Sterling BMW

Reason for Visit: Sales (Used)

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Sterling BMW:
I was extremely offended by this dealership. Because they are the Costco Executive Members' dealership for the Los Angeles area, I contacted them after reviewing their inventory online. My partner and I were both interested in buying BMWs - a 330i and an X5. Brian Cummings was my salesperson, and he was extremely attentive when I first spoke to him. Additionally, I spoke to the sales manager on conference with Brian. While the vehicles we selected were in pristine condition with very low mileage, the dealership refused to adjust the price even to the blue book suggested retail price. I was pleased when Brian mentioned before I asked that there would be a discount for purchasing two vehicles at the same time. The discount turned out to be a joke; the combined cost of the vehicles was over $70,000. We were offered $250 off on each car as a discount. $250! It was almost insulting.

What really upset me about these guys occurred when the financing discussion began. They added two inquiries to my credit report and upon seeing it, called me asking for a co-signer. My credit score is over 700 but I had no previous auto loans. I told them I didn't have a cosigner and was pretty much dismissed at that point. I asked what I could do to still make the deal happen - the response was to put a substantial amount of money down. I asked Brian how much that was and told him if that were the only issue, we could make it happen.

I never heard back from Brian. Apparently he assumed I couldn't afford a down payment. And if it might take a minute to negotiate a deal or make it work, he is not interested. Essentially, this experience sent me to Mercedes, where I was approved. Sterling clearly isn't interested in customer service or recurring business - that says a lot to me.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Sterling BMW:
Went in for routine service/inspection after a long time of any dealer work. Was afraid of which dealer to goto as soo many horrible bmw dealerships in socal. Came to Sterling from friend's advice and online reviews as being the best, and truly experienced it. Danny from Service took care of me and my car with 100% effort. Did full Inspection I, oil change etc, and found a faulty xenon bulb, so replaced that too all covered under warranty.
Good to know trustworthy dealerships still around, with service that cares! Thanks Danny! Highly recommended!

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Sterling BMW:
I paid a visit to Sterling Bmw in search of a new 5 series and encountered a wealth of misinformation and apathy. These people act like you are doing them a favor offering to purchase a vehicle from them. I voiced my feelings to a tall guy who claimed to be the sales manager "Bob" who was equally unresponsive. He seemed to be more interested in picking at his face! Anyways, I went to Irvine BMW where I was treated fairly and with some level of respect.
Honestly I did not buy a car at Irvine, but when I do it will not be at Sterling.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Sterling BMW:
Although I've only serviced vehicles at this dealership, they have by far the best service department I have ever experienced. I had a Lexus prior to my BMW and I their service was incredible and, I thought, could never be beaten. However, not only did Sterling BMW surpass Lexus in terms of quality of workmanship AND level of service, but they restored my faith in BMW!
To explain the latter part of my statement, I had a 2004 545i that had various mechanical and electronic related problems. Each time Sterling was able to fix the issues in a timely and courteous manner with the exception of one issue. Trent W. and Michael W. (service managers) got involved and went above and beyond to help rectify this problem. I had lost faith in BMW because of the various visits but MIchael, Trent, and the friendly staff at Sterling restored it by showing their dedication and passion for customer service and going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.
I will forever be a Sterling BMW fan and will always have my BMW's serviced there. Everthing from Jessica's friendly greeting to the service advisors' attentivenes to the service managers' devotion and perseverance to customer satisfaction makes me feel like a valued customer and family instead of a number.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Sterling BMW:
A+ service!!! After reading some of the reviews about Sterling BMW on this site and others, I decided to give them a try today. I've always taken my car into Irvine BMW due to convenience, but their customer service is horrible. All I can say is Sterling BMW is the best! The comparison between the two is almost like night and day.

Each time I take my car in to Irvine BMW, I feel like they're doing me a big favor for servicing my car, and then they rush you out, and at times with the issue of why you brought the car in for service still unresolved.

At Sterling, my service adviser Rob M. was awesome to say the least. He really went out of his way to make my experience pleasurable. I initially brought my car in for a brake service brought to my attention by the indicator light. Rob had the front and back brakes looked at and determined that they both needed to be replace along with the rotors.

I took the day off to go into the dealership, so I was hoping he could also take care of my oil change during this visit which would be due soon, probably in a few more weeks. I really didn't want to have to take another day off. Before I even brought this issue up, Rob mentioned that I was due for a oil service soon, and would see if that could also be taken care of during this visit. Irvine BMW would have told me to bring it back.

To top it off, Rob even replaced my wiper blades without me having to ask, now thats service! ... I guess its about time since these were the original blades and I've had the car for a few years now. I waited for my car and they had the car back to me right on schedule, with my car washed and tires shinned.

To sum it up, I would whole-heartedly recommend Sterling, especially Rob. My experience today totally opened my eyes, and I realized what I've been missing all these years. Knowing what I know now, I would never go back to Irvine BMW.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Sterling BMW:
Service advisors do not know anything about BMW's. My 16 year old son could do their jobs. Appointments can sometimes take 2 weeks to get. No rental cars are offered. Sales staff are friendly, but know nothing about the cars they sell. My recent visit to discuss the new 5 Series was a joke. I knew much more about the car than them, knew when the new 545 started production and when deliveries were expected. I had a Sales Brochure and the price lists well-before the Sales people knew.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Sterling BMW:
I took my car in 2 weeks ago with a laundry list of things to fix and they fixed half of them same day. They had to order parts for the rest and they said they will be in Monday or Tuesday and they will call me to schedule another appointment at that point. I waited a week and a half after that Tuesday and finally called them. I had to talk to service, then parts, then service again and they finally tell me that my parts had arrived the week before and no one called me. The service department isn't very friendly either. I have been there twice now and I haven't seen anyone in their service department even smile yet.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Sterling BMW:
I ordered a new M3 from Sterling at MSRP and gave them a $5000 deposit. Three months later, when the car was supposed to arrive, I called the sales manager who told me that they would not honor the deal. If I wanted to pay $5000 over MSRP, he said, they would get me a car. He went on to say that if I wanted to sue them I could go right ahead. Stay away from these crooks!

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