It is really quite the stand out, isn't it?

 

Thanks all! Washed the car for the first time. tonight...in the twilight it really looked fantastic.

 

I didn't say move MofFC, I said allow MINIs to be serviced in Bridgeport
There is already a BMW Bridgeport, so adding the MINI service to it would be beneficial to some of us and the brand so we don't have to deal with the horrid traffic in the morning that we have to bring our MINIs in for service..

 

This is almost surreal. My wife and I stopped in at New Country on a rainy friday afternoon. We were there for over an HOUR and never recieved a greeting or anything. We were about at wits end when (2) ladies walked in the show room and right before our eyes, they were welcomed with big smiles and wisked by us like we were characters in the movie "Ghost". I walked up to the receptionist and told her I how PO'd I was at our treatment and would purchace my MINI at INSKIP the very next day.

BTW....that's what we did, and our son bought one the following week.

 

Is success going to kill the MINI?

 

Coming up on my next service at MINI of Fairfield County..

 

No, and that wasn't the point, now was it.

 

Hmmm ... maybe you misunderstood me.

I had the same treatment at New Country when I went to buy my MINI. Ended up at MINI of Fairfield County. I did not need any kind of hard sell ... the car sold me on it itself ... that's what I meant ... a successful car, selling itself, leading to a sales force that gets complacent ....

That's all I meant.

 

It was and deemed a harsh repose....but yes...no harm, no foul. We simple folk in the Northeast corner of Connecticut have a hard time understaning english sometimes.

 

+1

 

I work at MINI of Fairfield County. We do not and never did charge any $850 "miscellaneous dealer fee". We do charge a "dealer fee" of $235. Most dealers in CT do, and ours is way towards the low end of the spread.

Everyone who buys a car here pays that, including me.

I am glad you found and car and are happy about it, but I am a bit upset you seem to have mis-quoted the amount of our fee.

BTW, our Motoring Advisors are not complacent. Sometimes we are so busy, no one is available to talk with all the customers in the store. That happens just due to the tremendous numbers of customers. If a person walks up to the receptionist desk and actually expresses interest in talking with an MA, they are more likely to have a pleasing result. Some people, oddly enough, just seem to stand around aimlessly, waiting for someone to come up to them and ask if they need assistance. We do that if we are not all busy with other customers. Obviously, we can't, nor any dealer can, if we are all engaged with the personalized kind of service we provide.

We have recently taken on more help for the busy season, including extra test drivers, and a new Motoring Advisor. Our manager is not adverse to talking with customers either.

 

I agree that the MAs at MoFC are not complacent. I was utterly impressed with Mark Smith's service and skill in making our deal happen. He's got every future MINI purchase we'll ever make.

I recently negotiated a Toyota pickup truck purchase for my employer. It was the equivalent of removing one's own appendix.

 

You know, I should have jumped on this but maybe I didn't because it was so out in left field or I missed it?

Absolutely untrue about that ridiculous quote for a dealer fee and I ought to know since I just bought my third MINI from MINI of Fairfield County and I'm looking at my most recent invoice right now.

The only reason I can imagine Monty's not being talked to is if everyone from MA to receptionist was engaged. It is one of the most friendly car dealerships that I have EVER been in.

 

Wow. I love how someone who has no Idea who I am and has no clue about my personal experience at a dealership, can come one here and call me a liar. Thanks for the warm welcome.

First off, I never said anything about being ignored. I honestly would have rather bought the car in Stamford than in the city. I live in CT and commute to NYC and service would be far more convenient at MOFC.

Second, there absolutely was an $850 "misc. dealer fee" on my rep's screen when I asked him to show me the breakdown of my down payment. I specifically asked him about it and he said that it was on all the cars and there was nothing he could do about it. Our meeting was extremely cordial, friendly, and without tension. He simply said there was nothing he could do. I was quoted a payment close to $450 a month for a $25k car on a 24 mos lease with $2,900 down. I promptly got the hell out of there.

I called mini of Manhattan as soon as I got into the office that same day. My rep was more than willing to quote me specific numbers over the phone which MOFC was absolutely unwilling to do the day before. I ended up buying a car that was $24k for 24mos for $721 out of pocket at $398/mos. That included first month, and registration with the deposit factored in.

After receiving that quote I left 2 messages for the rep in Stamford looking for him to match the offer as i would still rather have bought in CT. Neither of my calls were returned.

Maybe you're the one out in left field.

 

Wow...as if ..OK, I'mmmmm beeeing suchhhh a bioootch

 

Wow - time out folks - deep breath...
Let me suggest that the posts in defense of MoFC are not intended to suggest Monty is a liar - it is more that those of us who have had consistently great experiences are so surprised by his report that we are simply incredulous...
Just as I am sure Monty is not accusing us of lying about our experiences.

Neither have we drunk the KoolAid...I have had a few issues with this dealer, and discussed them here, but nothing that would send me elsewhere in the future, and nothing that was not resolved to my satisfaction. We know they are not faultless, and they make mistakes too.

I am quite curious as to the crummy set of circumstances that led up to your experience.

Anyhow, there's a good bunch of folks on this board, and it generally IS a very welcoming and friendly one.

Welcome, and enjoy your new ride!
(Oh yeah - and sometimes written posts are really lousy ways to actually understand a person's actual meaning, tone, etc., and are so easily misunderstood...)

 

Well I believe you, that's for sure. After ordering my MINI from an absolute dolt at New Country, and then cancelling the order when he wouldn't allow any changes in a car that had not even been ordered from the factory yet (uh, like the same day), I went on a rampage and had five dealers work up pricing, with a sixth unwilling to give me prices over the net or by phone (so I hear you there). There were all sorts of variations in the "unavoidable" fees and in the options pricing. I ended up at MoFC and with Mark because they had the best price in total. But I do remember the "fees" at the various dealers ranging from about $250 to $800. So what you are talking about is not off the charts.

If Mark Smith went to MINI of San Diego or MINI of Pluto, that's where we'd go to buy the car. For me, now that I've seen how good it can be, it's really about the man more than the dealer or the final price. Car buying should not be the equivalent of getting a root canal performed by a serial sadist who also has his hand on your wallet.

Anyway, now that your MINI is ordered, we're all looking forward to your joining us for some fun runs!

 

You're right - we shouldn't just slam you down for what you wrote even if it doesn't jibe with our own experiences.

I apologize for phrasing my comments the way I did. I did not mean to call imply that you were lying, though I can see you feel that I was. I reacted to your quote of that dollar amount of dealer fees with incredulity because I was looking right at my own invoice which actually shows $225 as a "dealer conveyance fee". I did buy my car outright with no lease, or anything so perhaps there in lies the rub?

It's so strange to me that these fees can be so wide in range from dealership to dealership and I'm guessing that whatever those fees of $850 were for you must have included the destination charge or something else.

I'm glad you found a deal you liked at MINI of Manhattan. I am familiar with one of the Motoring Advisors there who seems like a really good guy.

And yes, I have to agree with Halifax that it is often the personal relationship between the salesperson and oneself that makes the deal. The first time back in 2003 that I went to test drive a MINI, I left that first dealership because I knew more about the MINI Cooper than my salesperson and I just didn't get a good "feeling"... And as much as I highly as I regard my own buying experience at MoFC, zzMini's points that no dealership walks on water all the time is also a very well taken.

Ultimately, the important thing is that you were able to find a deal on your new MINI that worked for you and that you're already driving it! I wish you the best with it and hope you'll connect with the very active Connecticut group, as well.

 

I'll have to dig out my invoice, but as Otra put it, maybe it is something to do with the lease? Maybe it was security deposit and first months payment required up front? I don't know, I'm just guessing here

 

"Wow. I love how someone who has no Idea who I am and has no clue about my personal experience at a dealership, can come one here and call me a liar. Thanks for the warm welcome."

Dude. chill out. I did not call you a liar.

I was just telling you what I know.
MoFC has a "Dealer Fee", sometimes called a "Conveyence Fee" of $225 - I was $10 high.

Enjoy your MINI.

p.s. If you'd like a good argument, please call me - Peter - at MoFC : 203-348-4700. Regular arguments are $5, heated arguments are $10.

 

Deep breaths....Ahhh now I feel better.

Pbraun, why would I pay for heated arguments when all I have to do is tell my wife I'm playing golf on both days of the weekend and get them for free?

Like I said earlier I would have rather bought from MOFC and I stand to benefit nothing from coming on here and telling my story. The car is already in the driveway (which I'm absolutely psyched about btw).

I just couldn't understand why there was such a huge difference between the two down payments. Maybe you can explain it to me. Both cars had the destination charge built into the sticker price so I cant imagine where the $850 came from. My rep was unfortunately unable to explain it to me very clearly.

I really didn't mean for my explanation to come across as heated as it may have in text. Thats the difficulty of these places.

 

No prob. I don't figure out lease deals in my role here, but I do know there are many factors of variability in any lease, from term length and mileage, residual, credit rating, down payment and more. Each lease is done individually, so it all depends upon how the details are worked out.
The only correct answer is to get the deal worksheet and look at that to see what's going on, and what/where the different numbers are coming from.

But, then, that's all history I suppose.

Glad you're enjoying your MINI!

Motor on!

 

Peter, I love the Monty Python reference .

BTW is the Summer Splash open to people who have an MC on order (like me). I ordered it from MOFC if that helps!!

 

I believe I can say - absolutely it's open! Keep those cards and letters coming - to Peter for the Summer Splash!

 

I can totally relate to what you have stated here - I preach this from my experiences on the forums. People are so nice in person, yet they don't come across that way, on the forums.

I know from personal experience that Peter (pbraun), otra, and zzMini are all great people. Hi Peter! Hi otra! Hi zzMini!

I personally know most of the salesforce at both dealerships. Both dealerships have some competent sales professionals - and I would take it higher (where's the sales manager? ) if I was treated unfairly or poorly.

I also know, from personal experience that, across the board, BMW offers some of the best client/motoring advisors. We are all people and each of us is unique. In a face-to-face encounter, when someone strays out of line and we have our moments, there's always a way to be adult about the situation and try and resolve it. That's a problem in today's world - people are so vicious to one another.

Can't we all just get along?

PS - if someone charged me $850 miscellaneous fee, at that point I would have brought in the sales or finance manager, not just given up. Also, don't forget, that there is some flexibility in what a client/motoring advisor can charge on a car. When I bought my car I got a nice deal - from MoFC - Scott, who has gone to New Country, was a great salesperson.