[agentf1]

Well after my first service experience I have to say I am sorry I bought a BMW 335i from Otto's BMW and will be going back to driving Mercedes. Something told me I should have just bought a CLK but this cinched the deal. The neighbors all bought MB's after we got ours and were debating on switching after we did but I will advise them not to as well.

I only have a few thousand miles on the car and have never hit anything other than normal road bumps and developed a bubble in the sidewall of a tire. You can see there was NO trama at all, not even a slight scuff and they want to charge me 450 bucks for a new tire. At MB they ALWAYS covered everything even when it was clear that they shouldn't have. They fixed a scratched seat that was obviously our fault. I guess you live and learn. I did love the car other than the hour wait to be waited on when dropping it off for service despite my appointment, a filthy Explorer as a loaner (MB always gave me a clean MB and even dropped it off and picked my car up) and then being raped for a tire that is obviously a manufactures defect.

Old well, I guess my MB salesman will be happy.

Sorry, but had to vent on somebody.

[Revlis]

Have fun...

[ArmyBimmerDude]

See ya and GL with your MB

[rrandyy]

It seems service is very important to you. Since that is the case, and the MB dealer is much more accommodating than the BMW dealer, I think you are making the right choice.

What are you going to do with the BMW? If you're concerned about a $400 tire, I'm assuming you'll be concerned about the $4,000 trade-in hit.

[txusa03]

if you really like the car as indicated, have some drama and demand to talk to service manager. You just going to raise your hands and walk away risking loosing on a trade in for a MB. GL.

[retlod]

LOL!

"I hate BMW cars because my 3rd party tire was defective and my dealership won't kiss my a$$ and replace it even though it's not under warranty and I didn't buy tire insurance."

"Replacing the tire is so expensive, that I'd rather take thousands of dollars in depreciation up the butt and switch back to MB."

Okay, Mr. Logical, good luck to you and your neighbors.

[Prodigy]

If service is so important you should probably switch over to Toyota or Lexus.
Enjoy your MB.

[agentf1]

MB was always great to us as far as service and the cars were always great. I will keep it for another couple years as I love the car but just won't buy another BMW. I was always a repeat customer with MB and thought I would be the same with BMW but not if they rape me every time I come in for service.

The other thing I do not like is 15,000 mile between oil changes. Not to mention no break in oil change. That is insane. Needless to say I will pay to have it done more often if I plan on keeping the car any length of time. Even BMW magazine (forget exact name) stated this in their article on the car. So much for free service huh. MB always pushed my cars through ahead of time as I was not comfortable waiting their required 10,000 miles. I think they too may have bumped it up to longer intervals but atleast they were leanient. Towards the end of the warranty they started getting more strict which was one of the reasons I decided to try a BMW. I may actually look into Audi, Lexas or Volvo before I make my decision but I do know that I have ruled out BMW. It would be different it the car wasn't so freaking new but I can only imagine the level of service after a few years. It is a shame as there are things I like better about the car but then there are things I don't like as much so I guess it is a wash when it comes to that.

[agentf1]

Originally Posted by Prodigy

If service is so important you should probably switch over to Toyota or Lexus.
Enjoy your MB.

Yes, I will check with Lexus before I make a final decision. I hear they are very good and Japanese cars are some of the best cars on the road.

[scottp999]

Good luck, seems like customer service is on a down trend in all industries. I defnitley am not following the 15,000 mile change rule, it only takes 30 minutes to change it yourself. I guess you got treated really well at MB, my expectations of BMW service have been low since I got my first one in 2000. If I had a tire problem I would probably just order one off tire rack and have it mounted and balanced at a local shop. Probably cost $250-$275 for everything.

[agentf1]

Originally Posted by txusa03

if you really like the car as indicated, have some drama and demand to talk to service manager. You just going to raise your hands and walk away risking loosing on a trade in for a MB. GL.

I have been fighting with the service writer all day as well as my salesman. I will definitely ask to talk to the service manager when I pick it up but doubt it will do anything. They seem to care less if I am a customer or not. Not the attitude to have if you want to sell cars IMHO.

It would be different if they could show me some type of evidence it was from a pothole but the tire looks perfect as does the rim. They are trying to say they cannot prove it since I keep my car so clean. Show me a freaking scuff or something.

I worked for a Tire Retailer for years when I was young and know a manufacturers defect when I see one. Granted run flats weren't out when I worked in the industry but I doubt things changed that much.

[smiley]

GL with MB, you will love it

[!Xoible]

well if that's what makes you happy. enjoy your MB, and show off pictures of it too

[1clean335i]

So a bridgestone potenza runflat tire made you anti-bmw...

Youll be suprised when you see runflats on the next vehicle you purchase because all cars are going that route now...

I would have taken that $450 for the tire and put it towards a nice set of wheels with non-run flats..

[scottp999]

See if they will split the cost with you $225 vs taking the depreciation hit several thousand, plus setting yourself up for another 1st year depreciation hit on the MB.

[stressdoc]

Sounds like you are angry with your dealer and need to vent. As previous posters have noted, a bubbled tire is not a solid reason to smear BMW or the dealer. If you replace a rft tire at the MB dealer you can expect to get 'raped' there as well. This is what tire insurance is for. Tires on the latest BMWs, MBs etc. are very expensive. I buy mine from TireRack, they are almost half the price of MSRP at a dealer. BMW scheduled service is free -- you pay about 4k for the same plan at MB. You want a oil change before 15k? DIY, or pay the dealer $80 to do it. For most E9xs it is not necessary, and a waste of resources -- that said, I changed mine, because I drove the car hard on a Euro delivery and plan to have it for at least 100k miles. It would be nice of BMW to offer that option of a free early oil change, but all things considered I think it's fine that they keep the costs down as efficiently as possible.

If you are planning to keep your E92 for another two years, then why in the world would you be making a decision now about what to buy and not to buy?

Bottom line is we all have our priorities. Being coddled and slicked by my dealer is not one of mine, although I expect to be treated fairly and competently, and so far I have been. If a neighbor advised me to stay away from BMW and buy a MB instead for the reasons you have given I would frankly think him a mome.

[ejazbmw]

MB's are nice cars as well..actually some of them are better looking then bmws

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by 1clean335i

So a bridgestone potenza runflat tire made you anti-bmw...

Youll be suprised when you see runflats on the next vehicle you purchase because all cars are going that route now...

I would have taken that $450 for the tire and put it towards a nice set of wheels with non-run flats..

it's the fact he wasnt treated as well as he used to be at MB, i think.

[bavarian19]

As many others have stated, I think its silly that you are blaming your dislike of your BMW on a tire. From what it seems, you were just looking for an excuse to dump the BMW and your service experience with a bump in the road (pun intended) gave you the excuse.

No need to justify your reasoning. Just do what you want. I (and others here) disagree with the logic, but in the end, its what you want. Best of luck with the MB...

[Chowbow]

I got my bubbled tire replaced by my BMW dealer at 3000 miles. I went straight to the service manager (Jeff Johnston at BMW San Francisco), and he just asked me to send in a picture, and replaced it for me the next day.

You hate your dealer, not BMW. If you don't have a better dealership around though, then go back to MB or I highly suggest Lexus... They will darn near do anything for you in the service department. At least the dealer close to me will... Actually, all the dealers in my general area are very good and go the extra mile.

[TTG]

I don't think you should dump the car just for the tire expereince..... It looks like you already have an established relationship with your MB dealer and you are a little disapointed with the service you've receieved from the BMW dealer.....

It is sad to say however, that I have received much better service from my Volvo and GM dealerships than I ever did with BMW.

I won't be buying a BMW again for other reasons however..... Yes, the car drives nice and looks good but that is pretty much it..... The quality is crap, you have to be crazy to keep it over warranty period.....so there goes dependibility with the added bonus of service at the dealer..... and please don't get me started with the "image" thing...... which pretty much just appeals to American market!

I honestly think that I downgraded coming from a 345hp LS1 which never gave me any problems.....but this is not the forum to discuss that....

Give BMW another chance if one runflat tire replacement is your only problem so far....

[Brunotheboxer]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68613