[krautmeister]

Anyone else experiencing shortages of loaner cars? I used to get a 5er and up at my old dealership in Ohio with my E60 and now I'm Atlanta, they are putting me in an Enterprise car... who knows what car.

I'm literally in for service at 8am... nearly the 2nd appointment. How are they out of loaners already? I reserved it 2 weeks in advance????

Is the Tier 1 BMW service dead with the widespread leasing business?

Also, why does it take such a long time to drop off a car and pick up a a loaner?

[SchillerM]

My local dealer is about 3-4 weeks out for getting a loaner.. no stopping by and getting one like I had in San Diego...
Sucks, need to call the other 4 dealers and see how they are stocked..
Matt

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by SchillerM

My local dealer is about 3-4 weeks out for getting a loaner.. no stopping by and getting one like I had in San Diego.

Same here, 3-4 weeks out (sometimes more), it's really a "best effort" type of thing.
Unless, they mess up during appointment and next morning you quickly realize your issue wasn't addressed - they always keep some for emergencies.

[PJinCA]

it depends on the dealer, even here in socal. dealers like shelly and crevier almost always have loaners available. Monrovia has enterprise rental car on site and almost never give you a loaner. so I think it depends on the dealer.

[krautmeister]

So I took my car in for a suspension noise. All should be covered under factory warranty right? So it turns out the previous owner put aftermarket pads on and they were loose in the carrier. The dealers says they want to charge a diagnostic fee... what gives?

[SchillerM]

Originally Posted by krautmeister

So I took my car in for a suspension noise. All should be covered under factory warranty right? So it turns out the previous owner put aftermarket pads on and they were loose in the carrier. The dealers says they want to charge a diagnostic fee... what gives?

Did you buy it from a dealer?

[krautmeister]

No I didn't. I didn't think it mattered. Especially under the factory warranty period.

[TTG]

Originally Posted by krautmeister

No I didn't. I didn't think it mattered. Especially under the factory warranty period.

Yes it does. The dealer has zero obligation to put you in a loaner for a simple service, especially if you did not buy the car from there. If they need to keep your car overnight, then you are entitled to a loaner.

So stop complaining and enjoy your loaner.

[krautmeister]

I do not feel a tad bit ashamed to complain about an agreed upon loaner car (where past history was a BMW) with a premium luxury marque where a car under warranty was taken to be serviced.

I do not believe I'm nit picking here. It turned out that it was an issue that wasn't BMWs responsibility, but it was taken in with the assumption that potentially a legitimate fault was there. What if it was a wheel bearing? What if there was a new case of faulty ball joints?

I still do not see how it matters where you buy the car, if it's under factory warranty, it's being serviced under the BMW brand, which stands for many things that benefit the dealer as well as these "complimentary" things that may not be a profit center for them.

If I owned a Kia, I would gladly adjust my expectations.... even preowned, a 550i is not a "cheap" car although an excellent value.

[M5Beast_NYC]

My dealership opens at 630a and I'm sure they are giving out loaner as soon as someone needs it so im not surprise if they run out.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by krautmeister

Anyone else experiencing shortages of loaner cars? I used to get a 5er and up at my old dealership in Ohio with my E60 and now I'm Atlanta, they are putting me in an Enterprise car... who knows what car.

I'm literally in for service at 8am... nearly the 2nd appointment. How are they out of loaners already? I reserved it 2 weeks in advance????

Is the Tier 1 BMW service dead with the widespread leasing business?

Also, why does it take such a long time to drop off a car and pick up a a loaner?

There is a ton of recall work right now/ airbags and baby seat brackets.

The baby seat brackets take nearly 4 hours with professional welds.

[The J-Man]

Loaner cars is one area where BMW severely lacks. My local Lexus dealer has sixty (60) loaners at all times. All RX's.

[TTG]

Originally Posted by krautmeister

I do not feel a tad bit ashamed to complain about an agreed upon loaner car (where past history was a BMW) with a premium luxury marque where a car under warranty was taken to be serviced.

I do not believe I'm nit picking here. It turned out that it was an issue that wasn't BMWs responsibility, but it was taken in with the assumption that potentially a legitimate fault was there. What if it was a wheel bearing? What if there was a new case of faulty ball joints?

I still do not see how it matters where you buy the car, if it's under factory warranty, it's being serviced under the BMW brand, which stands for many things that benefit the dealer as well as these "complimentary" things that may not be a profit center for them.

If I owned a Kia, I would gladly adjust my expectations.... even preowned, a 550i is not a "cheap" car although an excellent value.

I agree with you to a point but times are changing.

If there is a recall, or if there is a reason why they need to keep your car overnight, you will most likely get a loaner.

But for a service, all dealer's are independently owned and are not required to provide you with a loaner.

In the general Seattle are (just as an example), with an exception of BMW Seattle, they will not give you a loaner car if you did not buy the car from them for a regular service. They will shuttle you wherever you want but no loaner.

And the whole KIA thing: They are trying much much harder for sure.

I have had Subaru's in the stable for over 15 years, and only time you get a loaner with that brand is if you bring the car in for a major service. And we have other brands in the stable currently and I would rate BMW still much higher than others.

[krautmeister]

Sorry for the long post. I will say 8-10 years ago, I held BMW in very high esteem because of the service I received with my E60.

I came from Audi, which at the time was a mess for customer service for me. I replaced all the control arms 3x in 4 years and the first time was under warranty. I got sick of the runaround with the transmission issues and the A4 loaners when I brought in my S8. First world problems for sure, but it was hard taking 3 clients to the airport with the trunk space. Yes, I could have called a car service, but having the additional time in the car with them as we've done previously was the norm.

So in my E60- 8-10 years ago, I was visiting my parents in PA from OH and I had a headlight bulb that was on the fritz. I took it into the BMW dealer there (45min away) and they tried to fix it while I waited. It was a few days before Christmas and I was burning shopping time...as I always wait to the last minute! They needed to order a ballast or something like that and for whatever reason couldn't get it that day. It was getting dusk so they told me they would give me a loaner so that I could finish Christmas shopping. Being so late in the afternoon, all the loaners were out. I'm not sure if they didn't have a program with Enterprise at the time, but they pulled a demo X5 off the lot and gave that to me. I was ready to call my parents to come pick me up, but that gesture solidified me in the brand for customer service.

Since then, I've been out of the new car cycle for some time, many tangents abroad and such... so finally back into a later model BMW and I guess I just didn't get to experience the change organically, just got back into it suddenly. If this is the new normal, I get it, but don't have to like it! I will digress I'm sure.

[ezaircon4jc]

Every time I bring mine in I get a loaner car; whether it's on my dime or theirs. I also didn't buy from them, I bought from a dealer a couple miles further as they had the car I wanted. They usually keep my car at least overnight as they are either quite busy or have a shortage of techs. On a side note, my dealer was a little over $100 less expensive for a trans flush and diff fluid change than the local indy.

If they have one available I get a 5, if not I usually get my pick from the 3 lineup. I did have the option of an X1 last time; I passed and ended up with a stripper 328.

[The Beast]

Here in the U.K. we usually get a loan car, I ask for an auto for, nonexistent , medical reasons as a find I get a better specification car. However for quite a few years now I have just had them collect my car from work, service it and drop it back to me. I only go in personally if there is a specific issue with the car that I want to discuss with a technician.

[Tasmanian]

Atlantic City has alreadys had a loaner for me when I brought my car in for maintenance or service. It's a CPO I bought there.

Tasmanian

[Carlos528i]

krautmeister,

Where did you take the car?

[Alcenos]

I have had service work done at 3 different dealerships in NJ. For the 2 different 3-series that I had, I purchased and had the service done at the same dealership. For the first car, I always received a 3-series loner when I asked for one regardless of how long the service was going to take. However, they'd changed to work with Enterprise during the time that I had my second 3-series. For both of my 5-series and my wife's X5, I have had service done at 2 different dealerships including 1 where have not made any purchases. Most of the time I get a 5-series as a loaner. Only once did I get a 3-series, but I assume it was because it was last minute and I did not reserve one in advance. My wife also got a Z4 once.

[BMW BRAD]

I think dealerships must not have as many loaners as they used to, or as mentioned earlier, they are dealing with large numbers of recall and problems that may or may not be covered under warranty. I am on my fourth BMW and never had such a hard time finding a dealer with a BMW loaner. I have an LCI 535d M Sport that was bought from my local dealer. When I take my car in for service, I want a BMW loaner, not a Enterprise P.O.S.

[krautmeister]

Originally Posted by Carlos528i

krautmeister,

Where did you take the car?

If you're local to Atlanta, PM me

[mdriver2]

Santa Monica bmw has always made a loaner available.