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      04-30-2015, 08:34 AM   #1
chillindrdude
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Unsatisfactory experience at Passport BMW

I want to make the disclaimer that my only prior experience with "premium" vehicles was with Audi. I had a 2010 S4 which was primarily serviced at Audi Silver Spring. All of my comparisons are from my experience there.

I made my appointment 1month ago (for today) for my 1200 mile break-in service. Booking process at the time was smooth, I got the time I wanted due to the in-advance notice.

I show up today at my appointed time, 7:30. My SA was cordial, however, lacking the collegial, friendly demeanor with my Audi SA. At no point during the booking process did he ask if I had any questions about the service being performed today or give me an estimate time of completion.

He tells me to proceed to the Loaner car desk. The lady there basically ignored me. Her co-worker sitting next to her realized this, and asked if he could help me. And to my dismay, he stated that there were no loaners available. He sent me back over to my SA to get a slip for Enterprise.

Luckily the Enterprise desk is onsite, but I had to provide a $100 security hold and received a rather dingy/smelly nissan sentra.

I was in a rush to get to my doctors appointment, so I got on my way.

My feedback:
I made the assumption, because I received a loaner every time with Audi unspoken, that I would receive a BMW loaner also. Especially, with a 1month notice of appointment.

The Audi service was well orchestrated, I was greeted warmly and promptly at my car. I was in and out after dropoff within 10 minutes. I received an Audi S4 loaner for the day. I was the 3rd owner of my S4, one that I bought privately. And Audi of SS made me feel like I bought a 2015 off their showroom yesterday.

1st world problems, I know....and this post could be interpreted as self-serving or entitled. But I felt that my service experience was so far off the mark that I had to put it on paper. If my experiences with Audi was a 9 out of 10. This experience was a 3 or 4.

Apologies for the rant.
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      04-30-2015, 08:55 AM   #2
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One thing about dealerships I noticed is that if they want to give you a loaner (instead of a rental) they can. I went into my dealership once and he informed me that I was getting a rental because they were out of loaners and the enterprise guy would be back soon. 20 minutes later, I am still standing there waiting for the rental guy when my SA sees me. With no rental guy in sight, he brought me back to his desk and miraculously an X1 loaner just happened to be available. I didn't complain... i hate those damn rentals.
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      04-30-2015, 06:51 PM   #3
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You should have gone to bmw of Rockville, all they have is loaners and no enterprise.

Porsche customer service is way worse and Benz has been the best I've ever had.
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      04-30-2015, 08:01 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chillindrdude
I want to make the disclaimer that my only prior experience with "premium" vehicles was with Audi. I had a 2010 S4 which was primarily serviced at Audi Silver Spring. All of my comparisons are from my experience there.

I made my appointment 1month ago (for today) for my 1200 mile break-in service. Booking process at the time was smooth, I got the time I wanted due to the in-advance notice.

I show up today at my appointed time, 7:30. My SA was cordial, however, lacking the collegial, friendly demeanor with my Audi SA. At no point during the booking process did he ask if I had any questions about the service being performed today or give me an estimate time of completion.

He tells me to proceed to the Loaner car desk. The lady there basically ignored me. Her co-worker sitting next to her realized this, and asked if he could help me. And to my dismay, he stated that there were no loaners available. He sent me back over to my SA to get a slip for Enterprise.

Luckily the Enterprise desk is onsite, but I had to provide a $100 security hold and received a rather dingy/smelly nissan sentra.

I was in a rush to get to my doctors appointment, so I got on my way.

My feedback:
I made the assumption, because I received a loaner every time with Audi unspoken, that I would receive a BMW loaner also. Especially, with a 1month notice of appointment.

The Audi service was well orchestrated, I was greeted warmly and promptly at my car. I was in and out after dropoff within 10 minutes. I received an Audi S4 loaner for the day. I was the 3rd owner of my S4, one that I bought privately. And Audi of SS made me feel like I bought a 2015 off their showroom yesterday.

1st world problems, I know....and this post could be interpreted as self-serving or entitled. But I felt that my service experience was so far off the mark that I had to put it on paper. If my experiences with Audi was a 9 out of 10. This experience was a 3 or 4.

Apologies for the rant.
Yeah. That is what passport is like. I've been using them for the last 4 years. When you make your appointment make sure to ask for a loaner. That way the make sure to have one for you. They don't exactly have the best loaners. 320 or 328's.

I've found their work to be okay.

Check to make sure that they reset your condition based service reminder. Half the time they forget to reset mine.

I only use them because they are close to work. Otherwise I'd use someone else.
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      04-30-2015, 09:21 PM   #5
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Passport blows. Sorry about your experience.
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      05-01-2015, 03:36 PM   #6
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Fairfax BMW has the best service dept in the area, and I've been to most..
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      05-01-2015, 06:23 PM   #7
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BMW of Silver Spring isn't bad at all, from my experience. They too have a enterprise rental just in case they are out of BMW loaners. Call BMW of Silver Spring Service and ask for Thomas Grant, and let him know Mo sent you. He'll take care of you and provide you with a BMW loaner.
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      05-01-2015, 06:28 PM   #8
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I think it really depends on where you go... I've had stellar experiences and horrible ones.
I had my 335is serviced at BMW of Towson when I had it shipped over from California. I had just gotten new tires and when the car arrived, the alignment was off. I should have had the people who did the tires check it out since I knew about it before it left Cali, but the car was leaving for Maryland the next day so I thought it would just be a quick fix once the car got to me in Baltimore. Turns out my axle was bent or something and the service dept at Towson called me to let me know that they were going to go ahead and do the work (didn't tell me a price), I was naive, didn't think it would be much/thought it would be covered under warranty/service. Ended up with a $1600 charge or something when I went to pick the car up. I emailed BMW NA and they refunded my money.


When I got my M3, I turned the lease into Northwest BMW. The staff couldn't have been nicer! The guy I worked with even had an M4 of his own. I will definitely be getting my 1200 service done there.


Worst experiences I've had were in Beverly Hills though. I asked for a test drive for the M3 when I was back home for break, or even to just sit in one. Guy told me they didn't let any of their M cars out or have passengers in them. I said I was also looking at a C63 and Audi RS5 (I always wanted the M, but wanted to play the angle). He told me that BMW doesn't compete with anyone and if I didn't know already that I wanted an M3, I shouldn't be getting an M3 and should move to an inferior car (even though he knew I had a 335is and saw me pull up in my dad's '13 SL550). Went to BMW Valencia (valley area in LA) and they were overjoyed to let me check out the M cars, even though they knew I wouldn't be purchasing that day.
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