Experience with Calgary BMW Gallery / Mini Crowfoot

[West Karma]

nm

[Kjesse]

Originally Posted by West Karma

I have bought 5 new vehicles from Calgary BMW since 2001. Grant / Neil and the rest of their team have given me NOTHING but great service. I have a couple emergencies where I dropped the car off to them without notice and they have always done what they can.

Sure, booking an appointment 3-4 weeks in advance to get your car serviced is a pain but I think there are many businesses in Calgary are in the same situation.

As far as the problems with BMW's - I think the one poster is right about trying not to get too many kms on them as they do tend to have issues after 100,000 km. But then again, most cars do as well except that little 1988 Honda CRX I had years ago. I drove that thing for over 160,000 km and never had the oil changed....

I enjoy driving my BMW's and can't imagine not owning one....

Cheers!

RW

Since you are on a first name basis with them and have treated them to 5 commissions you might get better treatment than the rest.

Myself, I bought a BMW this year and am just dreading the day I have to get it serviced. I knew in advance I'd have to deal with them but I just wanted the car so I'm taking the risk. I know of some horror stories-- including 2 friends who had the early e46 m3's with the engine problem... It took intervention from BMW Canada, who in turn got direction direct from Germany, before they started replacing the failed engines and backed off their position of needing 30K to replace engines sold with new cars only months earlier.

Anyway, I still think these cars come with more quality built in than anything available from a north american factory, but when your redline is 7500 rpm, you have to be ready to spend money on some serious maintenance.

I love the cars, and fear the reputation of the local dealers. I bought anyway, maybe I'm a fool.

[zarrell]

Bumping a somewhat old thread. I'm considering a mini in the near future and was wondering how much off msrp the dealers are willing to go. I've put almost 60,000km on my pickup in just over a year, so I need something more fuel efficient for non work activities.

[macker]

Always thought it looked funny to see a Calgary BMW courtesy "Honda Odyssey" but then someone told me the same guy owns both so I guess he is still eating his own cooking....

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by zarrell

Bumping a somewhat old thread. I'm considering a mini in the near future and was wondering how much off msrp the dealers are willing to go. I've put almost 60,000km on my pickup in just over a year, so I need something more fuel efficient for non work activities.

I'm afraid there is not much room for negotiating there. MINI (like BMW) sells at MSRP. You might get some extra floormats if you ask nicely. There may be a bit more wiggle room on dealer installed accessories, but probably not much.

The new MINI Coopers are very fuel efficient, and in fact the 2008s qualify for a federal eco-rebate of $1000.

[kdogg]

From coming from a family that owns 3 BMWs, we are not happy with the service they provide. My brother refuses to take his car to the crowfoot location, despite we live 2 minutes away.

I we have lots of stories, just, I don't have the 30 minutes to write them out.

We all like the cars, but, hate the service.
________
Amabelle1

[Cowboy89]

My old man deals with Crowfoot for his BMW. He's had the same one since 2000 and it's still running great with minimal problems. He's had the odd issue with service, and booking 3 weeks ahead of time can be annoying but I dare someone to have an overall automotive experience better from a Ford, Chrysler, GM, Honda, or Toyota dealership.

[OilersBaby]

Wow, so my husband just bought the BMW 128i and I'm getting the Mini Cooper in the next couple of months. THe 1 series just came out a couple of months ago and I love it cuz it's small and I suck at driving big cars..(even though I live in Cali and Im surrounded by huge SUVs). In the process of buying, we looked at Canadian prices and it's expensive!!!! Come down here and buy if you can, its much cheaper, plus BMW has European delivery here..they will knock of 3K of the MSRP, give you a free ticket to Germany where you get to pick up the car and drop it off upto 14 days later in any one of 5 different Western European countries! You get to drive on the Autobahn. They pay for the car insurance while you are there. You pay 800 for shipping. You get to go to the BMW factory in Munich to pick up your customized vehicle. Mini doesnt have Euro Delivery but thats okay..

[Burninator]

I would be very leery of leaving your seasonal tires at the Mini dealership.

A co-worker of mine had a hell of time with them last year. It took them over a month to find his summer tires that they stored for him. They were very poor at getting back to them. He always had to phone them and most of the time nothing got done in between phone calls. But they did swap his tires, detail his car for free and cover the cost of the storage for this year.

Well this year didn't go as smoothly. When he went to get his summers put on they phoned him and said one wheel was dented and they couldn't put it on. He went down to the dealership to investigate and found they put on someone else's wheels. They were stock mini wheels and he owns customs wheels. Well another couple weeks by and they have now completely lost them. They are in the process of replacing them, so we'll see how that goes. Needless to say he won't be storing wheels there again.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I would be very leery of leaving your seasonal tires at the Mini dealership.

I don't know why anyone would do that. Mine live in the garage. And before I had a house with a garage, they lived in a corner of the basement. Easy enough to do the swap yourself, especially on the MINI.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I don't know why anyone would do that. Mine live in the garage. And before I had a house with a garage, they lived in a corner of the basement. Easy enough to do the swap yourself, especially on the MINI.

Not if you live in a condo that doesn't have a storage locker.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Not if you live in a condo that doesn't have a storage locker.

Fair enough.

I sometimes do wonder about the lot staff over there. Putting on someone else's wheels?

[BuzzardsWife]

If I had a beamer, I'd never complain. I'd just be happy to drive it at all! But it must be frustrating. Maybe some of you should get together and start your own dealership if you like the cars so much, then you'd get great service

[Dion]

My brother owns a beemer roadster and is always complaining about the outrageous costs involved in getting his car repaired.

[go iggy]

I'm in the market for a beamer and am looking at a 2004 320i with 44000kms on it. it's selling for $23000 . I haven't gone to test drive it yet but was wondering for a car like that is that price good? Assuming that the car is in good shape.

Also, can you only take your BMW to the dealership? Your local shop won't do it for you?

Thanks

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Well this year didn't go as smoothly. When he went to get his summers put on they phoned him and said one wheel was dented and they couldn't put it on. He went down to the dealership to investigate and found they put on someone else's wheels. They were stock mini wheels and he owns customs wheels. Well another couple weeks by and they have now completely lost them. They are in the process of replacing them, so we'll see how that goes. Needless to say he won't be storing wheels there again.

Chances are they put his custom wheels on someone elses MINI by mistake. The owner that got them probably kept his trap shut and gloated to his buddies about his new wheels.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Dion

Chances are they put his custom wheels on someone elses MINI by mistake. The owner that got them probably kept his trap shut and gloated to his buddies about his new wheels.

Yup that is what I was thinking as well. It would be quite the surprise picking your car and having custom wheels instead of the boring stock rims. But if it happened to me I would probably tell them the mistake. I wouldn't want to rip off someone elses rims. Plus I have very particular taste when it comes to wheels.

[Table 5]

Le bump.

Since it's been 3 years, I'm wondering if customer service at the Calgary BMW's has changed for the better (or god-forbid, worse)?

Also, how flexible are they on pricing? Can you negotiate down from the MSRP there, or are they pretty rigid with their prices due to lack of supply.

I'm currently looking to get a new 128i, and I found a dealer here in the US that will sell for pretty much invoice (about 7% off MSRP), and I can also take about another 6-7% off if I do Euro Delivery (which is pretty awesome regardless of discount). I know Canadian BMWs don't offer Euro delivery, but do they move on price at all?

It's still pretty amazing for a city this size there are only 2 Bimmer dealerships....you'd think with all the demand for nicer cars there, someone would think opening up some competition.

[billybob123]

nm, post was 2 years old. Should have read first. Gahhh

[Ironhorse]

The other sad part is that both BMW dealerships are owned by the same group - not much incentive for competition. People want their beemers, and they know it.

I wish they offered Euro delivery in Canada. That would have been awesome for my Cooper S.