Well...I personally like the service at Herb Chamber MINI—Boston. They do a pretty good job so far with my last MINI and my current. But one complain I have about them is the parts.

I had to get a new sets of Wheel locks. (Current set was missing so I had to get one). I looked on Herb Chamber online Store, they were listing it $63.50. I know it was a bit expensive and I can get it cheaper somewhere else, but I need it today. Went to buy it at the dealership... $93.50... WTF???

They told me the dealer had to mark it up and give me the "Oh, just to solved this problem, I will give you my employee discount". I don't know but that sounds a little fishy to me. They marked it down to $63.50... I wonder what percentage that was to come down exactly to the list price on the online store...LOL

Something doesn't feel right here...

 

Is the part number you purchased 36 13 6 776 802? If so, $63.50 is just regular list price...definitely not employee cost.

 

Inskip MINI ROCKS!!!! The Service dude James Kicks ***. And the parts woman is always a huge help! GO INSKIP!!!

 

Herb Chambers runs THE slimiest dealerships ever known to planet earth - certainly TRUE of sales, you canoot even fathom the nightmare i had buying a Beeeemer from them in 05 - service does not seem slimy in fact quite the opposite - but super $$$$. NEVER B U Y a car at any Herb Chambers dealer they define THE old fashioned lying cheating game playing kind of slime that were the impetuses for consumer protection laws.

 

^Wow thats quite a first post ^.

Well actually I can't say I haven't run into the same problem with them. Although I think they are absolutely awesome people - especially paul, the service director - they do charge pretty high prices for certain things. But this isn't the employees' fault; these prices are dictated by ownership (herb chambers corporate office).

I recently brought my car in and they said it needed a clutch, flywheel, and PS pump and they quoted me........$4,900.

I received a quote from greasys for less than 2k.

 

I'll second that...BIG TIME! Pete is my MA and Jeff is my SA, both awesome guys, and definite enthusiasts...

Bought my Cadillac from Herb Chambers (Escalade ESV) and I'd say it can get quite slimy on both sides of the fence. I've had good luck so far but it's a crap shoot. I had my most recent SA tell me not to get attached to ANYONE @ Herb Chambers; they're like goldfish and their turnover is huge. That says a lot, and not in a good way...

 

We may not be able to help the prices, but we try our best to take care of you guys :( I'm sorry to hear so many people unhappy, I just started about 3 months ago and LOVE my job and the dealership, lots of great people and I get to do what I love. Give us a chance - Mark, Becky and myself (Scott) are all enthusiasts and we'd love to see you guys!

 

I have no experience with HC, but MINI of Peabody (owned by Lyon-Waugh auto group) seems like a pretty good place to get parts locally. The parts I've bought there were all priced at or sometimes below list price! Worth checking out.

 

Anyone have thoughts about how to upgrade the stereo system in an 09 Cooper?

 

AVI in West Newton - best system I've EVER heard in a MINI.

 

As much as I love Inskip, and will recommend them without hesitation, I have to admit I was given some great service by HC Mini back in May. Good bunch of folks over there.

BTW gokaht, how are the 380's?

 

I had a run in with Inskip MINI when i was interesed in replacing my PS pump, online price was $669. When I spoke top the service dude he quoted me $780 for the PS pump. the odd thing was when i spoke to him his 1st question was "did I speak to anyone in parts", when I stated no, the cost jumped. So I didn't buy my PS pump thru Inskip.

I have bought other items at Inskip, items that I can replaced on my buggy. I found the parts reps at Inskip are VERY helpful.

 

380'S were great - until one of my valets over-revved the engine and now I have a lower rod knock. Looking like a lower end build :( Very upset.

Anything you guys need, let me know - there's lots of red tape I can help cut through...

 

You're kidding me! Over-revved? <headslap>
Do you at least punch him in the throat for that? lol

 

I know it's been a while, but I'm kinda pissed that they never sent the accessories I was supposed to get. I love the BlackJack sunroof decal and glad that came through, but every time I call about the other items I was supposed to get they tell me they're backordered. I have a hard time believing they are still on backorder.

Sorry, just had to vent a little bit.

 

Send me a PM with the accessories you're missing - I'll take care of it.

 

That post was about 15 months old. I sure as hell hope he/she has gotten them by now. Good on ya to post up tho.

 

Believe it or not, I finally got them about 4 months later after having my MINI nearly a year. It took a lot of persistence and a few e-mails to the home office!

 

By the way. Herb Chambers might have a decent repair shop but their sales tactics are horrible. I'm convinced that the dealership trains their sales people to try to rip off people that they think could be taken advantage of. Since I know they are trying to rip me off, I walkout and buy the car elsewhere. Time and time again they offer the worse deal. The thing is, I've only met one person in the years I've lived in Boston that I know that has had a positive sales experience with them, and they buy high end MB's with cash.

Sadly, after several attempts, I feel the only way they want me to buy a car from them is to rip me off. I can count 6 times that they have tried. But it's not personal, right, it's business!

That's why I keep going back. Like Charlie brown kicking the ball that Lucy hold, I keep hoping, this time, they will come with a fair offer as their "final offer" and every time I'm left wondering if the only way my money is good there is to give it away on a bad deal.

Can anyone at all comment on if they feel like they've ever got a fair deal with Herb Chambers?

 

I'm sorry to hear that you haven't had much luck in our sales department. We sell more MINIs, and for less money, than any other dealer within driving distance. We have a best price guarantee that will beat any written offer. Is it the price of the MINI that you're feeling we're not being fair with? Trade in? Both? Just curious. I was the service manager for MINI up until the first of the year, and now I'm in the MINI sales department - I'm shocked at how low we discount many times.

I'd love some feedback from anyone out there that's purchased or tried to purchase a MINI from Herb Chambers - there's always room to improve!

 

So it's interesting that I come across this post. I've been an active member on e46fanatics, Bimmerforums and 318ti.org, but now that I'm starting to look at a Mini, another forum has been notched into my belt.

From what I've gathered, I should shy away from HC? How do I know if I'm getting a good deal or getting the shaft? I'm in no rush to jump into something with a perfectly working car right now, so I've got the ball in my court.

 

HC is fine. I purchased my car from Prestige in Ramsey NJ and have had it serviced both there and at HC. Both charge pretty much identical prices for various service items. The price problem is a corporate issue, the car might only cost in the low to mid 20's, but service is BMW level $$$. Example, brakes pads and rotors at a Mini dealership are likely to run you $1,200, at a local shop the same service is $500-550. Keep that in mind when they try to sell you the extend warranty, the difference between the $1,700 warranty price an the $4,000 in expected costs if you don't buy the warranty is pretty much all dealer service mark-up.

 

What's the typical range from MSRP to Invoice pricing for HC? Obviously I can look at Edmunds and other sites, but I'd like to see if anyone has some hard numbers that I can compare my deal with.

 

Not much - about 3% max, depending on the model.

We sell about 100 MINI's a month - and demand is almost always higher than the supply. A good deal of them are sold for sticker.

I'm an enthusiast - I belong to a few BMW forums (I was even a moderator for a while), and love the MINI community. I was in service for years and non-automotive customer service before that. I take a different approach to sales than your traditional sales guy - I want people to love their MINI and be happy from start to finish. Maybe I won't sell as many MINI's this way, but it's all I know.

Feel free to stop by and meet the new Roadster, or just talk shop. We've got 10 bays of service and always something to see. Heck, you can take my MINI for a spin if you want (see the sig - it's pretty fun )

 

That must be my issue with HC, you can buy a MINI less that sticker elsewhere.

You seem to be a good person and an enthusiast so I would give you a shot if I was in the market for another MINI.

My experience, as I stated a year ago, has been just horrible each every time we have tried to buy a car at a HC (Saab, Honda, Toyota, MINI and BMW) and quite condescending to boot.

Service is really good. Exceptionally good. No problems at all with service. My general assessment over the past decade of buying cars in Boston is that if you want a fair deal HC is not the place to buy. If you want service, go to HC. This goes for MINI/BMW and MB. They will take care of you and your car.