Since the other two NJ MINI dealers are represented in threads below, I figured I would ask if anyone has used Princeton, and how are they? I am located extremely close to Princeton MINI and am looking to buy my first MINI, the convertible. However, if Princeton's not a great dealership, I would be willing to take the drive up to Morristown, though its about an hour.

Any input on Princeton MINI would help!

Thanks!

 

I bought my 06 MCS from them last December. So far no issues, as I haven't visited them for service.

However I inquired about them through NEMINI.org and it seems like not everyone is pleased with the princeton dealership.

They actually didn't do anything for the launch of the R56. I called them last week to check if they planned for a launch party for the R56 and they said nothing. Demo R56's will only be available by the end of Feb.

 

Princeton is a very good dealership. I should know, I used to work there and retired from there last March. And, they now have a new general manager too so things have gotten even better. They are planning a launch party in April. Don't have a date yet but it will most likely be on a Friday.

When you go, you can talk to the MINI sales manager, Jeremy Golis. And a very good sales person is Rob Morris. You must ask for them when you get there though or they won't get credit for the sale. If you get one of those two, you will be well taken care of. I should know, I trained both of them.
Tell them Debbie Franks referred you.

As for Maintenance, Isaac Crum is the MINI maintenance guy. Stop by while you are there and introduce yourself. He's a nice guy and will take good care of you.

Good luck!
Debbie Franks

 

Thanks Debbie for that update. I have to agree that Jeremy is great.
You may also talk to Kyle Burns as he took great care of me when I purchased my MCS last Dec. I will remember to ask for Isaac when I come for service.

If there is anything that I really want improved is in the area of online accessory sales. I wish that they can match Morristown Mini's pricing on some of the OEM accessories. I personally have chosen to buy some stuff from Morristown over Princeton Mini because of great deals they offer.

Cheers!

 

Jeremy is actually looking for ways to improve things at Princeton. With the new general manager, who is much more open minded, there is opportunity.
Contact Jeremy and let him know that you shop Morristown more than Princeton because of their pricing. He can then work from there so he can hopefully offer you and others the same opportunity at Princeton. Help him change things for the better. He really wants to do that.

Deb

 

Thank you -

 

Hmmmmm, I'll bet it was Matt. Don't tell him I said so but I think he's brain dead (LOL).

Kyle is a sweetie. He's friends with my old MINI manager Alan. And, like I said earlier, Rob and Jeremy are too. I've been working with Jeremy on event planning ideas so there is some good stuff coming soon.

Have a good time with your new MINI. I got my new GP MINI back in September and I'm having a blast with it.

Debbie

 

We bought our Mini from Princeton Mini in 2002, and have him (Max) serviced there too. Indeed, we bought him from Debbie (Miniac). She was great--we miss you, Debbie--hope you are enjoying yourself in your new life.

Princeton Mini gives very good sales and service. I have gotten deluxe warranty service for me for the infamous rust-under-the-door-sills issue (Max was flatbed trucked to PA for this). They also wash the car after service.

The big downside is that they are extremely expensive. $200 to replace a battery, $100 for an oil change, and so on. That's the world's mosst expensive car wash.

 

That was the hardest part of retiring was that I knew I was going to miss all the wonderful friends that I made through selling that little car. But, at the age of 50, having watched a good portion of my family pass away from illness over the last two years, I decided to retire early.

Our small farm we bought in NY is awesome. The area is has a much slower pace of life and is more laid back. The wildlife that we see in our own backyard is beautiful (except for the ground hogs that leave ankle breaking holes everywhere). We even have a bluebird nesting in one our our birdhouses. If we need some culture, we head to Ithaca and we are only a short jaunt to Watkins Glen. We've made lots of new friends, and have found a "car lovers universe" up here that was very surprising.

So, also those Minis we collected are being either driven on these great country roads or starting to be restored. And our "Gromit" (our 2006 JCW GP MCS) has been awesome to drive up here.

I highly recommend the country life!!

Love to all my MINI friends!!
Debbie

 

Had a long wait for service there, but a complicated situation involving MINI and the individual dealership, so a few are at fault. Either way, I'm glad to have my car back as it should be. And remember,

 

Got my 07 cooper s there in Oct. I have had the car in for service many times (part of having a Mini i guess) They are a ok dealer and I would recommend them for everything but service...

 

I ordered my MINI from them very recently, in fact my car hasn't even gotten on the ship yet. I mainly dealt with Dan and he seemed nice enough. I also found their accessories webpage to be full price unlike Morristown's prices.

 

Dan was pretty good to me too, picked my car up in late June.. Walked outta there with a bunch of freebies.

I had a chance to visit my car at their warehouse before it made it down to the dealership.

Neat place and was fun to see the car still all packed up from shipping.

Sparks

 

Sparks, can you tell me what you got free? Also, where is their warehouse and is it okay/legal to go visit the car there? How did you know which car was yours?

I ended up reordering because Dan and I never discussed Xenons the first time around and after my car was already produced, I realized that they were worth getting.

 

Well, I'm not really sure it's because I paid cash but let's see, I got the boot box, carpeted mats, valve stems and wheel locks. Oh my 7 year daughter got a t-shirt.

Hrrmmmm, not sure if I can legally tell you where it is but if you were to drive by the Hamilton Train station, I'm sure you'd see all the Mini's and BMW's somewhere around there . I see them every morning at 5am to catch the train to NYC.

Dan wasn't there they day I stopped in but I spoke to another MA and he wrote down the invoice number of the car, told me where to go and "Just give someone this number." I think he was more excited than I was. When I got there, I kinda wandered around until someone came out to greet me.

From what I could tell, looks like they put on all the dealer installed goodies there and do some repair work also. The person there was really nice, opened up the car and talked to me for awhile about it. I think I spent 1/2 hour talking to him.

On the day of pickup, they'll have your car sitting out front and Dan will spend a GOOD amount of time with you showing you all the goodies. Heh, I must of called him twice on the way home. I got the JCW shift lights and well, they don't start working till 55000 RPM and breaking says not to go over 4500rpm. Also, I got the illuminated door sills and we couldn't tell outside if they were on or not.

Hope this helps some.

Sparks

** EDIT - Just uploaded some pictures to my gallery from the warehouse. Just noticed that the mudflaps and driving lights weren't installed yet.

 

I was going to make a comment, but in the spirit of the season I decided not.

 

I bought my 2004 Used Cooper S from Princeton in July 07.

Just bought my new 2008 MCS from them, and I am awaiting delivery. Joe Panzica was my MA, nice guy and gave me a good deal on the first buy!

-Rich

 

Update: don't bring your car in for rattles. The service manager said the car had rattles and there staff can't waste there time fixing them all LOL

 

Better than my dealer, who said no unusual rattles were heard. Apparently, they don't fix the usual ones.

 

lol, Did your dealer say you have OCD and need to go elsewhere if you keep trying to get them fixed

Your Turn.....

 

I think it was Tourette syndome that he accused me of having

 

I got my MINI at Princeton MINI. Rob was my salesman and he did a great job overall. It took them a while to get me my lost valet key (it took a letter to the sales manager over 6 months after the sale) but other than that I was very happy with my experience there. My first service was done there as well and it went great. The only complaint I have is that they don't appear to be as excited about the car as a couple other MINI dealers I've been to. Then again it doesn't surprise me too much. I found the BMW portion of the dealership to be quite "stuffy" and I think most MINIs in Princeton are bought by people that just see them as a fashion accessory.

 

I agree - most people in the Princeton area have above average disposable income and probably view the MINI as a first car for junior/missy. You won't find many wavers in the area.

That said, Issac (SA) has always taken good care of us and our MINIs.

 

rbrown81, you said they gave you a good deal on your 2008 mcs? They didn't give me anything off MSRP. When did you order and when are you expecting to take delivery?

 

Russr. They gave me a discount on the install of the accessories (JCW body kit and Mini Nuvi). I ordered on the 20th of December, I'm expecting it to be off the production line week 3 and then Ill see it probably the 2nd week of February.