BMW of San Francisco

Abysmal. I can't think of a worse experience in 20+ years of car buying. The central issue with BMW SF is one of trust. I contacted them about a used Mercedes with some 92K on the odometer. There isn't much service history to go by. So, getting information has proven elusive. It's not a big ask to check for a few things. I even suggested FaceTime but that was ignored. When information requests were denied, I became suspicious. Are they hiding something?

I placed a total of 4 calls. During 3 calls both guys were rude cutting me off, confrontational, and one hung on me. Not one took my phone number or called back.

Larry (2nd & 3rd Call) was rude, talking a mile a minute, cutting me off, and placed me on hold twice. Not sure what was so upsetting. Really bad demeanor. He went from we'll have our tech review the car again for leaks to rescinding it— all within 30 seconds. Like a light switch. Huh? Try to figure that out. I would need to arrange a tech to come out to check for leaks. I wonder how they treat the cleaning crew?

Additionally, Larry had a short attention span and was very confrontational. I had to continually repeat my concerns. You'd think he'd have the common sense to write them down. He didn't.

On call 4, I reached Carl who at least had an acceptable temperament and the wherewithal to hold a conversation together. He did listen; however, any inspection would have to take place on site. Additionally, he refused to disclose the dealer fees unless I filled out the credit application. Ridiculous on its face but at least tolerable conversation wise. The other red flag was he dodged my question should the dealership fumble the DMV registration. I had read a few reviews. He was unwilling to see that thru or offer a way to address that.

The saga continued when I did not immediately move forward.

Enter the sales manager. I then received a text from Rod Helaire, sales manager (one of many) who's evidently not in the apology business. He told me what I wanted to hear via text. When my texts for info were requested, he decided to part ways offering no explanation. Evidently Rod can't take criticism when he FAILS to follow up after 2 texts. They can dish it but can't take the heat.

I tried to work with this dealer. If they had been transparent and fair with me, we could have come to agreement. My requests would have taken 10 mins.

Lastly, Aaron Escarrega, Sales Manager, email of [email protected], was returned as "undeliverable." I notified him via LinkedIn and was ghosted. See my screenshots.

My overall sense is that post sale should any issues arise, you're on your own. It's a poor way to do business. I don't think it will bode well when the hounds of winter arrive and sales slow.

I don't profess to know the business philosophy here but it's bizarre. The attitude is not something you would expect from a dealer representing a luxury brand.

Recommendation: Proceed with extreme caution. Get any promises in writing. Look for an app to record phone calls.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/20) */
We have a Certified Pre Owned checklist that was preformed prior to deliveryThe area that the customer is concerned with was checked prior to delivery to the customerThe Navigation and the suspension are both items that are required to be
inspected and during that inspection they were both found working properly at that time
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/09/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The car arrived with a bad suspension and the buttons on the iDrive that do not workThe dealership chose the transportation company that delivered the carIf these were working at the dealership then the transportation company they chose damaged the car before I received itSince the car was still in BMW care prior to me receiving the car, it is their responsibility to ensure it arrives to me in working conditionSince I did not select or pay the transportation company, BMW will need to deal with the transportation company regarding any funds BMW may be owedHowever, BMW still needs to repair the damage to the car that was delivered to me

Good morning,
I am very aware of this concern, and I looked into this myselfWe looked at the pictures that we have taken at time of drop off and it is clear that the damages this customer is concerned about were preexisting
I'm happy to show you our pictures and compare them
to the damage the customer is concerned aboutIt would be best to look at these pictures in person, because the car at time of drop off was very dusty,
and at first look its a bit hard to see the excising damages on our pictures
Please let me know if you like to stop by so we can look at these pictures togetherI offered the same to our customer
I'm here today from 7am to 6pm but go to lunch from 11:TO 12:Feel free to text me if you decide to come by ***
Thanks for your help and I'm happy to assist any way I can
Best
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/31) */
Hi ***,
I don't have any leads or evidence that suggest anyone here stole the items from your carWe have no reason to suspect any employee as we did not receive any other complaints about thefts from vehicles that might suggest a pattern
Our policy is that damage or theft needs to be reported prior to your departureThis is to avoid any doubt that it happened here or after you picked it up
Destiny picked it up 3/and you and I spoke 3/There is no way I could determine what happened in the interval
Additionally we have our customers sign a form which states "I acknowledge that no articles of personal property have been left in the vehicle and the dealer is not responsible for the inspection thereof" to prevent possible temptation for theft
You have always seemed honest to me and I would like to help you with your car in the future and to promote that I would be willing to offer you
$as a goodwill gesture
Please let me know what you think
***

Good morning,
This case has been taking care of. There was a coding error on our part, so the $gift card was never send out from BMW of NAWe fixed the coding error and the $gift card is now on its way to the customer
Best
***

To whom it may concern,
It is very unfortunate we find ourselves in this situation. Under no circumstances were we trying to "cheat" anyone. Yifan had been working with us for multiple weeks and with various different Motoring Advisors. Most of the correspondence was with one of
my longest tenured employees' *** *. He regularly does what he is trained to do, and "ifs" a customer. What this means, is he'll say "If I could _____, would you buy the car now." The blank varies depending on circumstances, it could be price, throwing in an accessory, etc. He had done that multiple times with Yifan, trying to find a situation that worked for her. It was complicated because she wanted an Oxford edition priced car, but with upgraded stereo.
She came in to buy the car on a day that Jon wasn't here and did a bunch of the paperwork with another rep. We weren't able to get her approved that night and she came back the next day once we got that piece handled. At this point, she wanted to negotiate, and we came to an agreement of 27k for the selling price. Clearly, there was a misunderstanding about that. However, she signed multiple documents that discloses all this info. Since learning of this issue, almost a month after her purchasing the car, I have offered multiple times for her to come in so we can try and find a resolution. She didn't want to come in during the week, so I offered two different weekends, and she still hasn't made the time to come in to resolve the problem. I'm still happy to discuss the issue with her, and work to find a resolution

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: The dealership did not describe the thing correctly. The situation is not complicated at all. They promised a lower price but sold me the car at a price about $3000 more on contract than that price. 
Fist of all, I did ask for Oxford Edition at the beginning, but they do not have rear view camera for Oxford Edition so I gave up for it. After I got the link of my car, I decided to know more about it and discussed the price of this car instead of Oxford Edition. I have the price sheet of exact my car, not the Oxford Edition, as I attached the price sheet above. I also have the proof of the email with the price and VIN number for my car sent by the dealer.
Second, you mentioned the salesperson had tried to ask me multiple times about the price that worked for me. How could he send the lower price to me, give me the price sheet with a lower price and try to satisfy me with a much higher price?
Last but not least, I have my own work and San Francisco is far so I could not come in weekdays at your office time. I called you on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I also sent you email on last Monday saying that let us talk over phone call since you rejected to talk about solution in email. But I did not get any response until late last Friday. However, I already told you in advance that I was not in California last weekend from late Friday to late Sunday so I was unable to go to your place. How could you blame me?
Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/08) */
This vehicle is advertised on our site and other car sites at 34,997. Unfortunately, BMW USA's site had a technical error that they could not figure out. Thus, we removed the car from that site. The vehicle is still available.
Initial...

Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2016/03/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept it because the car is still being advertised on the parent site of BMW for what San Francisco BMW says is the wrong price. From the site
31 Photos 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo with 35,761 miles
City MPG:
22


Hwy MPG:
33
Exterior Color: Alpine White Interior: Black Transmission: Automatic Fuel Type: Premium Unleaded
Distance: 62 mi
BMW of San Francisco
Price$30,997

To whom it may concern,
 
This customer has retained an attorney and is not willing to discuss a resolution with me directly.
 
 
Thanks,
[redacted]
General Sales Manager
MINI of San Francisco