BMW of Alexandria

Review: I went to BMW of Alexandria to have my car inspected. They failed my car for a number of reasons. One of them was that a light bulb in the front of the car was out. They said it would cost $190 to change that. They explained that it would cost that much because they would have to take the bumper off. That was a blatant lie.

I took my car to BMW of [redacted] the same day, bought the light bulb and a service technician changed the bulb for me in about 30 seconds, free of charge. There was no need to take the bumper off. I find it hard to believe that the service technicians at BMW of Alexandria did not know that the bumper did not have to be removed. They would have charged me $190 completely unnecessarily. They also failed my car saying that there was something wrong with the thrust rod bushings. I took my car to another shop where they said there was nothing wrong with it.Desired Settlement: I am happy to provide more information about the specific technician at BMW of Alexandria who made these statements about my car (as well as the Service Advisor who fully supported his statements). It is up to BMW of Alexandria to determine if they want to keep people on who make misrepresentations to their customers and cause them to lose confidence in the dealership.

On a larger scale, I think BMW of Alexandria should be investigated. Perhaps this is something that their service advisors/technicians are instructed to do in order to earn more money for their dealership?

Business

Response:

I sent the following e-mail to the customer on Monday March 10, 2014 apologizing and asking customer to set up time to come to store and review the issues raised. I have not heard back from customer. No further action is planned from BMW of Alexandria at this time.

Review: I leased a BMW 550i for a 3-year plus term, beginning 12/15/2012, Account# [redacted]. Nine months later, I traded in this BMW for a Ford on 9/1/2013. I requested a pro-rated refund covering the various warranties that I initially purchased but did not use:

BMW Extended Service Warranty $1,759, [redacted] Tire Warranty 3 Years $850, [redacted] Warranty 10 Years $899.

Total for these warranties was $3,498.

My past experience with various BMW and other automobile dealerships has been that a refund was always issued and issued timely. BMW of Alexandria has not issued me any refunds since my faxed request made to them on October 30, 2013 and mailed request made to them on November 21, 2013.Desired Settlement: Refund for the unused portion of the extended service and other warranties paid to BMW of Alexandria.

Business

Response:

BMW of Alexandria has communicated with **. [redacted] on the phone and by e-mail. We have cleared up the confusion about what products he purchased and which ones were able to be cancelled. A refund check of $603 was mailed to **. [redacted] and he has confirmed receipt of the check. A goodwill offer was made related to the [redacted] product he purchased, but was not able to be canceled. We believe the complaint has been addressed.

Review: On 7/25/14, I purchased a vehicle from BMW of Alexandria. The salesperson was H. A[redacted]. I also purchased the [redacted] Tire Care (Road Hazard Protection) warranty for $1,295.00 at the time of purchase. The warranty is 100% cancel-able. The contract number is [redacted]. The warranty is underwritten by [redacted] Warranty Corporation.

On 9/4/14 (less than 60 days from purchase) I decided that I no longer wanted the Preferred Tire Care warranty and returned to BMW of Alexandria, met with the finance manager and cancelled the Warranty. We completed the cancellation paperwork that day and he assured me that my $1,295 would be refunded as stipulated in the preferred tire care contract under CANCELLATION. He said that the $1,295 would be sent to BMW finance company since I financed the vehicle and preferred tire care with BMW Finance.

[redacted] Warranty Corporation sent confirmation of the cancellation to BMW of Alexandria on 9/11/14. I confirmed this by calling [redacted] and asking for the exact date of purchase and cancellation.

I waited for several weeks to pass and on 9/25/14, I called BMW Financial to see if the $1,295 had been credited to my account. They informed me that it had not. I waited several more weeks and called BMW Financial again on or around October 15th. Again they informed that no credit from BMW of Alexandria had been received. I immediately called BMW of Alexandria, and asked to speak to the finance manager. I spoke to a business manager at BMW of Alexandria who assured me the payment was processed and I should receive payment "any day now". I waited for TWO more weeks, contacted BMW Finance Company with the same result. No payment. I again called BMW of Alexandria and this time spoke with the sales person Hussein. He put me on hold returned and said the check was mailed to BMW Finance Company on October 16. I recalled BMW Finance and told them what I had been told by the dealership. The customer service rep at BMW Finance double checked and said absolutely no payment had been received from BMW of Alexandria. She then went on to advise that I return to the dealership and demand either the check number of the allegedly mailed check or ask them to cancel the alleged earlier check and issue a new check giving me the check number. I called the dealership for the THIRD time and told them that I had spoken to BMW Finance on numerous occasions and no check had been received.

The Alexandria BMW business manager (that I worked with on the purchase) much to my surprise and disgust ADMITTED THAT NO CHECK HAD BEEN SENT. His excuse was that the salesperson had told him that I was going to purchase another vehicle from them and thus decided it would be easier if they held on to my $1295 so that they could "roll it in" to the purchase of the new car!!!! Unbelievable. I told him that given my experience with this dealership, there was no way I was giving them any more of my business. I told him I wanted the money owed to me refunded immediately. He said he would process the refund that day. The refund still has not been received.

After no success getting BMW of Alexandria to return the money that they clearly owe me, I contacted BMW customer relations. Customer relations contacted the dealership directly. The BMW Customer relations rep said she spoke with management at the dealership and they would be calling me shortly to resolve the issue. That was 2 weeks ago on October 31st, 2014. I have yet to receive a call from anyone from BMW of Alexandria.

Today is November 13th. Over 9 weeks since the cancellation was processed and when I was TOLD the refund would be sent to BMW Financial. The refunded STILL HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED NOR HAVE I BEEN CONTACTED BY BMW OF ALEXANDRIA. This is my final attempt to amicably resolve this issue before pursing my rights using other channels.Desired Settlement: BMW of Alexandria must refund the amount owed to me of $1,295 immediately.

Business

Response:

We have contacted the customer, explained the mistake made by BMW of Alexandria and apologized for the mistake. A check has been cut to the customer and mailed to bring resolution to the matter.

Review: In March of 2014 I dropped my 2009 BMW [redacted] off for repair at BMW of Alexandria. [redacted] contacted me the next morning explaining the process of having the insurance company come our for an estimate. He was very helpful. After the car was returned, it just didn't feel right. The steering wheel was not straight as the BMW symbol was crooked as the wheels were facing straight and the car pulled as if it need an alignment. When I took the car back to BMW of Alexandria to have the car looked at again, I was helped by another associate. I don't remember her name other than her demeanor was condicending and argumentative. They kept insisting nothing was wrong with the car. When she finally called me to tell me they had made minor adjustments to the steering column. After picking the car up and being assured that everything was corrected, it still did not feel right. As this continued the car seemed to get worse. At which time I decided to take it to [redacted] BMW in MD. While they were looking at the car, they noticed that there were lugnuts missing and the car still needed a front end alignment and the steering column still was not straight. It's concerning to me that I had to travel an additional 15 miles to another BMW dealership to receive acceptable service and for the car to actually be fixed. Not to mention that this has now cost me another $269 to correct something that BMW of Alexandria was incapable of fixing.Desired Settlement: Refund for the $269 that I had to pay at [redacted] BMW to fix the car.

Business

Response:

We have been unable to reach [redacted], but have sent her a check for the $269 requested in her complaint.

I took out a lease with this dealership, and right from the start was harassed and lied to. The salesman told me I would be given a loaner until my car arrived because of some issues on the shipping end. I picked up the lease, and almost immediately began receiving calls and emails from the salesman requesting I return the lease. The contact became so invasive that I returned the loaner prior to being given my lease, and then had to pay $250 for a car rental for the weekend until the lease arrived.
I decided to end the lease early because it was overly expensive, and given the poor service from the beginning, I had lost any loyalty to this brand. I obtained a new lease from another auto maker, and turned in this BMW lease when obtaining the new car. BMW reported me to all 3 credit agencies for not making payments (though all payments were made on time by me). It turned out there was an issue with the new dealership, and they provided a letter stating it was their fault. I provided this letter to BMW per their instruction, so I could have the credit agency reports removed. BMW refused, stating no proof had been submitted - it was a blind template letter that obviously was sent without reading the material I submitted.
This was 3 months ago, and I am still receiving harassing emails, phone calls and mailings from BMW. They've told me during at least 5 phone calls that "this is the final payment/fee/charge and you will not hear from BMW again. Our business is complete." only to have the process renew the following week.
There appears to be zero customer protection available, and no avenue for ending this harassing. The local and federal governments both have zero interest in intervening where big business is concerned. Everyone just points to someone else for responsibility.
So don't deal with this company. They are shady, two-faced, and irresponsible.

Review: I recently took my BMW X5 into BMW Alexandria for possible misfiring and jerking when I accelerate on the gas. My wife and I experienced this before while living in Virginia Beach and our advisor told us that is was the #1 and 2 Spark plugs that were misfiring. Upon taking it to service we were assigned to Greg Jackson who sent it back for inspection. Later in the day he gave my wife a call to inform her that the Ebox fan, radiator and gas cap were the problem and it would cost $1,300 to fix. After being notified at work of what the problem was, I immediately called Greg and informed him that I did not want him to work on the car because those things do not cause a car to misfire. The very next morning I picked my truck up and drove it up the street to [redacted] only to find out from a free diagnostic (via OBD/OBT) that our suspicion was confirmed. It was a misfire from my spark plug #5. I paid $16 for all new spark plugs and the jumping stopped immediately.

I called Greg back to get an explanation of why they didn't check this or hook a scanner up and I was told that they inspected it and they didn't notice anything wrong. I then went into why I had to pay $150 for an inspection that was a huge waste of time. Additionally, if I did have the repairs done my problem still would have continued.

The reason I took the time to file a complaint is because I have yet to hear from management from my request to hear from management. Greg assured me Bob? (I am assuming he is the Manager) would call me. I haven't heard from him regarding my request for a refund. Had this happened to anyone of them I am sure they would be as upset as I am.

I moved to Northern Virginia only weeks ago and so far not pleased with the Alexandria branch. I have owned my BMW for over 4 years now and have never received the cold shoulder like I have.Desired Settlement: All I am asking is for a refund, store credit or something to that effect. I would love to give BMW of Alexandria a second chance but some fundamentals need to be addressed first. Make it right by admitting they overlooked the problem for why it was brought in. Don't charge me for the misdiagnostic!

Business

Response:

I e-mailed the customer apologizing for the lack of follow up by our Manager. We agreed to the customer's request for a store credit for $150.

Review: Over the last year I feel as if I have been taken advatage of for an unknown reason (female, military, its how this BMW operates??). The issue started when I brought my car in for mechanical issues. I was given a laundry list of items that needed to be repaired, then I was told I needed a rear and front tire on the passenger side. I told them that I had just repaired BOTH rear tires about 6 months prior (becuase I had a blow out on the right rear but needed to replace both tires anyway). About a month or so later (estimated) I had hit a pot hole or something which caused a buble in the side walls of my DRIVERS SIDE front and rear tires, which I had replaced both (covered under warantee). So if I needed a new tire it would be the front passenger side, which I had already requested to be changed.

The service technician (Marium) said that because I did not get a rear-wheel alignment when I replaced the tired it caused extra wear on the right rear and I now need to replace it. For one the dealership did not recommend an alignment either verbally or on the work order where is says "recommended service, and secondly I did not know you could align rear wheels (and this is why I bring it to BMW). I spoke to Bob the service manager personally and he said if I did not drive my car like a teenager on the weekends I would not have that problem. I explained to him I am an officer in the Navy with 2 young children and only bought the car so I could put the top down and the kids could let their hair blow in the wind. I have no means nor no busisness racing my car around like a teenager, none the less with a car seat in the back! The service manager then pulled my previuos work orders and confirmed that the alignment was not recommened and looked at the tire. He said if the wear is bad enough he would cover the alignment if I covered the cost of the tire. I agreed, though I was not thrilled about spending another $400 on a tire.

The same afternoon Miriam called me back and told me I had a front rim on the rear passenger side tire and that I needed to purchase a new rim. I again called the service manager asking how that was possible since THEY changed both rear tires at the SAME time 6 months prior and nobody ever mentioned that I had 2 different size rims in the back that required 2 different size tires. He said it must have slippped through the cracks. Miriam told me to contact the dealership I bought the car from (2 years ago) and tell them that they sold me a car with 2 different size rims in the back. I called [redacted] BMW and they said becuase I had the car so long they were not able to assist.

The service manger eventually called corporate and they replaced the rim and took mine, and I paid for the tire. I firmly believe that this was an error of BMW of Alexandria when they changed my tires. Even though they denied it could ever happen it was taken care of. By this point my conversations with Miriam were no longer friendly. She was very short with me asking questions, and when my husband called she told him everybody wants something for nothing.

2. The work that was done included the invesitigation of my Airbag error light, and the seatbelt faulty light. I was told that the passenger side kneee airbag was faulty and it had to be ordered from Germany. About a month later (I was in a loaner car) the airbag came in and the work was completed. 2 days after having the car home both lights came back on. Since I work 65 miles from the dealership and live 35 miles away, and am an Officer in the Navy, it is EXTREMLY difficult for me to get my car to Alexandria during their operating hours. I called to inform them that my lights came back on and they told me to bring it in when I can.

My car was also in for hesitation and the car almost stalling. I was told that I had holes in the canisters that provide air for the turbos, and oil leak and a few other items. After the car was fixed, I noticed the car was still hesitataing a little bit, and would smoke when I did a cold start. Being that it had a lot of work done, I thought maybe something had spilled on it and it needed a few days for it to burn off. The car eventually got worse to the point were it would almost completly stall, and felt like it was skipping gears when I accelerated (from a cold start only).

At that point (which was about a month later) I was able to bring the car back in, and they gave me $4150 in items that needed to be repaired. The previous bill was around $3300 (and discounted to $2700). I was told that the airbag light was due to my Airbag control box being faulty. I asked if it was related to the airbag being replaced and they said no- both my airbag and the control box were bad (about 1100 EACH). They said the hesitations were due to cracked vacuume lines, coils, and a few other items. They also said I should replace my spark plugs and wires becuase my warantee will cover the labor only. So I did.

6 days after getting the car back (today), driving in to work (34 mile commute) my coolant light came on and the car died while I was going 65mph and had my 3 year old daughter in the back. I was able to get to a gas station and check the fluid levels. The fluid was slightly down, but not below the minimum level. I bought and added more fluid, started the car and it was okay. I made it about mile down the street and the car died again. I had the car towed to BMW of Alexandria and they told me the water pump and the thermostat both failed at the same time. I explained that I had only had the car back for 6 days and I am now towing it back. They replied that it was an electrical failure and it was going to cost around $1700. I explained that in 2 months I will have spend close to $9,000 on the car in maintence. They replied most cars only come in once a year for issues like mine, but my car is different.

I feel like after I questioned and argued the issue with my tire that "things" just started going wrong with my car. While my car was in the shop it also got 2 large scratches on my rear bumper, and the lever for my signal light was loose like someone had tried to break it. Being that I already had an issue with my tires, I did not say anything becuase I did not want to look like I was complaining or as Miriam had said, just trying to get something for free.

I am not looking to get anything for free, I would just like for my car to be repaired properly without fear that someone is sabotaging my car becuase I had a legitimate issue with my rims being swapped (or what ever happened), and me complaining that the alignment was never recommened when I did not know that it needed one (or even know to ask for one). I also did not mention, when the discussion was occuring about the wheel alignment the first time with Miriam, at the end of the conversation she did not recommed the alignment even after I agreed to buy the new tire. I called her back immediatly and asked if she would add it to my work order, and she stated, "oh you want a reear wheel alignment now?" She agreed to put it on the work order. When my car was complete I just happened to look at the work order as I was checking out and noticed the alignment was not done. It was at THAT point that I asked to talk to the service manager, and what I had stated in the beginning of my statement occoured. Marium seemed more upset after I had spoken with him, but again I just want my car to be fixed right to avoid numerous trips and expensive bills at the dealership.

It was recommeded that I submit a statement becuase it is not normal for a car (a BMW none the less) to need almost $8000 in repairs in 2 months. Secondly it seems as if I am almost being "punished for complaining". My last BMW I had I traded with 189,000 miles on it and never had an issue (Maintained at [redacted] BMW, VA). It is not typical for these cars to break like this. I attempted to trad the car in before the maintenance was done 6 days ago, but it was not going to be practical. They were trying to talk me into a car that would increase my payments drastically, and I would esentially be in the same position I am in now 2 years from now.

I also would like to mention that they told me the reason my maintenance costs are so high, is that the manteniance warantee I purchased with the car is only partially good at BMW of Alexandria. In oder for my maintenance to be covered I would have to take the car back to [redacted] BMW. I do not understand how this is correct, if so maby I should be filing a complaint with [redacted] BMW for not mentioning that when I signed the contract.

I apologize for the lenghly statement, and thank you in advance for considering my complaint. While it is always possible that maybe my car is a lemon, something just does not seem right and I feel as if I am being taken advantage of.

Very respectfully,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: Reimbursment for Airbag and labor. Since the air bag light came back on 2 days after the airbag was replaced, I do not believe that I had a faulty airbag. The second repair was the replacement of the Airbag control box, which was most likely the issue the first time)

Once this claim is settled I will not be returning to BMW of Alexandria as a customer our of fear of reprisal. On another note I do NOT feel as if the service manager Bob, has ANYTHING to do with this. He was genuine when I spoke with him. I feel if there is an issue it was a communication between Miraum directly with the mechanics, or something along those lines. A good friend of mine is a [redacted] mechanic and he said that this does happen. He said it is either an agreement with a car salesman to push a customer into buying a new car (thinking thier car is a lemon), or out of spite towards a difficult customer. Again, by no means is it ever a goal to be difficult, but I have to ask questions when I am having to pay close to $8000 over the course of a few months.

Business

Response:

We understand that there has been some issues related to the repairs made by BMW of Alexandria. Our Service and Parts Director, Dave C[redacted], has spoken with the customer and reviewed theses concerns. A house credit of approximately $1,000 has been issued to the customer for future work here at BMW of Alexandria. We apologize for any problems caused and hope that the customer will continue to service their BMW with us in the future.

I just want to share a very negative experience I had with BMW of Alexandria. I purchased a car from them for $43,000 and I deposited $10,000 to go towards the principle, which would bring the total cost down to $33,000. After signing the contract, I requested that they give me a copy of the contract, I was told my copy will be mailed to me. I took their words and went ahead and gave them the $10,000 towards the principle of car. They never mailed the purchase contract and I later found out that they didn't apply more than half of the $10,000 towards the principle.
I called them to complaint about this issue, they kept telling me that they will get back with me and they never did. In most case, they use angry tone in address me, after a while they stop taking my calls. I even called BMW of north America to file customer relation complaint, they never got back with me either.
Another issue I had with the purchase, prior to signing the contract, I inspected the car and saw some scratches on the rims and at the bumper, I brought that to the sales rep attention and he told me that they will give me another rims and take care of the scratches after the purchase. After I signed the contract and took the car home, I called the sales rep to set up an appointment to fix the damages, he denied ever agreeing to fix it. By further research, I found that there have been other customers with similar negative experience like, that's why I decided to warn people against doing business with this company. They are fraud