BMW Seattle — Local services in Seattle

BMW Seattle does not care about its customers and wont warranty work.

Tl;dr: they refuse to make it right when they screw up and cannot be trusted to warranty their work.

I got a recall notice. I've worked with BMW Seattle in the past so I reached out to them to schedule an appt. The scheduler and I found a time about a week later, and I was told to expect 3-5 hrs for the repair. I needed to take time away from work and arrange a ride to make this happen, which sucks but whatever. When the appt came and I dropped off the car, I was told it may take a week to repair. I said what the heck, I can't go a week without a car, and that’s not what the scheduler said. I asked about a loaner. No loaners were available, those had to be scheduled weeks in advance. I asked why none of this was relayed to me when I called in the previous week, and they just said sorry we screwed up.

Well, I couldn’t continue the appointment obviously and we had to reschedule. At this point, BMW Seattle has wasted my time, and my friend’s, and I am quite frustrated. I asked the rep how they were going to make this right, and he said they would reschedule me for when a loaner is available. I said that's not making things right, that's just doing the thing that's supposed to be done anyways. I said that's not great customer service and I am leaving here feeling pretty bad about my experience with BMW Seattle. HE asked how they could make it right, so I asked if I could get a free detail or an oil change or half off coupon or something. Anything at all to show that they recognized my time as a customer is meaningful. He said the best he could do was to report this to his team so they can do better next time, but that they really value customer service here. Yea, sure. Lip service.

In addition, they told me that since my car had over 100k miles, they might break it while doing the repair, and that cost would be on me. I've never heard of such a thing. I get that cars age, but if you break a part while repairing it as a result of a recall, that's on you, BMW. Within reason, of course, but BMW Seattle absolutely refused to warranty their work. IT absolutely felt like a trap: Bring your car in for a covered recall, walk away with thousands of dollars in charges.

So at this point, I am really concerned because if a shop that can’t even make it right when its as low stakes as a screwed up appointment, how am I supposed to trust them to do the right thing if they break something expensive while doing the recall? The rep had no answer, I re-schedule anyways and leave with my head spinning.

Later, I get a call from Jay, the manager. I am answer hoping something will be done besides lip service. Nope. Jay reiterates everything from before, tells me they really sure do value customer service, and then refuses to either make it right or to stand by their work and say hey, if we break something we will fix it, you can be confident of that. He tells me that they cant guarantee their work and that if something happens while they are in there, it will cost me.

Like, what? Good shops guarantee their work. Good customer services knows that if you screw something up, you put your money where you mouth is. Talk is cheap, back it up with something. Doing the thing your supposed to do isn’t a fix to a screw up. Its actually doing nothing at all.

Anyways, if you have read this far, I get it, it’s a scheduling snafu, shit happens, you’re probably thinking get over it dude. But the point is, if they can’t be bothered to do the bare minimum around a screwed up appointment, then how are you gonna trust them if something major goes wrong? Hell, go to any restaurant and if they screw up your order they buy you a desert or something, or at elast don’t charge you for the thing they screw up. Even Applebees gets that right. BMW Seattle can’t even outcompete Applebees on customer service? Cmon man.

Funny thing is, both my wife and I were gonna buy brand new BMWs soon. I guess we won’t be going to BMW Seattle now. Thanks for showing us who...

Zero stars – internet buyers beware. Long post, but worth the read.

This was our third pre-owned (second Certified pre-owned) BMW purchased over the internet (overall, we’ve owned eight BMWs and several dozen other cars, mostly pre-owned – we are car people).

BMW Seattle claimed the car had: (1) been Certified – which means they claimed it met "BMW Guideline & Standards" and had "been thoroughly inspected by a BMW trained Technician" checking 150+ inspection points, including four related to: "Doors: left/right, front/back," "Door & Side Glass," "Power windows(s)," and "Noise - Squeaks"; (2) undergone a "Pre-delivery inspection"; and (3) been "washed/detailed."

Yet, despite all of these inspections and touch points, BMW Seattle failed to disclose that the driver and passenger windows had both once been broken, and that little chunks of glass remained in the window seals, which caused both power windows to squeak when being rolled down. And once rolled down, the little chunks of glass were visible in the window seals.

Unfortunately, because I live in a northern state and took delivery of the car at the beginning of winter, I didn’t roll the windows down until the summer. I noticed the squeak but procrastinated on taking my car into my local BMW dealership until it also needed regular service in mid-September. My dealership told me it would cost $2500 to replace the window seals, which were damaged beyond repair as they were embedded with glass. And because the damage happened prior to my ownership, my car insurance would not accept a claim to cover the cost of the repair.

I contacted BMW Seattle and was told they would not pay any amount for the repair because, per Chris Brown, the “seals/operation of windows was cleared with our inspection” – full stop. He even went so far as to imply that maybe the windows had been broken during or after delivery – and that we just didn’t notice. There was absolutely no discussion, no attempt to find a compromise with their customer, and of course, no apology. Just pound sand.

Obviously, it is extremely difficult for me to understand how squeaking windows and chunks of glass could have "met with their inspection." Oh, and I forgot to mention that apparently my non-existent convertible top also met "BMW Guideline & Standards" by their "trained Technician" because that box was also checked as having been “inspected.”

So – in my opinion – either there was no inspection, and this was fraud, or there was some kind of cursory check-the-box inspection, and this was negligent incompetence. Either way, this is an extremely poor way to operate your business and to treat your customers. We will also be sharing this dealership experience (and the photos we are unable to upload here) directly with BMW USA dealership oversight.

EDIT: Response to Adam Newbold's Response. Mr. Newbold, I am not a Trained BMW Technician or a mechanic - that is why I paid more for a BMW Certified Pre-Owned car that was still under factory warranty and relied on your dealership's legal duty of care. Also, I called and left a message with Chris Brown asking him to call me back the same day my local BMW dealership told me that their Trained BMW Technician/mechanic discovered the source of the squeaking windows. Chris Brown never called me back. For six weeks. I made a last-ditch effort and called again weeks later, when I had time. I grant you, this is a strange set of facts - but even so, how was it that my local BMW dealership was able to immediately find the root cause of the issue -- with, "my windows squeak," as the only clue -- when your dealership supposedly performed a 150+ point inspection, plus a pre-delivery inspection, plus a car detail, and never even disclosed that the windows squeaked. Your dealership had a chance to talk to me about this when I called before, and when I exchanged multiple follow-on emails with Chris Brown and Cameron Powell. If you want to talk to me, you know how to reach...

Full disclosure: I have worked WITH BMW Seattle for several years now but do not work FOR them. I come to the dealership from time to time to film Youtube content for my channel. This is uncompensated work, that they allow me access to the cars. When it comes to buying cars, I am as much a customer as anyone else. Now that said..

I cannot recommend BMW Seattle more highly, coming from multiple experiences with this dealership. I have always viewed the "stealership" as the enemy or adversary when buying a car, and expect even a good experience to be just icing over a combative sale. That is not the case I have ever experienced here, and instead I have found a leadership and facility staff to be eager, hardworking and enthusiastic about the brand. They get clear guidance from the top of how to work with customers, give the best possible experience and make it positive.

Sure, its always possible to find some scenario while working with the public, that is negative due to a particular day, or person, or even attitude. Seattle staff though seem always on point, from sales, parts to service, and ready to help.

I have purchased one car there directly now 2 years ago, my family has just bought one more, and now I have my FIRST EVER ordered new car in the works. When I go looking for a change of vehicles for anyone I know, or my family, I START here every time. I have confidence in the staff, and even with a used car, knowing they put their reputation on the line and wouldn't knowingly sell a bad car.

While there are two other BMW dealerships in the area (one is ok, the other is beyond saving, don't go there, not saying names on purpose), you should come to BMW Seattle every time even if it is a longer drive. I even read recently of some Oregon BMW dealerships MASSIVELY marking up new incoming models, when OR folks should just drive to Seattle regardless of the distance.

So wrapping up.. the leadership of London, Adam and more, and the sales staff (specifically in this case) of Ian and Kalvin and more, are absolutely fantastic. If you are looking to buy a BMW, new or used, this is the place you should come almost regardless of distance.

Added 12/31/24 Worthy of additional review and commentary after buying another car from BMW Seattle.

This purchase was the fourth car bought from BMW Seattle, 3 used and 1 new, and candidly I don't ever want to go anywhere else. Everything about the experience was perfect, as this was for my wife, and they handled her exactly how she wanted and needed to be. The staff, Shad, Adam and London were perfect at every turn, informative when need be and hands off when that was best. They guided the buying experience so perfectly that it accelerated the buying process though thoughtful elimination of questions and concerns for the new car. I cannot express how perfect they were, and at this point we as an entirely family will take our business here every time.

This experience, along with the rest, should be highlights to BMW USA as exactly how customers should be treated, and the entire buying experience through the facility, staff and financing. If there was a way that this could be spotlighted to BMW USA, I would be happy to do so and ensure that BMW Seattle gets the credit they deserve for the unswerving service to customers and loyalty to brand.

There are now, total, four BMW dealerships within an hour drive for me and there is nowhere other than BMW Seattle that I will go for parts,...