Any Service Experiences at BMW Silver Spring?

imkrister · 02-04-2015, 07:17 AM

All,

I recently purchased a 2011 ZCP that still has a few months left on the original warranty and am looking to get the car in to get looked at (I did have PPI done in Nashville TN where I bought the car) but wanted to have it looked at a little more in depth so that anything wrong gets caught while still in warranty. I am also interested in seeing what options I have for an extended warranty. My question is has anyone here had any good or bad experience at BMW Silver Spring, as that seems to be the only service center in the DMV that has reasonable online reviews (Google+, yelp, etc).

Thanks in advance!

pseto · 02-04-2015, 08:16 AM

Silver Spring has always been good to me and I would recommend them.

Your experience will mostly be defined by your relationship with your SA; treating them with respect and taking care of them goes a long way.

imkrister · 02-04-2015, 09:40 AM

I am not a very confrontational person so I don't see that being an issue, but great to know that they will reciprocate respect. Looking forward to getting the car checked out there. Thanks for the response

WarrantyTracker · 02-13-2015, 09:56 AM

I don't have any experience with that shop. But I have been going to Passport BMW for several years now. They have always treated me well. We have what I think of as an adult relationship. In the rare case they make a mistake, they are up front about it, make it right, and find a way to pay me back for my patience.

I think some of the people who post outraged internet reviews about service experiences really don't know much about auto repair. As a hack mechanic myself, I understand that no shop can fix every problem in one shot.

The BMW warranty is sold by BMW but issued by a company in St. Petersburg called Assurant Solutions. They are a good warranty company. BMW dealers pay a base price for the warranty, and are allowed to earn a profit on it or make you a special deal where they get less profit on it.

Also, you can buy an Assurant Solutions warranty from somebody other than BMW, usually for less money. The important thing is to get it bought before your original warranty runs out; at that point the price bumps up.

My M3 is still under the original warranty. However, I have an Assurant Solutions warranty that I was able to get through my USAA membership (former military family) on my 2009 E82. I paid $3,000 for five years of extra coverage, and last I checked they were offering the same deal for the M3. The guys at Passport are very comfortable with Assurant Solutions and I've had a good experience with the whole situation.

For example, I had a recent situation where the E82 was misfiring on one cylinder. Passport did what I would do - replaced the coil pack. But when I picked the car up, the check engine light came right back on, so I turned around, gave it back to them, and got back in my free loaner car. They replaced the injector and the car was ready to go the next day. And even though the warranty company would only cover the injector and the single coil for the misfiring cylinder, Passport replaced the other 5 coils as well, on the house. MSRP on the coil part is $65, so that's a nice bonus.

imkrister · 02-13-2015, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrantyTracker

I don't have any experience with that shop. But I have been going to Passport BMW for several years now. They have always treated me well. We have what I think of as an adult relationship. In the rare case they make a mistake, they are up front about it, make it right, and find a way to pay me back for my patience.

I think some of the people who post outraged internet reviews about service experiences really don't know much about auto repair. As a hack mechanic myself, I understand that no shop can fix every problem in one shot.

The BMW warranty is sold by BMW but issued by a company in St. Petersburg called Assurant Solutions. They are a good warranty company. BMW dealers pay a base price for the warranty, and are allowed to earn a profit on it or make you a special deal where they get less profit on it.

Also, you can buy an Assurant Solutions warranty from somebody other than BMW, usually for less money. The important thing is to get it bought before your original warranty runs out; at that point the price bumps up.

My M3 is still under the original warranty. However, I have an Assurant Solutions warranty that I was able to get through my USAA membership (former military family) on my 2009 E82. I paid $3,000 for five years of extra coverage, and last I checked they were offering the same deal for the M3. The guys at Passport are very comfortable with Assurant Solutions and I've had a good experience with the whole situation.

For example, I had a recent situation where the E82 was misfiring on one cylinder. Passport did what I would do - replaced the coil pack. But when I picked the car up, the check engine light came right back on, so I turned around, gave it back to them, and got back in my free loaner car. They replaced the injector and the car was ready to go the next day. And even though the warranty company would only cover the injector and the single coil for the misfiring cylinder, Passport replaced the other 5 coils as well, on the house. MSRP on the coil part is $65, so that's a nice bonus.

Very good to know, seems like you have had a few really great experiences at Passport. While at Silver Spring I was told that the warranty can only be extended by the original owner (I am not the original owner but the car is still under original warranty). I was under the impression that I could extend it despite me not being the original owner, which makes sense to me especially considering your insight into Assurant Solutions. Any experience running into that type of road block?

WarrantyTracker · 02-20-2015, 02:06 PM

Assurant Solutions through USAA provides an online eligibility and quote system.

I ran a 2013 M3 (still under warranty) through the system both as the original owner and a second owner.

In both cases, it offered me the same comprehensive protection plan, at the same price, for the same 4 additional years/100,000 miles.

But the price (in both cases) was about double what I paid for my X3, unfortunately. Still probably something I will pay up for when the time comes next summer.

fusionrace · 02-27-2015, 08:11 PM

BMW of Silver Spring is great. I have been going to them for odds and ends for the past 12 years (they were also called tischer BMW at the time)

02-04-2015, 07:17 AM	#1
imkrister Private 13 Rep 63 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 Coupe, Comp Pckg Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Northern Virginia iTrader: (0)	Any Service Experiences at BMW Silver Spring? All, I recently purchased a 2011 ZCP that still has a few months left on the original warranty and am looking to get the car in to get looked at (I did have PPI done in Nashville TN where I bought the car) but wanted to have it looked at a little more in depth so that anything wrong gets caught while still in warranty. I am also interested in seeing what options I have for an extended warranty. My question is has anyone here had any good or bad experience at BMW Silver Spring, as that seems to be the only service center in the DMV that has reasonable online reviews (Google+, yelp, etc). Thanks in advance!
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

02-04-2015, 08:16 AM	#2
pseto Major General 809 Rep 7,750 Posts Drives: E92 M3 ZCP, F80 M3 ZCP- beater Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Rockville, MD iTrader: (4)	Silver Spring has always been good to me and I would recommend them. Your experience will mostly be defined by your relationship with your SA; treating them with respect and taking care of them goes a long way. __________________ Paul Seto - BMW Car Club of America President, National Capital Chapter (MD/DC/NoVA) Director, National Events ///M Chapter Become a BMW CCA member; Click HERE to join and use my member #339225 for a referral Join our NCC Facebook Page
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-04-2015, 09:40 AM	#3
imkrister Private 13 Rep 63 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 Coupe, Comp Pckg Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Northern Virginia iTrader: (0)	I am not a very confrontational person so I don't see that being an issue, but great to know that they will reciprocate respect. Looking forward to getting the car checked out there. Thanks for the response
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-13-2015, 09:56 AM	#4
WarrantyTracker Track? What Track? I was just riding along . . . 46 Rep 694 Posts Drives: Alpine White E92 M3 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: An Undisclosed Location iTrader: (1)	I don't have any experience with that shop. But I have been going to Passport BMW for several years now. They have always treated me well. We have what I think of as an adult relationship. In the rare case they make a mistake, they are up front about it, make it right, and find a way to pay me back for my patience. I think some of the people who post outraged internet reviews about service experiences really don't know much about auto repair. As a hack mechanic myself, I understand that no shop can fix every problem in one shot. The BMW warranty is sold by BMW but issued by a company in St. Petersburg called Assurant Solutions. They are a good warranty company. BMW dealers pay a base price for the warranty, and are allowed to earn a profit on it or make you a special deal where they get less profit on it. Also, you can buy an Assurant Solutions warranty from somebody other than BMW, usually for less money. The important thing is to get it bought before your original warranty runs out; at that point the price bumps up. My M3 is still under the original warranty. However, I have an Assurant Solutions warranty that I was able to get through my USAA membership (former military family) on my 2009 E82. I paid $3,000 for five years of extra coverage, and last I checked they were offering the same deal for the M3. The guys at Passport are very comfortable with Assurant Solutions and I've had a good experience with the whole situation. For example, I had a recent situation where the E82 was misfiring on one cylinder. Passport did what I would do - replaced the coil pack. But when I picked the car up, the check engine light came right back on, so I turned around, gave it back to them, and got back in my free loaner car. They replaced the injector and the car was ready to go the next day. And even though the warranty company would only cover the injector and the single coil for the misfiring cylinder, Passport replaced the other 5 coils as well, on the house. MSRP on the coil part is $65, so that's a nice bonus.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-20-2015, 02:06 PM	#6
WarrantyTracker Track? What Track? I was just riding along . . . 46 Rep 694 Posts Drives: Alpine White E92 M3 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: An Undisclosed Location iTrader: (1)	Assurant Solutions through USAA provides an online eligibility and quote system. I ran a 2013 M3 (still under warranty) through the system both as the original owner and a second owner. In both cases, it offered me the same comprehensive protection plan, at the same price, for the same 4 additional years/100,000 miles. But the price (in both cases) was about double what I paid for my X3, unfortunately. Still probably something I will pay up for when the time comes next summer.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-27-2015, 08:11 PM	#7
fusionrace Rogue 128 Rep 122 Posts Drives: 2016 M2 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: MD iTrader: (3) Garage List 2001 325i [0.00] 1989 m3 [0.00] 1990 m3 [0.00] 2009 M3 [0.00]	BMW of Silver Spring is great. I have been going to them for odds and ends for the past 12 years (they were also called tischer BMW at the time)
	Appreciate 0 Quote