BMW of Stratham

Can’t never seem to get it right here. $ 499 for doc fees!!! Really for what? I found Peabody easier to deal with and their fee is $ 299. Plus they gave me more for my trade in the identical car

These guys get customer service! Impressed with their service department. They fixed my car with no problems and were friendly. Had a terrible experience at the other BMW dealership. These guys restored my faith in the BMW franchise.

I purchased a used car from these guys and they didn’t provide a full service on the vehicle before I drove off the lot. This is fundamental and my «service vehicle light «went off 1K miles after I left. AND I live in VT, they told me they would register it but then asked me to do all this running around for them, so essentially I have to register my vehicle. Also my tires will need replacing in a short amount of time and they refused to put new ones on the vehicle without me paying for them. The take away, if you’re dealing with them on a used vehicle… CHECK everything and demand services before you buy!

I purchased a new 5 Series from Joel and the team at BMW of Stratham. They were very helpful in figuring out which car to buy (was considering an X5 and 6 Series) and got a great deal. I ordered the car and it arrived on-​time and just as I wanted it! Since then, I have taken the car to BMW Stratham for service and they have been great.
Top-​tier shopping experience

Being new to the area I didn’t know who to bring my car to. Never liked bringing my car to a dealer, because they are overpriced, but you know (or think) they will be more trustworthy than a local mechanic. BMW of Stratham gives honest work at a fair price. The service department is very helpful and I haven’t purchased a car from them yet, but I will when I am ready to. Also, if you need a car detail (Even if it’s not a BMW), they do a great job! I hope I don’t have to bring my cars back in, but if I do I know that I will get great service.

I want to give an example of not using the best responses to customers: upon visiting the Stratham BMW today for the first time. I met a gentleman who handled my appointment. He asked me why I bought the car in today and I said well I’m kind of new and believe I have a pre certified ownership on it. Also I wasn’t sure how it worked and would he look it up. I instantly got a neutral non warm air from him. He looked at the computer and said yes it’s good until next February. I said wow that is awesome can you tell me what that covers. His next response was quote: didn’t you read the paperwork when you bought the car? I was in disbelief and stumbling on my words said «evidently not». again asked him would you please explain it to me he reluctantly did with very little enthusiasm. I tried my best to warm him up but in the end why was that my responsibility I am disappointed. Lastly, I asked him if it would be ok to get either a loner or something to drive local while they took a look at my car. His answer was no since I didn’t buy my car with them, again disappointed. I am sure all experiences aren’t like this but I’m in a similar business and customer service must be legendary all the time. Stratum BWW you should do much better.

9÷10÷2014 Received call from the General Manager re: my experience yesterday. He explains that someone was out sick — which leaves them all behind — don’t know who this phantom sick person is — but I sure hope they realize the power they wield at the dealership.
I explain to the GM that I don’t feel they have a good on-​boarding system — he dismisses this by saying while he is sorry to hear this — the majority of his customers feel differently — really? Have you read the other reviews, or been a customer waiting in the waiting room? Seems that this dealership forgets the old adage — an unhappy customer will take any opportunity to tell about their negative experience. For example, when we are all sitting in the waiting area waiting for our cars — we all talk — trust me not as many of your customers are as happy as you think!
Next, we discuss my experience with Mr. Silva — I explain that I didn’t appreciate being told I was wrong and called a liar. The GM sticks on this point — did Mr. Silva actually say you’re a liar — to which I respond no. So the GM is happy to think nothing really happened — it’s my «perception» of what happened. Which, must be wrong of course.
I wanted to explain to him that people have the ability of communicating a message without actually saying the words — but I could tell from the message he was communicating to me that he didn’t care about keeping me as a customer. Did he actually come out and say this «no» but did he communicate this message loud and clear, absolutely — message received.
Don’t worry, I will revise the old «Breck» commercials. Instead of telling 2 friends and having them tell 2 friends, I intend on telling the whole world consistently just how bad this place really is.
9÷9÷14 Brought my car in for 9:30am appointment. Like my first experience with this place no one is around in the service department and you have to sit and wait/​hunt for an advisor. One final comes and doesn’t care that they left you waiting. Explain to him that I don’t appreciate waiting I was on time for my appointment they should be too. He tells me I am wrong and that I wasn’t waiting long. Don’t know where Mr. Silva got his training but where I come from the customer is always right and you NEVER tell the customer they are wrong to their face.
This place is inconsistent with the service they provide. Unfortunately they suck more that they are good. Give up the BMW sign and become a Ford or Toyota dealership — that way you can delivery shitty service and no one will be surprised or complain.

I have a simple question: when I call for a service appointment, why am I given one date and an attitude when I say that one date doesn’t work for me? Then a, «We’ll have someone call you back.» What kind of service is that? (I guess that’s 2 questions.)

I reviewed BMW of Stratham once before, I decided to remove it and give them a second shot at earning back my confidence/​trust in their business. It all began with the sales rep that sold me the car, we hustled back and forth until we came to an agreement. By the end, it came down to little things. Full tank of gas, documents/​fees, etc.
A few features of the car were what I was really sold on. When the sales rep was demo’ing the car’s features and got to those specific ones, he glanced over them and when they didn’t work he would just say, «Oh, BMW probably just hasn’t activated it yet. Once the car drives off the lot, these start working.» Months later, they still don’t work. I called up BMW USA to find out that it never came them. What the hell? I later found out that this particular rep no longer works at BMW Stratham. Cool. That doesn’t give my car any additional functionality.
I made very bold assumptions about the ethics of this dealership and was, soon after, contacted by Joel, the General Manager. We talked through my concerns with the car and the rep who sold me on it. We met halfway. I wanted Sirius, which BMW of Stratham apparently charges $ 375 for after the fact. Joel would meet me with $ 200 and I’d pay the remaining $ 175. It wasn’t really what I was looking for but it was better than nothing — I seriously wanted Sirius. I’ve had it in all of my other cars (just didn’t have to pay for the functionality on a separate line item).
Great, so I’ve got an appointment scheduled for the next weekend at 8:00 AM sharp. I arrive at 8:15 AM. I was told that I should expect the job to take 2 hours in total, but 3 hours on the longer end of the spectrum. Great, that’s perfect — I can get my errands taken care of. I was given an X1 to drive… I don’t know if any of you have ever set foot inside of a BMW X1, but just imagine driving a very unsafe car that you can’t picture anyone spending more than $ 5,000 for (it’s priced at $ 32,000). I thought I broke it before I got off the lot. No power steering. Anyways, after all of my shopping was finished, I hadn’t received a call from Stratham yet and figured that they’re probably just giving me some time to get my things done. So I drive over. It’s 12:30, my car isn’t finished. I was given the option of taking the X1 back out but, honestly, I’d already filled it with gas and even informed the rep that I’d felt unsafe driving that car around and beyond embarrassed. I asked how they sell any of these things, given how terrible they are. They told me that they don’t really sell many of them. Which makes sense, since there’s 3 or 4 X1’s dedicated for loaning…
I decided to wait, it’d take 45 minutes… 25 for the programming, another 20 for the detailing. Ok, so the car should’ve been finished at 11:00 on the long-​end and now I’ve arrived an hour and a half after that to find that I’m waiting for another 45 minutes? Whatever, 45 minutes is ok. I’ll snack on whatever they have in the waiting room… Wait, they’re just crackers. At least I’ve got a phone to keep me occupied.
Let’s break that down the labor:
— 8:00 AM: Dropped off car
— 11:00 AM: When I should expect callback (assuming 3 hours max)
— 12:30 PM: Arrived 1.5 hours late, told to wait another 45 minutes
— 1:15 PM: 45 minutes later, where’s my car?
— 2:00 PM: Several inquiries later, finally received car
— Total time to complete: 6 hours for just having SiriusXM installed
I had to apologize to my mother who I’d taken grocery shopping with me. She isn’t particularly youthful and I wasn’t overly keen on having her wait for so long at a dealership.
Now I’ve got my car back. The service rep was great in moving my groceries from the awful X1 back to my car. But now I’m looking at my car and it looks practically untouched. Wait, they washed it? You can tell that there was no soap involved, it was just rinsed with a hose. They might as well have left it outside in the rain (which it wasn’t at the time, I’m sure naturally occurring rain would’ve been more thorough). The floor mats were «wet». That’s what detailing is? After contacting the manager to inform him of my experience he told me that the service only included a wash (if that’s what they call it) and vacuum. I also informed the manager of the insulting experience I had with the X1. He told me that they sell a lot of them and wasn’t sure why I felt that way. Funny, because that’s not what one of your service reps informed me of, he told me that you don’t really sell any of them. So now I’ve been lied to all around. I seriously question the integrity of this dealership, if you are able — find another. I couldn’t honestly recommend BMW of Stratham, you’d be better off purchasing somewhere else.
In the end, I can’t believe that I’d paid for this level of service. I put down a lot of cash for this car and am still treated like I owe them. Pay like a king, get treated like a peasant. I’ll be taking my maintenance elsewhere while it’s still under warrant

I had a recall that I need to get fixed as well as some warranty work so I decided to give these guys another shot. Since it was the last day of the year, I figured I’d look to see what they had, and what kind of deals I could get. This time, they were far more courteous. I had a rep from behind the desk ask me if I needed assistance, and then paired me up with a sales person. The sales associate was also very nice, and offered to pull some cars for me to look at since it was so cold. We ended up going on a test drive, but the car didn’t have the options I wanted. Its nice to see I wasn’t invisible anymore, and wasn’t overly pressured either.

This is a fabulous dealership. Over the years we have purchased three BMWs from them so far (and have two others that were purchased in Florida). As is the case with our dealership in St. Pete, Florida (Bert Smith), we could not have been happier with the Sales staff and the professionalism and decent, fair prices we have paid for our cars. As is usually the case, the service department is where after-​purchase customers end up getting a really good feel for how well the dealership performs. I have a lot of confidence in Jim Medeiros, the Service Manager. He is incredibly responsive (I prefer to use email, and hear back almost immediately from him); he takes a personal interest in making sure our cars are handled carefully and professionally, and we don’t get our cars back until he is 100% satisfied that everything has been completed to his standards.
We (obviously!) like BMWs a lot, and have not really had that many problems that needed attention, but it is always nice to know Jim is there if we do need something taken care of.

The worst customer service of any car maker I have ever experienced. I have a 750LI X drive-​2012 and needed my NH safety inspection done. Left a message on wednesday with Lauren service advisor to make an appointment. Never received a call back. We only have 10 days do to these. drove in on friday to see when it can get done. They offer no transportation back to work (only 5 miles away) since they said they have no drivers in the afternoon. No loaners. the next week i am traveling so i asked if they can just pick it up and return it while i am away to get it done. Was told their drivers are booked for «weeks». Bottom line they don’t care about customer service or customers period and i am in the market for another BMW… I simply shocked how little the do for customers of the brand. I would look elsewhere to do business with peoplye who care about earning customers!
BTW I called Audi of stratham and they got me in about hour and they Rock!

No one likes to be the one with the problem with a brand new car — especially a $ 50,000 car. Unfortunately, first impressions and first experiences almost always portend the experience over the life of the product.
If you choose to deal with IRA BMW of Stratham, get every single agreement in writing and do not bother ever trying to solve a problem over the phone. Better yet, go somewhere else.
The short story is that the new car came with a paint defect that we did not notice until after we accepted delivery. Unfortunately, that now falls under warranty repair, even if just a day later. All negotiations fall between the dealer and you.
Everyone agreed that this was a manufacturing defect. We agreed on a solution with the service manager — not one that he was happy with, and maybe even one that was excessive, but one nonetheless that he agreed to and one that was recommended by two outside professionals. The next day, the manager called and said that their body shop had decided to repair it another way (easier and cheaper). He denied that we had another agreement about how we were going to repair it and said to take it as is. Aside from performing an unauthorized repair, he concocted a totally new agreement in his head.
One might think that calling BMW North America might help. Wrong! They do not get involved in dealer disputes even if it was their manufacturing defect that caused the problem. You are on your own!
Finally after speaking with the manager, I thought we could come to an agreement as he said that customer service is their number one priority. I asked for a lifetime warranty for unusual wear on the area of paint that they repaired (In my opinion, a zero cost item to IRA Motor Group.)
You would think that at this point that they would just say yes and try to make us happy. Nope! They countered with an offer for a warranty for the time of our ownership of the car. In the end, the details are unimportant. Neither warranty will matter in the end. But what is important is to understand the mentality of this dealership, and by extension IRA Motor Group and BMW North America.
It may or may not be the ultimate driving machine, but I wouldn’t trust this corporation with repairing my bicycle. If everyone there is out to get their own way, cover their butt, alter agreements to cover for internal mistakes, and continue to give lip service to customer service at every opportunity, then there is a breakdown in management. Avoid this corporation.
It is a shame that every time I get in our car I am angry. I will get over it. But take this review seriously. You do not want to be angry when purchasing a luxury car. IRA is not some guy that you can call at home and try to make things right.
Compare this BMW experience to an Apple Store experience. Apple has a bunch of kids that are all empowered to repair and replace hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment daily. I imagine their motto to be something like «An honest company wants to keep honest customers for life.» Have you ever heard an Apple Store employee talk about customer service? No. They express it through their actions.
Now compare that to a group of BMW adults telling you a story that you know to be untrue, denying valid requests for resolution, while continuously telling you that customer service is their number one priority. «Maybe if we keep telling them customer service is our priority, they will believe it.»

This place really sucks. I’d recommend to take your business to another BMW dealership.
I wanted to buy a CPO BMW 3 series — 2008 onwards with low miles. So I visited the dealership yesterday. I liked 2 Cars and was gonna buy one of them.
Jon Parker was really impatient to sell me the car in 2 days, as it’s end of the year. He was keep pressuring me to take the financing from BMW only.
He called me today and I just asked him a simple question that why should I buy the car in 2 days, you’re not even giving me any deal on the car?
He replied me with «You’re wasting my time». I was like WTF?
I really don’t even understand why BMW has hired Jon Parker. He is into customer services and he doesn’t even know how to treat the customers.
It was really horrible experience !!!

I read some of these reviews and honestly wonder if people think they are going to this dealership when in fact they are going to one of the competitors… like Herb Chambers… Yikes!
Tone at the Top is where the methodology starts at BMW of Stratham. Joel Ginsburg (GM) has been with the Ira Motor Group for a very long time and has a very good understanding of the industry and the customer needs. He actually is not a typical GM who sits in an office away from the customers. He usually is sitting in the middle chair at the sales desk and will interact with the customers to try and finalize a deal. Chris Thompson is the Sales Manager and is also very easy to work with. When Joel is not in, Chris is running the show and doing a great job as well. Again, tone at the top.
With inventory the dealership tries to build cars that have the equipment that would be sought after by the typical customer. However, BMW’s can be built with over 1,000,000 different combo’s so it is next to impossible to always have what a customer wants. That is why Joel has created great relationships with several dealerships in the region in an effort to swap cars dealership to dealership or at the port so that it shows up on a car carrier for no cost to you. In addition, if you want to order a car that is not an issue either. They can place an order and depending on the model have it typically within a 10 to 16 week time frame.
All of the sales people that I have dealt with and there have been a few over the years as I am in my 6^th (I think) vehicle from this dealership are very product savvy and have very good customer service skills. Most dealerships don’t setup BMW Assist on delivery or activate SAT radio. They are supposed to but other dealerships want to get you on the road so they can close another deal. Not here… They take time during delivery to make sure that you know EXACTLY what each button does, etc. Kurt Baitz is currently my sales person and he is very helpful and always returns calls and e-​mails. He even gives you his personal cell # while you are working with him in the event that a question surfaces while he is not at his desk. What more could you ask for? This dealership DOES NOT play the games that 90% of dealerships do where you can see a visual mark in the carpet from the sales people walking back and forth from their desks to the sales managers desk. You get a price and they don’t play the games that I know we ALL hate. Keep in mind the markup is less than 8%.
Trade valuation is also very good because the Ira Motor Group has many dealerships in the group which allows BMW of Stratham to pay fair money because the cars can be moved to a sister dealership for maximum resale. In addition, the dealership is part of a publicly traded company called Group 1 automotive. The network extends all the way down the east coast and to the middle of the country (I believe). This might not be the largest dealership you have been to but that means nothing. This dealership has been awarded the CENTER OF EXCELLENCE Award which is not handed out by BMW easily… The ability to service the customer is the same as a dealership that has a showroom holding twice as many cars but high overhead.
The service department was upgraded a few years ago with 2 drive in service lines which can hold approximately 8 to 10 cars. The service advisers are seated in «fish bowls» that are in this drop-​off line and are ready to help the minute you pull in assuming they are not working with another customer. Each service adviser is very helpful and very concerned about the customers needs. I have been dealing with Steve M. for YEARS and he is the model of what a service adviser should be in trying to help. I make appointments to work with him directly because I have built up a bond and he is willing to go above and beyond to make things right. If you need tires the dealership will price match local TIRE STORES so that you get the best price. NOT a bad deal…
As for the service techs. They as well have a rich experience with the dealership and are typically able to fix issues in a prompt manner and on the first shot. If it takes them a day or two to get a part that is needed why do you care, you are typically driving a BMW loaner, assuming you made an appointment in advance. All of the loaners have x-​drive (AWD), snow brushes and are not base model cars. Some have NAV, some have SAT radio, etc.
If your service is a quick fix or an inspection sticker, etc. they have a nice waiting lounge with a computer room, WIFI, nice tv, free snacks and a fridge with free Coke products and water.
If you are in the market for a BMW I think you are doing yourself a disservice by not checking out this place. You will be surprised what a great experience it turned out to be.
With that being said a BMW is an amazing car that somewhat sells itself. They are just here to make the process easier for you and to welcome you to the family.

Went to trade in our Jeep Wrangler for a BMW X3. We showed up looking for a direct trade and even though we were going to essentially be forking over less than $ 1000 cash they went WAY out of their way to make sure we still felt important. The sales staff was not sleezy (actually, our salesman was quite nice!). We changed our mind without any prompting about 10 times and eventually we purchased an X3 that we love. The salesman had been very patient with us changing our mind several times.
I can not speak for their service department, though we may know more tomorrow as they are buffing out some paint imperfections for us (its used, so some blemishes expected)
I think its nice they offer a car rental if you need service, and it was a pretty nice gesture to offer a Chevy Cobalt if you ask me. Most other dealerships would say «sorry, none available» or simply not offer the service. I’m not too snobby to drive a free rental when the rest of the world gets a ride back home in a shuttle van. Going to extra mile to get you something really says a lot for their service dept.

Once again, this is a review of the service department. My car is now almost 10 years old, I still bring it back to the dealer (although the dealership has changed hands since I bought the car), and they still treat me right. This year I was sure I’d have to spend some money because the car was making an awful, ominous grinding noise when I drove it. They said it was just some rust on the brakes and I need to drive it more. They’ve always been honest, they’ve always been quick, and as long as I give them a week I get a free loaner car.
I see some differences from the old Dreher-​Holloway days. The service department is bigger, but the salespeople seem sleazier. Not that I’ve bought anything from the new crop of salespeople but if I’m wandering around the showroom while I’m waiting for my car, they’re all over me like ants at a picnic. I’m not going to take stars away for that because this is just a review of the service dept, but jeez!

I would recommend finding another BMW Dealership!
We changed to BMW Peabody for the best customer service ever! They pick up your car, deliver you a loaner, etc.
BMW Stratham has mixed up service appointments and not followed through on what they stated would be accomplished. We have had to double check and coordinate everything ourselves. For the price of the vehicle, I would not recommend them at all.

With the state of the economy, I expect a little bit of hustle from my salesmen. When you consider dropping the big bucks for the name, you want to be treated somewhat with respect.
As I ascend into manhood (slow progression to yuppie) I am ready to upgrade my college car (99 corolla) with a nice certified pre-​owned bmw. Now the website told me one thing and the dealer told me another.
I was totally caught off guard that a BMW dealership would pull the old switcheroo.
Also, this place being about an hour from me, I have been trying to do some wheeling and dealing via email. To me, email is a standard form of communication these days, and a very acceptable way to do business. So when I go a week without hearing anything back, I get a little annoyed. These people who are so willing to make my money, could at least act a little bit excited about it.
It’s a shame they lost my business, cause i was totally ready to buy. I hate stereotypes, but this place really just reaffirmed my perception of car dealers.
oh well… maybe i’ll just get a kia.