I feel a Princeton MINI moment coming on. You know the kind where you hope for the best and they somehow manage to screw you and **** you off.

I bought a set of white 15" 8-spoke wheels with all-season tires at the Ocktcooperfest car show on Oct. 6th for $400. They were take-offs the dealership had gotten when someone upgraded. They were supposed to deliver them to my house that week. Well, it turned out one of the wheels was badly damaged, so the parts guy offered to hold the three good wheels and wait until they got another set of take-offs to replace the damaged one. Sounded more than fair to me, and I was in no rush since the first snowfall is a while away. I was disappointed, but happy that they weren't going to try to force the damaged wheel on me.

Well, it's been a few weeks, so I thought I'd check back in with them tonight. Paul, the guy I dealt with at the show wasn't in, so I ended up talking to some guy who says they won't be getting ANYMORE white 15" wheels like that EVER AGAIN and was I aware that $400 even for 3 wheels and tires was a really good deal. Hey thanks alot, but 3 wheels don't do me a lot of good. I was always taught you need 4 wheels to drive a car. Am I wrong? Is the 4th one just there for show? Oh and I just checked MINIUSA.com and they still show these wheels on their site so I don't understand how they can say they won't be getting any more of them!

I'll be going back tomorrow to talk to Paul when he's back in and hope that he's a bit more reasonable than the person I spoke with tonight. At this point, I don't care if the damn things are white or silver as long as I get a set of wheels. This is it. If they let me down on this one, I'll be taking my future business to Otto's, Morristown or Prestige even though they are much further from my house. And there's always Classic Auto Campus!!

Of course, I'll still be out a set of wheels since I'll never get the deal Princeton was offering at the car show.

Fingers crossed things go better tomorrow!!!!

Sorry, but I just had to vent.

 

Where is Otto's? I had an HORRIBLE MINI experience with Princeton and do not wish to return there for ANYTHING!!! However, I live at the shore and Princeton is really the closest to my home. I'm only returning there to have warrenty work done....If not, you know they'll screw me somehow. :smile:

 

D.D., Otto's is out in West Chester, PA. Quite a hike for both of us but I've heard good things about them, so for me it's worth the trip. There's also a dealer up in Morristown but that's up in North Jersey (I'd consider Princeton to be Central Jersey). ANY dealership will do your warranty work, but you probably won't be able to get a loaner car when they finally become available.

I'm thinking I might stick with Princeton for the warranty work, but for any parts/accessories I'll stick to MCO sponsors or one of the other dealerships.

 

Robyn, if you don't end up buying those wheels, keep an eye on ebay. There are sets of 15" holees in silver and white on there pretty often, and I do occasionally see sets of white 8-spokes as well. All for around the same price you got quoted or less.

I got a set of new silver holees with tires for $300 shipped on ebay a while ago, for the same reason (putting snow tires on them).

 

Scooterboy, I know. The thing that kills me is I had a set of 15" steel rims with tires that I sold after I got this "great deal" on the white wheels and tires. I figured I wouldn't need them since I was getting these cool new wheels. I should have known not to trust Princeton until I had the new wheels in my garage. It's my own fault.

If they screw me, I'm going to see if Otto's has any take-offs.

 

For those of you in NJ....Otto's has had lots of great press from the phillymini group, but there is also another MINI dealer that might be closer to you...MINI of the Main Line in Bala Cynwyd (formerly Don Rosen MINI, just west of Philly).

My husband has had several discussions with the guys down there (we haven't needed service yet) and has had nothing but great things to say about them. I need a lever on one of my backseats fixed and they have already ordered the parts and are just waiting for the 10,000 service for us to bring it in (not a big deal until then).

Otto's sounds like a great dealership....and I am not taking anything away from them, I just thought I would mention that there is a dealer closer to those of you in NJ that you might want to look into.

If we had purchased our MINI at a later date (Lola's birthday is coming up in two weeks!), we probably would have picked Otto's, since it's a bit easier for us to get to, but since we didn't, and Otto's wasn't open, we have dealt with MINI of the Main Line. They have been great!

Cyndy

 

Hi Jerseygirl,

Sorry to hear about that experience with Princeton. I guess you're not having any luck with them. I remember you telling me that you had bought a set off ebay at OctKooperfest. Hopefully everything will work out with Princeton. Dealers can be a pain.

RaceCarDriver

 

Sorry to learn of your mistreatment and I sure hope Princeton rectifies the situation. Soemthing I really like about this site is that it gives owners a chance not only to vent when not treated right, but to steer people to dealers worthy of our business.
To that end, it's great that people are networking to expose those to avoid.

Even though I got the idea once or twice that the BSW sales people found the Mini customers lesser beings, I have never been treated so well by a dealership (Bill Jacobs in Chicagoland). I thought BMW was trying to assure this and, naive me, wonder why there isn't some slaps of the corporate ruler on the knuckles of dealerships that hurt the Mini/BMW image.

Good luck and don't try driving with only three wheels.

 

I have been dealing with Don Rosen/Mini of the Main Line since Sept. 2002. The service department is top notch.

 

Well, I am happy and relieved to report that I am now the proud owner of four 15" take-off wheels/tires. They aren't the white ones I was originally supposed to get but Nittany now has the proper footwear for the winter and my faith in Princeton MINI has been somewhat restored.

The wheels are in excellent condition (I polished and waxed them tonight) and the tires look as good as new.

The lesson I have learned from all this is that if you absolutely MUST go to Princeton MINI for parts (as in you have tried all other solutions) make sure that you ask to speak to Paul. He was great to deal with from start to finish. It was the other one, the fat old jack%$& in parts who was the nightmare.

 

Why I do believe that it was "the fat old jack%$&" in parts that told me that there were no Mini-Fini cupholders available, and 10 minutes later someone else (after I insisted that they were available) came across a whole box of them!

_________________
I'm the boss, not you!
Get over here!
Gimme a kiss!

 

I’m with MINI USA. I’m sorry your sales experience was not what you expected. We are here to work with you and your dealer. If you need our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK MINI and mention Reference # 1-117857519 so that we can discuss your concerns.