Do Not Service Your Bmw At Herb Chambers

[amyamico]

This is a 1999 528 with 25,000 miles serviced at Herb Chamber in Boston

I will not do business with this dealership and neither should you.

Here is a summary of my experience with them, please note that this should have been taken care of in two appointments but it took six and these were the first and last appointments I made with them

Appointment #1
Thermostat malfunctioned called dealership made appointment, and added a car wash for $75

Went to appointment here is what happened:
-car not ready at pre-agreed time
-although dealership knew the car needed a thermostat they had none in stock so they could not repair
-I was told that they would contact me as soon as they had one that the thermostats were on back order due as they originals were defective
-they forgot to wash the car, and refunded the $75 they charged to clean it

I checked with the dealership a couple of time at the beginning regarding the back ordered thermostat and was assured they would call me when one came in. Meanwhile it is winter in New England and I am freezing during my two hour a day commute to work as the climate control will not work because of the thermostat.

Several months later still Winter time out of frustration I called again to inquire about the thermostat. They just blandly told me they were in stock and had been for some time. I went back to the dealership and had it replaced.

Appointment #2
Needed a tune up and asked to have new blades put on the car

-appointment went fine car ready blades changed...the problems arose after I left the dealership

Two days later it was raining...they had not correctly installed the new wind shield wiper blades and as a result they locked together while in motion and the entire arms of the wipers snapped forward onto the hood of the car. I stopped separated them and they would not work and I am stuck on the side of the a rural road in the pouring rain at night with my 11 year old son and no wind shield wipers. I brought the car in, it had to be kept overnight while the parts were ordered. It was repaired but one of the blades still is not right was a metal piece sticks out about an inch beyond the end of the wiper.

One week later I am driving along and car starts to overheat, I called the BMW roadside number and they tell me knot to drive the car have it towed. I am so fed up with Herb Chambers BMW that I have the car towed to the BMW dealership in Peabody MA.

The Peabody dealership found that while Chambers was doing the tune-up they broke the drain valve for the radiator during the tune-up causing the fluid to slowly drain out resulting in it overheating.

[Hipchick]

I have had similar experiences with the Herb Chambers BMW dealership in Boston and it's terrible. I have a 2000 328 which has barely 12,000 miles. Since the day I drove the car off the lot, there has been problems. The service department at Herb Chambers is just aweful nevermind if you happend to forget your husband at home, they are worse! I was outraged when I first dropped off my car after owning it for only 2 days, and the airbag and engine lights suddenly turning on. I stepped into service, they supposidly checked both lights, I drove off the lot and boom, again the lights. I was driving back from New Hampshire not 1 month after I got the car and it began to suddenly rain. I attempted to shut my sunroof, but it jammed. I was caught in bumper to bumper traffic with water pouring inside my brand new car. I reported the incident to the dealership, brought the car in, and they summed it up to a "factory defect" apparent in all the 2000 cars. I was so outraged, they told me to keep my sunroof shut until I recieved a call to get the thing fixed. I drove the car for almost 1 year and suddenly the tachometer began jumping, the car auto accelerated and then suddenly shut off. I brought the car in for service again, this time they gave me an enterprise loaner, and not 3 days later I get a call that the car was fixed. I went to get the thing, and sure enough, nothing was fixed. I was nearly in several accidents because the car stalls and shuts off in the middle of traffic. The service department stated that my car contained a "serious factory malfunction" that could only be remedied by BMW International. I was told I would receieve a call within 2 days for a service appointment, but never did. To top everything off, they fraudulently charged my credit card for the rental bill of the loaner car. Enterprise was never paid by Herb Chambers so they were instructed BY THE DEALERSHIP to use my credit card to pay!!! It took them 3 monthes to pay me back. I am so upset by all of this. I was even cursed at by the service manager...this is what is the worse part about everything, they can do this kind of thing to their customers and get away with it. I have also had a thermostat recall notice on my vehicle but they also told me they were "out of stock" on that part number. Again they said they would call and did not. My salesman of coarse is acting invisible, as they usually do following a close on a car, and the service department has more turnover than imaginable. I was told by the dealership to take the car to another dealership, which makes me upset because I bought the car from them, they should be able to fix the thing. I attempted numerous times to contact service, my salesman, corporate office, anyone, but NO ONE EVER RETURNS YOUR CALLS. There is nothing you can do if the dealership decides to become uncooperative for some unknown reason. For anyone considering them for a new car, try Peabody or Natick for better treatment. You don't want to be stuck in the rain like I was with no umbrella!!! FYI, if you attempt calling BMW International, they too are useless and will refer you back to your dealership for resolution.