I'm going to go do a test drive this weekend and was wondering what dealers in the Metro DC area have been good to deal with?
I have not been excited about any car I have bought in the last 10 years. They have all been transportation but when I saw the mini I knew that was the car for me. I'll give my son the Taurus wagon and get me a fun ride.

One other question. Am I insane to think about getting all three packages?

 

I have had a pretty good experience with Tate MINI in Annapolis. They let me take a test drive with no one in the car with me. The two times I have actually been there it was really busy. John Dugan is the Sales Managere and he was as helpful as he could be given the fact he was the only one there and was swamped with people. They also are charging MSRP and only adding floor mats for $99. I saw a post recently that said the floor mats were $200 so I have to check with them to see what the real story is. I put my order in April 4th, and have a production date of May 10th. My wife said all I need to do now is sell the 1980 Triumph TR7 that is sitting in the garage. Seemunkee, where in the DC area are you?

 

I'm in Olney(North of Silver Spring). I was thinking of going to Annapolis, have some crabs and drive a mini, what a great day.
Someone in my neighborhood has one and was driving down my street yesterday. Someone at MiniUSA must know my desire and is teasing me.

 

I just bought my MINI from Sterling BMW in Sterling, VA. They were really good to deal with and I would highly recommend them.

 

More info about Tate inn Annapolis. I talked to John Dugan today about forced addons. He said that with any car that is being specced now you hve to get $200 floormats and another $800 add-on, either CD changer or Rally lights. He did tell me that since I put in an order early last month before this new policy, I only have to get $99 floormats. He told me flat out they are trying to increase their profit. Glad I got in early. He also said they are toying with the idea of adding a "Motoring" package for $499 instead of the changer or lights. This might include a T-shirt, hat, pen, tot bag, etc. etc. On another note, my Mini is in production and hopefully will be here mid June. Woo Hoo. Is the dealer in Sterling doing any of that add-on stuff?

 

The dealer in Sterling didn't make me do any of that (however, I did a lot of it to myself anyway). If you look at my picture in the Member MINIs section you'll see what I mean. I have the bonnet stripes, driving lights and the floor mats. But, none of them were required by the dealer. At least when I got mine, I was allowed to just pick what I wanted off the list and that was it. I was quite pleased with the experience dealing with them.

 

Do you think they would require the add ons if I'm getting it fully loaded? If so screw them. I'll use them for the test drive and go else where to order. travel time wise I am inbetween sterling, annapolis, and arlington. Thanks for the advice.

 

From what John Dugan told me you don't have a choice, you have to take the $1000 add-on. He doesn't see any reason to not do it since they are still getting swamped with orders. When I was there they 4 cars on the lot and they were all waiting for someone to pick it up.

 

For what it's worth...I live 10 minutes from TATE, so naturally that's where I got my S. I ordered it about a year ago, and got it in late July. Perhaps because the car was so new to the US last year, I walked into that showroom knowing more about the car than the sales staff. John Dugan, while always cordial, seemed to have a slightly condescending attitude, which I thought was bad form. Someone suggested that these BMW sales folk were peeved at having to sell a car with a much smaller profit margin, which cut into their comissions, so they were pissed. That's the impression John gave both me and my husband.
Having been in retail for 17 years, I have learned that no matter what, always put your best face on when dealing with customers, regardless of how you feel about the product. Also, TATE seems to care less about any benefit they might gain from becoming involved in MINI events outside the dealership. Sterling is deeply involved, which says to me they care about both the product and the customer, even after a sale is completed. If you don't care about dealer-customer relations, then go with TATE, but be forwarned, their service dept. reps are brain-dead.
Having ranted, I'll shut up now :smile: