Hey folks. Is there a secret to get a call back from Service at Mini of Sterling? I had some questions last week and sent an email last Monday, followed up with a phone voice message on Friday, but I still haven't heard back from the SA.
The appointment person responded back quickly, but referred me to the SA with my questions. I just wanted to see if they would do some specific work, and wanted to make sure they had the parts before I made the appointment. I guess I'll try again.

 

Its called call Mini of Towson. Mini of Sterling has the worst service department of any car dealership I worked with. Took over 10 calls to get a response one time. They never return messages and my favorite "they told me to bring a towel in my leaking convertible"

 

I love it! The free market at work!

The key to getting a call back: Go online and start a Sterling Bashing thread on every MINI discussion board. Give them an awful reputation and drive the business to their competitors. Force them to sell or abandon their franchise. See new MINI dealership spring up with a customer focus.

I am still amazed when I hear of dealerships giving consistently bad service. Mr. Sewell (Texas auto dealer of some fame) estimates each new customer to be worth over $40,000 (in PROFIT) over their lifespan for a service and customer oriented dealership. Just take your $40,000 somewhere else...

 

I may have had some bad timing before, but I did just call back. The SA kindly answered my questions as needed, and they helped me get an appointment booked. I just didn't know if there was somebody there that local folks knew that could help answer my questions and that might be helpful. I guess folks get busy like the rest of us.

 

I just dropped my still very new MINI (only 1150 miles!) off at MINI of Sterling yesterday morning (Wednesday), and I'm due to pick it up this afternoon (Thursday). So far my rep has been very understanding and supportive of my requests. We'll see how it turns out - I was very specific that I MUST have my car ready by COB Thursday.

My secret was probably that I bought one of the most expensive MINIs they've ever sold... money talks I guess... but if the service turns out to be poor (I will give them a few chances though, to allow for a "bad day"), then MINI of Towson will definitely be next on my list.

 

Don't ever be afraid to ask questins on here about parts/service. I hear there are dealership spy's on here....

 

Hey Edge,

Yours is definitely up there. You're a rolling John Cooper Works advert :-)

When will you add the cf trim? (Just kidding.)

I went to production last week, and should be out of the line ohhhh....today!

About to call ASK-MINI and see what's up.

Cheers,
Matthew Z.

 

\

I saw your car on the lot just before you picked it up - Wow

It was the deciding factor in my choice of interior and exterior

What kind of problem are you having?

And you're right - it was the most expensive Mini I have ever seen - what didn't you get?

 

Hmm... there's actually quite a few things I DIDN'T get... (list will be edited later if I forget something):

"Don't have and don't want" list:

* Alternate color roof & mirrors (I wanted the conservative look, so same color)
* Chrome line exterior (I hate chrome)
* Chrome line interior (I HATE CHROME!)
* Chrome mirror caps (did I mention I hate chrome?)
* Bonnet stripes (again, more conservative)
* Automatic (gotta have stick shift!)
* Cockpit Chrono Pack (got the Navigation system instead)
* Aero Kit (no performance benefit, and I want conservative, conservative, CONSERVATIVE!)
* Patterned mirror caps, roof flags, etc. (you know why)
* XM satellite radio (I would prefer Sirius just to get Howard Stern next year)
* CD changer (with an iPod, who needs one?)
* Roof rack (adds drag, looks uglier IMO... and the sport link is a superior design for bikes at least, which is all I really care about)
* Carbon fiber trim (yuck - stick on fake CF? No thanks)
* Cupholder (OK it came with the car but I REMOVED it before driving off the lot!)
* Boot Net (don't need it)
* Boot box organizer (bought it, didn't like it, returned it)
* Illuminated door sills (I got the non-illuminated JCW sills instead)
* Nose mask, magnetic stone guards, bumper protection strip (UUUUGLY, and Invisishield is much better)
* Sunroof wind deflector (ugly, plus seems stupid when the sunroof is closed)
* JCW Carbon Fiber ANYTHING (interior trim/dashboard, mirror caps, air inlet, tailgate handle, rear wing) - (nice if that's your kind of thing... but for me it's not)


"Don't want now but -maybe- want later" list:

* Center arm rest (may add later, not sure... don't want it to get in the way while shifting)
* Driving lamps (there's that C word again... but if I end up not liking the xenons enough, I can always add them later)
* iPod adapter (waiting for dust to settle on Dension version)
* Sirius satellite radio (not compatible with Nav - yet... signed agreement between Navteq and Sirius, so who knows later)


"Don't have, definitely plan to get" list:

* Bluetooth kit (will be added later once it is revised for the steering wheel controls)
* Sport link bike rack (I have the sport link installed, I'll buy the rack
once the weather warms up a bit more) - NOW PURCHASED
* JCW 18" wheels (will be added later, after the factory rubber wears out)
* JCW Strut Brace (it's coming! on backorder, hasn't arrived yet...)
* Blue Ignition wires (on my next visit) - NOW PURCHASED

Pretty much, if it's an official option or accessory and it's not on the lists above, I have it.

Whew. You had to ask didn't you

 

Oh yeah, you also asked why it was in the shop:

Problems reported:

* Brake lining indicator came on (huh? after only 1150 miles? must have something do to with adjusting for the JCW brakes)
* Bad pixel in LCD screen (new screen is on order now, but they had to see the car first) - UPDATE: REPLACED ON FOLLOW-UP VISIT
* Shift **** loose (I have the Lapis Blue one (dealer installed before pickup), but it twists left and right instead of holding still... they are out of stock though, so replacement is on order) - UPDATE: REPLACED ON FOLLOW-UP VISIT
* Check headlight alignment (The passenger headlight aims higher than the driver side! Turns out that is deliberate from the factory, but I didn't know that before)
* Front tag mount has stripped screw holes (The screws for the front license plate were popping out too easily - they replaced the front tag mount)

Changes requested:

* Relocate AUX input from passenger footwell to back of Euro Parcel Shelf (Done - woohoo! MUCH neater now)
* Install Ian Cull's Auto-Up Circuit (I supplied it, they installed it... with the aux gauges and my fear of breaking something while trying, I'd rather them put it in)
* Install Blue Ignition Wires (available, but out of stock... next visit!) UPDATE: INSTALLED ON FOLLOW-UP VISIT
* Install JCW Strut Brace (STILL not available... hopefully it will be in for the next visit when they replace the Nav screen & shift ****)

So you see, nothing catastrophic. No major problems, just little ones... turns out that they also found a large screw/nail in one tire, and offered to replace the tire (for $325!)... I declined for now (it's not causing a leak yet), and I'd much rather get the tire plugged, once I find a place that will do that with runflats.

 

I'm amazed they install Ian's circuit for you. Thats nice of them.

 

I'm planning on the JCW strut brace and brake kit (need new wheels maybe?), plus the sport link for my mountain bike .

 

mdsbrain - yeah... it's kinda "off the record", so I won't give you the name of my SA

I think the service techs took a good look at it, realized it was really harmless, and told my SA it would be OK. Besides, they were going to be all up in there to relocate the Aux input, so it made sense to do both at the same time.

minicoopermike - cool. Unfortunately I can't give you a good comparison of the JCW brakes before and after, since I had them installed before I took delivery. However, I strongly recommend you look at the MotoringFile news items regarding the brakes, for more information on wheel fitment. Since you have 16" R90s... sorry to tell you but yes, all information so far indicates you'd need to upgrade. There are only a few very specific 16" models that will fit the brakes, and the 16" R90 isn't one of them (but ALL 17" models, including the R90 17", will fit).

See the following news items:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/...hat_wheels_fit
http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/03/..._jcw_brake_kit
http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/02/..._kit_in_detail

 

err, I guess I'll park my car at the other end of the line
John DaCrema
Silk Green/Black with lots of Chrome bits

 

Heh - no problem John... different strokes for different folks... I won't judge your taste. Weren't you the Silk Green one at the Spring Fling? Nice car... always nice to see one of the rare colors. :smile:

On the chrome - I'd even consider getting a Hyper Blue gas cap cover (to make it flush with the body) if I could.

UPDATE - car back for 2nd part of service today:

Problems fixed:

* NAV LCD screen replaced (due to bad pixel that was always green)
* Lapis Blue Shift **** replaced (due to being "loose" (twisted left and right))
* Center console trim replaced (the "coin tray" piece - to clean up the passenger footwell after Aux input removed)

New stuff:

* Blue Ignition Wires installed (cheap... and pretty cool - I'll take pics soon)
* Sport Link Bike Rack purchased (haven't taken it out of the box yet though)

 

I like the no chrome look as much as the chrome look. The MC starts with chrome so I had to go on from there. I am not much of a MCS gas cap fan so I am all in favor of your move to the non chrome cap there. I hope your car is a good to you as mine has been to me. Take care & Ill see you on one of the trips.
John,

depart for the Dragon in 5 and a wakeup

 

NAV LCD screen replaced (due to bad pixel that was always green)

I have one of these and when I told em to fix it they just replaced the NAV unit rather then the screen will have to try again.

Howard

 

When I first called about the problem in March, they wouldn't order a replacement screen until they saw it in person... they are very expensive parts apparently, so replacing the screen requires 2 visits - one to see it, and then they order a replacement. The second visit is to actually replace it.

At least that's my experience with MINI of Sterling. I didn't mind, because there were a few other things we had to wait on parts for anyway (like the blue ignition wires and the replacement lapis blue shift ****).

 

I'd like to see the blue ignition wires installed. :smile:

 

I will have pictures soon. :smile:

 

Edge,

I am very conservative too (Dark Silver / Black Roof / No Stripes and No Chrome) however, I must say that inside chrome at night with the soft red light is really cool. So chrome is not so bad after all...
See you at the Dragon ...

MD STREGA2

 

It is...And inside chrome looks really great against an anthracite dash surrounded by black and gray interior fabric.

 

mdsbrain,

Here's a quick snapshot I took of the blue ignition wires while I was at the Dragon. Not the best pic... but anyway I hope it gives you an idea:

 

I believe you said you were considering driving or rally lights but don't like the chrome look. You might look at the PIAA lights, which have a black cage and attachments. I minimized chrome on exterior of my dark silver (top and bottom) MCS (with MOS's SX220 package), so I didn't want standard chrome driving lights either. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, which is why Mini offers a blue million options, but I think the black-cage PIAAs look good with the conservative dark silver paint. I also got tinting (separately from Roadblock, not through the dealer), which looks good, although I got it to block out sunlight through sunroof, which was brutal on weekend trip to North Carolina, and not for esthetics.

John.

 

Edge, did you ever have any luck figuring out how to get a body colored gas cap cover? I've got a B/B MCS coming in late September and was just working with the MA and SA at MINI of Sterling to figure out how many things I can do to "black it out". Turns out the gas cap covers for the Cooper vs. Cooper S are actually different to include the arm that attaches the cover to the car, so they're not interchangeable.

Another item we'll be doing - replacing the chrome "S" air vents on the sides with Cooper black vents, but retaining the white turn signal cover (instead of yelllow).

And, of course, windows tinted to max legal in VA.

I'm getting the aerokit because of the additional chrome it removes from the car.

Does anyone have any other tips for blacking it out further?

john