gnhm3 wroteI am not surprised by this story at all, it seems completely in line with their past behavior. I bought 2 BMWs from them and then they turned around and completely tried to screw me. I wrote a lenghty review about them on Yelp but it was taken down because I referred to their staff as a bunch of uneducated neanderthals. You should post this story on Yelp for BMW of San Francisco. You will also note that they only have two and a half stars - it would be much lower but some negative reviews have been removed. Dont know why, I suspect due to similar reasons as mine was, i.e. a derogatory reference to the folks at that $hitty business.Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.
I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.
I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.
Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:
Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.
I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.
He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.
More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.
Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.
Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.
9.4KVIEWS
48REPLIES
0APPRECIATES
03-17-2012LAST POST
gnhm3 wroteThis is the review that I wrote about them on Yelp which was subsequently removed from the site:Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.
I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.
I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.
Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:
Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.
I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.
He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.
More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.
Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.
Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.
Bought 3 BMWs over the last 5 years, the last two from BMW of San Francisco. I have tolerated their questionable business practices and arrogant behavior over the years mainly due to the convenience of this dealership's location in the city.
But enough is enough, these guys are absolutely terrible. Life is too short to be constantly aggravated by a collection of uneducated neanderthals that lack any sense of integrity. It still remains a mystery to me as to why any manufacturer would allow their brand to be tarnished by associating themselves with folks that operate just above the criminal. BMW should allow a competing authorized BMW dealer in every major city to avoid a single dealer from behaving like a complete and utter ass.
Long story short - this is a horrendous dealer and should be avoided at all costs. Even though I live and work in the city, I now take my car to East Bay BMW -they have very good technicians who know what they are doing, especially Alex.
This dealership has me questioning my desire to ever purchase another BMW. What a hell hole!
That blows dude but like others have said, the deposit would have helped. What if they had turned down a sale because they had someone coming to look at it (you), and you walked away? I'd be pissed as F too in either situation. Next time, $ means business. Good luck with your search.
I don't recommend them either. I bought my wife's mini there in February, thought i did all the negotiating on the phone, I ended up there for another 2 hours. I thought I'd give them another chance (since theyre so close by)when I ordered my m3 in sept.,but again the customer service is what drove me away.
I ended up with Steve Thomas.
I ended up with Steve Thomas.
i bought my car up there years ago and the guy who helped me was great. i've had maybe one service done there and was whatevers with it. did't get any special treatment or anything nor was it "terrible," but it definitely could have been better.
sorry for your experience. that really sucks.
sorry for your experience. that really sucks.
gnhm3 wroteJust wondering it you found the car you want yet? I just put my E46 on AutoTrader. http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc388/Hubbman32/2006%20M3%20Competition%20Package/M3%20PIcs/Hey everyone, I just want to let everyone know about a negative situation I had with San Francisco BMW. About 3 months ago I began search for a 2004-2006 e46 M3. As most of you already know these are pretty hard to come by at BMW dealers these days. On August 8th I come across a listing online for a 2004 M3 at San Francisco BMW. I decide to give them a call and begin talking to a sales associate Nyomi Balatti. Nyomi is very helpful from the beginning sending me pictures, returning phone calls, and emailing me documents of the car. Everything checked out and I decided to pull the trigger on the car. The only thing that bothered me was that I was located in Los Angeles and the car was in SF but Nyomi guaranteed me I would not be disappointed.
I wake up the next day and give Nyomi a call asking her if the car is still available for me to fly in and drive it back. She assures me it is and asks what time I am coming in. I buy my ticket and let her know when I will be arriving. I ask her if someone could pick me up and she replies by saying I would rather pay for your taxi.
I am now on the way to LAX and I give Nyomi one more phone call making sure the car will be there when I arrive in 2 hours. Again, she assures me it's available and being washed for me to come pick it up. I asked if I can put a deposit just in case but she said that it is not necessary.
Fast forward 2 hours and I am now in San Francisco in a taxi about 5 minutes away from the dealership when I get a call from Nyomi. This is how the conversation went:
Nyomi: You won't believe it, they sold the car.
Me: Are you kidding?
Nyomi: I wish I was.
Me: I asked you a thousand times if it was still available and you said yes.
Nyomi: I don't know what to tell you.
Me: I'll be there in 5 minutes.
I am furious at this point. I arrive at the dealership and demand to see the manager right away. I am introduced to a manager by the name of Alex. Right from the beginning I can tell Alex doesn't care about the whole situation. He tells me that the car is gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it. He then decides to do me a favor by giving me a deal of $1000 above invoice on a new M3. I demand for my airfare and taxi to be taken care of at the minimum but he begins to counteroffer with only half. I threaten to blast him and his dealership on online forums when he finally agrees.
He says that he will send me a check in the mail since corporate has to write it. I ask how can I be certain he will and he replies by saying we've been in business for years and would never do that to a customer. He asks for a printout of my airline receipt which I provide and head back home.
More than 2 months later I have received no check and Nyomi the sales woman I dealt with will not give me an answer or help me out. This has to be the worst treatment I have ever received by any business. I wasted a whole day, took time off work, and had to pay for 2 taxi's. All together I wasted $415 that day.
Sorry for the long read but I needed to get this off my chest. Try to avoid dealings with this dealership at all costs, especially Nyomi Balatti, and Alex.
Cliff Notes:
1. Looking for an e46 M3
2. Find one in SF
3. Call dealership and tell them I am coming. They say they will hold it.
4. Buy plane ticket.
5. Call Sales associate numerous times before leaving to make sure it is still available which she says yes it is.
6. Fly in, get in a taxi on the way to the dealer when sales associate calls me and say they sold it.
7. Manager promises to refund my plane and taxi costs.
8. Never receive a check and dealer is now ignoring me.
I'm actually going the opposite way, I live in SF Bay Area and going down to San Diego as I just put a deposit down on a car @ BMW of Encinitas on a new M3. I'm concerned about these stories all the time. Deposits are different here in California. I was told by multiple SA that deposits can't be placed on cars here in Cali. It's either sold or available for sale. I tried to put deposits on various used cars at different BMW dealerships and was told many times that I couldn't. The fact that BMW of Encinitas did, I'm a little concerned as well. Plane ticket is bought and I'm suppose to pick up car next week. Sorry OP to hear about your story.
The Sales Manager told me the car is mine since I gave him a credit card for deposit. A week later, the charge hasn't appeared on my credit card. I was suppose to sign docs locally as well, but they had the wrong figures on the current contract. The dealership told me that they had to consider the car sold last week when I gave him the CC since they had others looking at the car since then. Therefore, since it's also a leased vehicle, he had to inform BMWNA that the car is sold as well so I have to start payment on it as of last week as well. Any insights to this?
The Sales Manager told me the car is mine since I gave him a credit card for deposit. A week later, the charge hasn't appeared on my credit card. I was suppose to sign docs locally as well, but they had the wrong figures on the current contract. The dealership told me that they had to consider the car sold last week when I gave him the CC since they had others looking at the car since then. Therefore, since it's also a leased vehicle, he had to inform BMWNA that the car is sold as well so I have to start payment on it as of last week as well. Any insights to this?
OP you should email them the link to this thread so they can see the amazing reputation they've created for themselves.
What a bunch of A holes. Just can not trust anyone you don't know these days. At least there are places like this these days were others can learn and avoid similar hardships.
Start an "I hate SF BMW" page on facebook! 
Then, email them that link. That should be fun. I'll like the page and pass it to a bunch of people. get upwards of a thousand likes... then maybe you'll get your refund to close the page.
Then, email them that link. That should be fun. I'll like the page and pass it to a bunch of people. get upwards of a thousand likes... then maybe you'll get your refund to close the page.
ClutchThese wroteLink it here to so we can all like the pageStart an "I hate SF BMW" page on facebook!
If I was in OP's shoes, I'd appreciate all of the support I could get.
i just ordered an 2012 E92 thru SF BMW for Euro Delivery...they've seemed pretty nice, but they have acted pretty nonchalant about things so far. having worked at a car dealership i think a lot of it depends on the particular salesperson you are dealing with as well, and to be honest i think it's your salesperson that let you down. she probably just assumed the car was available the morning you called without actually checking to see whether it was or not. anyways, sorry to hear your story, hoping my experience with these guys goes better.
Scumbags. Thanks for posting.
Tomislav wroteYou suck at reading.Sorry, but until you put a deposit on a car, it's fair game. If you were serious, even a few hundred dollars as a holding deposit would have secured it. If you didn't like the car, the deposit would have been refunded.
dagolfpro wroteSo they basically tried to get you to sign a contract with the wrong figures (guessing too high), then when you didn't, they will now backdate the one you do sign? And, you will pay for a week you didn't have the car? Why would they expect you to agree to that? You should pay when you are ready to take the car, and that is when the lease should start.The Sales Manager told me the car is mine since I gave him a credit card for deposit. A week later, the charge hasn't appeared on my credit card. I was suppose to sign docs locally as well, but they had the wrong figures on the current contract. The dealership told me that they had to consider the car sold last week when I gave him the CC since they had others looking at the car since then. Therefore, since it's also a leased vehicle, he had to inform BMWNA that the car is sold as well so I have to start payment on it as of last week as well. Any insights to this?
Just like your fb page. F... Those guys.
Thank you to everyone showing support. I have emailed the dealership the link to this thread so I am sure they are monitoring it.
Order a new m3 from them with terrible options Like individual avocado green with white interior or something. Then back out of the deal and leave them with a car they'll never sell.
people's word should be their honor, but turnabout should also be fair play
people's word should be their honor, but turnabout should also be fair play
I liked the Facebook page for ya 
