Stephen James BMW Reviews 152

Poor service, poor communication and having my car returned in a dangerous and unsafe condition. My rear view mirror became unattached. A common fault with BMW. I took the car into BMW Stephen James on a Thursday. It was extremely difficult to communicate with the person responsible for the repair as calls were never returned or returned after a few hours. On Monday the 27th late in the afternoon I finally managed to speak to them. after a frustrating 3 days I informed them that I was going to pick the car up on Tuesday. I tried to phone on Tuesday morning but could not get through so I made my way to the dealership and picked up the car. The car had been taken into the workshop on Monday and looked at by a technician . He carried out some sort of repair. On the following Thursday the rear-view mirror fell of the windscreen. The car was returned to me in a dangerous and unsafe condition. I have photographs including the “glue” used.
I went to Halford and purchased some specialist glue for £5 and repaired it myself. While my car was in for this repair I had a courtesy car. I left it to be picked up by the car hire company who do so within 2 hours. However I was sent a parking fine?
I should have learnt my lesson as the last time I had a car with them for a simple repair they kept it for several weeks. Again poor communication. the person dealing with the repair went on holiday.

Stephen James at Ruxley is incompetent. We had our booked in for a map update. We took our car in the 1st time to be told the update part had not arrived and tge work could not be done. No apology. It was arranged again for today 31st August. We took it in to be done, went in the afternoon to pick it up. My wife was told to wait the paperwork was being done. After 45mins of waiting she asked what was happening. The person she asked said they would find out. My wife then watched a you man get in the car for 15 mins. The young man then got my wife, took her to the car showed her the usb in the armrest port and said it will charge in 2-3hrs. We have drove our car twice since the 1st time the down loading got to 87%. When got back in the car. It said download I pressed OK, by the time we got home it was on 47%. Before it started charging it also said this is not the latest update. Absolute rubbish

I used to buy quite a few of my BMW’s from here. Then I stopped due to a new influx of salesmen and their poor attitude. Since a number of year have gone by, went to go into there today to hopefully have a pleasant experience. The receptionist couldn’t be bothered to say “hi” or ask if I need anything. The salesman sat at their desks, didn’t respond when saying hello, just a dull stare. Twenty minutes I was walking around looking at cars and no one could be bothered to help. Went to a different showroom with a much more pleasant experience and couldn’t do more to help. To be short, they haven’t changed unfortunately.

This is the 2nd time i have had work done here and its the 2nd time they have caused an issue which they want to charge me to repair. i had my car in for a recall airbag on the steering wheel and now my buttons don't work. AVIOD AVIOD ADVIOD!!!

Collected our used approved BMW 3 series touring a couple of days ago from Stephen James Ruxley; love the car! The purchase process was efficient and painless. Excellent customer services from Joel and Molly from start to finish. Would definitely recommend this dealership. We would consider buying our next car from here again for sure.

A very very disappointing in the service and the way we have been treated us as a new customer.

Firstly they have lied to us about the damages on the car - the sales person said it’s in a “perfect condition” however there were multiple small chips, a big chip which had literally been painted over! and a small dent as well. the sales person promised they would collect the car fix it and deliver it.

Then they came and collected the car back kept it for a week and had a big miscommunication in delivering the car back to us which the sales person had agreed to (but went on a holiday and wasn’t there to oversee the job) but the manager refused, however he then did sort it out. Upon delivery the car was still not fixed and only one damage was fixed and this was due to the sales persons absence(which they refuse to admit to - it’s was a simple question why did they not fix all the damages shown to them upon collection? Which they refuse to answer and just reply saying give the car back for a refund!) - if he wasn’t there to oversee the car repairs he could have been collected at a different time and sorted it out in his presence. the manager then gave us 2 options - he takes the car back or we get a quote for them - we said we would get a quote and give it to them and then see how to proceed as they are quite a long journey for us.

We contacted the nearest Tesla approved body shop and asked for a quote. And after sending the quote(which we agree was on the higher side but again it was for all the paint chips and not just a dent! Which the manager refused to listen to) we could have then done option 2 where they get it fixed - but no then the manager bluntly said you have 5 days to return the car(3 working days) Which basically would leave me without a car and wasn’t understanding at all - how does he expect me to find a car in 3 working days!

There was simply no sorry no agreeing to their own miscommunication within the team or accepting their own mistake!

This was by far the worst, most stressful, dishonest and disappointing service given by a BMW showroom. It’s not about the refund. It’s a common courtesy for the manager to at least apologize and own your mistakes for all the trouble caused and not be rude.

Booked in today for a test drive only to be told that the person I was due to meet doesn’t work weekends. My journey was completely wasted, as they said the car I was there to drive wasn’t in stock so they couldn’t even show me one.

No offer to compensate for my wasted time, no offer of a seat or refreshment whilst they were working out what went wrong. Just confirmed that someone would call me on Monday with an update.

Very disappointed potential… new Customer

Booked a test drive for a mini cooper s sport at SJ Ruxley at 3pm. Positive - Adam in sales was exceptional when we spent time with him and booked the test drive. That's where it ends. Had to cancel test drive due to illness so phoned SJ Ruxley to get a message to Adam - about 1 pm - with a view to rebooking and the intention to order from them. Phone rang for 8-10 minutes and then just hung up. Rang again - got through to a very glib and rude individual who apologised and insisted that it was a one off and not usual. He said 'sorry about that' and confirmed he would let Adam know. Not impressed so made a complaint about the poor experience and pointed out that after purchasing our BMW X5 2 years ago, every time we have dealt with SJ Ruxley the same thing happens and we have been given the same story every time but nothing has changed. Lo and behold, Adam phoned us at around 3.30 asking where we were!! At this point we explained the above and said that we wouldn't be rebooking the test drive or purchasing the new vehicle (value around £30K) from them now as it would seem that although sales are good, everything else isn't so we would not have a good after sales experience again. Adam must have spoken to his boss after losing our business because of the incompetence of other staff because he phoned us to apologise and offer his personal number to encourage us back. Sorry Ben - appreciated - but the back up systems at SJ are abysmal so we will be going elsewhere sadly. We have already stopped using the BMW side. What were we thinking giving them a second chance?? I think a lot of the comments here show that this is an ongoing problem and over a long period of time!

Was really dissapointed, car was booked in for service and allow wheel repair, on arrival was told only the wheel repair was booked. Picked up the car 4 days later as I didnt want to go back and the car was covered in bird crap. Raised this with the team, was told that the booking agent was not at her desk and to write to them. Very unprofessional, wish i could upload the photos.

They charge £100 for a quote. Rip off...

Purchased a 2021 BMW Certified X1 and paid a premium vs the market to have the peace of mind that certified by BMW means we are not going to be short-changed. We found out subsequently that we were provided the car with 2018 manufacture tyres along with two that were 2021. No where else in the world would BMW do that - i.e. provide a car with an assortment of tyres just to save some pounds rather than putting all 4 tyres the same age and level of wear. For the last 8 months we have been chasing Stephen James Bromley to resolve the situation but to no avail - takes them months to even respond to multiple emails - a marked contrast to the very responsive approach during the sales process. Very disappointing - this surely doesn't align with BMW brand values and the peace of mind they want customers to associate with BMW Certified.

Update post Stephen James's response:
The one question that Stephen James representatives refuse to give a straight answer to is whether it is normal BMW practice to sell a car badged "BMW Certified" with an assortment of tyres of different dates of manufacture that are 3-4 years apart. That they meet inspection criteria is besides the point and obvious as car dealerships legally can't sell a car with tyres that don't meet inspection criteria.

Best car buying experience I’ve had was at Stephen James Mini Enfield. I’ve bought cars from Mercedes, Redline, Marshall, Sytner & more and this experience comes out on top.

Big shout out to Paul (Brand Manager), Rocco & George who were very easy to deal with, very knowledgeable & accommodating.

Would Defo be back as our other car is due to be changed by the end of the year.

Sales - experience was great back in 2021
Service 1- 2023 - car returned with low pressure in the tyres, grease stains on the interior, and a locking wheel nut bouncing around in a rear door pocket !! (filthy mats too) - Awaiting news as to where my toolkit has gotten to. Very sloppy and careless, will need to find a new dealership after this experience.

My BMW had a recall from the company. I took my car in fighting the A10 traffic jam. Car will be ready later in the day. I then find out the complimentary driver service which ended due to Covid has not been reinstalled. No apology from the service manager.

Worse experience ever. Made an appointment by phone for a recall regarding a 2018 g30. Took the day off from work went to them and they said there is no appointment made. Car was leaking coolant so unable to drive. They told me to leave the car there but have no idea when they have time to look at least at it and to make another appointment will take at least two weeks. Explained them that I depend on car to go to work as I don't have trains in my area and they didn't care. No courtesy car as well. Pleasure of owning a bmw what can I say. Disappointed.

Thanks for your prompt response and for your professional support Panayiotis T.
And thanks bmw team for all your work made with high standard
Love BMW Stephen JAMES

Ooo my days,for a dealership who sales premium cars,inside is so dirty ..Absolutely disgusting. The escalator is not working,The sales team is disgusting aswell,not helping, not know even ,what car selling ...Specially, Paul...I have bring my BMW for safety recall..bring them perfect car ,when I went to take it back my engine light was on,and they told me ,that they have not touch anything..Engine light on ,can you believe in new car...And they have even not saw that the light was on.Never buy a car or go for any service there...Spend more time and just go to Loughton or Borehamwood ,but not to this rubbish personal.

I wish I would have seen these reviews before.
I got charged £444 pounds to fix a know/common issue for BMWs F series (just google handbrake cable clip fails and you can see how common it is..).
-) 7£ the cost of the piece
-) 198£ for the investigation (of a know issue for BMW)
-) 239£ labour for changing the clip
I might understand the labour cost since apparently they had to remove the heat shield and exhaust but the investigation cost for a know issue.. 198£.. that's not understandable and acceptable.
I think I have said enough. Be careful next time you are around this place.

The servicing department was not a good experience. And when I complained about the service they just mocked me with a smirk, “how about our great service today madam.” Their fees just to diagnose a problem is £200. Extortionate. I will drive triple the distance to avoid this company in the future.

Chris Gomes, provided me with excellent customer service as he ensured the car i chosen was the perfect car for me. Also he informed me about the variety of packages to keep the car in immaculate condition. I would definitely recommend first car buyers to go shop at the BMW dealership, as its the best cars for very reasonable prices also in the perfect condition.