I just heard from my MA that my car is at the dealership and I can pick it up tomorrow. I'll have to wait until Thursday due to my schedule, but it's still much earlier than expected. My baby was on the Asian Chorus and docked in Port Hueneme on the 7/3. I'm happy. I'm happy.

 

Yeah, I can relate, Dance. I'm sitting with a couple of gin and tonics right now to soothe my nerves about my own lost car. Hmmmm... I just realized that yours and mine were the only Minis on the Asian Chorus bound for northern states. And they don't actually know where my car is right now....I wonder if they screwed up and reversed the orders, yours was unloaded in NJ and mine in SC...I'll hopefully know more tomorrow if my MA calls at 9:00 am as promised.

 

So i call my MA this afternoon, because he's old and doesn't seem to respond to emails, even though he seems to read them. According to him, there's a backlog of Mini's waitingi Oxnard for transport. But he said, everything seems to have gone well at the VDC, and Yuko is in line to get one a transport. EDD should be thursday or friday.

 

DAnces, glad to see that your dealership is trying to ensure your happiness by providing a loaner. That is really great, but not enough to make up for what you have gone through.

When I picked up Maggy, my MA told me there would be a survey from MINIUSA and intimated that a good rating would be very helpful. He was generally pretty good through the process, but like so many others here was a bit slow on responding to calls and emails. He never acted as though it was a bother and encouraged calls, but response time was a bit slow for me. I have to admit though as a old lady who is treated with great deference due to my job, I am more accustomed to instant response. LOL! Humbling in some regards to have to wait!

 

Lucky you. My MA keeps telling me he has no earthly idea when mine could possibly be in. He appears to have as much information as the OL. He also seems offended and annoyed that I want a better idea of when it is going to be here. Also was very reluctant to have someone available to do a delivery if it comes in during his 2 week vacation. Arrg.

 

So I got a call from my MA today that the Mini came in. Great news!! EXCEPT - apparently since I ordered, financing rates went up 1% and lease residuals have gone down 3%.

So who cares, I said? I'm guaranteed the rates from the date of my order, no? He says no, I get the current rates. Difference is nearly $1,000 in total payments. He said he'll see if he can discount it to meet me in between. I called 2 other dealers, and they said they would guarantee the rates/residuals.

Now I feel like I'm being totally screwed and am quite upset, ready to walk away if I need to.

From everyone elses experience, were you guaranteed the rates at the time of the order??

 

The same thing happened to me on my 2004 MCS. The delearship and MINI Financial wouldn't budge, so I went to an outside company here in DFW called Autoflex. (Most large cities have similar companies.) They bought the car for me and then leased it back to me through Wells Fargo and I eneded up saving a fair amount over what I was being quoted by MFS.

This time around, we went with outside finance. It makes life so much easier.

 

sorry to hear that McEnvy. My MA found out that the rates were going up the following day, so he called me and said, hey let's do the paper work now and get you the low rates. So we did the paper work the day before the rates went up around here. I'm sorry that he didn't tell you and won't use the rates that they previously priced out. If other dealers in the area will guarantee them, then I may go talk with them and see what they can offer you.

 

I got my license plate in the mail today. I got it installed with my Union Jack Bracket. it looks the business.

 

Mainie- just read your messages and was just going to say something noting the fact that we were both "lost" after the Asian Chorus.... get your MA on it now! Ask the dealership where they usually take delivery from, mine said they always get it from the South Carolina one and don't know why mine went to the NJ port. Keep pushing. We've been sitting at the port now for 19 days!!!! On another note, I asked my manager/rep at ASK MINI now working on this if anything was damaged and that is why it's taking so long and she said no, she already looked into it and the car is fine.

 

MCEnvy- that stinks and now I wonder if that will happen to me since mine hasn't been delivered/picked up yet either. Stay firm on how crappy it is that they didn't get your rates locked in and mention that maybe they should give you $1000 discount now. Not your fault.

 

Going to try and get images up of the "temporary" car in my gallery.
DISCLAIMER: this is NOT my actual car, although it is fun to drive and we're having a great time together so far. I've named her "Buttercup" and will be sad when she gets picked up and taken away.... fun to drive and play with all of the little do-dads.
Still haven't mastered wipers. Radio controls are a bit foreign but it's stuck on a good station at the moment so I'm not touching it

 

Oh no, here I go again!

Basically, our complaints boiled down to the dealership, through several employees, made us feel like they couldn't be bothered with us. We were there to spend $33,000 on a car, and yet we were never treated like we mattered to them. I've worked at high levels of several customer service organizations, and I really believe in providing great service to customers. MINI prides itself on the ownership experience, and I had high expectations.

The original MA that we talked to ignored us when we came in for a second visit (we stood in front of him while he played cards on his computer). We got him to get a car for us to test drive (were were ready to order that day), and then he left while we were out. Not a big deal, but it was the start of things. Ordered the car through a second MA, who just went through the motions of entering our info on line. No advice (we asked lots of questions), just an order taker. Again, this wasn't terrible, just poor service.

After the order, we asked for a printout of our order. Never got it (but I got the info from ASK-MINI). Made changes to the order twice and asked for conformation. Never got it (again, I confirmed it with ASK-MINI). Asked for info on warranty and dealer upgrade options and when I came to pick it up I was given an envelope with outdated brochures - based on the 3/36 original maintenance plan (and "our" MA had to ask who I was). I also asked about pricing on several items, and about the dealer's markups on warranties, clear bra, tint, etc. and was told that their prices are "competitive" and that they don't negotiate. They have every right to charge markups and not negotiate - I could have gone to a dealer in another state and saved a nice chunk of $$ if I had ordered some of these upgrades.

About a month after order (and before production), I talked to the Sales Manager and said that while I accepted their pricing (it just meant I'd be buying upgrades, warranties, etc elsewhere), there was no excuse for the lack of communications. Told him and the MA point blank that I expected responses to my questions in a timely manner (a day or two would be far better than never) and I wanted to have updates as the car went through production. Told them that my experience had been average at best, and I'd probably rate them as such unless they got on the ball. Their response was basically a smile and a head nod.

No one from the dealership let us know when we got a production number (I got it from ASK-MINI). When the car began production, I didn't hear anything from the dealer. A week later (when it was on its way to the port) I called our MA and asked for an update, and they said it was "about to begin production." Once it was on the ship I called them again (hadn't heard anything) and asked for an update. He said they didn't have any info. The day the ship docked I got calls from both the MA and the Sales Manager about delivery. The MA said it would be about 3 weeks. Sales Manager said 7-10 days. When the car arrived at the dealership I called for an update. MA called the next day and said it would be ready in a week. There were no dealer options being installed, and I said that a week was too long. After a few minutes he said the car would be ready the next day!

In my opinion, a lot of the issues come from the fact that there is no other MINI dealer within 400 miles (so why make an effort when you have a captive audience) and all of the sales folks are on salary (so they seem to have no incentive to work for your business).

I totally agree, and I probably would have given them a 3 or a 4 (probably 3) rating if not for the fact that I spoke with the MA and the Sales Manager several times, told them my complaints, and asked for better service. Told them that I thought their service had been average at best, but that the rating would go up or down based on how they responded to my feedback. Things got no better (probably worse), so I scored them accordingly. By the way, the narrative above is heavily edited down!

Email came from satisfaction@MINIexperience.com. Only a couple of questions, and limited room for feedback, but I told the dealer how I felt and that I would express my feelings to MINI as well.

 

MA never talked about it, but I told him early on that I wasn't happy with his service (or the dealership's) and that unless things improved I would make sure to express my opinions on the survey. He said that the survey reflected on him directly, and I said that he had the power to get a good rating by providing good service. Nothing changed, so the score did not improve.

 

My status just changed to At Distribution Center, showing a EDD of 7/12. My MA emailed me about an hour before saying that it looked like a 7/14 delivery. Anyone know how accurate the EDD on the order tracking is or should I take the date my MA gave me more seriously?

 

Dance, looks "temproary" great!!!
did you say this car was sold? or did i misunderstand?
happy motoring! enjoy until you real one comes in! I'm so glad you got a car!

 

Break in period. Whats that? I think they have put you through enough. I say drive it like you stole it.

 

gem- thanks! I had to borrow a friend and drive up to my parents tonight to drop off my dad's truck and my mom had the camera ready, I kept telling her "This isn't MY car!"
No, it is not sold, in fact you can tell where the pink price marker was wiped off the front and it has the dealer write up thing in the back window. I think that's why they want this one back as soon as a real loaner come in, this one is off of the sales lot!

 

phx- ha ha- someone else told me the same thing! I'll be nice to this one though, knowing someone else- another soon to be MINI owner- will eventually be purchasing it. I went to show my boyfriend at work and the first thing he did when he got in the car was touch the e-break and I had to say a firm "NO." The loaner however.... Just kidding, I'll be nice, and smart about it!

 

Kay guys it's been a long day. Signing out. Talk to you all tomorrow.
OH, called my MA when my car arrived and he said that he is still getting the MINI rep to call me for a conference call (sounds serious) but they are waiting for one more emailed answer back from the port and he hoped to call me later tonight with some answers but if not, then tomorrow. For now, I MOTOR!

 

Glad you got Buttercup, even if only for a little while. Hopefully you get everything fixed soon.

Good night, motor tight.

 

Not trying to be Debbie Downer but it seems to me that there are a BUNCH of people who want something for nothing. I certainly feel for the lost car issues but come on guys...IT IS NOT YOUR DEALERSHIPS FAULT. It may not even be MINI's fault. I know that it sucks and I wish that you guys and gals did not have to go through this, but demanding a $2000-$3000 dollar compensation seems a bit absurd(especially when there is no guaranteed delivery date).

As far as the financing goes, we all know that Mini CAN'T discount the cars. Financing rates for car loans can only be locked in for 30 days. If someone missed out, oh well. What would everyone be saying if they were locked into a rate and rates went down and they DID NOT get the lower APR.

I have a 2004 Tahoe that my dealer has told me they would accept for a trade for a certain dollar amount. My wife and I are basing our financing around this dollar amount. There is a very real possibility that the car that I have follwed since the last week in April and should be delivered to me by the end of next week I may not be able to get if the dealership does not honor the verbal ammount for our trade. If that is the case, what can I do...nothing...it is what it is.

Again, not trying to be Debbie Downer, but look at what people are complaining about. Think of the people that are fighting for our freedom RIGHT NOW not seeing their families for several months at a time. I am one of them! In the grand scheme of things, are these problems really THAT BAD.

I have been reading this thread for over a month now and I would gladly buy anyone in this thread a drink but come on, whay are there some many trying to get something for so few.

Don't hate me because I speak my mind.

 

Dance, I really hope that MINI and the Dealer make good on all the issues you've had to put up with. You've been through way too much, and their "response" has been underwhelming! It's great that they brought you a loaner car, but for the life of me I can't figure out what is so hard about putting YOUR car on a truck from NJ and getting it to you.

 

And just as a side note, I live 20 minutes away from my dealer and the VDC. My car has been at the VDC since 6/26 and will not get to the dealer until at least Monday or Tuesday of next week. My MA informed me that BEST CASE, I would have my car at the end of next week. I am not too far off the pace from some people in this thread.

 

What on earth are they doing to your car that takes a week? I'm not getting any dealer installed accessories so my MA has said that if they receive my car early on Monday then he can have it detailed and ready for pick up Monday night. Sounds like some dealers need a serious fire lit under them. Unless you're having LOADS of stuff done by a dealer there's no possible excuse for them taking 5 days to ready your car.