Recommended Dealer for Service/LA Area

NugeMobile · 01-04-2009, 08:33 AM

Hey Folks -

I'm searched the past threads and couldn't find anything re: dealers in the LA area other than people having some serious headaches. Perhaps it's all about picking the lesser of many evils out there. My 08 E90 is en route to the area now and I'm moving out in two weeks. I'll be due for my 1,200 in a few weeks.

Anyone have a rec. for the best one? (BH? Santa M?)

Maybe even a specific contact would be helpful. I would like to start to build a relationship w/a reasonable guy out there for future service needs.

Thanks in Advance

aajami · 01-04-2009, 01:39 PM

I'd like to know as well. I ordered my M3 through a broker that deals with Rusnack in Westlake, but that's going to be too far for servicing my car. How's South Bay's service? And Long Beach and Santa Monica?

FStop7 · 01-04-2009, 01:49 PM

So far my experience with Long Beach BMW has been good.

I would avoid Beverly Hills BMW and Santa Monica BMW at all costs.

pilot_bro2003 · 01-04-2009, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FStop7

So far my experience with Long Beach BMW has been good.

I would avoid Beverly Hills BMW and Santa Monica BMW at all costs.

Do you have any specific complaints about Santa Monica BMW? I have family there that has a BMW that needs servicing and they wouldn't know the difference between a good SA or a bad one!

Thanks.

MrHarris · 01-04-2009, 08:44 PM

Whatever you do, do not go to Crevier. I've had good luck at New Century.

M3MIKE · 01-04-2009, 08:53 PM

Center BMW in Van Nuys has the best service in Los Angeles. Ask for S/A Dennis. He even returns phone calls! I've never had any problems with them.

Hellride · 01-04-2009, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrHarris

Whatever you do, do not go to Crevier. I've had good luck at New Century.

^I second that regarding Crevier. I now go to Sterling and have been treated extremely well there.

2008bimmerM3 · 01-04-2009, 10:12 PM

go to south bay bmw and ask for service adviser Alex. Ask for Adam to do the work. They are a great team.

FStop7 · 01-04-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilot_bro2003

Do you have any specific complaints about Santa Monica BMW? I have family there that has a BMW that needs servicing and they wouldn't know the difference between a good SA or a bad one!

Thanks.

They tried to charge a friend of mine $3,000 to replace the RTABs in his 03 M3 and $400 for an oil change.

JBJ · 01-05-2009, 12:29 AM

It is well known that Santa Monica's service dept are crooks and bad. There's even a website that rates them very poorly with a lot of negative feedback. And my friends' experiences attest to all of this.

I go to Beverly Hills, as does my whole family. Gerd is a 10. But you see the variety of opinions already posted. I guess it comes down to the SA.

FStop7 · 01-05-2009, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBJ

I go to Beverly Hills, as does my whole family. Gerd is a 10. But you see the variety of opinions already posted. I guess it comes down to the SA.

Gerd was my SA the one time I went there. He was very friendly to me. But they charged me $325 for a scheduled service (oil change, cabin filter) on my E46 M3. I was not happy about that. I have the receipts somewhere if anyone doubts it. Now that I have a new M3 the service is free. But I have a long memory, especially when it comes to when I've been ripped off.

aus · 01-05-2009, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FStop7

Gerd was my SA the one time I went there. He was very friendly to me. But they charged me $325 for a scheduled service (oil change, cabin filter) on my E46 M3. I was not happy about that. I have the receipts somewhere if anyone doubts it. Now that I have a new M3 the service is free. But I have a long memory, especially when it comes to when I've been ripped off.

If they did a cabin filter change, then they did a Service I. I don't know if you asked for that or not, but that's probably what you got, and $325 is a pretty good price for it. They ALL do this play on words where they'll quote you an "Oil Service" which is around $200, but an "Oil Change" is around $100.

As for the dealers, Santa Monica is pretty much known as a TERRIBLE place to buy and especially for service. Irvine also gets some bad remarks.

McKenna is just TERRIBLE! No loaner/rental even if you bought the car there. The Enterprise charges almost $50 for a sh!t car for a day.

I've had good luck with Crevier, but obviously other's haven't. Long Beach is fine too, but they tend to charge a lot, like 2 hours for an alarm install, whent the BMW instructions recommend 1.5 hrs for install and programing.

I also had good luck with Beverly Hills when I had an older M3.

FStop7 · 01-05-2009, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aus

If they did a cabin filter change, then they did a Service I. I don't know if you asked for that or not, but that's probably what you got, and $325 is a pretty good price for it. They ALL do this play on words where they'll quote you an "Oil Service" which is around $200, but an "Oil Change" is around $100.

I just looked it up, I was wrong - it was $387.

It was Service 1. Service 1 = Oil, filter, cabin filter, labor.

The price for labor was $138. No problem there.

The price for the parts was $230 (oil, oil filter, microfilter). That's where I have a problem. They charged me something like $80 for the microfilter.

jerrybajwa · 01-05-2009, 11:15 AM

santa monica -10
i had a terrible experience there as well

tightie · 01-05-2009, 12:01 PM

i like center bmw.

eclipsisNA · 01-05-2009, 12:34 PM

Brice Carson at Center BMW is probably the best SA I've ever run into throughout 10 years of owning BMWs. Very nice guy who also stays on top of whatever issues your car has.

Alias · 01-05-2009, 03:15 PM

Whats wrong with Crevier?

YseanY · 01-05-2009, 06:00 PM

i've always been at new century in alhambra with sidney!

NinetyEight740 · 01-06-2009, 10:51 PM

Come one, come all to Sterling BMW!!!

Request Ernie Guzman for your New Service Advisor!!!

aus · 01-08-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FStop7

I just looked it up, I was wrong - it was $387.

It was Service 1. Service 1 = Oil, filter, cabin filter, labor.

The price for labor was $138. No problem there.

The price for the parts was $230 (oil, oil filter, microfilter). That's where I have a problem. They charged me something like $80 for the microfilter.

That's a lot for a cheap ass microfilter, and $150 for the oil/filter is just getting raped. Do you have a CCA card? That will save a few bucks, especially at Nick Alexander. Crevier gives you 15% off the parts with a CCA card.

MSoldier · 05-22-2009, 02:31 PM

Like everyone else who owns their M and wants to do more frequent oil changes then what the manufacturer recommends, I went down to South Bay BMW in Torrance. I have about 8300 miles and it was well worth the drive from Santa Monica. Since I've read horror stories about Santa Monica BMW and ok reviews of Beverly Hills I just decided to go straight to SouthBay. Service was great and the customer service was excellent. I called and tried to get an estimate since I never paid for an oil change on a BMW before and because I wanted to see if I could do a walk in. I was quoted $250 and I went down and got it done. I waited about an 1 1/2 hours and it was cool, oil change done and got the complimentary car wash. All in all, great experience, its my Service Center from here on out even if I haven't tried the other ones closer.

If you haven't been there and you want to give it a shot, ask for Jose Virgen, very professional representive.

01-04-2009, 08:33 AM	#1
NugeMobile Private First Class 13 Rep 152 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 (E90) Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (0)	Recommended Dealer for Service/LA Area Hey Folks - I'm searched the past threads and couldn't find anything re: dealers in the LA area other than people having some serious headaches. Perhaps it's all about picking the lesser of many evils out there. My 08 E90 is en route to the area now and I'm moving out in two weeks. I'll be due for my 1,200 in a few weeks. Anyone have a rec. for the best one? (BH? Santa M?) Maybe even a specific contact would be helpful. I would like to start to build a relationship w/a reasonable guy out there for future service needs. Thanks in Advance
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01-04-2009, 01:39 PM	#2
aajami Brigadier General 432 Rep 4,567 Posts Drives: Space Gray '09 E92 M3 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Manhattan Beach, CA iTrader: (4)	I'd like to know as well. I ordered my M3 through a broker that deals with Rusnack in Westlake, but that's going to be too far for servicing my car. How's South Bay's service? And Long Beach and Santa Monica? __________________ '09 E92 M3: Space Gray, Black, Carbon Leather \| ZTP 2MK ZPP 2MT 6FL \| link 1 / link 2 Mods: M Performance exhaust \| ZCP retrofit \| Euro airbox \| GTS DCT flash \| JPN 240 ECU flash \| Euro LCI taillights \| CRT lip \| OEM alarm retrofit \| Space Gray bumper plugs \| BMW Performance: Mk. II spoiler / Mk. II non-electronic steering wheel / mirror caps / front grilles / side gills / intake louvers / emblem
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01-04-2009, 01:49 PM	#3
FStop7 I like cars 329 Rep 5,052 Posts Drives: M6 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Newbury Park, CA iTrader: (3)	So far my experience with Long Beach BMW has been good. I would avoid Beverly Hills BMW and Santa Monica BMW at all costs.
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01-04-2009, 08:44 PM	#5
MrHarris yodog 197 Rep 5,026 Posts Drives: '86 Corolla Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Diamond Bar, Ca iTrader: (5) Garage List 2009 BMW [10.00]	Whatever you do, do not go to Crevier. I've had good luck at New Century. __________________ 2009 E92 M3 \| Alpine White \| Black Extended \| Advan RS \| Turner Test Pipes \| Dinan Axle-Back \| OETuning \| Eibach Springs \| UUC SSK \| VRS Front Lip \| VRS Type I Diffuser \| Matte Black \| RPi Scoops \| MS Filter \| Yokohama AD08 \| F1 Pinnacle Special Thanks: Gintani \| OETuning \| eAs
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01-04-2009, 08:53 PM	#6
M3MIKE Second Lieutenant 8 Rep 226 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 COUPE Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: LOS ANGELES iTrader: (0)	Center BMW in Van Nuys has the best service in Los Angeles. Ask for S/A Dennis. He even returns phone calls! I've never had any problems with them.
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01-04-2009, 10:12 PM	#8
2008bimmerM3 First Lieutenant 51 Rep 322 Posts Drives: JB Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SO CAL iTrader: (0)	go to south bay bmw and ask for service adviser Alex. Ask for Adam to do the work. They are a great team.
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01-05-2009, 12:29 AM	#10
JBJ Sports Car Enthusiast 0 Rep 28 Posts Drives: E46 M3 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0)	It is well known that Santa Monica's service dept are crooks and bad. There's even a website that rates them very poorly with a lot of negative feedback. And my friends' experiences attest to all of this. I go to Beverly Hills, as does my whole family. Gerd is a 10. But you see the variety of opinions already posted. I guess it comes down to the SA. __________________ '05 SG/IR E46 M3 Coupe, 6-speed
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01-05-2009, 11:15 AM	#14
jerrybajwa Lieutenant 34 Rep 458 Posts Drives: AW/FR '11 e92 M3 ZCP Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Socal iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 335i coupe [0.00]	santa monica -10 i had a terrible experience there as well __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] 335i-SL55-M3!!!!!!!!
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01-05-2009, 12:01 PM	#15
tightie JOSH SHOKRI. 524 Rep 5,881 Posts Drives: 991 GT3RS, 964, Raptor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: los angeles, california. iTrader: (7) Garage List 2008 BMW M3 [7.90]	i like center bmw. __________________ Current: 16 991 GT3RS , 91 964 C2, 17 Raptor \| Past: 2015 991 GT3, 2015 i3,15 YMB F80 M3, 13 E92 M3 DCT, 08 E92 M3 6MT, 07 E60 M5, 02 E46 M3 Instagram: @josh_speeddistrict #SpeedDistrict @SpeedDistrict
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01-05-2009, 12:34 PM	#16
eclipsisNA Colonel 350 Rep 2,937 Posts Drives: 2013 Estoril 328i M Sport Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Beverly Hills, CA iTrader: (6) Garage List 2014 BMW 428i [7.76]	Brice Carson at Center BMW is probably the best SA I've ever run into throughout 10 years of owning BMWs. Very nice guy who also stays on top of whatever issues your car has.
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01-05-2009, 03:15 PM	#17
Alias dork 38 Rep 477 Posts Drives: //M Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: so cal iTrader: (3)	Whats wrong with Crevier?
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01-05-2009, 06:00 PM	#18
YseanY Private 2 Rep 97 Posts Drives: E46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Arcadia iTrader: (0)	i've always been at new century in alhambra with sidney!
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01-06-2009, 10:51 PM	#19
NinetyEight740 Major General 231 Rep 5,691 Posts Drives: 2 - 2013 535i msport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Orange County California iTrader: (2) Garage List 2010 E91 [0.00]	Come one, come all to Sterling BMW!!! Request Ernie Guzman for your New Service Advisor!!!
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05-22-2009, 02:31 PM	#21
MSoldier Private 0 Rep 98 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 E92 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Oahu, HI iTrader: (1)	2 Big Thumbs Up to Southbay BMW in Torrance Like everyone else who owns their M and wants to do more frequent oil changes then what the manufacturer recommends, I went down to South Bay BMW in Torrance. I have about 8300 miles and it was well worth the drive from Santa Monica. Since I've read horror stories about Santa Monica BMW and ok reviews of Beverly Hills I just decided to go straight to SouthBay. Service was great and the customer service was excellent. I called and tried to get an estimate since I never paid for an oil change on a BMW before and because I wanted to see if I could do a walk in. I was quoted $250 and I went down and got it done. I waited about an 1 1/2 hours and it was cool, oil change done and got the complimentary car wash. All in all, great experience, its my Service Center from here on out even if I haven't tried the other ones closer. If you haven't been there and you want to give it a shot, ask for Jose Virgen, very professional representive.
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