I think they are on a very steep learning curve right now; and those of us who have made a hobby out of keeping up with the latest MINI news have a distinct advantage. I suspect they are overwhelmed with the logistics of getting the franchise going, particularly since they had to shift gears in the middle of the evolution due to MINI USA rejecting the old Hummer building and they are already opening much later than the originally forecast date.

But you are correct -- their prospective MAs better get hot and achieve an acceptable level of MINI acumen quick or they won't have any credibility with customers who have done their homework. There is obviously a fundamental lack of knowledge of the brand among the sales staff right now, and that doesn't translate very well to confidence in the fledgling service staff. In fact, both you and I are likely better qualified MAs right now. Hopefully things will improve soon. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

 

I agree that they must be on a steep curve, lots to learn about the car and history. I am going to wait a bit and maybe by summer they will be gaining their stride and I will let them handle service. As for now, my MA at Jacobs just sent a note that they expect the transport in today, their demos and our All4. I see else where that Atlanta just delivered a customer car...so it begins. I will post follow ups as we bring the car home and see if it does indeed meet our expectations.

 

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that MINI will be at Willis auto campus on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of this month for the staff. I will be there, since I am part of the service staff. I have yet to meet any of the other staff but will on those days. If there is anything I can do for anyone in the EIM group, or any MINI owner/enthusiast for that matter, please do not hesitate to let me know what that is. Do not hesitate to PM me here and I will get back to you as fast as I can. I will also post my work email on here once I get one at Willis.

 

Miah, that's a generous offer and we appreciate it. I have the feeling that you are going to bring a lot of value to MoD given the fact that you've been embedded within the enthusiast community for some time and already have your finger on the pulse of many of the things we feel are important. It's great having an "insider" on the staff.

 

Brand new local TV advertisement announcing the MoDM opening is posted on our website...

 

Miah, Ask your bosses to entertain the idea of hooking up with the Quad Cities Dealer Group to allow them to bring some new Minis to the 2011 New Car show they will hosting soon in Davenport Iowa

 

MIAH,
any news as to MoDM being able to have any Countryman on the 20th? I am still entertaining the idea of driving in, both to the dealership and visit family.
Let me know
Mike

 

Hey guys, Good news! MoDM is coming along nicely. We got Special tools, parts and office fixtures in and they are installing them right now. Also, for everyone wondering on the cars that we have/don't have. We actually received 2 MINI COOPER Countryman's on shipment today, one surf blue and one light white. To my understanding they are both front wheel drive. When all is said and done we should have 30 cars on the lot come Monday. I've been asked by Jason Willis if anyone is coming down for the opening on Monday and I told him I didn't have a count but would post something up on here to see if we could come up with somewhat of a number of people. I am also in the process of getting an email there and will send that out as well. I will post more up here as time goes on.
Oh, and JPMM, I will give that info to my bosses and see what we can do.

 

Peggy and I will be coming thru Des Moinse on our way home from Galena, Il. on Monday. Is the Grand opening this Monday 12/20? If so we may have to stop and check it out.

 

Mini of Des Moines has photos on their Facebook page....here's the most recent / last photo in the series..showing two new MINI's on the ground.http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...id=74348564793

MINI of Des Moines now appears on the dealer listing site of MINIUSA.COM as well but no inventory is yet posted.

Hours shown for Monday are 8am to 8pm but nothing special cited for the first opening day in terms of activities etc.

Rick

 

They've been advertising the 20th as their first day, but not as a "grand opening celebration" with balloons, refreshments, celebrities, give-aways, brass bands, etc. I've been told that some sort of formal event is going to happen in early '11.

I suspect that in the rush to open the infrastructure may be just a bit rough around the edges and they want to put on the final polish before inviting over the whole neighborhood.

Edit: I stand corrected -- I see that their MINI page does say the words "grand opening" but I still believe they are planning a bigger shindig later on...

 

After the WX forcast this AM, I am hedging on the trip. It is not that I doubt the Countryman in snow, it is the other drivers on a snow covered I80.
I will decide Sunday, it would be fun to stop by but not for body work.
Get settled in MIAH, white shirt and black pants are much different from jeans!

 

I could drive you there

 

Just drove through the MOD lot and spotted maybe 15 or so new MINI's...Coopers, Cooper S but no Countrymans were visible(outside anyway). Suppose they could still get some deliveries over the weekend....they still have the interior showroom furniture etc. to get set up but otherwise looks pretty good (as compared to a Saturn dealership!).

Our local Miata group is meeting across the street at Ramsey Mazda/Subaru Monday night for our monthly dinner drive....we may do a "drive by" the MINI dealership on our way to dinner.

Rick

 

I am looking thru my wrapped presents for any running shoes or a football helmet!

MIAH, still iffy on the trip, wx is looking icy along 30 and I80. IF I get there, figure 1030ish for a couple of hours.

Mike

 

I left CR with good intentions at 830 AM, went as far as the Swisher turn off and came home. We ended up with a couple of inches of snow, radar at noon showed nothing past Grinnell, Oh Well . The traffic on 380 that normally runs 70+ was 55 or so, just not a good morning for a drive, so I plowed the drive instead.
MIAH, let us know when the fancy open house is scheduled, I will try then if not before.
Mike

 

Stopped by MINI Of DSM yesterday...they had one Surf Blue/White Countryman Auto in the "jewel box" display area. They apparently sold a White Countryman demo the day before and are expecting a Black one in shortly according to the Donna, the Motoring Advisor who showed me around the nice remodeled Saturn building.

I also had the chance to meet Miah34 and we had a nice discussion....clearly he's one who knows the brand as an owner of a 2002 MINI S.

I'll go back at some point to do a test drive of an All4 when one is available just to see if it remains on my "interested" list. At some point our all wheel drive "Miata Support Vehicle" will be replaced...and the MINI Countryman All4 is a possibility.

Happy Holidays to all....

Rick

 

Thanks for the report Rick.

Did the other MINIs on the lot leave any impressions? I'm wondering what they're intending on marketing to the local populace. What was the MC/MCS mix? Any Cabrios or Clubman?

 

Well Gil..... inside, besides the base Countryman, were a base Clubman, Cooper and a Cooper S as I recall. Outside...brrrr were a mix of Coopers, Cooper S and Clubmans....don't recall if I saw any Convertibles but didn't linger outside too long.

Hopefully soon, MINI of DSM will get their inventory posted on MINIUSA.com...but I just checked and it's not yet posted. BUT....I did find a link to their inventory here on the general dealership web page: http://www.willisautocampus.com/mini/ This is obviously a list of cars on the lot now and coming....as there certainly weren't 8 Countrymans there yesterday. Note too...all the 8 Countrymans listed are automatics.

Rick

 

I made it into DSM and MoDM Monday, the dealership is up and running. I was given the nickel tour by our very own Miah34, thanks JS for your time, and met most of the staff. I was even treated to a car wash which was very nice. They do know they have a lot to learn but, based upon my impression of the additude of the staff, they will do well. They had only the Blue Countryman in stock, a couple more are due in. I did have a few customers looking at the ALL4, even chatted with a gal in the showroom who was looking for one. There are 2 guys in the shop right now, they are busy servicing cars from the DSM area along with the new car prep work. I expect to go there for my service work, more 'local' than a 4 hr drive.
The rumor is end of Jan for a 'Grand Opening', Miah promises to keep us informed.

 

Glad you came away with a positive impression. Great customer service can go a long way in overcoming the learning curve. I'm sure they appreciated the free Pure Red ALL4 advertising while you were there too.

We'll continue to monitor emerging news on their Grand Opening plans to make sure we don't end up with the Wig and Pen Meet-n-Eat being a schedule conflict.

 

I did a quick drive by today...saw 8 on the lot...three All4's, some S's and also base models..pretty good on the ground selection I thought. I'll have to see about an All4 test drive...assuming those on the ground aren't already sold.

Colors were mostly grey and black with one red, a true blue, and a light white.

Rick

 

Hey guys, I now have an email at MoDM. jsnyder@willisautocampus.com.
feel free to email me.

 

hi guys, i'm a newbie, but..I ordered my chili red clubman from willis almost two weeks ago. So far the experience has been real good. There was no pressure to buy "off the lot". Donna encouraged me to build my own. Once i test drove the clubman resistance was futile! Ill let you all know how things go, good or bad.

 

Thanks for sharing with us. I think you will be happy that you went with the custom order since your new MINI will be exactly the way you want it to be.

As I'm sure you've now realized, the waiting is this worst part...