I just want to share my mini service experience and get feedback to see if I'm the only one this happens too. I go to Ft. Lauderdale mini in Florida for my service, and I've had nothing but problems. It all started when I bought the car, it didn't have an armrest in it so I ordered one. They gave me a specific date to go get installed, and that was fine. So on that day I drive the 25 miles or so to the service center, and when I get there they tell me my part isn't there and I should have been notified.

At this point, I'm just like, okay... Mistakes happen... When can I come back to get it installed. They gave me another date for a week later. So I show up there and once againthe part isn't there and they didn't call me. Now I'm pissed. So I go to the sales lot, cause a huge fuss and get a refund.

About a month down the road I was out driving with a friend, and I wanted to launch my car. Well I forgot that I had my sport button on, and I burnt the crap out of my clutch. It smoked for a few seconds, along with that smell so I know it's not my imagionatuon. So I call the dealer and set up an appointment for the earliest I can... A week from that day. My clutch was still useable, but it definitely came out of first a bit weird. Now within that week I guess the clutch evened itself out, and by the time I got to the dealer I could no longer feel the difference. They refused to look at it because they "could not recreate the problem". That never got dealt with.

Now the other day while I was actually on the way to the dealership, I saw this big thing fly over my windshield. So I was checking my rear view mirror fr something to flow back down, and nothing did. When I got to the dealership I walked around my car and my hood scoop was GONE. just flew off.. so my ******* of a service advisor decides to take advantage of me and not give me the warranty that I deserve. He says "the parts department I right there" so I had to pay $160 for something that should have been free. But I didn't know that there was a defective trim warranty at the time. So now that I've found out there is they refuse to give me a refund. They simply stated it's "too late"... This was a week ago and I still have the reciept.

 

That's rough, sounds like they haven't been treating you right! :/

I haven't had a ton of visits to the dealership but the ones I have went quite well. I bought my MINI used from a Toyota lot. I had a leaky t-stat that they refused to acknowledge, so I just took it to MINI Victoria (Victoria, BC.)

My MA was very helpful and friendly. She looked up the status of my warranty and told me there was still a few months left of factory bumper-to-bumper. Fixed my leaky t-stat in less than an hour but offered to keep it overnight and give it a full inspection before the warranty was up and have it back to me in the morning. Picked it up at 9am with a clean bill of health, and freshly washed.

I have had intermittent issues with difficulty shifting into 1st gear when cold. I called my MA and left a message, she called back promptly and was helpful in getting me a convenient appointment to have it checked while under warranty (runs out dec 22.) She also offered me a free loaner MINI for the day since "they would probably have it most of the morning."

The parts department has also been very helpful with my many tire/wheel questions while I was scouting out my best winter setup, both on the phone and in person.

So far so good with MINI Victoria.

 

I just picked up MINI number four yesterday from the newest of three dealers in my town. Maybe it helps that the manager there is a cycling buddy of mine, but it's been a way cool experience since their grand opening party in July. I had a service done on my previous car there, then decided to buy another. Perhaps it's because they're the "new guy" in town, but so far everyone there from the receptionist, to the sales personnel, to the service advisor, to the finance guy, to the make ready tech always has a smile on their face, and is eager to please. Don't have any statistics to back me up, but I suspect they're putting a dent in the two established dealers who may have gotten smug in their near monopoly.
My advice is go somewhere else if you can, vote with your pocketbook. That's what I did.

 

MINI Yaletown in Vancouver (BC) have been great to deal with. My car is out of warranty and I have had no reason to look for an alternative place for service on my MINI. I feel I get fair value for money and feel treated like part of the family there.

 

Water pump went south with about 3500 miles on the car, they took care of that pretty quick.

Window tint that was installed before I even took delivery has developed a strange haze when lighting is a certain way, like sun up or sun down. took it in to have it looked at, with the possibility there's an issue with the material itself. Was told there's no detectable workmanship issues, and there's no defect in the 3M material, what I'm seeing is "normal" for the tint....therefore nothing gets redone. So I'm stuck with window tint that looks like dirty windows most of the time when looking through them from the inside

Outside bolster cover on the passenger seat (lower plastic cover) broke somewhere on the backside, so it's loose back by the hinge area (round molded circle). Part has been on back order for 2 months now, with no projected arrival

Other than that, I don't go to the dealer, too aggravating. I do my own maintenance...don't even need their stupid wiper blades. Couldn't even get an oil change at 1 year from them, I was told I had more than 6000 miles in a year...tell me that makes any sense.

 

Both Flow MINI dealers in NC have been excellent to work with.

 

Back when I had my 06 I dealt with MINI of the Mainline in Bala Cynwood, PA.

Honestly among other reasons (the love of the car and lifestyle) Is why im purchasing another Mini, I honestly can say i havent been treated better at any other dealership. They are professional and friendly and really bend over backwards to accommodate me and my schedule.

Sorry to here about your poor experiences, is there another dealer in the area?

 

I haven't had any problems with my MINI and haven't been back to the dealer. People in the local MINI club seem to like them though.

Dave

 

That isnt normal and Tint is always usually done by a local third party tinting company. I have learned over the years that you need to take your car to a place that just does tint (not auto accessory stores or audio places that claim they can do it) Tint is an art and something that not everyone has the ability to do.

 

Rasmussen MINI is Top Notch here in the PNW!!

 

MINI of San Diego has been fantastic to me so far. I am very impressed with their service for a few problems I have had.

 

I have had to have a few repairs on my 07 MCS. Really there service dept is great. Everyone I have dealt with at Ralph Schomp has been awesome.

My favorite SA: Robert.

Cudos!

 

Had I tire low warning on my car. Filled up the tire and reset the computer but it came on again. Stop by the dealer to have it checked out. Got me right in and said I had a nail in the tire. $240 for a new tire. I debated and decided to think about it first. I could 4 Non Run Flats for a little more or fix the RF. Center of tread-figured plug it. Lot like you are going to get a blow out and drop you on the rim. There RF's. Went to Les Schwab and al it was
was a nail head. No pentatration. Winter air the tire had jsut needed air and the computer did not reset the first time. Gets you thinking. I was not crazy with the buying experience there so I ordered my new 2011 else where.
No typical BMW arrogant attitude. On my 2010 at one point I had to yell it's an F-ing MINI. Either you want to sel it our keep for a musem.

Go out on the sales floor and tell a few prospective customers your great customer service story. That always get there attention. Used it to have 2005 SLK replaced by MB. I have personally cost that dealership over 300K
in sales. Sent all MB buyers to the other dealer who is great. Best part is they now it and asked me to stop,LOL. "Because of well you treated me after I spent 70K". Im in sales so I talk to lots of people. Other dealer was great to me but because of the experience I will never own another MB. I would rather walk if they were the last manufacture. Move the issue up the food chain to the GM. I have also used " How about I drive through the front window so we are all on the 6 Oclock news to discuss the problem live". Personal favorite.
Good luck. Some dealers do not care if you ever buy from them again unfortunately. Chasing off new customers drives the salesmen crazy. They will hound the GM to help make you go away.

 

I bought mine over at Moritiz Mini in Arlington, TX and they know for a fact I'm only going to be here for a week but they are still treating me as if I will be buying from them again even though I live 1300 miles away!

 

+1! On Rasmussen as well as Seattle Mini here in the PNW.

Mark

 

Passport Mini in Alexandria VA was fine until I drove off of their lot. I could write a novel, but basically they were rude and dismissive and I have told everyone I know to stay AWAY from them.

Mini of Sterling, OTOH, is AWESOME. Everyone there is friendly and helpful and makes taking my car in for service a fun and relaxing event.

We are getting ready to buy a second Mini, guess which dealer is getting our business?

 

MINI of Fairfield County has always been extremely courteous and quick with any needed repairs. I've got only great things to say about them.

 

Steve at Crown MINI in Richmond has treated me great. I cant say my MIMI has been problem free but all the little things have been delt with.

 

Nice to hear Robert is still doing well. I used to work with him there at Schomp when I lived in Colorado. Both advisors there are great guys

 

Baron Mini in KC is a stellar dealer, with a terrific service dept. It's even nicer since they moved out of the basement of the BMW store and into their own separate facility!

 

Brought my car in Friday to the mini dealership in Charleston to get some trim fixed and they wouldn't lend me a loaner because its the weekend? Dealership in Texas had no problem giving me a loaner for the weekend :/

 

I have spent a lot of time at my dealer after a botched JCW install (not dealer's fault, software issue) and they were great to work with. I couldn't have asked for better help with my issues at MINI of Birmingham.

 

Crevier MINI in Santa Ana, CA has been pretty lousy to work with. Horrible parts department service, ridiculous wait times, and I'm starting to suspect the service advisors of some pretty significant dishonesty. If anyone from SoCal has a good recommendation, I might take a road trip to see if another dealer will be better to work with.

 

Really? I've never had a problem with Crevier myself. I've always found them to be pretty courteous. Then again I haven't had to go to a dealer all that often either, unless I really have a problem or my car needs some sort of service I can't do myself. They haven't seen my modded MINI either, so I'm not quite sure how they'd react. I normally try to schedule an appointment as early in the morning as possible so the wait isn't all that terrible. It's nice to get a loaner as well. I remember once when they were completely out of loaners, they paid for a Hertz rental. Either you've just had a bad experience, or I've just been lucky with good experiences I guess. I can say I've heard nothing but bad things about Irvine MINI, so maybe you're better off traveling a bit farther for your preferred dealer. Good luck!

 

I took my '03 MCS to Brecht MINI in Escondido, CA to get a CEL problem fixed. They were terrible. I only had about 25K on the car, but was out of warranty time wise. I called MINI USA and explained to them how the car had been garaged for over a year while I was deployed overseas. They agreed to cover the cost of the repair. Brecht, however, would only give me a 15% discount. I left the car there and went back home to talk to MINI USA again the next day. Again the assured me that MINI would cover the costs. Went to pick up the car and was offered 25% off as a "best deal". They told me that MINI had told them to charge the repairs as warranty but that it was their decision on what to do and not MINI USA's. I really needed the car back, so I just paid the bill (about $800.00). Can't remember what was wrong, something about a sensor that needed to be replaced near the bottom of the engine.

The car never ran the same again after having gone there. Told everyone I knew at the time to stay away from them. Nothing but a money hungry crappy dealership.

When I moved back to Virginia, I ended up going back to Crown MINI in Richmond where I originally bought the car and picked up a BMW. I told them the story of Brecht MINI and they seemed very concerned and surprised that a customer had been treated that way. I later traded the BMW in for a 2011 MCS and again had an awesome experience dealing with them. I would definitely recommend them to anyone (unlike Brecht).