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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I was reading the posting: “[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Bob Smith Might As Well Have Told Me to F Off[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]” and I did not want to hijack that post to add my $.02 on the whole Mini Phenomena thing. [/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]There is no doubt that the Mini is a great little car, but let’s face it, there are several factors working against you getting the best deal and always having the dealer kiss your butt. Supply and Demand.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Demand for new and pre-owned Mini’s exceeds supply. For the most part, dealers are few and far between, and only sometimes are there private “specialty” shops that service them. They are also not a “commodity” car, and they are all configured differently. Once I decided I wanted a Mini and also limited it to 2005 & 2006 based on Consumer Reports maintenance rankings, it took me nearly a year of searching online (AutoTrader & Craigslist) to find the right color, trim and option configuration that I wanted, at a price I was willing to pay. I ended up paying $19,750 private sale (Craigslist) for a Pepper White 2005 MCS – Winter/Premium/Sport w/ 36k. The car came with 4 snows on alloys. The sticker on the car new was 25k. At the time that was the best deal I could strike. I was shocked that these cars were selling for so much, or on the flip side, depreciating so little after 3 years. I ended up spending a few thousand more than I was budgeting for. I guess that’s why they got voted the best resale value a few months ago.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I had previously gone to Mini of Peabody in Mass which is over an hours drive from my house. I walked around the lot for 30 minutes looking at cars and nobody ever came out to see or greet me. At the point that I did talk to someone, I was left with the feeling that I needed to take a DNA test to see if I was worthy enough to own a Mini. Quite different than all other previous car purchase experiences. My next journey was to Concord Motor Sport which is a “Specialty” shop that sells and repairs BMW/Mini. Their Mini inventory turned over quickly and they listed and sold at retail+++. Most all of their Mini’s came from auctions down south. My conclusion was that the good ones: right color, options etc, moved quickly at high prices, and the ratty ones, or the ones that did not have a sunroof etc… hung around forever.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]After I bought my Mini, I now figured that I was part of the “family” and might be treated differently at these shops. I thought maybe I would be given a secret password or be told of the secret handshake and get treated differently. So when I needed to get the vehicle inspected, I just drove to Concord Motor Sport one morning at 9am and walked in the door. When asked “How can I help you?” My response was, “I am here to get an inspection.” His response was “What time is your appointment for?” It turns out you have to make an appointment 2 weeks in advance. I was shocked, welcome to the new world of owning this great little car. Because I had waited until the day before my temp plates expired, I had to get an inspection that day, so I went to the trusty “Speedy Lube” to get my inspection and paced nervously outside the service bay hoping my new Mini did not fall off the rack while all of the young oil jockeys poked, prodded, scratched and sniffed a car they had never seen before. I survived and the Mini survived.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Back to my previous statement: I now figured that I was part of the “family” and might be treated differently at these shops. Well you are treated differently. You are expected to not even flinch when you bring your Mini in for $180 oil change at the dealership. (Concord Motor Sport charges just $85!) And when the service advisor tells you that for another $200 they can change the air & cabin filters, you look up from your newspaper and say “I hope that’s the super premium high performance platinum version!”[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]All joking aside, nothing should surprise you when you decide to buy into this car and go the dealership specialty shop route. I will return to the “shade tree mechanic” habits of my younger years. I guess that is part of the fun of having my midlife crisis Mini. I also can’t afford to pay top dollar to maintain and repair it, I blew my nut paying a premium for it! I also don’t “drive it like I stole it” because I am afraid to break it, which means I have to fix it. I do however drive “spirited”, which is why I bought it in the 1st place.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT='Times New Roman']I get the feeling that I am not the only one who has been shocked by this “Phenomena” thingy. Dealers have always been pretty arrogant and expensive, but I was surprised to see it taken to a completely new level.[/FONT]
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[FONT='Times New Roman']Oh well...[/FONT]

 

I was reading the posting: “Bob Smith Might As Well Have Told Me to F Off” and I did not want to hijack that post to add my $.02 on the whole Mini Phenomena thing.
There is no doubt that the Mini is a great little car, but let’s face it, there are several factors working against you getting the best deal and always having the dealer kiss your butt. Supply and Demand.
Demand for new and pre-owned Mini’s exceeds supply. For the most part, dealers are few and far between, and only sometimes are there private “specialty” shops that service them. They are also not a “commodity” car, and they are all configured differently. Once I decided I wanted a Mini and also limited it to 2005 & 2006 based on Consumer Reports maintenance rankings, it took me nearly a year of searching online (AutoTrader & Craigslist) to find the right color, trim and option configuration that I wanted, at a price I was willing to pay. I ended up paying $19,750 private sale (Craigslist) for a Pepper White 2005 MCS – Winter/Premium/Sport w/ 36k. The car came with 4 snows on alloys. The sticker on the car new was 25k. At the time that was the best deal I could strike. I was shocked that these cars were selling for so much, or on the flip side, depreciating so little after 3 years. I ended up spending a few thousand more than I was budgeting for. I guess that’s why they got voted the best resale value a few months ago.
I had previously gone to Mini of Peabody in Mass which is over an hours drive from my house. I walked around the lot for 30 minutes looking at cars and nobody ever came out to see or greet me. At the point that I did talk to someone, I was left with the feeling that I needed to take a DNA test to see if I was worthy enough to own a Mini. Quite different than all other previous car purchase experiences. My next journey was to Concord Motor Sport which is a “Specialty” shop that sells and repairs BMW/Mini. Their Mini inventory turned over quickly and they listed and sold at retail+++. Most all of their Mini’s came from auctions down south. My conclusion was that the good ones: right color, options etc, moved quickly at high prices, and the ratty ones, or the ones that did not have a sunroof etc… hung around forever.
After I bought my Mini, I now figured that I was part of the “family” and might be treated differently at these shops. I thought maybe I would be given a secret password or be told of the secret handshake and get treated differently. So when I needed to get the vehicle inspected, I just drove to Concord Motor Sport one morning at 9am and walked in the door. When asked “How can I help you?” My response was, “I am here to get an inspection.” His response was “What time is your appointment for?” It turns out you have to make an appointment 2 weeks in advance. I was shocked, welcome to the new world of owning this great little car. Because I had waited until the day before my temp plates expired, I had to get an inspection that day, so I went to the trusty “Speedy Lube” to get my inspection and paced nervously outside the service bay hoping my new Mini did not fall off the rack while all of the young oil jockeys poked, prodded, scratched and sniffed a car they had never seen before. I survived and the Mini survived.
Back to my previous statement: I now figured that I was part of the “family” and might be treated differently at these shops. Well you are treated differently. You are expected to not even flinch when you bring your Mini in for $180 oil change at the dealership. (Concord Motor Sport charges just $85!) And when the service advisor tells you that for another $200 they can change the air & cabin filters, you look up from your newspaper and say “I hope that’s the super premium high performance platinum version!”
All joking aside, nothing should surprise you when you decide to buy into this car and go the dealership specialty shop route. I will return to the “shade tree mechanic” habits of my younger years. I guess that is part of the fun of having my midlife crisis Mini. I also can’t afford to pay top dollar to maintain and repair it, I blew my nut paying a premium for it! I also don’t “drive it like I stole it” because I am afraid to break it, which means I have to fix it. I do however drive “spirited”, which is why I bought it in the 1st place.
I get the feeling that I am not the only one who has been shocked by this “Phenomena” thingy. Dealers have always been pretty arrogant and expensive, but I was surprised to see it taken to a completely new level.

Oh well...

 

so did you pay for the $85 oil change, or did you do it yourself?

I'm confused

 

I did it myself.

See "Good oil change gone bad" thread for a laugh or a cry...

I really do not want to schedule an oil change two weeks in advance and then spend 1/2 day out of work driving 30 miles each way. I took my lumps on the 1st one and hopefully the next ones will go quick and uneventful.

Cost of materials:

$10 filter
$26 5 quart jug of Mobile 1 Synthetic 5/30 at Walmart.

I did buy the special wrench at the same time I bought the filter.

I also need to drop the old oil off at the recycling center when I am there dropping off everything else...

 

In 2004 I bought my first MC in Baton Rouge. The MA was great, the SA irritated the crap out of me. Mind you I was driving 4 hours to get the car serviced there. After about 2 years I decided to drive to Dallas instead. It's one hour less driving, and the SA is fabulous. He never treats me like he thinks I'm an idiot, even when I ask the questions that would lead you to think so. Now, I have ordered a new MCS, and the MA I got could not have cared less whether I ordered a car or not. It was the strangest thing. I guess I am used to car salesmen - yes, that is what they are - catering to me a bit to get a sale. Since then he has been great about making changes and answering questions, but the whole ordering process was odd.

 

Can't argue with your statement about costs. The only thing that sucks more is getting treated like cr@p and then having the privilege of paying for it. Fortunately, the local MINI place in RI employs very friendly people. For the amount I expect to drive annually I will pay the price at the dealer for the oil change. If it was multiple visits I'd have to think about it.
As far as the inspection, I find more often than not that an appointment is required. It depends on the mechanic because the place that does my 'Vette will take me in on a couple of hours notice. I had the local Chevy dealer do the state inspection on my MINI because I had my DW's Monte in for service and I figured they at least owed me the convenience. Not like it was free anyway.
I don't know if is the MINI Phenomenon or "regular" people that don't appreciate the MINI "thing".

RESPECT THE MINI!

 

I drove from New Hampshire to Smithfield RI to buy my Mini "private sale". It had previously been serviced at InSkip Mini in RI. I read the service reports the the previous owner privided me and that dealer seemed to be on top of things. I was surprised that a water pump had to be replaced at 30k.

 

I was so used to car salesman running out into the parking lot to grab me at non-Mini dealerships, I was shocked when I wandered around on the lot for 30 minutes before having to go find a salesman. I guess due to the popularity of the vehicle and the geographic distance between dealers,they are really "order takers". Take it or leave it.

 

in feb'08, i bought my '08 mcs from niello mini in sacramento,ca. i worked with two salespersons(ma's) and both were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. literally, one of my best auto buying experiences. recently, i had my oil changed because i just felt better about not waiting until 1yr. or 15,000mi. the sa was incredibly helpful and the oil change was(as quoted) $110. i am extremely happy with niello mini and my next mini purchase will be from their deale

 

Wow 2 cents? that was like $200

 

Jim,
Did you go to any non-MINI dealers to look at MINIs? Either they really were paying top dollar at the auctions or they decided to ride the small car buying wave all the way to the bank! I looked at quite a few high mileage cars aroud RI and MA that were priced well over 16K. Absolutely no bargaining. The cars would be gone within about a week so someone was buying. Granted they looked nice but for the money you still had a high mileage car.
I looked at a couple up in the Meredith area of NH, one private on Rt 104 and one at Tilton Auto. Both reasonably priced but not AT so I was guessing the MINI thing wasn't in full force up there. I found Concord Motorsports by accident when I went to the Camping World next door. I found that they were quite proud of the stock which would be fine if one were local and could take advantage of future service opportunities. The MINI thing is in full force there!! One thing for sure, looking at their MINIs reinforced my desire to purchase one and to buck the trend and find one with "reasonable" milelage at a "reasonable" price. I wasn't going to get totally sucked in. (That's a lie...)

 

LOL!!! Welcome 2 the club, Steve!

I'm thinking of changing my own oil, as well; I don't have $$$ like that, and I'm almost at the end of my warranty, and am kinda panickin' about where 2 take her; there's NO WAY I'm gonna take out a loan just 2 pay 4 the next $1K+ service when the SES light comes on!

 

I bought my 06 MCS at Vista BMW in South Florida. I gave a little more than what I had set for a Budget, but I was treated great... My gf and I were treated like thier #1 customer the entire time we were there, and the deal was already done (Ebay), so they didn't have to impress or convince me I needed to buy my MINI from them. Free Food, Free pick-up from the airport, free drinks, and a super friendly staff (the ones we met) that didn't mind us asking questions and hanging around, sitting in HIGH dollar rides, when they knew we weren't buying anything else..... I had gone to a couple more local MINI dealerships and wasn't treated nearly as well, that's why I was willing to travel so far for my MCS




Don't expect me to be paying them a premium for oil changes or crazy service charges though.

 

In my typical OCD way, I dove into buying a Mini with a large amount of energy. I quickly broke where I might look for used Mini's into 4 categories, and then shopped online before going to see any of them:

Dealers: I found them to be very high priced, most MINI Next certified which added to their price and did not offer what I felt to be good value for the additional money. Their used inventory seemed to be "cherry picked" from all of the lease terminations and trades. They wholesaled the junk.

Specialty dealer: Like Concord Motor Sport that had an inventory of a dozen cars. They purchased at the Manheim Auction down south and trucked them up. They seemed to pick up cars that were in pretty good shape but mostly high miles. I figured it was the best of what the Mini Dealers did not want. Their prices were high probably because of the transportation costs and the fact that they were in demand in this neck of the woods.

Small used car lots: I never saw anything on these lots that was worth traveling to see. They were always a combination of: high mileage 60k+, beat up, stripped base models, no sun roof etc...

Private Sale: I saw some nice cars, the really nice ones that I was attracted to were over priced or the deal was complicated (they did not hold the title).

Ebay: I NEVER had the courage to go that route. Maybe I am a coward.

During the year it took me to find the right car, the price for 2005's was coming down slowly which helped a bit. But I kept finding myself getting frustrated and anxious and would start to convince myself that I was in love with a car when I really wasn't. Wrong color: Red -That screamed middle age guy having a midlife crisis louder than my Pepper White! Or missing a major option package etc... I also tried to "pre negotiate" price a bit before I drove 2+ hours to go check out a car. I did not want to waste the sellers time. I also would request some hi res pictures so I could check out the little details as well.

I guess in the end, patience and perseverance paid off. The guy I bought my Mini from was as OCD as I am. He had to get rid of it because he & his wife just had a new baby and his wife was going to stay home and raise the children so something had to go. He tried to sell me the kids... just joking. I think it made it easier for him to part with his pride and joy because he could sense I would take good care of it.

Patience is not my strong suit and I am an impulse buyer. I once took a Sunday drive, stopped by a Nissan dealership and drove off the showroom floor in a brand new 240 convertable. My wife almost killed me. I had to sleep in the car for a few days.

Anyway, I digressed!

It does sound like there have been a few people that hooked up with some great buying experiences at some Mini dealers, which is great.

 

The oil change on the M3 this summer was $550... You can do it your self but your still going to have to find a shop, which are scarce to sell you the oil and its like $15 a quart.

 

OMG!!! Actually, thanks 2 a 1derful Mini friend on the OL, I found a great Mini-friendly shop nearby and will take Scoopie 2 them 4 her first non-dealership oil change 2morrow! Luckily, they could fit me in; doubly-lucky because I'm taking a looong road trip Sat. am and wasn't really feelin' the try-2-change-my-oil-4-the-first-time kinda vibe just yet, y'know?

I'd rather wait when I have plenty of time to futz around, have a buddy nearby to run me back & 4th the the AutoZone, Pep Boys, or whichever shop in case I messed somethin' up.

 

When you are ready for the DIY oil change, check out the thread "Good oil change gone bad" for some great tips on getting the oil cansiter back on easily. That was the only tricky part. Other than that I would probably have two filters on hand when you do it. If you are going to order OEM online, it makes sense to get a couple to economize on the shipping anyway... I bought the special wrench and two filters for around $25 shipped. Oil was $25 at Walmart. I was a bit confused because the users manual says to use Mobile 1 5-30 and there is a sticker under the hood that says: "We reccomend Castrol". I guess they can't make up their mind?

 

What kind of oil costs $15 per quart?

The top of the line Mobile 1 Synthetic I used was $6 per quart at Walmart. It's cheaper if you by the 5qt jug.

I know i'm getting old when I can remember when oil cost <$1 per quart and gas cost <$1 gallon...

 

My MZ4 uses the same oil... it is Castrol 10W60 TWS MOTORSPORT oil for about $13-14 per quart

 

I use InSkip in Warwick RI too. They have an awesome service dept., there ( Dealership there is totally surrounded by Other Inskip dealers: MB, BMW, Porsche, BENTLY....) Inskip is owned by Roger Penske. And if you are into auto racing, you have to know who he is...

All the Service Technicians working on MINI's there own their own tricked out BMW's and love working on the MINI's too.

They gave me a hand with my B&M SSK in June. They went little over the previously stated book hrs for the job and credited my account.

They are definately worth the trip.