Hello all,

I bought my mini used last year & I finally need to take it to a dealer to have work done that I cant do. I have the annoying airbag lite(wiring harness) that needs looked at, a creak in the steering (that I read they replace the steering for), Radiator overflow thats leaking (will prolly buy an aftermarket one since this has happend once before i owned it) & the GPS has issues with staying powered up when its cold outside.

My question is about which dealer I should take it to. I am located in Central PA, and I see there is 2 dealers in Philly, and 1 in Towson MD. Can anyone give me reports on the dealers and what expirence you have had with them, good or bad? I dont have much modding done yet, just a CAI and Exhaust. I will be doing a lot more in the near future, so if there is a dealer in particular that doesnt mind modding so much, I would like to know about them. I am almost out of warrenty, but I do have an outside firms extended warrenty. I am just looking for some advice!

Thanks,

Cole

 

Central PA? Where exactly, because there is MINI of Pittsburgh.

I only ask where because everyone in PA except for Pittsburghers think that Harrisburg is the center

 

Sorry, I should of stated I am in Harrisburg so Pittsburg is too far out compared to Philly.

 

I'd strongly suggest Otto's mini in west chester, pa. I know 2 people that have had excellent experiences with them. I took a chance and went to main line mini a few weeks ago when I was looking at leasing and they came back with ridiculously high numbers that were jacked up by all sorts of needless profit makers for the dealership. Since you're not from philly I"ll explain that the main line is well known for everything being overpriced and everyone having so much money that they pay anyway. I did finde my experience to be on par with that. they just expect people to pay whatever they want... also none of the salespeople I rode with or the service guy I talked to even own a mini. from what I understand a lot of the staff at ottos have their own.

since I am going to order mine from ottos next month I haven't had experience with either service department... but I wouldn't be surprised if main line tried to do something to get extra money out of the service also.

hope that helps!

 

I was in York, PA visiting my family the other week when I drove by the BMW dealership on Rte. 30. I don't think they are a MINI dealer, but they did have 2 MINIs sitting out front. I didn't have time (or really any reason) to stop in, but since you are in Harrisburg, you might want to call down and check if they service MINIs.

 

....Very unlikely. If they are not a MINI Dealer, then - while they may be able to do some work on your car (not that I would recommend it) - they won't be an authorized dealer to do warranty work.

 

We are buying our MINI from ottos. Many of the people there, including my MA, are guys who get it, involved in motorsports, etc.

While i can not talk about the service end, everything about the purchase has been great. My MA gave us good, honest advise on some options , etc. I would think that their service dept would reflect the same attitude.

good luck!

-jac

 

I prefer MINI of the MAIN LINE over OTTo's. The stupid saleswoman at OTTo's ripped my gas lid release cable out with the hand, and then told me I'd have to make an appointment to have it put back. I made her fix it on the spot. I had to explain to her the difference between her pie hole and her "A" hole.

Ottos has about a year less MINI experience than MINI of the MAINLINE.

 

The Service Advisor's at both Otto's and MOML were deemed tops by MINI USA last year, so for service, I'd say either shop would give you excellent service. Give 'em both a call and see which one floats yer boat.

 

Thanks for all the replys. Anyone know how mini of Towson is?


Thanks..