Just found out today that people who didn't buy their cars there will not get free loaners for service. Just an FYI for everyone!

 

That does not make me happy!

 

They were being overwhelmed by all the people coming from other dealerships for service and loaners... probably did not have enough loaners to meet the demand of the people that bought there....

 

Most dealers have had that policy for years. Loaner cars are dealer controlled, not MINI USA.

 

ouch...such a shame that they had to go that route but I guess they have enough business now to do so.

With my Mazda if you took the car to any area dealer (and there were plenty more to choose from rather than taking a 100+ mile roundtrip trek) and there was authorized warranty work to be done, they would stick you in a free enterprise compact rental for the duration of the work. You didn't have to buy the car there and this was Mazda USA's policy. Why does MINI USA/BMW insist on making life so effin difficult for its customers?

If a brand new car requires enough warranty work to warrant needing a loaner/rental (who cares if it is a MINI loaner or not, a car is a car when you need to get to work) the dealership and MINI/BMW should damn well stick the customer in a loaner instead of hassling them about something so petty. just another reason that my dealings with and impressions of BMW/MINI dealerships and service have not left me with any fuzzy warm feelings

 

Just to clarify their new policy .............. Loaners are not available to "new" service customers who did not buy their cars at MOT !

If you have had service in the past AND have NOT given a "bad" phone rating they will give you a loaner car !!!

 

and NOT given them a bad survey rating?! Is that like blackmail or something?

The surveys and ratings are a joke in my opinion. I don't care if any of the dealer service departments want to try and blackmail me with their expectations of getting perfect 5's in exchange for them just doing their damn jobs right the first time around.

If MINI actually cared about getting an accurate and detailed account of a less than perfect service experience, maybe they would provide more room to type on their online surveys.

MINI/BMW's attitude that they are doing me favors by offering one lousy oil change a year (for which I have to drive 100+ miles) and 'loaner cars' (if you were lucky enough to have had the foresight to buy your car at your 'local' dealership and never move from that area) continues to annoy me.

I don't even want those dealership grease monkeys touching my car unless absolutely necessary because they usually end up scratching or breaking something and they assume I wouldn't notice (has happened twice now).

 

Gosh.. Such an optimistic view of the world.....

 

Is that directed at me? If so, I'm glad you were so moved to respond in such a constructive way...especially when you don't know jack about me. I wonder why you feel personally offended by my rant. This is an open forum to discuss local dealership/service experiences and to vent about them. I love my MINI but my dealings with the corporate/business side of MINI/BMW has left a lot to be desired...and that was not something I was expecting.

I stand by my opinions of how MINI/BMW choose to conduct business with their customers. The emphasis they put on receiving "5's" on the surveys after the fact is asinine and counterproductive. It also leaves me a little more than annoyed when after shelling out $125 to remove an error code, I still have a warning light on when I am about to drive away and all they can tell me about my R56 is that "it will go away at some point". That makes me feel safe before driving almost 600 miles down to motd.

 

So I'm not alone

 

lol...sure aren't.

Since I've been so ranty and negative about my dealer service experiences and their policies...one positive thing I will share that comes from all this (and something I learned before the MINI): I'm much more willing to learn how to do as much work on my own car as possible. That way I know it is done right but of course if something breaks, I can only blame myself! It is a (sometimes) fun learning experience nonetheless.

 

Amen to that!!!

I didn't mean it as nastily as you took it. My apologies...

If I had that experience at the dealer, I would have sought out the service manager, not my SA, and asked them to give a more acceptable answer. If they failed to provide a more satisfactory response, I would then have asked them (the manager) how they felt I should respond on the satisfaction survey.

By leaving the service facility after receiving a BS explanation such as that without letting a supervisory or management type know that you had an issue, you are in effect preventing them the opportunity to service you satisfactorily. If you then put it on the survey as a negative, they are dinged AND its too late for them to do anything about it.

I don't think condemning the whole process and all the dealers, MINIusa and BMW on a public forum (that they read) will get you any better service.

I service computers and networks... If a client tells me they have a problem with something I've done, then I will bend over backwards to correct it and try to make them happy. If instead of letting me know, they posted someplace that all my potential clients could see that I had screwed them over and my work sucked. then I'd be plenty pissed off and damned if I'd even do business with that customer again! (See recent postings about who qualifies for a loaner)

Maybe the new changes at MINI of Annapolis will provide you with options.

 

You're right...I could have/should have sought out a service manager (though that might have been the person the SA called when I was about to leave). I was also not dealing with my normal SA. I had been there 2 hrs already and just needed to get back on the road and back to work. I was also there for warranty work which could not be completed.

Maybe I don't understand the process or purpose behind their surveys. No one ever explained it except to say that they expect 5's. What happens when they are dinged...is someone dragged out back and shot? It would seem like that is the case if they are going to deny previous customers loaner cars based just on that. And it is never too late for a service dept to realize where improvements can be made. Is that not the purpose of a satisfaction survey (well other than to use it against the customer and say, oh noes you gave us a bad rating...how naughty! no loaner car for you!!!)?

This will sound negative again but with customers ranting on a public forum or not...I don't expect MINI USA/BMW to really even entertain changing their non-customer friendly policies. That is the sentiment I get when I read and hear about them not even acknowledging major problems such as strut tower mushrooming and cold start rattles (or when I can't even get a list of all service bulletins for the car).

I didn't call out anyone by name nor did I specifically say MoT was the dealer that I had issues with. You'll find much more detailed accounts of unsatisfactory service on here. In an ideal world every company, big or small, will provide satisfactory customer service 100% of the time as you do...but that's not how the real world works. I also called my SA to give them an account of what happened and never heard back. There is only so much most of us can do, short of telling people how to do their jobs and sharing positive and negative experiences with other customers.

 

I'm not sure where you heard this, as I haven't given them a bad rating (no rating at all, actually. My car wasn't done yet), and they told me that the new policy is just that you don't get a free loaner if you didn't buy the car there. Perhaps it is because I have gone back a couple times to get things re-fixed (reattach parts that were left loose, damaged, etc) that they told me this, but I don't know. I'll be happier on friday if they fix my intake boot which keeps falling off my turbo (never an issue until they replaced the trans), and a couple of other things.

 

That's about how I feel when I look at the ding in the boot !

I really think that in the work environment (having worked in the auto industry before) our cars are treated as "just another car" not to say all are like this but as much as we wish, they may or may not receive the attention and care we would give if we were doing the work ourselves. I've noticed quite often that my gas mileage drops sharply and my tails pipes are quite black after she's been to the dealer....hmmmmmm, a little hard driving ? Ah, its just another MCS anyway.....

The thing is, its in all our best interest if the SA, the Tech and Management take care of us under warranty, thus with good treatment, we will come back for work following the warranty where they make their $$$$$$

 

JEEZZZZ ............ WAY too much NEGATIVE people on this thread !!!

 

I still like Rose though

 

Careful...... you might hurt their sensitive feelings!

How many MINI's you sportin' these days?



You are a man of class and good taste there, Jay!

 

As has been said many a time...."ROSE RULES !!!! " .... when I was at MoT this past Saturday to get my tyres rotated, I heard a rumour (from the detailing people) where there was once a neon sign in the service area that stated that Rose Rules ! Personally, I have yet to have a bad experience at MoT.

 

Short version: survey ratings have NO bearing whatsoever on whether you now get a loaner or not at MoT. The satisfaction surveys are also a great way to let MINI USA know about things you don’t like – i.e. not enough loaner cars provided to dealership.




Since I get the sneaking suspicion that some people are more concerned with just bashing others opinions and experiences (don't fall off your little pedestal full of rainbows and sunshine over there), I'd like to clarify what the deal is with the loaner policy and the surveys...and with info straight from the horse's mouth.

I spoke with the MoT MINI service manager at length today. He clearly stated that customers who bought their cars at MoT will continue to get loaners, regardless of surveys results or anything else. He detailed all the reasons (some of which have been mentioned here already) why they have had to go this route. Mainly and obviously it is due to the increased demand for service and loaners from customers all over the area...and right now they just don't have enough cars to continue to consistently meet their obligation of providing loaners to the customers which bought from them in the first place, much less everyone else. Apparently they have brought up this issue with MINI USA and he believes this will only have to be temporary but right now MINI USA will not provide them with enough loaner cars to meet the demand. There are also future plans for more changes (to benefit the customers) at MoT (such as a separate building for MINI) as they and the MINI brand itself continue to grow.

Now with the surveys...contrary to popular belief, mass chaos, death and destruction will not ensue if they receive a less than perfect rating. The survey provides an opportunity to discuss what went right and/or wrong (so they can improve on it) and a [documented] channel for feedback to the dealership service dept and MINI USA. The service manager said that customers can provide important feedback to MINI USA’s policies through the survey. For example, that would be an ideal spot to voice your dissatisfaction with the fact that MINI should provide more loaner cars to MoT because it affects you when you need service.



Hope that helps!

 

Negativity is natural when your pride and hard earned money (Wensley is a huge chunk of $$$$ on my little salary) is not treated properly and you come home with scratches and dents. It just unacceptable.

I have nothing but praise for Rose and DeWayne, they do a fantastic job of making you feel welcome. Unfortunately, without a loaner, I will not be able to go there anymore. I had a couple of issues with Tate but intend to give MOA a clean slate to start with. Here again, Calvin has always been great to me.

Oil change is coming up so we'll see how it goes.

On the positive side - There's an excellent run planned this Sunday !

 

I'm in the same boat, must have a loaner, so will be going to MOA. Not that I had a bad experience with Tate, but was definitely concerned that I would if I took my car there too much. Hey, if MOA works out though it's closer to my house.

 

It if happen twice to me .......... there would be NO WAY I would have brought it back a third time ........... That would be just crazy !

 

I figured three strikes and yer' out !

 

Yeah that makes a lot of sense when we have *so many* dealers to choose from I'm all for doing your own work or supporting reputable independent shops that specialize in our cars but obviously you have to interact with the dealership service depts sometimes...mainly for warranty work. And if you need a loaner...it looks like your options are pretty severely limited now!

The point is and always has been that dealer service depts sometimes screw up. Maybe they feel that they have a 'captive audience' of customers and therefore they don't have to always provide the best work possible due to lack of competition. Documenting these issues with the dealership service managers and MINI USA is probably the best way we can get things to change. Sugar-coating things and kissing behinds when things do go wrong because of fear of reprimand from the service departments doesn't help matters...it just allows them to continue to believe we (or our cars) are somehow at their mercy.