1st Gear New members: make an initial post and introduce yourself as you shift from Neutral to First Gear. Current members: meet some of the new members.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Picking up my Mini! - What will they try to sell me?

Old Jul 14, 2006 | 05:01 PM
  #1  
CANYONCARVER's Avatar
CANYONCARVER
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco, CA
Picking up my Mini! - What will they try to sell me?

Hi all,

Been lurking on this board for quite a while and I am stoked to be picking up my first Mini on Sunday from Mini of Pleasanton!

So what kind of extended warrenties/services/accessories will they pitch?

Just wondering if anyone can recommend anything or have any experience with the above.

Thanks!

BTW, it's a DS/DS Cooper S with premium/sport packages and LSD, and already have a todo list of mods.
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 05:29 PM
  #2  
myminimini's Avatar
myminimini
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Good question.

Me too.

thanks!
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 06:03 PM
  #3  
miniprof's Avatar
miniprof
4th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 350
Likes: 0
The only thing my MA mentioned was the extended service but said there was no need to worry about it until the other one was getting ready to run out. The whole experience was soooo low pressure and thoroughly enjoyable. I hope it's the same for you!
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 06:33 PM
  #4  
Gromit801's Avatar
Gromit801
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 11,600
Likes: 1
From: West French Camp, CA
East Bay Mini! That's where we took our first Mini test drive! Scared the heck out of the salesman.
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 06:51 PM
  #5  
bolus's Avatar
bolus
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 480
Likes: 0
From: Portland, OR
If I remember correctly...
1. Extended tire coverage - replace tires for damage and punctures for 3? years
2. Extended warranty past usual 4 years. Done by another company outside of BMW and sounded like a pain in the butt
3. Extended maintenance coverage

I hear others get info about lojack, clear bras and other accessories but I did not get this. I got free floor mats and a cup holder instead

oh yeah, the extended warranty and maintenance did not seem worth it to me. I got the tire coverage because I believed at the time that the run flats could not be patched at all. But it was only $350 so not terrible. It would have been nice to look over the details at home when I had some time instead of getting them at the last minute. But none of it was pushed on me. I'm pretty sure they said I could come back and add them on at a later time too. So no pressure there.
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 09:22 PM
  #6  
Minitee's Avatar
Minitee
4th Gear
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 324
Likes: 0
From: Seattle, WA USA
I flew in from out of state to drive the car home (not your dealership) and I wasn't pressured (nor even offered) to buy anything. Just a quick, professional processing of papers and I was on my way.

I think it depends on your dealership, salesmen, and circumstances. Enjoy your MINI! (of course you will, but I just like to say that)
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 09:29 PM
  #7  
hudmg0kw's Avatar
hudmg0kw
3rd Gear
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
From: Glasgow, KY
I worked for 5 years in the service department of 2 different dealerships. Warranties are basically a insurance policy.
1. The selling dealer gets a substantial part of what you pay. If I recall correctly, it was between 30%-50%, depending on the particular warranty. The remainder goes to the warranty (read insurance) company.
2. The warranty company knows the average amount they will end up paying for repairs on each policy sold. Since they are in business to make money, they take this average and add a profit margin.
3. Read the contract carefully. You may be surprised at how little is actually covered.
4. Personal experience showed that 3rd party warranty companies will do everything they can to even deny legitimate claims. If you cannot produce documentation that you have done every bit of preventative maintenance recommended by the automaker, even if it has nothing to do with the failed part, forget it (again, read the contract.)

When ordering my Mini I told the salesman not to bother with trying to sell a extended warranty and he didn't. When he called saying the car was ready to be picked up, I reminded him to tell whoever was going to do the paperwork the same thing.

The finance guy did mention the extended 3rd party warranty and extended maintenance warranty. I said no, and that was it. He did push the tire/wheel replacement warranty a little harder, but not much.

Having purchase about 10 cars from various dealer, I have to say the Mini purchase was, by far, the best experience. Josh at Mini of Nashville is awsome.
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 09:36 PM
  #8  
myminimini's Avatar
myminimini
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
thanks all!
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 09:39 PM
  #9  
nolimit's Avatar
nolimit
4th Gear
20 Year Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 476
Likes: 1
From: Fairbanks,Alaska
My buying was done all thew the MA. no preasure to get anything extra.
MINI was bought at Ralph Schomp Denver.
 
Reply
Old Jul 14, 2006 | 10:41 PM
  #10  
CANYONCARVER's Avatar
CANYONCARVER
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco, CA
Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks for all of the feedback!

My dealer expereince with East Bay Mini has been really good. Completely low preasure and staff has been really friendly. Now I just gotta stick it out 2 more days!
 
Reply
Old Jul 15, 2006 | 04:38 AM
  #11  
snooter's Avatar
snooter
Mr. MOTD
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,741
Likes: 3
From: Spring Hill, Florida
I wasn't my dealer I had to worry about, it was me. Here I am wondering around the dealership as they detail my car with time on my hands. Huummm, let's see, those floor mats looks nice, hey maybe I should get that windblocker for my convertible, hey that long sleeve shirt would look good on me. My Ma didn't offer me anything and I still walked out over $500.00 in the hole.
 
Reply
Old Jul 15, 2006 | 07:41 AM
  #12  
domc's Avatar
domc
3rd Gear
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
My MA didn't try anything when we arrived at the dealer.
The real question is WHAT CAN YOU get from the dealer FREE?
About all I could get free from the MA was touch up paint.
Oh yeah, she did ask about floor mats but I found them $30 cheaper on ebay and they were OEM mats too.

Got ours at Ralph Schomp too. The wife was amazed at the no pressure sales. Said she would buy another mini just because of the experience of buying there. Basically we made our mini on the miniusa site, printed it out, handed it to the MA and they ordered it, we picked it up in two months. No questions ask, no pressure, no hidden charges. Amazining!!
 
Reply
Old Jul 22, 2006 | 05:38 PM
  #13  
StormBird's Avatar
StormBird
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Delaware but soon Baltimore, MD!
When your original warranty is almost over groups like AAA (automative association) sell warranty extensions for less (as long as you buy them just BEFORE your original warranty runs out). Since it gets farmed out anyway, might as well pick your own insurance company . . . .
 
Reply
Old Jul 22, 2006 | 06:16 PM
  #14  
nolimit's Avatar
nolimit
4th Gear
20 Year Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 476
Likes: 1
From: Fairbanks,Alaska
Originally Posted by domc
My MA didn't try anything when we arrived at the dealer.
The real question is WHAT CAN YOU get from the dealer FREE?
About all I could get free from the MA was touch up paint.
Oh yeah, she did ask about floor mats but I found them $30 cheaper on ebay and they were OEM mats too.

Got ours at Ralph Schomp too. The wife was amazed at the no pressure sales. Said she would buy another mini just because of the experience of buying there. Basically we made our mini on the miniusa site, printed it out, handed it to the MA and they ordered it, we picked it up in two months. No questions ask, no pressure, no hidden charges. Amazining!!
Who was your MA?
We went through Arron Heggen.
 
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Toolman
R50/R53 :: Hatch Talk (2002-2006)
8
Jan 20, 2016 06:50 AM
minicoclub
MINIs & Minis for Sale
8
Nov 11, 2015 07:25 AM
minicoclub
MINIs & Minis for Sale
1
Aug 25, 2015 09:07 AM
milkrun49
Factory JCW Talk (2009+)
1
Aug 13, 2015 06:01 AM
SDMini_me
1st Gear
6
Aug 7, 2015 08:10 AM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:35 AM.