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dealer woes

I've been unfailingly polite to the dealer in question, trying to be upbeat and positive hoping it might rub off on him. I really like his techs, as they are fast and very good, but the owner (husband and wife team as she appears to be the only person willing to put up with him for long) is so abrasive and vulgar I wonder if he has Tourette's Syndrome. His father, Frank, was a fantastic human being. Not so the son.

The last time I saw him I rode up in a great mood, having just had my sidecar rig modified to perfectly meet the long distance travel needs of my dog and I, and was greeted with a scowling, "Why anybody would take a perfectly good bike like the GSA and turn it into a piece of S@&$ like that is beyond me."

That was so far beyond the bounds of propriety that he lost my business forever.

More likely he's on the asperger's/autism spectrum. They tend to say what's on their mind in spite of social convention.
 
If I later find out the X5 has one of the poorest reliability track records of any vehicle out there

Made in the U.S. of A.!

I find this interesting. German car manufacturers enjoy a certain sales success in the U.S. with their products and they think they have to produce closer to the market. They build plants here and relocate production of certain models to the U.S.
Do they still benefit from the attraction of the customer base to a well-built (even if perceived) German car?
The Volkswagen Passat's sales numbers are stalling since they make a specific "for the U.S. market" model in Chattanooga.
I really like my Audi Q5. It is one of the best vehicles I had the last 20 years. I am not sure if I will buy the next model when it comes out of Mexico.
 
Made in the U.S. of A.!

Or does BMW say "Designed in Berlin"? Kind of like Apple says "Designed in Cupertino CA", no mention of China... :scratch

My wife just bought a Passat. it's not as "German" and the Jetta we used to own. I hope it's as reliable. If anyone gets a Passat, skip the 2.5L engine. Gutless.
 
Or does BMW say "Designed in Berlin"? Kind of like Apple says "Designed in Cupertino CA", no mention of China... :scratch

My wife just bought a Passat. it's not as "German" and the Jetta we used to own. I hope it's as reliable. If anyone gets a Passat, skip the 2.5L engine. Gutless.

A great deal of BMW (automotive) design happens in ... California.
 
More likely he's on the asperger's/autism spectrum. They tend to say what's on their mind in spite of social convention.

Or maybe he is just and ass?:banghead

Since neither of us know him, either one is possible.:wave
 
Made in the U.S. of A.!

I find this interesting. German car manufacturers enjoy a certain sales success in the U.S. with their products and they think they have to produce closer to the market. They build plants here and relocate production of certain models to the U.S.
Do they still benefit from the attraction of the customer base to a well-built (even if perceived) German car?
The Volkswagen Passat's sales numbers are stalling since they make a specific "for the U.S. market" model in Chattanooga.
I really like my Audi Q5. It is one of the best vehicles I had the last 20 years. I am not sure if I will buy the next model when it comes out of Mexico.

We bought a turbo diesel VW Passat about a year and half ago. Love the comfort, quiet, power (well, not the ultimate but quite enough,) and handling that compares quite well with the Miata we traded in. The fuel consumption is always better than 40 US MPG. And not a single problem to date. When we bought, there was a considerable wait time, partly because of demand and partly because of a hail storm that ruined the appearance of something like 1000 Passats. Time will tell whether there are problems. If so, my bet is it will be with the engineering, not with the fact that it was built in the US.
 
Or maybe he is just and ass?:banghead

Since neither of us know him, either one is possible.:wave


You cannot(as in should not attempt) "pull a diagnosis from the DSM" via a visit or two to a MC dealer:brow
You can, however bitch about their behavior to everyone you see or know forever!:deal
I'll vote for the "ass" label...:D
 
My '09 jetta sport wagon was built in Mexico. 50,000 100% trouble free miles with free service for the first 36k.
Don't know if it was assembled in Mexico from parts delivered from Germany.
 
My '09 jetta sport wagon was built in Mexico. 50,000 100% trouble free miles with free service for the first 36k.
Don't know if it was assembled in Mexico from parts delivered from Germany.

I had a 2001 Jetta GL. Had it 12 years, only money spent was fuel and maintenance, 150K miles when I sold it and it had the original clutch.
 
We bought a turbo diesel VW Passat about a year and half ago. .... If so, my bet is it will be with the engineering, not with the fact that it was built in the US.

One is closely connected to the other.
Volkswagen redesigned the Passat for sale at a lower price in the U.S. market, cutting costs by using interior plastics and other materials that are cheaper than those used in the European version. The U.S. model also got a simpler, lower-cost suspension that delivers a less precise ride. All in all not the same car that may have created aloyal customer base over previous years.
 
May be he'll take the service manager position? :ha

Well when I walked in and asked "how's your day", I got some grumpy response. Then from there we got into it about me not wanting synthetic in a brand new bike. That the valve cover gaskets and screws are reusable (apparently that's a "gray area" and it's on me when they fail.) it went downhill from there. When I asked about the lack of sheet stating how far and which of my valves were out, I got, "well if there's not sheet, then I guess they were fine", and TB SYNC.? Same answer. *******. When I walked into the rest of the dealership, the guy said things like " put your stuff in the lounge", "let me make your a fresh pot off coffee". I couldn't believe that I was in the same building. I've got the card of the idiot behind the counter someplace and he ruined it all. No more foothills for me. Actually here it is, his name is Brandon and when I said I got a funny noise coming out of the front, I was told that "motorcycles make noise". I could've fallen over. F'n tool.
 
Well when I walked in and asked "how's your day", I got some grumpy response. Then from there we got into it about me not wanting synthetic in a brand new bike. That the valve cover gaskets and screws are reusable (apparently that's a "gray area" and it's on me when they fail.) it went downhill from there. When I asked about the lack of sheet stating how far and which of my valves were out, I got, "well if there's not sheet, then I guess they were fine", and TB SYNC.? Same answer. *******. When I walked into the rest of the dealership, the guy said things like " put your stuff in the lounge", "let me make your a fresh pot off coffee". I couldn't believe that I was in the same building. I've got the card of the idiot behind the counter someplace and he ruined it all. No more foothills for me. Actually here it is, his name is Brandon and when I said I got a funny noise coming out of the front, I was told that "motorcycles make noise". I could've fallen over. F'n tool.

Sounds like a condescending ahole. He needs a session in the woodshed, but since you live in PA, it's not much of an issue.
 
Back to the OP....

Those Cross Country things sold by PIAA are a serious screwup and your dealer cannot help you- its not his fault. Those things are sold originally by TrailTech and have Asian parts. They use a bulb made simply by sticking an inadequate miniature HID capsule into an INDOOR lamp reflector (therefore not waterproof- it leaks at the front butyl rubber seal where the lens attaches to the reflector), then putting it in a badly anodized housing that will change colors.
All of these issues are well known and have been for at least 3 years- when I replaced mine.

There were at least 3 versions of the lamp (the first was a fair attempt at fixing premature failures due to vibration) and 2 of the internal ballast as of that time, all trying unsuccessfully to cure what is a terminally flawed design. PIAA and TT have done their best to stand behind the product but its simply too poor to be viable on a bike in anything other than ideal conditions.

Just chalk it up to learning and dump them- and get some decent LEDs. I recommend Solstice SP120s or the equivalent size Clearwater. You can use your current harness to install either unless you want to add the dimming capability in which case some changes are needed.
 
Interesting set of posts.

On a recent discussion I was slammed for calling my dealership a "stealership" and challenged to name them. See http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70364-Tearing-down-the-drive, if you want. These boys seem to have an issue with me, or maybe they just have issues and are looking for something to complain about.

I have worked for dealerships almost my entire career, albeit heavy iron, any dealership I worked for would never pull the crap my local BMW one does.

Examples: R1100RT clutch cable, their price $140.00 plus $20.00 to pull it out of their stock order just for me. Montreal BMW dealer, $45.00, to my door the next day. NC on shipping. "Glad to help you". Now I pay the shipping, usually $15.00 and get everything from them.

Took my set of PR3's to be mounted and balanced. I didn't have time to do it myself properly. I thought, $60.00. Old rubber was already off. I marked the rims, both sides with arrows, I installed new stems, highlighted the arrows on the rubber, $145.00. I picked them up at 4:59PM, paid my bill, looked at them when I got home, both the wrong direction. Next morning, back at 7:59AM, dropped them off and told them the problem, I was told to pick them up next week. When I did, a bill for, wait for it, you guessed it.

Good buddy, older K75S, they installed a battery. I was in Russia at the time and couldn't do it for him. $700.00 and three weeks.

Other buddy, about the same time, drops his R1150R for a clutch. He did that in April, bike was ready in July. Price tag, $1800.00.

Last experience, the ABS on my R1100RT seemed to recheck itself every 15 minutes or so. I asked them if this was normal. I got told, "bring it in, it's a minimum one hour of labor to tell you." The forums here answered my question.
 
On a recent discussion I was slammed for calling my dealership a "stealership" and challenged to name them. See http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?70364-Tearing-down-the-drive, if you want. These boys seem to have an issue with me, or maybe they just have issues and are looking for something to complain about.

I have worked for dealerships almost my entire career, albeit heavy iron, any dealership I worked for would never pull the crap my local BMW one does.

Examples: R1100RT clutch cable, their price $140.00 plus $20.00 to pull it out of their stock order just for me. Montreal BMW dealer, $45.00, to my door the next day. NC on shipping. "Glad to help you". Now I pay the shipping, usually $15.00 and get everything from them.

Took my set of PR3's to be mounted and balanced. I didn't have time to do it myself properly. I thought, $60.00. Old rubber was already off. I marked the rims, both sides with arrows, I installed new stems, highlighted the arrows on the rubber, $145.00. I picked them up at 4:59PM, paid my bill, looked at them when I got home, both the wrong direction. Next morning, back at 7:59AM, dropped them off and told them the problem, I was told to pick them up next week. When I did, a bill for, wait for it, you guessed it.

Good buddy, older K75S, they installed a battery. I was in Russia at the time and couldn't do it for him. $700.00 and three weeks.

Other buddy, about the same time, drops his R1150R for a clutch. He did that in April, bike was ready in July. Price tag, $1800.00.

Last experience, the ABS on my R1100RT seemed to recheck itself every 15 minutes or so. I asked them if this was normal. I got told, "bring it in, it's a minimum one hour of labor to tell you." The forums here answered my question.

I am surprised they are still in business.
 
They are also Ducatti, Yamaha, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Triumph

I am surprised they are still in business.

When they were son and Dad, awesome. They literally killed the BMW market here because if you wanted a Beemer, you were at their mercy.

At best, they have 5 new bikes on the floorplan, the minimum. A full load R1200RT with PDI, no taxes is $31,000.00. Same bike in Montreal, choice in color, $27,500.

BMW here is a just gravy for these guys.
 
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