Warning about Savage BMW Service

To all that live east of Los Angeles. Do not go to get you car serviced at Savage BMW, especially if you value your sanity. Here is a copy of my complaint letter to them. They were not very apologetic either.

Dear Mr. Savage,



I know that Savage BMW is a “smaller dealership” relative to others in the Southern California area. I also know through your employees that great service is the key area that your dealership prides itself in. I am writing to inform you that Savage BMW has definitely not achieved that goal!! I am extremely disappointed with the service and poor quality of work that I have received from your dealership. I find your staff completely untrustworthy, irresponsible, unprofessional, and have no pride in what they do. Here is a summary of my ordeal.



I first came to your dealership last week on Thursday, November 11 @ 8:15AM. I made an appointment for your dealership to take care of 1. A malfunction in the air-conditioning unit 2. The front passenger door speaker was not working & 3. The one touch sensor was not working in the front passenger window. My service advisor was Aaron Burkhard. Aaron wrote up the work order and Nasario gave me a ride back home on your shuttle. Few hours later, I received a call from Aaron and he said that my car was done. Your shuttle came to pick me up and I went back to the dealership. I then drove my car home. When I got home I unlocked my doors noticing that the front passenger door lock was not responding. I repeatedly pressed the lock/unlock button but the door lock would not respond. I could not even open the door manually from the inside. (The door was completely jammed). I called the dealership and they told me to drive the car back so they could take a look at it. It was now about 2:00 pm in the afternoon and I did not get back to the dealership until about 3:00pm because of traffic. When I got back to Savage, Aaron had the technician look at my car door and said that the “actuator” had failed. I think your tech somehow shorted out the door. Anyway, Aaron said that he had to call around other dealerships to get this part and to bring my car back the next day between 7:00 to 7:30 AM. I was unhappy with the back and forth trips from Diamond Bar to Ontario (4 in one day), but I agreed and returned at about 7:10 AM the next day. Aaron finished writing the work order and I told him that I needed a shuttle to take me to work in San Dimas. He then directed me to John Ford. John said that it was extremely busy that morning and did not have enough drivers to take everyone where they needed to go. I volunteered to give up my spot to a woman who needed to go to Corona. John said that it would not take long for one of the other shuttles to return. About an hour later (8:30 AM) John returns and asks me if I still need a shuttle (although there were still no shuttles available yet) I replied “yes.” Aaron intervened at this point and said that my car was almost done and that he preferred if I just wait for it. I agreed. Another hour later (9:30AM) I was still waiting and John Ford comes up to me again and said that there is now a shuttle available if I need a ride. I said that I needed to check my car status with Aaron. Around 9:45 AM Aaron told me that there could be some problems with my door service. He said that if they remove the door panel, they may not be able to put it back on and if that were the case I would have to either 1. Leave the car over the weekend 2. Drive around without a door panel or 3. Drive around with a door would not open for a few days until the part came in. I was in complete shock. Why didn’t he tell me this earlier? I wouldn’t have waited around for almost 3 hours already. I really didn’t know what to do. He was very inflexible. I asked him if I could get a loaner if I were to leave the vehicle, he said no. I asked him if I could get a rental car, he said no. My only option was to let your technician do the work and hope for the best. Needless to say, I was extremely unhappy. Aaron then suggested that I take a shuttle to work. I really felt my blood pressure rising at this time because I had already missed a few hours of work and my car was no where close to being fixed. I then walked over to John Ford to tell him that I needed a shuttle to San Dimas. It was already 10:15AM at this time. I stood outside waiting and at about 10:30 AM a shuttle was available. Now this really pissed me off. John said that I would have to another customer in the shuttle whom had priority over me. He said that I would have to wait for the shuttle to first take him to Chino Hills and then take me to San Dimas. This customer had just arrived and I had been waiting for over 3 hours!! John said that if I didn’t like it, I could wait for the next shuttle. This really showed me how unprofessional Savage BMW truly is. I had no choice and waited for the next shuttle which arrived at 10:50 AM. I finally got to my office at around 11:25 AM. I was still fuming at this time and I decided to call Aaron’s manager, Jim Straley. Jim said that he would look into the situation and that he would take care of things. A couple of hours later, Jim called and said that my car was done and a shuttle was on its way to pick me up. I got to the dealership only to find out that my lock was fixed but in the process of fixing it, they caused a slight crack in the door panel and also scratched my tint. I could not believe how incredibly incompetent of a staff you have. In order to make things right, Jim said that he would have a valet come to pick up my car next week (Tuesday, 11/16) and fixed the door panel and also the tint. What could I say? I reluctantly agreed. So here we are today. Your valets (Hector Estrada & Nasario) came to pick up the car at 8:00 AM and took it back to your dealership. Aaron called later that morning and said that the car was close to being done and they would deliver it back to me at 2:40PM. The car arrived on time. I looked at the door panel and that looked satisfactory, however, the tint looked horrible. There were air bubbles and a bunch of glue streaks on the tint. It made my window look, warped. The tint job has got to be one of the worst I had ever seen. Your valets (Hector & tall thin Afro-American guy) saw the shotty work and agreed that it was unacceptable. In fact, they called Aaron right away to tell him about the tint. I just can’t believe that Aaron or one of the other service advisors wouldn’t take the time to inspect this work before the vehicle is delivered back to the client. Well, he has now directed me to go back to where I got the tint job in the first place and have them replace the tint. (Another few hours of wasted time for me.) He has promised to pay for the work being done from my tint shop. I don’t even know if I can trust him on this promise. Would you?



In summary, I am extremely unhappy and dissatisfied with Savage BMW. I just don’t feel that offering to pay for my tint is an accurate representation of the pain and suffering your dealership has caused me. I have missed several hours of work and wasted a lot of personal time due to Savage BMW’s incompetence. I have already filed a complaint with BMW NA and I will be reporting this to the Better Business Bureau as well. The worst part is my car is not even fixed yet. I will definitely be doing my part in spreading the word about how poor of a dealership Savage BMW truly is. To be completely fair, I will have to comment that your shuttle drivers were very punctual and polite. You should make them the managers. I would like you to call me to discuss this situation

Moved to Dealer Experiences

Tough luck. The name of the dealer in this context is kinda funny though...

Did BMW NA ever respond to your complaint?

I hope you did contact BMW's national headquarters. Most people never think to report their experiences with any dealership to a car manufacturer, when they should.

Helps car manufacturers find out which dealerships deserve to represent their cars, or not.

I used to work in a dealership. While you have my sympathy, your experience is mild compared to many.
The former owner of my BMW got royally soaked by her dealership,(Northwest BMW in Toronto) with huge quanitites of unnecessary repairs, and, no word of a lie, one of the mechanics scratched the word "SHITBOX" in the paint and undercoating of the underneath of the car, in big letters.

I've had my car service at Savage and I have to say the are times that this stuff happens, I have had my car repaired by them under warranty and they have always gone above and beyond to what I normally expect, I don't know of any one of my buddies that get the same service I get at Savage from their Porsche or Benz dealers thats for sure. We in the processes of buying our 3rd Car from them now.

I had the opposite experience at Savage. I saw this article when i was searching and had to set the record straight. I have been a customer of this dealer for years. They have been great!

I bought a new BMW last year and these guys were so easy to work with. BMW's do cost a little more, but the service is worth it and included with the car! I had one issue with a warning light. The service department provided me with a cool loaner and fixed it in under 2 hours.

I highly recommend Savage BMW. No big city hassles!


I know that Savage BMW is a “smaller dealership” relative to others in the Southern California area. I also know through your employees that great service is the key area that your dealership prides itself in. I am writing to inform you that Savage BMW has definitely not achieved that goal!! I am extremely disappointed with the service and poor quality of work that I have received from your dealership. I find your staff completely untrustworthy, irresponsible, unprofessional, and have no pride in what they do. Here is a summary of my ordeal.



I first came to your dealership last week on Thursday, November 11 @ 8:15AM. I made an appointment for your dealership to take care of 1. A malfunction in the air-conditioning unit 2. The front passenger door speaker was not working & 3. The one touch sensor was not working in the front passenger window. My service advisor was Aaron Burkhard. Aaron wrote up the work order and Nasario gave me a ride back home on your shuttle. Few hours later, I received a call from Aaron and he said that my car was done. Your shuttle came to pick me up and I went back to the dealership. I then drove my car home. When I got home I unlocked my doors noticing that the front passenger door lock was not responding. I repeatedly pressed the lock/unlock button but the door lock would not respond. I could not even open the door manually from the inside. (The door was completely jammed). I called the dealership and they told me to drive the car back so they could take a look at it. It was now about 2:00 pm in the afternoon and I did not get back to the dealership until about 3:00pm because of traffic. When I got back to Savage, Aaron had the technician look at my car door and said that the “actuator” had failed. I think your tech somehow shorted out the door. Anyway, Aaron said that he had to call around other dealerships to get this part and to bring my car back the next day between 7:00 to 7:30 AM. I was unhappy with the back and forth trips from Diamond Bar to Ontario (4 in one day), but I agreed and returned at about 7:10 AM the next day. Aaron finished writing the work order and I told him that I needed a shuttle to take me to work in San Dimas. He then directed me to John Ford. John said that it was extremely busy that morning and did not have enough drivers to take everyone where they needed to go. I volunteered to give up my spot to a woman who needed to go to Corona. John said that it would not take long for one of the other shuttles to return. About an hour later (8:30 AM) John returns and asks me if I still need a shuttle (although there were still no shuttles available yet) I replied “yes.” Aaron intervened at this point and said that my car was almost done and that he preferred if I just wait for it. I agreed. Another hour later (9:30AM) I was still waiting and John Ford comes up to me again and said that there is now a shuttle available if I need a ride. I said that I needed to check my car status with Aaron. Around 9:45 AM Aaron told me that there could be some problems with my door service. He said that if they remove the door panel, they may not be able to put it back on and if that were the case I would have to either 1. Leave the car over the weekend 2. Drive around without a door panel or 3. Drive around with a door would not open for a few days until the part came in. I was in complete shock. Why didn’t he tell me this earlier? I wouldn’t have waited around for almost 3 hours already. I really didn’t know what to do. He was very inflexible. I asked him if I could get a loaner if I were to leave the vehicle, he said no. I asked him if I could get a rental car, he said no. My only option was to let your technician do the work and hope for the best. Needless to say, I was extremely unhappy. Aaron then suggested that I take a shuttle to work. I really felt my blood pressure rising at this time because I had already missed a few hours of work and my car was no where close to being fixed. I then walked over to John Ford to tell him that I needed a shuttle to San Dimas. It was already 10:15AM at this time. I stood outside waiting and at about 10:30 AM a shuttle was available. Now this really pissed me off. John said that I would have to another customer in the shuttle whom had priority over me. He said that I would have to wait for the shuttle to first take him to Chino Hills and then take me to San Dimas. This customer had just arrived and I had been waiting for over 3 hours!! John said that if I didn’t like it, I could wait for the next shuttle. This really showed me how unprofessional Savage BMW truly is. I had no choice and waited for the next shuttle which arrived at 10:50 AM. I finally got to my office at around 11:25 AM. I was still fuming at this time and I decided to call Aaron’s manager, Jim Straley. Jim said that he would look into the situation and that he would take care of things. A couple of hours later, Jim called and said that my car was done and a shuttle was on its way to pick me up. I got to the dealership only to find out that my lock was fixed but in the process of fixing it, they caused a slight crack in the door panel and also scratched my tint. I could not believe how incredibly incompetent of a staff you have. In order to make things right, Jim said that he would have a valet come to pick up my car next week (Tuesday, 11/16) and fixed the door panel and also the tint. What could I say? I reluctantly agreed. So here we are today. Your valets (Hector Estrada & Nasario) came to pick up the car at 8:00 AM and took it back to your dealership. Aaron called later that morning and said that the car was close to being done and they would deliver it back to me at 2:40PM. The car arrived on time. I looked at the door panel and that looked satisfactory, however, the tint looked horrible. There were air bubbles and a bunch of glue streaks on the tint. It made my window look, warped. The tint job has got to be one of the worst I had ever seen. Your valets (Hector & tall thin Afro-American guy) saw the shotty work and agreed that it was unacceptable. In fact, they called Aaron right away to tell him about the tint. I just can’t believe that Aaron or one of the other service advisors wouldn’t take the time to inspect this work before the vehicle is delivered back to the client. Well, he has now directed me to go back to where I got the tint job in the first place and have them replace the tint. (Another few hours of wasted time for me.) He has promised to pay for the work being done from my tint shop. I don’t even know if I can trust him on this promise. Would you?



In summary, I am extremely unhappy and dissatisfied with Savage BMW. I just don’t feel that offering to pay for my tint is an accurate representation of the pain and suffering your dealership has caused me. I have missed several hours of work and wasted a lot of personal time due to Savage BMW’s incompetence. I have already filed a complaint with BMW NA and I will be reporting this to the Better Business Bureau as well. The worst part is my car is not even fixed yet. I will definitely be doing my part in spreading the word about how poor of a dealership Savage BMW truly is. To be completely fair, I will have to comment that your shuttle drivers were very punctual and polite. You should make them the managers. I would like you to call me to discuss this situation[/quote]