[nearwater4me]

What’s the general terms in providing a loaner for dealer visits?
I remember signing a loaner agreement at the time of purchase, but was unsure of the specifics.

I’m trying to bring my car in again for the rear light malfunction and the dealer wants me there from 8-3PM (basically 1 full day) and said that ‘it’s not a loaner situation’.
Is this to be expected of a minor warranty issue?

[BigKutta]

No, its not to be expected. However, I think most dealers are different. My dealer will give you a loaner for just about anything but they are large and service volume is huge. I did learn however from a friend who went in for an oil change that they no longer offer loaners for service taking less than 2 hours. Maybe times are getting tough, or since there was no inventory recently due to COVID, dealers sold their loaner fleets

[nearwater4me]

I see. Thanks for the input.
Out of 5 dealer visits (4 CBS maintenance, 1 alignment service), only once was I offered a loaner. (For my 30,000 service)
I don’t expect a loaner for an oil change, but no loaner for a warranty issue requiring a full day?
Maybe I’m expecting too much from BMW. Idk..

[CalAcacian]

Originally Posted by nearwater4me

I see. Thanks for the input.
Out of 5 dealer visits (4 CBS maintenance, 1 alignment service), only once was I offered a loaner. (For my 30,000 service)
I don’t expect a loaner for an oil change, but no loaner for a warranty issue requiring a full day?
Maybe I’m expecting too much from BMW. Idk..

Yeah, I was surprised by the move from MB to BMW. My MB dealership (admittedly, the largest volume MB seller in the country so they had a massive fleet available) always gave me a new E 300 with about 4-25 miles when I took my car in for service, even if it was for less than a day.

I rarely get a loaner from my local BMW dealer, except when they crashed my car and had to keep it at service for about two weeks.

[Sarg33]

I believe it depends on if they have a loaner available for the time of your service appointment. If they are experiencing a high volume of vehicles in the service department, they may have already loaned all of the loaners out for that day / time frame of your appointment. My dealership only has like 4-5 loaners, so when I schedule my appointments I make sure they have one available as I live 90 miles away.

Not pertaining to your situation, but I also agree with Kutta, some dealers may be limiting loaners to lengthy service appointments only.

[Dark-Yoda]

i don't take my car to the dealership unless i absolutely need to, but i always request a loaner so i dont have to be without a car. also, i noticed they work much faster if you have one of their loaner cars.

[Skulinex]

My local dealer just gives out loaners like there is no tomorrow. I think being a high volume dealer, they sell these as CPO’s later which actually gives them sales numbers

[boss2k]

Originally Posted by Skulinex

My local dealer just gives out loaners like there is no tomorrow. I think being a high volume dealer, they sell these as CPO’s later which actually gives them sales numbers

Notice you are in atlanta, which dealer do you go to and name of service advisor?

[Tag]

Depends on multiple factors...

• If you specifically requested a loaner at the time of making your service appointment
• The time you arrive at the dealership (earlier the better your chances)
• How long it will take to service your car
• Size of dealership
• Amount of available loaners on hand
• Dealership will also factor in other customers coming in around the same time as you and may reserve loaners for them instead
• You relationship with the SA can also be helpful

[DanG]

The only requirement that the dealer has to honor is if you have a warranty problem and they need to keep the BMW overnight. Then they must provide a loaner car.

[Bumpinjeep]

The dealerships that I use to service my car are generally pretty big. They give loaners out if you have a visit that would take longer than a few hours. Otherwise, they simply offer a shuttle service if it is within 5 miles of the dealership. I do remember that I had to reschedule one visit because they ran out of loaner cars, so i did it for the following day to secure a loaner, this was for the 1K service i believe.
Loaners i've had: X1, X2, m240i, 330i, 640GT. Out of all of those cars, the 640GT was the best, i had it for a couple of days and loved it actually.

[keylime503]

I've never had an issue getting a loaner (even for an oil change where it's totally unnecessary) but I make a point to say "With a loaner" when I email the guy to schedule an appointment.

[msdss]

my dealer gives me loaners for literally everything.

[GregInNewMexico]

My dealer says anything over 2 hours gets a loaner. They are pretty small though. When I lived in Michigan in the 2000s, the dealers there would give a loaner almost for things like airing up your tires.

[boss2k]

Not true any warranty work thats more than couple of hours they should provide you with loaner, if loaner is not available then they should give you a rental car and i have got that in the past so dont say my expectations are unreal

I also live within 5 miles of the dealership and they have dropped and picked me from my home and office too.

[cb804]

Pretty sure every dealer has their own policy on loaner cars. As stated above some dealers are very liberal on their loaner policy.

[ChrisK]

Originally Posted by boss2k

Not true any warranty work thats more than couple of hours they should provide you with loaner, if loaner is not available then they should give you a rental car and i have got that in the past so dont say my expectations are unreal

I also live within 5 miles of the dealership and they have dropped and picked me from my home and office too.

That's up the dealer. BMW North America doesn't have a loaner agreement with dealerships. It's strictly up to the dealer.


Back in the day, some dealers only gave loaners to people that purchased from that dealership.

[FLYIN']

As stated before the dealers set the a availability of loaners based on availability and the customer. They look at whether you bought the vehicle from them, new used and CPO and also your past history with them. Some dealers sell you on paying for having a loaner when you buy the car from them (although that's sleazy).
Although they don't publish it there is a rating system whether you get a vehicle or not. My dealer is very flexible and tells me I can either get the car picked up from my house, wait while it's being done (with Covid-19 I'm not doing that) or when the next loaner will be available. I called yesterday for the i8 brake fluid change and they said they could pick it up next Thursday or wait until the following Monday to get a loaner. I usually opt for the loaner as it's easier with my schedule and I sometimes get some sweet cars to drive.

[blkonblk]

I bought my car about 100 miles from where I live. I had my break-in oil change done at a local dealer a few miles from home. I discovered I was missing the plastic cover of one of the hood bump stop. My SA from local dealer ordered one and made me make an appt. She just can't give it to me to snap the cover on top of the bump stop, they have to write it up as a warranty service. She gave me a loaner and received a call back two hours later when it was done. What a waste of time, effort and gas but that is their SOP, same as with all dealers.

[Anthony1s]

There is no standard BMW loaner procedure. It's all at each dealership's discretion and who you're talking to.

At my dealership, it depends on the situation... if I absolutely need one, then I ask and get one. Since I work from home and live only a few blocks away, I opt to get a ride home if the service will be done in a day. If they need to keep my car for more than a day, then I ask for a loaner.

Also, at the same dealership, my first time going there, they had my car for 7 months to do bodywork that should've only taken a few weeks to do. I still owned my previous car at the time (which was for sale) so I drove that. Even though I had to take it off the market for 7 months, so I was pissed I wasn't given a loaner for that so I could sell my other car. The body shop manager there (tom hesser bmw) is a prick in so many ways.

However, the service managers there give me loaners without a problem. Even one time, my driver's license was expired (due to covid DMV closure) and I don't own a credit card for them to put on file, and my insurance wouldn't cover if I got in an accident with their car. But they gave me a loaner for an entire week without those documents. I think because I have a good relationship with them and they know I can and will pay for and make up any damage that would've happened.

Another time, for my break-in service, I was at a dealership an hour away. Was there from 9:30am to 3:30pm sitting in the dumb waiting room waiting for my car to get done. I didn't ask nor was offered a loaner.

[boss2k]

I get its a dealership thing but its an unwritten rule that if you drive a high end cars like bmw, audi, lexus, acura you will get a loaner for warranty work . Honda doesnt do that. To expect loaner is perfectly fine.

[j23]

Loaners are absolutely disgusting. They'd have to pay me to drive their loaners. Just think about how many people let one rip in that seat. Greasy steering wheels, awkward smells, etc.

I either wait or call family/friends to hitch a ride.