My bad experiences with dealerships lately

[stealthn]

Sad to hear of your problems, my only advice is to get a Durametric.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Denis, it's totally opposite here. The best BMW and Porsche shops are indies and they charge about half the dealer rate. They also usually have a one week or greater backlog, go figure.

[Dantilla]

My neighbor just told me how much better her current 7-series BMW is than the last one.

The previous car went through seven sets of brake pads and rotors in 10 years, the new car has had brake pads once.
Yeah, right. She drives very conservatively, not many miles per year.

The early car was purchased in California, the new car here.

She seemed a bit startled when I told her the difference is that she found a dealer that wasn't ripping her off- Telling her the brakes needed replacement every time the odometer said it was time for service.

[Brando]

It always helps to do your research on a dealer before you give them your business. Yelp, Dealer Rater, Edmunds, Cars.com, and Google + (they aggregate).

That will give you an idea of the quality of service. IMHO good dealerships actively work to improve the sales and service process to give a superior customer experience. Automotive is one of those industries that drags their knuckles (still) in many respects - but they're catching up.

Of course, like any business: If the boss doesn't know something is wrong, how can they work to fix it? Sometimes that means a letter or e-mail passed down from the OEM (lots of $$$ at risk there) or a message passed up from management.

[tedg04]

The indy shops around here are absolutely the cream of the tech crop as whipped suggested. Doesn't mean they are everywhere (perhaps the cost to start/run a business in other markets prohibits the good techs from succeeding - they need the alternative business to keep afloat?).

You could get in touch with MB USA, I doubt it would hurt anything. That said, from working in a MC dealer for years - that could make relations with the dealer a bit adversarial. If the dealership is independently owned, I would reach out to the GM and/or Owner about the situation - someone above the service manager. They can't fix what they don't know, and as long as you explain the issue in a reasonable and non-confrontational way, you'll likely find they are on your side and want to make it right. If the dealer is part of an auto group, you'll likely get nothing but lip service from the GM until MB USA hears of it, then down the line to ownership.