Mini of Mt view

Has any one else had problems here with the staff?

When I was there it was as if i was invisible even when standing right in front of multiple employees. i also had an appointment. I waited an hour, in an empty dealership with five employees. i eventually left. can any one suggest a decent dealership to take my car in the Cali area? it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Save your time and money and go to East Bay in Pleasanton. Friendlier staff and the service folks there actually know what you're doing.

I had a similar experience to you at Mt. View. I ended up purchasing my first MINI and having all the service done at East Bay.

 

just to clarify, are you under warranty and do you have to go to the dealer?
many good , non dealer mini repair places that actually want your biz!
(ps, hi melissa, miss you on the runs, detailing is a habit now, thanks )
boxcars

 

I agree as well,
I as well go to East Bay. Much friendlier and more helpful.

 

thank you everyone im going to call them in the morning.

 

I use Mt View mostly because they're closer. I only deal with Chris Chao over there because he's always been helpful. Haven't tried East Bay since they're farther up, but had a good experience with Concord. Yeah, I know, Concord's farther up than Eastbay, but Concord had the best deal with installation price on the JCW suspension.

 

i called over to east bay mini yesterday wanting to schedule an appointment, i told them what was going on, they said bring it over ASAP they took it, got me a loner car, and called my back later that day for a estimate on how long it would take. the extra half hour drive was more than worth the extra gas.
A+ to this dealership.

 

Glad you had a good experience! There are also fantastic independent shops in the South Bay should you need one out of warranty. I went to Los Gatos European regularly and they do great work.

Boxcars - we miss you guys too We have great MINI folks here too, but I really miss everyone there!

 

sf mini is ok...

 

I have also found East Bay to be willing to offer better service.

 

I was ignored at Mountain View Mini as well, I was ready to place an order on a JCW on a Friday afternoon, no one there had time for me other than a 5 minute test drive where I didn't even get to test what I wanted. Then the sales guy couldn't tell me why the steering was so light.

So I made an appointment and went to SF the next monday to place my order. Bruce Disbury was really great and knew everything about the car of course, even how to make the steering a little stiffer by like hitting a button. Should arrive in a week or so now.

 

JCW!!!

 

how much did you get the JCW suspension for? my wife is preggy dont want to ride stiff suspension anymore.Are JCW suspensions stiff?

 

The price is listed on their website which I forget now what it was. But what really attracted me to them was their install price which was about 1k, I think. I compared prices to what it would take to get the same aftermarket pieces installed outside and it was comparable so I went with that for pricing and piece of mind with warranty still instact.

As for the ride, it's maybe a smidge stiffer than stock suspension but not really intolerable. Where it shines is when your pushing corners a bit and don't feel that body roll which is unsetttling. Also keep in mind, I'm riding on stock 16" rims with Dunlop Star Specs which won't be as harsh a ride as if I were on 17's or 18's. My wife and 2 year old haven't complained about the ride at all to me. My toddler laughs when I take an on/off ramp while pushing it.

But like anything else, the ride quality varies from driver to driver. For me, this setup is perfect. If you want to take it for a test a drive or just want to be a passenger, I'm usually at Mt Hamilton or Calaveras Road unwinding a bit on SUnday mornings. Just let me know.

 

Just though I'd add my two cents about the choice of stock or JCW Suspension
with "the comfort of a pregnant wife" being the prime consideration.

I just got Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 in 205/50/16 mounted on Enkie RPF1s.
The new rims and tires weigh 8 lbs. less per wheel for an improved ride.

Not just a little better, not just a lot better, a whole different car!

First the wheels then the JCW Suspension and it will still ride better than stock.

Hope this helps...

 

But like anything else, the ride quality varies from driver to driver. For me, this setup is perfect. If you want to take it for a test a drive or just want to be a passenger, I'm usually at Mt Hamilton or Calaveras Road unwinding a bit on SUnday mornings. Just let me know.[/quote]


how i wish to have that stock suspension.But im running a H&R lowering spring which the previous owner installed.Car look good though,but not comfy
Yes DARMOG,I would like to meet with you this sunday anytime in the morning or afternoon but not noon time coz we go to church.Let me know when your free....

 

Neaaahh...SF Mini service department SUCKS big time.Just went there last week,they called me to pick up my car and when I got there (after 2 hrs. from their call), they made me wait anohter 1.5 hrs. to put a part on it that they never realized that it wasn`t put back.No appology at all,like it was normal for me to wait for it.No wonder they`re dumped all the way to the back of the dealership and the folks from BMW lounge over in the front part of the building.Mini of SF service doesn`t even come close to what BMW service offers to their clients.Will never go back there again....

 

I had the same bad experience at Mountain View, wrote the General Manager a complaint e-mail and zippo response. My problem is that I live only 5 minutes away and it will be a big hassle to go somewhere else for service. Is there at least a service advisor there that is better than others?

 

Usually, MINI sends out a survey about your experience with the dealer.You won`t receive one,since you complained and they weed out potential bad reviews of their practices in front of the manufacturer.There are bonuses to be made if a certain CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) in maintained.MINI of SF has an even more blunt system to weed out complainers.The service manager sends out an e-mail asking about your experience with the dealer.Since managers know what takes place in the field (most of the time) , they`re always covering for their employees.In my case, the service manager knew about my extra waiting,since I requested an additional work order for the work done while waiting, to which the service adviser said that he`ll need to ask the service manager about it on the following day.What you could do though is the following: call MINI corporate customer service and ask them to send you directly a survey for your service done with that dealer.When you get it, call directly the service director and let him know that you recieved the manufacturer`s survey and wondering how come that he never answered to your inquiry.Just stop talking after that.Oh yeahhhh....you`ll see that they`ll do the talking then....have fun !