[Alex_bm]

It's been several months now since my last randevu with BMW Autohaus. I wanted to put this in writing for some time now, but never got to it. Any-how...
It was another rainy morning when I started my 2007 328i to find out that red hand brake light on my dash is on. Tried to "restart" the engine, but got the same result.

I decided to play safe and take the car to the dealership nearest to where I live - BMW Autohaus. Friendly SA took my key, scanned it, and confidently announced that all 4 of my brake pads are worn and need to be replaced. Then he gave me the good news that they have a deal to replace all 4 for 900 + tax and offered to leave the car with them. I mentioned that I just had my car serviced, and brakes were just examined, but that didn’t help. SA was confident that pads have to be replaced.

This news came as a surprise to me for two reasons. My car has been services just 3 weeks ago at the same dealership. One of the things I have asked to check is squealing noise when brakes applied. I was told that it’s completely normal, and there is nothing wrong with my brakes. Also, at that time I only had 35k on my odometer, normally with my driving style (engine braking) brake pads last a lot longer than that.

It was very strange to me, so I decided to get a second opinion. Later on the same day I decided to pay a visit to BMW of Mississauga. Before they got a reading from my key I mentioned that it would be weird for my brakes to be dead at this point of time. Sure enough, SA pointed out that some-thing wrong with one of the sensors. Computer was reading as if I drove 640000 km with worn brake pads.
When I left my car to get this fixed, they some-how assumed I have aftermarket brake pads. To prove a point BMW of Mississauga called Autohaus, being the last place of service and all. Now I was really shocked, apparently during my service at Autohaus, technician measured all my brake pads and they all were far from being worn out. Waiting at BMW of Mississauga, I noticed a big board on the wall with different service packages offerings. Apparently, 3 series brake pad replacement for all 4 is around 350$ including labor.

My issue was eventually resolved by reloading the software, twice. I am still confused, whether the SA at Autohaus is that incompetent or he/they run a scam. First of all, SA’s computer has clearly displayed -640000 km (the guy at Mississauga place actually showed me). That along should give him a hint that the brakes are not the problem. Plus I specifically stated my recent service and how the brakes were recently examined. Second, why to overprice a job by that much???

I know that any work done at BMW comes with a huge price premium. Just make sure you are not being ripped off when you come in to the dealership to get some-thing fixed. Those folks cannot be trusted, neither technically or financially. It's just a sad reality.

[A.Kon]

I bought my e93 from Autohaus - I wouldn't say I got the best service from them either, nor the best deal.

After reading some threads on e90p, I found that other dealers in the GTA were giving better discounts AND free stuff like winter mats and stuff and better after sales service.

I don't plan on taking my car to Autohaus and will most likely not buy from them again either.

[A.Kon]

btw - thanks for the post. it's helpful to know others experiences.

[MMOTION]

I'd definitely talk to the manager and get this straightened out. I don't know why we keep hearing horror stories from that same dealership, its obvious they need to do some major changes, especially training their SA's.

$900 + tax to change all 4 brake pads? rofl

[Speeze]

Many dealerships charge 900 + tax for replacement of all 4 brake pads AND rotors.

[Alex_bm]

I didn't need new rotors even according to the smart SA

Originally Posted by Speeze

Many dealerships charge 900 + tax for replacement of all 4 brake pads AND rotors.

[Speeze]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

I didn't need new rotors even according to the smart SA

I guess the SA couldn't even read a price chart correctly.

[MMOTION]

Originally Posted by Speeze

Many dealerships charge 900 + tax for replacement of all 4 brake pads AND rotors.

OP stated he only need pads changed. If they needed to do rotors then that would have been more believable. Either way, poor service from the incompetent SA.

[Alex_bm]

Or could he? It's not that complicated - the computer said "Brake pads worn".
It's not like the price to replace the pads and pads+rotors is even in the same range...
Obviously if I took to the manager, they would say the guy read the wrong line or some-thing like that.

Originally Posted by Speeze

I guess the SA couldn't even read a price chart correctly.

[Speeze]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Or could he? It's not that complicated - the computer said "Brake pads worn".
It's not like the price to replace the pads and pads+rotors is even in the same range...
Obviously if I took to the manager, they would say the guy read the wrong line or some-thing like that.

I was just pointing out where the 900 may have come from. It definitely looks like they didn't have your best interests at heart. I too find it hard to believe that an SA can't read a price chart or even look deeper into the problem. Sounds like he made two big mistakes servicing you.

What's sad is that the 900 solution would have fixed the problem and I'm sure many people would just say okay, just replace the brakes, what choice do I have.

[Alex_bm]

And the that was the main reason behind putting this on a forum.
You are absolutely right, many cutomers would have gone along with proposed fix.

Originally Posted by Speeze

What's sad is that the 900 solution would have fixed the problem and I'm sure many people would just say okay, just replace the brakes, what choice do I have.

[pokerface]

I would write a note to BMW Canada just to let them know.

[Alex_bm]

I was thinking about it. The thing is what am I going to achieve by doing that? It's a business world. I figure that the best punishment is to take my business else-where. Loosing money is a great way of knowing you are doing some-thing wrong.

Originally Posted by pokerface

I would write a note to BMW Canada just to let them know.

[peanuboy]

I am sure BMW Canada received numerous complaints about some dealers and how seriously they take them is anybody's guess... since BMW Autohaus has been around for a while and I've heard nothing but horror stories, my guess is not much

I've had a couple of fruitless instances dealing with them , once with CPO and another with new car sales

on e90post I see all these complaints about their service, this tells me this entire dealer operation is a joke.... owners probably don't even care....

[joleel7]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

I was thinking about it. The thing is what am I going to achieve by doing that? It's a business world. I figure that the best punishment is to take my business else-where. Loosing money is a great way of knowing you are doing some-thing wrong.

I would.. I once complained to BMW Canada about Autohaus sevice call request. Their sales are even worse. I hate Autohaus!!

[Alex_bm]

My sales experience from two years back was fairly normal, though I dealt directly with Sales Manager through APA.

[bobblehead]

Their sales staff treated (potential) customer pretty bad as based on my experience. In particular, their Chinese sales staff were very arrogant and treated me as I have no money to buy a car there.
They judged me based on what I wore (very causual that day ... just jeans/t-shirt) and when I asked questions about the car, the Chinese guy did not seem interested in answering me.

Too bad for that bozo, I bought my 535xi elsewhere within a couple of weeks.

[Alex_bm]

Another anomaly I am unable to digest. I had similiar experience in other places, and always left wondering "aren't those guys on commission?"...

Originally Posted by bobblehead

Their sales staff treated (potential) customer pretty bad as based on my experience. In particular, their Chinese sales staff were very arrogant and treated me as I have no money to buy a car there.
They judged me based on what I wore (very causual that day ... just jeans/t-shirt) and when I asked questions about the car, the Chinese guy did not seem interested in answering me.

Too bad for that bozo, I bought my 535xi elsewhere within a couple of weeks.

[Speeze]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Another anomaly I am unable to digest. I had similiar experience in other places, and always left wondering "aren't those guys on commission?"...

I don't get why some sales reps have a snooty attitude either. And not just for car sales. I'd clean up if I was a sales rep at a dealership simply by being courteous and welcoming. The same way I treat my clients.

Maybe some get jaded by people just coming in, kicking tires and asking for test drives. Who knows.

[ehhhwik]

i had the same problem on my 2007 e92 328i, and it mentioned that the brake pads needed replacing 245,000 kms ago (LOL), the brakes were perfectly fine and not worn at all, they simply reflashed the ECU and replaced the brake sensors and i was on my way ($0 charged), out of the 2 dealers in Vancouver that I've brought my car in for this service, no body ever even mentioned to me that all my brakes needed replacing

[Alex_bm]

You are lucky Took me two weeks to get it done, plus I got blamed for using after market brake pads. It took for a third technician to take a look to confirm that these were original BMW brake pads.

Originally Posted by ehhhwik

i had the same problem on my 2007 e92 328i, and it mentioned that the brake pads needed replacing 245,000 kms ago (LOL), the brakes were perfectly fine and not worn at all, they simply reflashed the ECU and replaced the brake sensors and i was on my way ($0 charged), out of the 2 dealers in Vancouver that I've brought my car in for this service, no body ever even mentioned to me that all my brakes needed replacing

[Alex_bm]

Funny, I have brought the same point to my wife couple weeks ago, stating same exact thing.

About getting jaded, you work with humans and should anticipate all kind of behavior. Also, test drives are just a small part of the sales process. Many potential customers or just curious folks might take a car for a drive, but only few will make the purchase. Still, all part of the job.

On my opinion, test drive is a great way to create a bond with some-one. Even if that person is not going to buy the car right away, it might bring some work (cash) in the future.
I dunno, just a regular business practice.

Originally Posted by Speeze

I don't get why some sales reps have a snooty attitude either. And not just for car sales. I'd clean up if I was a sales rep at a dealership simply by being courteous and welcoming. The same way I treat my clients.

Maybe some get jaded by people just coming in, kicking tires and asking for test drives. Who knows.