[JChristie]

Like many people, I’ve never been a big fan of dealerships due to pretty mixed experiences regarding customer service over the years. Today however I’ve got to give credit to my local dealership (Grand River BMW in Kitchener) for saving the day.

I ordered my 2016 M235i back in mid-June. It finally arrived at the dealership this week and an appointment was setup for me to take possession today. I arrive at the dealership just after lunch and meet up with my delivery specialist. I sign some forms, handed over a bank draft and traded in my old E46 325i. A few minutes later I’m given the keys to my brand new M235i and I'm out the door driving away.

I head out to the highway and start heading back home. The car is brand new, so I’m truly taking it easy. I want to get a good feel for the car before I start doing anything crazy and also want a chance for everything to break in over the first few thousand miles. I’ve traveled a grand total of 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the dealership when I cross some train tracks on the highway. I know the road well and it’s in decent shape, but there’s a bit of a dip where the tracks cross the roadway. Most other cars don’t even slow down for the tracks, but since I’m driving a new car I ease up a little and cross the tracks at about 60 km/hr (35 mph). When my front wheel hits the dip, I hear what almost sounds like a thud and within a few seconds the car starts pulling to the right. I carry on a short distance to a nearby gas station and turn off the roadway just as my tire pressure warning light comes on.

I hop out my car and see that my front right Michelin Super Sport is completely flat with a nice 3” tear in the sidewall. I quickly contact Roadside assistance and within the hour my car is back at the dealership on a flatbed. As you can imagine, this was not shaping out to be a good day. Not only was my new car off the road within the first hour of ownership, but I’m also thinking that the warranty won’t cover tire damage, especially if they blame it on a road hazard.

Much to my surprise though, the dealership staff seem truly sympathetic to my plight and tell me they’re going to make it right. They agree that a tire should not just blow out crossing railway tracks and state that in their experience the tires have been very reliable. One of the techs does an inspection of the wheel just to ensure there’s no other damage like a nail in the tread and then confirms that the rim itself is also undamaged. Dealership comes to the conclusion that the tire’s sidewall was faulty and call Michelin. Dealership tells me that Michelin should replace the tire for free, but worst case they’ll eat the cost themselves and get me a new tire.

At this point I’m pretty happy and Michelin does eventually agree to replace the tire. But now I have a new problem. It’s Friday afternoon and the dealership and locals businesses don’t have any of the tires in stock. So now I’m getting resigned to the fact that I’ll be driving a loaner for the weekend instead of my new car. Then one of techs mentions that there’s another M235i on the lot that hasn’t been sold. A few minutes later they’re taking a new tire off the unsold car and putting it onto mine. Within the hour, I’m back on the road.

So my genuine thanks to Grand River BMW in Kitchener for saving the day with my new ride. And my apologies to anyone who was hoping to take the other M235i on the lot for a test drive this weekend.

TLDR – Got a flat just a few miles out from dealership after taking delivery. Dealership agrees to replace tire for free even if Michelin won’t. But it’s Friday afternoon and they have no tires in stock. Dealership then steals a tire off another M235i on the lot so I wouldn’t have to wait.

[Cpdbeemer]

That's a good outcome from a crappy situation. I have been pleasantly surprised at the after sales service (down under) on my BMW. Not what you expect on a car sale where it is usually 'thanks for the commission off you go'.

[BMW F22]

Good stuff! Glad everything turned out well! You should post dealer's name.

[Cal]

Talk about royal treatment. That was a really a great outcome. Kudos to your dealer, and congrats on your new car!

[BMWZ4]

Nice! There are some great dealers out there for sure. Glad it got sorted so quickly so you could enjoy your 235 this weekend!

[Dabozo]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Good stuff! Glad everything turned out well! You should post dealer's name.

He did, "Grand River BMW in Kitchener"

Ontario, Canada.

[Dabozo]

As far as leaving 'bad tastes in your mouth', the dealer experience/how they handle things, stays with you more so than the actual vehicle problems, when perceiving a car brand...imo. I have a bad perception of infiniti/Nissan, not for reliabilty issues but rather the s#%t service and uncooperativness I encountered during my ownership of an infiniti.

[BarryJI]

Very good experience, very encouraging. If you live somewhere that could take a toll on those PSSes, you might consider the tire insurance that BMW offers, unless it is now too late to sign on.

[3.0L]

Until I bought my first Mercedes 3 years ago and my first BMW a year ago, I've had mixed results with my new car dealers - mostly bad. I'm very happy to say that my local MB and BMW dealers take excellent care of my cars and treat me like a king.

[MegaMatt3]

That's great. But from your picture, it does look like your wheel got dinged a bit.

[MrBucket]

Originally Posted by MegaMatt3

That's great. But from your picture, it does look like your wheel got dinged a bit.

Thats rubber from the tire on it, should come right off.

[JChristie]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

Very good experience, very encouraging. If you live somewhere that could take a toll on those PSSes, you might consider the tire insurance that BMW offers, unless it is now too late to sign on.

First thing I thought of after the incident. But in all honesty, roads around here are quite good for the most part. In my 20+ years of driving it's the first flat I've had in one of my personal vehicles.

Originally Posted by MrBucket

Thats rubber from the tire on it, should come right off.

Yeah, I had a look myself and couldn't see any damage to the rim. The tire went flat almost instantly so it was rubbing against the rim for a bit while I nursed it off the road. Regardless, the dealership actually swapped the entire tire and rim to save time. So I also got a brand new rim to replace my old one with 15 miles on it.

[x3user45]

Great story, I live in Waterloo and just picked up my 2015 m235 this week from Budds in Oakville (I work near there) , glad to hear grand river treated you right as well!

What you planning to do for winters? I traded in my F30 328 2012 and hoping my winters from that will fit over the M Sport brakes.

[merlin3008]

Originally Posted by Dabozo

As far as leaving 'bad tastes in your mouth', the dealer experience/how they handle things, stays with you more so than the actual vehicle problems, when perceiving a car brand...imo. I have a bad perception of infiniti/Nissan, not for reliabilty issues but rather the s#%t service and uncooperativness I encountered during my ownership of an infiniti.

Dealer experiences aside, I've been very impressed with everyone who have spoken to at BMW Genius, Finance, etc. With the transfer of my lease to another buyer, issues with a rebate, and tracking my car, I'm sure I've made 50 calls to BMW over the past months. Everyone has been super helpful, informed, and pleasant. They return calls when they say they will and keep me in the loop via email. It really contrasts with experiences I've had with Lexus and Infiniti. It makes me support their brand even more.

[W///]

That's a great story. Dealership really took care of you in this case

[doublevanosrc]

[alz0rz]

I love TLDRs!