BMW of Fremont — Attraction in Fremont

HIGHBROW PRICES - LOWBROW SERVICE Brought my vehicle in for minor repair in March 2025. Charged $300 for diagnostic. Told a component failed and needed replacement. Service agreement covered most, charged $200 more for a 5 mile test drive. In May 2025, the same fault. Called Anthony - no response! The fault light went out on its own and few days later. In June 2025, the fault returned. Brought it back, but Anthony was going on vacation had to wait a week. Got a copy of my performance report from repair. Reviewed report - component replaced PASSED diagnostic! Tried to get explanation of PASSING diagnostic from mechanic who admitted the COMPONENT DID NOT FAIL DIAGNOSTIC. It just made a little noise! I was told it definitely needed to be replaced. While waiting for Noel, several service team members were talking about how THEY LOST A VEHICLE! Mechanic was again unsuccessful in diagnosing issue and had to consult BMW Engineers. They wanted to do a 30 minute smoke test and dropped my vehicle off again and it sat idle for days. This happens several times over the next few weeks. Drop my vehicle off. My vehicle stays idle. Of course, I was to blame, I would call for statuses on my vehicle since I wasn’t receiving them and Anthony said the BMW engineers said it was the valve cover, but Noel argued it wasn’t. Anthony called on the fifth day and my vehicle was miraculously repaired with a charcoal canister and it could be dropped off for me. How nice! Right? No! After, the lack of transparency with the last performance report, I explicitly told Anthony that I wanted a copy of all the performance tests, results, and repair plan when they dropped it off. He said that the BMW engineers communications was proprietary. I said I couldn’t care less what the engineers talked about. I paid for the diagnostics and BMW of Fremont had a duty to provide the reports Of course, I only received the invoice and a summary of repairs. Right after my vehicle was dropped off, I called to talk to the service manager. I received a return conference call with Julie and Noel. I simply asked for copies of my performance reports, results and repair plan. I was very clear several times that I couldn’t care less about the BMW engineers communications. I paid for the diagnostic tests and I wanted them. I did not need to ask multiple people, multiple times. That just makes BMW of Fremont look like they are not being transparent. I don’t need a phone conference with the service manager and lead mechanical foreman. I paid for those tests they are mine and BMW of Fremont looks less transparent the longer it refuses to deliver the results. Julie responded that she would send them - ONLY THE INVOICE WITH MECHANIC’S NOTES. I responded that I wanted the performance reports. That I paid for it and that any diagnostic on my vehicle was not proprietary information. A week later - I didn’t even get through the rest of my tank of gas. My vehicle is in even WORSE CONDITION THAN WHEN I DROPPED IT OFF! It is making a bunch of noise from the rear when it shuts off that it didn’t make before and it almost doesn’t start. I called to talk to the service manager. Who of course - wasn’t immediately available to speak with. Andrew, did call back and discussed the issue with him, but I had already opted to go with my trusted mechanic due to BMW of Fremont inability to make the right repairs and before their inept mechanic could cause FURTHER DAMAGE. I asked Andrew for my performance reports and he said that he talked to Anthony about what was going on and that they did not provide it to me before because “I requested” the proprietary information of BMW engineers’ communication. Which is a BOLDFACE LIE! (What they don’t understand is I have text and emails - requesting diagnostic, but not the proprietary information.) AT THAT POINT, I DECIDED TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE BUREAU OF AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR FOR UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES BECAUSE I WAS FINISHED WITH THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND BMW OF FREMONT’s UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES. I will update this post with the...

Sold me an used unsafe Toyota Corolla 2023 which they called safe as it passed 125 inspection points. Test drive was smooth in the zone of 35-45mph as per saleman's instruction. After contract signed off with their car, no 90 day, 4500 miles (which originally not being offered and then I consitently nicely asked, they ageed, thanks to them. Else, I don't know if they even suggested to come back and give a fix), no contractual cancelation were offered as they told me it compensated for the discount which they then beg the differ on the day of the car return which is today. I trusted them. All of these rights, waranty are in their ad and their policy (read their fine print, terms and policy carefully before buying!) or you lose your rights. Anyway, long story short, two miles out of parking lot, started to hit freeway, car started trembling at 45mph (very mild but noticeable if you are an experienced driver), 65+ is a joke as engine is in extreme shaking which I had to slow down, ramp off and park on the side of the road and and called them. Irresponsive resolution was provided as they suggested me to drive home with unsafe car and drive that car back a day after for the repair, I requested the return but clearly a NO and mentioned I know what I signed contract for which I did. Contract was for the great driving car in great condition, no mechanical issues whatsoever, NOT a fixed car. The notion of "great", "safe" are not in your own term or dictionary terms. Their "safety" means that it passed their 125- inspection points!!! As when I almost decided to go with legal escalation and called lawyer, I made them an "notification of purchasing and safety concern" text notifying them about what step I am going to take, they called me 20 minutes after and let me return the car and an Uber home from the dealer. They then explained to me their Money-Back Guarantee or 5-day cancellation should be offered regardless of price reduction, asked me to sign the contract of cancellation which is not being offered beforehand as per policy for used car (or Money-Back Guarantee program) when I returned the car. So with that, I am conviced that one if their tactic of lying to customers, selling "great", "safe" car which passed 125-points in their own term by reducing the price with no Money-Back Guarantee policy, so you won't be able to return their "great", "safe" "old (2023)", "used" car. It was "nice" of them to finally let me return the car (I've record timestamps, logs when I signed this paper too) after 30 minutes talking on the phone, 2 abruptedly cut off my phone during our conversation and 1 hour of my time writing them I shall go with legal escalation if they did not cooperate. For my personal experience, I will not recommend this for your used car purchase regarding to safety concern, or those who dislike your "old", "used" 2023 car fixing. For your information, I am not writing this to recommend people not to buy car from them, but to do your research carefully, buy at your own risk and own diligence. I will not go with the legal route to compensate for my time, hassle, my cousin's time, assistance and all troubles I've had for not having car for few days as I am nice enough. I just write this review so as to help our community's next purchase. Make sure you document stuff like I did or they'll refuse any words they'll throw at you, or to let you return your car when their car "did not meet customer's expectation" compared to "their expectation" (forgot what his name was, but he said that). I've all records, logs, texts, thus don't refute these facts!

By the way, for your information, 'no accident', 'no damage' means one minor damage in Carfax. 'Great' in cosmetic means lot of scratches interior and exterior, and one hole in the driver seat. "Great" "safe" car with unreliable ride or needed to be fixed in freeway means "passed 125- inspection points" as per my understand. Maybe my background in Master of Science is illterate enough to understand these words.

My personal view, experience may differ than yours....

I very rarely post reviews online, but feel I must share my experiences at BMW of Fremont with other prospective customers. Commerce runs on a minimum level of trust, and BMW of Fremont has thoroughly abused that trust. I’m struggling to think of another business that so eagerly sabotages their own customers’ good will.

My wife and I purchase a used vehicle from BMW of Fremont in May. The shopping and test driving went quite well, and if we had stopped to consider our opinion at that time, we would have rated the experience quite highly.

Once we expressed interest in a specific vehicle, all the sleazy used car salesman cliches I can think of sprang into action. Our sales rep had offered to review the CarFax vehicle report with us in detail. Now, suddenly, he noticed there was not much information recorded there. We were offered in-house financing at a pretty unbelievable rate (more than double what other places quoted us) and pressured to buy expensive add-on service packages and insurance products.

The customer financial service manager we talked to insisted that we would qualify for a lower financing rate if we also purchased a vehicle service contract (VSC). It turns out this would be completely illegal and is directly contradicted by the paperwork we signed. In other words, the company covered themselves in writing, but then sent someone to lie to us about it. Unfortunately, I was not expecting such brazen dishonesty. We decided to purchase the VSC in order to get the lower rate for a few months before refinancing, knowing we could also cancel the VSC at any time.

The basic rule, spelled out in California Civil Code section 1794.41 and repeated in our vehicle service contract, is that customers must cancel within 30 days in order to get a full refund. We wrote to request a refund 15 days after purchasing the vehicle. The AutoNation website describes cancellation as being a 4-8 week process. In our case, it took nearly 6 months. The obligor of the contract finally acknowledged in September that the contract was being cancelled, and they stated that the refund would be processed through the dealership. However, no payment was forthcoming. The financial service manager never responded to my repeated emails. Nor did the sales rep we worked with. Nor did another sales rep who had previously barraged us with offers to help in our vehicle search. I finally got a reply from a financial service director, who bizarrely offered to begin the cancellation process. After I wrote back to clarify that the contract was already cancelled and we were just waiting on an overdue refund, he also went silent.

It was only when I complained to the Better Business Bureau and the California Department of Insurance that things started to happen. The Department of Insurance investigation revealed that the obligor had indeed forwarded payment to the dealer in September. The dealership apparently sat on the money for months, while continuing to ignore my requests for action or an update. Why?? I’m very disappointed with our experience, and frankly a bit confused what they were hoping to accomplish by treating a customer so unfairly. I can’t imagine this is just an oversight, unless no one in the entire organization ever checks email.

Personally, I will go out of my way to avoid BMW of Fremont (or any AutoNation dealership) in the future. If you do find yourself at one of these establishments, keep in mind:

1. Your financing terms are not dependent on purchasing any add-ons. Read the fine print very carefully, and do not trust any verbal assurances from a dealership employee.
2. It may be quite burdensome to cancel an add-on contract, despite your legally protected right to do so. Research these products in advance, and only sign up if you are certain you are interested.
3. Once you fulfill your end of the bargain, consider contacting the Better Business Bureau right away. Do not waste months, as I did, trying to address issues directly with the dealership – you might never...