E Caudell

Review of BMW Seattle

I came to BMW Seattle with the intent of having a ...

I came to BMW Seattle with the intent of having a set of replacement keys made for my 2007 335i.

Both phone and in-person interaction with Ryan of the parts department was great. Ryan informed me that I would need a driver's license and proof of ownership such as Title or Registration, on which we talked about my scenario where Florida does not offer paper titles of any kind, and the car is no longer register at all. He informed me that I would be able to obtain a report from my finance company that shows proof of ownership, and that this would suffice.

I contact my finance company, USAA, and they confirmed that for this specific situation for cars that are titled from Florida, they have a document called a Lien and Title Information Report. I received this document via email, printed it, and proceeded back to BMW Seattle to retrieve the keys.

Everything up to this point was fine, and now is where the issues start.

When I arrived at the Parts Department in BMW Seattle, the time was roughly 5:30pm. I was faced with a younger gentleman of which by the tone of his voice seemed slightly annoyed that I (presumably) arrived close to their closing. I was never greeted by him, so I am unsure of his name. [He was a white male with a scruffy goatee and shorter light brown hair. I've met with three other associates at that parts desk, and the rest were perfect.] Informed him that I was working with Ryan, and that I was there to pick up keys. He replies to me with a sarcastic "oooooookkkaaayyyy........" with a side-eyed look of skepticism on his face as if I had just informed him Elvis Presley sent me. He asks me for my last name, and retrieves the keys from the back. When he comes back, I explain to him my situation with Title and Registration, and he goes to the back again presumably to explain it to the Parts Manager. He comes out once again to put my document on the desk and shortly says "Yea, we don't take that." I both asked and explained that the paper I gave to him is a legal document, and that if they would not take it, then what other type of document would they need.

He walks to the back again, and from the door opening I can hear him speaking to who turns out to be the Parts Manager. Back and forth I can clearly hear severe annoyance in their tone of voices, till I hear the Parts Manager nearly yell "THAT'S IT! WHAT DOES HE WANT? TELL HIM....I'LL DO IT!", and he comes storming out of the doorway. Without even introducing himself, he loudly starts to rant, even stuttering as he angrily rambles (refering to the Lien and Title Information Report) that "This says nothing!" and "Anybody can copy/paste. This looks like you MADE it..."



After the Parts Manager left (again, I never got his name), I asked the associate if there was someone else I could talk to who may know the policy better, and without answering my question he said rudely "I've got to leave." I asked him if there was a corporate BMW number I could call, and he again shortly said "Uhhhhh...yea. A quick Google search would be obvious. We done?" And literally turns and walks away.

I called corporate BMW, and they politely stated that my document was in fact fine, and I returned to the dealership. The dealership manager condescendingly released the keys stating "this is a one time courtesy...." When I was in the right the whole time.

I was disrespected like I was homeless, begging for change in the lobby. Complete B.S.