I am ready to take the plunge and buy an MCS. I have been reading through the Forum, and I hope to get some buying advice from those who have purchased from either Mini of Peabody or Herb Chambers.

- Both seem to have a lot of cars in inventory. Do they prefer to sell their stock, or are they happy to take an order?

- When you order, do they charge straight MSRP? Any markups or discounts?

- If you take one from their inventory, are there any "deals" to be had?

- Do either dealer take in trades, and if they do, are they reasonable, or not worth considering?

- Do you have a sales person that you would recommend that I speak to?

- The feeling I get from reading the posts here is that Mini of Peabody is better to deal with. Any opinions?

Thanks a bunch for all the help.

 

I ordered a Clubman S from Mini Peabody at the end of April. They were excellent to deal with, answering all of my questions first via their internet site and then in person.
I paid MSRP. Leadtime is long on the Clubmans. I tried to get them to discount some accessories and wasn't even successful at that!

 

of coz they take trade in at much lower price... but u can persuade them to throw in feebies

 

I picked up my MC off the lot from Mini of Peabody on 3/31. My wife said it was the most painless car purchase that we have ever had.

The first visit was late on Sunday near closing time; Hrach the salesman talked to us... at 6'-5' all I wanted was to sit in one. He showed me a MCC then a basic MC. My wife was sold at the sound of the door closing. This was after hours and we left knowing that a Mini was possible.

We came back on a Saturday with my 06 Jeep Rubicon; I had posted it on a jeep forum and had no bites. They were so busy; Hrach had come back from a test drive and had 2 more people in line as he went to close another. I was asked if I had an appointment. I said no and that I didn't realize that I needed one. They sat us down, gave us some coffee and 15 min later Joel came and asked what my objective was today: Buy a Mini if possible. The test Mini was busy so Joel got a loaded used 07 For me to test drive. For driving a Jeep to drop to the ground in a Mini: no adjustment!
He asked us what color, options we wanted then open his inventory list; no pressure, we could order or buy inventory. they even found one that was close to what I wanted off the boat that was sent to another dealer, but wrong color ...then we decided to get the NFR on the lot if they had a decent appraisal on the Jeep. They came back and said Nice Jeep and gave me 2K more than I was expecting. We made the deal and picked up my MC the next Monday.
I paid MSRP and got the extended Maintenance; I drive 500 miles a week. With my trade my payment is about the same and get triple the gas mileage. I am a very satisfied customer

 

Thanks for sharing your story, Mininightflame. I am in the same boat at you - 500 miles a week and the S4's gas mileage just isn't cutting it. Although I own the car, I'd much rather pay the money towards a car than to the oil companies.
I'm only 6' tall, but I was still concerned about fit. Not anymore!
Hrach's name keeps coming up, so I think I'll shoot him an email to set something up, and if they offer me something good on the S4, I'll want to be driving one home too. I have been spending some time building a configuration though, so I'll have to have a bit of luck for them to have something in stock.