Shout Out to BMW Owners
 

hi,
can you recommend the best place to have your BMW serviced. BMW of Ocala seems to be a ripoff...........and pushy......... new to BMW ownership, THANKS :undecided:

I’m still getting the free service. My other car is going to All German Motorworks Leesburg. Haven’t used them but did visit with the P car club. Worth a try.

Heard on news today another air bag recall if got older series 3 2006 to 2012? Yep, I know very few keep BMW that long. IMO all dealers are rip off. But that’s me ?

Once the warranty is up it's time to get rid of them and buy a new one.

We looked at some places to service our 7 series (some based on recommendations from BMW club).
Ended up at BMW of Ocala.

It’s not free you paid for it.

Any reputable car technician can service/repair most modern cars.
All service and repairs are done from computer programs available to any decent service center.
I have my old Volvo maintained at a local VW concession, because they are price competitive, and do a good job.

That's whst they'd like you to believe, but it's simply not true. Independent shops don't have the same access to manufacturer's proprietary information and experience. Trusting a late model BMW, Mercedes, Audi or the like, to an independent shop, will cost you more money than a authorized dealership, in the long run.

BMW of Ocala is my dealer of choice, for my 8 Series.

We use BMW Ocala and have no complaints. After receiving a quote from BMW Ocala for proposed work, We contacted independent BMW service providers (listed in the replies) and their quotes were not significantly different.

Should have said included.

AG is a good shop, Shop 21 in Ocala is a couple of BMW Ocala mechanics that have struck out on their own.

I've owned 3 BMW vehicles over the years, a Z3, a Z4 and a 328i. Great cars, well engineered and fun to drive. When they break, and they do break, it can be quite expensive to repair. But most cars now are expensive to repair. lf your BMW is a new vehicle repairs will be covered by the warranty. BMW = Break My Wallet.

There is a Z club in TV, even though you may not own a Z car contact the president of the club. He probably can give you some suggestions on who can do competent work on BMW's. I was a member of the Z club for a little while when I owned a Z4 and most of the owners used BMW of Ocala. Before moving to TV I used an independent shop to do the work on my Z4 and had no complaints.

I bow to your superior knowledge of the car business.
I can only speak from personal experience, and the only problem I ever had with a service was years ago, and that was with a Volvo main dealer.
My Volvo is 15 years old now, and has been serviced at said VW garage for last 9 years, and touch wood, never had a problem.
I just wish my personal bodywork, upholstery and engine, was as pristine, and reliable!

No bowing required, but I was selling automobiles for the Intro to the 1973 models and have been around the business or in it, since then. Currently building a Dealership ... my 12th.(I don't own 'em, I just manage my little piece of the business, which thankfully, keeps getting smaller and smaller.)

A 15 year old vehicle, is a whole different animal. The manufacturers have been on a quest for 25 years, to get the independents out of the repair business. Most every state (& the Feds) have been fighting to get ther proprietary information and resources for years, to get it into the public domain and support independents.

Unfortunately for consumers, no one will ever know as much about a vehicle, as the folks who built it. I guess that just stands to reason.

We had the same recall on our 2005 330CI convertible about 4 years ago. The BMW dealer closest to our home up north sent a technician to our house to do the recall work. Took him about 1/2 hour. Still have the 2005 with only 86k miles. It’s winterized and garaged each year from the first snowstorm until we get back from the Villages sometime in April and has never seen road-salt. Put a small fortune into it last year replacing just about everything so planning to keep it for several more years. They truly are the ultimate driving machine, but BMW stands for “bring my wallet”.