First post!

Thanks to all of the great folks on this board, I’ve decided to join the club. My fiancée’s lease on the VW is up at the end of August. Hopefully if I order my Mini Cooper now, it will be here before then.

Now then, I live in Tampa, just 20 minutes from Ferman Mini. Now on the “Dealer Rating System” section, most have had not very kind things to say about these guys (though most of the negative posts seem to be from earlier last year. Growing pains hopefully?), but all of the posts seem to be from people that have bought off of the lot. I guess I’m hoping I won’t have as bad an experience if I spec it out and order a cooper and wait. That may just be wishful thinking, and I could order from Downtown Mini in Orlando, though I would prefer to buy from them locally because I will, inevitably, be using their service department (don’t want to make a trip to Orlando every time I have a service issue).

So, Has anybody ordered from Ferman, and has the experience been positive or negative? Do they charge anything over MSRP, or add on bogus dealer installed options (like the $600 paint protectant that’s installed on all the cars on the lot). If I tell them I will only pay MSRP, and I don’t want any options, will they try and sneak them on when the car is delivered and say “we put on the protectant, now you have to pay for it!” And if I do instead buy the car from Downtown, will the Ferman service guys give me grief, or provide me with lesser service than if I had purchased the car there?

I guess I wouldn’t mind ordering from Downtown Mini, if the experience will leave me less exasperated. But, one thing that worries me: Though the rating for Downtown is great (5 of 5 stars), and they sell at MSRP, the posters say that you have to order $1,500 in accessories along with the car. Now I plan on ordering the Cooper with over $2000 in options (premium pkg., etc), but it seems like they won’t count that as accessories and I will have to order and additional $1.5k in junk I have no need for. Do they make you buy the accessories even if you order, as opposed to buying off the lot?

Also are there any factors that would lead one dealership to be able to receive an ordered Mini faster than the other (allotments and such)?

Whew, that was longer than I thought. Sorry guys!

Thanks a ton,
Josh

 

I can only speak for Downtown MINI. I bought my MCS last may and they were very easy to do business with. I've had two small problems and they were handled quickly (leaking coolant tank and cold start problem ). They're friendly and MINI knowledgeable. The $1500 accessory package is for the MCS and $1000 for the Cooper. Give them a call or better yet, go visit and test drive a car. Some dealers just mark up the cars, at least here you can make some choices as to what you may want to add. I'm not sorry I chose a MINI and I'm not sorry I bought from Downtown MINI.
Mike Brinson

 

Welcome to MCO Fripp!

Better yet, test drive a MINI a Ferman, and place your order at Lauderdale MINI. They charge MSRP and don't make you pay for extra accessories. It's worth the 3-4 hour drive from Tampa to pick up your car to save at least $1,000. Ask to speak to Andy Hegley. He was my Motoring Advisor, and is an AWESOME guy.

A lot of us are actually going to Ferman MINI this Saturday for their First Anniversary party (and the chance to win a trip to the MINI plant in Oxford). You should stop by and see us all there!

Tony

 

Bought my DS/W MCS off the Ferman lot after a test drive in the demo. That's all it took. They happened to have one with options I liked and < 50 miles.

 

Ditto what Tony said.................

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Now is there anyone out there that actually ordered a Mini from either of these dealers?

 

I heard that Palm Beach MINI was selling below MSRP because of an oversupply. I would take a drive over there, or at least call! Good luck!

 

Hi, if you're thinking about travelling to get your mini, you may want to call Tom Bush Mini in Jacksonville. Their ratings haven't been so great on the dealer rating system, but I ordered my mini from them about two weeks ago and had a really great experience.

They tried to do a dealer swap with a couple of different dealers, but the other cars had already been sold, so I ended up ordering one. There was no pressure to add any options or accessories and I paid (will be paying) MSRP. I got my production number the same day I placed my order and I have an estimated production date of 4/18. I am very satisfied with my experience so far...

 

mini=love - GREAT username!!!! And welcome to MCO!

 

>>Hi, if you're thinking about travelling to get your mini, you may want to call Tom Bush Mini in Jacksonville. Their ratings haven't been so great on the dealer rating system, but I ordered my mini from them about two weeks ago and had a really great experience.
>>
>>They tried to do a dealer swap with a couple of different dealers, but the other cars had already been sold, so I ended up ordering one. There was no pressure to add any options or accessories and I paid (will be paying) MSRP. I got my production number the same day I placed my order and I have an estimated production date of 4/18. I am very satisfied with my experience so far...
>>

Just to through this in, I also ordered my MCS from Tom Bush back in March of last year and I didn't have a great experience. They tried to make me order $1700 of dealer add on crap and an additional $700 paint pkg. Neither one of these factors came up when I put my deposit down but came much later, the paint pkg didn't come up until I came in to pick up my car. I would be very wary of this dealer, things might have changed in the last year but they may not have.

mini=love, you may want to make SURE they don't charge you anything extra and get it in writing. Just my two cents and welcome to MCO.

 

Hi minimotorin,

Thanks for your post, I'm sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience at Tom Bush. I went to take a look at the MINIsabout 8 months ago and the motoring advisor said that they were requiring $1000 in accessories. That really turned me off. So when I went back a few weeks ago, I just planned to test drive at Tom Bush (because it's in my hometown) and that I would probably purchase from another dealer who didn't require the extras. I asked the motoring advisor (Cameron, the same guy I had talked to 8 months ago) about the extras when I was there and he said that they did not require that and that he thought dealerships who did require accessories were "ridiculous". So as far as that is concerned, I think they have changed their policy on extras since you visited. And I do have the order in writing with the only extras being the floor mats, which I did want.

Another thing I noticed while at the dealership was that all the MINIs on the lot already had at least $1000 worth of "dealer-installed options" aka perma-plate, cd-changer, etc. So by ordering my MINI, I will be avoiding that extra cost.

But I do appreciate your concern!