Passport BMW - Service Center

Failed state inspection. Skipping important service items. The review is of the SERVICE. Sales experience was great and I consider coming back. The service has deteriorated significantly over 6 years. I wa The review is of the SERVICE. Sales experience was great and I consider coming back. The service has deteriorated significantly over 6 years. I was extremely disappointed this summer. This is why I decided to write this review. Here are my latest experiences with the PASSPORT BMW Service: 1. Safety issues introduced after a job done on my car. Safety inspection failed next day! Issue was fixed after I came back. At the same time, an apparent steering whleel issue was not fixed since they were not able to diagnose it after 2 attempts… . As a result I had to go back to another dealer and fix it. 2. Alternative shop recommended to replace both (2) vanos solenoids. I requested to do the job which was promised. After I looked at my job summary upon return home, only one vanos solenoid was replaced. As a result I will have to pay deductible twice and waiste my time again to fix it ! 3. Denied servicing my car under maintenance. Denied changing oil after about 14,000miles and after 1 year. Denied to accept in writing that they carry all responsibility and liable for safety of the car resulting from their denial. ! I had to take a loaner and after 2 days learn they will do nothing !!!! Double time spent with no reason!! 4. Bite and switch. Upsell . recommendations NOT based on your specific needs : 2 years ago I was persuaded that based on may specific “car needs” I have to get warranty and maintenance packages. I paid around 2K for maintenance and had 1 oil change and 2 sets of wipers. Since now oil change is running $74 I lost around 2K altogether !!! NEVER buy maintenance- it is worh nothing! More

My Experience Was Wonderful I don't understand the bad reviews because my experience was great. I read some of them before going in and was hesitant but I'm glad I visited Passpo I don't understand the bad reviews because my experience was great. I read some of them before going in and was hesitant but I'm glad I visited Passport anyway. I drove in early Monday morning due to a noise coming from the front of my 07 550i, rattling noises and Idrive issues. I was nervous of what to expect because I did not have an appointment, however Mr. Keith Renner greeted me professionally and accomadated my needs. I was even arranged a loaner vehicle as the diagnosis would take a while. I was impressed by this considering that I was just a walk in. Mr. Renner kept me timely informed every step of the process, explained thoroughly the charges which seemed very reasonable and had me back in my vehicle within 3 days. I am very satisfied as I have experienced some horrors before with my vehicle being held up in a service center for weeks. Out of all the years of dealing with numerous service advisors from different brands of vehicles, Mr. Renner is one of the best I have had the pleasure of dealing with. He went above and beyond his necessary job duties to ensure that I was fully satisfied with my experience. I can tell that he has a passion for his job and is dedicated to customer service which is needed in such an industry. I would easily give a 5 rating to customer servcie, professionalism and timeliness. The service technician who worked on my vehicle was also very helpful on the test drive and explained what my issues were. I can tell that he thoroughly enjoyed his job and he put more than the usual attention and care to my vehicle. By the way, I've visited BMW of Silver Spring, Annapolis and Rockville but I had the best satisfaction from Passport. More

This is a review for service. They have a great sales department, and an incredibly mediocre service department. I've had experience with this dealership for 4 years now. The service department at this department, and an incredibly mediocre service department. I've had experience with this dealership for 4 years now. The service department at this dealer is in a permanent state of disaster no matter when you show up. They are never prepared to handle the workload whether there are 2 people or 20 waiting. Here is what to expect. 1.) Making an appointment for anything means you dropping your car off for the whole day. The appointment is not an actual appointment at all and it doesn't matter. If you bring your car in for an oil change, and make an appointment 2 weeks in advance, for the morning, you will be leaving your car and getting a loaner. The oil is likely brought by hand from Germany. Fortunately, you only need it every 8000 miles, because if it was any more often the visits would prove intolerable. You can wait, but who knows how many hours it will take for them to change your oil. I mean it is a performance machine after all. 2.) They always wash and clean your car after any service. This is a real perk, except the process often takes longer than serving the vehicle itself. I kid you not I have waited for an hour for the car to be washed after the work was completed. The staff never tell you that it may double your wait time. Why they think waiting an extra hour for some car wash is a perk remains a mystery. Its not free, it will cost you at least an hour of your life if you wait. 3.) Inevitably you will need a loaner car. You will wait. If it is the weekend then there is only 1 person working in that section. They will quickly find their cars are out of gas and you have to wait for them to fuel one for you. The gas station is 200 meters from the dealership. Today I waited for 45 minutes for them to fuel a loaner car. Upon finally accomplishing this, the person in charge told me they only filled it to a quarter tank. Yes, 45 minutes waiting for them to put only 1/4 of fuel from a gas station visible directly outside the window. It was the most amazing thing I had heard all week. She told this to me straightfaced as well, as though it was a logical thing to say to a customer. The staff will of course never tell you that whatever basic service is about to be performed will cost you an hour of your life and you could have been at work or home long ago. 4.) The cashier's office is where you do all your business. Like all service elements at this dealer, you have to wait. Even if you're just picking up the key from free service, you're often stuck behind someone disputing their bill for 10 minutes. 5.) Anything requiring an alignment afterwards, which is many things, basically requires you to forget about your car for a day or several days. The alignment machine is god, because there is only one of them at any dealer and all service reps pray to it. You car can be done in 10 minutes, but will be three days in line to be placed upon the alignment machine. This is because it is a performance machine and cannot be aligned within a humanly conceivable time frame. 6.) All representatives in the service department describe a process or a problem as though it is their first day ever working at this dealership. They are professionals at feigning surprise when something takes forever to complete. Although they are the ones managing the process, daily, they will never inform you of the time required or set your expectations. 7.) The coffee is free, but it tastes terrible. Again, great sales team. Terrible service team. The reviews on their website are only from people they have contacted to write them a review. I'm providing this one free - as a perk. More

I am writing this letter to inform you how dissatisfied I Jamilah Walker am with the service that I received from Passport BMW in Marlow Heights Maryland and I am sure that I am not the only one that would s Jamilah Walker am with the service that I received from Passport BMW in Marlow Heights Maryland and I am sure that I am not the only one that would say this. My issues, frustration and being taking advantage of all started on January 3, 2014 with my BMW 645i being taken to Passport BMW due to my transmission malfunction light and engine light intermittently coming on at times. I then took my 645i BMW to Passport BMW on January 6th 2014. I explained to the intake service representative Patrick Mederos what the issues are with my car. The service technician ran a diagnostic test on my car and informed me that the software needed to be updated which he recommended it to be updated. I was also told that the coolant warning light illuminating due to leak coming from expansion tank. Expansion tank needs to be replaced and that is what was triggering the engine light to come on. I was also told the vacuum pump is beginning to leak but this was not something that immediately needed to be replaced sometime it takes 2 years before needing to be replaced. I was also informed that no permanent failures stored for the transmission, the technician thoroughly checked out the transmission to ensure there are no problems with it. The transmission is ok, nothing wrong with it. No transmission fluid leaking. That was all that was found wrong with my car at the time. I agreed to have the system updated due to him stating that this is the issue with the light coming because the system had not been updated since 2008. Following his recommendations, I had the software updated and the vacuum pump fixed at the time. I was also informed me that a 21 point inspection was performed in addition to ensure the issues of my car per Patrick Mederos. After my car was in the shop for approximately over 1 week, I responded in to pick up my car and discovered that several other things were done to my vehicle without my consent including changing my left rear tire and lying on the paperwork that I refused an alignment which put my safety at risk due to my car shaking badly. I never refused an alignment because I never authorized my tire to be changed I informed Patrick Mederous that I would get the main work completed and come back to have the additional work completed. However, this caused me stress when leaving the service center because I felt that something would happen to my car after so many complaints. Approximately over 1 week later, I drove my car a few times putting very little miles on it. I then noticed my car still was not riding as usual and the engine light came on which it had in the pass. I contacted Patrick which he informed me to bring the car back in. He ran another Diagnostic Test on it. He informed me that the Crank Shaft Valve was cracked. He recommended me getting it fixed. This caused me more stress and I had to get my Boyfriend (Mr. Atkins) to contact Fred The service Manager on my behalf to try come to a compromise on getting this fixed. Mr. Fred's conduct was unprofessional and which he made some inappropriate comments. This caused me to personally take time from my schedule to come and meet The GM (Joe Long) to discuss the aforementioned issues. Mr. Long who is the GM was very professional and assured me that he would look into the matter. He contacted my boyfriend and me very quickly and we were able to compromise on the cost to get the Crank Shaft Valve repaired because this was another issue that came about which should have been caught during the diagnostic. This relieved the issues to my satisfaction at that time. Once the work was completed I picked up my car after being in the shop for approximately over 1 week again. As I drove off the lot, I was wondering if my car was going to have more issues due to the level of complaining that was done. I wanted to have faith and trust in BMW's skilled Mechanics that they properly diagnosed and fixed the problem but I was skeptical for various reasons. I drove my car with no long distance traveling. On average, I may put approximately less than 30 to 40 miles on my car per day. Approximately 1 week later, I noticed my Transmission light coming on again. This caused me more stress and I started to cry out of frustration because I felt this would happen because I complained and the service manager Fred Gelinzky got fired for his action. I called my boyfriend and told him this is too much for me to handle because my car's transmission light came on again. He calmed me down and told me to contact Patrick. Patrick told me to bring the car in and he ran another diagnostic test on it. My car had been in the shop for over one week and once again and he contacted me on Tuesday February 18th 2014. He informed me of more bad news which was very hard to accept. I was told that the diagnostics test showed that my transmission needed to be replaced and it would cost over $6500 from the same issue that I was having from day one when my car was brought there. I am outraged that I was informed about this. My car had been in and out of the shop since approximately January 6th, 2014. Approximately 50 days had lapse since January 3rd 2014. My car was in my possession approximately 22 days and Passport BMW had my car at the shop for the other remaining days. This had caused unnecessary stress on me and a financial burden of approximately 1000.00 being paid within that time on my car repairs recommended by the BMW Staff. I have done my part as a customer to report these issues and it seems to get worse for me. I feel that I have been a victim since I complained about my car being in and out of the shop for the same reasons and because the service manager got fired for his actions which were not the first time he has behaved like this to other customers per Mr. Long. Patrick had informed me that The New Service Manager Joey requested assistance for a "Good Will" from BMW of North America to step in and help me due to my car being in and out of the shop for the same issues and because they did not perform good service on my car and the complaints that I have because I was told that my car transmission was ok but now after complaining it needs to be replaced is appalling. I am pleading and respectfully requesting that BMW of North America step in and handle this matter on my behalf at no cost to me due to the multiple times my car had been in the shop within a short period of time with the same issues that were previously reported. Here are the facts. My car had been in and out of the shop within a short period of time since January 3rd, 2014 thru Feb 13, 2014 for the same issue but every time I bring it back they find a new issue that was not there when they performed the diagnostics. My car had been driven very short distances and very little miles were put on it after picked up from the shop and me being told that nothing is wrong with my transmission. I followed the Technicians recommendations at Passport BMW. I incurred a considerable amount of loss in currency, loss of time from work, loss of time from school and frustration with lack of the ability to concentrate. I don't have the money to put this much into my car after I was informed that my transmission was ok it was a system upgrade that was need. If this situation happened to you the reader or your family member you would be frustrated and feel that you did not receive the proper treatment as well. On February 20, 2014, I received an email stating that BMW would pay 25% which still leaves me a 5700.00 bill is obscured after being told that my transmission is ok is not acceptable to me, nor is it a fair negotiation for all the problems I have been through and my car is worst than when I brought it in to be fixed. In closing, I do want to thank Mr. Joe Long who have heard my complaints and were professional in dealing with these matters. Your consideration in this matter would be greatly appreciated. I wish all the Best to BMW and its Staff. Sincerely Jamilah Walker More

The worst service I have ever received. I was charged for services I did not authorized. The service department is very unprofessional, they do not return your calls. They are focus on trying to rip you off, services I did not authorized. The service department is very unprofessional, they do not return your calls. They are focus on trying to rip you off, rather than providing good service. I will never bring my BMW to this dealership again. More

They deserve a Zero! Stay away from BMW Passport service center! I have never been so insulted by BMW staff since I purchased my BMW! (2006 then 2011) If you live in the area and need service make the drive center! I have never been so insulted by BMW staff since I purchased my BMW! (2006 then 2011) If you live in the area and need service make the drive to BMW Fairfax, you will not regret it! My car was stolen and once recovered, my tags were missing and had to be replaced. I live in DC, and after taking off work, leaving DMV (3 hour wait), I decided to drive to Passport BMW to purchase the BMW license plate holders so I could screw on my replaced tags. I purchased the BMW license tag holders and screws for $70 and was told by the parts department sales person that someone from service will assist me putting them on my car. I was surprised, since I had planned to drive home and screw the tags on later. I smiled and said "thanks!" ??I drove through the drive-in service area with my bag in hand and was told by Keith Renner, to receive service, it would cost $80 for a half hour. I responded quickly, with a smile, that I didn't need service, but that the parts salesperson had informed me I could get this done for free by the service department. He said, where do you work? Do you do your job for free? My mouth was hanging open! I asked to speak to the manager, Fred Gerlinsky, who was even more rude than Keith! I told them both, if I went to Autozone or Pepboys and purchased anything, someone would offer to assist just as a courtesy to the customer. I had not asked for something for free, the service was volunteered by a member of BMW staff. I am not sure if there is a belief by the staff that "everyone" is trying to get something for free, but I was extremely insulted by the reference that I was wanting free service. Walking back to my car, I passed four service technicians standing in the parking lot, laughing and smoking cigarettes. I spent $700 the day before at BMW Fairfax to have my car serviced after it was stolen, and I only wish I had driven back to them to buy my license plate holders. I WILL NEVER RETURN TO PASSPORT BMW! More

Problems started in Nov. My car would start but immediately cut off. It got towed to Passport and they said it was the idle control valve. So I told them to fix it - it was $700. The first week of immediately cut off. It got towed to Passport and they said it was the idle control valve. So I told them to fix it - it was $700. The first week of Jan the car did the same thing and had to be towed again to Passport. They had the car 2 weeks and finally decided I needed a new vent valve - supposedly had a hole in it even though it was fine when the car was there in Nov. Another $600 which I paid. They said they definitely fixed the problem - I won't have any issues and if so they would pay the next tow bill. I get the car back and that very night the car is running horribly. I attempt to drive it back to BMW but don't make it. Car starts and immediately cuts off. Car has to be towed a third time. Now they say I need a new fuel pump and they want $750 to fix that and pay for the tow bill. I refuse to pay that. I said the car needed a fuel pump the first time and you didn't fix that. I call BMW NA and get them involved.. They are not much help but do call the dealer. Finally, the service manager calls me. I agree to pay for parts - $440 but not labor and not the tow bill. Still arguing.... PS BMW NA told me that maybe I should find another dealer to take the car to... GOOD ADVICE TO FOLLOW - I WILL NOT BE BACK More

Mr Kim has been helpful, courteous and very knowlegible. I really appreciate his help and will continue to visit him for all my vehicle needs. I really appreciate his help and will continue to visit him for all my vehicle needs. More

I bought my most recent BMW 5-series (2008) from Matt this past December. But I still had not been able to pair my garage door opener to my car. Matt patiently walked me through the pairing process today this past December. But I still had not been able to pair my garage door opener to my car. Matt patiently walked me through the pairing process today and everything works great. He also helped me pair my new Blackberry as well. Go figure. Old garage door opener, new Blackberry, middle-aged BMW. Matt was able to make them all work together. Thanks Matt! More