Thoughts on BMW of Sterling for Service?

[Uncle Russ]

I've read through the BMW of Fairfax threads but haven't seen any feedback for BMW of Sterling. Just got my ///M Roadster in July and it's under BMW warranty & maintenance until March 2014. Since I live in Loudoun County, I would love to hear about your experiences at BMW of Sterling.

Thanks much!

russ

[Wlewandowski]

Russ, I live in loudoun as well. I have gone to sterling twice now since my 750 is still under warranty. first time i found the service manager to be a bit condescending and short with me. Second time went in for standard maintenance and it took longer for the service than expected, I got really frustrated when they sent it to get washed. It took an hour to bring it around since someone thought it was delivered and no one seemed to have a clue what was going on. I find the parts department and check out staff cordial. Overall, not real thrilled. I bought tires for my car at Curry Auto on 50 and will likjely service there since they are much more customer service oriented. I hope this helps. Wayne

[specz66]

Russ,
I've used BMW of Sterling for several years for my cars as well as my wife's. If you don't get in early they can get really busy really quick, then it can be frustrating waiting for everything. I usually get to the dealership before 7am for my appointment, and even then I've been 3rd or 4th in line. And it can take awhile to get an appointment, but I've had no problems with their service and the people I've dealt with have been friendly and professional. The one issue I have had is that I always have to call to see what the status of my car is. I understand their SA's are very busy but it would be nice to get the call instead of having to make the call to see if my car will be ready. Like Wayne above, I too have used Curry Auto in Chantilly and found them to be a good, reliable source for service. They aren't BMW-specific but they do good work and they also support the club so that never hurts.

[Uncle Russ]

Thanks, Guys, for the feedback. My neighbour uses Sterling for his 535 (bought it from VOB in Frederick) service and seems to be happy with them as well. My initial meetings with them have, thus far, been unimpressive but that has been mostly bureaucracy related. I bought my ///M as a CPO from a BMW dealer in Denver, CO. When I flew out there to pick it up, they didn't have the Bluetooth pairing code and their service shop had already closed. They told me I could take it to any BMW service department and have the code recovered. They are also sending me a 2nd key since the car only had one instead of the 2 you're supposed to have. When the new key comes in, I have no instructions on how to pair the new key with the car so the remote won't work but the key does start the car and it will manually unlock the door. I stop by Sterling and the first guy I talk to has no idea what I'm talking about and gets another SA. The second guy gets a third guy who is finally able to pair the remote with the car. Then this guy tells me that they can't electronically read the Bluetooth code and it will be an hour's labor to physically read the code off the box. He also tells me it's not a warranty issue, it's a CPO issue that I need to either pay for myself or take up with the dealer in Denver. Not impressed. I've since talked to the Denver dealer and they told me to pay Sterling to recover the code & they'll reimburse me. I'll probably take it by first thing tomorrow and see what they can do.

On the plus side, their parts department has been pretty good. I had another CPO issue with not being able to remove the rear antenna because it had fused to the base through corrosion. I ended up spending $16 on a new base and then swapped it out myself along with a 3" stubby antenna.

I have had good success with taking my wife's Volvo to a European car indie shop in Leesburg so I may see if they're authorized to do BMW factory & extended maintenance.

Thanks again!

russ

[Supplyguy]

Arrived without appointment in the afternoon wanting to leave my car....for days if need be...for minor service. Took 45 minutes to make that happen. Tried to call and find out if car was ready - took three tries to get a human after leaving several messages. Pick up was not fun - another 30-40 minutes to complete checkout, and another 20 because they could not find my car in the lot. Just way too hard.

[schumi]

They are very busy but as long as you have an appointment they have been very helpful. Kurt Hoover is my SA at BMW of Sterling and has been very good and helpful. I usually try to call and let them know I will be coming in for service the day before and let me know if I will need a loaner and they are happy to help and answer any questions.

I usually get a call from them once the car is ready. Never had any problems.

Oh and I was told they are building a new building across the current place that will have much bigger service so they won't have long waits in future

[thotts]

When I first bought my car in 2006 and took it in for an oil change (I was paying for one in between the included-maintenance oil change), I found the Sterling staff pretentious, bordering on condescending, compared to the extremely friendly reception I got at Passport BMW in MD. I purchased my car from Passport; this could have been a factor - I've no idea. I don't know if the service dept knows (or cares) where you purchased your car.

For most of the 4-yr maintenance period, I took my car to Passport. Last year, I tried Sterling a couple times again and was surprised that each time I couldn't get an appointment earlier than 2 weeks out (compared to a couple days out with Passport). The staff was notably friendlier, though. I don't have a dedicated SA, I just choose whoever has the soonest available appointment slot.

I'm learning to do smaller jobs during the DIY's and haven't been back to Sterling since Dec of last year, but if something comes up, I think I would go back. I'm no mechanic, so I can't speak to the quality of their work. All I know is my car continues to run when I leave, so I just assume that they do good work.

[rstlss]

Not a big fan of their service center. Take a long time to get the car in + quality of work done isn't that great.