Howdy:

I was wondering if anyone on the West Coast (WA, OR, CA) had purchased their Mini from Mini of the Hamptons in NY, and had it shipped to them. I have spoken to them, and they seem really straightforward, but I am a bit nervous as I have never made this large of a purchase without seeing the seller face to face.

Any thoughts or opinion about their customer service? Did you get exactly what you ordered? If you didn't, what did they do to make the situation right? How was their shipper to work with? Did they follow up with you after you took delivery?

As a secondary question, how have your local dealerships dealt with this "East Coast" Mini when you took it in for service?

Anything you could tell me would be helpful. Thanks for your help.

 

I just went through this with them and has been great so far.
Jerry is great to deal with and shipping through Autolog was only $500 to get it all the way to southern Cal.
I have not recieved my car as it is due on the 25 of Feb so I will keep you posted on the quality of the shipper. However MINI of the Hamptons is Great.
My problem was that I paid for the car cash and I had to send them a check I am nervous sending anybody money for a product sight un-seen. But all is well and I verified with Autolog that they have my car. I understand your concern about damage etc. So I will keep you posted as to how this turns out. Others that have ordered from them have had great things to say and I concure

 

I would not worry too much about buying a new car from an authorized dealer. They are insured and know what they are doing. Remember, you are dealing with Mini, a BMW backed car company. BMW has always had a reputation of service and quality.
Same thing applies to the carrier. If the car were to "fall off" the truck, they would have insurance to cover the damages. sure, it would be a hassle, but you would be covered in the event of damage.

I say, GO FOR IT!

 

I did it last year, and everything went great. There was a minor scratch on the car, which my local dealer buffed out for free, no questions asked (thanks to Brecht body shop for that).

 

Actually, Autolog requires that the car be insured by the new owner before they pick it up (this part I'm sure of). Your insurance covers it during the trip. If something happens, Autolog pays your deductible, and your insurance picks up the tab on car repairs. (At least that's the way I remember my paperwork reading.)

 

Do a search on 'MOTH' and you'll find many threads. Classic Mini in Ohio is also an out-of-state favorite. Chief_Charlie has bought three from Julie Saxa at Classic. Good deals on parts, too.

Right, I just completed a transaction with Crown MINI of Richmond, VA for a used MCS - after a LOT of research, sent a cashiers check sight unseen and flew out that week to pic it up. Great deal, and an awesome drive across our great (big) country. It was a leap of faith, but it worked out fine. As long as it's a MINI dealer, you'll be fine. I wouldn't have done the same to 'Joes fine autos'
BTW, Autolog states that their liability is limited to $500 - your insurance is primary. (I researched shipping the car as well.)

Definitely a better option than paying the ADM (and tax/reg on top of that!) that our West Coast dealers want. Another option is Salt Lake City. An easy one day drive from CA.

 

Yes I had to have my insurance Co add the MINI. It states on the autolog website that to keep prices low that your insurance is used but you can have them insure it for an extra cost.

 

I bought from MOTH about a year ago and the experience was a mixed bag.

Customer response was good as they often answered emails or phones calls quickly. However, customer service was pretty much non-existent. I don't recall them making any effort to call you just to update you on the status, no pic of your car after arrival to their dealership, and no follow up calls. Perhaps they have since improved.

Unfortunately, I also had problems with Autolog. They took a long time to status me on the car and when they did, the information would change later. Eventually, my car arrived 2wks late but even worse, my car arrived slightly damaged(front bumper). Autolog did step up and pay for the repairs beyond their original coverage amount.

As for MOTH, they also seemed to have released the vehicle with a sliight scratch on the rear bumper and what appears to be scratch repair on one of the wheels. They eventually took care of these issues to my satisfaction, but it didn't inspire high confidence for their quality control at the time.

Anyway, I did save quite a bit by paying only msrp and the paperwork process went smoothly so for the additonal hassles, it was still worth it in the end.

I'll be bringing in the vehicle for it's first service next month so no experience on that area yet.

 

I understand what you're saying about MOTH. Jerry was great about returning calls, but didn't really initiate any contact. It wasn't a touchy-feely deal, but I didn't mind.

As for Autolog, the woman who answered the phone was always courteous, even though I know I was driving her crazy with my constant calls for updates. I had a couple light scratches on my car, which ended up being buffed out, but Autolog gave me know trouble when I told them about it and thought they were going to have to fix em.

You definitely give something up by not buying locally. I for one will gladly give that up again to keep from paying ridiculous mark-ups!

 

Ordered ours from Jerry as the WA dealer held us out 7 months from order time and still couldn't get cars. Jerry had the exact car as we wanted in stock with the exception of the cold weather package. He didn't charge for the package ($300) and they didn't have any dealer additional charges ($200).

Autolog did the transport, it arrived in Seattle with front air dam and bumper damage from loading. Autolog paid the entire paint/part bill $1200 and did not involve our Insurance co. We did not pay for the additional transport insurance.

We paid about $500 to have the car shipped when you deduct the dealer charge and weather package. They also threw in floor mats. Would I do it again?....Yes they were great and actually have cars to sell.

 

This is exactly the same experience as me. But MOTH charged me $1000.00 for the shipping. I pick my car up 2/26. I’m feeling very nervous as well

 

Oh, and the service side, North West MINI (Tacoma WA) the dealer we originally ordered from was cool when we flipped to MINI of the Hamptons. In fact they even suggested them when I was frustrated as the 7 month wait was being extended out 9-10.

They treat us like their customers, never had a problem with service issues. We joke with the sales rep and sales manager who also are frustrated with the crazy West coast wait times. The store would rather we get a MINI and buy stuff and be serviced from them then go to another make car as many of their customers do. Our Hamptons license plate frame is a dig they couldn't get cars and it's still on. Tee-Hee

 

Sounds like autolog damages all the cars Making me nervous, very nervous. I hate...hate to repaint that is one reason to buy a new car. It should be as perfect as possible.

 

Hey PK our cars our on the same train as Jerry said one other car is with mine I pick mine up in San Bernadino on the 26th

 

Hey guys, I also ordered from MOTH this week and i have a couple of questions for ya. One is how do u guys know that the cars were damaged by Autolog and not the dealership??? And does the dealership provide pics of the car before they ship it? OK Thanks.:smile:

 

Jerry informed me that they do an inspection and I am sure autolog wants to note any damage before they become liable for it. I will keep this thread posted if mine comes with damage. If they are only charging $500 dollars to ship they can't be making much if they are damaging every car

 

I also forgot to ask how many miles have people gotten on the car from MOHT?

 

My experience with MOTH was a 10 on the MiniUSA scale of 1-5. My S was built as speced, MOTH added the JCW kit, the alarm and other goodies then put her on the westbound train. She arrived March 12, 2004 in San Bernardino with 13 miles on the clock, very dirty and with no damge.
Yes, I am very happy and would do it again in a heart beat.

 

Well mine left MOTH with 14 we will see how many it has when it gets here. I should have asked jerry to send pictures but it probably would not have shown any scratches anyway. But overall I am satisfied with the transaction

 

I went to MOTH's website and it seemed their prices were high. I bought my MINI from MINI of Nashville at MSRP, ordered what I wanted, and got an early build date and they've been great but the shipper that they use is more expensive than the price you mentioned. I checked with my State Farm agent and, if you currently have insurance on a car it will cover any damage in transit. If you don't you can get insurance for the car before it is shipped. The transporter I'm using has a disvclaimer for "acts of god" which includes damage from hail storms. a distinct possibility given the weird weather the country's had and an open transporter.

 

My car was delivered by Autolog from MOTH in Nov '03. Not a scratch dent or problem. I did drive the lady at Autolog crazy with trying to track the car. It was delivered on a Tuesday in Fontana Ca. It was a great surprise because Autolog said it was due in on Friday.

Jerry was great to work with, not easy going and friendly, but he got the job done. I figured it was his NY upbringing. I recommend them or Classic. Any parts I order are always from Calssic because they give us NAM members a discount.

No service problems other than finding a decent dealership for service. I have chosen to do business with Bob Smith. They're the right fit for me. Brecht which is closest isn't taking new customers unless you buy from them. Sorry not paying a premium!

 

I bought a car from Mini of the Hamptons. Jerry was the salesman. I live in Los Angeles, CA, and the car was shipped on Autolog which is essentially by a train. Jerry was ok. If you are the kind of person who needs a lot of feedback from your salesperson, I would recommend looking elsewhere. I ordered an '05 and didn't hear anything from Jerry until the car was delivered to him. I picked up my car from a train yard in San Bernardino and it was dirty. I got on the freeway, drove 2 miles and discovered a had a flat tire. There was a 3 inch gash in my left front tire, probably from the train delivery, I don't know. Anyway, I got the car I wanted, and I paid sticker for the car. But picking up the car & the flat tire experience sucked. I e-mailed Jerry and told him about the flat tire, but never got a response from him. I may use Mini of the Hamptons again, but some of the other dealers who advertise on this site seem better.

 

Paul that sux. were you able to get ahold of jerry yet? I am curious as to what their response is because I purchased from them also.

 

Sorry to hear about your flat. That is enough to make the best of experiences a bummer.
Forget e-mail. Get on the phone first thing in the morning and if Jerry is not available talk to Mike Ditto and if Mike is not in talk to the sales manager.
Mike was my MA. He kept me informed; returned calls and e-mails within 30 minutes and sent me photos. My car was very dirty when she arived in San Bernardino but that was acceptable given the weather in the midwest and south last February and early March. The Autolog people wanted to wash her but I said "Thank you, no." The Autolog rep went over my car with me in fine detail, I checked fluid levels and checked air pressure,and took photos just on case something was missed.

 

As promissed I am reporting on the MINI of the Hamptons and Autolog service. Car got here with no damage and on time. Floor mats were missing... Jerry at MINI of the Hamptons is going to get me a new set. Car was not that dirty (for a 3000 mile train ride) and only had 7 miles on the odometer. Bottom line would I do it again....A definite yes