Got My Alarm Today - I can save you some hassel. Also software update info.

CC 330i · 06-29-2005, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiTEC

Seems like if you plan to get the alarm and have the dealer install it, that it might be best to work out a deal when you're purchasing your car. This is the point when you have the most leverage to get a better deal on the install.

I agree. I tried to do that but I was told that the ALARM was not even available when I purchased on May 27. Found out that wasn't the case either... Nothing worse than buying a new car from a new dealer.

RachelS · 06-29-2005, 02:39 PM

you said it....

all dealers kiss your butt while buying your car, and kick it when it over..

Hunter399 · 06-29-2005, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiTEC

Seems like if you plan to get the alarm and have the dealer install it, that it might be best to work out a deal when you're purchasing your car. This is the point when you have the most leverage to get a better deal on the install.

I am making my dealer throw it in for free

CC 330i · 06-29-2005, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hunter399@mac.com

I am making my dealer throw it in for free

Case in point. Congrats!

HiTEC · 06-29-2005, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelS

you said it....

all dealers kiss your butt while buying your car, and kick it when it over..

Ain't that the truth!

marcus330i · 06-29-2005, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachelS

you said it....

all dealers kiss your butt while buying your car, and kick it when it over..

That's a ridiculous statement.

johnfkitchen · 06-30-2005, 06:10 PM

I am considering whether to add the alarm after my 330i gets here, so I asked the dealer for a price quote. It was a total of $453, made up of $153 labor plus $300 parts (which is list price).

It seems to me that $153 is a very reasonable price for labor, and that I'm not being gouged after the sale.

I'm still not 100% convinced that I need it, but I thought I'd share the price point with you.

CC 330i · 06-30-2005, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnfkitchen

I am considering whether to add the alarm after my 330i gets here, so I asked the dealer for a price quote. It was a total of $453, made up of $153 labor plus $300 parts (which is list price).

It seems to me that $153 is a very reasonable price for labor, and that I'm not being gouged after the sale.

I'm still not 100% convinced that I need it, but I thought I'd share the price point with you.

Very fair price indeed!

Hunter399 · 06-30-2005, 10:32 PM

my dealer said that out of the 100+ e90s he has sold, only 2 of them had alarms...

He convinced me not to get it...

He said there was no reason for it...

kierangu · 07-13-2005, 11:23 PM

I just got the car alarm installed in my 325i. The dealer also changed my head light cover to enable the motion sensor. Anyone knows a good way to test all the features of the alarm?

CC 330i · 07-20-2005, 06:30 PM

So I have my car in for the foglight problem (finally) and also having them activate the alarm. They no longer claim they don't have the software to activate it at least.

So the service manager called me this afternoon and tried to tell me that the alarm was not installed on my car. He said it was only prewired from the factory. I told him it was installed. He said it wasn't. I asked him if he looked, and he said yes. I said, "you might want to look again because I installed it myself". He asked me where the alarm components were installed on the car, and I went into a very detailed explanation of just how I installed the car. I wanted to say "I WROTE A FREAKING DIY ON THIS!!" but I didn't. Anyway, that apparently satisfied him, and then he asked why I did it myself. I told him because I had the skills, and I wanted to do it myself. He said, "oh".

Then he said that it was going to take 2.5 hours to do the software activation. I told him that the whole alarm install is only supposed to take 1.5 hours based on the official BMW instructions (not the ones posted on this site, however, but the ones for the kit used when already prewired). 1.5 hours includes hardware install and software update. He tried saying that they have to reload the software for the whole car and yada yada yada. I told him that if this is true, it is a warranty problem, and not my problem. I said (very nicely) that I know that it takes less than an hour, but I was willing to pay 1 hour labor to have them do it. I also told him that I had a friend (RachelS) that had the software activation done in 20 minutes at her dealer. He said he would look into this and get back to me.

So far my experience with BMW service is terrible. I wait on hold for 15 minutes sometimes, and usually at least 5 minutes, when I call to get an appointment. A month ago, they knew nothing about my car, and now when they do act like they know what is going on, they are flat wrong and try to rip me off. :mad:

I work in tech support so I know that you have to BS sometimes, but come on...

E90 Enthusiast · 07-20-2005, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC 330i

So far my experience with BMW service is terrible. I wait on hold for 15 minutes sometimes, and usually at least 5 minutes, when I call to get an appointment. A month ago, they knew nothing about my car, and now when they do act like they know what is going on, they are flat wrong and try to rip me off. :mad:

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the alarm/software activation. I would like to buy an alarm (say, from Circle BMW) and install myself, but I'm afraid my local dealer would give me the runaround because I didn't pay a bazillion $$ to have them do it. I wonder if this was part of your dealer's motivation?

I'm buying my car (ED) from Passport BMW. I need to have them price this for me. They seem to be pretty competitive with everything else. Might save me some hassle.

CC 330i · 07-20-2005, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E90 Enthusiast

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the alarm/software activation. I would like to buy an alarm (say, from Circle BMW) and install myself, but I'm afraid my local dealer would give me the runaround because I didn't pay a bazillion $$ to have them do it. I wonder if this was part of your dealer's motivation?

Yes I agree with you completely that they may be trying to "make back" some money for not being able to do the install, but that is just ASININE!! They should get paid for work performed, not work they WISH they could have performed. When I took delivery of the car they didn't have the alarm available and said it wasn't available, so I ordered it from Circle BMW and did the work myself, expecting to get the software updated as a courtesy when they did the first service. Since the first service came at 2,800 miles due to a foglight problem, I figured I would have them do it now. I was hoping to pay nothing, but hey, 1 hour labor is fair. I will pay them 1 hour of labor for 20 minutes work, because I can tell myself that 1 hour can include 10 minutes of hook up time, a 20 minute coffee break, 20 minutes to do the activation, and 10 minutes to test the alarm, but that's it!

They are so busy they can't ever take my call right away, and I have to wait 6 days to get an appointment, so I can't believe they regret having less work to do on my car. If they are that busy, you think they would be happy I installed the alarm myself, unless they can charge me the full install cost without having to do any work!

collinp · 08-01-2005, 10:20 PM

I got my light cover replaced with a slotted one today. Now the motion sensor works. If you lock the car with the windows down you can activate it by sticking your arm inside the car. Its not very sensitive though; I had to practically crawl into the car to get it to activate. Try reaching through the window for the unlock button on the center console and it will go off. Its not going to go off if someone just reaches in to snag something from the passenger seat.

- Collin

Aabid · 08-02-2005, 09:39 AM

On the note of how much is costs to install the alarm, I think you can get 20% off parts and labor if you are BMW Car Club member as well. Most dealers honor this.

BMW786 · 08-16-2005, 11:05 PM

I just picked my car up a couple days ago and I asked my dealer how much the alarm costs. He told me $1400!! I am not kidding - I almost fell out of my seat when he told me that. I told him the price of the OEM alarm itself is only $300 and he gave me the whole runaround about labor, etc.

Does anyone know where I can get the OEM alarm installed at a reasonable price at a Southern California area dealership?. Thanks.

06-29-2005, 02:39 PM	#24
RachelS Private First Class 46 Rep 191 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Toledo, Ohio iTrader: (0)	you said it.... all dealers kiss your butt while buying your car, and kick it when it over..
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-30-2005, 06:10 PM	#29
johnfkitchen First Lieutenant 30 Rep 327 Posts Drives: 323is & 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eastern Massachusetts iTrader: (0)	I am considering whether to add the alarm after my 330i gets here, so I asked the dealer for a price quote. It was a total of $453, made up of $153 labor plus $300 parts (which is list price). It seems to me that $153 is a very reasonable price for labor, and that I'm not being gouged after the sale. I'm still not 100% convinced that I need it, but I thought I'd share the price point with you. __________________ 1998 323is SP manual with all the goodies in ArktisSilber + 330i auto SP PP CW iDrive/Nav SatRadio Active Steering Arktis/Beige/Poplar
	Appreciate 0 Quote

06-30-2005, 10:32 PM	#31
Hunter399 Major General 325 Rep 8,091 Posts Drives: F90M5 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (33)	my dealer said that out of the 100+ e90s he has sold, only 2 of them had alarms... He convinced me not to get it... He said there was no reason for it...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-13-2005, 11:23 PM	#32
kierangu Private 11 Rep 71 Posts Drives: E90 325i Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Silicon Valley iTrader: (0)	I just got the car alarm installed in my 325i. The dealer also changed my head light cover to enable the motion sensor. Anyone knows a good way to test all the features of the alarm?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-20-2005, 06:30 PM	#33
CC 330i Captain 44 Rep 722 Posts Drives: 330i SG/Blk/Alum Join Date: May 2005 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (0)	So I have my car in for the foglight problem (finally) and also having them activate the alarm. They no longer claim they don't have the software to activate it at least. So the service manager called me this afternoon and tried to tell me that the alarm was not installed on my car. He said it was only prewired from the factory. I told him it was installed. He said it wasn't. I asked him if he looked, and he said yes. I said, "you might want to look again because I installed it myself". He asked me where the alarm components were installed on the car, and I went into a very detailed explanation of just how I installed the car. I wanted to say "I WROTE A FREAKING DIY ON THIS!!" but I didn't. Anyway, that apparently satisfied him, and then he asked why I did it myself. I told him because I had the skills, and I wanted to do it myself. He said, "oh". Then he said that it was going to take 2.5 hours to do the software activation. I told him that the whole alarm install is only supposed to take 1.5 hours based on the official BMW instructions (not the ones posted on this site, however, but the ones for the kit used when already prewired). 1.5 hours includes hardware install and software update. He tried saying that they have to reload the software for the whole car and yada yada yada. I told him that if this is true, it is a warranty problem, and not my problem. I said (very nicely) that I know that it takes less than an hour, but I was willing to pay 1 hour labor to have them do it. I also told him that I had a friend (RachelS) that had the software activation done in 20 minutes at her dealer. He said he would look into this and get back to me. So far my experience with BMW service is terrible. I wait on hold for 15 minutes sometimes, and usually at least 5 minutes, when I call to get an appointment. A month ago, they knew nothing about my car, and now when they do act like they know what is going on, they are flat wrong and try to rip me off. :mad: I work in tech support so I know that you have to BS sometimes, but come on...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-01-2005, 10:20 PM	#36
collinp Private First Class 5 Rep 117 Posts Drives: 2006 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (0)	I got my light cover replaced with a slotted one today. Now the motion sensor works. If you lock the car with the windows down you can activate it by sticking your arm inside the car. Its not very sensitive though; I had to practically crawl into the car to get it to activate. Try reaching through the window for the unlock button on the center console and it will go off. Its not going to go off if someone just reaches in to snag something from the passenger seat. - Collin
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-02-2005, 09:39 AM	#37
Aabid 330i Jet Black/Beige Interior with Sports, Premium, Cold Weather, Steptronics, Active Steering, Navigation, Comfort Access 5 Rep 39 Posts Drives: 330i & X3 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ashburn, VA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	On the note of how much is costs to install the alarm, I think you can get 20% off parts and labor if you are BMW Car Club member as well. Most dealers honor this.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-16-2005, 11:05 PM	#38
BMW786 Lieutenant 28 Rep 537 Posts Drives: SGraphite90 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: South Bay, CA iTrader: (1)	I just picked my car up a couple days ago and I asked my dealer how much the alarm costs. He told me $1400!! I am not kidding - I almost fell out of my seat when he told me that. I told him the price of the OEM alarm itself is only $300 and he gave me the whole runaround about labor, etc. Does anyone know where I can get the OEM alarm installed at a reasonable price at a Southern California area dealership?. Thanks.
	Appreciate 0 Quote