So far I've been treated pretty badly by the service department at international autos. The last straw for me is them telling me that my windshield crack is from a chip under my wiper blade. I'm not exactly sure how a rock hits glass under a wiper blade.

*sigh*

I had great service in socal, so I guess I just want to hear what sort of luck others had with this dealer? I live in the appleton area, and if this continues I'm going to have to sell my 07 cooper. With no other dealers around, I feel it's just not worth the hassle.

 

I ordered my mini from them in January. Their customer service SUCKED. They acted like they could care less if I bought a car from them. I appreciate not getting the "hard sell" from the dealer but this was ridiculous. The day I went in to order my mini I had to call a dealership in Chicago to get a deal and then and only then did International Autos budge on the price. They couldn't explain the options properly and the whole experience felt totally unprofessional. Since I ordered the car I have gotten NO calls from them. Not a update on the status or estimated time of delivery. NADA. Thanks to this site I figured most of it out by myself. (my mini's on the boat) Ever since I ordered I've dreaded the day I have to get my mini serviced there. If they can't even treat you right when your gonna spent 30k on the car why would they care when you drop $30 on the oil change.

 

Right now I'm really feeling that selling is the only option. This dealer being the only dealer for hours in all directions really leaves me no other choice. It doesn't matter how much I may love the car, but the idea that I'm going to be hassled like this every time I need work done, no thanks.

 

I've actually had a different experience. Tim in the service dept. has always treated me well, even for relatively simple issues.

I also didn't have any issues when I first ordered my car, of course I knew what I wanted when I walked in the place. They tried to stiff me on my trade-in, but I think most dealerships would try to do that. Yes, you will find that Chicago dealers may have a better deal, but given they have 3 dealerships, there is bound to be competition amongst them.

I do have some issues with IA, but not for the reasons you folks have listed.

BTW, oil changes are considerably more expensive than $30, but happily regular changes are covered in your warranty package.

 

I had a bit of a contentious, multi-day, negotiation with them when picking up my new 09 recently. They tried to stiff me on my trade in (an 06 Cooper S) as well, but I think it's just a sign of the times. For the most part they were polite and respectful while we were negotiating endlessly. Everyone is suffering in this economic climate and these guys want to keep their jobs just like everyone else.

In the end I walked out happy - once it was clear that I wasn't going to walk from the deal they worked hard to keep me as a customer. As long as everyone stays cool and things stay business instead of personal things usually work out well (this goes for all negotiations in life: cars, homes, bills).

The service department at International has been nothing but Grade A Plus service in my experience. Tim's a great guy - definitely has treated me well everytime I had an issue with my car. I would say that, when it came time for me to look for a new car, the experience I had at IA in regards to service is part of what brought me back to them.

Of course, your mileage may vary, it's just my personal experience.

I used to work for the Geek Squad at a Best Buy. And I can tell you it's no fun to be on the other side of the counter in a repair/customer service line of work. Your job is, unfortunately, to disappoint people occasionally. I had iPod's and laptops thrown at me by customers that had damaged products that we couldn't cover. In each of those cases, it wasn't that I didn't want to repair the product, I did, but I also had a boss with a bottom line.

I guess my point is, you might just be having bad luck with things going wrong with your car. I don't know the specifics, but sometimes there are things that International Autos just can't replace/cover for you under warranty. It would be much easier (and less stressful) for everyone if they could. When they can't it sucks for everyone - I used to go home feeling pretty sucky about a customer that I couldn't help. A lot.

I'm not saying you aren't staying cool, but, STAY COOL and keep staying cool. You should be as cold as ice. A little goes a long way here - as soon as you lose it the answer will always shift from a "maybe" or an "I'm trying" to "No". At least it always did with me.

Go in well armed (with information!) and state your case. Is your repair actually covered? Be honest with yourself (sometimes this is hard for me) Speaking of honesty, be honest about your intentions when interacting with them - you want to keep your Mini and continue to be a customer of theirs. If there's anything they can do for you, with most places, they will.

You're probably already doing all of these things, but I just thought I'd type it out in case it would be of any help.

 

I've been taking my '03 to IA since I got my car. They've been great! Tim is definitely the service guy you want to talk to.

 

Well after 8 hours of driving, two there, two back, once to drop it off, and one to get it back, they didn't even come close to fixing my issue. Calling road side service to tow it in. If they won't I guess I'll be playing the game of seeing how high of a person I can talk to at the dealer. This is unbeleivable.

 

I was also promised a call at 1, when I called at 2 I was told they where too busy to bother calling me back. What on earth would ever poses you to say that to a customer? This dealer is a joke.

 

I've had nothing but great experiences at International. Tim is a good guy, and Garland was a great sales rep as well.

We've bought three MINIs from them, and the only thing I can complain about is the car wash service. I actually ask them NOT to wash my car now, and they respect that.

Their service department is having a bit of a tough time dealing with this throttle body issue that is going around and that could be contributing to some customer service that isn't as good as it normally is.

Overall, though, I enjoy doing business with them.

 

I can't say I've had any negative experiences with them so far*. Tim has always been very polite and courteous.

ETA: except the car washes, in which inevitably my car comes back not-so-dry and streaky.

 

I've not had any good experiences other than with Patrick's BMW and Mini. Both service and sales were nonchalant and weren't very friendly. Heck, they(IA) even scheduled me on the wrong day after I called them twice to confirm before taking the day off.

 

Well I just got my car back the second time, after driving all the way home I noticed that the hood was latched, but not closed all the way. Am I a magnet for crappy service from this dealer? I must be is all I can figure. I called in to talk to the service manager, after telling him about my issues he said he would look at my file and call me right back. It's been over 15 minutes since he told me that.

In my opinion you would be crazy to have any work done by this dealer. If I have them work on the brakes am I going to need to check and make sure my lugnets are tightened properly?!

 

Well i got that promised "call me right back" at 3:15, almost two hours after origionally promised. They apologized for my hood not being closed, and that was the end of them being apologetic.

They didn't apologize for the rude service person (my first encounter with the dealer) who wouldn't look up to see if my windshield was in stock without the vin, even though the parts person did.

Dennis stated this was because they can't look up the part without the vin, I was polite enough to let him know it must be possible because the parts guy did. Dennis then changed his story to say that it could be done but was quick to get off the phone after this.

At one point he asked me what he could do for me, and I asked him to explain how a rock lifts up a wiper and slams into a windshield, and he said he didn't know, maybe the wiper was in motion. He said he normaly inspects all windshields for rock damage and warranty issues. I asked him if he inspected mine, and he said he didn't know.

At this point I just said, your service department treated me rudely, you won't cover my windshield, and you left my hood un-latched. I don't think there's a whole lot that can be done other then go to the web boards and continue to trash talk your dealership.

Dennis was kind enough to tell me at this point that I'm no longer welcome at the dealership. lol.

Yeah, this sums up my thoughts on the mini dealer in milwaukee. Guess it's time to sell the mini.

 

I've had nothing but top notch service from IA's service department, and I'm on my second MINI with IA now. And I know about 150 MINI owners locally through the Club, and although we've had our gripes with the sales team due to lack-of-competition, we have never seen a complaint. In particular though, Tim is top notch in the service department and he replaced my windshield in a second once I called and explained the problem.

I think that it is in the attitude on presents in enjoying the ride, and the whole motoring experience. I've taken the time to get to know the service department, and have been treated well as a direct result. Perhaps an ounce of kindness would go far in this situation, and if an ounce is not available to spare, then maybe indeed a MINI may just not be for you.

 

I agree, if the dealer had been at all kind to me then surely I wouldn't need to take my buisness elsewhere.

 

I hate to say it, but if you actually said this then I'm not sure you could have expected any other result.

I'm sorry to hear things didn't work out for you. Still, I hope you don't sell you MINI.

 

Ionray,

No I didn't expect things to work out any differently. I'm shocked that being a service manager his answer was to ban me from the dealership. Let's face it, I could probably bring my mini back there without issue if I wanted to in the slightest bit, I don't.

The point is, who takes it to that level? The service manager was just mad that I pinned him on a lie to me. After that he was just trying to get me off the phone, i think he thought it was the quickest route to do so.

They deal with people about as well as they dealt with my car, read: they didn't.

-Joel

 

Again, I've never had a problem. In fact, you are the only one (of many, many people) that I know who have had problems, and to be frank, I suspect it has to do more with your attitude than anything else.

good luck with the next car, whatever it is.

 

There was no attitude on my part, but please feel free to suspect away.

 

I should state for the thread, I'm interested in hearing about peoples experiences at this dealership. As noted I've had a poor experience, so have others. Some say things are mediocre, some say great.

I'm not really interested in the typical forum trolling. If you could keep it on topic, and post your experiences with the dealer that would be helpful. You're all wecome to troll on me as much as you would like, but maybe you could do it in a private message to me? <3

 

My experiences at International have been mixed... As has been mentioned in the other posts, Tim (SA) is a good guy. That said, they hassle me more than I would like about some really basic mods (pulley, CAI) when I go in. Not mod friendly at all. There are some other smaller issues I have with them.

It is worth pointing out that my problems with International were the same when I had my Infiniti G35 from them. I get much better service and attention from the local Acura (Brookfield) dealer than I ever had at International.

If our area were big enough for another MINI dealership, I would definitely check it out. I've even thought about going to Knauz in IL.

-Ed

 

I also must say that for the bad luck I have had with my vehicle International Autos has been very friendly, especially Tim he is wonderful....I have had to take my vehicle in a few times over the past year, and they have been very helpful....the only thing that sucked for me was that everytime I had to take it in they would have to provide me with a rental car, instead of a loaner because I was not 25 years old, which irratated me a little, but I never had to pay for it, and the last time I went there they didn't even beat around the bush and make me wait to get the rental, they just took me right over to enterprise and I got it. My driver side seat belt had broken, and they thought it was gonna take a few days because they were swamped....i ended up driving the rental back to work, and by the time I got back Tim was calling me telling me they were finished...it was pretty awesome.

Unforunately my Mini is now out of warranty, so I probably will not be going back to them for service issues, because it will cost me an arm and a leg....on that note anyone ever change the oil in their mini?? Mine is due and I am gonna do it myself, but I have heard rumors that it is a beast the first time you do it....just wondering....

 

Lilminigrl21: Changing your Mini's oil is not hard at all. If you need help the first time around, give me a PM since I'm in your area.

 

jjshoe, no comment on the service you have received but as far as the rock chip goes, when we were traveling to the dealer to pick up my Mini, my wifes Mini was hit. There was a loud crack. I looked at the window twice and did not see anything. A few days later a crack started moving across the windshield. Come to find out there was a chip under the drivers wiper. This does not excuse the way you were treated by the dealer but strange things happen.

 

Thank you IzzyG, I will definitly let you know if I have any problems with the oil change, I still have about 3000 miles left (though I have been driving my car like it's going out of style lately) so I am hoping to make it through the winter atleast before I have to do it.