BMW of Manhattan

Your service department has been unable to properly repair my car, and I need your help to resolve the situation.

After purchasing my first BMW I was excited and drove around for weeks until I tried to start the car and it did not start. I decided to take it to your company to find out what is wrong with it because that was the only logical thing to do. I did not for one second think that such a large multi-national and professional corporation could be so unfair and unethical. After having the vehicle towed to your place I asked your service advisor to have it diagnosed and to tell me what the problem was so that I could have it fixed. After your diagnosis was done I was advised that my car had a problem with the battery and I was charged $3430.09 for all the work done to my car to make it run. I paid for this and within a few weeks I had the same exact problem again!

When I had the car towed to your place a second time I was informed that the battery was not the problem and that it was the alternator. The second time I was charged $1885.59 for the brand new alternator to be installed. After paying your company $5315.68, I have the same problem and my car wont start! I was never given any detailed paperwork regarding the testing and work which was done to my car.

I am requesting:

1) Prompt repair of my car's problems at no additional cost to me

2) A free rental car for my use while my car is in the shop

3) An apology from your dealership for the rudeness and unprofessionalism of your employees.

4) A midtronics test report, an energy diagnosis and a short test sheet.

In this whole process I have complied with each and every instruction given to me by your mechanics and service advisors, additionally I have tendered all the monies which you demanded. "I still have the same problem". At this moment I am giving you an opportunity to resolve this matter without interference with the Court. If this matter is not resolved within seven (7) days from the receipt of this letter I shall have no alternative but to take this matter to Court, where my demand shall not be limited to damages.

Your company's lack of service and professionalism is unacceptable to me.

This is the worst consumer experience that I have ever had! I negotiated by email and phone the purchase of a 2008 low-mileage 750 LI with this dealership. Salesman Thomas ** confirmed in written email that the car had "no body work or collision history". Based on that representation of the car's condition, I flew across the country to test drive and purchase it.

Within five seconds of looking at the car, I found the rear bumper had been repainted. The passenger side rear door panel had been poorly repaired for dents or worse because it was rippled above the shoulder area. Thomas was unaware that I noticed this defect. He opened the trunk. Much to his chagrin, we found plastic part lying in the trunk. I inspected around the trunk jamb and noticed that the place where the plastic part was supposed to have been installed had after market paint "blended-in". The rubber gasket around the trunk jamb was loose on the same side. The gas cover on the same side didn't operate smoothly when you opened and closed it. The rear gtr panel had been repainted! The other rear qtr panel and driver's side door post had bad key scratches on them, way beyond what a BMW CPO Warranty car should have on it.

The salesman claimed that BMW of Manhattan did not do any of this repaint on the car. He asked me to drive up to the 57th street showroom to speak to his sales mgr, Frederick S. (Fred smugly handed me his card at the end of our meeting and told me, "Be sure to spell my name correctly." I double-checked the spelling Fred!) Fred peered into and around the trunk. He checked the place where the plastic part was missing and would have concealed the paint repair "blend-in" on the qtr panel. He popped his head back out from under the trunk and announced, "Well, you have to give whoever repainted the car credit. They did an excellent job." They both continued to claim that BMW of Manhattan knew nothing about it nor did the after-market paint repairs. Even more audacious, Fred said to me, "I don't want you to buy the car if you are not happy with it." He turned to Thomas **, and said, "He shouldn't buy the car." He then said, "This deal isn't happening," and walked away. Reverse selling the customer. Right.

At this point, I had wasted two days of my time, over $1,000 in travel expenses to fly to New York City to purchase a car that was not what it had been represented to be. I figured might as well find out how extensive this body repair was. So I told Thomas that I wanted to take the car one block down the street to an indie collision repair shop to inspect the car, so that I could get an expert opinion about how bad the damage to the car was since they claimed to know nothing about the body repairs. Fred refused. (They had a credit card deposit from me before I flew there so that the car would be held for one day. They had a copy of my driver's license, so they knew that I wasn't stealing the car. They knew that I had flown across the country to purchase the car.) He said, "You can have it inspected if you can get the inspector to come here."

Fred said the car had the famous BMW Certified Pre-Owned warranty so it was 'already 100% checked out.' He went on, 'Everything that you need to know about the car was (moot) because it has the the CPO warranty.' When I pointed out to Fred that if the CPO inspection was so thorough, then it would have information about the body repair work which he at this point confirmed had been done. He went into his office to make a call, came back out a couple of minutes later and admitted, "BMW of Manhattan repainted the car." I said, "Show me the body shop file on the repair." Then Fred made this statement, "We can't show you the file. It's confidential."

I tried to speak to Jeff F., the President of BMW of Manhattan, about this shameless fraudulent, misleading, misrepresentation by his dealership. The receptionist confirmed that F. was in his office. He would not come out of his office, despite my making it clear that I was willing to wait in the showroom all day until my return flight home. They sent out an underling P S., head of new car sales, who was solicitous. I told him that I wanted my credit card refunded for the deposit. The written card authorization that I had given T. to charge my credit card stated that if the car didn't pass my inspection, and I terminated the purchase, BMW of Manhattan was to immediately refund my credit card. They had the audacity to tell me, "It will take a week to process, it is a complicated process to issue a card card refund."

Be sure to Google search BMW of North America v. Gore. Buyer beware if you purchase a car from BMW of Manhattan! FYI, I asked Thomas ** if BMW of Manhattan was owned by a large nationwide parent dealer group like Penske Automotive. He said "No, we are not an independent dealership, this dealership is owned by BMW corporate."

Service rep said that front tires needed to replaced for my 2005 325xi or else "it wouldn't pass inspection". I had changed all FOUR tires less than a year ago with the same dealership and have completed about 6,000 miles since then. Paid $640 for what looks like a rip-off

I went into the dealer on July 31 st lease a new BMW 335 XI. Since a family member already had a BMW the security deposit was waived(so I thought).When I came to pick up the vehicle, my salesman Mark S wasnt there to deliver the car to me. Another person,Ms. C helped out.Ms. C didnt ask for any additional money. We signed the paperwork. We filled out more info and they sent us on our way. I could have never left the lot if I had not had all the money paid to them.A week later(Aug 10th) my salesman Mark S calls requesting a security deposit. He told me that if I dont agree to this he would just charge my American Express card. I dont meet the requirements.(which i have-family member who owns a BMW and lives in the same household).

Immediately I cancel the card and called to dispute any additional charges.The night of August 4th around 7PM. It is less than 24 hours and 135 miles later. The engine and the RPM started to rev very high as I approached the stop sign. The speed on this winding road was 30MPH. As I approached the stop sign, the engine and the RPM's started to rev high around 100-140MPH. I put both feet on the brake so the car would not proceed at this high rate of speed and hit the trees in front of us. My daughter who is 17 yr old pulled the emergency brake. I tried to turn off the car. It would not turn off. Finally after 3 attempts,it turned off. I then try to restart the car, again the engine and RPM's was screaming at a high speed. I turned it off and called Emergency Road Side Assistance. They called the towing company and the Fairfield Police Dept to help us. The attending police officer told me he wouldnt keep the car there is something wrong with it.

That same evening I called my salesman and told him about this traumatic experience and that i did not want this car. I have spoken with BMW Corportate Scott C, told him I didnt want this car. He informed me he would send out someone to look at the car and let me know in a few days. The car is still in the shop. I received a call to come and pick it up. Its done. I dont want this car.BMW said that the car is fine. They cant produce the issue. Nothing happened.I have been without the car since Aug 4th. No loaner and paying for a car that I do not have in my possession.

I received a call on August 18th from my salesman apologizing for what has happened. He cant help me. Doesnt know who can help me. He told me my plates were in and he would be kind enough to send me the plates. I told him the car was still there. I cant use plates on a car I dont have possession of.

Thank you

I had an issue with engine oil leak and noises coming out of front tires so I dropped my bmw at BMW of Manhattan service center. Service advisor Michael C made an initial assessment and verbally promised that all reported issues will be resolved for $4100 and repair work will be done in 2 days. Never responded my emails/phone messages and 3 days later we are told that additional $1500 will be charged to fix an oil-pan which wasn't detected during initial assessment. I asked him to send detailed break down of labor/parts and he sent me an invoice which was over charged for nearly $500 and upon my inquiry he responded in very unprofessional manner. Basically he was busted lying to me on an invoice and thinks that I was stupid enough to understand invoicing.

So he becomes greedy and blamed billing department that they made an error. So I visited BMW of Manhattan service center the next day to resolve my issues but Michael refused to see me and instead directed to Jialoh Ho a senior service advisor. Michael saw me at the entrance door but pretended that he didnt even know me and was shaky and couldnt look into my eyes when I greeted him. If he was honest why would he be afraid to see me and work with me?? BMW of Manhattan service centre has serious ethical issues and service advisors are not qualified at all, though they pretend to be. They would tell you that everything will be fixed at the beginning but ****the trick is that they would never tell you that other issues may come up after fixing issues detected during initial assessment.

This is exactly what Michael did and he cant live up on his own words so, he would not even see me and had me work with his manager Jialoh H. Only then I realized that Jialoh H was a real Korean Thug who was ripping off every customer, while pretending to be honest service advisor. So I asked him to take me down stairs to inspect the oil pan to see if the leak was really undetectable during initial assessment. And After inspecting oil leaks my self it was obvious that even a non mechanic person would have detected since the leaks were clearly visible coming out of oil pan. Jialoh H started to Bull how the oil was pouring at the beginning and they would not know until engine housing was fixed, which was a complete lie.

Upon request to test drive, Jialoh H refused and verbally insulted by saying that "he is concerned that I will run away without paying the bill". He kept saying that Let me know, If we have problem paying the bills. At one point Mr. J insulted us again by saying, "I don't work for you, I don't work for you and who are you aggressive with??" and responded to our questions in very unprofessional manners. We requested to get Michael involved since he was the person we originally spoke and agreed upon, but Jialoh H refused again. Im not sure why Jialoh H would refuse us to talk with Michael. Obviously something was fishy and Jialoh H just another Thug with full intent of ripping customers.

At one point honest mechanic wanted to put tires to see if the noises has really gone away but Jialoh H refused. I hope that honest mechanic would not be punished his willingness to help me!!!!! Mentality and attitude was so low that Im not sure if he ever had an high school degree!!! What kind of service shop would not allow to test drive your own car to make sure that things are fixed as they supposed to be??? Well BMW of Manhattan does!!!! I was fixing some of the things on my own so I was able to estimate labor hours. On the bill Jialoh H inflated as much as twice for labor hours. Jialoh H took 4.4 hours to fix the cylinder head cover gaskets, which I would have done in less than 1 hours if I had an equipments.

For engine house oil leak techs only replaced $82 pipe and Jialoh H claimed 5.80 labor hours for $725. I can go on and on but, be ware that they would inflate the labor hours so make sure that you ask the price break down before doing any service. Other wise these Thugs will rob your money and before you realize, it will be gone!!!!! We came home empty handed with none of our problems resolved, but charged for $3800. We trusted and relied services provided by BMW of Manhattan but it was really Tragic to be treated unprofessionally by the Thugs. If Jia and Michael are to make money out of customers with such unprofessional & unethical behaviors, I'm concerned that they would become negative role models for BMW organization. Im not sure senior managers are aware that they do have such employees.

The most racist car dealership I ever went to. They giving pripority to other customers who are not people or colored or nationality. i went to service my car with a appointment, i showed up on time. Had to wait 30 mintues to see a rep. I notice other customers who camed in after me and dealed with the same rep got their service request down before me. after seeing the rep she gets on a phone call a personal one. i just had a enough with them so i told her give me my keys and left. then i went to BMW of westchester, dropped of my car for service and recived it back the same day and had no returning complaints on the service

I made a service appointment to bring in my 2006 325i which i purchased there certified pre-owned. i had to schedule that appointment one month in advance so i can reserve a loaner vehicle. Well i got there and dropped my car off and recieved the loaner.

On the second day after dropping my car off to Buddy, the service advisor.I recieve a call and he tells me that my transmission problem that made my car feel like it was getting rear ended at every stoplilght was, because i plugged , ipod into the cigarette lighter and that drains the battery causing a malfunction with the neutral idling feature of the clutch. He demanded me to return the loaner car and that my car was ready. well i returned it as soon as i could and picked up my car.

On my way home the problem was worst and my so called, Ultimate Driving Machine was simply the ultimate annoying machine. i felt like i was getting rear ended twice at every stoplight. Now BMW's service supervisors are telling me to drop off my vehicle and they cant promise me a loaner vehicle. The repairs should leave me stranded for a few days! can you believe that..... Avoid Buddy Samaroo and beware of BMW of Manhattan they dont test drive your vehicle when they are done guessing what they fixed.

The final straw came in early April 2008 when my car was brought to the dealership by BMW roadside assistance. I was told by BMW of Manhattan that the car would not start due to a malfunctioning key, and that the tow truck seems to have damaged my car to the tune of $1294.59. Once the car was repaired I drove out of the dealership and heard a strange noise coming from the rear. I decided to wait until I had enough money to go to another dealership.

On June 20th 2008 I went to Habberstad BMW in Long Island. I was told that the noise in the back was because the rear differential bolt damaged the differential housing. The wrong bolt was used; it was not the correct length and was cut to be made shorter. The differential housing caused the differential front mount to wear out prematurely because of the modified bolt. That came out to the tune of $4721.40.

Since February I 2008 up until July 2008 I have lost over $10,000.

Ive only dealt with Two BMW car dealerships and BMW is by far the worst. Ill bet its the worst of all the dealerships. BMW of Manhattan doesnt give a **** if you bought the most expensive car on the lot your just another number they can take money out of. The problem with this dealership is that they have too many clients and they want every single penny they can get.

Instead of satisfying a group of customers and sending the others else where they want all the customers and end up giving very, very poor service to the majority. I have a 2002 M3 convertible. Unfortunately for me I am a big advocate of going to the dealer to get your car serviced.

Habberstad BMW in Long Island what can I say great place they treat you and your car like king, at least they make you feel like it. I never had to return within a calendar month for the same problems or a new problem. BMW of Manhattan on the other had.. You have to see it to believe it Three times in one month my car was in there shop for ether the same thing or a new problem that arose the minute I drove the car out of the dealership. Almost $4,000.00 dollars in one month on repairs they said they did or did not see the first or second time around. I cant go anywhere else because I live in Manhattan so what can I do.

I know Im selling the M3 and when I do move Im buying and Audi. Lets give them a chance BMW had theres

In 2001 I bought a 2000 323i at BMW of Manhattan for $28,000. In mid-June 2007, the car stopped going in reverse with only 58,000 miles on it. BMW is a company-owned dealership. I took my car there only to be told that they don't know what's wrong. We don't rebuild transmissions here, we only install new ones. I was told. For that useless information they charged me over $300. The cost for a new transmission at this dealership is more than $7,000 which I can't afford.

I went into BMW of Manhattan to purchase a pre-owned certified BMW. I was asked which series I had in mind, and I said a 525i, so the Salesperson showed me a shining Black on Black BMW 525i 2001 vehicle with 17,160 miles.

A flag went up, and I said that the car has very low mileage. Is there anything wrong with it? The Salesperson replied with an enthusiastic No! BMW is the best car you can buy. I asked, Has the car been in any wrecks. Again, a big no! He said, This is a leased car and thats why the mileage is so low.

Well, I was trustful, and didnt believe that BMW would put me in an unsafe vehicle, but thats exactly what happened to me. True story!

I purchased the car on November 14, 2003. And for the next 7 months, I had major problems requiring major repairs, including changing the vehicles engine. But, the sad part is what I had to endure to this very day.

Friday November 14, 2003 Purchased Vehicle, and drove it home.

Saturday November 15, 2003 Called Salesperson about hearing a knocking in the vehicles engine, seat control knob keeps falling off, seat not adjusting, and bad light. He said sometimes it just has to warm up, but I insisted to bring it in for service, so he gave me the asst. service dept. managers phone number to call and make a appointment to bring my new purchased car in for service.

I call the asst. service manager and he was on vacation, so I left a message, and received no call back. I personally made a trip into BMW of Manhattan to speak to the service department about scheduling to bring my car in for service. The Assistance Service Manager told me that he didnt have a problem with a loud running car! Of course not, hes not the customer whos purchasing it and has to drive itloud running and all! But, he would schedule an appointment to get my seat knob and light repaired.

Friday November 21, 2003 BMW of Manhattan replaced my seat knob and lights, but still didnt have a problem with my vehicle running loud.

Finally, a week later after about the engine noise again, passenger side airbag, and car pulling to right. I got another appointment for Wednesday December 03, 2003.

Wednesday December 03, 2003 Early Wednesday Morning, I set off to return to a service department that dont listen to their customers. Upon entering the service dept. garage, my car overheated to the extreme red zone, and the asst. service manager had to admit that there were something serious wrong with my vehicle. They still claimed that the vehicle wasnt in an accident. They replaced the water pump, replaced the faulty right front brake caliper, and said that they reseated the loose passenger side airbag cover. But, did nothing about the knocking noise in the engine. They said the noise was coming from your water pump.

Wednesday January 14, 2004 Back into BMW of Manhattans Service Repair Department for the same engine noise problem. This time they call up the foreman to the floor for me to explain the knocking I hear in my engine, because they couldnt hear what I was hearing. Immediately, the foreman heard the knocking, and said there is something wrong with the engine. On my invoice, it stated that my engine fail while performing repairs, which lasted from January 14, 2004 to February 09, 2004, after they had to install a new engine, and replace rubber mounts in the tension struts, because of leaking.

I called BMW of North America for help in attaining a different vehicle, but I was asked to be patience, and see if I have anymore problems with the vehicle, and if so, there were a way for me to receive a replacement vehicle, but there were no way of predicting if I would have more problems with this vehicle. And said, that they would reimburse me 1 month car payment.

Little did I know that I was being stringed along until the lemon law no long applied to my vehicle.

Tuesday June 15, 2004 While driving in Mid-Town Manhattan at 10 miles per. Hour during rush hour, I hear this very loud squeaking, grinding noise coming from the wheel areas of my vehicle. I was moving with my foot off of the brakes, and when I hit the brakes, they were working fine, so I immediately called the customer service representative for the service department. I keep his number programmed in my cellular phone, and you know why by now. He said, Yes, I can hear the noise and I will give you an emergency appointment for tomorrow June 16, 2004. So, I continued noise and all to pickup my wife. While waiting for her, I turned off the car. When I turned the car back on, and begun to move there was no more noise. I fell it wasnt the brakes, because the brakes worked fine, and there were no noises when I pressed them.

Wednesday June 16, 2004 Begins with another early visit to the BMW of Manhattans Service Department. By the way, there is always a long line down the block at the service entrance. Remember that there is no noise now, but the service representative heard the noise himself. That evening they called me back, and said that the technician replaced the front and rear brake pads and rotors w/ sensor, and changed my oil and air filters. My total bill was near $1,400.00 dollars. I asked was it necessary to change both front and rear brakes and rotors. They said, Yes, the brake pads were low. And they could find any other problems. So, I paid the money and took the vehicle home thinking that it was ok.

Saturday June 19, 2004 My Wife and I were on our way to the mall to see a movie. Twenty minutes from home here is the very same noise problem reoccurring. I immediately called the service representatives phone, and got an answering machine. BMW of Manhattans service repair department is closed on weekends, so I left a message with the noise squeaking in the background. Then, I called again to the reception desk, and left another message with the noise in the background. The Mall was only two exits away, so we squeaked our way there, and parked the car.

We suppressed our anger determined to enjoy ourselves; after all we were at the destination. When we got in our vehicle after the movie, and turn it on, the noise had stopped again. We went home, and me with another visit to the service department in the back of my mind eating away at me. What excuses will I hear next from BMW of Manhattan?

Monday June 21, 2004 You know, another early visit to the service department, and you know where by now. They tell me that the voice mails get erased, and they cant duplicate my problem, so BMW of North America will not allow them to change any parts under warranty, unless the service department can duplicate the problem themselves. I asked them if they could certify the vehicle as being safe to drive, and they said, that they wont give me anything in writing. The only document that I can get from them is a service invoice stating that they couldnt find the problem with my vehicle. Remember, they couldnt hear the knocking in my engine right after I purchased the vehicle either.

I asked if they would take the car back, and the answer was no. There were no deals that didnt involve me paying $300 dollars more a month ($1000/Month), or paying $6,500 more dollars down for a new vehicle. I asked the BMW Customer Service Manager of North America, and Manager of Pre-owned Certified BMW Department, if my vehicle had been in an accident, and the answer I received again was no. I was trapped in the BMWs Web, so I had to drive this problematic vehicle back home and park it.

You are not going to believe what happened! Before I left the service department, I asked the registration desk for the service history of my car, and she called someone to ask if she could print it out for me, and if it was a charge for the printout. Well, to my surprise when I looked at it. There were records from day one showing some of the same problems I am having with the previous leaser of my vehicle.

November 08, 2000 Person leased the 2001 BMW 525i.

November 29, 2001 Replacing Washing fluid level switch, because W. Washer Tank is leaking.

April 26, 2002 Repair p/s doors and repaint rear bumper. Repair dents to d/s front fender, front door, and scratches on hood and trunk. Remove and replace water pump (Same repair as soon as I purchased the car). Replace edge protector for left or right front door. Car knocking/stalling/smoking. Interrogating fault memory in diagnosing system (they are getting a fault memory reading with their diagnosing system). How are they going to fix this car? Maybe, by changing every part they cant get out of, until the vehicle is out of warranty.

May 16, 2002 Car overheated, temperature gauge in red now car in two week ago. Cause: leaking. Interrogating fault memory in diagnosing system. It doesnt say what they did, if anything to correct the problem.

January 09, 2003 Seat will not work at times (will not adjust with button). Here is another problem I had as soon as they sold me the vehicle.

October 14, 2003 Removed and Replaced Sill Trim Plate. Technician notes intensive washer hose leaking. Removed and replaced Shing Fluid Pump for Headlight. Replaced Power Seat combination switch. Replaced both front disk brakes. Technician notes IHKA Control missing numbers. Replaced Heater Controls. Replaced Fluid in ABS/ASC+T brake system. As we can see by the history everything is wrong with this vehicle. Replaced edge protector for left or right front door. Ordered Keys to VIN#. Why dont they have the keys? You are possibly thinking what I am thinking; the car war in an accident after all.

October 22, 2003 RFF, RFD, RRD Dent Repair.

October 28, 2003 Repaired rear bumper, painted front mldgs (maybe moldings), and changed right front door mldg (maybe molding).

November 14, 2003 Technician notes seat not adjusting. Seat control knob on driver side in falling off.

November 14, 2003 BMW of Manhattan dumped this lemon on us!