I'm leaving my hometown of Port Charlotte for University of Miami in the fall, which means I won't be be servicing my MINI at Ferman of Tampa Bay any longer. Although Ferman is two hours away from me currently, my tech there, Pat Wallis, has made the drive worthwhile.

I'm now worried that South doesn't have a comparable tech to Pat. Are there any techs that you trust to work on your cars? Is the dealership pretty lenient with aftermarket parts? We bought my car from South and it's down the street from school, so I'd prefer to stick with them, but are there any better dealerships around Miami in this respect?

 

1) Lauderdale MINI is by far the best, but over 30 miles from UM. (But heck, if you are used to a 2 hour drive, it might not be that bad)

2) South Motors does not provide loaners to MINIs in service, only a shuttle with 10 miles. I can give feedback on actual service sometime tomorrow.

3) Braman stinks ("DO NOT GO THERE UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY" stinks).

 

Pat Wallis is in fact quite hard to beat.

Good luck finding someone in the Miami area. I do not know any of that but I know as not having a MINI any longer I never feel as confident bringing my car to anyone as I did with Pat.

 

Lauderdale MINI all the way. Avoid the Miami dealerships (South Motors and Braman like the plague).

Well worth the 30 mile drive up I-95. See Marc or Scott, the 2 MINI SA's. Lauderdale will give you a MINI loaner (Or free Enterprise rental car if no MINI available) regardless of where you bought your MINI originally from.

They have the best service in South Florida.

I have heard good things about Vista MINI in Pompano Beach but add another 10-15 miles to the trip.