BMW of San Francisco

Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
Brought this car into BMW San Francisco with suspected wheel bearing problem. It was returned with the diagnosis "tire noise".

Thanks to other reviews on this site, I inspected the car myself before driving it off the lot to look for damage (the cars are very tightly packed and the overall the dealership seems a little chaotic).

Lo and behold the car had picked up a significant scrape through to the bare metal on one side. Thankfully they repainted the panel nicely and quickly, without trying to argue their way out of it. I was given a loaner during the repainting, which was nice. They were also very apologetic and courteous about the whole thing.

I would not be leaving this review if it weren't for the fact that upon my next service, this time at a different dealership, they identified the problem was indeed a wheel bearing problem and are going to replace the wheel bearing. If a wheel bearing fails, the worst case scenario is that the wheel will come off, and generally this will happen at freeway speeds.

I expect that the scrape and the bad diagnosis are both due to the fact that this dealership is incredibly busy and they do not have time to do proper inspections or take good care of vehicles.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
This dealership would hung up the phone with the customer before the customer explained program for advise/appointment. The staffs in SF dealership would recommand you to go to other dealer because they didn't like to accept the job for warrantee maintenance.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
In late Feb 2007, I requested price quotes on a European Delivery 335i (E90) from several BMW dealers. Alex responded quickly with the price I had in mind. Other dealers played the "come in and we'll talk price" game. So I went with BMW of SF. My previous dealer in the east bay (from a 2004 purchase) responded several days too late, at a much higher price.

Alex was on top of the ED process, and I didn't have to go to the dealership until I had to sign the purchase order and lease paperwork.

Just some minor quibbles:
1. I asked for wheel locks to be installed (at my expense) during redelivery last July, but it wasn't done.
2. I was missing some documents (odometer statement, IIRC) that took a few days to get to me.
3. The AT and CH highway toll stickers were removed from the windshield by the dealer lot staff (partly my fault by specifying not to remove them).

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
We had to beg to get calls back and answers to our questions when purchasing our car. Buying a CPO car, we were treated like 2nd class citizens. And when we took the new car in to get the remaining service done that was not complete when we bought the car, it took 5 calls over 4 days to get our service rep to give us a call back. You shouldn't have to beg for service at any dealership. As long time BMW drivers and owners we would not recommend BMW SF.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
We had to beg to get calls back and answers to our questions when purchasing our car. Buying a CPO car, we were treated like 2nd class citizens. And when we took the new car in to get the remaining service done that was not complete when we bought the car, it took 5 calls over 4 days to get our service rep to give us a call back. You shouldn't have to beg for service at any dealership. As long time BMW drivers and owners we would not recommend BMW SF.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
UNETHICAL and INCOMPETENT! Please be careful if considering purchasing from this dealership!!!

I purchased a new 2006 325i 1 year ago and was heavily pushed to buy a Lojack Vehicle Recovery System (which I did). They failed to inform me at the time of purchase that my car comes with a vehicle recovery system which is part of the BMW Assist service. I found this out this year when renewing my assist service. Naturally, I was very upset when I found this out. I felt cheated and duped.

When I contacted Michael Greening, part owner and general manager, to discuss the issue, he informed me that he did not know the difference between the 2 systems. He then fielded my calls to Shannon McGuinness, the finance director. She handled my call by telling me about the superior qualities of Lojack. However, she still gave me misinformation about the BMW Assist. (I confirmed this by calling BMW Assist 3 times).

I requested a refund for the Lojack as they sold me a redundant product without disclosing the preexisting services. Of course they refused. As our calls progressed they became increasingly unprofessional and rude. Shannon, in particular, is easy to become defensive and curt.

In essence, there are 2 major issues at hand:

1. They lack knowledge and understanding about the products they sell. The fact that the manager admits to not knowing the differences between the 2 systems smacks of ineptitude. This also reflects poorly on the sales staff under his management.

2. They are unethical and moneygrubbing. If they had given me the proper information when touting the Lojack and explained why having one would be benenficial in ADDITION to the BMW Assist, I may have chosen to buy one anyway. Instead, by not explaining everything fully and clearly, they have shown that they are only interested in making a quick buck.

Ultimately they failed to understand that the crux of the issue is not whether Lojack is superior to BMW Assist or even the actual dollar amount of the Lojack itself. I requested a refund because the conditions under which I purchased the Lojack system were so unscrupulous. The actual dollar amount of the system is in reality inconsequential. What I wanted is for them to be accountable for their actions. They are incapable of seeing beyond a few hundred dollars.

I purchased the car and paid full in cash. I actually really enjoy my BMW as it makes for a pleasant commute. I was prepared to be a loyal long-term customer. Obviously, they do not care about developing lasting customer relationships. The whole experience has left a sour taste in my mouth.

If you decide to purchase a BMW anyway, look for another dealership. If you decide to purchase at BMW SF, be very very careful. Otherwise, I'd start looking at Mercedes.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
Kat in the parts department is great to work with. I have nothing but good things to say about her.

I purchased a 330ci for my wife from San Francisco BMW. We could not beat the price that Grace quoted us. We went to BMW of Marin and asked them to match or beat the price from SF BMW. The sales person told us that we should be looking at Hondas and not BMWs. Why is it because we are Asian? We went straight to SF BMW and drove home with a silver 330ci. I also complained to BMWNA about the terrible service I received at marin BMW and I priased the excellent service I received at SF BMW.

I have not had any issues with SF BMW to date. I even bring my 2003 M3 to them for maintainance.

My brother in law had several issues with SF BMW regarding both his 3 and 5 series. They took his 5 series for a joy ride and damaged his front fenderwell and scraped up his brand new Dinan exhaust. He has complained numerous times of grease marks all over his interior. He said SF BMW was looking into the matter, since they have receiver similar complaints from other customers.

I still continue to bring my car to SF BMW. They have not wronged me yet. I am thinking about trying Peter Pan. i will let you know how that turns out.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
Carol was the best. Total no-nonsense deal, great pricing without having to haggle and get all the typipcal smarmy dealership behavior. Totally smooth transaction. If I still lived in SF, I would have gone back to buy my 740 from her.

Not sure if she's still over there, but she rawks.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
I bought a 645 from Alex Hichiya, a salesman, and he bent over backwards to make sure I was getting the best price. He made the process so easy for me--he got me a better deal than the deal I had on a car I had ordered from a dealer in Berkeley, so good, in fact that they couldn't match it. He and the management were very thankful for my business and they treated me with respect. Apparently the dealership is run by new management, and it shows!

Alex spent a lot of time with my wife and me going over the car (3 + hours) and he stays in touch to make sure our car and we are in good care. We are about to trade in our S500 for a 750 as soon as the lease is up.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of BMW of San Francisco:
I brought my car in for service and to repair a dented speaker grill. The speaker grill got dented by this dealership the last time I brought it in for service.<br><br>Anyway, I pick up the car and the paper work stated that the speaker grill repair was completed. When I get in my car, the speaker grill was still dented. I called my SA and showed him that it was still dented and why was the paper work showing the job was completed. He could not explain why but he volunteered to fix it for me right there and then. He basically sticks a screwdriver between the door frame and the rubber gasket (it's the driver's side tweeter speaker grill) and starts pushing on the grill from inside to push out the dent. It helped a bit but obviously the outcome is not too good since the shape of the grill did not go back to it's original curve. Now rather than one big dent, it got pushed out but the surface is wavy.<br><br>As if this was not bad enough, the service advisor tells me that they did me a favor by not charging me since it's not a warranty item. I do understand that if I caused the damage, but they caused the damage in the last visit and it was even entered in the system as such. <br><br>I have owned BMWs since 1992 and have tried other dealers in the Bay Area (all of them in the Peninsula and SF). Unfortunately, my experience with other dealers is somewhat similar. The quality and customer service is just plain ridiculous.

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