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      06-17-2016, 04:42 PM   #1
Baba Ganoush
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Herb Chambers Service is a joke

I realize this will be TL;DR for most of you, but...

When I dropped my car off this morning for regular scheduled maintenance, I just assumed it would be easy since they do this all day every day. Wrong.

I dropped my car off at 7:30 and asked for shuttle service back home. I sit in the waiting room. 15 minutes goes by - no shuttle. 30 minutes goes by - no shuttle. 45 minutes goes by - no shuttle. It's now 8:30 and I just decide to walk to Kenmore and take the T back home. I know it's rush hour and traffic is terrible, but let's be serious. They could have at least told me, "Hey, sorry, but the driver is stuck in traffic and won't be back until xx:xx." This would have saved me an hour of sitting in the waiting room. Or, I don't know, have more than one shuttle driver working in the morning. Whatever, I got over it and moved on.

I get a call a few hours later, there are some things in addition to maintenance that need to be fixed. I figured as much since my front suspension was squeaking like a dog toy. Bushings need to be replaced and are covered under warranty. Perfect. There's also a tear in my outer axle boot. Not covered under warranty. I purchased the car from Herb 3 months ago and have put very few miles on it, so I suspect the tear was there when I bought the car. I pressed on this a little, but there's no real way to prove it was damaged before I purchased the car. $750.

I called around and was quoted $350-$400 for the same repair. However, nobody could fit me in next week and I'm on vacation, so I need my car. Fine, I'll just take this one up the ass and deal with it since I could take it elsewhere if I were willing to wait a few weeks.

My car will be fixed tomorrow, so I go back to pick up my loaner. This is when it gets comical.

I'm waiting around for about 20 minutes and they take me out to my loaner X1. I ask the service rep if he could grab the key card (for the garage I park in) out of the center console of my car. "Sure thing!". I'm sitting in the X1 for... 5 minutes... 10 minutes... service guy walks by and looks at me, puzzled as to why I'm still there. Then the light bulb goes off when he realizes I'm waiting for my key card. 5-10 more minutes go by... he comes back, "sir, we can't find your car."

Wait, what? It's estoril blue in a sea of white, grey, and black. Probably not that difficult to spot. "Someone may have taken it on a test drive, I'm not sure." Hmmm... my car was already diagnosed, so it had better not be on the road right now. I would never assume they would be dense enough to just take it for a spin, but he said it, so now I'm thinking it.

I've now been sitting in the little alley waiting for my key card for 25 minutes when a different rep pulls up in a 7 series next to me. He swings the door open and smashes it into the bumper of my loaner X1 and scratches it. To which he says... nothing... and walks away.

I've now been sitting in the X1 for 30+ minutes. My service advisor finally returns with my key card in hand. Yes, it took 30+ minutes for them to find my bright blue car and walk back to me. I'm furious, but I keep my cool because I just want to get out of there. I mentioned the door ding and he assures me I won't be held liable for that. Great, but there's no way I'm ever letting any of these guys near my car again after seeing how they treat other peoples' cars.

I'll take my car to a different dealer for CPO work when the factory warranty expires and I'll avoid any and all BMW dealers for any regular maintenance.

Typing that out was cathartic.

/rant

Last edited by Baba Ganoush; 06-17-2016 at 09:28 PM..
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      06-18-2016, 09:26 PM   #2
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I've never heard anything complimentary about Herb Chamber's BMW.

That said I woulda waited on the boot. 2 weeks would not have mattered much.

Also if you dont plan on going back you will be able to voice your displeasure when you get the email asking for a review/rating.
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      06-20-2016, 09:20 AM   #3
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"He swings the door open and smashes it into the bumper of my loaner X1 and scratches it. To which he says... nothing... and walks away."

F'in monkey.
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      06-22-2016, 01:47 PM   #4
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Hope this is Boston and not Sudbury Herb Chambers!
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      06-22-2016, 01:56 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MThree_driver View Post
Hope this is Boston and not Sudbury Herb Chambers!
Not Sudbury - Sorry, I should have made that distinction.
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      06-22-2016, 02:20 PM   #6
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I should also mention that my criticisms are not of my direct SA, James, who has been very helpful. He was noticeably frustrated last Friday and has been very responsive while my car has been there. He's even gone through the trouble of tracking down some parts locally (they need to warranty a strut) because what I need is backordered and would take about two weeks to arrive; all so I don't have to listen to a squeak.

My first post should have been more of an indictment of ownership rather than the staff. I think what it comes down to the dealership being packed into a city block, which gets overwhelmingly busy. Watching the service department operate for 30 minutes was chaotic. Processes probably need to be improved in order to put their employees in a position to provide great service.
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      06-22-2016, 10:52 PM   #7
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Been saying it for 20 years....dont go to HCB for service
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      06-23-2016, 10:08 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Baba Ganoush View Post
I think what it comes down to the dealership being packed into a city block, which gets overwhelmingly busy. Watching the service department operate for 30 minutes was chaotic.
They're simply too big. Where both sales and service are concerned you're better off with a smaller dealership where your business really matters to them.
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      06-23-2016, 10:37 AM   #9
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The guy that sits next to me just returned his X5 lease a little early. Said he will never buy or lease another BMW again because of how he was treated at Herb Chambers of Boston.

I used Herb Chambers Honda of Burlington for years and they were very good.

I use BMW of Peabody. So far, mostly good. I little bump in the road when they did my MPPK.
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      06-26-2016, 12:25 PM   #10
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HC Sudbury is extremely good for service. They go over and above in my opinion. Never had a bad experience there.
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      07-01-2016, 04:46 AM   #11
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Why would you take your car to HC Boston for servicing...? Those guys are notorious for just wanting to close as many sales deals as possible.
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      07-13-2016, 04:20 PM   #12
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Bring it to Nashua.
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