Found the forum after only my 18th hour of mini ownership. Picked up an '05 from sterling yesterday, and what a miserable experience that was (but that's another story). I want to hook up xm to the car and have seen the threads on other boards, but they all refer to '04 models. Does anyone know if the 05 base stereo is compatable with the blitzsafe arrangement? Sterling offers the install for $500 or so, but I'd rather take a fork to my neck than give them another cent.

Thanks!

Tony

 

First off, Welcome to NAM

I would imagine that it would work on an 05, I haven't heard af any changes to the head unit that would prevent it from working. As long as the wires are in the boot it should work. I instaled mine about two weeks ago and it took about 10 minutes, very simple. Some of the earlier threads have links to install instructions. I think I got the xm-direct and the biz-safe adaptor for about $299, and no install charges. So save the $200 for something else.. A pulley maybe?



Nik

 

Nik, thanks for the note, I'll give it a whirl then! I think I'd better hold on any mods for the time being, I'm still trying to get used to something with a top speed of more than 65 and o-60 in less than 20 seconds Better learn to drive this thing to the limit as is first, I think.

To that end, are there any mini-specific local auto-xs or drivers schools?

Thanks again,

Tony
(Arlington)

 

Hi, Tony! Welcome to NAM and congrats on your new MINI! You might go to the Audio Forum here to see discussions about installation or visit Gabe Bridger's excellent site, MotoringFile. Here's his link: http://www.motoringfile

As for driving schools, although I live in SoCal, I visit the NoVA/DC/MD area annually, and know that there are driving school opportunities! :smile:

Tell us about your new MINI! Any baby pix?

Clo/Wanda

 

Tony,

Watch the MINI Driving School thread. I'm trying to plan one with Mike W (z3bum) who also lives in Alexandria. There is a school already for MINIs check out the link for Phil Wick on that thread & you'll find it. We're trying to bring him out here.

As for XM, check out this thread on MotoringFile.com http://motoringfile.com/2003/12/20/X...llationOnAMINI and this one might be interesting to you too http://motoringfile.com/2003/12/28/I...roughTheDealer


Cheers!

Deb

 

Wanda, no pics yet but it's an 05 MCS liquid yellow with premium and cold, white roof, mirrors and stripes and the sunroof. It also appears to be the only non-mc40 available anywhere in the area for immediate delivery.

re: driving schools, maybe bmwcca would be a good option? I've been to VIR (with another group) when they've been there, apparently they're quite active.

re: xm, thanks all the help, I'll let y'all know how it works out.

Look forward to meeting and driving with all of you!

Tony

 

Welcome Tony. If it's autox you are interested in then check out this http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/noviceScho...c65c0f13c25992 It is the Washington DC Region, Sports Car Club of America (WDCR/SCCA) school and a level 1 and 2 are being offered at the end of September. This is not MINI specific but the person who runs the school (as well as one of his regular instructors) are both MINI drivers.

 

While you may be reluctant to mention details related to your comment above, I am awaiting delivery of a new MCS from this same dealer. Could you relate the story?

Regards
Phil

 

Sure can, though if you're already ordered, you may be in better shape than we were walking in off the street. Went over 2 Saturdays ago and were met by the female sales person (who's name I can't remember off hand). She was curt to the point of rudeness, completely uneducated about the car and spent more time telling us of the prescribed test drive route than about what cars were available, options, accessories, etc. Went on a test drive after she vanished for some time to find the keys, returned with enormous grins on our faces and walked back into the dealership literally ready to buy. She was with another customer, saw us walk back in and couldn't be bothered to so much as wave, much less ask how we enjoyed the drive. We walked around the showroom and back outside to look at the ones that were available, walked back in, and still no response from her or the other two people working. Finally set the keys down on a table in front of the two salespeople that were chatting and my fiancee says to me "I guess they don't want to sell us a car." This raised (what turned out to be) the sales manager's attention, and he stated helping us. Showed us the available cars (of which there were 3). We thanked him and said we'd call on Monday morning after we spoke with the credit union. Monday comes and I leave a voicemail with the sales manager telling him we were interested in one of the cars and would he return my call please. No response. Sent him an email mid-day. No response. Left another voice mail end of day. No response until 6:30 when another salesman called, at which point 2 of the cars were sold. Put a deposit down over the phone and he explained that the aboslute earliest we could get the car was Wednesday as he was busy until then, and by the way, "dealership policy" was that they had to include floor mats and wheel locks. At that point, I just wanted to get the car, so fine. I tell him that we have a tradein we'd like to bring in, and he says no problem. I ask him to send the purchase order to the credit union. He explains that he will right away. Tuesday afternoon (18 hours later) he finally faxes it to me, not to the credit union. He also finally faxes over the spec sheet on the car and I realize that he's told us that it's optioned differently than was explained over the phone. At this point I see that there are a variety of other miscellanious fees on the PO, none of which has been mentioned previously. Again, I realize that if we don't seal the deal on this car, we're going to have to order one and wait which I'm not interested in doing, so I don't complain. Wednesday we get over to the dealership and find the car prepped except for the wheel locks. Salesman sends us inside and disappears for 15 minutes without so much as a offer of coffee. We sit down and wait. Sales manager appears, says nothing about the calls or emails and says "Oh, so you did buy one . . ." and leaves. Walks back by us and I ask if we can get the appraisal on the tradein, to which he responds condescendingly that there's no way they can do it as the appraiser is gone for the day and we should just go to carmax, and walks away. The signing of the paperwork took over 2 hours as the salesman was horrible disorganized and he became quite rude when my fiancee asked him what the processing fee and online filing fee were for. Finally he takes us to the business office where we finally were met with a smiling face. Back to the salesman who says we can now choose a free gift from the cabinet! Only problem is that there's nothing in the cabinet and he tells us that we're alotted $20 worth of merchandise, anything more than that we have to cover . . .

Finally he actually shows us the car (which we still haven't driven), gives us a cursory once over and sends us on our way. All in all, I think the real problem is that they don't actually have to sell the cars. People spec them online, go to the dealer, ask them to process the order and they're done. Consequently, there's little to no customer service ethic in place. We felt as though we were looked down upon, condescended to, and had to force them to sell us the car throughout the process. On the Monday afternoon, I was already getting quite anxious as I knew they would sell quickly, so I called a variety of other dealerships. Only MC40s were available, though the salespeople I spoke with were quite helpful, and two of them went so far as to check in with me over the next 2 days to let me know what they had coming in. Far more than Chantilly did.

We love the mini, but I have to say that the buying experience was just not at all pleasant and countered the ethos that mini touts of fun.

Sorry you asked now?

 

Nope... good info. I had a better experience (back on April 1, 2002) only a few days after the car was officially available. I custom ordered. My MA was nice enough, but took his time getting back to me (they were awful busy in those early days). My big b*tch was that the day I picked up my MCS was the last day my MA ever returned a call. I saw him at the dealership a couple of months later at a MINI meet and asked him (in front of others) why he hadn't returned any of my calls or emails... he acted all innocent. "I'll have to check... I don't remember getting anything from you..." Jerk! Of course, I know others in Chicago (where I lived & bought from) that loved him & had good experiences... I do think that the car sells itself. That can mean that the MAs don't have to try too hard. Reminds me of Honda in that respect. But there are a lot of good MAs out there too... and MINIUSA is very responsive for a car company. They do try harder than any other $20K car company you'll find.

Now it's time for you to figure out where you'll go for service!

I like Towson for service... they've had a couple of goofs, but Wayne (the main MINI guy) always gets back to you and is very good at customer service.

I couldn't get appointments at Sterling -- and I know others with similar experiences so I don't know if their service is okay or not. But I recently met the crew at Tate and was favorably impressed. I might have to try their service department.

 

Actually I'm not. Your post is further evidence of a disturbing trend. Thank you for sharing.

 

As for service, I'll still try them for a couple of reasons:
1. We live in Arlington, so they're by far the closest dealership
2. The service and sales sides of dealerships are generally quite different.

So am I not alone in my experience at Sterling?

FWIW, I just used that post (minus the reprehensable grammer) as the basis of a letter to the owner of Sterling. We'll see what, if any, response I get.

By the way, I love how there seems to be a traditiona that mini owners wave to each other!!

 

I started a dealer MA/SA thread... so we can SHARE

I believe that dealers and MINIUSA alike read our threads and work on fixing things. I figure if we keep our heads, report our experiences as truthfully and non-flamingly as possible that we can maintain a good relationship with the various dealers while helping them improve their customer service.

abrooks, you should contact MINIUSA if you're upset. They are usually very good at helping correct things. In my first year of ownership I had NUMEROUS service problems (had several of the early build problems) and MINIUSA was very nice to me. I even got a Christmas present from them that year that I got to pick.

Nothing gets fixed if you don't complain to the right person. Additionally, kudos helps MINIUSA and dealers know who to pat on the back (and give a big fat raise to).

 

Miniusa will be cc'ed on the letter -- has anyone contacted them with any success via the miniusa website or is there a better email/conventional address?

I really don't think there's any way to correct an experience, really I'm only writing them as I think they should know how their customers feel (just as professionally I want to know how my customers are treated by my representatives).

 

I think only once did I contact them. Every other time, I posted a rant & THEY contacted me (impressive) offering their assistance if I wanted it. I would call them directly. I found calling worked best. Anybody else?

 

Yep, it's a tradition... a much debated one on NAM as some owners don't know/do the wave (though nobody on here would snub a MINI wave)! Some of us flash lights & honk too -- we're enthusiastic! I always wave if I see another MINI... or Mini... I miss them at times (daydreaming), but I do my best! When you join the club ($25, WELL WORTH IT!), you'll get invite cards. I keep them in my boot & put one on other MINIs I see in parking lots. More the merrier to our gang! See the event posts & come on out & play...

It is a sight to behold when 20-30 MINIs are motoring down the road together!

 

Actually I am not sorry at all. So far my experiance has been about neutral with Sterling. I have had to ask for things MINI USA says should "just Happen". I have gotten return calls and been provided info as I have asked. It does seem as though the dealership suffers from a lack of knowledge about the product. I finally got some of my questions about the NAV system answered by researching it on the web and calling MINI USA.

I don't really have any complaints myself, but I can imaging every step of what you describe happening in painful slow motion. I am sorry things did not get off on the right foot for you. Is it possible that you were there the saturday they were showing the new convertable? I think I may have been the customer the sales person was with when you got back from your ride. If not there is another couple out there that is haveing the same experiance.

Thank for telling your story
Drive Safe
Phil

 

My experience with Mini of Sterling was the exact opposite.

I went into the dealership to drive a Mini Cooper (since an MCC was obviously not available to test drive) and spoke to one of the MA's, Jeff. Jeff was quite helpful and indicated the dealership policy was $2700 in dealer installed options on top of MSRP. I looked at the Dealer Installed Option list, picked the items that I wanted anyway and told them that was all I would add to buy the car. I had already talked to Tate in Annapolis and they indicated they would sell the car at MSRP with no required DIOs. I wanted several of the DIOs anyway and Sterling agreed with my list of what I would order - Alarm System, 6 CD Changer, Carpeted Mats, Car Cover and Wheel Locks.

I gave them a deposit on 8/11 (Wednesday) and they indicated the order would be placed the next day and they would call with a production number. They were attempting to get me a car as soon as possible. When I called Thursday afternoon, the sales manager indicated he was backed up entering orders and that he would call on Friday with a production number. He did call on Friday with the production number. I went to the Mini Owner's Lounge, registered and of course the car came up in the wrong color. I called them back and the sales manager indicated that Mini had called him and the car they attempted to modify to my specifications was too far into the manufacturing process and could not be changed. Mini had designated another car for me with a later build date.

About 9 days ago I was near the dealership, stopped in and asked the sales manager to check on the first vehicle to see if it was completed and what the difference was between that vehicle that was nearly complete and what I ordered. He was a little frenzied since his wife was in labor and he was trying to get things done to take her to the hospital since he would be out of the office for about 5 days. I told him to let me know when he could get to it and he said it would take him about an hour. That was at 6:00 PM. At 7:15 my MA called, indicated the only difference between what I ordered and the vehicle that was complete was a silver dash versus an anthracite dash. I thought about, looked a some pictures on a website of the silver with chrome trim and decided that the silver was a better choice with dark blue leather. I asked them to substitute the completed vehicle since everything else was the same.

My Mini is on the ship being transported to NY, is scheduled to arrive at the port on 9/7/04 and hopefully I will have the car by 9/15. Not bad, 5 weeks from order to when I should get the car.

I don't have any problems with Mini of Sterling and I hope the service department is as good. My MA wants me to get my MCC as soon as possible - after all, he gets paid when it's delivered. It took him 15 minutes to sell me the car and I will send additional business to him. He was not high pressure and has returned every phone message I have left for him. They have done everything they could to get me a car as quickly as possible. Five weeks is a lot better than eight weeks and based on what a rep at ASK Mini said, the wait is now 3 to 5 months.

 

Amazingly, I got an email this morning from a good friend. He and his wife went to Sterling over the weekend to put a deposit down on a MCC. His email asked if we had been ignored when we were there as they couldn't get anyone to help them. There was one other customer in the showroom and 2 sales people and the manager . . . they're going to Tate this weekend. I'm sensing a theme here . . .

Phil, we weren't there when they had the preview of the MCC, we were there 2 weekends ago.

 

WTF gives with the $2700 worth of dealer-installed options?

That's $2700 you could have spent elsewhere. They're basically forcing you into padding their billfolds. Towson required nothing of me except a down payment and a pay stub for my financing. But Sterling is still in business, guess there are just more folks willing to accept their BS requirement than I would have guessed.

FWIW you can go to Tate (as far as I know) or Towson and save about $2650 over Sterling - that's $2700 minus gas and lunch.

Marty

 

I didn't buy $2700 in options. I told what I would buy (would have bought them at Tate or Towson anyway.

Not only that, it's several trips to Annapolis or Towson. At least one to go order the car and one to pick it up - which is a problem since I live in VA, I'm not married and I would have to find someone to go up to Towson with me to get the car. Too much hassle.

 

Our experience with Sterling has been nothing less than fantastic and we've been dealing with them since BEFORE the dealership was actually open... Both Sales & Service we had no issues.

I do realize that things have changed there in the last year - none of the original MA's are there and they have had quite a few Service Managers - so growing pains are bound to happen.:smile:

I've said this before and I'll say it again, anybody who is unhappy with things over there should schedule an appointment with Christal Waddy who used to be the MINI Sales Manager. As most of us know (who deal with Sterling on a regular basis), she is the top dog over there now (for the past year) - both MINI & BMW. She doesn't bite and if enough people bend her ear (nicely), then maybe - just maybe - things will start to change for the good and back to the way it used to be when the dealership was in it's infancy.

It IS POSSIBLE that Christal DOESN'T realize the BIG PICTURE here -

Chow!

Donna

 

OK. I just wouldn't enjoy being told that I would HAVE to get $2700 worth of options/packages/features, whatever you want to call them. I think it would be nice to have the freedom of no options or as many as you'd like, no matter where you buy.

Marty

 

I’m with MINI USA. I’m sorry your sales experience was not what you expected. We are here to work with you and your Dealer. If you need our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK.MINI and mention Reference # 200425800062 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

Market conditions, my friend, market conditions. At least we don't live in California where they add $7K to the MSRP of the base vehicle. And from what I understand, that's not negotiable out there and they have waiting lists for cars even with the $7K premium.

As much as I am looking forward to getting my Mini Cooper Convertible (any day now, was sitting at the VPC on Friday waiting for a ride to Sterling) I would not have bought the car if it cost $7K more. For only $1K more than the Mini at $7K over MSRP I could buy a Nissan 350Z Roadster - I'd rather have that for approximately the same amount of money.