since, no one around here has any 07 or 08 MCS with navigation and manual, it seems that we are going to have to custom order our own.

in that case, i think no dealer will give any deals off MSRP... right?


also, which chicagoland dealer would you go to? or should i try one in the milwaukee area?

 

I don't think you'll get much off of MSRP if anything. Depends on your negotiating skills, I guess. At the very least you should be able to get some free mats.

Since you're custom-ordering I don't see a reason to come up to Milwaukee. (There's only one dealer in Milwaukee, FYI.) I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in with more info about Chicagoland dealers.

 

Sales, go see Dan at Knauz.

Service, go to Patrick.

MINIs are too hot to really get much off of the MSRP. Curse of having a blessing of a car

 

Hey Terry,

Dump the in dash nav and get a Garmin. I've had the Nav in a loaner and it's not nearly as nice and easy to use as my Garmin. Just my 2 cents.

I like all 3 local dealers and have done biz with each.

 

I have had nothing to complain about for both sales and service at Bill Jacobs...

(free mats and MSRP on my custom order)

 

this is going to be my wife's 2nd MCS.

she wants the dark silver fully loaded... 08 msrp comes out to be just over $31k. the only thing she did not opt for is the leather. she had the leatherette in her 03 MCS and she liked it better.

if i can't get anything off of MSRP (which means the dealer will make at least $3k on the sale), i'll have to play with the trade in.

i guess i'll have to visit each of the 3 mini dealerships in the area and let them duke it out.

my wife does not like the look of the center speedometer without the navigation. it's her preference. she had navigation in her 03 MCS. it looked much better. she's not a big fan of the large display in the middle of the dash. the navigation blacks it out and makes it look smaller. without navigation looks like something flava flav would love to be hanging from his neck.

 

The wife gets what the wife wants, right guys? LOL

Maybe you could invite a rep from each dealer to dinner and butter them up.

 

yep, that's right! she gave up her 03 MCS when she was pregnant. she wants another one. i've got my jeep gc srt8

for $3000 on an easy sale.... they should be buying me dinner.

 

Bought our first MC from Jacobs, scared the heck out of Trip jacobs on the test drive because I DROVE the car. Service there was on par. Bought our other 2 used but have been using Patrick for Service with no complaints. Knauz no experience sorry.

 

I'm in the same situation. Initially I was going to buy a used Mini but found out that it would be a lot better to just order one new. I don't know if whoever I buy it from will have to custom order it but I really want to know what I should be looking at when dealing with different dealers. I went to test drive a Mini and a Mini S at Patrick's a couple of weeks ago and everything was nice, but I'm going to Bill Jacobs this weekend because I want to look at some of the cars they've got in stock.

If I don't like the stuff that they've got at the dealer would they be able to get a Mini with the options I want (or something close) without having to go through the 6 weeks that the custom order would take?

Thanks

 

Most likely not, unless by chance, they configured a car that's already coming to them with what you want. Myself, our family has gotten both from Knauz and I'm very happy with them. The service is top notch, it's a bigger show room and bigger service area. No problems what so ever with them. Last time I dropped off my car, one of the service guys lived by me, so he just dropped off the car for me and he took the MINI loaner I had. Saved me about 1.5 hours of driving through traffic.

 

I just ordered a Clubman-S at Knauz yesterday. I worked with Penny Eldridge.

She was great. 3 different test drives, very helpful, no pressure, lots of integrity. She really made me feel at home, appreciated, and offered help in a number of areas.

I'll make updates if any of this changes after I take delivery, but so far I've never had this kind of service anywhere in the past....

I was able to work a lot of details via email, and she was patient with all of the questions.

Only thing is they don't have a Navi on the lot, and they didn't have many Clubmans. That's to be expected at this point I suppose.

Good luck all...

 

Bill Jacobs, I had experience with them, specially with Rachel. They are great, down to earth and no pressure of what so ever. I don't think so we will able to find any $$$ off MSRP due to great demand for MINIs.

 

++++1 to this! All the folks at Bill Jacobs were great. ZERO pressure. None of this "what can I do to sell you a car today" crap. Answered all of my questions, full of enthusiasm, and always a free cup of coffee whenever I'd visit! . They are not selling below MSRP, but they are not jacking up prices either (which I have heard that some dealers are doing....).

Jon De Napoli was my MA, and I would HIGHLY recommend seeing him. Brian and Dustin were also great, but Jon was the guy that got it done for me. His enthusiasm for the MINI brand made the experience a lot more exciting than some crusty old salesman wanting nothing more than your signature on the contract.

As I said, ALL good people @ Bill Jacobs. Their entire dealership is very cramped at the moment, but they're breaking ground soon on a new facility. Something to consider for future service visits.

 

You worked with all of the same people I worked with

My reviews are a bit different though. I agree with the no pressure, and everyone was really great.....but, I couldn't trust anything that anyone said. I felt as if no matter what question I asked, they gave me the answer I WANTED to hear. Then what I did was I came home and lurked on this board for the actual answer! Other than that, I had no problems with the sales area.

My main beef with them is the service and that they haven't been very good on their word since I've bought my Mini. I was planning on ordering my Mini because I really wasn't in any hurry (I still had a little to pay on my old car) but....I ended up buying my car off the lot. It had everything I wanted on it except for the chrome line exterior and bonnet stripes. They promised me that if I got that car, they would put on the stripes and would order and be able to put on the chrome line exterior. Well, the car has been in twice and still no chrome line exterior. Apparently the parts do not fit (even though they called to check prior to me buying the car and they said the parts WOULD fit).

The first time my car was in for this, I could not get a loaner since I had made an appointment last minute. They told me it would take 1 day. My car was there for 2.5 days instead (1 day untouched) and all that was done were the stripes because they said they couldn't figure out the chrome exterior. They told me they were going to order new parts and call me for another appointment. A few weeks went by and no call. I called them back and of course they said they "were just about to call me" and made an appointment. I made the appointment for 2 weeks ahead of time to ensure me getting a loaner this time. I get there and apparently they ran out of loaners so I had to get an Enterprise car. To make matters worse, it was a Dodge Caravan (I could have fit 2 Mini's in it!) and even WORSE is that they had my Mini for 4.5 days and NOTHING was done to it!!!!! Again, the chrome line exterior did not fit (this was discovered after my car sat in the shop untouched for almost 2 full days because they were "swamped"). Also while it was in, I was going to get the seal around the roof replaced because there is a section that is pinched (it was like this when I got it). The part had to be ordered- they said it would be over-nighted but a few days went by and still no part. Finally I told them that I wanted my car back and to call me when the part came in. This was 5 weeks ago and still no call. Normally, its not like me to wait but I've been super busy and just can't deal with my car being tied up for another couple of days. I don't even know if the part is even in yet!!!!!

So yeah- I'm a bit disappointed with how the service has been. I'm worred for when the time comes when I have a real problem.

I'm hoping the new facility will be bigger and better. In the meantime, I'm considering driving to Patrick in Schaumburg for the service.

 

Thank You so much!!! It was truly a pleasue getting to know you and your wife. It's always great to meet people who are as enthusiastic about MINI's as we are.

Please help yourself to as much coffee as you can handle!

 

Hey, Jon! Didn't know that was you!

Did you get your new graphics on your ride yet?

 

No I didn't get the graphics put on yet steve has been really busy. I can't wait though, I'm excited to see how it looks on my car!

Google "mini challenge car" in images and you'll get an idea on how it will look.

 

Jon is my MA also. I have only bugged him a couple times asking where my car is.

Here is a link to a pic of the mini challenge car.

 

I got the graphics done yesterday! I'll post it in the Oxygen Blue Owners Club thread soon.

 

No need to post....I'll be by the dealership tonight for new owner's orientation (and yet another free cup of coffee!) Hopefully, you're working and will have the car there.

Got a Whalen Shift **** at MTTS over the weekend. Doug Whalen is a great guy and he makes a great ****. You've got to see it.

 

Take this for what's it worth:

1) Bought my car at International in Milwaukee because I wasn't high enough on the Knauz food chain to be able to pay cash for one of the first 4 JCW works cars that it had coming in. When I showed up in Milwaukee with checkbook in hand, no problem.

2) Called Knauz last week, on Tuesday July 29 to get a LOF before we headed to MITM3 on Wednesday August 6. Couldn't schedule an oil change for about 10 days, first available was Friday Augsut 8. Called Patrick, and even though it's 45 mins away, they got me in whenever I wanted. So I picked Friday August 1. Patrick's new 18 bay MINI only service center definitely rocks, and they couldn't have treated me any nicer.

3) And about 4 or 5 services ago, Knauz "lost" my car. They had the keys, but couldn't find the car. So they gave me a loaner 3 series convertible for the weekend. Other than that, they have always done good work and the service people try to do the right thing.

ADDENDUM

last week the car had a little encounter with some rather large road construction debris on the Tollway. One fractured (yes ... ripped and torn aluminum) wheel and a shredded Goodyear F1 tire later, the car got flat bedded to Knauz. There, I received excellent service, including having them deal with the insurance company and making certain accomodations on my tire & wheel replacement. Maybe it isn't the "dealership," per se, but rather the individual service writer taking pride in their job? If you go there, ask for Adam to wait on you. Scott the MINI tech was pretty cool too.

 

I'll throw my $0.02 in. My only experience has been with Patrick MINI. Initially, not a good one. My wife and I went there TO BUY and no one approached us. We hung around the showroom for a while, poked around on the MC they had on display. We were there a good 15 min and even though we tried to make eye contact with the sales staff, they all walked right past. We walked out, pissed!

After doing some business at Woodfield and cooling off a little, we decided to go back. We live in the city, so none of the dealerships are all that close. My wife, a training executive for retail, was ready to do battle. This allowed me to hang back and play good cop to her bad cop. When we arrived at Patrick, we grabbed the first sales guy we could find and she let 'er rip. I felt kinda bad for the guy since he was just a gofer for the MA's. Anxious to get rid of us, he gave us over the Christina. She seemed nice enough but my wife laid into her as well about bad customer service. She was pretty patient and worked out an order for us but we left w/o a commitment; not sure that we wanted to give them our business.

I ended up calling Christina a couple of days later and put down my deposit on the order. She was shocked that I got back to her. Bottom line, the sales staff at Patrick seem very young and green. Maybe, since we're almost old enough to be their parents, that they're used to dealing with a younger client. Hey, our $$ is just as green as anyone else's.

I'll save final judgment on the customer service issue when I receive my lil' guy - see how we're treated, any goodies thrown in, etc.

I hear that their service department rocks, so that'll be a plus.

 

why are there folks sitting with a WARNING banner infront of patrick MINI/BMW?

 

Can you be a little more specific? Warning about what?