BMW Service - Is it possible to keep up with sales?
My "new" BMW 325iT had a little problem that needed attention from the dealer's service department. In the morning, when the car was cold, I backed out of my driveway and into the street. When I put the car in drive, nothing happened. The car acted like it was in neutral for a very long two to four seconds and then it would "catch" and drive normally. This is tough in traffic with people honking at you to move.
I brought the issue to the attention of my salesperson at New Century BMW (Universal City) because getting someone in service to answer a telephone was nearly impossible. She found a service advisor to talk to me and he told me that the transmission fluid was probably low, but I should bring the car in. Ok, first, this explanation was either a lie or just stupidity. As Alan will tell you, the transmission on a BMW is a sealed system. There is no transmission dipstick or any place to add the fluid. Granted, my "new" executive car with 20,000 miles on the clock might have developed a transmission problem; but since the car drove so well once it was warm, and the fact that there was no puddle of transmission fluid in my garage I didn't think low fluid was the problem.
Most modern transmissions (that excludes almost any GM model) have adaptive transmission modes that are controlled though chips and software. My guess was that this was a known problem and that BMW could easily correct.
After talking to the service advisor, I was transferred to the service scheduler to make an appointment. I was advised that the earliest appoint was more than two weeks away. I explained that my car had a transmission problem. She informed me that if I thought it should be sooner, I should just bring the car in without an appointment (and hope for the best, I guess?). Just don't expect a loan car. So I made the appointment for two weeks and four days later. The plan was for me to bring the car in the evening before service so the mechanic could replicate the problem by starting and driving the car cold. I asked for the service car too, as my car would be in the shop at least one night.
I didn't choose the "just bring it in" option because the service department was like the southbound 405 on a Monday morning -- jammed with nowhere to go. The BMW dealers in the Metro LA area (and OC, from what I've seen) simply don't have the capacity to service all the BMWs sold here. And with the new BMW service warranty policy that includes any and all necessary service during the warranty period, the days of just driving your car into the dealer for service without an appointment and getting it back the same day are o-o-over.
When my service appointment finally arrived, I arrived early -- mid-afternoon. They weren't that busy with customers at that time because the morning avalanche was over and the evening pickups weren't there yet. I had a chance to sit and talk with my service advisor. He's a nice guy and I don't think he knew that you can't just add transmission fluid to the system. He's basically there to sell profitable service and be nice to customers. He told me that they only had thirty service loan cars (only thirty?) and that he didn't have a BMW to give me. However, he did arrange for a Midway rental car, a charming new Toyota Corolla. Hey, it's better than nothing.
We talked about the problem with service capacity. He said that they were always busy and that there wasn't one service-open day when they weren't at or over capacity. I have witnessed this personally at Beverly Hills BMW and at Crevier BMW in Irvine. BMW dealers see Mercedes-Benz as the only competitor in the LA market and, apparently, everyone also knows how bad Mercedes has fallen in quality and reliability. BMW is the default for most Mercedes-Benz owners when they are tired of being let down by the brand. However, at what point does BMW corporate step in and either add more dealers or greatly increase service capacity?
What compounded the problem with the New Century BMW was that they had consolidated BMW service with their MINI service (sales are across the street). With MINI a huge hit, new products in the pipeline, and no sign of slowed growth, I have no idea how both franchises will keep up with the demand for service. Beverly Hills BMW is already far past its capacity and with NBC and Universal within a stone's throw of New Century, they can't keep up with what must be a huge source of never ending stream of BMW sales and service needs from the overpaid entertainment suits at Universal Studios.
But back to my BMW service experience...
I had to call the next day to see if my car was ready. Even though I had had a long (almost one hour) conversation with the service advisor, I had to jog his memory as to who I was and the problem with my car. Frankly, I can't blame him. He must have had dozens of cars on his roster for that day and it's hard to remember all the people, let alone their cars. He had to call me back because the car wasn't shown as complete in the computer system. I didn't hear back from him and, since I was going to be in Hollywood, it would be easy for me to drive over Cahugenga to New Century to pick up the car. He apologized for not calling me back, but he told me that the car was ready and that they were sending it to be washed, as we spoke. He also told me that they had fixed the transmission problem with a simple reprogramming of the EGS control module (it must be a computer that controls some engine and transmission functions). There was even a Service Bulletin from BMW that gave instructions how to fix the problem.
This is just one more example of BMW knowing about a problem and quietly fixing the problem as the cars show up for service. Naturally, there is no recall involved and no one in the dealer's service department would admit that it was a common problem. Meanwhile, BMW issued Service Bulletin 24-07-03 on how to reprogram the EGS module. Hmm... the car drives flawlessly now, even when it's cold. And I was right all the time about it being a software problem. I'm glad it's fixed.
I've talked before about the concept of satellite "service only" locations for dealers within their franchise geographic region. I know it's been tested and considered by other manufacturers, but the need is now, not in ten years. In ten years, you probably will have to make an appointment to bring your car back for its next routine service at the time you get it serviced. Sort of like what the dentist does for your next six month check up.
Beverly Hills BMW should open up a complete mini satellite service and sales location on the 20th Century Fox lot. Universal Studios has New Century, and it probably gets drive-ins from Disney in Burbank. Pacific BMW in Glendale should look into renting space from Disney so it can claim that lucrative franchise. Poor Paramount is left out in the cold since Hollywood Mercedes-Benz closed over ten years ago over pressure from other dealers because it was factory-owned. Where do the fleets of expensive German cars go to get serviced? It's time for the dealers to get physically closer to their customers.
There are so few BMW dealers in LA that none of them are capable of keeping up with the ever-growing sales of BMW in North America. BMW is making very sophisticated cars and SUVs and the problems that come up can be very complex, needing expensive diagnostic equipment and mechanics that are only found at BMW dealers. Sure, you might go to Jiffy Lube for an oil change, but why do that when the BMW dealer will do it for you for free?
All BMWs starting with the 2003 model year have full maintenance included for the duration of the four year/50,000 mile warranty period. It's a very nice selling feature and BMW has played it up in recent ads. But if the dealers can't service all the cars sold now, just how bad will it be over the next three or four years when every BMW sold in the past four years is under the full maintenance warranty?
It takes lots of time and capital to invest in new or additional facilities. The dealers simply don't have the resources to acquire (lease or buy) land in any area of Los Angeles. Hell, they can't even find places to park inventory let alone expand service operations. Customer satisfaction includes the service experience. One solution is satellite service centers for this vast city; but it appears that both the dealers and manufacturers have their collective heads stuck in the sand. The need is now, and it's only getting worse. I urge BMW (and Mercedes, Porsche, VW, Honda, etc.) to invest in after-sale customer satisfaction and build additional service facilities!
