When the 2005 Corvette ZO6 came out my friend Jack was interested in probably buying one. We drove to the Dealer in his Porsche 911 and parked. We walked around the lot looking at the cars and no one came out to see what we wanted. We went into the showroom and sat in the Corvette on display and fiddled around that car for a good 15 Min. Still no sales person asked us anything. We went to the desk and asked for a sales person. She told us one would be there shortly. We went back outside and after about 10 more min nobody showed up. We headed for the Porsche to leave and as we were leaving two sales idiots tried to get Jack not to leave. I guess when they seen the Porsche it was a different story but Jack was so upset that He swore off of GM forever. He did have the $$$ to make the purchase with him if he liked the car. I was there to drive the Porsche home. I guess If you are wearing jeans and a T-Shirt nobody thinks you have any $$$$. Although Jack looks homeless at times He is worth many millions of dollars.

 

It's so hard to find that middle of the road with sales folks and dealerships. I ran round to pick up some brochures on cars we were interested in while we waited on the process of insurance settlement on my wife's wreck several years ago. Women...they'll look at glossy brochures all day instead of pics on the computer. Mazda lost out on a sale because the guy I talked to decided to call me daily to find out if we'd gotten our insurance check. I told him to stop calling and that we'd be in and ask for him by name when we got it, but he kept calling and calling and I finally told him that since he couldn't listen to simple instructions he lost his sale.

Same trip for brochures, my wife had liked one of the Suzuki's we'd seen at the car show so I stopped by. Doors were unlocked but the place was a ghost town. No sales people, no receptionist, no customers. Just me. Oddest feeling I've ever had as I'm used to being pounced upon. I wandered around for 15 minutes, found the brochures and left without seeing a soul.

When I bought my F150 though, I bought from a small town dealer. Best experience I have had buying a car. They gave me breakfast, whisked me through the buying process (hate that, always takes all dang day) and I had the truck I wanted and left with a smile on my face instead of that pit in my stomach. Both the salesman and owner called me to check on me that first week and I continued to get cards on my birthday and occasional calls just to see how I was doing and if we needed anything vehicle wise. Always polite and never pushy phone calls.

I did have a friend with the same experience as you though buying a truck. Wandered around the Chevy dealership, finally got a sales guy who had an "I don't give a ****" attitude and basically told him, "There's the trucks, that's how much the cost, let me know if you want one." He left, went to the Ford dealership next door and drove home his F150 happily even though he'd really wanted a Silverado.

 

This is not just a Mini/BMW issue. This is just another example of a continuing story we see happening still.
Sales people get board or distracted and customers get ignored.
How could this happen as there is so much money involved?
I guess it's just human nature but if I were the sales manager, heads would roll. I say, don't put up with any poor behavior from a car dealer or sales people. Walk away!
A Mazda 3 is an excellent car so that's always a good option. Mazda 3s are still built in Japan and have excellent quality.