Why do BMW dealerships rip you off ?

[DUtrzan]

Just curious...why does the BMW dealer look to rip you off or try to "sell" you something that you just don't need. Post your experiences !

[nick_318is]

They are in business and have to make money. They have a buyer who can afford the price of the car and therefor should be able to afford the service, labor and whatever else they can throw at you and they know people will pay it. Also most people don't know shit when it comes to cars and will gladly pay someone else to do the work.

That said, they will rip you off, I blew a caliper and some pads at a track day and had no supplies on hand to fix the problem and had to take it to a dealer to get back on the road and home, they charged me about $900 for parts and labor on something that I could have gotten the parts (a rebuilt caliper, and pads) for about $200-250 and spent 3 hours or less fixing. Since then I don't goto the track without extra pads/fluid and a couple caliper rebuild kits, and sometimes a spare caliper or two!

I will however take my car to the dealer for a big service or something along those lines because its in such great shape and I would like it to stay that way and now that I have a job I just don't have as much time to tinker as I used to.

[DUtrzan]

true that they're businesses but still....nowadays nothing is fair and you get ripped off around every corner. True that I'd love to keep my BM in top shape but $550 for a inspection is pretty steep...lol god it sucks being a college student

[brien4787]

a bmw dealership is only a business. what does a business do? make money. they really do not give a crap about you.

[Antiburn]

Do you have a problem paying ridiclous amounts when you go to the dentist, or how about paying high premium rates on credit cards, or going to macys and paying 80$ when you know you can get that same ralph lauren sweater vest at Ross.
If dealer ships ripp you off, theres always the 2nd hand mechanic which will leave a few bolts out because there a pain to get to.
The reason you go to dealerships is because you can gaurantee its going to be fixed, and fixed correctly, not just throw some parts at it.
Please explain some more what the dealership made you buy which you thought you didnt need.

[DUtrzan]

I was told I needed "new lock cylinders" becuase the key i ordered didnt fit...took it to another BMW dealer and the BMW engineer told me that they key was cut wrong and that the previous dealer was trying to make me buy all new lock cylinders and an ignition lock cylinder...also...I had a 2005 A4 and the dealer drove it into a lift denting the door, busted my turbo hoses...and ripped my floor mats...just becuase you pay alot doesnt mean that its going to get fixed right...i mean think about it...BMW is a name...its going to be more expesnive then KIA

[denyo77]

that's weird...my BMW dealer never tried to rip me or my dad off...
they always get the parts for a good price, the dude from the parts dept even gives you clips and stuff for free
they're reliable, do good service,
and my dad got an awesome 17%-discount on a brand new M-package 530d fully loaded
he didn't buy it, because the Volvo salesman (same dealership) offered him 19% or so on an XC90

[Exilion]

Well you are in Germany vs the USA. All foreign cars/parts are more expensive here. I've personally never had a good experience with any dealer or mechanic except maybe meineke(however you spell that) and they only do like oil changes and basic stuff which isnt much help. Basically it was like you all said, really expensive for a decent job or only sort of a rip off for a half ***ed job. Then again I find working on my car relaxing and it's more of a hobby than anything. Alot of people just don't have time to spend working on cars so it all works out I guess.

[johnnybayonne]

It's not just BMW Dealerships, its most dealerships no matter what the make!!!!
I was an auto mechanic for about 15 years, mostly at dealerships. Auto mechanics called technicians at the Dealerships are paid piece work or a flate rate.
Example: a (A tech.) making 20.00 per hour, does not get paid 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. They get a 35 hour guarantee for the week. so with that, they get paid by the job that they are doing, example: an oil change pays them .5 hours, a 15,000 mile service (tune-up) pays 3.5 hours, front & rear brakes 4.5 hours. So the more jobs they sell, the more money they make, hence the DEALERSHIP makes! A technician can make 60 to 70 hours of pay in a 40 hour week depending on how much piece work is performed. On the other hand, some times they only make 20 hours of piece work in a 40 hour week & this where the guarantee comes in. If they make less than 35 hours worth of piece work in a 40 hour week, they get paid 35 hours of pay @ 20.00 an hour!
I once worked @ this Acura dealership and business got slow, for months we were just collecting our 35 hour guarantee. So they were going to be layoffs unless production picked up. There were 6 techs, so I thought we would be laid off in seniority order. They decided to layoff each tech according to their production %, so if your production was the lowest you were the first to go.
I was # 5 in seniority, out of the 6 the techs, but I was the first one to get laid off. The # 6 tech's productivity was better than mine, the reason: He was not a better mechanic than me!
Plain & Simple he was a CROOK .......
Back in the early 90's, Acura just had about 3 models, the Legend, the Integra & the NSX.The CROOK had in his workbench draw, a set of worn brake pads for each model, a set of worn spark plugs for each model & dirty filty air filter for each model etc. So when you brought your car in for a tire rotation & inspection & everything checked OK! He would show you all these dirty & worn parts that were not yours to begin with, & then tell you, you need FRONT & REAR BRAKES & A TUNE-UP!!!
FRONT & REAR BRAKES = 4.5 HOURS @ THE DEALER LABOR RATE @ ABOUT $90.00 an hour, plus a 300% mark up on the parts!!!
TUNE-UP = 3.5 HOURS @ THE DEALER LABOR RATE @ ABOUT $90.00 an hour, plus a 300% mark up on the parts!!! So you do the Math!!! cha' ching', cha' ching'!!!!!

They are there to make $$$$$MONEY$$$$$$, however they can!!!!!

[215BIMMER535]

you're gonna have crooks in ANY business. so yea, that guy from acura is a piece of sh*t. but thats a pretty big leap to make saying that "oh, well thats how they all must be" just because you've seen the worst case scenario. if someone is worried about getting ripped off then they should educate themselves a bit about their car or just cars in general so they dont get sold muffler bearings and blinker fluid. and you are paying for proffessional work being performed with all the right parts and tools. like antiburn said, compare it to another industry like medicine or something

[johnnybayonne]

215BIMMER, I agree with you 100%, not all dealers are crooks, and you are right, educate yourself a little before you go in for a repair!!!

[Antiburn]

Originally Posted by johnnybayonne

They get a 35 hour guarantee for the week.

Pfhhtt, I wish.
We have no garantee, but in the 4 years Ive been there I havent needed it once.

[nick_318is]

Oh One more note on my refrence of blowing the caliper at the track and having to get it towed to a dealer. It was the single best service interaction I have ever had at a dealer. they got the car on a monday morning and somehow located a caliper within the area for an e30 (i figured it would take a day for them to order it) and they turned the car around after 4 hours with it. The service guy I delt with was very interested in his job and the nicest person I have delt with at a dealer and he went out of his way to get the job done fast and right so i could get back to where i needed to be.

[Exilion]

sweet it's always awesome when you meet someone who is actually trying to help you.