Bad Experiences at Calgary BMW
October 22nd, 2008After the story of a Calgary BMW dealership whose staff members took out a highly modified M3 for a joyride was posted on our forums, many users came out and shared their own horror stories with Calgary BMW and the BMW Gallery which are run by the same owners.
Jaymez wrote:
Hmmmm not good at all… When i serviced my m3 there , I could smell burnt tires inside the car… I wasnt to happy about that…
A third party repair shop wrote:
We do service on a lot of BMW’s because customers refuse to take their BMW’s to Calgary BMW
E36M3 wrote:
Calgary BMW is a terrible BMW dealership. I unfortunately bought a car there last year and I cannot believe how inept my salesperson was. Needless to say, it is the last car I will ever buy there.
Their service department is also terrible. Just this week we had an issue with a car there and they did nothing to resolve it properly.. they screwed up and could seemingly care less.
badlivertt wrote:
I brought my X5 in for a routine check. There were 2 pucks of skoal straight in the cupholder. They were not there when I got my car back. I was quite unhappy when everyone just laughed about it when I asked.
To be fair, there were a couple friends of Calgary BMW and here they are. I do agree that it is unfair to judge an entire dealership because of the action of individual staff members but I also believe that a dealership needs to take some sort of responsibility.
R-Audi wrote:
Although tighter controls at the dealer could have prevented this, some of you are acting like every single person in the dealership personally took out Rages car for a spin.
I know Calgary BMW has had its fair share of problems in the past.. I dont really feel its neccessary to paint the whole dealership a certain color because one lousy person took the car out for a joyride.
Sorath wrote:
It really isnt the dealerships fault. i mean, anyone who has access to the keys can take the car and take it for a spin.
What do you think? If you have a story involving either Calgary BMW dealerships, please share by posting a response to this blog post or share it on our forums! Lets get both good and bad experiences so people can make their own judgement on how the BMW dealerships are in Calgary. Please don’t make anything up as we don’t want another car dealership threatening to file a class action lawsuit against us!
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My personal experience with Calgary BMW:
Day after we took a 2002 BMW M3 in trade, we decided to take it to Calgary BMW to get a thoural check through (because it has 2 days of warranty left lol) so anything that needed to be fixed, would be covered by BMW.
Anyways, after 3 weeks of the car being at BMW, they finally called us telling us the car was ready to be picked up.
So drive over there and I am the one picking it up. No real issues except there service department treated me like shit and just thought I was some lot kid. Other then that no issues with the car..yet.
So a week later they call us and tell us that they forgot to put some pieces back on the car:eek:
Apparantly they were all pieces that belonged under the car.. Wtf is this? Don’t take it apart if you can’t put it together..
Alright, so we drop the car off, and essentially demand it not be there 3 weeks again (considering this was there fault) It takes about 4-5 days and they call us to pick it up.
So I go and pick it up. Get in, start up.. What do you know.. Radio not working!! Great, well it worked when I brought it in.. I refused to take the car or else it would be my problem. As soon as I said this, the service lady started yelling and saying that this M3 was garbage and didn’t know why I was complaining..
At this point, we did get Mr. Dilawri involved and struck a deal for the repair of the radio.
Anyways, next day radio is fixed, and I go to pick up the M3 and am sat in the service lounge. The lady that was yelling at me the previous day walks up to me, and simply drops the key on my lap and walks away…. What kind of attitude is that?
Anyways, in closing I would just like to say that I have dealt with BMW Gallery on several occasions, and although they are about a 2 hour drive away, MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER SERVICE!!!
I bought a 2007 328i @ Crowfoot Bmw I live in the south of calgary. So I started to have problems with my car.. The lifter were making loud noise as if it was minus -50 out but it was may long weekend. Grabbed the camcorder and filmed the car making nosie/ also called and one of the service guy heard and told me to turn it off aspa. I towed the car in they did the bleed down aka rev the shit out of the car till it stops making noise.
5 day later the car made the same noise not as long or as loud.. I called talked to kevin so I dropped the car off. After 5 more meeting (waste of my time) I said I was not going to take the car back before the top end was changed. the car was 7 month old and 5600km on it. They started a PUMA case. After getting the car back 40km more on the clock the car acts up when it warm. You drive it than stop at a light the rpms drop to 3-400 almost cut out than the computer fixes it(not all the time) Called then they said they will just have to increase the rpm.. I drove the car last Friday night leaving town playing cat and mouse with other cars than all of a sudden the car grinds every time you put inot 3rd.. The only way the car doesn’t is if you put your foot on the clutch and let the rpm go to idle than its fine. I said this was Bs as the car only has 9700km on it now its a years old. I get a call form the dealer the monday I drop it off and they say (without ) looking at it it was my fault as I have a OEM bmw ssk shorter shifter. They started by saying it was for a 330i only and I didn’t buy it from them that I was shit out of luck.. Called the bmw Dealer I bought it from they said it was the right part but a new one for the 328i came out so they will send that to me.. Waiting and wainting for bmw to call me back it been 8 days before I call the dealer to talk to the general manager he said we can set up a appt. with him on thurday this week at 4pm.. I love owning the car its just a lemon andI don’t have a loaner …Only paid $55 000 and I need a bus pass now????
I paided a courier to take all my oem part front lic . plate holder as I am not taking this car back. The treat me like some punk kid and I didn’t know you jhad to be a macanic to have the dealer work on your car as they keep trying to feed me shit…
Mike Lycka
After posting here and some other forum.. A couple of meetings Calgary BMW came to the table and bought my car back and got me a 335i. I have not picked the car up yet but in the next week or 2 . So far they did what I asked and its been a little better
Good to hear Mike!
Well, they sell 1800 new & used cars a year. They service over 15000 a year. Even if 10% of the people complained, it’s still a viable and acceptable percentage for ANY complex service business. I’ve had no issues there and I’m on my 4th BMW from them. BMW would have pulled the franchise if it were really bad.
Try calling them for a quote for service without your vin code… they won’t even try to help you out. I tried calling from work for a quote for replacing my themostat and main belt (might as well get it replaced since they have to take it off to change the thermostat). When I told him I didn’t have the VIN number with me, the guy on the phone started muttering something I couldn’t understand and I asked him to repeat himself a couple times. All I could make out is he couldn’t give me a quote without a VIN number. I asked how much they charge for labor and he wouldn’t tell me. I asked how much for the parts, and he wouldn’t tell me. (I had already talked to parts so I know the price) I just couldn’t believe how unhelpful he was. I’m just going to do the work myself now, (it’s really not that hard, I just thought it would free up my own time and let a professional work on it). After reading the stories here, I don’t think I will be letting them do any work to my car EVER. This also will be the last BMW I ever buy. Not just because of this, but other issues I have had to fix with the car as well. I could expect problems and issues and horrible service if it was a cheap KIA or something, but I bet they have better service there. I haven’t heard any complaints… (mind you… I could never be seen in a KIA… haha)
to sum it up… I’m gonna veto the Calgary BMW.
Now that I have my new 2008 335i its starting off like another POS.
I got it form calgary bmw as a managers car the car had 12400km on it when I got it
the car now has 14500km and its booked in again.
This time the list is long
1. the turbo/boost once in a while doesn’t seen to work very little hp
2. the front drive tire in high speed over the 120km mark feel like the car has a damaged wheel dearing or lose control arm
3. the 3 m is pealing off (they just put it on for me when I picked it up)
4.the gas door will not close at all
5. the rear speaker for the first time had allot of hissing noise even after the car was shut off door closed Im out side the car this lasted about 20mins.
I thought I have been fail after having the problem with the mini cooper we bought than my 2007 328 now this POS
I am done with bmw and the shitty product. The altimate driving machine. Ya if you ever get to drive it!!! So I have another appointment at calgary BMW. I must say at least both Kevin understand and are trying to help but Jermy being new guy not os good.
His answer to all my problems was that why we have warrenty. As of now I will never ever buy another bmw product in any form as will make sure my friend and family will never
the mini we paid 29 000 for it and it was in the shop in the first year for 146 day
the 2007 328i I owned it for 13month but only had 9500. I lost my 6800down plus 13month atr $606 they did upgrade me to this pos so I will have to pay for this crap for the next 34 month
They treat you like the make a good product and your always at fauly not the product. I think most people that buy a new car buy them because they want something that they put the key into and they can drive
so far this is not the cause for me
I pay almost the same for my car as my house shit give me a honda from there owners other company and I will pay the same amount till I have paid for the car and they get some. It not a money issue… the store I work at has increased sales over last year. All I want is a car that work is this to much to ask???????
I will update this on tue. april 21 when I drop the car off again!!!
shit Im going to be the 11% 12th 13% percent that will not be happy!!!!!!
this and the other 2 cars just miss being home.. I am trying to stay positive but the shit I have been without a car because of calgary bmw over 3-4 month now this can’t wait!
I should have never ever bought a e90 I have owned 2 other BMW’s E30 and E46 and was very very happy
5 bucks says I don’t get a loaner as the other time my car was in the shop for 3 month and the got me a loaner for 20 days
and they fucked that up also but I will not get into that today
long story short calgary bmw /crowfoot bmw have got over $49 000 out of me and I don’t have shit to show for it
I hear what your sayin’ Mike & Glen,
I took my 94 e36 to Calgary BMW, and they didn’t even want to give me the time of day. It seems like the’re staff look at you weird if you pull up in anything less than a 40k car. Parts department seemed hesitant to even look for a $15 part i needed .
Soon enough i plan to purchase a new car, however with the experiences i’ve read/heard about I think I’ll be going with a VW or a Honda. I couldn’t imagine owning a brand new Beam and having the type of issues people seem to be having with they’re cars and the service promised by a reputable company.
funny another day and more BS form BMW
I got my car in NOV 08 thy messed up my first payment so I called them to pay
Now with my car going into calgary bmw for more of there BS
I called friday as I go in the mail 5th time now we don’t have your insurance on the car please fax asap
fuck that!!! I faxed it 2 times and the rep has his copy of it fax times
my car this weekend doesn’t shift as smotth as a new car sorta like the last cr when 3rd grear went
can’t wait to here the BS form Calgary BMW as this time I didn’t add a thing to car after they didn’t want to fix my car when I bought parts for a USA BMW dealer
lt the games begin
I went to calgary bmw on the Monday to buy some items for my red E46 99 323i
I waited in line for 30mins before getting help. Than when I ask for some parts with part number the guy drilled me what its for what car etc etc. I gave you the part I want to buy it. SO he went to look in the back room for them. 20mins later he come back out and said he has to take a important phone call and gave me to someone else that I had to go through the same bs.
After hearing all the probelms everyone is having with them I will not be buying a E46 M3 from there. There was a nice one there light blue but the brakes look like this car was damaged. I have never seen brakes look so bad on a car that has only 60 000km on it. They also tried to hide that with the rim. Buyer beware
John
so lets see what they are going to say. I dropped the car off on tuesday at close. Wed it snowed in clagary 6inches, thur was a shea of ice..They called and said they couldn’t get the car to have the same problems.. funny I only have summer tires on the car.
so they couldn’t drive it I guess they couldn’t get the car to have problems.
Tueday April 28th at 3 pm is the big meeting. After all the problem and shitty service. 2nd car that I have had new with allot of problems
I feel the right thing to do it get me out of my lease. They keep the 20k I have given them in deposits and payments
And let me be free. I will never say anything bad about them or BMW as a product . Shit I will pay a small fee for the paperwork to make this happen. The last meeting I had when they got me this new car was how much are you willing to pay… Guess it all about the money not customer service. I feel a payment of $2000 cash should be lots to do paper work and pay a sales staff to sell the car. I think I am being far. I have to go pick up my sticker for the car if this doesn’t happen
let me know what you guys think?
my next post will be april 29th lets see what happens
I had the meeting with calgary bmw.. They are working on a deal to get me out of my car for no cost. I am very happy for that. I have to go there on friday to see what other info and paperwork needs to be done. If everything goes great than I am free. I would like to say when started the meeting I was not very happy.
thanks to the 4 of them again if everything goes without problems.
I will make my fiinal post saturday to let peole know if they did what they said they will do. If it happen than I have no hard fealings with calgary bmw I just had very bad luck and if it could happen to me it did…
Mike Lycka
I bought a 2007 323I from BMW Gallery and I haved had nothing but trouble with the run flat tires. The check tire symbol is forever coming on. The tires are always losing air and it is a royal pain in the ass. I called to schedule an apointment on May 5, 2009 to have it checked out and they told me that I will have to wait for 3 weeks to bring my car in? Some service. I called and complained to BMW Canada and Calgary BMW did not even call me back. This was my first and last BMW. Their service SUCKS!!!!!!!
Sue
I have been going to Calgary BMW for 10+ years now. I have never had an issue or concern with anyone or anything at the Dealership. The entire team, from sales, sales management, front of store staff, Parts and (YES) SERVICE, are all to be commended. I lease my cars, and I am about to lease another vehicle (and I have leased 4 already from these guys) and about to go for number 5 (so, I like to change my cards all the time!) I am not saying that everyone is perfect at this dealership - but, MY experience tells me this is a TOP dealership. I will continue to deal with Calgary BMW until such time they piss me off. Doubt that will happen.
All I can say is that, like any other business in Calgary…it’s difficult to staff - extremely difficult to staff with high-quality trained staff - no business is immune. So everyone who’s bitching about that…clearly needs some perspective, everyone waits in Calgary for everything - try getting a plumber or electrician to your home (even your NEW home with warranty).
Granted, paying big $ for these cars entitles you to bitch and expect the best product and service…but if you’re going to go to the service dept of a dealership like this for a $15.00 part…you deserve to be put on hold - there are far more appropriate sources.
Jay’s bang on…1800 car sales a year…15000 cars serviced, the percentages go against everyone here. Every dealership has its problems. My 335i was serviced twice for minor squeeks…first time I waited a week…it was annoying…but when I got there it was OBVIOUS they were busy. The second time (different squeek) was same day service…totally painless and smooth (and covered by the warranty).
So…like ANYTHING you’ll get your good days and bad days - perhaps some expectation modification is needed.
They quoted me $250 for just the FSU part. I bought it online for $50. The new one says BEHR just like the original, but it’s made in China instead of France. Not sure where it should be made. Anyway I was having heater blower problems and forums said it could be FSU. I changed it in 30min with a TORX and a phillips. It’s in the driver’s side footwell, and you have to remove a panel to get to it. My blower sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. With the new part it’s working initially. I bought some Mr Satz hood struts for $20ea at the same time that I bought the FSU to save on shipping. The strut is working well initially too.
hey,
I own a 2002 320i and it is really starting to cost me. I took it in to the Gallery and just picking it. so far nearly $4000 this year.
does anyone know of another option for servicing and fixing the car that might cost a little less?
thx
I took my BMW to BMW Gallery for servicing because BMW Calgary was too far away. They seemed good to start but then the “upselling” really kicked in. The final straw was: I had put some high performance tires on that I bought at Kal Tire and after 10,000 km they started to really make noise - like the rear end was gone or something. It was really loud so I took it into Gallery and they came up with a whole laundry list of costly repair items including a bent rim. A friend had said check the tires so I called Kal Tire, they checked them out and gave me a new set because the originals were faulty (and the rims were just fine). Around the same time, Gallery said I needed both catalytic converters replaced at about $1300 each. I found a shop that sold after market converters, he did the testing and found out I needed one (at $400), not two. After hearing first hand stories from others, I have concluded, in my opinion, that the BMW dealerships are definitely running a rip-off scam in their service departments. There are good shops in town to take your BMW to, but not the dealerships by any means.
I have heard all the problems associated with Calgary dealers. Do what I do, I buy mine in Kelowna and take a Vacation once a year and get my car serviced… The sales Manager there is from Calgary and he likes to make sure you are well looked after.
I,m a former customer of bmw for 15 years,I lived in vancouver most of my life and moved down to calgary two years ago and when I took my car in for a oil change one time and when I came to pick up my car they had a bill for over 2000 dollors and they were trying to tell me I had to pay for the unautorized work that they did.So not even a day later more things started comming up and these guys at calgary bmw just wanted as much money from me as they can get.So I asked to talk with a sales guy and I waited over an hour for someone to come talk to me, I would not recommened any of these calgary bmw dealers to anybody. They should take a lesson from the vancouver dealers on how service works,They got me so frustrated with things I traded my bmw in for a landrover were they got a really good service and I don,t feel like i,m getting ripped off every time I go in.
Can anyone recommend a shop in Calgary to take my 328i hard top convertible to. I took my car into BMW Gallery and they now say it is $30,000 to fix the hard top?
I’ve had bad experiences at Calgary BMW as well. BMW painted my rear bumper Dark Blue, and my car is Black.
Two winters ago, I smelled gas fumes through my heat vent whenever it was really cold outside. I happened to be driving by BMW Gallery and I thought I would drop in and make an appointment. It was useless. The guy who books the appointments did not seem to have any mechanical experience (which is understandable, but he could have easily asked a mechanic behind him). Since it was an “urgent matter” I was going to get the next available appointment, in 6 weeks!! I was very pregnant at the time. I asked him if it was safe for me to be driving the car for 6 weeks, could it explode on me? He said that he couldn’t give me any information until they inspected the car.
I called another garage that day and explained the situation. They told me on the phone exactly what the problem was and I got in the next day.
Debbie, I go to Two Square Auto Repair, the German Car Specialists.
I picked up a 535i XDrive at Calgary BMW last week, and my wife and I were blown away at the professionalism of the sales personnel who took care of us. These people are good! It was as postitive an experience as one can have while still parting with a large chuck of cash. It made me wonder if some of the comments on this site could refer to another dealership. I even wandered into the service department to chat up a few of those people, and came away with the same impression: these guys are rock-solid professionals. I suppose it might have been possble for one or two unsavory characters to have slipped in under the radar, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no one like that around Calgary BMW these day. And I LOVE my new toy!
They suck, I’ll never buy another BMW again. When this one is gone I’m done. I’ve got a 2005 325XI. Rear brake lights started flashing quickly non-stop except when you stepped on the brake. After $2000+ they still didn’t have it fixed. Next step they were going to start taking out my doors and looking at other wiring AND also said the engine might have to come out. WHAT?? They started at the back and worked their way to the front..which really puzzles me because if the lights are getting power when they shouldn’t be I would check the switch that turns that power on/off. (Especially since a few years earlier they had a recall for a similar problem..which I discovered searching the net for a solution.) Well I decided to check the switch on the brake peddle - it in fact was the $50 part. Get this, I didn’t even need the part. When I took off the old one I discovered metal filings inside so once it was cleaned it worked perfect, I returned the new unused part. But they would not even apologize or offer me any type of credit for future work…here I am some nobody that fixed the problem and they could not even apologize for the $2000+ bill. (I would have been happy with a $500 service credit.) It’s wasn’t our first over the top service bill from them but it was the last. Still have the car but get it serviced elsewhere. Too bad too because as I understand it the money is in the servicing, not the selling of the new cars. Especially for them.
Bought a ‘pre owned BMW with all service done at Calgary BMW. To date I’m at number six issue with a repair they did that was not done properly, short cutted, or part replacement was not a BMW part. Not good even if you take the totally unacceptable 10% tolerance rate.
I bought an 07 x3 from Crowfoot, I thought they treated me with respect, not the usual ‘oh just a stupid woman’ onthe day I picked it up, but, when I had to bring it in because of accerlation problems, the service tech was dumber than a stump. They didn’t call me for a whole day to let me know what they thought the issue was, so I finally called him (service tech, won’t mention his name for fear of them putting a banana in my tail pipe next time I bring it in), and he starts rambling on about the steering and how it has been fixed. Huh? there was nothing wrong with the steering. Anyway when I re-explained to him why I had it in there, it took another day & 1/2 before I got the veh back - no difference in the gear shifting whatsoever….AND, the biggest joke is they give you a song & dance about how these vehicles are SO technologically advanced that they don’t need a BLOCK Heater or the Oil Heating Pan: OK, so yesterday morning, Calgary dropped to -41. What do you know, it didn’t start !!!!!! One of the service guys told me that if it doesn’t start, he will personally come & boost my vehicle: well, I phoned them, told the receptionist what the mechanic said, the receptionist said ‘you must have misunderstood him, you have to phone the BMW Assistance hotline’. THANKS. I am now going to take my veh to a private mechanic because they are much more trustworthy, and know more about the BMW than the people working there do (unless you are talking to them about the color or the prettiness of the vehicle)
I had a beautiful 2008 335i convertible and paid 77k for it. Out of the 2 years I owned the car it spent close to 4 months in service. Everything from turbos going down to keys not working. BMW Calgary was so kind as to loan and rent me a ford focus! During that time they took so long to fix the car that they said I would have to start paying for the rental! Wow, really?! It wasn’t hard for me to shoot down that threat. They told me the car was ready for pickup on a Thursday and if I didn’t return the rental I would have to pay. So whatever I was glad to get rid of the focus on Thursday only to find out they flat out LIED bc the car was ready until Monday. I picked up my car Monday, did my walk around and everything looked fine until I opened the trunk. It was completely gutted with wires hanging out and tools everywhere. They said “oops” and it would be another 10 mins. I was on my way after an hour and a half. Started it the next morning and the engine light was on! That was the last straw.
I didn’t want make to make another payment on the vehicle. Had a meeting with the GM and he felt “bad” and agreed to “buy back” the car at black book value - $45k, keep my $12k security deposit, and pay me the profits from the resale. I asked what he thought the profit may be and he answered with the same question for me. I said probably $18k, he laughed and said maybe $2500. I thought to myself “no one wonder this guy is balding”. Anyways the car sold a short while later for $69k. (it only had 23k) I didnt see a penny or returned phonecall. My mistake was not getting that in writing They made a profit when the car was sold new, kept my security deposit and turned another profit when they sold it used.
For all those people who post about the difficulties of having good staff I think you must work for BMW. I had a bad experience from everybody at every level.
My reference alone has steered at least $500,000 worth of business to other dealerships and if you’re thinking of getting a Beamer, avoid Calgary BMW at all costs.
Talking about Calgary BMW:
Sales: excellent and knowledgeable sales work from the Sales guy (Darcy C.). He even came in on his day off to show the car to my wife. Bought a new X5. So far so good.
Service: only my 2004 X5 … in one word: expensive. I took in it for Inspection II they quoted at $1370. I had been meaning to for another shop but didn’t get around to it. So I finally got around to calling Motorwerkes in Calgary and they quoted $750 for presumably the same “Inspection II”. WTF. Ripoff. I called Calgary BMW back but they had already done the work. I’m never going back for after warranty service :(
I will not buy a BMW from Calgary because I have had only bad experiences at that dealership. The excessive charges,delays and attitude I do not need.I have owned 2 BMW`s and even though they are outstanding vehicles I will not put up with the srevice issues.
I bought my 2008 335i from Calgary BMW in late 2010 and, aside from paying too much, I couldn’t be happier with the level of service I’ve received from them. Maybe I’ll change my tune once the Certified Series warranty runs out in 2014, but for the time being, I’m happy.
I had a warning indicator tell me that my passenger-side headlamp was malfunctioning a week before I was going on a long road trip. I called Calgary BMW and explained the situation. Busy as they were, the next appointment slot they had was for after I was due to leave on my trip. The fellow said I could bring it in the next day and leave it with them in the hopes they could squeeze me in. I did so. Turns out they had a last-minute cancellation and my car was done before lunch - all covered under warranty.
Once the warranty runs out, I’ll be getting competitive quotes for any work I need from Two Square and Motorwerkes as well as the dealer. For now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t let me down.
I own bmw 325 xi and had a few small issues and had it serviced at the German Car specialist in Calgary.
Service was done exctly as expected and I am one very happy customer. I used to take my car to BMW dealer and as many of you had nothing but the problem.
If any one of you is looking for a dependable service garage please visirt them. For me dealers repair shops are done.