Ordered a MC S May 27th. Car came in to dealer on Jul 11th. The tracking was off as far as the location of the car by several weeks. Me and the wife was headed out the door to make the 80 mile drive to pick it up when the sales person called (Amanda Harwood) stating she had found a blemish on the passenger glass and their detail people couldn't get it off. She said it would be the following Tues before the glass guy could maybe fix it. I told her we would come and see for ourselves. When we got to the dealer the car was in the shop to have the glass replaced. Still had an hour plus before it would be done. So me and the wife went and got lunch and returned. The car was inside the showroom. The first thing I saw was about 6 deep paint chips on the passenger door just above the door handle. These chips were all the way done to the metal. Of course the sales lady had no idea about the chips. I'm very sure this was done in the shop during the glass replacement. I also found an area on the hatch that had been repaired and painted in a very poor way. You could see a sanding shadow and b/line was still wet to the touch. I'm sure this was done at the VDC. Now the manager got involved and tried to play everything down. Got the detail guy over to look at it. I knew the chips could not be touched up that they had to be block sanded down to the metal and the door repainted. The color of the mini is pure silver and I know a big problem on repainting the door will be colormatch. Silver is a very hard color to colormatch with the rest of the painted area's. This will end up being a repaired car sold as new and the dealer acted like, so what, we can sell the car easily. I work for a major auto maker in Alabama and for the last 5 years I have been the supervisior in the Paint Final Repair department. I fix the chips, scratches, deforms, baremetal repairs from the Weld repair, etc.
I know what it takes to make a good repair and a bad repair. People MINI dealer's know this car sell's. They could care less if you buy it or the next person coming through the door will buy it. They sell for full MSRP?????
Please look your car over real well before signing the papers. Take a Paint and body expert with you to check the car out first. There is alot of ways to cover up damage that the everyday person cannot see until its to late and then you will have to fight to get the dealer to fix what was damaged before you bought it. Here is the dealer info:
HANK AARON BMW/MINI, Union City, GA 30291, (770)969-0755.
I am trying to get my wife not to buy it and reorder. This dealer said they were afraid to reorder one because I might find something wrong with it?????? Be careful friends:impatient

P.S. I forgot about this. While at the dealer, the MINI sales manager Pete Spencer, said you shouldn't be worried about our body shop and their paint job, come here and let me show you this blue one that got backed into and the quarter panel was replaced and painted. I could see the difference in colormatch and thin clearcoat areas. He also showed me a front bumper on another car that had been scratched and the bumper was painted. I could see were it was painted and some sandmarks in the basecoat............This tells me that cars are damaged even at the dealers and are being so called fixed, and sold as new.

 

That sounds awful. It's great of them to then act like you're being too picky. How silly to expect a brand new special order car to not have dings and chips in the paint huh.


I had a similar thing with my MINI. It had a scratched/scraped spot on the black roof, which was done at the factory because it was under the rubber roof trim as well as visible on the outside. I didn't notice it when I picked the car up, I guess nobody at the dealership had noticed it (I hope they hadn't at least...I'd hate to think they just hoped I wouldn't see) when they took delivery. But they took care of it, it was a very small spot easily touched up. MINI of Nashville made it right.

But it is a great tip for others.....look the car over, every inch, up close, in the light.

 

I think you should switch dealers altogether. If you no longer feel confident about dealing with Hank Aaron, place your order elsewhere. You can try Classic MINI in Ohio (A extremely reputable dealer/NAM vendor) and order your new MINI online without any further hassles.

I was a Motoring Advisor not very long ago, and I can tell you from personal experience, that a lot of problems can be avoided if the sales person follows up and does his/her job right from the get go. Right before a delivery, I used to go over my customer's cars with a fine tooth comb and if I detected something that wasn't right or I didn't like I would halt the delivery until it was fully corrected.

As a MINI owner I am extremely **** myself because I would not accept a vehicle with certain blemishes and neither my customers.

Unfortunately, there are Motoring Advisors out there (Fortunately an inmense minority) that are in this job for the money and they could care less about following through with the customer and ensure their satisfaction.

Like I said, if I were in your shoes, I would cancel any further orders with Hank Aaron and re-order elsewhere with a better reputation for customer services.

Don't fault the vehicle or manufacturer. Situations like this can happen but it doesn't mean that you as a customer have to accept them all the time.

 

What? you quit???

Sorry if OT but I thought you just started?

 

(Brief thread hijack)

Yes I did quit. Loved the job but honestly could not hack the hours, specially having to work on weekends. The money is very good and you get to talk and be among MINIs all day long but like any other car sales job, not everything is a bowl of cherries..... People still see you as a "sleazy car salesman", they disrespect you, etc. Fortunately, the vast majority of the clients I interacted with were very pleasant and well informed folks

I did my share of retail jobs years ago and working as an MA I got reminded the #1 negative aspect of retail sales: The long freaking hours.

As an IT guy with over 15 years experience, I decided that I am a much better fit in my former profession. Just a couple of weeks ago I received a fantastic job offer here in Miami for an IT position at a prestigious Architectural/Interior Design firm and quite honestly could not refuse it

Tomorrow is my first day back in IT.

So I am back to 8-5 week days but at least I have taken back my weekends to spend with my pregnant wife and family/friends.

So for now, MINIs continue to be a hobby I feel passionate about and I am glad that I had the opportunity to experience the daily sucesses as well as trials of a MINI Motoring Advisor

 

a brand new car has to be perfect. no blemishes, no spots, no chips, no
nothing. that's why you waited so long and paid full price to get it in
the first place.

it is sad that your dealer is not giving you the personal attention
you should be getting.

 

Sorry to cont the hijacking of this thread, but... Im also in IT, you want to talk about disrespect and long hours??? I think thats in the job desc for anything IT... At least the former you were surrounded by MINI's all day!!

tewebb, that does suck though.. My MINI just came in Friday and it totally didnt occur to me to really look it over and make sure everything is kosher... I noticed a small little swirly plastic shaving coming out of the hood scoop but that was nothing, just pulled it off. Ill have to make sure I do an overview before I drive it off the lot on Monday.

/proceed

 

Got it. Yes, the hours would make for a miserable life.

Best of luck in your new job. Computers aren't going away anytime soon

 

Yeah IT is not a bowl of cherries either... Believe me been there done that

It is a thankless job many times but there are many aspects of the profession that I still like. It is a tough job and extremely competitive. You have to read countless manuals filled with boring technical aspects and such. You always have to be studying and learning technologies with a short shelf life and quickly become obsolete

A job in IT and a job selling MINIs are 2 different animals but they both share some similarities. But trust me a job in sales with 60-70 hours per week wears you down and pronto. You do make a ton of money but you have no life . I would think that if you are a single guy or you don't have much of a social life outside of work and don't mind marrying to the job, you'll do fine. Like I said for the most part I loved being a MA, but due to the long hour expectations I did not see myself doing it for a very long time.

There are no perfect jobs. You should do what you enjoy/like best and feel confident going about day in and day out. In car sales the sky is the limit as what kind of income you bring home but people do get burned out in that industry at a much faster rate than any hardcore IT guy.

Who knows, may be in the future I'll revisit being a MA but for now, I need to have a more "Normal" working schedule and have my weekends open for familiy duty.

 

Yep. Computers are here to stay and they are a vital part of our lives for better or worse.

The IT market after 2001 took a huge slump but things are slowly but surely getting better in the field. Companies are again hiring IT personnel after years of putting an indefinite freeze to acquiring new employees.

A couple of weeks ago CNN published the 10 best jobs in America and 2 out of the 10 in the list were IT related occupations. If I remember correctly, #1 was software developer and at #7 came IT Analyst.

**** END OF THREAD HIJACK *****

 

Yea, I remember this article, and Developer was #1. Which is the way Im headed

 

Hank Aaron MINI in the Atlanta area is by far the WORST dealership that I've dealt with in regards to their attitudes. I brought my new MINI in for warranty work with them since I go to school in Atlanta, and they DENTED IT 3 TIMES. And they didn't tell me! They were going to let me drive off . . .

I don't care to devulge the full story, but it took weeks of me without my MINI and months of re-attempted paint jobs to get it fixed to where I was happy with the job. Hank Aaron sucks bad . . .

 

Welcome to NAM. Sorry your first post had to be such a horror story!

As another Alabama MINI owner, I can say that lots of local people are getting much better service from Nashville than either of the Atlanta dealerships. John Monk is a Motoring Advisor there and he does have a good reputation for taking care of Alabama MINI owners.

Remember to check out our BAMA (Birmingham Area MINI Association) forum here and meet some other local enthusiasts.

Maybe you should post the vin# of this damaged new MINI?

 

Tewebb,
Don't worry it's just the start of things to come if you buy the MINI. I would look at another car if I was you! Fun to Driver only goes so far. Here's what we are going thu now. The Dealer you went to is not the only one who's customer service sucks! ( As well as MINI! )

Airbag Warning Light Problems
We are a law firm investigating airbag problems in MINIs. MINI owners report that their airbag warning light illuminates and that their dealership cannot fix this problem. As a consequence these owners have had to return their MINIs to dealerships multiple times to deactivate their airbag warning light. If you have any information that you think would assist us in this investigation please email arz@girardgibbs.com or call us toll free at 1-866-981-4800 and ask to speak with Abe Zuckerman. Thank you.

The Dealer (Sandia Mini) says there is nothing wrong with our air bag sensor in the passenger seat, so why does it cycle ON & OFF with my 94lbs wife in the seat? Like I said fun to drive only goes so far! We now need to go to the state to file a complaint with the state Lemon Law. We love the car but I love my wife more!

 

Haven't heard of any Mini horror stories out west. We bought ours from Niello in Sacramento. I grew up in Sacramento, and Niello was synonymous with quality. They have been the primary Porsche and VW dealer in Sacto since the 60's, and their eye for customer service and quality continues with their Audi, BMW, and Mini dealerships.

 

I keep wondering about your agenda in this website

Sorry that your MINI experience wasn't a positive one. But I am afraid you are part of an inmense and seemingly disgruntled/vocal minority.

My MINIs (3 of them and counting) have been EXEMPLARY in the reliablity and quality departments. If you like to see service histories, I'll be happy to provide you with the VIN number of my 16 month old '05 MCS.

15.6K miles, 16 months of daily service and not a single problem to date. Nada, zilch, zero

 

MiniMeg06:
The airbag warning light issue is far from just a MINI issue. Our 2004 Subaru Forester has been back for the passenger seat triggering the air bag light - it came on and stayed on three times. Each time they said they replaced the wiring harness. I have two MINIs and have no issues with either one of them.

 

Like you said, there is a very small minority who don't care about the customer. I know Amanda and I can say that she truly has a passion for MINIs and the overall MINI experience. No, I don't work for HA and no, I didn't buy my car from her, but I know her and she isn't just in it for the money. I am sorry that you had a bad experience tewebb, but don't let this completely put you off MINI ownership.

 

So your saying you haven't had ANY issues with your Mini's. I find that very hard to believe. Just give it time and you will, I fill this way from experience ( the worst customer service I have ever had! ) and just start reading this web site. We love to drive the MCS but I LOVE my wife more then any auto out there. I worry about the safety of this POS with my wife. Sorry you may love your Mini more then your love ones but I DON"T!
Agian fun to drive only goes so far.

 

Good thing you are an expert paint guy. My 03 PS/B would be tough to match the paint, and I sure would not want this on a new car.

And since I had a bad experience with my 03, when I pick up my 06 Monday it's going on a rack so I can inspect the frame!


regards,
Red

 

Then again, I feel sorry for your issues and I am glad to see that you have your life priorities in check

Having said that, not everyone has had a sour experience with their MINIs. There are many satisfied and I might add, non-vocal owners who have more or less troublefree ownership experiences. Let's face it, people with reliable cars are not going to post here and say "Hey! my car worked today and didn't leave me stranded!".

I question you desire to gather "symphathy" and drag everyone else down your path of unhappiness because if your car was problematic, so everyone elses will too . That is pretty pathetic and that is non-sense. If you hate the car, the brand and resent owners of problem free cars, that is certainly your right and your business.

But please spare us from your "MINI hatred". Is not needed and not welcomed here.

 

Airbag warning lights are also an issue with Porsches.

 

Airbag warning light was an issue in the Nissan Titan, as well. We delayed buying our Titan until the issue was addressed, but many pre-05 owners have had the front passenger seat replaced due to this problem.
Annette

 

All cars can have issues!!! We are on our 2nd mini and have had no real problems to date.
On a different note, go to Mini of Nashville, take yucca's advise, they are really good over there, I would see John Monk or Jeremy Furlong, we bought both of our minis from them and had pleasant experiences both times, and we have also been happy with their service department.

 

how careful a paint job do you really expect from Hammerin' Hank Aaron's dealership?