Purchasing a Pre-Owned BMW and the Service History

In December of 2007 I purchased my first pre-owned vehicle. Below is a running history of my experience from an unbiased account. I welcome any questions or comments (especially any questioning the documentation herein).

• 12-21-07
  Purchase 2005 745i from Santa Monica BMW. The agent at the time was Stephen Curtin, whom from my understanding is no longer working at Santa Monica BMW. The car had a little of 23k miles, black on black with new p-zero tires. The reason for the BMW was the 2.9% interest rate they were offering and the soft market for the luxury vehicles. I had also heard great things about BMW and the warranty that BMW offers.

  Santa Monica BMW allowed me to take the vehicle for the weekend even though there were some minor repairs that were agreed upon at the time of the contract signing.

• 12-26-07
  I dropped the vehicle off for the detail, bumper cover repairs, an issue with the steering column and new floor mats. The service manager that I had for the vehicle was Charles.
  
  
• 1-2-08
  I called twice before getting an answer on the car being completed. After arriving at the dealership, I found the vehicle filthy (definitely not detailed), the floor mats were on the back seat (not in the trunk, but on the seat) and the new mats were in the trunk (not installed). Also the main reason for me taking the vehicle in (the bumper covers) were not completed.
  
  
• 1-3-08
  First thing in the morning I called Bobby Lammba (sp) the Pre-Owned Sales Manager and set up the appointment to bring the car back in Monday morning.
  
  
• 1-7-08
  Brought the car in to Santa Monica BMW and to my surprise, Bobby had not set up the appointment and was nowhere to be found (he starts later in the day). I spoke with a very helpful young woman (Jessica), who brought me to the office of Richard Allen the Sales Manager at Santa Monica. After hearing my story Richard was very upset and gave me his card should there be any additional issues.
  
  
• 1-11-08
  Picked up the car that was still not detailed, but at least the bumper covers were painted… I took it upon myself to have the car detailed at my local shop and since has felt like it is mine!

For more information on Santa Monica BMW you can contact:

Santa Monica BMW
1127 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica CA 90401
www.SMBMW.com
310-829-3535
Richard Allen: ext 289

Please note the purpose of this article was not to bash Santa Monica BMW, but more to document the experience of purchasing a Pre-Owned vehicle. Since picking the car up from Santa Monica, I have since been taking the car to Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas. I will write continuing article on my experience with Bob Smith and additional BMW dealerships as the year goes on.