I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Downtown MINI or Ferman MINI of Tampa? I live closer to Downtown but for some reason I feel there my be a cheaper deal at Tampa. Downtown is kindof a busy dealer and sells at MSRP. Tampa, on the other hand, seems like they are not packed (sent my order config to them and they called within hours...Downtown still hasnt called) Also tampa already has a car on their lot that comes close to what I want. I think it may be worth driving 80 miles rather than 40 to see if i can make a deal

 

I bought mine from Downtown in June. I don't know anything about the Tampa dealership. I've had nothing but pleasant dealings with them and responsiveness to any concerns that I had. They are involved in the Sunshine Mini group here in central florida and organize events occaisionally.

 

I don't have any experience with either dealerhship since I am in North Florida. I do know that alot of the members of Sunshine MINIs do though. Perhaps you can visit us at http://www.sunshineminis.org/forums/index.php and find out more answers to your questions there. Lots of helpful people who can perhaps help you decide. I also know that some of the sales people from Downtown MINI participate. You could probably network with them there. Good Luck!

 

I talked to both of those dealers while shopping around for my custom MCS. Both of them were totally unwilling to take anything off MSRP for custom orders. I do not know if they would be willing to negotiate on the cars they have on their lot. You will have better luck with the South Florida dealers if you decide to custom order. Good luck!

 

Be carefull buying one off the lot, you may get one that has been hot- rodded by unknown people. Buying your own on the internet is most rewarding.

 

I have to agree! Besides, I don't know of any MINI dealers that are offering less than MSRP.

 

It happens.

 

If you can travel to West Palm Beach, I had good experience at Braman MINI

 

I live in Orlando and just picked up my new S from Ferman MINI last week. I dealt with Aaron Bartlett and he is a real straightforward, great person to work with. I would recommend calling Aaron and talking with him - he will take care of you. They also have a large selection of cars on the lot.

I purchased my first MINI in April 02 from Bush in Jax and they were OK. The whole MINI business was too new to them back then (they only had 4 cars on the lot - including mine) and I have no idea what they are like now.

Whenever I go into Downtown MINI, I always get the feeling that they really don't need my business.

 

Please give me a call at the dealership. I will be more than happy to help you find a MINI! Or send me an email and I will get any info to you that you need! Thanks, and sorry for missing your email to the dealership!


Larry Taylor
Downtown MINI
407-835-2727


And by the way, we are not snobby......we need business just like anyone else!

 

I wonder if now they'll go below MSRP to get it.

 

Yes, Braman Mini of West Palm Beach treated me good too.

 

Downtown MINI in Orlando has fantastic service. I highly recommend them. Also, they are part of Fields Automative group, so there are a lot of perks that come along with buying a car from them, such as free car washes every Saturday.

 

I got the same impression from Downtown MINI. I live in Jacksonville, and after talking to Tom Bush and being told that they wouldn't budge off of MSRP, I started calling around. When I asked Downtown MINI about discounts on an '08 special order, I was told that they don't have any '08s yet so they can't discount them. (This was after the '08 configurator had been up for about 2 weeks). I received a quote for MSRP minus $1000 just days later from MINI of the Hamptons.

Needless to say, I won't be giving Downtown MINI any of my business. It's a shame, because they are much closer than MINI of the Hamptons, but for $1000 off of MSRP, plus no dealer fees, I'll most likely be ordering from MotH.

I talked to a guy named Aaron tonight from Ferman after several unsuccessful attempts to get an out the door price via email. Not sure if the guy I talked to was Aaron Bartlett, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. He told me that he was going to get back to me tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have a positive experience with him as well. Hopefully they will be able to at least match MotH's price.

 

I love downtown MINI, they have always been wonderful to me and my dad. That might be because we are moving on to purchasing a third MINI from them . No but seriously they are fantastic.

 

Well, once again, Ferman never got back to me. I was supposed to get a call "first thing" this morning and never did. So, after reading all the negative reviews on NAM about them, in combination with the fact that I've been unsuccessful in getting a price out of them for about 3 weeks now, I've decided that I'm done dealing with them. I guess you can add this to the list of negative experiences...

On a positive note, I did get a response from Lauderdale MINI today with a pretty good quote. I'm still shopping around, but Lauderdale has been added to the list of dealerships I'm considering. Anyone care to share their experience with them?

 

I bought an X3 from Laud BMW a couple months back,they are across the street from the MINI store, I found them to be GREAT in both stores at the time, I abhor BRAMAN... i'd go to LM in a second...

 

Spend a few extra commute hours and head to Vista Mini on the east coast. I bought my 07 MC there and they deal off of MSRP. They actually try to earn your business. Nice selection was available too.

 

My experience with Lauderdale MINI was wonderful. Ask for Jessica.

 

The times I've gone to Downtown Mini they have been great. I had a rear suspension question and they went out and lifted a car just to show me in person where the problem was.

 

When I asked that question, the answer was no. A quick trip to Lauderdale MINI saved me ALOT of money and got me some free stuff to boot!

I do like the staff at Downtown MINI, especially Larry, and if their prices were comparable I would have bought from them in a second, but you can't argue with having more money in your pocket! If saving a few dollars is not so much of an issue for you than I highly recommend Downtown MINI.

BTW, DTM does have the best service department that I have dealt with.

 

I got my 06 MSC and my wifes 07 MCS at Ferman Palm Harbor on US 19, they are pretty good service wise.

 

An update on my experience with Ferman:
I sent an email to Pete (the General Manager at Ferman) informing him of the situation. He replied in just a few hours with an apology for the service I received and offered a discount for my troubles. He said that they are starting a business development center and these types of things are going to be addressed. At this point, I've decided not to purchase from them; however, hopefully, this will lead to more positive experiences for their future customers.

 

Nothing personal, but I found Ferman's sales staff a little arrogant. Their service dept though is TOP NOTCH. Victor is a true customer service oriented professional.