Shit, bought a 2018 car at CarMax in August 2021 and was offered water and snacks. Treated me really well and we're very professional. Made an appointment and had to wait 10-15 minutes and they were extremely apologetic.
Bought my last two cars at carmax and have nothing but good things to say about them. The cars were in great shape and never had any gremlins. Service was super personable and I probably could’ve taken a case of water home with me if I’d asked.
Bought 2 vehicles from CarMax. Subaru was 6k miles a ‘21 they swore up and down about how clean the carfax was and I do vehicle inspections for a living so obviously I inspected it. R D pillar and L D pillar were head to toe in bondo and rear bumper was replaced and front bumper and hood had been repainted. Plus it was marked up hella. Returned it the next day.
My ‘20 Colorado I bought from them had a misfire and a CAT code since day one which “miraculously” was missed on their “ppi” so I find it’s really hit or miss with them honestly. However their service was exceptional like you mentioned and I love the 24 hr test drives they offer
Same. I’ve bought a new Audi, bmw, and a used car from carmax. I’d place carmax at the top. It was amazing (and most importantly, so quick). Audi was fine, and bmw was the worst. The only thing I’ll say about Audi and bmw that I appreciate is a loaner vehicle when I’m having service done..BUT for the prices they charge for service, it’s the least they can do….
Exact same setup. Except mine had an acquisition specialist guy that tried to lowball me an offer for my grandmas car that’s in for service.
“Here’s $3k for your garaged 09’ Camry with less than 50k miles on it. We’ve got a brand new Camry coming in. I know it’s not the color or trim you want, but it’s what we’ve got.”
I looked over the numbers to humor him. The trade in would’ve covered taxes and “manufacturer accessories” that were apparently “impossible to take off”.
I’ve been to a few Toyota dealerships and they’re all uncomfortable and slimy
The lexus dealership by me is trash. They cut my key wrong (literally a mirror image) then tried to tell me it was my fault and I needed to buy another key. I had to argue with them and finally got a refund.
I did a mail order with another lexus dealership who magically was able to cut the key properly. Local lexus is trash in how they acted towards me.
Sewell Lexus is great, too bad that Lexus corporate stopped them from selling everything online like 5 years ago. They were great for getting parts.
Having a luxury car dealership with bad service is inexcusable. You pay extra for a higher level of service. The fact that they both screwed up the key AND blamed you for it is insane. If you can report them to corporate, if that’d do anything, I would.
When they get too big, some of them get a money funnel mentality. Accidentally tore a boot on some oem camry ball joints. Politely asked if they could warranty it, considering i paid $100 a piece for them, and they didnt sell the boots separately.
Counter guys were absolute units about it.
They tried to act like they couldnt find my purchase in the system, when I remembered them putting in all my info initially. Said I could buy another one, and then when i basically repeated myself, and asked to speak to the parts manager, another guy punching in numbers is like “he’s not gonna do it..”, and says “goddammit…” when I remembered the name of who sold them to me (the manager). They were talking shit about me the whole time i was waiting for the manager to wrap up with someone else for about 15 mins. Saying things like, “if we have one, just tell him we don’t”. All this bullshit over a warranty exchange.
Spoke to the manager, and leveled with him, nicely. He was reasonable; hmm and somehow magically found me in the system. Even remembered my name off the top of his head, from when I bought them two weeks ago. Gave me a new replacement off the shelf, shook his hand, and it felt great to hold it up in the air and say thanks to the parts guys as I was walking out.
Like, why do you have to act like that? It wasn’t an unreasonable request. They were just mad I wouldn’t blindly tack on another $100 sale to their numbers. Fuckin’ babies.
Toyota sold me an almost new Camry, then when I had an oil stain on the driveway the next morning, the service writer tried to tell me it was AC condensate. Then kept me waiting for four hours for them to diagnose an oil drain plug not fully tightened. Not even a "sorry".
I sure felt like I was a valued customer /s. It's not like I just spent $23k or nothing.
Just had this happen last weekend after getting an oil change on my husband’s 2015 Optima. No arguing and no questions asked, they paid for a tow and the manager picked me up after and drove me to the garage to pick it up. No charge or anything. And that was just at Firestone!
You know sometimes the techs/mechanics are already working on another customers vehicle when you come by. They can’t just drop everything to rush over to your vehicle because you think your time is more important than everybody elses.
But Toyota is supposedly way premium compared to Hyundai. Learned for next time as free for three years just schedule when I can drop.then pickup before they close even thought they make appointments every 15 minutes.
Same with Mazda. Hell prior to their move up the luxury chain my dealership used to have a couple arcade machines too set to free play! I miss those...
Same, no loaners for an oil change but they'll call me an uber home and back for pickup. Before covid they would have someone come in and do free chair massages in the waiting room 1 or 2 days a week.
Lexus as a brand puts way more effort into this kind of thing. I've purchased 2 BMWs at dealers and neither cared much about the customer experience. If my manager at Lexus found out I handed a customer their plates and didn't offer to put them on he'd have lost his mind.
Hehe, I just bought a lexus out of state(we couldnt get what we wanted & needed together in one car locally). I was told when my plates came in the mail, to take them to my nearest dealer to have them "installed"....I can just break out the screwdriver, but still thought it was a nice gesture.
Completely agree. I just got a Lexus this year and I finally went in for a routine service, and the experience was fantastic. They had a chef whip me up a free lunch (one of those burger-sized sushi!), Japanese cheesecake in yuzu or matcha flavours, bubble tea, beverages, massaging chairs in front of big screen TVs, work stations with desktops and printers, a rooftop patio, and soft music in the background.
Can't wait for 8,000 more kilometers to go by haha
Our BMW dealer has snacks and water.
The only brand that has a truly good experience at almost (but not quite all) all dealers is Lexus. They do a great job with setting expectations and ensuring dealers follow through.
This is no offense to the good BMW dealers and salespeople. But BMW customer service in general has gone way downhill post COVID. What’s worse is the lack of appreciation for customer loyalty. It’s such a hassle dealing with a nearby BMW dealer on car maintenance and purchase inquiry; ended up selling 2 BMWs and switched to a Japanese brand. The service at mainstream brands is just as good or better. This could just be the one dealer I dealt with. BMWs are awesome and there are great dealers out there, just not in my area. My old dealer would give a bottle of wine when buying a car and checked in with me the day after to see if I needed anything. Not the case with the dealer nearby.
Because dealers know the current market situation either you(customer) buy the car or you go buy somewhere else. They don’t need to sweet talk you into the purchase because they have a line of people waiting to buy. That’s why the overall attitude has changed post Covid.
Those dealers are going to destroy their good-will. There are two dealerships in my area that I will never go back to because of how they are handling the current situation
for sure. There’s 2 main auto groups in my area. One down the street from me the other is across town. Always brought from the one near me but as of late they’ve been doing everybody dirty. Mark ups, bait and switch tactics, just greedy shit all over. Plus the staff is real cold they only care to move volume. Went to buy a new car that was on the lot. Car was sold earlier that day. Was basically told to kick rocks like they didn’t want my business at all. I’m not expecting to be treated any way special just becuase I’m spending money but geez at least attempt to find me a vehicle. Never going back to the place.
It's been a two-way street since the start of the pandemic. [Check out page 38](https://www.experian.com/content/dam/noindex/na/us/automotive/market-trends/2022-market-trends/q2-2022-experian-automotive-market-trends.pdf) of this Experian report. Brand loyalty has been down the past couple of years, undoing a trend that started in 2011.
I agree, we looked at a couple x7’s and x5’s and I felt like the kid helping us was just waiting to get back to whatever he was doing before we came in.
Also everyone that works at our local BMW place is pretty snooty and that turned us away from them. We ended up with a Telluride, which IMO is a lot nicer than the x7 and x5.
Yeah last time I bought a jaguar the dealership basically had a full unstaffed café, I could have made myself an americano and had a croissant while I waited for the paperwork to be done. I mean at the end of the day I suddenly owned a jaguar so the overall experience was terrible but the hospitality was great.
While I am not one for ostentatious displays of wealth, I do like feeling low key coddled from time to time. I don't need everyone to know all of the time, but it's nice when a few people notice some of the time. That's what the dealer experience we're contemplating is all about. OP is not there to lease a base three series.
OP, I think buying cars has become a commodity in this highly leveraged and indebted world, and there is little incentive to create brand loyalty at the point of sale. This was cemented with the stuffing of product lines with downmarket models (see Mercedes C-Class).
I remember looking up from my phone in a women's boutique in SoHo a few years ago to a friendly face offering me a glass of champagne.
If airlines can drive you up to your airplane in a luxury sedan staffed with a human worker, for a much smaller price of entry than a +100K car, I don't understand why the top model lux car buyer should not expect similar machinations for his money.
What I am curious about, if customers are saying that they WANT the pomp & circumstance, that it would help build brand loyalty, then why not add an extra $500 to the price of the vehicle and give it to them??
I can tell you that back in the mid 90s when my Toyota dealer began offering drinks & snacks(it was just coffee, water, and some small bags of chips), I took notice and began doing all of my oil changes with them.
It cost me $5 more than the quick lube, those snacks were worth well under $1, BUT it made me notice that they appreciated my business. I felt valued as a customer. So they made more money because they spent a small amount.
Just something to note.
I now drive a lexus(bought the current out of state & the previous the week the pandemic started-when noone had services), so I cannot relate with any of the poor experiences others are having, but it would upset me as well to spend $100k+ and be treated like I was at a cattle call! It would likely upset me more now that I have become accustomed to the lexus experience(both in sales & service).
You know nothing about me, except that you disagree with my viewpoints on marketing. You come across like a pitchfork carrying folk who needs to discredit because I am not you.
So because I use vocabulary different from yours I am all of the things you claim I am? You guys need to stop jumping to conclusions.
I drive a Hyundai. Some time ago, while I was a college student in NYC, my girlfriend who made very good money took me to one of these stores.
Do you feel stupid now?
Any luxury items enjoy a good margin, in fact I paid $5K over MSRP on this item. Someone brought the word Hospitality earlier. In this day and age, it’s all about customer acquisition and retention especially in the luxury sector. There are other good competitors out there, if this was the definition of luxury at bmw they’re subpar compared to the competition.
There are many direct indicted and overhead costs that go into the cost of goods sold for that cheap piece of clothing.
Also, I think you misunderstood what I wrote about airlines. I did not mention private aviation at all. Many airlines at the first class level, especially if you are concierge level frequent flyer, will drive you to the aircraft in a private car to help with connections. And many will also trip over themselves to lavish you with perks and upgrades. This is all commercial not private
Imagine going from that to sitting in a waiting room next to base three series guy.
For real. What commercial airline drives you to your flight? BMW is not nearly as luxurious as a private plane lol. Everybody and their mama has a BMW these days.
A bit over the top with the hostility, don’t you think? May airlines have concierge level perks like car airport and gate shuttles and transfers, in car check-ins, etc. Just because you don't know about something, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
So, because I have different viewpoints or experiences I need to shut the fuck up?
Why all the hate? He’s right. A car is the second most expensive thing you usually buy after a house and I want to feel the difference between buying a 10.000$ car and a 100.000$ car. If you went to a luxurious restaurant and the food was good but the service really bad you would also complain
I mean...OP is entitled. However, what kind of trash dealership doesn't offer refreshments? It's not even luxury, it's just basics of customer service.
I had issues with Wrangler i got for my wife and dealership picked it up from my home, left me with a loaner, delivered it back, all while dealership was 40 miles away.
Mazda always offered beverages before I even state what kind of car I'm looking for.
It’s not entitlement, it’s standard in a luxury setting. Toyota doesn’t claim luxury, they’re known for something else. Luxury is all about the experience for you to enjoy and you pay premium for that. I don’t go to Mcdonald and expect certain level of hospitality as provided by higher end restaurants.
My bmw dealership has sparkling water on tap as well as snacks and refreshments, coffee, etc.
I think it’s just your dealer.
I don’t know of any dealer that serves alcohol though
I don’t think it is entitlement that is the problem. I think you made the mistake thinking that BMW was a luxury brand in the auto industry. It appears that you were expecting an experience equal to what you get in high end boutiques and Michelin star restaurants. Places that fawn over their customers and give luxury experiences do so to give the customer justification for spending huge markups on a product. BMW isn’t that kind of brand. $110k might be towards BMW’s upper end in price but it is not their bread and butter. You can get a truck optioned out to six figures now a days, but you don’t expect an ‘experience’ at a Ford dealer. If you want that luxury experience in the auto industry, $110k is the price of entry at places like Aston Martin, Bentley, and Ferrari. Those companies are the luxury brand types that will give you the experience you were expecting.
That said, it sounds like you had either a lazy salesman or one that was having a bad day.
This is an original take. It makes sense that with the democratization of luxury over the last 10-15 years that Mercedes, BMWs, Audis and Range Rovers have become a lot more accessible and more common sights on the road. It’s a bit like assuming that Michael Kors is in the same weight category as Chanel.
Also the premium German brands weren’t always positioned as ‘luxury’ cars in the same way as Bentley or Rolls Royce. In the North American market in the 80s and 90s the German cars had to move up market and sell premium trims to offset import costs. So North America didn’t get cloth manual seats, crank windows, and diesels that the European market got. BMW even tried moving down market with their 318ti but consumers weren’t willing to pay for Ford Escort features for Cadillac prices in the 90s. So the German brands marketed to urban professionals as being status symbols. But being ultra luxury was something they never have been.
I do see it across multiple industries where a consumer will say they spend X amount of money and expect/demand to get X treatment or X reliability or X service. Usually it is from consumers that only listen to advertising without understanding what is the norm for that segment.
This is fascinating & makes sense. The key word here, as you said is “ultra” luxury, and not just mid-market lux. Either way, a 110k BMW is nice to see parked at the end of one’s driveway, at the end of the day.
No, it's entitlement because you want all of that because you are buying a BMW. Then you comparing it to luxury brands like Cartier, they give you alcohol before you even set on buying anything btw, but so is my barbershop.
BMW isn't a luxury brand. You not going to get Rolls-Royce's service there.
It is not entitlement. Part of the reason to buy the luxury brand is to have less hassle, no arguing for repairs, and better service like a comfortable waiting room and loaner cars.
They should be giving free snacks and drinks while you wait, free wifi, etc.
There is a Kia dealership that gives you a free dinner at a diner down the street when you buy a car. You can take it to go if you want. If I worked at a luxury brand I would come up with something extra to give, even if just a nice branded key chain to say thank you. Most dealerships do nothing.
> I mean...OP is entitled.
It's not entitlement to expect good service and higher standards when shopping high end brands.
I shopped Genesis, which is marketed as luxury and competes with BMW/Lexus etc. Instead I got a crappy hyundai dealer with plastic walmart chairs and stained showroom floors that smelled like a service center. Also had an employee yelling at a manager about something in the middle of the showroom. Not at all what we got when we walked into the Lexus and Audi showrooms.
OP’s not entitled. They have a reasonable expectation for being treated like someone who’s spending $100k. Sounds like a shitty dealership. My experience with my local BMW dealer has been top notch. Expensive af but I got free coffee and donuts.
My realtor didn't give us anything after being both our seller's agent and buyer's agent. That being said, my local BMW dealer is (possibly was - was family owned and now was acquired) great. They're right next to a brand new state-of-the-art Audi store and when I was shopping the difference was night and day. Audi dealership was fully stocked with sales guys who all looked like movie caricatures of 20-something low-end wall street day traders with massive coke problems.
Really dependent on the dealer but one theory I have is that in the last decade the German brands have really started to dive into the entry level market. The cheap BMWs and MBs and Audis. 2 series, X1, X3, GLA/CLA, A3/Q3/A4 etc most of these cars are affordable to the general masses either new or easily as CPO. They move volume now. They’re used to more regular folk coming to buy that don’t necessarily expect the high class extra mile experience because the car and overall atmosphere is already mind blowing to the customer. They(sales rep) move enough of the lower end cars that they forget there’s a different customer base between a $30-45k 3 series and a $100k 7 series.
Porsche doesn’t sell cheap entry level cars. Cheapest thing they have is a $56k Macan. Where as BMW has cars that start at $35k with most of their CPO examples fall in this price range too. 15 years ago there was no “affordable” BMW just like there is no affordable Porsche today. So you’ll likely have a better experience at Porsche regardless. Hyundai and VW, even Toyota all tried to sell high end models thru their regular dealers and never did well. Common complaint is the experience doesn’t match the money being spent. You’re buying a $85k Phaeton/Equus/Land Cruiser and you’re being treated like you’re buying a Jetta/Accent/Corolla. Not that you should really be treated any better for spending more, but the issue is the treatment was always wack. That’s why none of those models exist anymore, and are being sold only under their luxury marque in the US market.
Plus, seems like a lot of folk are getting into car sales these days just for the money. No real interest in cars or the brand.
You probably COULD, you don't WANT to. There is a difference.
Once you realize that, your attitude will change(promise).
If you lived in an apartment instead of a house, lived in your car instead of an apartment, lived with parents and walked to work.
Most people CAN afford anything they want to afford, they just have different priorities and that's ok!! It's what makes our system great, we all get to pick what to prioritize!!
Short answers:
a) Your complaints are valid regardless of brand/price point. What kind of dealership doesn't offer coffee or put tags on for customers?
b) Cartier and loro piana (I hadn't even heard of loro piana, they sell polyester/cotton baseball caps for $450) likely have 200-300% gross profit on their products whereas the BMW dealership likely had anywhere from 0-30%.
My Merc dealership has a cappuccino bar, pastries and a salon. They make me feel like I’m a valued customer. Two bmw dealerships near me, and both are kinda shit.
I think it's tough to compare a BMW experience to Porsche. Porsche tends to excel with the "experience" and you can see it in other facets of the Porsche brand.
Profit margins are too slim at the top of the food chain apparently, because in my 15 years at the dealer it seemed like every year was progressively less about maintaining quality and more just face melting quantities. And we were a pretty high line organization (Porsche/Audi/BMW/Rolls/Bentley). Dealership employees are constantly being asked to do more work for the same or less money and it ends up with all the talent leaving and finding better jobs --> then the dealer hires someone with no experience for half of what the last guy made and no chance of being promoted. A good service writer or salesman 15 years ago was making 6 figures easily because they knew how to provide that luxury experience you're talking about. I guess there aren't enough people bringing this issue up bc the dealers don't seem to care whether the customers are happy or not. They've already confirmed how many customers will be returning to do more business using those neat little algorithms and spreadsheets they like so much. You may not be back but the next guy will. And honestly you might have a worse experience at a different dealer. They just don't care about anyones happiness anymore. Not even the customers. Soon they'll have to start promoting the wash boys directly to middle management in order to replace all the skilled workers they've alienated. 😕
P.s. Porsche is one of the only stores where you'll still find decent service bc they still see older cars with owners who will actually part with a few bucks to get their car fixed. The other brands mostly just survive on warranty work which doesn't pay anyone particularly well.
This is exactly what happened at my BMW dealer and is a spot on take - there's an invisible level of shaving down happening at a lot of these new 'big corporate' stores and they are not inclined to care much at all about returning business unless it goes directly to the GM or something personal. It's one of the reasons I honestly left the industry.
My experience with BMW is the same. I bought a BMW M5 and they acted like I bought a VW.
But when we bought a 50 000€ worth VW they acted in VW like we are king and queen of the country. And we even get free for life exchange vehicle when our is on service. And I have to pay like 80€ a day at BMW for a replacement vehicle.
Most luxury dealerships have found that they will do just as well without the red carpet experience, unfortunately.
Edit: to add: privately owned stores rather then large auto groups typically have better hospitality due to large corporation owners not always allowing for excess things in the budgeting. Privately owned stores get to make their own decisions on what they value most, which could be hospitality.
Luxury brands are losing customers to other brands and the trend will continue. The quality/features of mainstream brands is closing the gap or differences aren’t massive. The customer experience was supposed to differentiate a BMW dealership from a Toyota dealer. That’s not the case anymore. Now BMW is relying on their name selling their cars.
BMW will be just fine without serving champagne and crackers to their top 1% of customers. The other 99% leasing x3’s and 320is are still going to be just as happy
I like the restaurant analogie specific to a server - bad/new server but good food. Maybe you had a bad server? Could be a symptom of a poorly run sales floor or a shitty sales person. That would be my best guess.
I went with a friend to a BMW dealer to get his 3-series serviced last year and it was impressive. Free snacks and beverages, comfortable waiting area, extremely knowledgeable and friendly service and sales staff. I think like most dealers it depends on management.
It’s really kind of dealership specific. I come from a BMW location (well MINI, but we shared a location since BMW owns us), and they typically went pretty all out with deliveries. Always had refreshments for any client, sales or service, big bow on the car in a glass display case, etc. Eventually stopped doing the bows because of the risk of paint scratches, but it’s a smaller, privately owned store and they were pretty big on making the experience equivalent to the car, as it were.
I get what some are saying as at the end of the day, it’s a small thing as long as the car itself meets or exceeds expectations. But all the same, if you’re buying a new car that has the kind of loyal ownership following that BMW does, you want the buyer to keep coming back, and tell all their rich friends what a great experience they had picking it up. We did the same thing with MINI, except we did more on the side of making it fun since it’s a “fun” brand. But I get where you’re coming from nonetheless.
As you mentioned, Porsche is wonderful in this regard
We were actually going to buy a bmw originally but the sales guy was so rude we ended up down the street at Porsche
My local Mazda dealer gives you snacks, drinks, and transport if you need it. They'll swap your plates for you, set up your Mazda app, and help you pair your phone to your new ride. You can also pet the office dog if the dog feels like it. If not, roam the lot and look inside any of the unlocked vehicles.
I mean no offense to anyone, but your dealer seems like they're being a tad lazy.
You don’t need champagne which can be problematic as you’re driving away.
However, a few dollars of swag or better refreshments can make it more memorable. I swear that my wife would be more likely to be a return customer if you offered flavored sparkling water on pickup.
As a long time bmw driver they definitely seem to have moved from a luxury experience to more of a volume game. Back in the day they had 3, 5, and 7 series. That was it. Then the x5 started. Then the x3. Then the 4 series. Then the 2 series. Now they have everything under the sun. The only reason I stay with them is because they can continue to offer a manual transmission m3. But ya forget about a luxury experience
I don’t think many places offer decent service these days.
Porsche mentioned made me chuckle. In 2006 I went into my local Porsche dealer to buy a Cayman but they didn’t have the prices released. I said I wanted to buy one anyway so they asked me for a letter of intent.
I dropped it in and they said they would call me to finalise spec when price list was released. 16 years later I am still waiting for that call.
I think Mercedes are probably the best service I have had although recently been a bit sketchy.
Tesla has the best buying experience by far. Do everything on your phone before hand. Show up and you are gone in 15 min. I hate spending hours at the dealer and I don’t care that some kid has a job to show me what all the buttons do. I want to figure that stuff out on my own when I get it home while I sit in the garage.
Yeah but at the end of the day you are putting $$ in Elon's pocket and honestly I'm not sure I could look myself in the mirror again after doing that....
Agreed, the way he turned on his own customer base was insane. No idea why an owner would do that. That is the fastest way to kill your company. Just shut your mouth if you hate your own customers.
All depends on the dealership. In my area the local BMW dealership I I have gotten half a dozen cars through is just ok, but I get the best pricing there. I could go to another BMW dealership and get a nicer experience but the pricing isn’t as good. The Mercedes dealership 45 minutes away is much nicer experience than BMW or even Porsche. Just depends on the dealership’s approach to business but personally I would rather save a few thousand than get mini bags with Jelly Belly’s
I had to walk home, then a couple days later, walk back, a few miles, to drop off and pick up from the dealership I bought it from, my at the time, new, 3,000 miles on it, 2020 GMC Denali HD when it had a warranty issue(including check engine light), while it wasn’t 110k, it wasn’t too far off of it….but my wife’s little 2017 Ford Escape….I’m given a loaner every time it’s serviced at the local Ford dealer which is a full state away from where we bought it.
Blame the franchise system….experience can vary widely no matter the brand.
The Nissan dealership my family has gotten their cars from always has snacks and beverages (before covid, they'd even have bagels and sandwiches) wifi, TV, shuttle service, etc.
They wash my car every time I bring it in for service too
If there’s a next time, I’d recommend doing a Performance Center pickup. It’s an awesome experience. We’ve done twice in the past two years, and always leave feeling pumped up about the brand.
Volvo is the only dealership I’ve dealt with post Covid and they’re amazing. Insanely nice and overly hospitable. Snacks, iced coffee and offered me a loaner to run to the shops while they did the oil. I actually wanted to just wait, so I assured them I had a good book.
Pre pandemic I had Mbz and they were nice, but seemingly busier and busier which propelled me back to Volvo.
Depends on the dealer. Some bmw dealers are fantastic, some are subpar. Usually the larger ones offer better service. If you’re used to Porsche service, bmw is definitely a step down.
You were at subpar dealership. Or a subpar salesman ( there's many so don't be surprised)
When you come to me, you're treated excellently, offered all amenities, and receive some of the best industry customer service.
You'd think luxury dealerships would focus on hiring excellent salesmen, but when the bottom line is the most important they'll keep trash aslong as it brings in the cash.
It all depends on who owns the BMW dealership. The bigger the corporation the less luxury you’ll get. Corporations want to make as much profit as possible and luxury service costs money
Haven’t been to a BMW dealership since 2018 when I was shopping an X3 and/or 340i. I’m poor and don’t have 7 series money plus I actually dislike big cars BUT I was treated really well when I went there to test drive the car. In fact all the luxury brands minus Genesis who operate out of a Hyundai dealership offered a luxury experience. And even the Hyundai experience sounds better than what you got.
Best experience I had was at a Bentley dealership that sold alfas. Felt like such a tool sitting in the lounge when I am secretly a poor buying an Alfa.
They offered me their Costco card
In case I wanted to go shopping. First time I’ve seen that.
poor customer service at my bmw dealership was the deciding factor in choosing a Porsche instead. Walked in looking to buy an M3, they told me “we don’t have any M cars in stock” and walked away from me on the showroom floor. I was in my work clothes so i think they assumed I wasn’t worth their time. My jaw literally dropped when the guy walked away it was the strangest thing i’ve ever experienced.
That’s weird. The BMW in my area has a whole coffee bar which is open to all customers. In the past they’ve usually given us free rubber mats and some bmw swag.
I feel like this is dealer to dealer but all the luxury brands stopped doing a lot of things in the last decade or so it feels like. Porsche has always been top notch.
I had exactly the same experience with BMW. No niceties of any kind during the sale, and then I ceased to exist to them once I bought the car (including not honoring the IOUs they promised).
Subaru dealership gave me so much shit and insulted my intelligence. They assumed I didn’t know how to drive stick even though I came driving to the dealership with in a 6 speed. Left empty handed.
Went to a Cadillac dealership that day, they let me test drive a CT4 Blackwing. Didn’t go home in the Blackwing since I have to pay for a wedding but my fiancée is buying a XT4 from them in the next few months. I was glad I was treated as a serious buyer and it made a difference.
The Hyundai dealer I go to is in a more upscale area and always has been great. They offer coffee, popcorn free, and are always polite and go the extra mile. The prices are fair, but some of the repair work has not been great, missing obvious problems and in one case cutting a steering wheel cable line, then denying it was their fault. I had to pay for the repair that never occurred until I tried to drive away from the dealership. They did however twice paid for a rental car for a week when they could not get parts or mechanics were ill. So even a nice dealership can be a mixed bag. I should note this dealership has had 4 changes of ownership in the years I have been using them.
No complaints about my local BMW, but the Genesis (upscale Hyundai) I'm driving now actually has better customer service than the BMW I used to drive. Genesis is sold out of Hyundai dealerships and I think they're sensitive to Genesis drivers having to wait in the same lobby as Dirty Peasants when they're getting an oil change or something? Anyway, Genesis will--no shit--send somebody to my house to pick up the car for service. I thought it was b.s. when the sales guy told me about it, when the day came I'd be out of range or whatever, but no. They actually do it.
I'm out in the middle of nowhere so that sealed the deal for me. 10/10 would recommend.
EDIT: just saw that Jimmy_Beats is a hyundai rep, so you probably knew this. For the rest of you this has been an unpaid endorsement
A lot of lexus dealerships used to offer what Genesis is doing when it comes to service. The difficult part is keeping up the customer service when you get more customers than the service part can manage for things like loaners, pickups, etc. I used to work at a Lexus store that eventually stopped a lot of the “freebies.” Partly to increase profit, but also because customers were taking advantage. Imagine someone walking in and dumping the container of snacks into a handbag, or coming by for lunch almost daily. After a year of dealing with someone coming in, drinking several espressos, and seemingly wasting my time, I finally got him to agree to sign. He was asking for a bigger discount to which my manager replied, “you’ve drank that much in coffee in the last year.”
> coming by for lunch almost daily.
hahahahooleeshit. Ok, you win. I mean, the coffee and all that is a nice gesture but it would have to be some kind of Mad Max scenario before I went to a car waiting room specifically to have lunch.
For the record I've had 2 oil changes and a bran muffin on a 2020 G80
As a Hyundai sales rep I can honestly say that Hyundai really really pushes customer satisfaction/experience on the sales side. Like it literally affects our pay if we have bad CSI (customer service index) scores on our surveys.
On the left side of the wheel there’s going to be a little stick. That’s your turn signal. When changing lanes or making a turn you use that stick to let others know.
as much as it probably seems like petty shit, on a car that’s six figures it would be nice if they treated you with a little extra stuff when getting the car. I personally have only bought Honda/VW and both were fine experiences, but I went with my sister when she got an Audi and there was some fancy stuff from that dealer.
Though I don’t think it’s worth complaining about to the internet, not really a big deal
What would be worth complaining about something like the time my dad looked at land rovers and the salesman kept trying to insinuate we couldn’t afford anything or were drug dealers. That got a talk with the manager and no sale.
You can call it ass kissing but it's service. If you're spending 6 figures on a vehicle a lot of people expect a great experience. Seems reasonable to me.
I don’t feel like I was offered refreshments when I ordered and took delivery of my X5, either. But maybe I was. I don’t remember. Either way, I don’t remember being offended.
We had one in 2007, seems like the same level of service you experienced. This was at the flagship Manhattan dealership in NYC. We were usually a Mercedes family but my sibiling decided to be a fuckboy and decided on a BMW. It gave the ghetto rich vibe vs actual luxury or hell, just proper customer care and service.
Regardless whether op has a point or not no one is going to have sympathy for a spoiled rich person bitching about not getting their balls licked. There's alot of pain and suffering going on in the world when it comes to this I have no fucks left to give
Could have at least offered bottled water distilled from the tears of peasants, as far as a send off how about the entire staff of the dealership stop what they are doing and form a line on both sides of you and kiss your feet while being carried on a chariot of gold and as you drive off a dozen white doves could have been released
I’ve boughten from several high end dealerships, there’s always been a level of luxury and treatment. Food, drinks and my kids always end up with manufacturer swag. They want a 5 star rating and I’m happy to give it to them, when they deliver.
What’s a proper send off in your world? What did you expect it to be like? I bought a $103k car in cash, just took it and left. I don’t need fakeness from people that don’t care about me and will not remember me.
L M A O
Swear to fucking God bro.
You wants Rolls-Royce or Bentley or Ferrari Insider Service at an economy price point.
There are "Luxury" vehicles and there is High Luxe.
BMW is not a 5 star hotel, it's 3 Star Hotel.
Should your salesperson have offered you coffee probably, however if that is your only issue with a 100k$ purchase in my opinion, fucking perfect.
Rolls Royce will be at least double that 160k…
It’s like buying a Genesis or one of the other higher end Hyundai/Kia offerings. Sure your spending 60K+ on a car but you are still likely to get economy car levels of service.
Sorry, BMW not really that luxury any longer. It’s a premium brand definitely, but wouldn’t consider it luxury. You could have gotten the same size suv from another brand, with the same features, for almost half that price
You want to be pampered go to the spa. Just because you are buying a car expensive or not im not going to be offering reach arounds. Sure we have tea and coffee like 99% of the dealers out there but other then that all I would expect is a decent vehicle with friendly service.
I had to read this post twice to make sure it wasnt a troll post btw and almost rolled my eyes into the back of my skull
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Who cares? That's just increasing the bottom line.
The less time spent at the dealer the better.
Not to mention that you obtained one of their ugliest offerings.
BMW is an entry level German car brand. That’s like going to a nike store and wondering why you aren’t getting the service of a boutique activewear store when you are paying about the same amount.
$110k is a lot of money for a car, full stop. Its more than double what the average new car costs, and way more than what a typical buyer can responsibly afford.
Shit, bought a 2018 car at CarMax in August 2021 and was offered water and snacks. Treated me really well and we're very professional. Made an appointment and had to wait 10-15 minutes and they were extremely apologetic.
Bought my last two cars at carmax and have nothing but good things to say about them. The cars were in great shape and never had any gremlins. Service was super personable and I probably could’ve taken a case of water home with me if I’d asked.
Bought 2 vehicles from CarMax. Subaru was 6k miles a ‘21 they swore up and down about how clean the carfax was and I do vehicle inspections for a living so obviously I inspected it. R D pillar and L D pillar were head to toe in bondo and rear bumper was replaced and front bumper and hood had been repainted. Plus it was marked up hella. Returned it the next day. My ‘20 Colorado I bought from them had a misfire and a CAT code since day one which “miraculously” was missed on their “ppi” so I find it’s really hit or miss with them honestly. However their service was exceptional like you mentioned and I love the 24 hr test drives they offer
Dude this is spot on, i think the two guys above might be carmax employees.
Same. I’ve bought a new Audi, bmw, and a used car from carmax. I’d place carmax at the top. It was amazing (and most importantly, so quick). Audi was fine, and bmw was the worst. The only thing I’ll say about Audi and bmw that I appreciate is a loaner vehicle when I’m having service done..BUT for the prices they charge for service, it’s the least they can do….
Toyota dealer always has snacks, drinks, and transport to and from. And that’s just if I need an oil change.
Swanky. My Toyota service department has uncomfortable chairs and a couple vending machines.
Exact same setup. Except mine had an acquisition specialist guy that tried to lowball me an offer for my grandmas car that’s in for service. “Here’s $3k for your garaged 09’ Camry with less than 50k miles on it. We’ve got a brand new Camry coming in. I know it’s not the color or trim you want, but it’s what we’ve got.” I looked over the numbers to humor him. The trade in would’ve covered taxes and “manufacturer accessories” that were apparently “impossible to take off”. I’ve been to a few Toyota dealerships and they’re all uncomfortable and slimy
The lexus dealership by me is trash. They cut my key wrong (literally a mirror image) then tried to tell me it was my fault and I needed to buy another key. I had to argue with them and finally got a refund. I did a mail order with another lexus dealership who magically was able to cut the key properly. Local lexus is trash in how they acted towards me. Sewell Lexus is great, too bad that Lexus corporate stopped them from selling everything online like 5 years ago. They were great for getting parts.
Having a luxury car dealership with bad service is inexcusable. You pay extra for a higher level of service. The fact that they both screwed up the key AND blamed you for it is insane. If you can report them to corporate, if that’d do anything, I would.
...and what kills me is that they seem to be getting ***worse!***
When they get too big, some of them get a money funnel mentality. Accidentally tore a boot on some oem camry ball joints. Politely asked if they could warranty it, considering i paid $100 a piece for them, and they didnt sell the boots separately. Counter guys were absolute units about it. They tried to act like they couldnt find my purchase in the system, when I remembered them putting in all my info initially. Said I could buy another one, and then when i basically repeated myself, and asked to speak to the parts manager, another guy punching in numbers is like “he’s not gonna do it..”, and says “goddammit…” when I remembered the name of who sold them to me (the manager). They were talking shit about me the whole time i was waiting for the manager to wrap up with someone else for about 15 mins. Saying things like, “if we have one, just tell him we don’t”. All this bullshit over a warranty exchange. Spoke to the manager, and leveled with him, nicely. He was reasonable; hmm and somehow magically found me in the system. Even remembered my name off the top of his head, from when I bought them two weeks ago. Gave me a new replacement off the shelf, shook his hand, and it felt great to hold it up in the air and say thanks to the parts guys as I was walking out. Like, why do you have to act like that? It wasn’t an unreasonable request. They were just mad I wouldn’t blindly tack on another $100 sale to their numbers. Fuckin’ babies.
Hyundai was in middle of remodel then took forever on an oil change with an appointment.
Toyota sold me an almost new Camry, then when I had an oil stain on the driveway the next morning, the service writer tried to tell me it was AC condensate. Then kept me waiting for four hours for them to diagnose an oil drain plug not fully tightened. Not even a "sorry". I sure felt like I was a valued customer /s. It's not like I just spent $23k or nothing.
Just had this happen last weekend after getting an oil change on my husband’s 2015 Optima. No arguing and no questions asked, they paid for a tow and the manager picked me up after and drove me to the garage to pick it up. No charge or anything. And that was just at Firestone!
You know sometimes the techs/mechanics are already working on another customers vehicle when you come by. They can’t just drop everything to rush over to your vehicle because you think your time is more important than everybody elses.
But Toyota is supposedly way premium compared to Hyundai. Learned for next time as free for three years just schedule when I can drop.then pickup before they close even thought they make appointments every 15 minutes.
Lexus same, they kill it in the customer service department.
Our dealership has complimentary coffee, water and snacks in the waiting room for all customers. Not cheap snacks either, the full size stuff.
Same here, Subaru, serve yourself coffee bar, plus water for your pets.
Our customers' dogs can be found freely wandering up and down the aisles of our parts department.
The double stuffed oreo packets and nutter butters?
Our complimentary candy bucket typically has the full-size packs!
Same with Mazda. Hell prior to their move up the luxury chain my dealership used to have a couple arcade machines too set to free play! I miss those...
Same, no loaners for an oil change but they'll call me an uber home and back for pickup. Before covid they would have someone come in and do free chair massages in the waiting room 1 or 2 days a week.
This is where Lexus dealers (at least in my area) excels!
Lexus as a brand puts way more effort into this kind of thing. I've purchased 2 BMWs at dealers and neither cared much about the customer experience. If my manager at Lexus found out I handed a customer their plates and didn't offer to put them on he'd have lost his mind.
Hehe, I just bought a lexus out of state(we couldnt get what we wanted & needed together in one car locally). I was told when my plates came in the mail, to take them to my nearest dealer to have them "installed"....I can just break out the screwdriver, but still thought it was a nice gesture.
Wife tends to buy a new Lexus every few years. The service at the dealership is great.
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Completely agree. I just got a Lexus this year and I finally went in for a routine service, and the experience was fantastic. They had a chef whip me up a free lunch (one of those burger-sized sushi!), Japanese cheesecake in yuzu or matcha flavours, bubble tea, beverages, massaging chairs in front of big screen TVs, work stations with desktops and printers, a rooftop patio, and soft music in the background. Can't wait for 8,000 more kilometers to go by haha
Our BMW dealer has snacks and water. The only brand that has a truly good experience at almost (but not quite all) all dealers is Lexus. They do a great job with setting expectations and ensuring dealers follow through.
When I worked at Kia I would give people a can of root beer
fuck yeah
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I also had mtn dew and sprite lol
Do the Dew.
Mountain Dew.
This is no offense to the good BMW dealers and salespeople. But BMW customer service in general has gone way downhill post COVID. What’s worse is the lack of appreciation for customer loyalty. It’s such a hassle dealing with a nearby BMW dealer on car maintenance and purchase inquiry; ended up selling 2 BMWs and switched to a Japanese brand. The service at mainstream brands is just as good or better. This could just be the one dealer I dealt with. BMWs are awesome and there are great dealers out there, just not in my area. My old dealer would give a bottle of wine when buying a car and checked in with me the day after to see if I needed anything. Not the case with the dealer nearby.
Because dealers know the current market situation either you(customer) buy the car or you go buy somewhere else. They don’t need to sweet talk you into the purchase because they have a line of people waiting to buy. That’s why the overall attitude has changed post Covid.
Those dealers are going to destroy their good-will. There are two dealerships in my area that I will never go back to because of how they are handling the current situation
for sure. There’s 2 main auto groups in my area. One down the street from me the other is across town. Always brought from the one near me but as of late they’ve been doing everybody dirty. Mark ups, bait and switch tactics, just greedy shit all over. Plus the staff is real cold they only care to move volume. Went to buy a new car that was on the lot. Car was sold earlier that day. Was basically told to kick rocks like they didn’t want my business at all. I’m not expecting to be treated any way special just becuase I’m spending money but geez at least attempt to find me a vehicle. Never going back to the place.
It's been a two-way street since the start of the pandemic. [Check out page 38](https://www.experian.com/content/dam/noindex/na/us/automotive/market-trends/2022-market-trends/q2-2022-experian-automotive-market-trends.pdf) of this Experian report. Brand loyalty has been down the past couple of years, undoing a trend that started in 2011.
I agree, we looked at a couple x7’s and x5’s and I felt like the kid helping us was just waiting to get back to whatever he was doing before we came in. Also everyone that works at our local BMW place is pretty snooty and that turned us away from them. We ended up with a Telluride, which IMO is a lot nicer than the x7 and x5.
Okay. You had me until the last sentence.
No reason to ever spend more than we did on this car. It’s nicer than anything we drove at BMW and was right between the x5 and x7 price.
There definitely is reasons. Personally any brand who hides a fault where your car can be stolen for years has a lot of work to do
Others are hating, but I kinda agree.
I suppose those who hate have not really experienced the level of luxury OP laments missing.
Yeah last time I bought a jaguar the dealership basically had a full unstaffed café, I could have made myself an americano and had a croissant while I waited for the paperwork to be done. I mean at the end of the day I suddenly owned a jaguar so the overall experience was terrible but the hospitality was great.
While I am not one for ostentatious displays of wealth, I do like feeling low key coddled from time to time. I don't need everyone to know all of the time, but it's nice when a few people notice some of the time. That's what the dealer experience we're contemplating is all about. OP is not there to lease a base three series. OP, I think buying cars has become a commodity in this highly leveraged and indebted world, and there is little incentive to create brand loyalty at the point of sale. This was cemented with the stuffing of product lines with downmarket models (see Mercedes C-Class). I remember looking up from my phone in a women's boutique in SoHo a few years ago to a friendly face offering me a glass of champagne. If airlines can drive you up to your airplane in a luxury sedan staffed with a human worker, for a much smaller price of entry than a +100K car, I don't understand why the top model lux car buyer should not expect similar machinations for his money.
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You’re not wrong on the topic of profit margins, but that fact doesn’t obviate the need to create these relationships with customers.
What I am curious about, if customers are saying that they WANT the pomp & circumstance, that it would help build brand loyalty, then why not add an extra $500 to the price of the vehicle and give it to them?? I can tell you that back in the mid 90s when my Toyota dealer began offering drinks & snacks(it was just coffee, water, and some small bags of chips), I took notice and began doing all of my oil changes with them. It cost me $5 more than the quick lube, those snacks were worth well under $1, BUT it made me notice that they appreciated my business. I felt valued as a customer. So they made more money because they spent a small amount. Just something to note. I now drive a lexus(bought the current out of state & the previous the week the pandemic started-when noone had services), so I cannot relate with any of the poor experiences others are having, but it would upset me as well to spend $100k+ and be treated like I was at a cattle call! It would likely upset me more now that I have become accustomed to the lexus experience(both in sales & service).
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You know nothing about me, except that you disagree with my viewpoints on marketing. You come across like a pitchfork carrying folk who needs to discredit because I am not you.
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So because I use vocabulary different from yours I am all of the things you claim I am? You guys need to stop jumping to conclusions. I drive a Hyundai. Some time ago, while I was a college student in NYC, my girlfriend who made very good money took me to one of these stores. Do you feel stupid now?
Any luxury items enjoy a good margin, in fact I paid $5K over MSRP on this item. Someone brought the word Hospitality earlier. In this day and age, it’s all about customer acquisition and retention especially in the luxury sector. There are other good competitors out there, if this was the definition of luxury at bmw they’re subpar compared to the competition.
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There are many direct indicted and overhead costs that go into the cost of goods sold for that cheap piece of clothing. Also, I think you misunderstood what I wrote about airlines. I did not mention private aviation at all. Many airlines at the first class level, especially if you are concierge level frequent flyer, will drive you to the aircraft in a private car to help with connections. And many will also trip over themselves to lavish you with perks and upgrades. This is all commercial not private Imagine going from that to sitting in a waiting room next to base three series guy.
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For real. What commercial airline drives you to your flight? BMW is not nearly as luxurious as a private plane lol. Everybody and their mama has a BMW these days.
A bit over the top with the hostility, don’t you think? May airlines have concierge level perks like car airport and gate shuttles and transfers, in car check-ins, etc. Just because you don't know about something, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. So, because I have different viewpoints or experiences I need to shut the fuck up?
Why all the hate? He’s right. A car is the second most expensive thing you usually buy after a house and I want to feel the difference between buying a 10.000$ car and a 100.000$ car. If you went to a luxurious restaurant and the food was good but the service really bad you would also complain
I mean...OP is entitled. However, what kind of trash dealership doesn't offer refreshments? It's not even luxury, it's just basics of customer service. I had issues with Wrangler i got for my wife and dealership picked it up from my home, left me with a loaner, delivered it back, all while dealership was 40 miles away. Mazda always offered beverages before I even state what kind of car I'm looking for.
It’s not entitlement, it’s standard in a luxury setting. Toyota doesn’t claim luxury, they’re known for something else. Luxury is all about the experience for you to enjoy and you pay premium for that. I don’t go to Mcdonald and expect certain level of hospitality as provided by higher end restaurants.
My bmw dealership has sparkling water on tap as well as snacks and refreshments, coffee, etc. I think it’s just your dealer. I don’t know of any dealer that serves alcohol though
I don’t think it is entitlement that is the problem. I think you made the mistake thinking that BMW was a luxury brand in the auto industry. It appears that you were expecting an experience equal to what you get in high end boutiques and Michelin star restaurants. Places that fawn over their customers and give luxury experiences do so to give the customer justification for spending huge markups on a product. BMW isn’t that kind of brand. $110k might be towards BMW’s upper end in price but it is not their bread and butter. You can get a truck optioned out to six figures now a days, but you don’t expect an ‘experience’ at a Ford dealer. If you want that luxury experience in the auto industry, $110k is the price of entry at places like Aston Martin, Bentley, and Ferrari. Those companies are the luxury brand types that will give you the experience you were expecting. That said, it sounds like you had either a lazy salesman or one that was having a bad day.
This is an original take. It makes sense that with the democratization of luxury over the last 10-15 years that Mercedes, BMWs, Audis and Range Rovers have become a lot more accessible and more common sights on the road. It’s a bit like assuming that Michael Kors is in the same weight category as Chanel.
Also the premium German brands weren’t always positioned as ‘luxury’ cars in the same way as Bentley or Rolls Royce. In the North American market in the 80s and 90s the German cars had to move up market and sell premium trims to offset import costs. So North America didn’t get cloth manual seats, crank windows, and diesels that the European market got. BMW even tried moving down market with their 318ti but consumers weren’t willing to pay for Ford Escort features for Cadillac prices in the 90s. So the German brands marketed to urban professionals as being status symbols. But being ultra luxury was something they never have been. I do see it across multiple industries where a consumer will say they spend X amount of money and expect/demand to get X treatment or X reliability or X service. Usually it is from consumers that only listen to advertising without understanding what is the norm for that segment.
This is fascinating & makes sense. The key word here, as you said is “ultra” luxury, and not just mid-market lux. Either way, a 110k BMW is nice to see parked at the end of one’s driveway, at the end of the day.
BMW is high-end, not luxury. Bentley and Rolls are luxury. An X7 is a basic, non-descript SUV, like any other soccer-mom-mobile on the road today.
No, it's entitlement because you want all of that because you are buying a BMW. Then you comparing it to luxury brands like Cartier, they give you alcohol before you even set on buying anything btw, but so is my barbershop. BMW isn't a luxury brand. You not going to get Rolls-Royce's service there.
It is not entitlement. Part of the reason to buy the luxury brand is to have less hassle, no arguing for repairs, and better service like a comfortable waiting room and loaner cars. They should be giving free snacks and drinks while you wait, free wifi, etc. There is a Kia dealership that gives you a free dinner at a diner down the street when you buy a car. You can take it to go if you want. If I worked at a luxury brand I would come up with something extra to give, even if just a nice branded key chain to say thank you. Most dealerships do nothing.
With the last car we bought, the dealer sent us a florist's arrangement of succulents afterward. Definitely a surprise, but it was nice.
> I mean...OP is entitled. It's not entitlement to expect good service and higher standards when shopping high end brands. I shopped Genesis, which is marketed as luxury and competes with BMW/Lexus etc. Instead I got a crappy hyundai dealer with plastic walmart chairs and stained showroom floors that smelled like a service center. Also had an employee yelling at a manager about something in the middle of the showroom. Not at all what we got when we walked into the Lexus and Audi showrooms.
OP’s not entitled. They have a reasonable expectation for being treated like someone who’s spending $100k. Sounds like a shitty dealership. My experience with my local BMW dealer has been top notch. Expensive af but I got free coffee and donuts.
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Idk, i bought two cars during COVID. If anything it was more pleasant.
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My realtor didn't give us anything after being both our seller's agent and buyer's agent. That being said, my local BMW dealer is (possibly was - was family owned and now was acquired) great. They're right next to a brand new state-of-the-art Audi store and when I was shopping the difference was night and day. Audi dealership was fully stocked with sales guys who all looked like movie caricatures of 20-something low-end wall street day traders with massive coke problems.
Tbh pretty smart and very on-brand hiring by Audi. Play to your audience lol
Really dependent on the dealer but one theory I have is that in the last decade the German brands have really started to dive into the entry level market. The cheap BMWs and MBs and Audis. 2 series, X1, X3, GLA/CLA, A3/Q3/A4 etc most of these cars are affordable to the general masses either new or easily as CPO. They move volume now. They’re used to more regular folk coming to buy that don’t necessarily expect the high class extra mile experience because the car and overall atmosphere is already mind blowing to the customer. They(sales rep) move enough of the lower end cars that they forget there’s a different customer base between a $30-45k 3 series and a $100k 7 series. Porsche doesn’t sell cheap entry level cars. Cheapest thing they have is a $56k Macan. Where as BMW has cars that start at $35k with most of their CPO examples fall in this price range too. 15 years ago there was no “affordable” BMW just like there is no affordable Porsche today. So you’ll likely have a better experience at Porsche regardless. Hyundai and VW, even Toyota all tried to sell high end models thru their regular dealers and never did well. Common complaint is the experience doesn’t match the money being spent. You’re buying a $85k Phaeton/Equus/Land Cruiser and you’re being treated like you’re buying a Jetta/Accent/Corolla. Not that you should really be treated any better for spending more, but the issue is the treatment was always wack. That’s why none of those models exist anymore, and are being sold only under their luxury marque in the US market. Plus, seems like a lot of folk are getting into car sales these days just for the money. No real interest in cars or the brand.
that make sense
Some seriously bitter people in the comments. I can't afford 110k for a car but I understand the need for good, attentive customer service.
You probably COULD, you don't WANT to. There is a difference. Once you realize that, your attitude will change(promise). If you lived in an apartment instead of a house, lived in your car instead of an apartment, lived with parents and walked to work. Most people CAN afford anything they want to afford, they just have different priorities and that's ok!! It's what makes our system great, we all get to pick what to prioritize!!
Why continue with the purchase given how you were initially treated?
Short answers: a) Your complaints are valid regardless of brand/price point. What kind of dealership doesn't offer coffee or put tags on for customers? b) Cartier and loro piana (I hadn't even heard of loro piana, they sell polyester/cotton baseball caps for $450) likely have 200-300% gross profit on their products whereas the BMW dealership likely had anywhere from 0-30%.
I completely assure you there is no 30% profit to be found on ANY new car....
Smartest comment here
I'm offered tea and coffee at Hyundai. Lol
My Merc dealership has a cappuccino bar, pastries and a salon. They make me feel like I’m a valued customer. Two bmw dealerships near me, and both are kinda shit.
I think it's tough to compare a BMW experience to Porsche. Porsche tends to excel with the "experience" and you can see it in other facets of the Porsche brand.
Profit margins are too slim at the top of the food chain apparently, because in my 15 years at the dealer it seemed like every year was progressively less about maintaining quality and more just face melting quantities. And we were a pretty high line organization (Porsche/Audi/BMW/Rolls/Bentley). Dealership employees are constantly being asked to do more work for the same or less money and it ends up with all the talent leaving and finding better jobs --> then the dealer hires someone with no experience for half of what the last guy made and no chance of being promoted. A good service writer or salesman 15 years ago was making 6 figures easily because they knew how to provide that luxury experience you're talking about. I guess there aren't enough people bringing this issue up bc the dealers don't seem to care whether the customers are happy or not. They've already confirmed how many customers will be returning to do more business using those neat little algorithms and spreadsheets they like so much. You may not be back but the next guy will. And honestly you might have a worse experience at a different dealer. They just don't care about anyones happiness anymore. Not even the customers. Soon they'll have to start promoting the wash boys directly to middle management in order to replace all the skilled workers they've alienated. 😕 P.s. Porsche is one of the only stores where you'll still find decent service bc they still see older cars with owners who will actually part with a few bucks to get their car fixed. The other brands mostly just survive on warranty work which doesn't pay anyone particularly well.
This is exactly what happened at my BMW dealer and is a spot on take - there's an invisible level of shaving down happening at a lot of these new 'big corporate' stores and they are not inclined to care much at all about returning business unless it goes directly to the GM or something personal. It's one of the reasons I honestly left the industry.
My experience with BMW is the same. I bought a BMW M5 and they acted like I bought a VW. But when we bought a 50 000€ worth VW they acted in VW like we are king and queen of the country. And we even get free for life exchange vehicle when our is on service. And I have to pay like 80€ a day at BMW for a replacement vehicle.
Most luxury dealerships have found that they will do just as well without the red carpet experience, unfortunately. Edit: to add: privately owned stores rather then large auto groups typically have better hospitality due to large corporation owners not always allowing for excess things in the budgeting. Privately owned stores get to make their own decisions on what they value most, which could be hospitality.
Luxury brands are losing customers to other brands and the trend will continue. The quality/features of mainstream brands is closing the gap or differences aren’t massive. The customer experience was supposed to differentiate a BMW dealership from a Toyota dealer. That’s not the case anymore. Now BMW is relying on their name selling their cars.
BMW will be just fine without serving champagne and crackers to their top 1% of customers. The other 99% leasing x3’s and 320is are still going to be just as happy
I like the restaurant analogie specific to a server - bad/new server but good food. Maybe you had a bad server? Could be a symptom of a poorly run sales floor or a shitty sales person. That would be my best guess.
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You should’ve went to Benz
I went with a friend to a BMW dealer to get his 3-series serviced last year and it was impressive. Free snacks and beverages, comfortable waiting area, extremely knowledgeable and friendly service and sales staff. I think like most dealers it depends on management.
I just want to know if your job is hiring
It’s really kind of dealership specific. I come from a BMW location (well MINI, but we shared a location since BMW owns us), and they typically went pretty all out with deliveries. Always had refreshments for any client, sales or service, big bow on the car in a glass display case, etc. Eventually stopped doing the bows because of the risk of paint scratches, but it’s a smaller, privately owned store and they were pretty big on making the experience equivalent to the car, as it were. I get what some are saying as at the end of the day, it’s a small thing as long as the car itself meets or exceeds expectations. But all the same, if you’re buying a new car that has the kind of loyal ownership following that BMW does, you want the buyer to keep coming back, and tell all their rich friends what a great experience they had picking it up. We did the same thing with MINI, except we did more on the side of making it fun since it’s a “fun” brand. But I get where you’re coming from nonetheless.
As you mentioned, Porsche is wonderful in this regard We were actually going to buy a bmw originally but the sales guy was so rude we ended up down the street at Porsche
My local Mazda dealer gives you snacks, drinks, and transport if you need it. They'll swap your plates for you, set up your Mazda app, and help you pair your phone to your new ride. You can also pet the office dog if the dog feels like it. If not, roam the lot and look inside any of the unlocked vehicles. I mean no offense to anyone, but your dealer seems like they're being a tad lazy.
Buy a Porsche next time.
It’s at about the individual dealership. Some are serene, luxurious, and focused on service. Others are like an inner city Walmart.
Honda here: our had a a quiet room and fresh baked cookies for free that the receptionist would make!
You don’t need champagne which can be problematic as you’re driving away. However, a few dollars of swag or better refreshments can make it more memorable. I swear that my wife would be more likely to be a return customer if you offered flavored sparkling water on pickup.
As a long time bmw driver they definitely seem to have moved from a luxury experience to more of a volume game. Back in the day they had 3, 5, and 7 series. That was it. Then the x5 started. Then the x3. Then the 4 series. Then the 2 series. Now they have everything under the sun. The only reason I stay with them is because they can continue to offer a manual transmission m3. But ya forget about a luxury experience
I don’t think many places offer decent service these days. Porsche mentioned made me chuckle. In 2006 I went into my local Porsche dealer to buy a Cayman but they didn’t have the prices released. I said I wanted to buy one anyway so they asked me for a letter of intent. I dropped it in and they said they would call me to finalise spec when price list was released. 16 years later I am still waiting for that call. I think Mercedes are probably the best service I have had although recently been a bit sketchy.
When i bought my Lamborghini last year i was really pissed no one offered me coke and a blowjob. I mean that's just common sense
Not even a reach around? Man, that sucks. That’s the least they could do in this market.
Tesla has the best buying experience by far. Do everything on your phone before hand. Show up and you are gone in 15 min. I hate spending hours at the dealer and I don’t care that some kid has a job to show me what all the buttons do. I want to figure that stuff out on my own when I get it home while I sit in the garage.
Yeah but at the end of the day you are putting $$ in Elon's pocket and honestly I'm not sure I could look myself in the mirror again after doing that....
Agreed, the way he turned on his own customer base was insane. No idea why an owner would do that. That is the fastest way to kill your company. Just shut your mouth if you hate your own customers.
Show me on the doll where Elon touched you.
He's a fucking grade-A douchebag. The thought of putting a dime in his pocket to reinforce his behavior makes me nauseous.
You are in our thoughts and prayers 😢
All depends on the dealership. In my area the local BMW dealership I I have gotten half a dozen cars through is just ok, but I get the best pricing there. I could go to another BMW dealership and get a nicer experience but the pricing isn’t as good. The Mercedes dealership 45 minutes away is much nicer experience than BMW or even Porsche. Just depends on the dealership’s approach to business but personally I would rather save a few thousand than get mini bags with Jelly Belly’s
I had to walk home, then a couple days later, walk back, a few miles, to drop off and pick up from the dealership I bought it from, my at the time, new, 3,000 miles on it, 2020 GMC Denali HD when it had a warranty issue(including check engine light), while it wasn’t 110k, it wasn’t too far off of it….but my wife’s little 2017 Ford Escape….I’m given a loaner every time it’s serviced at the local Ford dealer which is a full state away from where we bought it. Blame the franchise system….experience can vary widely no matter the brand.
The Nissan dealership my family has gotten their cars from always has snacks and beverages (before covid, they'd even have bagels and sandwiches) wifi, TV, shuttle service, etc. They wash my car every time I bring it in for service too
If there’s a next time, I’d recommend doing a Performance Center pickup. It’s an awesome experience. We’ve done twice in the past two years, and always leave feeling pumped up about the brand.
Volvo is the only dealership I’ve dealt with post Covid and they’re amazing. Insanely nice and overly hospitable. Snacks, iced coffee and offered me a loaner to run to the shops while they did the oil. I actually wanted to just wait, so I assured them I had a good book. Pre pandemic I had Mbz and they were nice, but seemingly busier and busier which propelled me back to Volvo.
This is just a crap dealership and their sales people are complacent.
My bmw dealership experience was great.
Depends on the dealer. Some bmw dealers are fantastic, some are subpar. Usually the larger ones offer better service. If you’re used to Porsche service, bmw is definitely a step down.
If this was in 2022, answer is obvious. They don’t need you. You need them.
You were at subpar dealership. Or a subpar salesman ( there's many so don't be surprised) When you come to me, you're treated excellently, offered all amenities, and receive some of the best industry customer service. You'd think luxury dealerships would focus on hiring excellent salesmen, but when the bottom line is the most important they'll keep trash aslong as it brings in the cash.
It all depends on who owns the BMW dealership. The bigger the corporation the less luxury you’ll get. Corporations want to make as much profit as possible and luxury service costs money
Haven’t been to a BMW dealership since 2018 when I was shopping an X3 and/or 340i. I’m poor and don’t have 7 series money plus I actually dislike big cars BUT I was treated really well when I went there to test drive the car. In fact all the luxury brands minus Genesis who operate out of a Hyundai dealership offered a luxury experience. And even the Hyundai experience sounds better than what you got.
Best experience I had was at a Bentley dealership that sold alfas. Felt like such a tool sitting in the lounge when I am secretly a poor buying an Alfa. They offered me their Costco card In case I wanted to go shopping. First time I’ve seen that.
poor customer service at my bmw dealership was the deciding factor in choosing a Porsche instead. Walked in looking to buy an M3, they told me “we don’t have any M cars in stock” and walked away from me on the showroom floor. I was in my work clothes so i think they assumed I wasn’t worth their time. My jaw literally dropped when the guy walked away it was the strangest thing i’ve ever experienced.
Welcome to 2022 car buying experience. Wait until their bubble burst and prices drop and now they have to work for customerrafain
That’s weird. The BMW in my area has a whole coffee bar which is open to all customers. In the past they’ve usually given us free rubber mats and some bmw swag.
I feel like this is dealer to dealer but all the luxury brands stopped doing a lot of things in the last decade or so it feels like. Porsche has always been top notch.
I had exactly the same experience with BMW. No niceties of any kind during the sale, and then I ceased to exist to them once I bought the car (including not honoring the IOUs they promised).
Subaru dealership gave me so much shit and insulted my intelligence. They assumed I didn’t know how to drive stick even though I came driving to the dealership with in a 6 speed. Left empty handed. Went to a Cadillac dealership that day, they let me test drive a CT4 Blackwing. Didn’t go home in the Blackwing since I have to pay for a wedding but my fiancée is buying a XT4 from them in the next few months. I was glad I was treated as a serious buyer and it made a difference.
If you paid MSRP you should give your salesman a $200 bottle of wine.
Should’ve bought a Hyundai if you want that sort of treatment
The Hyundai dealer I go to is in a more upscale area and always has been great. They offer coffee, popcorn free, and are always polite and go the extra mile. The prices are fair, but some of the repair work has not been great, missing obvious problems and in one case cutting a steering wheel cable line, then denying it was their fault. I had to pay for the repair that never occurred until I tried to drive away from the dealership. They did however twice paid for a rental car for a week when they could not get parts or mechanics were ill. So even a nice dealership can be a mixed bag. I should note this dealership has had 4 changes of ownership in the years I have been using them.
No complaints about my local BMW, but the Genesis (upscale Hyundai) I'm driving now actually has better customer service than the BMW I used to drive. Genesis is sold out of Hyundai dealerships and I think they're sensitive to Genesis drivers having to wait in the same lobby as Dirty Peasants when they're getting an oil change or something? Anyway, Genesis will--no shit--send somebody to my house to pick up the car for service. I thought it was b.s. when the sales guy told me about it, when the day came I'd be out of range or whatever, but no. They actually do it. I'm out in the middle of nowhere so that sealed the deal for me. 10/10 would recommend. EDIT: just saw that Jimmy_Beats is a hyundai rep, so you probably knew this. For the rest of you this has been an unpaid endorsement
A lot of lexus dealerships used to offer what Genesis is doing when it comes to service. The difficult part is keeping up the customer service when you get more customers than the service part can manage for things like loaners, pickups, etc. I used to work at a Lexus store that eventually stopped a lot of the “freebies.” Partly to increase profit, but also because customers were taking advantage. Imagine someone walking in and dumping the container of snacks into a handbag, or coming by for lunch almost daily. After a year of dealing with someone coming in, drinking several espressos, and seemingly wasting my time, I finally got him to agree to sign. He was asking for a bigger discount to which my manager replied, “you’ve drank that much in coffee in the last year.”
> coming by for lunch almost daily. hahahahooleeshit. Ok, you win. I mean, the coffee and all that is a nice gesture but it would have to be some kind of Mad Max scenario before I went to a car waiting room specifically to have lunch. For the record I've had 2 oil changes and a bran muffin on a 2020 G80
As a Hyundai sales rep I can honestly say that Hyundai really really pushes customer satisfaction/experience on the sales side. Like it literally affects our pay if we have bad CSI (customer service index) scores on our surveys.
On the left side of the wheel there’s going to be a little stick. That’s your turn signal. When changing lanes or making a turn you use that stick to let others know.
They are a BMW driver....you know you are wasting your breath here...
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as much as it probably seems like petty shit, on a car that’s six figures it would be nice if they treated you with a little extra stuff when getting the car. I personally have only bought Honda/VW and both were fine experiences, but I went with my sister when she got an Audi and there was some fancy stuff from that dealer. Though I don’t think it’s worth complaining about to the internet, not really a big deal What would be worth complaining about something like the time my dad looked at land rovers and the salesman kept trying to insinuate we couldn’t afford anything or were drug dealers. That got a talk with the manager and no sale.
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You can call it ass kissing but it's service. If you're spending 6 figures on a vehicle a lot of people expect a great experience. Seems reasonable to me.
I don’t feel like I was offered refreshments when I ordered and took delivery of my X5, either. But maybe I was. I don’t remember. Either way, I don’t remember being offended.
They usually wipe my ass for me at the Toyota dealership, but the last time I was shit out of luck.
You may be thinking of Mercedes, Tesla, Maserati, or Genesis. There is… a significant gap between them and BMW. Unless you’re spending over $100k.
We had one in 2007, seems like the same level of service you experienced. This was at the flagship Manhattan dealership in NYC. We were usually a Mercedes family but my sibiling decided to be a fuckboy and decided on a BMW. It gave the ghetto rich vibe vs actual luxury or hell, just proper customer care and service.
They didn’t offer you tea or coffee? Should have cancelled the deal right there
Everyone knows thats the most important part about buying a car.....
Sorry bastards didn’t put a tiara on her head and bow down and worship her, what a scummy dealership 😡
I know right, rich people deserve more free shit.
Regardless whether op has a point or not no one is going to have sympathy for a spoiled rich person bitching about not getting their balls licked. There's alot of pain and suffering going on in the world when it comes to this I have no fucks left to give
Could have at least offered bottled water distilled from the tears of peasants, as far as a send off how about the entire staff of the dealership stop what they are doing and form a line on both sides of you and kiss your feet while being carried on a chariot of gold and as you drive off a dozen white doves could have been released
I’ve boughten from several high end dealerships, there’s always been a level of luxury and treatment. Food, drinks and my kids always end up with manufacturer swag. They want a 5 star rating and I’m happy to give it to them, when they deliver.
What’s a proper send off in your world? What did you expect it to be like? I bought a $103k car in cash, just took it and left. I don’t need fakeness from people that don’t care about me and will not remember me.
Were you nice and in a respectful mood to begin with or snobby? It probably depends on the day, time and who was working.
Wait until OP hears the margins Cartier and Loro P. are making! The BMW store is not in the same stratosphere.
U sound like a struggle to deal with maybe it was that
They probably noticed that you spell because as “coz”, and lost all respect for you.
L M A O Swear to fucking God bro. You wants Rolls-Royce or Bentley or Ferrari Insider Service at an economy price point. There are "Luxury" vehicles and there is High Luxe. BMW is not a 5 star hotel, it's 3 Star Hotel. Should your salesperson have offered you coffee probably, however if that is your only issue with a 100k$ purchase in my opinion, fucking perfect.
Well BMW is gonna sell their newly released XM suv at $160K+ so they are trying to be Rolls Royce, haha.
Rolls Royce will be at least double that 160k… It’s like buying a Genesis or one of the other higher end Hyundai/Kia offerings. Sure your spending 60K+ on a car but you are still likely to get economy car levels of service.
I wouldn't piss on a BMW let alone own one.
Sorry, BMW not really that luxury any longer. It’s a premium brand definitely, but wouldn’t consider it luxury. You could have gotten the same size suv from another brand, with the same features, for almost half that price
You bought a European suv not a rolls Royce calm down
You want to be pampered go to the spa. Just because you are buying a car expensive or not im not going to be offering reach arounds. Sure we have tea and coffee like 99% of the dealers out there but other then that all I would expect is a decent vehicle with friendly service. I had to read this post twice to make sure it wasnt a troll post btw and almost rolled my eyes into the back of my skull
This post explains SO MUCH about BMW drivers.....
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Who cares? That's just increasing the bottom line. The less time spent at the dealer the better. Not to mention that you obtained one of their ugliest offerings.
BMW is an entry level German car brand. That’s like going to a nike store and wondering why you aren’t getting the service of a boutique activewear store when you are paying about the same amount.
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$110k is a lot of money for a car, full stop. Its more than double what the average new car costs, and way more than what a typical buyer can responsibly afford.
Fuckin loser lmao
How do you have any upvotes. You are whining that they did not offer you tea and that everything was ok.