After hitting a pothole and blowing out a tire, both BMW roadside assistance and AAA were unable to remove the wheel due to the lug bolts being over-torqued. Had to tow the car to Shelly BMW where I recently purchased the car. During the initial phone call with the dealer, the service advisor told me I would need a new tire at about $380, an alignment for another $300, and active steering calibrated for another $300. I told him I only wanted the tire replaced, and all lug bolts torqued to proper specs.

The service advisor called me again saying his manager agreed to give me the alignment and calibration at half price. I told him I didn't want to commit to something I may not need. He tried to convince me it would be necessary, but I declined. A few hours later the service advisor called saying they test drove the car and determined my steering wheel was off-center, and the car was pulling to the right. I told him I didn't want the alignment, and I picked up my car about 30 minutes later. As I drove away I noticed the steering wheel was perfectly centered, and I was able to drive about an 1/8 of a mile down Beach boulevard without touching the wheel as it went dead straight.

To satisfy my curiosity, I took the car to JC's alignment in Huntington Beach since they use the latest Hunter alignment system. No alignment required as the test indicated my front wheels were perfectly aligned. So my first experience with service at Shelly BMW was also my last.

 

Wow. Thanks for sharing!

 

It could be they already did the alignment and were trying to recover costs... it's been known to happen...

 

or just the fact that its the service writers job to find work to bill for.

 

sales-based commissions, of course

 

Shelly is one of the bad ones I've come across. I have a couple of war stories myself. In short, if you are out of warranty, DO NOT go to your local BMW stealer! Find a good indy guy. There are also very competent DIYers on the forum so ping them as well. Also, if you have a CPO, keep an eye out for them wanting to change the wear and tear items which are NOT covered under CPO. When my CPO was about to expire on my E65, they told me all kinds of bushings and tension arms were going bad in the tune of some $1800. Luckily, I knew exactly what those were and had a good friend who is a mechanic to inspect the car to call their BS!

 

It's unfortunate some forum members have BMW Service Center / SA "issues". While I have a GREAT BMW CENTER - not every one is. My personal advice is if you are unable to obtain satisfaction by escalating the issue to the Service Manager or General Manager of the BMW Center that you tell BMWNA about your issues and negative experiences in an email or snail mail. It's important to be clear and objective - leave the emotion behind. Even if it doesn't help resolve your personal issue it documents future potential customer relations problems - BMWNA NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THEM or product quality and service will slide (further) downhill.

And, I also recommend you have relationship with a qualified BMW trained and certified Indy handy. Even during warranty, not every service or repair requires a trip to a BMW center.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it

 

I do have a CPO under warranty, and fortunately I live in So Cal where multiple dealers are within a relatively short drive from my house. I would appreciate any recommendations over Shelly.

One other comment - I have my own theory as to why the lug bolts on my wheel were too tight. I found the car on the showroom floor a few months ago at Shelly BMW (yes, a 3 year old used car). I didn't see any flaws when I walked around inspecting the car. After I test drove the car, they took it to the back to "prep it" and put the floor mats inside. The next morning when the car was in my garage, I noticed all the valve stem caps were missing, and curb rash on almost all four rims. Not terribly bad, but something I think I would have noticed when I inspected the car. I have no proof here, but I'm guessing new wheels were used while on the showroom, and after my test drive the original wheels were substituted quickly - hence the lack of valve stem caps and possibly over-torquing the lug bolts.

 

One word.

DAMN

Actually sounds reasonable.

Still sucks!

 

Your experience sucks, I hate hearing things like this. I bought my car at Monrovia BMW, went there for a couple of small items I noticed when I bought the car (CPO), and they tried the same thing - I never went back. On the other hand, my experiences at Crevier were the complete opposite, they were fine handling just what was covered under the CPO warranty (I also had extended maintenance) so I paid my $50 deductible and was on my way. They also didn't mind my modded car, they actually gave me compliments. Also, when my CPO/Maint was almost up they did a quick check for anything that hadn't been replaced and was covered, that's how I got my belts replaced. Overall, I liked Crevier.