BMW of Riverside

Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: Steven

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
I wanted to compliment a member of your sales team at Riverside BMW. I had been searching for the perfect 328 Series for several weeks and had been to every BMW dealership from Palm Springs, to Thousand Oaks, to Mission Viejo. After test driving numerous BMW's and experiencing numerous salesman who were not knowledgeable or appeared not to care, I was lucky enough to have finally met Steven Auerswald. Steven was attentive and knowledgeable and listened more than he talked. He found exactly what I was looking for and I have been extraordinarily pleased with all his follow up to ensure every step of the transaction was met to my satisfaction.

I had been a loyal Long Beach BMW customer having purchased 4 new or certified BMW's over the past 12 years. Unfortunately the individual I had worked with all these years is no longer working due to health issues. I feel confident in saying you have gained a long term-repeat customer because of Steven.

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: Jim Davis

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
This was the best experience I have had when purchasing a new car - everyone I dealt with was extremely helpful. I am a former 2 time Lexus owner and decided it was time to move up to a BMW and it was the best decision I ever made after shopping at the dealerships in Ontario and Irvine BMW was clearly in a class of its own!

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: RANDY HALCOMB

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
BMW OF RIVERSIDE IS AWSOME!!!!!! THE STAFF IS FRIENDLY, THE CAR PRICES ARE MORE THAN REASONABLE AND THEY HAVE THE BEST SELECTION!!!!! I MET WITH RANDY HALCOMB AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMEND HIM! IT TOOK 35 MINUTES FROM MEETING HIM TO DRIVING OFF IN MY DREAM 6 SERIES! THE FINANCE STAFF TOOK THEIR TIME GOING OVER THE CONTRACT LINE BY LINE SO I WOULD FEEL CONFORTABLE WITH EVERYTHING. THEY ARE HONEST,GOOD PEOPLE AND IF YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE, YOU WILL BE SAYING THE SAME THING. IM TAKING MY MOTHER TO MEET WITH RANDY NEXT WEEK FOR HER CAR! THANKS AGAIN BMW OF RIVERSIDE :) THERE IS NO PLACE BETTER

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Reason for Visit: Sales (Used)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: Chris Sharpe, Jim Davis

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
I bought my 2008 328i at a great price. In fact when I called other dealerships to see if they could match the price, they couldn't. Best of all I negotiated the price with Chris right over the phone. Everyone was really great to work with. I had a problem when I brought my car home. I noticed there were some scratches on the bumper. I spoke with the GM and he said 'Don't worry, we'll fix it' and they did. I would definitely recommend this dealer for their great prices and good customer service.

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Reason for Visit: Sales (Used)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: Sal, Amy, Rebecca and Cece

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
I was in the market for pre-owned 5-series (an upgrade from my 2000 328I). I researched, called and visted several BMW dealrships from San Diego to LA. After concluding my research and visits of BMW dealerships, my wife and I stopped by BMW of Riverside. Sal, my sales associate was very knowledgable, professional and answered all of our questions. Sal stayed with us from start to finish, personally taking us through financing, etc. also ensuring our "new" car was clean with new floor mats. Cece, the finance guru explained everything in detail. Very friendly and professional staff. There was one minor problem with our front seats, but before we drove off the lot, an appointment was made to ensure we were 100% satisfied with our purchase. I have also dealt with the service department and I have say....Rebecca is wonderful!! She is so patience, polite and a knowledgable professional. Amy, my service advisor is excellent. She called to inform me that my part had been received and an to ask when would be a convienent time for my service appointment. Before we decided to vist BMW of Riverside, I read all reviews on this and other sites. Unfortunately they don not paint a pretty picture, but my wife and I went in with an open mind, and we are very glad we did. Overall my experience was, and continues to be excellent with BMW of Riverside. I would reccommend this dealership to a family member or friend.

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: No

Employee(s) Dealt With: AJ Huxhold, Tanya Tague, a third person/lacky of AJ Huxhold

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
I live in the metro-Detroit area. Since the beginning of 2009, BMW has been running a very aggressive lease program on the 2008 BMW M3 to clear out its inventory before the 2010 refresh hits. I was about the pull the trigger on a FULLY loaded e93 M3 (M3 convertible with MSRP of $79K), but it lacked an automatic transmission. Because I wanted to avoid compromising on this, I started searching for vehicles on autotrader.com. It is Sunday so the only dealerships that are open are in California (I am unaware of the reason for this). I shoot an email over to Tanya Tague over at BMW of Riverside about a $74K automatic e93 M3 explaining that I already have an amazing deal and I'm willing to pay something similar for a less loaded car because it supposedly has the auto transmission. About 3 hours later she emails me that "Our sales manager AJ Huxhold has been trying to contact you about the deal. Please call him as soon as possible."

So naturally I think this guy wants to make a deal. I am already approved by BMW Financial Services and so ready to make a deal right then, that second. Just respect me enough to give me a somewhat reasonable deal and you're got my deposit, I think to myself.

Right when I start talking to AJ I realize they guy has a few screws missing. 2 minutes in, out of nowhere, he asks me if I want to export the LEASE out of the country. And he asks if I am involved in some kind of devious M3 export ring. What the heck is this guy talking about? Oh I get it... I have a Middle Eastern name, although I have no accent (born in the US), this guy automatically assumes I'm sending this LEASE (which has to be returned in 3 years mind you) to Afgahnistan or something. Well, who needs the Department of Homeland Security watching the border when you're got car dealer extraordinaire AJ Huxhold making sure I don't export BMW M technology to the Germans. On a more serious note - I happen to know that people purchase cars and have them shipped to other states in the Union very, very regularly (it usually has to do with a cheaper price or an available option). I also told him the exact reason I was calling Cali - because only California dealerships are open on Sunday and I want to try to get an automatic as I am about to send my deposit and close on the other deal on Monday. I'm aware there is a non-export contract that people sometimes sign (all people, not just Arab-Americans) when buying cars, but why bring this up in the middle of our discussion about the car's options? The most ironic thing is that AJ himself has an accent. Moving on...

Next the guy refuses to send me any of the options, MSRP, or other details about the car we're discussing. This is after 3 phone calls asking him to immediately send this info for my review please. Each time he says he will do it "immediately".

In the meantime, during our multiple phone discussions over about 3 hours, he tries to claim that the money factor on my particular lease is .00015 higher because I'm not a returning BMW leasee. I know this is an outright lie (source: leasecompare.com) so I politely ask that he email a copy of the memo from BMW Financial Services claiming that. He claims that his dealership does not have a scanner and he is unable to comply with my request. He then backtracks and corrects himself a bit although he still raises the MF by 0.00007. I ignore this because I really want that supposedly automatic transmission. I'll let this guy have the $500 bucks off that sneaky move I say to myself.

Next, after AJ goes incommunicado for about 1 hour (during which time I am still waiting for all the car's options so I can calculate the car's invoice price), I call his number very miffed. Why did this guy have his agent send me that email if he didn't think he could deal? I had sent all the info and options about my deal in the original email. If the guy didn't want to match the price or even reasonably approach it ( on his vehicle that is 5K cheaper), then don't send an email stating that "he's trying to contact [you] about the deal"

So eventually this guy realizes I know how to compute the price of a lease (using MSRP, cap rate, money factor and residual) and gives up the charade about having some semblance of honesty or ethics.

He tells me that California isn't feeling the recession (false: California has the second highest unemployment rate in the US) and that he can sell his seven 2008 M3s for much more than I am willing to pay. Interesting...if that is true, why are they sitting on your showroom floor costing you thousands of dollars a month in flooring costs? We are currently halfway to the 2010 model year which will likely refresh the car and destroy the value of his beautiful, unsold M3s.

Finally, he tells me the M3 I'm interested in isn't even an automatic (likely a lie). He does the whole, "oh let me check", but really just cups his hand over the receiver and counts to 30. He then confirms that the M3 is "unfortunately"

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Reason for Visit: Sales (Used)

I recommend this dealer: No

Employee(s) Dealt With: All of them

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
Do your self a favor and stray clear of this dealership, they are crooks. I bought a certified pre owned 5 series and it has been in the shop more in the 5 weeks I have owned it, than on the road. The latest incident has a $6,000 bill attached to it and the are telling me that it is not there problem, and I need to report it to my insurance. They can not tell me what has caused all the damage, only that they are not responsible for the damage. I am sick to my stomach with BMW, I met with the GM about the car, sent emails to corporate, which they replied that since the dealership is privately owned they cannot get involved (though had it been a new BWM I purchased, they would be happy to investigate things.)I have filed a greevance with the Bureau of Automotive repair, and the Better Business Bureau and am awaiting they're response. The salesman who sold it to me assured me that they would stand behind their product, but I have yet to see anything of the sort. He did tell me that business is slow, and since money is tight, the dealership would do anything to keep from taking a loss on the vehicle. At this point I am going to take their advice and report it to my insurance company, and ask only that another dealership does the work on the vehicle, at which point I will file legal action against the dealership for the damages. I have spoke with another dealerships service mgr and he says this is typical practice from BMW of Riverside, and that they have been in trouble before for selling lemons and then not making good on them. If you have any questions or are even thinking of possibly purchasing a vehicle from them DON'T, the bitter taste of bad service will last much longer than the notion of a good price..... You can contact me at riograyson@gmail.com and I will be happy to share my whole story with you. By the way I love the car, when it runs it is great, so I do want my car, hell I saved $12,000 up to be able to put down so I may afford the payment on it. This dealership is a true and accurate example of the used car sales stereotype.

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: David Franklin, Ken Pierce

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
This dealer is located over 100 miles from my home, but we consistently return here to purchase our vehicles and for major service to our vehicles, despite the fact we live within 5 miles of Valencia BMW. We have purchased or leased 9 vehicles from this dealer and continue to refer them to friends and family.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

Employee(s) Dealt With: all of them

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
Don't go here! they are scam artists! make sure you read the contract at the end because they sucker you in, and then try to make more money at the end by adding "things you need" like protection kit, etc... They should really understand that they could have potential to be on higher grounds, but they are really the lowest of the low.
When we tried to refuse the extra add ins on the end, the financial lady started to get very condascending, and rude and very pushy. they make you feel like you don't have a choice. In the beginning pretending you are family, only to find out that they turn the tables on you when it comes to stripping you out of your money.
DON"T TRUST THEM!
BUYER BEWARE!

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

Employee(s) Dealt With: con-artists

My Review of BMW of Riverside:
this is true story! this is a place of con-artists! They tried to con us, and con the people even before us. It was unbelievable experience. They really try to trick you. You must make sure you look at the contract at the end, because that is when they try to change it up on you. Don't fall for it! They pretend to offer you the best deal. They even have 4 people playing good cop bad cop. Gamg up on you, pressure you & even get mad and angry if you don't want to spend more money!. Truley the worst place ever. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE EVER RECOMMEND BMW TO ANYONE> AVOID THIS DEALERSHIP AT ALL COSTS.

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