I'm shopping for an MCS and getting quotes from dealers. Do Mini dealers give loaner cars while the car is in the shop? What extras can differentiate one Mini dealer from another?

 

Some give loaners, some don't. Some limit when they give them. Some dealers give you freebies, others don't. Some treat you like they would like to see you buy another MINI and some couldn't care less about you once you fork over the cash.

 

So it wouldn't be unreasonable or unheard of to request, as part of the deal, that a loaner be provided while the car is in the shop?

 

Dealers usually have established policies for loaners. Something you should inquire about before purchase.

 

MAG Mini in Columbus gives you a loaner. A couple of times when they didn't have a MINI to drive, they forked over a Beemer

 

Our dealer provides loaners or a no-charge rental car for warranty service. In fact, there's an Enterprise rental office inside the showroom.

 

And you consider that a plus??

 

Brecht MINI has a nice fleet of loaners - MINIs and Beemers. Folks who've purchased their MINIs thru Brecht can get a loaner when their MINI is in the shop for repairs. Others, who didn't purchase their car from Brecht, have a more difficult time getting a loaner - or so I've heard.

Best to ask your dealership what their policy is before you ink your deal.

 

Speak of the Devil. I left my MINI off this morning to get the correct wheels put on (snafu w/ordering) and a few minor things I noticed on delivery taken care of. There is an Enterprise rental desk inside the BMW dealer next door and they gave me a voucher.

The Ford Focus I'm driving today sucks so incredibly hard compared to my MINI, but it is better than nothing.

 

Beats walking...

 

I'm pretty sure that Princeton MINI (I see you are in Princeton) offer loaners. Otherwise both Morristown (my dealer) and Prestige (the dealer of choice for lots of NEMINI.org MINI owners) definitely do and are both very good about making you feel valued and like you would like to buy multiple cars from them.

 

Nope, not un-reasonable at all. My dealer on Long Island (Mini of the Hamptons) actually signed and gave me a copy of, a "Loaner car" agreement which stated the policy of the loaner cars. They will always give you one with schedule maintanence, and will "TRY" to give you one (if they have one avail. in other words) for un-scheduled maint. It also stated they would drop the loaner car off to my house, and drive (or flatbed) my MINI in for service for me. Thats great for me as they are 30 minutes away...

The moral of the story is, you should DEFINITLY find out a dealers policy on loaners prior to purchasing.

 

My dealer in Pittsburgh is almost 3 hrs. away and for scheduled service they will pick up the car at my house, leave me a loaner, and bring the Mini back when it's finished.

 

To me that is incredibly shortsighted Why on earth would BMW/Mini want you driving a competitors brand off their lot? Loaner programs build customer loyalty and give customers a taste of other cars in the marque's lineup.

 

STEEEEEEEELERRRRRRRRRSSSS!!!!! Looks like we are on our way to the bowl again this year!! Big Ben is looking sharp.

 

That is what MOST dealers do, give rentals and/or other cheap brand cars for loaners. Actually, it works in there favor if you ask me. Everytime I do that with my wifes A8 Audi, after a day or two of driving a piece of crap I am reminded of how GREAT the A8 is when I pick it up.

 

When I bought my Mini at EastBay Mini, they specifically asked me to sign a piece of paper acknowledging that they do not provide loaners for services.

However, when I brought the car in for warranty work, they did provide me with a loaner, so who knows? Maybe it depends on the discretion of the service manager.

 

MINI of Murray (Utah) will drop you off somewhere while they work on your car.
There is no possilbe way I cold spend a whole day at the mall or somewhere equally as facinating though, and they are just too far away (around the 200 mile mark) to have them take me home.

If they give you a Focus, well that would just be a way to further assure you stay with a MINI no matter what.

 

Motorwerks BMW/MINI in Minneapolis gives loaners as long as you a) bought the vehicle there, b) you're still under warranty.

My wife has had a couple of R53's and a very nice 3 series.

 

This is good to hear because MAG is where I bought mine (on the boat right now).
Although I hope I never have to take advantage of the loaner

 

OK, so Chrysler used to give me an Enterprise. But, every high end car marque has provided me loaners of their entry level vehicles: Infiniti, Land Rover, Audi, MB, Porsche. Right now there's a 2007 guards red Boxter sitting in my garage, and quite frankly I don't know if I want to give it back to the dealer When it comes time for me to decide where to buy a new car or bring my car in for service, I'm going to remember that good feeling. Once, like with you, an Audi dealer tried to give me Enterprise, so I took my car to an indy, paid for a rental out of pocket, still paid less and got better service.

 

Crevier in Santa Ana gives (free) loaners .. usually a 325 BMW or so for the 06 JCW when it goes to oil change.