Best Service center in Houston

[Bazooka173]

Dear All,
could you please advise based on your experiences which is the best authorized service center in Houston?

Thanks,
MK

[Erotic_taco]

I’ve been really really impressed with BMW of Clear Lake. Awesome service center, knowledgeable techs, pretty damn mod friendly. I had the one of the lead techs offer to put in downpipes and was also selling a jb4. They also had a take off AA midpipe for sale just sitting in the corner of the garage.

They also warrantied my car after a track event where I had mechanical issues, I didn’t tell them specifically but they knew based upon the tires and calipers. “This can happen if you’re really pushing it at the track in the high rpm range or bounce the car off the rev limiter”

Overall very happy, my SA just left for another dealer so we’ll see how it goes from here.

[JackieChiles]

BMW west seems OK so far. Not great, but OK.

Momentum / BMW southwest is GARBAGE. Horrible to deal with in my experience on several occasions. The closest dealer to me but will never see my car for any reason.

[TX_M3_88]

Haven't been to many dealers around town. but out the two that I went to
BMW North > BMW West

[Bazooka173]

Originally Posted by TX_M3_88

Haven't been to many dealers around town. but out the two that I went to
BMW North > BMW West

Thanks All for the feedback.

I tried Advantage BMW in Midtown yesterday and was really good.

Friendly and the workshop lead is really knowledgeable. The service advisor was helpful.

Car was delivered in time the loaner car was ok.

[kevolution]

I would like to know this too. I'm closest to Momentum BMW and BMW Midtown but I've heard conflicting opinions on which is better for service.

Does anyone have a service advisor that they're working with that they would recommend? Looking to build a relationship with one.

[kevolution]

Originally Posted by JackieChiles

BMW west seems OK so far. Not great, but OK.

Momentum / BMW southwest is GARBAGE. Horrible to deal with in my experience on several occasions. The closest dealer to me but will never see my car for any reason.

What is your experience with them? The sales associates seem to be pretty friendly when I was shopping for an F80 and when my wife bought her F30. I have taken my wife's F30 for service there a couple times and did notice a slightly longer wait and disinterested service advisors, but generally they gave us a call when things were ready. One sour experience was that one time they called saying car was ready but it was coming up close to their closing time and I was going to be a few minutes late, so the service advisor said sorry we're going to be closed so you'll have to come tomorrow. They couldn't wait an extra 5-10 minutes to deliver my car.. seems kinda lame.

[CHRI5 Mc]

I have used John Swann at BMW West for years now and he has always been perfect to deal with. Have zero complaints with him my only gripe with BMW west is that it is nearly impossible to get any of the SA's on the phone when you need to speak with them.

I usually go in when I need something and that has always worked best for me.

[Inf4life]

Originally Posted by CHRI5 Mc

I have used John Swann at BMW West for years now and he has always been perfect to deal with. Have zero complaints with him my only gripe with BMW west is that it is nearly impossible to get any of the SA's on the phone when you need to speak with them.

I usually go in when I need something and that has always worked best for me.

This who I also use. He is a former tech so he understands the cars well. He's even fixed some of the stuff on my car personally so it wouldn't take as long. Only complaint about BMW West is that their customer waiting area is kind of junk. They never have food in the mornings. One of my old MB dealerships used to have donuts in the morning all the time. I know it's a 1st world problem but it'd be nice to have a snack if i'm dropping my car off early in the morning. I bought my M4 from them as well.

[didit70]

Originally Posted by JackieChiles

BMW west seems OK so far. Not great, but OK.

Momentum / BMW southwest is GARBAGE. Horrible to deal with in my experience on several occasions. The closest dealer to me but will never see my car for any reason.

I can confirm momentum is trash... I went there today and instead of them going to get the vin info from my car, they asked me to go get it... Never had this issue with advantage BMW, it the Cadillac dealership when I had my V or the Lexus dealership .. come to think of it, I've never had any dealership all me to go get the info...

[Inf4life]

Originally Posted by didit70

I can confirm momentum is trash... I went there today and instead of them going to get the vin info from my car, they asked me to go get it... Never had this issue with advantage BMW, it the Cadillac dealership when I had my V or the Lexus dealership .. come to think of it, I've never had any dealership all me to go get the info...

Lmao!!!! Even Discount Tire goes and gets your mileage

[yaymitch]

Also use John Swann at BMW West. Advantage has been awful for me, also not even close to mod friendly and will flag if they even think you've used a tune. But even besides that, they have not fixed issues the first time. I drive 20 miles farther just to avoid them. They apparently lost several techs to other dealers due to poor management. That was a couple of years ago, hopefully things are better, but I won't be testing it out.

[Inf4life]

Originally Posted by yaymitch

Also use John Swann at BMW West. Advantage has been awful for me, also not even close to mod friendly and will flag if they even think you've used a tune. But even besides that, they have not fixed issues the first time. I drive 20 miles farther just to avoid them. They apparently lost several techs to other dealers due to poor management. That was a couple of years ago, hopefully things are better, but I won't be testing it out.

Just went to Advantage on Friday to get a service done because one of the techs was recommended to get some things fixed under warranty before it expires. I was there over 2 hours waiting for a loaner and never got one. The tech actually finished up my car before they got a loaner. Completely retarded and ruined my entire day sitting at the dealership. Plus, the fact that the dealer is split up on like 4 or 5 different corners of the block is dumb. After this warranty work is done, I'll be sticking with John at BMW West. I would've been out in like 15 minutes easy.

[yaymitch]

Originally Posted by 95f82

Woodlands: Nice and spacious dealership, not busy at all, service department was helpful and responsive but I'm not sure if they're mod-friendly or not. I'd come here more often if I lived closer.

Momentum: Came here to talk to sales once. Haven't gone to them for service yet but I have heard that some of the SA's are pretty mod-friendly.

Houston North: Came to talk about some M Performance parts, was not acknowledged a single time while walking around. Like dang I know I look young but nobody can spare 5 seconds to say hello on an empty weekday? Still salty from that experience lol.

Advantage/Midtown: Trash layout and location, they're spread around like 5 blocks in a shitty area. Dropped off my car in one of their lots and in my rearview mirror I see a homeless woman pissing. Service department is hectic and not a pleasant experience. The receptionist guy and my SA were both nice though.

I want to try Clear Lake and West but they're too just far

I live just east of downtown and make the drive to West if that tells you anything.

[mcvaughan]

Also use John at West, however I don't take my M4 there. He's always a pleasure to work with for my X6M.

[farcus]

F87 driver here, came here as the F87 Houston thread in pretty sparse on this issue or in general and thought I'd come here to ask since its a M car. Long story short would BMW West Houston also be a good place to go for body work from collision? So I got my car, brand new with 40 miles and not even 2 weeks, already got into a small accident by fault of another at work. Full claims is on the other party by Insurance so I just want the best job done, money is not a concern. I read a lot of horrible stories on the internet from reviews (yelp/google review) that all the Houston BMW Service Centers are shitty despite all of them being Certified Collision Center?! Where and what Should i do? It is mainly cosmetic damage to my front bumper, possible driver fender and possible driver headlight unit. No codes are off the car's computer. I actually went to Advantage Service Center the guy look at it and said its mostly cosmetic from visual inspection but didn't open hood. Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread but I'm just want some real feedback on the best place to get my new car fixed, cause the online reviews of all these BMW Certified Collison Center all sound so scary. Appreciated it. See image attached.

[ano0oj]

Originally Posted by Erotic_taco

They also warrantied my car after a track event where I had mechanical issues, I didn’t tell them specifically but they knew based upon the tires and calipers. “This can happen if you’re really pushing it at the track in the high rpm range or bounce the car off the rev limiter”

Not sure why any dealer wouldn't honor warranty after a track event...these cars were meant to be driven hard and to the limits. As long as your car doesn't have any mechanical issues due to aftermarket parts I wouldn't think any dealership would give you sh*t for it.

[ano0oj]

Originally Posted by farcus

Full claims is on the other party by Insurance so I just want the best job done, money is not a concern.

If full claim is on the other party, then definitely take it to a BMW dealership for the work. BMW West has a nice program for people who are a part of M Gruppe where they make sure only master technicians work on your car if you're part of the group. I've had pretty good experiences with BMW North and BMW of The Woodlands. I'd avoid Momentum and Advantage from my past experiences.

[farcus]

Originally Posted by ano0oj

If full claim is on the other party, then definitely take it to a BMW dealership for the work. BMW West has a nice program for people who are a part of M Gruppe where they make sure only master technicians work on your car if you're part of the group. I've had pretty good experiences with BMW North and BMW of The Woodlands. I'd avoid Momentum and Advantage from my past experiences.

So its definitely better to go to a certified BMW dealer shop than independent then? Ok. I just signed up for M Gruppe, awaiting admin review. Thanks for the heads up. I really wish the F87 thread was active but it seems there is actually a pretty good BMW driver/scene presence in Houston from the looks of it and the BMW CCA Houston. So should I also be asking for John Swann as my service advisor and that I'm a member of the M Gruppe?

The only other shop I was contemplating at would be Metropolitan Collision and Service, recommended from the f87 forum. It appears on their website "Metropolitan Collision is a preferred collision repair facility for Tesla, BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz and Porsche in addition to all domestic models.

[Suds]

They did a good job the repairing my 135i a few years back.

[Bazooka173]

Originally Posted by farcus

So its definitely better to go to a certified BMW dealer shop than independent then? Ok. I just signed up for M Gruppe, awaiting admin review. Thanks for the heads up. I really wish the F87 thread was active but it seems there is actually a pretty good BMW driver/scene presence in Houston from the looks of it and the BMW CCA Houston. So should I also be asking for John Swann as my service advisor and that I'm a member of the M Gruppe?

The only other shop I was contemplating at would be Metropolitan Collision and Service, recommended from the f87 forum. It appears on their website "Metropolitan Collision is a preferred collision repair facility for Tesla, BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz and Porsche in addition to all domestic models.

I would go to metropolitan or royal collision.

[farcus]

Originally Posted by Bazooka173

I would go to metropolitan or royal collision.

I just came from a estimate assessment from royal, very impressed by the customer service, no red flags. Will try metropolitan, motorwerk autogroup, and eurocar werk monday.

I spoke with a personal friend of mine who is a master level BMW trained technician. He actually said something surprising to me. He said its better to find a good high end, luxury/exotic car autoshop than a dealer certified shop if you can find one. The reason is because dealers, regardless, will go on volume. While an independent good exotic/luxury car shop go by quality a lot more just because nature of their client size, and the cars involved.