So I live in orlanda. Yesterday was my day to get my mini...ferman mini of tampa told me they had a car that matched mine from the configurator but it was an S and had a kyack on top that they could take off. So I drive 1 hour and 45 minutes to go there and the crap starts...first im 19 and they dont have insurance to let you test drive unless 21+ SO I CANT EVEN TRY THE $22000 I WANT TO BUY!!! so i have the person with me try and it and he said it was great....now they say they can take the price of the kyack off because its already on a dealer speacial of 23999...."well im not going kyacking and the kyack is a dealer add on...you didnt order the car with that on" on the invoice it was 2099 for the kyack but they only wanted to take 700 off it....also they said "yes it has checkered dash" my configurator showed JCW checker and the MA didnt even know what that was he said "oh that has to be a JCW package" im like "no its $200 add on".....whatever they wouldnt be reasonable about the price and wouldn't even let me test drive...it was soooo funny how they could all of a sudden do more when i told them i was just going to order one from Downtown MINI since its only 30 min away
Oh and here is some of the other bad qualities on Tampa mini...wanting a coffee didnt get for hours and never got...saying i will just play the PS2 for a few minutes they corrected and said "thats an xbox"...and going there you feel like being at a dealer where they try and screw you and make you pay out the but...not MINI at all

Now the good and happy news

We now drive all the way back on I-4 and go straight to Downtown MINI.
Where the coffee flows whenever you want, people dont correct you rudly, and you pay no more or less than msrp...which is good (better than more) it seems more like the mini feel to have no real hidden charges and just walk in tell them what you want and them just sell you the car (unlike tampa mini which tries and screw you).
So i ordered my standard MINI Cooper Pepper white black roof, cream white trim line, piano black interior, sports seat with checker cloth, front fog lamps, anthracite headliner, alarm, 15" rotator spoke rims
later i will put in myself the checkered dash, door handles, mirror caps, racing strips (black on bonnet white on roof), driving lamps Cobra style on the bottom grill, and many many more things

In 5-8 weeks I'll be driving the nicest car

and just remeber...
tampa mini :impatient

Downtown MINI

 

Congrats, sounds like you are satisfied with the deal and dealer. I too am satisfied with my Florida dealer (Braman of West Palm Beach)

 

Downtown MINI is awesome, my dad bought two MINI's from them and soon I'll be buying my first MINI from them. All the people who work there know me and my dad by name. They are always so friendly and helpful. I'm 19 like you, did they allow to test drive a MINI?

 

Ferman did not because they said their insurance would not allow it unless i was 21....i really dont know if downtown would because when i went there i just wanted to get it ordered and i knew id love the way it drives....i did get to give it a test drive upon delivery before signing all the paperwork and all, so I think they allow people to...Ferman is out in the middle of nowhere, but downtown mini is in such a high traffic area that they would loose business if they didnt allow the (16?-21) 18-21 crowd test drive.

 

Sounds like you will be another satisfied MINI owner soon. The wait will be worth it.

 

I'll have to second your experience at Tampa. When i was looking we call them up and the sales guy didn't know anything about the cars. He tried to tell us that some of the standard equipment on the "S" was wasn't standard. My wife knew more about the engine than he did. Then we make the big mistake of following his directions of a "short cut" to the dealership from Orlando. We ended up 30 miles north of Tampa. Long story short we turned around and drove straight back to Orlando. It was so funny listening to him try to BEG us to still come in after he wasted so much of our time.

We ordered from Downtown Orlando too. Much better people!

 

My experiences:

Downtown MINI - Great Service department, but their car prices are too high, nothing that the MAs can control too much, just the dealers policy. On my first car they wanted $2000 OVER MSRP!!! On my second car I was told MSRP. If you are buying a car here talk to Larry Taylor. He is a great guy and is very active in the local MINI community.

Ferman MINI - OK service, if you know someone. When I called asking about purchasing a car I got a pushy salesperson couldn't have been older that 20. He didn't seem to know much about the product that he was selling. I don't think I see myself going back here.

Tom Bush MINI - It took them 2 days to return my call inquiring about purchasing a car. Enough said.

Lauderdale MINI - Excellent Sales Team! I paid MSRP on my 04, and UNDER MSRP on my 07! I got lots of goodies for free each time. The service manager was very helpful with a tire problem that I had the day after I picked the car up and got me back on the road quickly (at 530pm on a Sat!)

So, my advice would be Lauderdale MINI first and Downtown MINI second. I wouldn't deal with any of the other two unless you can't avoid it.

 

remember when you get your MINI to go by tampa MINI and show off your to the MA that was being rude to you.

 

Just out of curiosity, are you talking about a kayak--a small boat? Why on earth would they put one on the roof?

Glad you made the deal in the end, though.

 

Man... I wish I had more than one choice of MINI dealers in my state. My experience didn't get too bad until I went to take delivery of Lewis, and got worse when I had to bring him back. They're having a party this week though, so maybe they're coming around.

 

I'm glad I read this thread. If I get a Mini for my next car I'll skip Ferman. I went there to test drive a bimmer at there adjacent BMW dealership and they were just as bad. I guess the Mini dealership isn't any better. Downton Mini it is. :D

 

Yeah and it looked like i could put the car in nutrual and have a sail mini haha


And to SlickShift: yes go with Downtown....so much friendlier and it actual feels like mini style when ur there...that adjacent bimmer place owns the mini store next to it so i think they switch their rud salespeople back and forth haha

 

I also dealt with Ferman in "Tampa" actually Palm Harbor. I went in, asked for a test drive and went around a big block. The salesperson seemed to know what she was talking about but not really. I've been around cars for 40+ years so I know quite a bit about them. We got back to the sales office and I told her what I wanted. She began to offer other options. I told her this is what I want to order if she continues to try to sell me more options I'll go elsewhere. She completed the order, I gave her some money and the car was delivered in about six weeks. I've been back only to buy oil filters because the after market stores don't carry them yet here in the Tampa area.

 

This is what I am wondering about this thread. Why would dealer put a kayak on the roof of a new car?

 

I've got it--hurricane preparedness!

 

Tye, I just stumbled on this post of yours. Ferman (Mini of TB) pissed us off too. They lured us in there knowing what my budget was, then tried to talk me out of using my own financing and going with a higher interest rate. It was a bad experience overall. I wound up buying the car from Advantage Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep. Awesome experience! DTM has done a GREAT job on the service though.

 

Yeah they really are horrible there at Tampa mini...i sent my configuration online and they called back that same day...he told me he had one that came really close...i told him i wanted to be walking out the door (tax and everything) at 22K and he said we probably work something like that..."we can take the kayak off"...get there and its an S..."sorry MSRP isnt just at 22K, plus all the options it has...oh and the manager says we cant take the kayak off...so your looking at 24K and with tax around 26K" and im like well i told you 22K with tax and everything...and hes like "its an S u cant get just the car for 22K" and i had to try and get it through to him that I was not looking for an S...i wanted mine decked out the way i want it and as a standard MC...

So more aggravation left aside...left for DT MINI...walked in said i wanted to order a MINI...made it just the way I wanted it and got it for a few hundred under 22K with tax and all fees


Sorry for basically retelling the story, but it was just such a difference in the 2 places...

Tampa mini = Bad

Downtown MINI = GREAT, AMAZING

 

Yeah thats what I was thinking haha

It was like a dealers special that had an outdoor package

Idk i just dont see someone driving a mini into the wilderness to go kayaking

I laugh cuz i bet the car is still sitting there on the showroom haha