BMW Geniuses and New Car Walkthrough

[sdalpha]

The BMW Genius that helped me with my purchase was pretty good. He did a pretty good job of showcasing the similarities and the differences / new stuff between the X5 and my M3.

The gas card is news to me, as well. I don't think my dealer offers it, or at least, I wasn't told about it; and I have seen my SA about 3 or 4 times since I purchased it.

[cit1991]

Mine was awful. I think most geniuses are chosen as follows....

Sales manager goes home after a long day selling cars. Sees his son / daughter playing with their iPhone. "Look Daddy! I put Instagram on my new phone!!!!" Lightbulb illuminates above head.

Mine did a bangup job of showing me how the turn signals worked, how to open the sunroof, how to tune the radio, etc. Mostly what I wanted to know was how the idrive system worked and how to use the apps. She didn't even know there were BMW apps or what they did.

[stewy604]

^^ Hahahahaha

[leo95se]

My genius knew all I do about these cars. That's more than any typical bmw employee. The nice thing besides the gas card was his ability to explain generational differences in things like I-drive.

[m3_08]

Got a call from 'genius' and he couldn't answer basic questions about setting up texting/emails. Google is more useful than geniuses and I didn't waste my time even the dealer promise to fill up the tank.

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by m3_08

Got a call from 'genius' and he couldn't answer basic questions about setting up texting/emails. Google is more useful than geniuses and I didn't waste my time even the dealer promise to fill up the tank.

My dealer filled up my tank at my delivery / pick up and I received a BP gift card for $50 after my Genius visit. If you go to your encore visit you get another $50....

[DiamondGraphite]

So I met with the BMW specialist explicitly for a walkthrough of the car's technology (it is my first BMW), and to answer my questions.

Question 1: When are the oil changes for my x6 - every 5000 miles or every ten? She did not know and said my car would tell me.

Question 2: What are the dials next to vents, which go from blue to red? She did not know

Question 3: I had asked about updating the cars firmware with a flash drive: she explained that she did not know about that but was happy to learn something new.

Question 4: How long have you been with BMW? 4 months

The meeting was 100% useless and a waste of time. Not even a gas card as mentioned in prior posts. Is the gas card a dealer specific thing, or a BMW policy?

Forbes has an articled "BMW Radically Rethinks The Car Buying Experience" which highlighted the use of BMW Geniuses. I would say from my experience that the Geniuses need more training.

[cenix]

I had a call from my BMW Genius after buying our X5 and they never bothered to call back for a rescheduled appointment. All I wanted anyways was the free gas.

[Kzang]

Same here.. I knew exactly just about all the features of the car... I had a 2013 X5, 2010 535i, 2007 525i so I was familiar with majority of the BMW features from previous cars and learned a lot from reading here....

[leo95se]

I asked about oil change intervals. He showed me a report from my car(key) that shows interval based tracking alongside wear based tracking. If wear is aligned with bmw expectations they equal out to around 10k miles. Otherwise it varies. He also spent the time to read the report and check for software updates among other things. Pretty impressive knowledge coming out of a dealer, but totally dependent on the dealer and person. Ah well.

[RR-NYC]

Originally Posted by DiamondGraphite

So I met with the BMW specialist explicitly for a walkthrough of the car's technology (it is my first BMW), and to answer my questions.

Question 1: When are the oil changes for my x6 - every 5000 miles or every ten? She did not know and said my car would tell me.

Question 2: What are the dials next to vents, which go from blue to red? She did not know

Question 3: I had asked about updating the cars firmware with a flash drive: she explained that she did not know about that but was happy to learn something new.

Question 4: How long have you been with BMW? 4 months

The meeting was 100% useless and a waste of time. Not even a gas card as mentioned in prior posts. Is the gas card a dealer specific thing, or a BMW policy?

Forbes has an articled "BMW Radically Rethinks The Car Buying Experience" which highlighted the use of BMW Geniuses. I would say from my experience that the Geniuses need more training.

It sounds like you just like to waste your time. I have a friend like that. He actually takes time for those phone surveys and then spends 30 minutes asking to be compensated. Tell me, did those 4 questions take up your entire visit or was she able to show you some features?

Question 1 She wasn't wrong by saying that you car will tell you because it does. It isn't just based on specific miles or time

Question 2 was stupid. Did you honestly not know that answer?

Question 3 is a respectable answer. She didn't know and was happy to find out

Question 4 sounds to me like you were there just waiting to remind her how little she knew.

[sdalpha]

Originally Posted by RR-NYC

It sounds like you just like to waste your time. I have a friend like that. He actually takes time for those phone surveys and then spends 30 minutes asking to be compensated. Tell me, did those 4 questions take up your entire visit or was she able to show you some features?

Question 1 She wasn't wrong by saying that you car will tell you because it does. It isn't just based on specific miles or time

Question 2 was stupid. Did you honestly not know that answer?

Question 3 is a respectable answer. She didn't know and was happy to find out

Question 4 sounds to me like you were there just waiting to remind her how little she knew.

I would have to agree with RR-NYC. I consider the initial Genius appointments as a live quick start guide. They are there to show you the most commonly used features and show you how to get started, but there is a reason that an owner's manual is included. I try to keep an open mind and let people go through their planned walkthrough. Who knows? They may even answer one of my questions before I have an opportunity to ask it. Also, even as an owner of an X5, I won't pretend to know everything about it. I'm sure there are things you could ask me about the X5 that I wouldn't be able to answer without having to look them up.