hey all - I need to vent... i realize car shopping is an "all's fair in love and war" kind of thing, BUT I got bent over on this one and it hurts.

I've been looking for a new low mileage r53 for a while now. I've been looking all across the country as I'm willing to ship if I found the right one/price...

I found one at Mini of Montgomery County in Maryland. It was a DS '05 w/ 34k miles. When i originally contacted the dealership this past Tuesday, the car was priced at $7.5k (which felt very reasonable if not on the cheap side for a non-JCW example). Then the dealership changed the price to $9k on Thursday. .. The only reason I continued dealing with them was they said they would honor the original price. Anyway, after lining up a reasonable shipping quote, I called on Friday afternoon to place my deposit. The SA said he had a family emergency and needed to leave early and wouldn't be back till Sunday. I wanted to do the right thing and give him credit for the sale so while I did ask about having another SA help me, I felt like he deserved the sale and ultimately decided to wait to Sunday to wrap it up (man do I regret that).

Anyway the dude called me last night to reassure me the car had not sold and noone was looking at it. Yay - it was mine! Finally!! (or so I thought). This morning he called me for pics of my license so he could start the deposit process. However, like 10 min later his manager called me and told me someone from Pennsylvania was on their way into the check out the car and that they would NOT be able to take my deposit OR sell me the car.

WTFFFFFFFFFFF

Despite my serious protest there was nothing I could do. I've been calling/texting my SA all day and im getting crickets. I'm also waiting for a call from the dealership's general manager, but I doubt that will ever happen. You'd think this sort of thing wouldn't happen at a mini dealership. Especially one so large as this one.

So YOU the guy from PA that will no doubt be posting about his new mini. Congrats, but you suck. AND you overpaid ... It's not your fault though. It's mine. I should have insisted someone else finish the deal. Lesson learned - all car salesman are evil and are out for themselves. From now on, I will treat them all as such.

 

Sorry you lost out but that is the way business is. The right thing for you would have been to put a deposit down immediately on a car you felt was reasonably priced and then go get it or have it shipped.

After all a well priced sought after car is going to move fast.

Car dealers are in it for the money, just like most businesses. MINI dealers are not some special highly ethical nirvana of car sales.

 

Look at the positive side though, it might have hidden issues or on the verge of braking down.

There are better deals out there.

 

I can feel for you and understand your feelings. I was buying a new truck and the truck information was on the computer and papers to be signed. After my old truck title was signed, they had the keys, the check for the payoff in their finance office, the dealership paperwork signed, being told if the salesman had the trucks info up, no one else is allowed to pull it up and sell, the salesman was talking to his manager for almost 20 minutes .... I went out for a smoke and coffee for 7 minutes. While outside, they pulled the truck up front, the driver jumped out with the keys and walked by me, handed them to a guy who drove off with that truck. It was the one on the screen in the salesman office.

You should have seen the salesman and his managers face when I walk up to them and asked why was my new truck leaving with another owner ... and I with my prior trucks title in their hands, the truck loaded on a rig and driven off, my check was on it's way to the bank .. but no truck, even to drive me home.

I got a 'real great deal' on the one I have now ....
... and after my letter got to their corporate office explaining what I went through .. the salesman and manager wasn't there the next time I returned for a couple aftermarket add-ons I wanted.

When dealing .. TRUST NO ONE !

 

"I found one at Mini of Montgomery County in Maryland. It was a DS '05 w/ 34k miles. When i originally contacted the dealership this past Tuesday, the car was priced at $7.5k (which felt very reasonable if not on the cheap side for a non-JCW example). Then the dealership changed the price to $9k on Thursday. .. The only reason I continued dealing with them was they said they would honor the original price. Anyway, after lining up a reasonable shipping quote, I called on Friday afternoon to place my deposit. The SA said he had a family emergency and needed to leave early and wouldn't be back till Sunday. I wanted to do the right thing and give him credit for the sale so while I did ask about having another SA help me, I felt like he deserved the sale and ultimately decided to wait to Sunday to wrap it up (man do I regret that)."

It seems to me that you were indecisive and did not signal the salesman your intension and commit to the transaction. When you spot a deal you have to seize on the momentum. Tuesday to Sunday is a long time. Just my two shillings.

 

Yup that’s totally fair - I am to blame as well. But they absolutely had an opportunity to do the right thing and they didn’t. Them calling me to say someone was coming to look at the car Sunday am could have easily been them calling the other guy saying I’d just left a deposit and the car was sold....

 

a delayed transaction with you vs a $1500 higher sale price? i’m sure the sales manager/sales person didnt even think twice about it. sorry that that happened. yes - car salesmen, realtors, etc. are all slimeballs.

 

That's painting with a pretty broad brush.

 

i apologized to anyone my statement offended. it is my opinion based on my experiences.

 

Not offended. I haven't had great experiences either, just seems anytime someone says "All ______ are _______", it is not productive.

 

Put "lot" after the "all", move it in front of "car" and insert an "of" between . . . .

yes, allot of car salesmen, realtors etc are slimeballs

One bad apple spoils the whole bunch. My god what was around years back . . .

 

Pretty much. Insert anything... slimy bankers, amoral salespeople, ripoff mechanics, lazy teachers, etc.

While stereotypes are good for a laugh, it's really not realistic to expect that every person selling a house or car is a bad person trying to rip you off.

 

agreed. i should have used the word “most” rather than “all” which is more accurate; the amount of interaction where the realtor has, or has attempted to, rip me off outnumbers those where they have helped complete a successful transaction. similar situation with auto purchases.

 

It's often the system that corrupts, not so much the individual. Most organizations that use sales have certain quotas or fees that require the salesperson to sell while at some point ignoring basic morals in favor of keeping a job.

Nobody has mentioned stockbrokers, seriously how can you avoid those folks? I used to do that for a bit, scary industry with all that money dangled in front of you.

Wife is a Realtor, she would walk away from a commission rather than cheat someone out of a clean deal.

What about the fishmonger who bleaches the old fish to keep it on the shelf for another day. Or the egg sellers who repack the old eggs and put them back on the market? Baby formula laced with Melamine, tainted peanuts, etc.

Money, greed and corruption is everywhere.

 

Don't put much blame on the guy from Pennsylvania (it wasn't me by the way). I would bet that he had no idea of the commitment that was made to you. He might have been told that there was a lot of interest in the car. I have heard some form of "Buy it now or it will be gone by Sunday - I guarantee" multiple times when buying cars. I assume 90% of the time, there is no one ready to buy.

Along the lines of "All _______ are _______" All MINI owners are great people... All guys from Pennsylvania are fair and honest...
Any objections?


I will add that All Car salesmen are impacted by the bad actions of the dishonest ones.

 

Yeah, as a lifelong resident that just isn't even close to true.

 

I know what it is like to " miss out" on a great deal.

I saw a 2005 R 53 about an hour from my house for $ 3000.00 120,000 miles

Was emailing and I spoke to the salesperson.

I was going to go take a look ( a few days later) but it was gone.

It was my fault...and no one to blame but myself...that's ok...I have an AWESOME 2006 Red Chili...that I drove 3 HOURS ONE WAY to get.

Moral of the story.....IF ....you see a car ....you REALLY want....you have to go NOW...

Especially if its a GREAT price

 

I saw mine, grabbed cash and showed up. Drove off with the car... I had a guy from Dallas say he had planned to drive down the next day and buy it... Sorry bud, cash talks BS walks...

 

The comment was made with sarcasm. There are all kinds everywhere. I was playing on the limitations of "All".

That said, there are many great people in Pennsylvania. I moved here 20 years ago and have found far more good people than bad. One neighbor, bought an old pick-up and announced that it was a community truck for whoever wanted it whenever they wanted it. He also is seen planting trees and doing other yard-work for neighbors that don't have time. One Super ball Sunday, when we were having a huge snow storm, I found three neighbors with snow blowers clearing my driveway. I use a shovel and was planning to start after the snow stopped.

 

Yup I def messed up and learned my lesson. Won’t happen again. Surprised the new owner hasn’t show up yet... you’d think anyone THAT interested in a 14 year old Mini Cooper would be on this forum. Don’t be shy! I’m just really really curious how it all went down from the other side

 

14 year old MINI??? A well maintained Gen1 is like a fine whine, it improves with age.

I know, but I could not resist the whine . . . . . . .

 

1st Gens are the only ones to have. They might be here but not be active, plenty of people read and rarely comment.

Sounds like you found a nice part of York County.

 

Ok folks there is a silver lining to this tale!

After missing out on what I thought was a pretty good deal, I just closed what I know is a damn good deal. I stumbled into a unicorn and murdered it.

I am now the proud new owner of a Loaded hyper blue on English leather ‘06 factory jcw w/ 40k miles! And it cost me only $300 more than the deal I missed out on last week. How’s that for karma. Will start a new thread soon with pics!

 

The best of the Gen1s with factory LSD.

 

That's significantly better anyway, nice!