Bimmers R US

I recently bought a 1998 328i manual transmission from Bimmers R US. This was my first used car purchase, but read that BMWs were reliable with consistent maintenance and upkeep. The 1998 328i had about 200,000 miles, which made me hesitant at first, but on the test drive, the engine and shifting felt smooth and solid. There were extensive service records for the vehicle and it only had one previous owner. I’ve put about 1,500 miles on it so far, and am very pleased with the 328i.
Although purchasing a 200,000 mile vehicle seemed risky, the staff and expertise at Bimmers R US are what ultimately convinced me to make the purchase. All the staff were knowledgeable and ready to answer any questions or concerns I had. Greg was informative and helpful regarding maintenance and repair. Rohan was courteous and welcoming in answering questions and scheduling services. Jack was helpful with all the paperwork and registration requirements. Justin was helpful and informative on the test drive. All other staff were friendly and professional as well. Overall, I would highly recommend Bimmers R US for any of your BMW purchases and service maintenance.

Back in July of 2011 I purchased my 2^nd bmw from Autohaus BMW, a certified preowned 2008 E60 535xi w/​N54 engine… At that time the car only had 38k miles on it… Since the cert preowned warranty went to 100K miles I always had the car serviced where I purchased it. Back in early 2013 the car already had 100k miles on it. I knew how much more expensive it would be to continue to have service performed at the dealership. The service needed during that time was pretty rountine… brakes, tires, warranty related… etc
I knew about bimmers r us from seeing commercials back in the day & noticed they had a facebook page that many of my friends on facebook“liked”… When I turned over 100k miles, I was contemplating on selling the car and replacing it with a newer one… Instead I decided to do a little research on having the dinan software upgrade performed to it. I called Greg & inquired about it… He took the time to explain my options, pricing etc… Without any hesitation I had the dinan stage 2 upgrade done to the car & it was like driving a new car… (stage 2 upgrade completed fall 2013)
Unfortunately, for the last few months of this year I have to shell out more $$$ than I would have liked to for rountine maintenance… in fact a lot more than I ever thought… it was always something… as if the car was cursed… Although I understand things wear out… Recently dinan came out with a stage 3 upgrade for the N54 engine & the cost to upgrade was only the difference in $$$ between stage 2 & 3. $ 200. Since I like to drive fast I thought why not… after having the stage 3 upgrade completed I was still getting the «engine malfunction reduced power» warning every time I would rapidly accelerate… I took the car back to Bimmers & Greg & the staff were great. They performed the walnut blasting of the intake valves & also preformed a smoke test. It turned out there was low boost pressure due to the valve cover being warped… They replaced it & $ 1,900 later the car runs like it had never run before…
All in all… Owning a bmw can be expensive, but it is what it is. I think Greg & the staff at bimmers are extremely friendly, knowledgable, & have a true passion for bmw’s… moving forward… I plan on taking my car there for any service related needs… Today the car has 130k miles on it and I plan on driving for at least another 3 years…
Sincerely,
John M Lena

My car broke down a mile from here, so I brought it here for service. They looked at it and found the problem and offered to fix it. According to their mechanic, I needed a $ 5,000 engine overhaul (their written estimate was for $ 3600, with another $ 640 added on for something else; nowhere on the estimate did it even mention an overhaul, so it could be that $ 5000 was above and beyond the cost of these other repairs). I was shocked, but their service rep said they had a couple other cars in for the same thing at that very moment. That right there set off alarms in my head — it seemed to me like they were convincing people they needed much more work than they really did. I said no and that I wanted my car back. They gave me the gloom and doom speech, saying my car would break down and that by driving it I’d do irreversible damage, etc. I took the car to an official, licensed BMW dealer who found the real problem, which turned out to be much cheaper to repair than what these guys said. I will never take my car here again.

I took my 1973 Bavaria here because it was running very rough. They called me within a day or two that the car was ready, and the total charge was a reasonable-​sounding $ 330. They said they had sync’d the carbs and replaced the plugs and wires. The car ran somewhat better for a few minutes at a time, but it soon began to run even more rough than it had before I took it to them and it started backfiring very loudly. I left a message in the general mailbox that was never returned. I later spoke to the owner Greg and he said he had not received my voicemail. He did seem genuinely concerned that the car was not running well but I never took it back to them for follow-​up. I am trying a different place. Not sure this is the place for an old weird car like this. I don’t think they did anything bad to my car. I got the sense they just wanted to do the minimum and did the simplest easy stuff to get paid without really digging in to diagnose the real problem. That said, Greg seems like a good guy and honest person.

I have taken my 90’s model 328i here several times over the years for repairs, and have always had a positive experience. I have never had to wait for more than a day for parts to be ordered (if at all) or for repairs to be completed. The mechanic staff, especially, are obviously extremely knowledgeable and professional, as well.
Customer service here has also been better than average — some of the guys who work the front desk aren’t exactly enthusiastic when you walk in, but Greg and the service staff are always very cordial and thorough when discussing what needs to be done, pricing, etc. On a couple of occasions when I had to leave my car overnight, Greg arranged a ride home for me, which was much appreciated as access to public transportation in this part of St. Louis is not great.
I would call the pricing fair — not the cheapest, but for the speed and quality of work, it has been worth it. My older car is still running great after many years and I have never had any issue with the repairs done by Bimmers R Us.
Ultimately, getting your car repaired is always a major pain, but these guys have always made it a lot less stressful for a reasonable price. I’d definitely recommend.

The abridged version: Greg, the President of Bimmers R Us, allowed an out-​of-​towner (me), to borrow a wheel he had so I could drive my 1 Series back to Chicago after I blew a tire and cracked a wheel on I-​55 two days prior. I would not have been able to get back to Chicago any other way (exhaustive searches for rental trucks, moving trucks, two different kinds of trailers, towed back, replacement wheels, etc. had been completed at this point) had Greg not had the willingness to let a stranger borrow a rare wheel with my promise to ship it back.
The longer version is that a friend and I came to St. Louis to see Gary Clark, Jr. play at The Pageant. Unfortunately on the trip in, a car kicked up a large piece of wood on I-​55 which directly impacted the driver side front tire of my BMW 135i.
AAA had the car flat-​bedded by Hartmann’s Auto Center to their shop with the understanding that a replacement Michelin Pilot Super Sport in 235÷40−18 could be located on Thursday morning and I’d be on the road by late morning. Unfortunately a replacement tire didn’t exist in St. Louis, so I ordered one from Tire Rack to be delivered on Friday.
The tire was delivered, but upon removal of the wheel to put the new rubber on, it became clear that the wheel had cracked as well. This presented an entirely new challenge because a replacement wheel, even a temporary solution, proved near impossible to locate.
Numerous rental truck and auto trailer options were explored, but unfortunately none were available unless I wanted a 16′ moving truck. After a bit of researching, I came across Bimmers R Us and gave Greg a call.
Greg actually spoke with Dan at Hartmann’s earlier that day and it didn’t appear that he had any wheels that would fit the replacement tire, but he did mention that he recently acquired the Dinan S3-​R 1M and to check it out.
We walked to Bimmers R Us, checked out Greg’s killer new S3-​R 1M and got to chatting. After walking the showroom with Greg looking for a wheel solution for me, and Greg having an employee check his warehouse, the outlook looked grim.
Greg came back from the rear of his shop with a 330i ZHP 18″ wheel and he felt confident that it would mount with the replacement tire. Greg had one of his guys drive us back to Hartmann’s on a handshake alone that I would ship his wheel back once my replacement wheel arrived in Chicago.
Thankfully the wheel worked with the tire and I was able to make my way back to Chicago.
Had it not been for Greg’s generosity, then I would be in St. Louis right now without any clear path as to how I would be able to return due to the limited availability of rental options to tow my car back, and without a replacement wheel being available until a week later.
I was fortunate to meet Greg. As a BMW enthusiast, his shop and story were great to experience. His rare vehicle and performance parts inventory was impressive. If I lived in St. Louis, Bimmers R Us would be the shop servicing my car. Highly recommended.

A TRUE HORROR STORY — My story begins with a an old friend who had been employed there, told me to start getting my work done there, I said they have bad reviews online and he said they have changed and are becoming reputable, I’ve known this friend for about 10 years so I took his word. I own 2000 BMW Z3, I first had a whole new suspension, brake kit, and seats put in, they charged me close to $ 4000, which is crazy overpriced, but they told me labor was intense and I let that one slide, then I had a my old engine taken out and I wanted to put a S54 M3 engine into it, we agreed on $ 8000, and he said TWO WEEKS, even a month would have been understandable, it took Greg the owner, three months, blaming it on his co workers who indeed one was hospitalized for a couple weeks, but THREE MONTHS, he then tried to charge me close to 13,000, I said GO TO HELL, and threatened legal action, he ran outside and got in my face and told me I better pay up, or he would undo everything and then I would have real problem. I was horrified and got my father involved, after weeks of negotiating we settled for $ 11,000. I had already left a bad review and Greg the owner said because of that, he would not help me load the old engine with any of his workers just standing and watching me try to lift a 500lb engine into an SUV, he didn’t want any legal action taken if me and my friend got hurt so after making us get more people to help, and we were ready, he decided to put it in the car, I was so saddened and angry at how I was DIRECTLY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, that I have swore to post my experience on EVERY place possible, so others will avoid this place. I personally had the WORST experience in my car life with the owner Greg and the GRADE F, establishment. Keep in mind I spent over $ 15,000 with this guy and I was humiliated, I HAVE RECEIPTS if anyone wants to see them, and I will personally PAY YOU TO STAY AWAY and go ANYWHERE else, thanks.

Greg S, the owner is competent. Brought the e39 in for coolant leak and he swiftly found the issue and got it repaired. Additionally, I had a dreaded shimmy that another shop failed to get corrected. Greg got it right. Ask for him when you really want speciality care. He knows these cars. Good job.
Update– coolant leak came back. Decided to try another shop mostly out of location convenience. It appears the leak that’s reappeared in same place was due to a stripped bolt on the housing cover. Wonder how that happened? Had to R&R again, after re-​tapping the hole. No more leak. Still, seems to be a knowledgeable shop and knows how to use their tire balancer.

Had my car brought here after it broke down in St. Louis on a road trip. Great shop that really seemed to care about my car — from the guy that got it from the truck to the guys in the front.
It was a pretty intensive repair, but they managed to get it done the same day (even stayed late) when other shops couldn’t get it done that day.

These guys are some of the best in town when it comes to parts on your older bmw’s! My guibo and center carrier bearing went out. They had the part to me that day even with it not being in stock. However it was the wrong part. They made up for this by eating the difference of the part I needed which was like $ 30 – 40 more, and having it to me the next day!
They also honor your BMWCCA card for % off parts!

Went there with a friend to check out a E36 M3. The sales person wasn’t the nicest of guys, but then again I don’t expect them to treat me too well when I am in my young 20’s with shorts, a polo, and some stubble on my chin.
We went through the normal proceedings, which seemed to him like a chore in which he derived no pleasure, and he didn’t even bother to see or notice how I was reacting to his persona. This is a very different experience compared to the other dealerships I’ve been at recently to help another friend buy a E90 325.
All in all, we got to do our test drive without the sales rep, and the car itself was in great condition. Some care was taken to make it look presentable (washed/​waxed, engine bay cleaned, interior cleaned), but I have become somewhat of a nitpick when it comes to detailing interiors and exteriors (since I spend 6+ hours doing it myself each month).
For a bunch of dicks, they knew how to maintain and find good solid cars. We left a deposit yesterday and came to pick up the car today. Our rep seemed just as nonchalant to see us, as if we were somewhat of a bother. We ran through all the paperwork in good time, and were out the door in less than 30 minutes.
Right after pulling away, I realize that the speedometer wasn’t working properly. You’d figure that they would check that, given that they did provide a state inspection and emissions, not to mention they were selling the car. After waiting 15 minutes for them to clean the connection, the speedometer was working and they scuttled us off, only to enjoy the empty office for themselves.
Little did they know that in the course of cleaning the connection and fixing the speedometer, they messed up the connection to the fuel gauge. Now I don’t know how much fuel’s left. Notice their attention to detail.
No worries though, I’ve worked on E36’s enough to handle that situation and any other situation that might come up WITHOUT having to go back to them.
Bottom line: They sell good cars, you just have to bear with their ineffective and aloof staff.