I'm really not surprised but I specifically told my mini dealer that I would not pay for the mats and that they should come with the car as a courtesy. Well ofcourse he added them to my bill. He also conveniently forgot to deduct my $500 dollar deposit from the bill. This is why I don't trust anyone, especially car dealers. I don't care what kind of car they are selling. It's looking doubtful that I will actually be buying this car.

 

dont let idiots ruin a good expierence for you.

 

Yea you cant let one dealer, and especially one person make you not buy -your- car. If you're really that sensitive, try talking with a manager.

If he said no to free mats in the begining, you can't really expect them to be free later and obviously they'll give you the $500 credit, once you bring it to their attention, its not like they are gonna say ohh we forgot to deduct it, sorry nothing we can do. lol.

Have fun with the car man, unless you either really didn't want it or can't afford it, then this could be a possible way to get out from being in over your head.

 

A bold statement on your part. Maybe that isn't dealer policy...free mats are not handed out at many/most MINI dealerships. Now forgetting the $500 deposit is not good...good catch for you and bad on him. The mats is another deal though.

 

I was hoping my MA would offer free mats, but he directed me to the service window to buy them. No free goodies at all, actually, not even a keychain. No big deal. Maybe I'll get something next time I visit. They lowered the price of the MFSW by $200 from when I had first priced my MCS 3 months ago, so that paid for the mats and then some. The car is just too awesome. I would happily drive it with newspapers layed down on the floor. Hmm, $500 deposit.. I had to do a $1000 deposit. I wanted to max out my MINI Visa card when I bought it to get earn maximum MINI points and it's take advantage of the 0% interest right now, but they wouldn't let me charge over $2500. Oh well. I think I've earned enough MINI points to get a keychain or 2 now. =)

 

I know exactly what you mean. My dealer told me he would give me the car 'cause I'm such a great guy. When I reminded him of it, he just looked at like I was on drugs. Boy, the nerve of some people.

 

Been my experience when you empower others like this you usually will be the one that gets disappointed.

I asked for nothing but the car I wanted. I got it and I am about aas happy as anyone could be. Was it worth it? Damn straight it was! Would i do it again? You bet (but I doubt NAM could take it )!!

 

we had 1k deposite too, and thats all they would let us, they said it was PA law haha

 

My wife asked for the white turn signals for free and got them. The dealer threw in floor mats as well.

 

Mats don't come for free on MINIS. Mats don't come for free on a lot of cars anymore. Some were lucky enough to get them thrown in I was not but I wasn't expecting it as I knew from the get go that mats were not free. I am sure if you don't want the MINI you ordered they will just sell it to someone else. But... you sure will miss out on a lot of fun over some $100 mats & a mathmatical error

 

Here in AZ they made me lay down a $2,000 deposit, but on the plus side they let you charge $5,000 of the car to a credit card.

Mini points, eh? What can you get for those?

 

Well here's one of the main things that really bugged me about this is I am a pretty "independent" car buyer. In this particular case, when I wanted to order the mini. I went right in, told them exactly what I wanted, and waited until my car came in. When the car was about to arrive at the dealer, I told him that I wanted mats included with the car as a courtesy. I am a low-maintance customer and all this dude did was put my order in for me and tell me when the car got there. I basically opened up his hand and said "here you go, there's a sale for you". He didn't have to do anything. I think I only spent 15 minutes at the dealer the day I ordered my car. It wasn't really stellar customer service. Very black and white. Anyway, the least he could have done was remember the $500 dollar deposit I had. Even if he had a million customers to keep track of, every single one of them would get their $500 dollars deducted on their bill unless they bought their car off the lot that same day. I mean the car is awesome, but I'm really not impressed by the whole "mini experience". Atleast not compared to what I've heard from other mini buyers. I did buy a "no frills" car, and I only asked the minimum from the dealer, but it seems like I'm getting even less. Still minis are awesome cars guys, so don't get me wrong there!!! I actually already went to the dealer and checked it out and took pictures and my dealer didn't even know it was on the lot yet!! Maybe I should've gone to Otto's Mini instead of Mini on the Mainline. I've had more dealer contact with otto's and I didn't even buy my car from them!

 

You're right...different dealers seem to have different cultures about them. I had a friend who went hundreds of miles away to order a MINI because they got a slight discount and that was what had grown accustomed to in car buying (first time MINI buyers....sheesh!!). They probably got some free stuff, who knows. Their experience was a good one and I'm happy for them. What they didn't know, however, is that the local dealer has tons of perks for their customers that in the end were probably worth far more over the life of their car (perks I plan to enjoy to the full).

So you do the best you can...live and learn. In this case you had hoped for better and they disappointed you. I would be going , too if I were in your shoes.

 

While it's true that the dealer is a large part of the buying experience, you are ultimately resposible for the deal you get on your new car. You specce'd it out, you went to the dealer and placed your order - that's when you should have negotiated for some mats included at at no additional charge, before any money changed hands.

Failing to do this, you have no reasonable expectation that they would "throw" them into the deal - some would have - but most dealers (regardless of car brand) would probably say NO, the deal was already done.

At any rate, a good car buying lesson for you for the next time you buy, and in the meantime, enjoy your MINI!

If the other dealer is nearby, maybe you should patronize them for your service and future car buying?