(Quick Syopsis: I'm Pissed and am I nuts about it)


This is here to vent a bit and to get the opinions of some of the people that have gone though the process of buying a MINI, and to find out if I'm crazy. The long version, if your ready for it, is that in december my cold, shakey, wet, slow, old (130,000 miles) *** hurtin seat jeep got broken into for the umpteenth time. Gone are about 50 cds and the radio is smashed to bits. So I say to myself, "ok, screw this, its time for a new car" So my dad and I went on a quest for a new car. I decided that this time I wanted a small fast sporty car and I wanted to get everything that I wanted, no half-assed skimping.

ok, long story shorter, I settled on a MINI Cooper S. It had everything I wanted. Both in terms of the particulars of the car its self, and the style and history and culture that went along with the MINI. See I come from a Jeep which has the same sort of cultish following, I love the feeling of community I get with my Jeep and that was very important whem buying a new car. The MINI fit this to a T. It had everything I wanted, performance, style and culture.

The next good thing was that there would be a wait for it. That made me feel pretty good about buying, I had a chance to get my finances in order so that I could afford it. Unfortunatly for me things went south about the time that my car got built. To me, it seems that MINI really pumps us up about getting these cars. They have things like the Owners Lounge and point people to websites like this. The get us all excited and riled up but for me it feels like I slipped through the cracks.

First off the car started getting lost in transit. How the heck do millions of cars just dissapper. The OL doesn't get updated in a timely fashion, MINIUSA has no idea where the car is or can't tell, and in my case the dealer had no clue where the car was. The next thing that really started me getting upset was the silly *** estimated delivery date. It seemed kinda odd saying that I would get the car on a sunday, considering that all car dealers in IL are closed on sunday. So it says I'm supposed to get the car on the 11th, To me that says the car should arrive maybe a couple days before (not likely) or a couple days after. But low and behold, as of the 11th no one knew where the car was. About the 14th the OL gets updated to say that the car should arrive on sunday the 18th, again with the sunday. On the 19th the dealer says they don't have the car but for sure it got on a truck on the 13th. On a whim I went and checked out thier lot, the car was in the back hidden by a big *** mercury.

So in my excitment I went to my Motoring Advisor and asked when the car would be ready. I get told that I may get the car on Wed (21st) He says they have to install the satalite radio. (which I ordered as soon as it was availible in what march?) The MA told me that they only have one MINI tech and he will be busy all day tuesday installing Rally lights on two other cars. I begged and pleaded to try and speed it up, he told me that he would call me back on tuesday to let me know what happened. He never freak'n called. So I get off my duff and call the service dept to find out about my car. I come to find out that they don't have the satalite parts, (for they system they knew they were supposed to have) Service writer tells me that he's very very sorry for this and if he gets the parts in time he might get it done wed, but not likely I'll prolly get it Thursday.

As it stands now I'm no longer excited about getting this car. I'll simply be relived when I don't have to deal with these people. I get the feeling, especially from the sales manager, that my 25,000 dollars don't really matter. I guess they figure that if I walk away there will be 10 people behind me to snap the car up. I've been Ignored, lied to and just treated poorly. I feel like I have to do the work to get this car, I bet if i didn't make the phone calls they would just sell the car to someone else and say that I never returned thier calls. Personally I don't understand why its so hard to buy a car. To those brave soul's that acctually read this am i wrong or am i just a jerk?

 

You expect me to read all of that

 

Damn, that was fast. I just needed to vent really badly. I was so pissed I was shaking today. I feel bad for the woman at MINIUSA that got the loud (non-profane) verbal version of that.

 

^^^now thats funny.

 

I walked out of my dealer with the same thought "i'm never coming back here again" but unfortunately that wasnt the case. I've had so many problems with the car I've been forced to repeatedly deal with their ineptitude as well as a ASK-MINI hotline that doesnt know the meaning of "follow thru."

My last problem resulted in me going to the dealership for my appointment and getting so fed up I just left without getting my car serviced. Posted some similar rants on this board and other and actually got a response from someone in "customer relations" at BMW (go team!) who I deferred to my lawyer(never heard from them). MINI USA called me yesterday to find out how my service appointment was?! So I told them. Now someone else in customer service has to call me. Apparently there is no communication anywhere in this organization.


Cool car. Stupid company.

 

Take the MINI , hope that the service department is good.

Look for another dealer and never send people to this one-remember money or the loss there of speaks loudly!

Good Luck-Safe motoring

 

>> Personally I don't understand why its so hard to buy a car. To those brave soul's that acctually read this am i wrong or am i just a jerk?

more organizational skills.

You're right that it's easy for them to blow you off and to just sell it to someone else. That's why the head office needs to know, so that they can put the squeeze on dealers. Demand a few freebies too. It can't hurt! (All MINI Personnel just pretend you didn't read that).

 

i'm afraid to ask what dealership in IL you are getting it from!
enjoy your car, i'm sure mini usa will take car of you!

 

>>
>> more organizational skills.
>>


I don't feel like I should have have to worrry about pissing the dealer off, quite the opposite in fact. They should be working to not **** ME! off. The tracking features of MINI have been anything but convient for me, in fact they've made the problem much worse. In fact even though I've touched the car, no one knows where it is. The dealer won't even admit they have it.

as for the radio, its just stupid. I told them months ago that I wanted it. I belive my exact words were "I don't care how much it costs, just get it and have it ready when I buy the car. I want it, I want it, I want it."

 

While I had a frustrating experience with the dealer regarding the purchase, the service has been just fine.
ALong with every other option that was available when I ordered my Mini, I ordered the Multi-Function steering wheel. By the time the production list and manufacturing schedule showed up in my Owners Lounge, they dropped the Multi-Function steering wheel. The dealer blamed it on the factory despite the original order had it clearly listed. I was told this is not something that can be retrofitted at the dealership so the only solution was to place another order for the car and wait another six weeks for it to arrive. I just don't trrust the sales departments of the dealerships, the service departments though seem to be okay.

 

My last problem resulted in me going to the dealership for my appointment and getting so fed up I just left without getting my car serviced.

Sounds like North Scottsdale BMW/Mini...the absolute worst service department I have ever dealt with and that includes Ford...lol ! Still waiting on a fog light cover that is cracked from an earlier repair...now going on 3 months....also last time I had my mini in for service, they washed it which was cool, but they lost the aftermarket antenna I had......told me they would give me a replacement which I already had at home because I replaced it with the aftermarket.....DAH...lol....these people are totally incompetent...since I have been bringing in my car they have fired 2 sales managers, the service center supervisor and 2 of the customer service representatives that used to handle my car....it's like the keystone cops...fortunately there are other places to buy a BMW in Phoenix area, but unfortunately only one Mini dealer....

 

>>
>>
I guess they figure that if I walk away there will be 10 people behind me to snap the car up. I've been Ignored, lied to and just treated poorly. I feel like I have to do the work to get this car, I bet if i didn't make the phone calls they would just sell the car to someone else and say that I never returned thier calls.

>>

I had a similarly hellish buying experience....it's true, they CAN sell it to someone else. If you can get beyond the being "ignored, lied to, and just treated poorly" go get your MINI, drive away, & send them (& the big guys) a nasty letter. You will have your MINI (finally!) and you will be happy!!

 

That is too bad. But nothing sounds like you should be
getting your blood pressure up about...stuff happens.
I am on my third Mini and couldn't be happier with my
dealer. Of course, all three times I bought a car on site,
including the first on 3/29/02.
All three times I have found exactly what I wanted on the lot.
Except this time....I really liked the leatherette and this one
is leather. Oh well.

 

>>Sounds like North Scottsdale BMW/Mini...the absolute worst service department I have ever dealt with and that includes Ford...lol ! Still waiting on a fog light cover that is cracked from an earlier repair...now going on 3 months....also last time I had my mini in for service, they washed it which was cool, but they lost the aftermarket antenna I had......told me they would give me a replacement which I already had at home because I replaced it with the aftermarket.....DAH...lol....these people are totally incompetent...since I have been bringing in my car they have fired 2 sales managers, the service center supervisor and 2 of the customer service representatives that used to handle my car....it's like the keystone cops...fortunately there are other places to buy a BMW in Phoenix area, but unfortunately only one Mini dealer....

Interesting miniblues; I bought Peanut from North Scottsdale, and had her serviced there once. In all my dealing with them, my only complaint has been that they are S.L.O.W. When both buying and in for service I waited and waited and waited, and nobody could give me any idea as to when my wait would be over. (when buying I was waiting for the finance guy to be available; when in for service I was told that the car would be ready mid-afternoon, so I turned in my rental/loaner and stayed in their lounge area. I didn't get her back until about 7pm!) In all other respects, they have been very responsive.

 

>>i'm afraid to ask what dealership in IL you are getting it from!
>>enjoy your car, i'm sure mini usa will take car of you!

Yeah I'd be very interested. I've had great experiences with 2 out of 3 of the dealers in IL. Hopefully everything works out.

 

You should see if you can take delivery of your car now, and then have them install the radio later. It might take them a lot longer to get it in the car, but you will at least be driving it and getting pleasure from it. Nothing is worse than paying visits to your car at the dealer when they won't let you take it out....

 

Senator Rude,

Ya might just be livin' up to your moniker. Stop being a jerk, and Chill Out!! Give the dealer a chance to get the radio parts in, and install them without undue pressure. Remember it ain't Christmas, you don't need to open all the presents before sunrise, kid.

The dealer sounds like he stumbled on the delivery aspect of your car, it was in the back lot but not one of the MAs knew it? Such is life. The important thing is that its there and not at the bottom of the English Channel like a lot of BMW 7 series (another story).

If the ants in your pants can not stand the wait, get your car sans sat radio and arrange for a future install.

Happy Motoring and welcome to the tribe

 

Yeah, go get your MINI right now!

When mine came in, I insisted on picking it up right away, and then brought it back to get my dealer-installed options put in.

And get used to waiting for service... the BMW attitude is if you want it done right, it's going to take time. My Service dept only has 1 MINI tech, the rest are all BMW-only guys. Don't expect a twenty minute oil change, leave it with them overnight. (and bring your own oil! I recommend the Amsoil brand)

On the occasions I have brought mine in for service, it always took a full day or two for them to take care of it.. minor warranty-covered fixes & oil change so far. And I had an appointment each time.

 

Ok, here's my take:

Number 1: Don't complain about poor tracking features. Heck, feel honored such features exist AT ALL! MANY MANY car companies do not offer such a service. So to complain about it is utterly rediculous. I ordered a Miata and had to just wait until the dealer informed me it was in. Patience young grasshopper.

Number 2: You demand that a car dealer turn into a car stereo store?? This is so completely beyond my level of things to request a dealer do it blows my mind. Why in the world would you have the dealer perform a stereo upgrade when they A) don't do this, B) are not licensed to do this, C) are not trained to do this D) etc etc. I mean, this isn't a factory part. Just think, if you didn't have a car dealer playing stereo install shop, you could've had your car already, driven it for a few days and dropped it off at a local install shop for a couple hours to fit the sat unit. I mean, I wouldn't ask an ice cream shop to install windows XP on my computer; I wouldn't ask a mime to sing; I wouldn't expect a business operating in one area to perform a service in a different area than their experises. That's just silly!!!

Take a deep breath and/or a big bong hit and chill out. Granted the dealer is being slow, but you are 50% of the cause of that right now. Without the stereo rant you'd only be able to complain about the tracking of your order, which as I've eluded to above, is already infinitely better than 90%+ of the other car companies out there.

Sorry, not trying to be hard on you, but just understand the facts here.

R

 

Hey folks, SentorRude warns us several times that he's posting a rant, that it's long, and he's angry. He's got every right to rant...so I can't see giving him a hard time for doing so.

That said, I think that MINI really DOES dig its own grave in terms of customer DISsatisfaction. From reading the various threads, and then more specific comments on the Dealer Rating thread, it's obvious that there is a huge variability in the quality of MINI sales staff and service departments. While some dealers are simply all bad all of the time, the even bigger problem are those where sales is great and service stinks or those where the quality of either varies by the day/week/month. Some may say that this variation (of whatever type) is typical for any type of car...but the fact is that it's at least at present worse for MINI. Add this to the fact that for most customers there is no "choice" of dealer (without traveling unacceptably far distances), and you are bound to wind up with quite a number of customers who have legit reasons to rant.

I suspect that what makes this particularly frustrating is that MINI's created image is one where the customer is greatly encouraged not to expect such hassles. MINI is also making a particular effort to attract customers who are inexperienced at these sorts of difficulties (i.e, new to the car buying experience). Point is, if we were "typical" BMW buyers and were expecting a BMW-buying/owning experience, then there'd be fewer rants. There's nothing that will cheese people off more than dissapointment or un-fulfilled expectations.

BTW, another MINI case in point is the whole stupid thing about the OL and order tracking. As any MCO reader will verify, there is more tension and anger generated by incorrect or incomplete OL info than just about anything else. It's just plain crazy (IMO) that BMW chooses to give its customers access to info that the company cannot properly maintain. Why would you want to kick your customers like this? Either fix the OL, or get rid of it. Partially correct info is MUCH worse than no info at all.

BMW is obviously struggling to "learn" how to manage the market they have created with the MINI. Thus far, they've got the "take the money" part fairly well set. What they now need to do is to figure out how to properly treat the new customer. If they don't figure this out, then their current success with the MINI will indeed be temporary. Let's hope that's not the case.

 

Well, I'll try to keep this polite...

There are 3 sides to every story, and we heard one.

Did you calmly elevate your concerns to the sales manager or simply storm off in a passive-aggressive rant to MCO? People can't read your mind. Tell them it's unacceptable and try to work it out. If the sales manager doesn't satisfy you then go to his/her boss and so on.

Or take your business elsewhere. I had a bad experience in Milwaukee at the dealership and went to Patrick Mini in Chicago. Ask for Kevin McConnell.

If he's the motoring advisor that you're irate with then I know you're F.O.S. :smile:

-Jim

 

I must agree with you about the fact that the owners lounge tracking is a joke... but I had decent results with the shipping site (still being able to track at all is cool). I would say your dealer droped the ball somewhat... still try to give them a chance to make good... and being in a large metro area you can pick and choose where you go for service... I bought my MINI at a Dealer in Atlanta that has a bit of a tarnished reputation but since thay are working soo hard to fix that my delivery went very well.... We all get very antsy when delivery is near.... So I know where you are coming from.... The SIRUS radio thing is very very new and being one of the first to have it I am not surprised for the delay with that part... might be worth taking the car early and make a date later for the radio install.... I have heard worse horror stories from other MINI owners and even more so with owners of other makes.... Like a VW dealer suing a customer for remarks made on a message board like this one!!!!! so trust me things could be way worse.... Good luck and don't worry the first 10 miles will make it all good!! :smile:

 

Hey guys, thanks for the support and even the dissagrement.

Quick update. Looks like me being a pain got everyone riled up over there. Mr. friendly the sales manager called to tell me to stop calling them and wait or come in and get my deposit back. To me that sums up the non-caring that has driven me nuts. they can tell me that they are working their asses off behind the scenes all they want but if they can't communicate that to me in a way that makes me feel better about it then its kinda useless. I may be crazy and I may be a pain in the *** customer, but I feel that this whole process went awry. I think I was a benign nuisence for most of this process, I didn't yell and scream, I didn't explode and cuss them out. For the most part I feel like I acted like an upset customer who politely tried to work out my issues.


As for the owners lounge and the tracking, MINI admitted to me today that somewhere along the line that the ball got dropped. Their computers are still showing it in transit when the dealer is saying for sure they have it. I feel that in this day and age there is enough information to make the OL and tracking way better. For example we all know that it takes several days for the OL to update. We might know that the car has gotten off the boat several days before the OL shows it. But does anyone really belive that MINI and BMW doesn't know that car is off the boat? No, they know (for the most part) exactly where the car is at every second. All the cars have bar codes which get scanned constantly. Some offical at BMW knows every second where every car, Shipping boat, and trasport truck is when ever he wants to know. My argument is that they should either do away with the tracking, or beef it up. For me, part of the sell was being able to order the car, get what I wanted and follow it up to the dealer. Maybe I just am an Impatient cry baby, but I feel that the image they sold me didn't work out.
't

 

Go get your deposit back and start over with another dealer.

When you do that don't expect the OL to provide any better information than it has in the past.

OR, get your deposit back and go to a different dealer and buy off the lot. I don't think you are capable of waiting for another delivery. Too much stress is bad for you.

 

Hey Senator...

I'm on the fence with this one. Yeah, we've all got to learn to take a deep breath and relax HOWEVER I don't think there's any excuse for your dealers poor behaviour (not even touching the tracking, as I view that as more of a "game" than anything else). It was you, after all, that was shelling out the sheckles. I'm with Edlfrey: as much as it sucks, start over. Or just pick up your car and then pick up the pieces... with another dealer.