WI Fanatics

Question for those of you around Milwaukee...
...Which dealership is better and why, International Autos or Concours BMW?

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

Question for those of you around Milwaukee...
...Which dealership is better and why, International Autos or Concours BMW?

FWIW, I didn't like Concours when I had a VW. They really took me for a ride before I could DIY stuff. Charged me ~$600 for something I could have done myself for ~$180 and 20mins of my time.

Neither, both are "Stealerships"!

Originally Posted by AreDubu

Neither, both are "Stealerships"!

Why do you say that?

I personally don't believe in that "stealership" nonsense...

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

Why do you say that?

I personally don't believe in that "stealership" nonsense...

Read my comment above, that's why.

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

Read my comment above, that's why.

I read your post.. What part was it?

I also want to know why he doesn't like any of them either.

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

I read your post.. What part was it?

I also want to know why he doesn't like any of them either.

This was about 4 years ago now... Engine threw a code for multiple random misfires. It was clearly misfiring as the engine was clearly running down a cylinder (99 Passat 1.8T). They initially diagnosed it as faulty spark plugs and charged $350 (!!!) to replace four spark plugs and clear the codes in the computer. Mind you, at this point these repairs were on my parent's dime since it was technically "their" car. My dad is the most skeptical person ever and wouldn't let me DIY (nor did I have enough knowledge or space or tools to do so at the time since I was living in an apartment downtown MKE) until I got my own car. The spark plug fix worked ok for about 75 miles (don't know how or why) and then the same sh!t happened again, same code! By this point I had already done my research and diagnosed it as the ignition control module (common failure due to the typically crappy VW design). The ICM is held onto the air intake line (one of the only true genious moments VW engineers had, no sarcasm here) with two (2) bolts and one wire plug. That's it. Online, this part goes for ~$185-$200. The dealer (Concours) initially quoted me $425 (!!!) for the part and another $275 (!!!) or something for the labor. x2 At this point my dad was pissed and called them out on their error and their grossly inflated price on the part. They ended up refunding the labor on the spark plugs (couldn't/wouldn't eat the cost of parts) and discounted the ICM to something like $350 (still exorbitant).

So back to the initial part of my story, I could have done this all for ~$185-$200 with the most basic of tools (that I did have) in about 20 minutes without any real work space. Instead, it costed ~$800 for the same deal.

I have more stories with other VW dealers too if you're interested. They suck more than the BMW ones.

My apologies for all the parenthesis.

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

This was about 4 years ago now... Engine threw a code for multiple random misfires. It was clearly misfiring as the engine was clearly running down a cylinder (99 Passat 1.8T). They initially diagnosed it as faulty spark plugs and charged $350 (!!!) to replace four spark plugs and clear the codes in the computer. Mind you, at this point these repairs were on my parent's dime since it was technically "their" car. My dad is the most skeptical person ever and wouldn't let me DIY (nor did I have enough knowledge or space or tools to do so at the time since I was living in an apartment downtown MKE) until I got my own car. The spark plug fix worked ok for about 75 miles (don't know how or why) and then the same sh!t happened again, same code! By this point I had already done my research and diagnosed it as the ignition control module (common failure due to the typically crappy VW design). The ICM is held onto the air intake line (one of the only true genious moments VW engineers had, no sarcasm here) with two (2) bolts and one wire plug. That's it. Online, this part goes for ~$185-$200. The dealer (Concours) initially quoted me $425 (!!!) for the part and another $275 (!!!) or something for the labor. x2 At this point my dad was pissed and called them out on their error and their grossly inflated price on the part. They ended up refunding the labor on the spark plugs (couldn't/wouldn't eat the cost of parts) and discounted the ICM to something like $350 (still exorbitant).

So back to the initial part of my story, I could have done this all for ~$185-$200 with the most basic of tools (that I did have) in about 20 minutes without any real work space. Instead, it costed ~$800 for the same deal.

I have more stories with other VW dealers too if you're interested. They suck more than the BMW ones.

My apologies for all the parenthesis.

that sucks!!!

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

that sucks!!!

Yup, they are the true definition of a stealership.

Originally Posted by SamDoe1

Yup, they are the true definition of a stealership.

Zimbrick is pretty bad too. I think they quoted me $300 for front rotors once. Went to NAPA and spent like $40 a piece.

Talk to any qualified technician, there's a reason the Napa rotors are $40 bucks a piece.... Don't get me wrong dealership parts are usually grossly inflated but there is something to be said about the service they "can" offer.

I'd vouch for Zimbrick any day of the week, they have always treated me right. I don't have too much experience with either Milwaukee dealers.

Don't get me wrong, I use dealer parts. I've been buying online as of late. I just didnt like paying $850 for repairs and not having my car washed or brought in to me. A little customer service goes a looooooooooooooooonnnnngggggg way!

Going to be in Milwaukee this weekend visiting school friends, any plans set up for anything this weekend?

OEM quality costs money. Napa = sh!t.

Originally Posted by Delanez

Talk to any qualified technician, there's a reason the Napa rotors are $40 bucks a piece.... Don't get me wrong dealership parts are usually grossly inflated but there is something to be said about the service they "can" offer.

Eh, it's a 323i. I did extensive testing after the install, slamming the brakes as hard as I could over and over from high speeds and they felt better than the cross drilled pieces of sh1t the previous owner had installed. 15k miles later they still feel the same, so I'm happy.

Extensive testing eh? I do give you credit when comparing the NAPA rotors to the " cross drilled pieces of sh1t." that at least seems like a step in the right direction

Besides the 1 year warranty and supposed spin balancing BMW does, why buy OEM over aftermarket? I've yet to experience any vibrations or warping with these, and being my commute car, the heat they were subjected to when I was first testing them out was far greater than they'll probably ever see again.

Honestly, I had OEM rotors ordered from ECS, but they suddenly were out of stock and didn't get shipped out, so I went for the instant-gratification-thats-not-the-stealership option.

The Z4 on the other hand, I'll probably be more particular on.

Zimbrick is great. Their customer service is best I've seen. They go out of their way for me. The price on parts is slightly higher than online sites and labor cost isn't bad.

Trick just go to one only way to truly find out.

I believe the parts warranty on OEM is 2 year, unlimited miles.

I'm not trying to rag on you jneumann but from my experience 90 percent of all warped rotors or excessive brake squeal is usually from aftermarket parts. For some reason it's usually a noticable difference when comparing OE to aftermarket.

Originally Posted by TrickTizzle

Question for those of you around Milwaukee...
...Which dealership is better and why, International Autos or Concours BMW?

I can't speak for Concours, but avoid International Autos like the plague. My roommate had an Audi A4 that needed the transmission flushed. He took it there and they first quoted him $280, then he called to make sure and they quoted him $380. When all was said and done, and after they had performed the service they tried to charge him over $500.. I've tried to call them about keys, etc, and have had nothing but bad experiences. If you're in the Waukesha area I take all of my vehicles to CJ Automotive on main st. They're not a BMW shop, but they're the best thing around in my opinion.