pfan

1) No one is complaining about the cost of an oil change. My complaint was the fact that a) they serviced the oil after I specifically instructed them not to, and b) they had the gaul to charge me for a quart. The oil level was 1 section down when I took the car in.

2) Attitude? Service failures are a fact of life. How a dealership responds to a failure is very instructive. Several days after purchasing my current car I got the feeling that something was amiss with the right front suspension. Lo and behold, the shipping block/spacer had not been removed. Had I been the dealer, this would have caused me a great deal of embarrassment. Instead, when I took the car in their response was simply "we'll take care of it," as if this were a common occurrence. Nary an apology or a pledge to ensure better quality control.

3) As far as checking reviews, I think you'll find that both good and bad reviews are very common for any dealer.

Graygoose997

What a coincidence that BMW 's policy of "free" maintenance coincided with their change from 6 months to 12 months oil change interval.
An oil miracle or a marketing miracle ?

mtbscott

I don't know when you last looked at a new BMW, but the "free maintenance" has been free, and included at least since 2003 when I bought a 330I, then a M3 7 months later. It also goes with the car, so when I picked up a used 2007 MZ4 Coupe in 2009 I got the remainder of it. It's a major part of their marketing, here's a bit from their Build Your Own configurator:
BMW Ultimate Service™
A suite of premium benefits that are included at no cost with all new BMW Vehicles.4 Years/50,000 Miles WarrantyIncluded4 Years/50,000 Miles
Maintenance ProgramIncluded4 Years/Unlimited Mileage
Roadside AssistanceIncluded.

For what it's worth, I think it's part of BMWUSA's business plan which also emphasizes short term subsidized leases (2-3 years) and their CPO program. They get to sell someone a car via lease that will almost surely be serviced at regular intervals (because it's free). Then when they get back a low mileage, late model car on lease return, they can resell it to another owner as a CPO. It's been working well for their sales figures for at least a decade here.

simsgw

That's why we learn to evaluate the reviewer along with the review. With no editor in between, we have a chance to evaluate each writer very directly. That helps us know how much weight to give to an opinion. A review full of youthful vocabulary and poor spelling that complains of inattentive service won't say much that helps me, but it might be useful to a youngster. A review like this will get my attention though: He's not complaining that the rating system doesn't offer zero stars and he's not reporting 'awesome' service. He is just saying he has better places to go and it sounds credible that his judgement is based on experience over several years, not a single bad visit. Reading that among a dozen glowing reviews from adults would mean nothing. Finding it among a dozen reviews from people trying to find ways to verbalize legitimate discontent endorses the other reviews. It validates them.

The occasional complaint is routine for a service business. A pattern of complaints on issues that matter to me is different. I've never dealt with them personally, but nothing you say is surprising given the reviews I just found in a quick Google of "Porsche service Newport Beach". The only wonder is that you go there after such an experience when you have so many highly-rated alternatives.

You didn't pay for that hypothetical oil of course?

[I was in the middle of a really bad day and wrote this badly. It sounds obnoxious and arrogant, which was not my intent. I apologized off-list to pfan and I apologize to anyone who might have been offended by my tone. I'll leave the content since it is correct, just not well expressed. Another time I'll go for a ride in my Cabrio to get a better attitude before posting.]

Gary

Alan Smithee

While I do not expect free maintenance from Porsche, IMO the service costs for the 9A1 cars are outrageous for the work performed. These cars are nearly maintenance-free now; an oil/filter change, cabin filter, air filter, and a series of visual inspections that take all of 15 minutes for $700-800? The annual service for my Mercedes, which was a more expensive car, costs half that amount. (And, of course, my BMW is free.)

simsgw

You're right that it seems to be a mandatory feature under current policy of BMW USA. I can no longer opt out. One more reason to be glad I chose Porsche.

[Incidentally, it might well have been earlier than 2003 when we seriously considered a BMW. Probably was now that I associate that visit with other events.]
Gary

pfan

And yes, I did pay for the "hypothetical" oil. As you are undoubtedly aware, it would be poor form to haggle over $15 in Newport Beach.

chuck911

Didn't this come up earlier, and after a bunch of posts the gist of it was when it comes to Porsche, or at least the 991, there really is no competition?
Or, there is no substitute...
Something like that.

fbroen

Dealer tells me that in the Porsche leasing agreement there is no requirement to service a leased car, and no penalty when returning it if not serviced? Is this true? Seems insane to me.

Mine is not a lease, so I am just curious.

But it would give me pause to buy a previously leased car, as I can see many thinking why bother servicing a short term lease unless you have plans to buy it when the lease is up.

goatboy

BMW's free maintenance makes owning one more attractive to the first-time premium European car buyer. Also, the last time I saw any numbers, about 80% of new BMW's were leased. So, they're likely all getting traded/turned in before the warranty and free maintenance expires.

I can't count the times I've talked to first-time BMW owners who were fixated on the cost of an oil change (seven liters of snythetic), and that was or would the deciding factor in them not buying or leasing another BMW. Free maintenance eliminates that. These same BMW owners are oblivious to to the depreciaiton costs they're taking by trading every three or four years.

BMW's very optomistic about how long engine oil lasts. A lot of owners pay for in-between-scheduled-oil-changes. The GM at my dealer said that if you just go by the book, you'll see sludge starting to form after a while.

I usually got free in-between oil changes, since they were taking my engine apart as part of recalls.

simsgw

With the typical Porsche mileage, I'm not sure any service intervals arise during a short term lease. You'd have to go over three years even to reach the first oil change interval at the recommended 9,000 miles a year that so many owners never reach. And even that interval is conservative in terms of vehicle lifetime. With synthetic oil, I've been told by petroleum professionals that the base stock is good for much longer. The only real factor to consider is the additive package "and that's probably good for at least thirty".

So a penurious soul with a short-term lease (if the terms aren't completely inconsistent) might well ignore maintenance only to learn he hadn't done anything but follow the book -- without ever opening it. Someone with a longer lease is likely to maintain the car properly in any case, but even letting things slide for four years of routine driving won't be a terrible thing with modern cars. [It sets my teeth on edge to say that, but I'm trying to be objective here.]

You see, I change my oil every seven thousand after break-in, but that decision gets made by the old car enthusiast inside who scorns my engineering persona. Let's face it. It's just part of nurturing our baby. That side of me may scorn the guy who just thinks of a Porsche as transportation, but honestly the days of fiddly over-sensitive sports cars are past. A Porsche will tolerate such treatment if held captive by someone with the crabbed soul of a ... uh, I mean by someone who only wants a ride to the office. The brakes will squeal in torment and the clutch will glaze with boredom, but the car will serve the next owner quite well.

Gary

fbroen

So, then, Porsche does offer 'free' service ... if you lease and don't bother servicing.

socalsteve

I know this is an old thread...but I would pay double somewhere else before I would give Newport Beach a penny of my hard earned money...they are by far the worst dealership I have ever dealt with, both sales and service.

Take your money elsewhere!

Jerry991

Ferrari is now giving free maintenance for 7 years even though they are selling everything they are building.

kosmo

The topic of "free" maintenance is interesting and certainly has its pros and cons.
I use quotations because I belong to the "No free lunch" camp. Here are someof my observations:

1. VW offered free Maintenance a few years ago but then they reduced the warranty from 4/50k to 3/36k
2. BMW has it, but according to my old SA the oil change intervals are too long. He has a m3 and changes the oil in half the time period. For M owners I think theres some value here because the TWS oil is expensive. Interesting thing here is that BMW will void the warranty if owner doesnt adhere to the schedule.
3. Toyota started offering it for 2/24k as a marketing campgain when the co was getting bad press over the "unintended" accleration issues a few yrs ago. I say marketing because in 2yr or 24k miles, thats prob TWO (2) oil/filter and 1 air filter change worth, what $200?!
4. Ferrari offers it for 7yrs. This is interesting but given that these are low mileage cars, whats the real cost of the program?


so, I dont think its on Porsche's radar, plus I dont even think Porsche knows the term "free." For a Car company that charges for such things as Blueteeth and Sat Radio dont hold your breath waiting!