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Herb Chambers BMW
Rating Details »
Category: Car Dealers [Edit]
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton1168 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02134
(617) 731-1700
- Nearest Transit:
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Harvard Avenue (Green)
7 reviews for Herb Chambers BMW
First of 2 reviews for HC BMW. This review concerns my leasing of a new 2008 335i. I gve 3 stars for the lease process. Went in expecting the full court press, but had done my homework, so the end result was pretty good.
Went in on a Saturday with the plan of wrapping everything up in one shot. Had run all the numbers, done all the research (http://www.bimmerfest.com will certainly help), and put together my game plan. After taking a drive, we sat down to work out a deal. I wanted a very specific model, color combo, and options, which they certainly didn't have one on the lot (lots of minimal optioned 328i on the lot, however). So, they tried to locate one that fit the bill. The dealer eventually found an unallocated car on the boat from Germany that was a perfect match.
That's when the fun began. They had marked up everything they possibly could to the max allowed by the manufacturer (acquisition fee, money factor, etc.). Once they realized that I actually knew what I was talking about, we pretty much got right down to brass tacks and the BS was out the window.
I was able to work out a good deal, although I probably left ~$500 on the table. Not too bad on a $47k car and it only amounted to ~$12/month on the lease. A small price not to have had to dick around too much.
What struck me as sad was after insisting that I wouldn't pay the $200 markup on the acquisition fee, the dealer wasn't able to quickly recalculate the sales tax on it. He knew the marked up amount cold. This leads me to believe that very few people actually spend the 2-3 hours of research prior to going into the dealership. Fools. I actually felt bad when I heard the people sitting next to me ask if BMW made a wagon. I'm sure the salesman was licking his chops!
Anyway, the car arrived about a week later and they turned it around very quickly. Had to go through the add-on spiel with the finance manager, but they didn't put up much of a fight. Dealer threw in summer & winter mats, which saved my a couple hundred dollars.
All in all, not the worst experience. Not as good as the experience I had a Brookline Audi the previous 2 cars I have leased, but close.
Please do your homework before arriving at this dealership! Especially if you want to lease (and make sure you know how a lease works beforehand). A little bit of work will save you thousands. Really.
Part 2 concerns my first service visit of the aforementioned 335i. This gets 5 stars for an average of 4.
Great experience... Brought my '08 335i in for annual service, state inspection, exterior detail, and a couple of other minor things. Drop off was smooth (although there was a slight back up) and every employee I spoke with was pleasant and helpful. Met with the SA and we spent 10+ mins discussing the service plan. He told me that because the car has low miles (~5.5k), they would not perform the interval service, but would change the oil & filter (some have had a hard time getting this done under maint plan). Right on! I was given a 2009 328xi as a loaner, which was fantastic.
At the end of the day, the SA called and told that one of my "minor" issues would require that the car spend at least 2 nights at the dealer. No problem. I was called each afternoon with updates by the SA. Got a call this AM and was told the repairs were completed. The SA then asked if I still wanted to do the exterior detail given the imminent snow storm. Of course! Car was then ready for pick up at 4pm and looking great (now I just have to leave it in the garage for the winter)
Very impressed - probably the best service treatment I've ever received from any dealer.
Terrible. They try to scam you for every dollar, mislead you and try to pad up the bill as much as they can.
I had been going to them for 4 years and because its a new car, I just paid for regular servicing and never questioned the few hundred extra $$s they always tagged to the bill till now.
Well, this time, their service agent Chris A. recommended that I go for the much more expensive service based on "his professional opinion".
What I did not realize till later - and he conveniently forgot to mention - that my car was 10,000 miles short of the recommended mileage for Level II service.
On top of that he tried to charge me MORE than their LISTED price for that service.
He also "recommended" New Brakes for $1,600 and a bunch of other Parts for $2,000 for a total for $3,600!!
Long story short, I went to another mechanic who said I did not need any new parts, and only needed new brake pads..which cost me just $400!!
I can not believe they were trying to get $3,600 off me for something that only needed $400 worth of repair. Even in the history of car repair ripoffs, this is a new low!!
I have to echo Holson's review. I also had Nick Lagas as my sales advisor and he was amazing! There was no BS. He gave me such a great deal. I'm sorry that Lacey P. had a bad time at BMW with sleazy dealers, however - if you want to purchase a BMW, definitely go to Nick. Also, Azi Parvez is one of the best "finance guys" in the business. They didn't try to upsell me or coerce me into getting a car that I can't afford. Love my car, love the dealership.
I bought a car there in 2004, and had a pretty good experience. BMW service is usually exceptional (esp. while on warranty). They serve coffee, have wifi, a TV etc. Not bad.
During my first repair after warranty (rear brakes), I had an awful experience- so bad, I will never go there again.
They didn't call to tell me it wouldn't be done by the end of the day (as promised). When I arrived at 6:15pm, they told me they wanted to do $2k+ worth of repairs. $700 for rear brakes, $700 for front brakes, and $600 for a joint. My front brakes are fine, but the service rep said he couldn't tell me how long they would last- "1 month, maybe 2." I call it scare tactics.
When I asked if they had to replace the rotors, I got some bs answer about how they always replace rotors or else they won't do the work. If the rotors aren't replaced, they can't guarantee the work. Cars are designed so the brake pads are the replaceable part. Rotors don't always have to be replaced.
It was an awful experience and I am never going back. I would have given them a 1 star, but my previous experiences were OK. I just feel like they are miking service customers now for every dime they have while their new car sales are down.
I also saw a white board in the manager's office with all of the service reps names listed. It looked like they had satisfaction rate and a couple of other metrics listed. One had a $ amount... was it service repairs charged to customers? I don't know. What does that mean?
I would have given them 1 star, but my previous experiences were decent. However, like most people, I am on a tight budget, and when a company treats me like this, I am upset.
Wow. WOW. Car dealers are sleazy, but this takes the cake. They would not let us test drive a BMW 3-series. Instead, they jumped right into financing (which, btw, they were fucking us on). Well, how do we know we want to buy unless we like the car? Then, they lowballed my BF on his trade-in by a couple grand, even though he knew the Bluebook value. Also, they really tried to screw him on a lot of the terms - BUT once he started coming back at them with questions like, "Well, according to _______source, the MSRP should be...." they backed off. We could tell they were stunned, and my bf was like, "yeah, I was a finance major, I know these terms."
We definitely did not buy here - they tried to pressure us into buying because they only had THREE!!! THREE!!!! left. Bullshit! Plus, they didn't have any 3-i series, just 3-xi, which we didn't want.
I highly recommend you go somewhere else, unless you're 100% confident you know every single term they're discussing - and even then, you'll probably get screwed.
Edited to add: my bf's dad used to be a car dealer, and explained to us that we were "redlined" because we're relatively young (even though we have really good jobs and high credit scores). A quick Google search reveals that redlining is illegial. I'm very anti-BMW now!
No i don't work for HC BMW and I originally did not like them.
After a year of wanting I made up my mind on ordering a brand new 335i coupe, so the only thing left was to get the best price.
I went to three other highly rated BMW dealers that are within the 495 ring and I got a decent price from one of them, told to go away from another one, and offered a job at the 3rd so i could get employee pricing..
so I figured what the h**l, why not go to HC since I live in Boston anyway...
In summary: I got the best price, no BS treatment and got my car exactly the way i wanted it 7 weeks later. Awesome.
You know what else is unexpected? The finance lady (forgot her name), DID NOT push me to buy crap I didn't need AT ALL. Though I must admit that I'm now wondering if I should have purchased the tire warranty since these RFTs are so expensive..
My CA was Nick Lagas and he definitely changed my view on dealerships/sales people.
Now I'm a believer that it is not the dealership, but rather the people you end up dealing with. In my case, I lucked out and got the best deal.
Make sure you ask for Nick if you want to get a price on a car from these guys!
Thanks for reading :)
I am very sorry to say this establishment is of poor quality. There Repair shop is as crooked as there sales staff. If you ever needed parts for your car you will be in for a rude awakening they will never answer your calls or return your messages. After years in this area i have to say i am very dissatisfied with Herb Chambers Company,you would think with all the people he has ripped off they could at least give a better service. This is another good example of how Greed and filth has saturated americas major buisnesses and corporations
