Avoid Mini of Concord like the plague! They seriously lowballed me on my trade-in, to the point it was insulting, and their service has been terrible.

I've had a couple of brake issues in the year I've had my R56 S, replaced the JCW rotors once already, and now I've committed the unforgivable sin of replacing the brake pads with aftermarket items and putting different brake fluid in while I was on a road trip and nowhere near a dealer. Now there seems to be a leak in the master cylinder and they won't even do a full diagnosis. They say the soft pedal is the pads, even when the car isn't moving and the pedal continues to go for the floor. They basically are trying to get out of the warranty service, at least that's how it feels to me.

I asked if they would cover it if I changed out the brake fluid with OEM and replaced the brake pads and they said no because now they have a note about it. That's just rediculous. This is incredibly frustrating and really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I won't be going there again and I suggest you stay away too.

 

Funny, I had a completely opposite experience w/ Mini of Concord. I purchased my Mini from them and they threw in all kinds of free items (floormats, 1/2 off labor on my JCW aero kit, 1/2 off labor on my carbon fiber items, ...etc, free ipod kit). I spent about 33K on my Mini, maybe that's why they threw in a bunch of free stuff? In any case, I've more than pleased w/ my experience there. I even brought my Mini in for a service (there was a minor issue when I first picked it up). They were extremely professional, asked me if I wanted my car washed (free of charge), gave me a loaner car for the weekend while they made the repair on my Mini.

My experience was great and I'd recommend Mini of Concord. Crazy how two people can have such opposite experiences. I am not questioning your experience, just mine was so different.

(sorry to hear yours was not good) :(

 

eR1c, glad you had such a nice experience with them. It could just be some of the individuals are better than others. I spent upwards of $38K and didn't get a darn thing for free or discounted. In fact, they ordered the wrong car cover, wheels and forgot to put my roof rack luggage base on the order. The cover I didn't notice until later and couldn't get it exchanged. I didn't want to wait for replacement wheels so I took it as it was. On Christmas of last year, my brother-in-law bought me the luggage rack as a present except it was the wrong one. When he took it back they couldn't figure out which was the right one and threw their hands up. My wife tried to order floor mats a few months later, same experience. They couldn't figure out which ones fit my car.

An update on my service: The loaner car they gave me now has an oil warning indicator on. In light of my current experience, I'm not touching that engine. They're going to have to come and swap out the car themselves.

 

bought mine at sf mini, my ma bruce was willing to deal on price. msrp out the window thru in mats,changed 5 spoke 15s to 6spokes. tyler in service tops ,even remenbers my name. neil & jen in parts the same. never a bad experance

 

My experience with Mini of Concord has also been very good. The whole purchase process was awesome and went smoothly. I paid MSRP + tax and license and there were no other hidden fees. I didn't even bother with trading in my vehicle with them because I didn't want to complicate the purchase process. I had a feeling that they weren't going to give me what I wanted for my car. I was able to sell my car privately and get what I wanted for it.

As for dealing with the service dept, I had a few warranty issues including the automatic shifter replacement, excess cosmoline removal which required replacement of one the black fender moldings, some stains on the bonnet, and a wrinkled seat cover which they replaced. They took care of all of these issues at once and without hassle. I was given a new BMW 328 loaner while they had my car for a little over a week. The SA also called me a couple of times to update me on the progress of the repairs.

I'd buy another car from them.

 

-yes, this was my experience almost to a "T"!

I am not trying to minimize what Lumberlog went through. I think sometimes things just don't go our way, ...I've certainly had my share of issues w/ other purchases. I think sometimes you just get a series of bad luck incidents which can really soar the experience as a whole.

 

I had to figure out who to do a dealer courtesy delivery in the Bay area - the only dealer that stepped up to the plate for my customer was MINI of Concord. Based on the comments people have indicated here - they seem to have their act together.

 

Well, I think I have finally sworn off San Francisco Mini for the last time! My experiences with their Service Department has been hit or miss at best, but this last service visit left me upset and angry. The SA I had this time was cold and argumentative from the get-go, and was quick to place blame on me for warranty issues (rust, various clutch noises, LCA bushings, etc.) They had my car for 7 full days, and although I got a loaner, they fixed 6.5 out of 9 warranty issues, none of which should have kept the car for that long.

During this time, my SA told me that my bushings were fine, even though I was told that they were shot during my oil change in November. When I told him this, he called me back and did agree that they were going to be replaced under the extended service contract. It ticks me off that he and his tech didn't even look the first time around.

They told me that the rust in my door sills was being caused by my pulling up the rubber seals, which compromised the paint, and were not going to do anything about it other than cleaning the rust up off of the paint. The Service Manager then suggested that I wax the metal under the seals and that the water collecting in under the seals (which was causing the rust) was unusual, then later deemed it normal.

I told them that my A/C makes funny noises at lower temperature settings, but they weren't able to replicate my complaint. Well duh, they wrote down the triggering effects incorrectly, and spent time playing with the fan speed versus the temperature setting! I was ticked as I initially explained this in detail to the SA, and he wrote it up wrong anyway!

The biggest kicker was my clutch. My Mini is exhibiting the typical noises that the factory clutches are experiencing (squeaks, rattles, chattering). I explained everything that was happening to the SA in great detail, both in my online appointment confirmation, and then again while he was inputting the info into the system. When I looked at my invoice today, the information was all wrong! A couple of days after drop off, my SA called me and said they were able to replicate the squeaky clutch pedal, but that it was not bad enough to warrant repair. He also said that he was unable to replicate any of my other complaints! When I went to pick up my car today, the Service Manager came out and sat in my car with me, and I replicated the rattling/chatter (but not the squeak as it only happens on warm days, and it was cold/rainy today) while he listened...and acknowledged hearing them! Later, with the shop foreman in the car with us, he blamed my driving style for the chatter/rattling! After much argument, the Service Manager was adamant that although there is a rattle present, they are unable to diagnose it at this time and to just keep an eye on it. His demeanor was that of being 'get this guy out of here ASAP!' He was not willing to look at the car further, even though he witnessed my rattle complaints, and told me that if the shop foreman cannot hear it, then they can't diagnose it!

Even though my partner had also experienced similar issues with this dealership and had sworn them off a long time ago, I was giving them a chance. However, this chance was blown big time! So, between their half-a$$'d service department and their snobby/dismissive/indifferent sales department, I am so done with San Francisco Mini.

 

Oh, forgot to update. About a month ago I took my MINI to East Bay MINI for the car's 25,000 major service (or whatever it was).

NIGHT AND FRIGGIN DAY from taking my cars to MINI SF (which is BMW of San Francisco). It was totally worth driving the one hour to get to East Bay MINI. (Compared to 10 minutes to get to SF MINI.) That should tell you something, that I would drive two hours round trip, hassle the traffic, just to avoid the nastiness of SF BMW.

The only downer was I had East Bay drive me to a shopping mall while I waited for them to do the work (was about three hours). OMFG I have not been to a mall in maybe 15 years and now I know why. I was near death hanging around that place.

Anyway, East Bay was professional, super courteous, everyone actually smiles like they mean it, and they were great on sending me e-mails to remind me about the appointment, etc. And they did some minor warranty work without question or hassles.

I will continue to dispense with getting into detail as to why I HATE SF BMW / MINI, but that's pretty serious since I can't think of a single person I hate (dislike, but not hate.) But SF BMW?.... I HATE that place.

 

Well, I posted in other threads about every one of those attitudes you describe.

If it's of any comfort, there are many in San Francisco who don't think much of the owner of SF BMW. And you might want to check out the lawsuits that are a matter of public record. I know for fact that the dealership's reputation has cost the owner four sales, where my friends and associates have shopped elsewhere (540i, two 740i and a motorcycle.)

I can tell you that they are known for looking for any way possible to avoid warranty claims if such is legitimately possible. In other words if a claim is in the gray area, they will lean toward denying the claim whereas there are many posts on NAM where a dealership will instead lean toward covering repairs under warranty.

And on my 740i I had a fuel leak in the engine compartment. Fuel was leaking on the exhaust manifold! I had the car towed in, it was fixed and I drove it home a few days later.

When parked I smelled fuel AGAIN! Called the dealer, they towed it in and this time it was fixed. So that leads me to believe they did not fix it the first time.

Another time my batter went dead because I don't drive much. The car was towed in for free, under warranty. But I was truthful and told them that the battery probably needed to be replaced as I can tell when a dead battery is the issue. I let the SA talk me into having the electrical checked out to make sure there were not problems causing the battery to drain.

I was in the middle of something so I said OK. Picked up the 740i at the end of the day. Cost of the SUPPOSED checking of the electrical and a new battery, $600. And you just know they did not check squat.

And that's just a couple things I am willing to talk about, the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Sidenote: So which is it, at the beginning of your post you state that you "think" you are done with SF MINI, but at the end you say you are "so done." After all you said, I would say you have no self-respect if you go back to them. I am willing to driver two hours to avoid those guys. You?

 

i live in marin and experiance at sf mini is day & night compared to you. i don't hate anything

 

Sorry for my inconsistency. If I ever step foot onto San Francisco Mini, I will undergo electro-shock treatment. My sadist days are over!

I am sorry that you also had poor experiences with this sham of a dealership! I know it is only speculation, but I suspect that they kept my car for so long so they could just say that they really tried to figure out what my problems were. I sensed BS when I brought my Mini in, I saw BS coming from the SA and Service Manager's mouths with their inconsistent explanations of my Mini's problems, and I left with BS smeared all over my feet...along with a proverbial foot in my butt as the Service Manager refused to look into the rattling/chattering that he witnessed, flat out telling me that my car was being released to me as is and unresolved.

I will be giving East Bay Mini a try in the near future as well. I truly hope that my experiences are as pleasant as yours, or I will be put off of Mini/BMW forever. Dealership service is a sizable portion of the ownership experience, and could make or break a relationship with a customer, regardless how much they like their car!

 

I truly hope that you continue to have good experiences.

My first couple of services visits/minor warranty issues were uneventful and taken care off efficiently. However, the larger the repair, and/or the longer I owned my car (i.e. closer to the end of my warranty), the worse I felt like I was being treated, and the more I felt flat out lied to, along with having them blame me for automotive abuse. If you look at my car, it looks FAR from being abused! You could easily tell that I am a person who thinks much more of my car than just point A to point B transportation.

Good luck to you.

 

Have you guys tried Mountain View Mini?
It's a lot smaller then SF

 

Id get mine from mountain view mini. when I got out of the marine corps (2004) I got a mini form a mazda dealership, it went for a very very good price. any way I called up Mini of Mountain view and told them how I got the mini and my concerns for the car. they took very good care of me with all of the service updates and recalls. and helped me out with all of the unanswered questions I had for them. so even though I was not the original buyer I was still treated as such when I brought over a used mini to them. Ive been going o them ever since for parts, service questions, and quotes. I hope this helps

 

I dealt with all the dealers except Concord. Their internet guy was extremely unhelpful. He did everything he could to try to get me to come in but he refused to give me explicit info on the cars that I was interested in. Every other dealer sent PDF's with all the info on each car I was interested in.
The most helpful was Jeff at Mountain View and I wish he would have had the car I wanted.

The SF people were nice but they didn't have a car for me neither did Mountain View so I went to East Bay.
So far the jury is still out on them. They were very nice but I'm not happy with the black interior ceiling that I paid $500 extra for.
I think It's making the car retain heat. It just seems like the dumbest option ever and I think the sales manager ordered it to up the price.
Also somebody on another thread said it should have been $250

 

Did you check your Monroney sticker that is printed out with the car? It should be listed on their as a $250.00 option.

You didn't indicate if you were willing to order your car, which you could've done - and I don't think it's fair to blame the dealer for ordering a car that you subsequently picked and purchased.

 

Jason Krupa at Mini of Concord was super super helpful. Great experience all the way around. -Try asking for Jason, tell him you were recommened by a previous customer of his (Eric Falk).

 

Any dealerships do free car washes. Prestige mini does free car washes and keeps my car nice and clean. Any other dealers do that?

 

Unfortunately for Concord they have Michael Gilb intercepting internet questions. As much as I tried to get info out of him he just kept trying to get me to come in including looking my number up and calling me. (I specified that I wanted internet responses only) This kind of pushy old-school salesmanship is really bad for business and Concord lost a potential sale because of his tactics.

 

i am sorry to hear that your experience wasn't great w/ concord. It's all dependent on who you are dealing with.

 

I had a great experience with Mini of Concord too. I booked my test drive over the Internet but the rest of my dealings were in person. Mari Vaca was my MA. She ordered my car quickly and to spec. The car arrived within the 8 weeks she quoted me. I paid no dealer mark-up and picking up my car was positive as well. Mari went over the car thoroughly with me and made sure the car was detailed to my satisfaction.

I've had nothing but positive experiences with the service dept too in dealing with a couple of warranty issues and my first service. They also provide a free shuttle service to BART or to your residence if you live in the area. They will send a driver to pick you up when your car is finished.

Concord also washes your car when you bring it in for service if you want them to.

 

Since my terrible experiences at Mini of Concord, I've been going to East Bay Mini exclusively. I've ordered parts from them and had all of my service performed by them and I've been 100% pleased. They have always gone out of their way to help with parts and even cut me a significant discount on the rack base when it was obviously priced incorrectly. That saved me about $250!

I was considering going back to Mini of Concord, God help me, because East Bay Mini didn't have loaner cars but I called yesterday for my annual service and now they have loaners! I'd recommend them to anyone in the bay area looking for a mini dealer.

 

Since my last post on this thread it's been about 9 months. I tried bringing my MINI in to MINI of SF for it's 1 year service. i chose MINI SF instead of MINI Concord (where I purchased the car) because it's closer to my home and work. HORRIBLE experience at MINI SF. I brought it in for it's 1 year service. I wanted to have it checked out, oil changed, and whatever else they recommend at one year. The counter lady told me that they wouldn't change the oil for free because the car's warning light hadn't gone off (I guess the fine print is that they only give free oil changes if you have over 15,000 miles in the first year). No offense, but it seems like a really bad idea to not change your oil at least once a year even if you have less than 15,000 miles!! They wanted to charge me $150 to change the oil and keep my car overnight! -Mind you I was there at 9AM. I literally told them to forget it. I got back in my car drove home, ordered a MINI OEM filter and 5 quarts of OEM oil off one of the Mini vendors sites for about $35 ...took me about 1/2 hour to change my oil and filter in my garage.

So, my take is that the warranty is a load of crap and the free oil changes for the 1st 3 years is a scam.

I do love my MINI however, just don't care for the service departments attitude of bullying us around.

 

It's always a stunner to read the user experiences of each dealership in markets like ours, where we have the embarrassment of riches of having multiple MINI dealerships to choose from.

Sales:

My first MofSF experience on the sales side was terrible, at a time when the supply/demand ratio was against me and they wanted several thousand over MSRP plus fees for the privilege of waiting 9 months for a car build slot. Whereas M of Concord were not only easy to work with, when I held off because I felt it prudent to try and sell my car at the time first, the MA ordered my car to spec using one of his open slots (again, at a time when M of MV had a year wait with MSRP, and Mof SF had a 9 month wait at thousands OVER MSRP) and just called me up to tell me my car was in the showroom. Brilliant sales tactic, sold that car to me quick snap.

This time around, the market is obviously very different. However, I was looking right at the point where 2010s that are left, while discounted, are not available in the features I wanted, and the 2011s weren't out yet. I talked with 4 of the local dealerships, and while M of MV was generous in their trade-in sight-unseen offer, I went into M of SF just to feel out the dealership 5 years later. My MA at M of SF was a no BS, sensible guy. He saw I had done my homework, knew my options, knew the dealer pricing, MSRP, invoice, wait times on the new production cycle, etc. It was just a no-debate experience. He offered me an excellent deal ($1000 off of MSRP on an unreleased 2011 Clubman S) and a reasonable to iffy trade-in, and a slot in the next cycle. I could have negotiated for more off or freebies but I felt that the offer was reasonable. I'm weird like that. So ultimately, M of SF got my business. I appreciated no BS, no attempts to upsell or tweak my perception of anything. In contrast, M of Concord, my original dealer 5 years ago, was unresponsive and cagey about terms over the phone. When we have kids and jobs and limited free time in traffic-clogged SF Bay Area, the choice to travel to farther dealerships without confidence that a deal can be had is a tough one. The opportunity cost on the back and forth has to be considered. In my case, going local was worth it. And the car has been ahead of schedule throughout the production and shipping estimate, and is on the way across the sea.

Service:

I did all but one service appointment at M of SF being local to me, and I have to say, while the tales of woe about M of SF are alarming to me, I did not experience anything like it personally. No denials of service, nothing not covered. Got a clutch replacement on the first MINI, no hassle. I think, in the end, if I were to go to M of Sf and get some of the warning signs others have described, I'd pull the car from them and head down to Concord or MV.

Mileage varies for each individual of course!