I would like to thank the crew at Checkered Flag Mini for the great help yesterday. I was on a business trip in my 07 MCS when a red light came on. I called the nearest Mini dealer (Checkered Flag, VA beach) and asked if I what I should do. They then asked what color the signal was which I then said that it was a red one. At which point the service manager insisted I get into his shop ASAP.

I go there, drive in and am told its a tire warning light. I had a massive screw in my tire. They knew I was on business and was trying to get back out of town so they rushed my car in, fixed the tire, gave me a great cup of coffee and then had the car ready within 30 mins. The service manager came out and said he waived the service fee of ~$45 because he knew I was trying to hurry back home.

Thank you for the great service.

I sold my AUDI S4 for this car with a some hesitation. This feeling has been extinguished from of my mind and replaced with the feeling of why I had not bought into this car earlier.

Thank you.

 

wow, thats great

 

Amazing... that's the way the world USED to be all over, now it's a rarity... Hope everyone gets that lucky when they need a little help.

Mark

 

I can also attest to the service at Checkered Flag, Frank is one of the best service managers around...

 

CF is the best. They care about keeping customers for life.

 

I agree! I've bought two MINI's from Checkered Flag. Good people over there. You know it's a great product and dealership when your MA drives an 09 JCW MCS. I've never had an issue over there and would HIGHLY recommend them. Glad they got ya taken care of.

 

Frank, the SA, drives an 09 JCW too.

 

Gotta' love those..."Show Me the Love" Posts!!

Makes a Heart Beat Fonder!!

 

Last Friday, 11/7/08 I was headed out of town and realized that my wiper blades were separating. I stopped at Advance Auto Parts but they didn't have the right ones in stock so, I called Frank at Checkered Flag but I got his voicemail. I drove over there anyway and he was just dialing my number as I walked in. He had a tech put all new blades on and, since I was going on a trip, he also had them check the fluids and tire pressure! How's that for service?

 

 

Glad you hit CF on a good day....

But trust me, they ain't saints. I can tell you stories.....maybe it was a phase they were going thru but there was a time they (including Frank) were recommending all kinds of un-needed work.

Like the time they told me I needed pads and rotors 'right now' (an 02, pre-sensors)....funny thing was I'd replaced them myself already and they were virtually brand new. Coincidence it was my first 'out of pre-pay maint' call and they had never replaced them. Hmmmm, might they have seen that in the records and thought, "fish on the line." It would be funny were it not for several of my fellow early 02 owners who had the very same experience. Sadly, some of them either bought the line and paid CF, or ordered parts to DIY only to pull their pads and find plenty of good pad left.

They ain't saints.....or maybe management has changed their approach from what they told me face to face: we don't make money selling cars, we make it by getting you in the service department.

Don't get me wrong, they treated me plenty nice several times too.....but they are not above trying to pull the wool over your eyes either.

Give 'em less that 4.0 4.0 on a review and see what happens next visit....

Buyer beware

If you need the name of a really good shop in the area give me a PM. When I needed control arm bushings he verified the need and replaced with better (poly vs rubber) for about 1/2 of dealer cost....and he's among the most popular mech's for the amateur BMW race crowd in the area so I'm pretty confident recommending him.....

 

+1 for CF.

I'm glad to hear that their service was stellar. I have not yet used them for any service as Penfold is only a month old, but I was treated very well by their front staff. My MA drives a JCW (his second MINI), and was very upfront with me during my dealings with ordering and delivery. He even threw in floor mats for me (which seems to be rare around here). Also, when I took delivery, there were no high-pressure tactics for any add-ons and extended service and warranty options. And besides, Nikki has such a pretty smile.

When I met Frank (SA), he even tried to deter me from getting a post break-in oil change (before the 15k mark), but said he would be happy to do one for me if that's what I wanted.

I look forward to having a long-term relationship with them. BTW, my wife bought an '87 Prelude from CF Honda (back in '87), and had a great relationship with them as well. One of the reasons I went with CF instead of Crown in Richmond (nothing against Crown - heard they are very good too).

 

Mine wasn't so great I wanted to buy my mini and told them I was leaving for vacation for a few days and wanted them to fax me the paper work before I left town at 11am. I left numerous vm's all week long and they finally called me back while I was on the road.

I had called Hendrick Mini and Dana had my paperwork ready and I bought the car on the way through Charlotte. So CF lost my $37K sale while Hendrick went out of the way to have everything ready for me to sign by the time I got there.

They may have great service but they didn't seem to eager to sell one, lol

 

Don't know what to tell you there. I ordered our Clubman and took care of everything over email and faxes with Nathan. Shoot, I never even test drove a Clubbie at CF. (I helped work Boston and Chicago's MTTS MINIcross events and drove several there) Not sure why they couldn't get you done by electronic means. My Clubman is living proof they can!

 

No they could have was the point but they failed to call me back before I left for vacation. I never test drove one either but I wanted to get my order in before they ran out of slots for the 08's and didn't want to wait until I got back from vacation.

I needed to sign the paperwork via fax and I gave them a week to get back to me before I was going to leave. They called after I was on vacation and I wasn't about to go to a fedex to get a fax when they had a week to get back to me. So I called Hendrick and they were more than happy for me to sign the papers there.

 

Dale -

I drive through Poquoson every morning on my way to work. I will be on the lookout for your MY MCS, and I will be sure to wave.

Chuck

 

Laser Blue/Black roof Clubman with (more than likely) the wife driving. This coming week, the boy child will be home from College with his Mellow Yellow/Black MCS.

 

your lucky my dealership Momentum was eager enought to sell me a new mini and take my old one in for trade which I got $17,000 for but when it comes to service I have a red warning light on for the brakes and DSC, called them up and they said well bring it by but that's a problem for me because I live 200 miles away so they said well thiers nothing we can really do just bring it in when it tells you too..... the lights have been on for 3 weeks. funny thing I ordered my first mini from checkered flag thier was a waiting list down here

 

Yes I will probably take mine for service to CF since they are closer to where I live unless they give me bad service for the first time. I can let the whole purchase thing slide since I got what I wanted they just lost the sale, hahaha.

 

Spunky,

I don't understand from your posting what the problem is with Momentum. You had a problem which they needed to diagnose, they said bring it in, you live 200 miles away and couldn't bring it in. They erred by doing what...?

 

Technically if it was a RED warning light and it had to do with the brakes they should have it towed in not tell you to drive it 200 miles there, lol.

 

That's what I was thinking when I was on the phone that they were going to schedule a tow truck to come get it but I got a crude response instead! None of the service advisors or anyone that works there even owns a mini....

 

Sorry, Spunky, I missed the significance of the red brake warning light. I don't remember what distance they're obligated to tow. Regardless, it would've been the right thing to do, even if technically there was no obligation.