Century BMW provides “Service” with a P-POOR ATTITUDE!
I went to Century BMW back in December to purchase a new M850ix, and was shocked by the outright apathy of their Sales Team. I literally had to search for 10-minutes to find a salesperson, and when I did, he provided to be a click above comatose. Then, he effectively blew me off from buying this $100K++ flagship vehicle and said “we don’t have any…”. I thought, and…? So, I asked “may I order one?”, but that turned out to be too off-putting for him!
Fast forward, I came to learn that the model I sought was in limited production & tough to find. I then contacted other BMW Dealerships in the SE US, concurrently with checking inventories nationwide. After a few weeks, I found a dealership who was willing to get off of their butts to find one for me.
Upon getting the keys, I was told there was a special 1,200-mile service provided by BMW. Last week, with my M850 running at ~1,100-miles, I called the Service Department at Century BMW. The young lady collected my personal & vehicle info over the phone, and I asked how long is this interval-type service expected to take. She said she didn’t know, but she would ask her Service Manager. When she got back on the phone she explained to me it’s a “Break-In Service,” so it will only take an hour, 90-minutes tops. Accordingly, she was able to schedule it for the following week (despite most other work being pushed out for several weeks). When they initially denied me a “loaner car” because I didn’t buy it from them, I laughed… after all, I tried to buy it from them. Nevertheless, when she confirmed with the Service Manager that it would take an hour or so, I didn’t push the issue… fine.
A week later, I bring the BMW M850 in for the “prescribed” (by both the selling dealership AND Century). When I approached a Service Rep, he asked me for the same info I provided on the phone… ok, so their CMS was probably antiquated, whatever. He took my key and I asked him what this particular “Service” entails. He admitted “we don’t get many of those in here” (no sh*t), but he was kind enough to get a more experienced Service Rep who would answer my question. 10-minutes later, a gentleman comes out to tell me there is NO BREAK-IN Service performed on M850’s, only M8’s. So I remarked, so I totally wasted my afternoon. He then snarked, yeah… thank the place you bought it from. NO… YOU/CENTURY booked a bogus Service!!
Totally frustrated, I asked to speak with Century BMW’s General Manager, who was, oddly, not present today. So… I waited to speak with “Ian” who represented himself as the Sales & Service Manager. In a nutshell, Ian’s initial reflex was to first lay the blame on the selling dealership, and then on me, the customer! OK… the Seller was wrong, BUT so was Century for booking my non-existent “Break-In” service!! All I got was a lame excuse… “you have to understand, the people who book service are paid Minimum Wage.” Are you f’n kidding me?!! Anyway, what about the “Service Manager” who told Miss Minimum Wage it’s a “Break-In Service” that takes 60-90 minutes?!!
Suffice to say, his snarky attitude and dopey demeanor does not instill confidence in Century’s Service Department “”leadership!” All this only provided to affirm my highly-negative first impression reached 6-months prior when I tried to give them my $100K++ business.
I’ve owned BMW’s since before American’s could spell B-M-W back in the late 70’s with their first 320i. With that have been dozens and dozens of interactions with several different dealerships (and Service Depts.) throughout the US (and Europe). When I tell you they were not remotely apologetic, much less copping to the fact it was THEIR FAULT that my afternoon was shot, is a gross understatement! Net-Net… AVOID...
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
