BMW repair shops (Arlington, Alexandria, Manassas: apartment, home, to buy)

[jerseyj]

Looking for a good repair shop for an older BMW. Daughter has been dealing with Fairfax BMW and is not happy with their service. She lives in Arlington and works in Fairfax.

Anyone have a trusted mechanic?

[Pandoras]

Originally Posted by jerseyj

Looking for a good repair shop for an older BMW. Daughter has been dealing with Fairfax BMW and is not happy with their service. She lives in Arlington and works in Fairfax.

Anyone have a trusted mechanic?

I have taken cars to the Alexandria BMW dealership and the Arlington BMW dealership. They both did fine.

What was the issue with Fairfax BMW? I have had a car repaired there once and it was alright. Its been a couple of years since I've gone out there though.

[elias9193]

German Auto group in Springfield very fair I have personally dealt with Intersport in Tysons corner also very reasonable. Also Auto Advantage in Manassas never had a problem they also are very reasonable.

[jerseyj]

She has had the car there for about 3 years and always serviced it at the Fairfax Dealer (very close to her office) without a problem. Early this week, she took it in for a front end shimmy, they kept it for the week and a repairman took it home for the weekend.
She just picked it up (many $$$ later), front end still shimmys and now the brakes are squealing. They also left her with an empty tank (really pi**ed her off).

We have spoken to the service manager on a couple of occassions and he seems more interested in getting us to buy her a new one.

The car is old ('02 330xi) but has been well maintained. I'm just thinking that a good mechanic (not a dealer) might be a better option for her.

Thank you for your reply

[jerseyj]

Originally Posted by elias9193

German Auto group in Springfield very fair I have personally dealt with Intersport in Tysons corner also very reasonable. Also Auto Advantage in Manassas never had a problem they also are very reasonable.

Thank you! We will look into the Springfield and Tyson locations. They would work from her apartment or office.
We have never owned a bimmer out of warranty and it seems that this dealer is more interested in selling us another one rather than fixing this one properly.

Thanks for the recommendations!

[sjankis630]

Good luck with your daughter's car. I have always wanted a BMW. I was thinking of a 3 series sedan (328i or 335I ), used around 2006-2007, but then I go on the BMW boards and cringe when I hear of all the problems the people have to get fixed on their car. (bushings, High Pressure Fuel Pump, tranny's - losing reverse gear etc) all of these problems before the cars even get 60,000 miles. I am used to Acuras and Hondas which while they are not sports cars, don't even get considered broken in until you hit around 80,000 miles.
You mention that your daughter took the car in and they kept it a week? I am used to dealers (Acura here) getting back to me in 1 day, 2 tops. What are they doing entirely rebuilding the entire engine, or are there so many other BMWs in for repair they are backlogged?
I don't care if the car is still under warranty, not having it for a week at a time would be unacceptable.

[kiddhan625]

German Auto Group. Talk to Tim or Sammy. I have been using them for a few years now.

Also check out Fairfax Service Center. Right across the street from BMW of Fairfax. Reese the owner is a stand up guy. I used to take my cars to him before I found German Auto. Reason being German is much closer to my house.

Goodluck!

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by sjankis630

Good luck with your daughter's car. I have always wanted a BMW. I was thinking of a 3 series sedan (328i or 335I ), used around 2006-2007, but then I go on the BMW boards and cringe when I hear of all the problems the people have to get fixed on their car. (bushings, High Pressure Fuel Pump, tranny's - losing reverse gear etc) all of these problems before the cars even get 60,000 miles. I am used to Acuras and Hondas which while they are not sports cars, don't even get considered broken in until you hit around 80,000 miles.
You mention that your daughter took the car in and they kept it a week? I am used to dealers (Acura here) getting back to me in 1 day, 2 tops. What are they doing entirely rebuilding the entire engine, or are there so many other BMWs in for repair they are backlogged?
I don't care if the car is still under warranty, not having it for a week at a time would be unacceptable.

I've had 3 Toyotas with over 150k+ miles on them, without major problems, and could have easily gone 300k miles. There's a reason why you see a lot of Toyotas and Hondas on the road, simply because they don't break. My dad has a 2008 330 and the drive belt pully fell off on the highway. BMW is trash.

[Carlingtonian]

The question about BMW shops came up about a month ago--probably some useful replies in that thread too.

As I said there, if Potomac Yard is convenient to you, Alexandria Bavarian Service is fantastic. Independent shop consisting of three or four BMW nuts, one of whom owns the place. It's worth going there just to see Grant's collection of rare Bimmers.

[LetsRock]

Originally Posted by VRE332

I've had 3 Toyotas with over 150k+ miles on them, without major problems, and could have easily gone 300k miles. There's a reason why you see a lot of Toyotas and Hondas on the road, simply because they don't break. My dad has a 2008 330 and the drive belt pully fell off on the highway. BMW is trash.

The reason you see so many japanese cars on the road is they are CHEAP thus anyone can afford one. If you can't afford to service a BMW out of warranty then you have no business owining one. I do most of the routine service on my BMWs myself. I only take it in if it is something I can't fix on my own. I have two 2007 328xi Sedans.