So I've been waiting a long time for my MINI to get to me. I decided recently that I would like to get the bonnet stripes on my car. I thought I would bring this up to my MA. The e-mail chain is below, am I being unreasonable? How should I reply?

Two points about his last e-mail:

1) I did make changes two weeks after the initial order, but by my math I should still have received the car already.

2) Until that e-mail no one has contacted me to explain that their was a supply problem on auto transmissions.

Maybe I shouldn't say anything since they are giving me what I want, but I feel this need to reply, what should I do?

 

You ordered stripes delete, so now that the car is built the stripes now become a dealer add-on, just as if you were buying one off the lot. The dealer has to charge you for the stripe kit they stock since they had to buy it from MINI to start with. Also you can't expect them to eat the labor because you changed your mind. You seem to be very particular about how you want your MINI to look like so I would suggest taking delivery w/o stripes and take it to a vinyl shop and get what ever stripes you want and not be limited to what MINI offers. I bought my MINI used and the first thing I did was remove the stock stripes and installed aftermarket to make it MY MINI, a little different than the others out there. Good Luck

 

Be thankful that you are getting what you asked for. Leave it at that. I think your MA was spot on--you made changes, so that wasn't MINI's fault. Yes, your math tells you that you should have had your car by now, but assembly, supply, and delivery are never hard-and-fast. Yes, it's been 10 weeks, but, again, that likely had nothing to do with MINI (but, rather, as stated, the supply problem).

He said you should pay for them since you originally didn't want them. Now you want them. Starting at zero and asking to add one usually means you pay for the one. I'm surprised that your MA is giving them to you, but good on ya. Be happy with it. Your MA did something that he/she didn't need to do--show some gratitude, be happy, and enjoy your car when it gets delivered.

 

I'm very happy he's giving me the stripes, I just didn't like the way he worded his e-mails.

My friends keep telling me I should raise hell and ask for a lot more because of the wait I've had to endure. I'm not the type to complain normally, but I thought I would give it a shot with the stripes.

 

I don't know, the tone of the replies isn't quite what I would expect - although I don't know what all water has gone under the bridge.

I does strike me that after you made an issue of the extensive upgrades you added he became willing to add the stripes, but not previously. It always pisses me off when someone is only willing to do something after having pressure applied - it shows that there is not a real sense of a customer service ethic. I know car sales doesn't generally draw vetted professionals with extended education and ethics training, but it really sucks when you come across so many scum bags at the dealers (don't go to any Houston dealers!).

 

Sounds like the reason for the delays (auto trans) were not communicated very well to you... not sure if that is MA or perhaps MINI corporate issue.

Otherwise, like others have said, you wanted stripes deleted so they were not added at the factory. Now the dealership has to eat the parts + install cost.

It's great that they decided to add it at no cost to you with a little pressure.

 

It's hard to blame MINI for a natural disaster in another country. Companies just don't keep huge stocks of parts just laying around. Just be glad your car will arrive eventually and you don't need to worry about radiation contamination in your food, etc. like some Japanese folks. I know I would be frustrated by the wait...

Fingers crossed that the boat carrying your car does not sink (it has happened - yikes!!).

 

Really!? Wow that would be the end of it for me, I couldn't imagine starting the order process all over again.

 

This is the one I was thinking about:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2576179.stm

Included BMW's apparently.

 

you are not out of line. you are purchasing an expensive automobile, and shouldn't be treated like you are buying a civic from carmax. no, it's not the MOST expensive car out there, but that shouldn't matter. good dealerships get their reputation from good customer service, not good cars. manufacturers get their rep from good cars.

if there was a delay in your order because of the tragedy in Japan, your MA should have called you or emailed you. i'm not saying you deserve a ton of stuff for free because of the way you were treated, but you definitely don't deserve to be treated like that. you have the power and right to not do business with them anymore. if you don't like how you've been treated, exercise that and warn others.

i've bought new and used cars, cheap and expensive, and i've been treated like royalty. when i bought my mini, i felt like just another number. yes, they were attentive and willing to serve when i bought the car and wrote the check, but after they had it, they completely forgot about me. i had to go back multiple times just to get the floor mats.

i know stuff happens, but that doesn't make it right. if i ever treated anyone like that, i would fire myself.

i hope you get your car soon and it is exactly what you want.

 

I agree with lonestarbuzz. If I recall from your prior posts, you car was ordered in late April - long before the supply issues with the auto trans were known. Stripes or not should not cause a delay like you've endured. I don't know what if any other changes you made and when, but if those caused additional delay it was your MA's job to advise you of that at the time you asked him/her to make them.

I don't like the tone of his/her emails and I don't think your request is unreasonable.

 

The tone of the emails is a bit exasperated. Maybe the MA thought you were a bit of a pain in the ***, or maybe they are just overworked or having personal problems, or maybe they are just rude. It doesn't really matter. Bottom line, you are getting what you want, which is the dealer eating the cost of the stripes/labour. Don't push it any further, be gracious and take your car which will be exactly how you want it

 

So here is the email I sent:

All of our conversations had been courteous until now, including during the ordering process.

BTW, the changes I made two weeks after my initial order:

Removed:
JCW Package
JCW Suspension
Parking sensor
MINI Connected

Added:
Sport Package
Sport suspension
Rear fog light
MINI Connected w/Nav (They told me Connected no Nav orders were being put on hold)

 

One question - when you deleted the stripes initially, did they reduce the price of the sport package? If they did, they're definitely being generous, with a little prodding, in eating their costs. If not, you've already paid for them, and either MINI eats any additional cost, or they'll split it with the dealer.

As for communicating with you about the delays because of the tragedy in Japan, it sounds like they really fell down on the job on that. My MA was very upfront in telling me early on (after I ordered, but when I was trying to find out when my car was scheduled to go into production) that Nav systems supply were causing delays, and that shortly after I ordered, they were told they couldn't take any more orders for Nav systems.

As for the overall tone of your MA's replies, he does seem a little snippy, but there could be many reasons for that. How much of a PITA have you really been?

 

There was no price reduction when I declined the stripes (which is another reason I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to ask for them).

I swear I've been pleasant. The only thing I've bothered him for in the past 8 weeks was the port my MINI would be shipped too. I did this through email and he never even got me the answer, I had to drive to the dealer and ask someone else.

 

while i agree with you about the end result, i don't agree that "it doesn't really matter." it's not about getting what you want, it's about getting what you want HOW you want. i could have the best product in the world, but if i'm a total douche when i talk to clients, i will never sell it.

too many times people have these experiences, and too many times other people say "just deal with it, you're getting what you want anyway." it really doesn't make it right.

 

I agree with you in general, however I didn't think the MA was rude enough for it to be a really big issue. I'm the first one to walk out of a restaurant for shitty service, but if someone is just a little curt I tend to let it slide. *shrug*

For all we know (no offense to the OP as I'm not saying this is the case) the MA had a reason to be a little frustrated with the client.

 

One is never unreasonable when one requests something. Often they become unreasonable when they demand/expect something.

Question asked and answered. Not unreasonable. Expecting more...(fill in the blank)

 

Written communication really sucks as a means of truly understanding accurately what someone else means. There have been countless examples of miscommunication between two parties via email, text, etc. It is notoriously difficult to completely understand how something is being said without being able to hear and/or see someone say it. I think your response was right on the money. Better to be gracious at least until you receive your car, then you can let em' have it!

 

I'm with you on this one, OP. While changing your order may have delayed the process a bit, it's your car to do with as you please. That said, I didn't like the way the guy you spoke with worded his emails either; they came off as "stop complaining, jerk. Maybe if you didn't change your mind so much, we wouldn't be in this mess," which I found unprofessional.

But I'm glad they threw in the stripes for free. Any sane dealership would have done the same. How much are stripes? Is it worth losing your customer loyalty? No.

 

That was my thought when I wrote that last email.

Exactly!

 

Your last post "MAYBE" is starting to show that you are.

 

Unless you plan on having the car serviced there.

 

Little confused by this.

Don't worry, I'm not going to be making a big scene or anything after I get my car. I tend to avoid confrontations or uncomfortable situations. The worst I would do is tell the manager that he should talk to the MA about his email correspondence. There are much better ways to say what he was trying to say.

 

Glad you're not going to let them have it like someone suggested. I know from the email responses you got, your MA could've said things a little better. Although, IMHO he wasn't off in what he was trying to convey. You'll need your dealer for services, at worst warranty work. So it's a two way street, play nice like what you want your MA to. But if push comes to shove, well you know what to do

Enjoy the car when you finally get it