Keith Fitz-Gerald

Review of BMW Seattle

Normally I don't write bad reviews but in this cas...

Normally I don't write bad reviews but in this case I'm making an exception. I have driven BMWs for more than 30 years and this is the single worst dealer shop I have ever encountered. So bad, in fact, that we are going to be leaving the BMW brand rather than have to take our car back there again.

I love BMW so I truly wish this were not the case but Seattle BMW has not completed a single repair on any issue on our X1 the first time. Worse, my wife and I have gotten all the usual excuses along the way... can't replicate the problem, nothing wrong, our instruments are showing "within spec. "

The mechanics and shop seem to have a perverse incentive to increase shop turnover rather than to complete repairs. Only after I got BMW Germany and BMW USA involved, for example, did Seattle BMW take my concerns about warped front brake rotors seriously and actually fix them. Bringing in a car 5-6 times for the same issue gets old quickly.

Worse, every time we bring the car in there's a "new" issue that materializes out of thin air. BMW Seattle changed all four tires, for example, and suddenly on the next visit - imagine that - all four rims are bent on the inside edge despite never having driven off road, never having hit a serious bump, etc. This is like going to the hospital for an ear infection and catching the flu while you're there. The dealership denies they're responsible naturally, which is par for the course given the pattern of behavior we've experienced.

The world's "ultimate driving machine" doesn't matter one iota if the shop tasked with keeping you on the road can't live up to the BMW nameplate.