Paul

Credit where it's due.

In forty years of car ownership I have had my share of stressful and unpleasant experiences with dealerships and garages so it is with large measure of relief that I declare that my dealings with Cooper BMW Durham have all had satisfying outcomes. Credit where it is due: The Sales and the Servicing personnel I have dealt with at Durham have all acted rationally, reasonably and helpfully and they have all treated me patiently and considerately. I hope I can build a lasting relationship with this establishment. Detail of my three experiences to date are as follows:- (1) October 2020 - First service of my BMW i3s, necessary to maintain the vehicle warranty: Covid-safe measures evident and practiced in customer facing areas. I made representations to the Service Manager because I felt the BMW "intelligent service" mandates did not adequately consider the low mileage and light use my car has driven. The Service Manager interceded with BMW UK on my behalf and a sensible accommodation was reached. The servicing work, so far as I can tell, was performed with appropriate care for my vehicle which was returned to me in the same, pristine, condition as it was presented. The cost wasn’t cheap but within limits I think tolerable, given the investments, operating costs and financial overheads that I imagine an official BMW dealership must bear. (2) October 2020 - Technical enquiries: I took the opportunity of the service visit to ask some engineering technicalities about the i3 vehicle. I was invited to speak with a Senior Electrical Technician and I felt re-assured about his competence and - in my view equally important - his interest in his work. (3) June 2019 - Car purchase: I consulted Cooper BMW Durham's "i-Sales Specialist" about borrowing the dealership's i3s demonstrator vehicle. I was up-front about explaining that I had my eye on an i3s that was actually for sale in another Cooper dealership, nevertheless the Durham Sales Executive was extremely helpful. He promptly arranged my loan of the demonstrator and expressed a genuine interest in hearing how my prospective sale went. Ultimately I was deterred from purchasing by the aloof attitude of the lady Sales Manager at the other Cooper branch who seemed totally disinterested in selling the car to me ("it’s a bargain, take it or leave it" was her attitude). I related this to the Durham i-Sales Specialist. "Give me a day" he said. 24 hours later the modest extras and particular delivery arrangements that had been declared "impossible" by the Sales Manager of the other branch (I hadn't haggled about the car's price, which made her attitude more incomprehensible to me) were all, miraculously, do-able! I remain grateful to the former Durham Cooper i-Sales Specialist (he has since moved-on from Durham). Without his involvement I would not have bought the i3s and I would not have experienced what a remarkable vehicle it is. I feel truly privileged to own it and it continues to delight me. In many respects I consider it superior to any ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle I have ever driven, from ‘hot-hatches’ to ‘executive cruisers’; I understand why Sandy Munro (reverse engineering specialist) described it, in 2015, as "the most advanced vehicle on the planet"!