didn't even get standard service done in the same day even though I was one of the first to arrive. They claim 1st come 1st serve, but it's BS, the driver told me it's 7 series, then 5 series etc. I got sick dropping the car off at 7am then being shuttled to the rental place at 5:30 or 6pm since my car wasn't finished....then still not getting my car until past 5pm the next day.

Center in Van Nuys had much better service. They schedule you when your car will be serviced. Shuttle, but no loaner. Then again, I didn't buy my car from them...Not sure how they are on pricing.

For me, Rusnak was horrible to deal with... they were way overpriced compared to Bob Smith (at least in my case). Actually, Steve Thomas was much better priced as well -- So Rusnak got a shot a selling me a car twice and bombed. Can't comment on their service.

From the 3 somewhat local dealers that I've had my car serviced, Bob Smith has been the best by far.

Anyway. Just a different perspective, especially since the circumstances in the original post seem strange... I'd hate to see anyone wrongly steered away from Bob Smith.

Cheers!

mtkid · 03-23-2008, 12:48 AM

I hate bob smith so much

HappyG · 04-19-2008, 12:54 AM

Jeff Kline is the man. I've never had issues with their service department either...every dealership's service will vary based on whom you deal with. I hate Rusnak, Assael, etc....but I'm sure there are good people there.

03-21-2008, 10:45 PM	#1
e46hijinks E46 8 Rep 83 Posts Drives: 2006 E46 325ci 5MT Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA iTrader: (0)	Avoid Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas (Bad review) Mods, forgive me if this is in the wrong forum. I do not see a dealership review forum, so I'll try my luck here. Here's a synopsis of my situation and a link to my blog, http://boycottbobsmithbmw.blogspot.com/ The following information is my personal experience with Bob Smith BMW. Also included is the experiences of others. Your experience may vary but please consider the following information before giving this dealership your business. Bob Smith BMW The following is an excerpt of my post on http://www.complaints.com/2008/febru...e_d_161876.htm I took a friend's vehicle in for service at this dealership (a BMW 545i, $72,000) and received a loaner car in return, a BMW 3-Series. I have a BMW from this dealership as well. I had an accident with the loaner car, which my insurance carrier covered, less my $1,000 policy deductible. The dealership was notified of the accident where they informed me all I had to do was pay them the $1,000 deductible. The person who told me this was John Brison. He said there is no rush to pay the $1,000 and to pay it when I can. It took me a while to gather the funds to pay but I eventually made a payment plan with Service Manager Brian Howard. One day I took my own BMW in for service where they refused to release the vehicle (even though my vehicle had nothing to do with the $1,000 I owed them) at that time, after much arguing, they released the vehicle to me under the condition I pay them $250 a month to correct the $1,000 situation I owed them. I agreed to this payment plan as it was better than coming up with the $1,000 all at once. I made the first payment, then I receive a call from LA county dispatch accusing me of check fraud. Apparently BMW tried to debit my card for $3,000+ wherein it was declined for insufficient funds. After explanation to LA county Sheriff dispatch, barely NOT getting arrested, the lady symphathized with me and contacted BOB Smith BMW and she was convinced I wasn't trying to commit any wrongdoing and rectified the situation by dropping me off their "fraud list". Bob Smith's John Brison, not knowing what Howard Smith (Service Mamager) arranged with me (the $250/mo payment plan) referred me to collections, not only for the $1,000, but $3,250 in additional loss-of-use charges. Charges I never heard about until an attorney for the collections company called me. Obviously, in the case of Bob Smith BMW, they are very unorganized--the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I'll guarantee you that other customers who are involved in accidents did not incur loss-of-use charges. I dare Bob Smith to prove otherwise. Business Manager Girard (don't know hislast name) even admitted to me that this referral to collections should not have happened without his consent--consent John Brison did NOT have. Not only that, the Service Dept. at Bob Smith is unattentive, unprofessional, and needless to say, disorganized. I have waited around for 45-60 minutes just for them to tell me my car is ready--on several occasions. My car was also scratched up by their detailing technicians who overbuffed the paint on my 3-Series and left it swirly. They fixed the problem (not even to my satisfaction still) after 2 more attempts and hours of waiting. Without even an apology. Keep in mind I had every intention to pay what I owed--I have no issue with that. But in the end, one Bob Smith promised me one thing at first, then another did his own thing, overriding approval, and sent me to collections for an amount way over and above what I was told I owed. You live and you learn. e46hijinks __________________ MY06 E46 325ci 5MT
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03-21-2008, 10:50 PM	#2
xquisit «-·¨¯¯¨·-» 112 Rep 1,718 Posts Drives: 328i / R32 / 1.8T Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (4)	WTF __________________ [N51]BMW Perf. Grilles - Debadge - AA exhaust - OEM M Sport front bumper {Euro Style: Reflectors shaved off} - Medium tint - Custom Headlights - BBS LM Reps 19x8 ET32 19x10 ET30 [LCI]
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03-21-2008, 11:58 PM	#3
Bobby_Light Major 65 Rep 1,352 Posts Drives: E36 M3 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: SoCal iTrader: (14)	Sorry to hear about your troubles. Getting the cops and collections involved is never a good time. I would not be a happy camper. I hope things work out in your favor.
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03-22-2008, 12:16 AM	#4
aut0sh0cker meh 123 Rep 1,756 Posts Drives: E92 335i, 997.2 C4S Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 91362 iTrader: (2)	Woah, that is ridiculous. I also had a bad experience there (though it was like getting free candy next to what happened to you). I was shopping around at different dealerships in the area (Bob Smith, Rusnak, Steve Thomas) and by far the Bob Smith guys had the worst attitude toward me. I felt like every minute of the time I spent asking questions was just a waste of their time. I think the sales rep was named Robert, or something like that, and he kept trying to get me to buy options he knew I didn't want. After that experience, I went back to Steve Thomas the same day (who were by far the nicest of the bunch) and ordered a SB E92 335i===>
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03-22-2008, 12:51 AM	#5
McLuVan Lieutenant General 304 Rep 13,114 Posts Drives: ///M3 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Socal~818~ iTrader: (1)	I Fucking Hate Bob Smith My Sa Told Me, Me, To Call Bmw And Ask For An Oil Cooler Wtf Yo __________________
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03-22-2008, 01:30 AM	#6
David 12 Major 127 Rep 1,048 Posts Drives: 2019 BMW X5 50i BSM, M Sport Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Omaha iTrader: (0)	No matter which dealer; in the circumstance above it is always best to get everything in writing, signed off by management level personnel. That may not have totally avoided your scenario, but it could have helped.
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03-22-2008, 01:36 AM	#7
hypertech New Member 0 Rep 16 Posts Drives: F87, 992 GT3 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA / TAIWAN iTrader: (2)	they sucks. There is guy named eddie is a liar who wanted to sell me a car(CPV) involved accident before!! Get Away from them!
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03-22-2008, 01:39 AM	#8
sk8erfox805 moar boost 3 Rep 111 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (3)	ive been to bob smith once looking for a cooper for my gf, and they treated us like we werent customers with big mark ups on their cars, i was also on my e90 but their customer service is just awful.
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03-22-2008, 03:59 AM	#9
KkSc Major General 173 Rep 6,223 Posts Drives: 13'FR-S/15' F80 M3 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: North Vancouver, BC iTrader: (10)	wow..sucks man..it's horrible!! __________________ 2006 E90 Alpine White 330i - Retired 2015 F80 Alpine White M3
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03-22-2008, 04:02 AM	#10
BMW/Lakers New Member 0 Rep 14 Posts Drives: 2008 335i coupe Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Irvine, CA iTrader: (0)	went there once. Got a horrible quote. Rusnak FTW __________________ 2008 335i Coupe / Jet Black / Black Dakota / Sport / Prem / Auto with Pedals / Comfort Access / Navi / Ipod / Parking Assist / Sirius
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03-22-2008, 05:07 AM	#12
SantaClawz First Lieutenant 18 Rep 300 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ventura iTrader: (2)	Rusnak BMW service is AWESOME. talk to Scott Gomez. he is a good man. __________________ ROLLING STOCK
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03-22-2008, 08:24 AM	#13
jmonier Captain 11 Rep 812 Posts Drives: 2007 335i E92, 2002 325i Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Torrance, CA iTrader: (0)	Just to add a little info on the other side of the coin I had a great experience with Jeff Kline (Internet Manager) there. I would recommend him without reservation. I have no experience with their service or their CA's that work the floor, however. (I only deal with Internet Managers when I buy a car.)
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03-22-2008, 09:33 AM	#14
0utlier Private 0 Rep 62 Posts Drives: X3 XDrive35i Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hattiesburg, MS iTrader: (0)	You took a friends BMW in for service. You got a dealer loaner. You crashed the dealer's loaner. The dealer was cool since your insurance was going to pay, minus your insurance deductible of $1000. This is where the story should have ended by you paying $1000 for the deductible. I'm not judging here, but I'm a little confused. You have a BMW, but you don't have $1000 to pay your insurance deductible?
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03-22-2008, 09:56 AM	#18
0utlier Private 0 Rep 62 Posts Drives: X3 XDrive35i Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hattiesburg, MS iTrader: (0)	There may very well be numerous reasons not to do business with them. I'm very far removed from the situation and dealer. The OP owes the dealer $1000. It seems he doesn't have the money to pay. He says he made some type of verbal deal with someone there as to some type of payment plan. All pretty sketchy sounding to me. The lesson to be learned here is get important things put in writing. Do not leave financial matters to chance and a handshake. Stupidly, the dealer sounds like they were going to provide him a 0% interest loan for his insurance deductible. That sounds very generous to me. I don't want to sound like I'm berating the OP. I do feel for him. I've been in bad situations financially too. It is absolutely no fun. I hope he gets this worked out while going through the least amount of pain, yet learning a valuable lesson. Last edited by 0utlier; 03-22-2008 at 10:12 AM.. Reason: adding additional thoughts.
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03-22-2008, 10:02 AM	#19
lauer87 Lieutenant 8 Rep 586 Posts Drives: 335xi Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	I agree with what others have said above, plus if you took time to read the rental contract, I'm sure there is a provision in it for the $3,250 additional loss of use charges you have incured, so they could be well within there legal rights to pursue this even without telling you.
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03-23-2008, 12:44 AM	#20
bigbirdincali Registered 1 Rep 2 Posts Drives: 335i 2008 Monaco Blue Grey Int Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Woodland Hills, CA iTrader: (0)	I purchased my 335 from Bob Smith and they were absolutely great. Actually, I would highly recommend them, they have full disclosure -- they show you invoice and every up front. No BS. I bought one of my BMW's from Steve Thomas -and- always got shafted on service. Never did I get a loaner and sometimes they didn't even get standard service done in the same day even though I was one of the first to arrive. They claim 1st come 1st serve, but it's BS, the driver told me it's 7 series, then 5 series etc. I got sick dropping the car off at 7am then being shuttled to the rental place at 5:30 or 6pm since my car wasn't finished....then still not getting my car until past 5pm the next day. Center in Van Nuys had much better service. They schedule you when your car will be serviced. Shuttle, but no loaner. Then again, I didn't buy my car from them...Not sure how they are on pricing. For me, Rusnak was horrible to deal with... they were way overpriced compared to Bob Smith (at least in my case). Actually, Steve Thomas was much better priced as well -- So Rusnak got a shot a selling me a car twice and bombed. Can't comment on their service. From the 3 somewhat local dealers that I've had my car serviced, Bob Smith has been the best by far. Anyway. Just a different perspective, especially since the circumstances in the original post seem strange... I'd hate to see anyone wrongly steered away from Bob Smith. Cheers!
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03-23-2008, 12:48 AM	#21
mtkid First Lieutenant 29 Rep 387 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: California iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 325i [0.00]	I hate bob smith so much __________________ mods to come: koni yellows. camber kit. matte black m6 reps. mtec cf spoiler
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04-19-2008, 12:54 AM	#22
HappyG Major 45 Rep 1,007 Posts Drives: 06 BMW 330i / 6SP Join Date: May 2006 Location: CA iTrader: (13) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	Jeff Kline is the man. I've never had issues with their service department either...every dealership's service will vary based on whom you deal with. I hate Rusnak, Assael, etc....but I'm sure there are good people there. __________________ Si vis Pacem, Para bellum. Have a nice day!
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