Hello NAM FAM I just finish placing my FINAL FINAL order for my MCS 08' I cannot praise this woman enough, her name is Maria Makris and she has to be one of the coolest and easy going MA's in the state of Illinois!!! It took me 6 month to finally make up my mind and pull the trigger on my MCS. During this whole time not once did I call her and not get a call back in a timely fashion!! Everytime I called and had some crazy off the wall question she would always take the time to find out the answer and call me back... I have dealt with many many car salesmen and woman in the past but have never felt as comftable and non-pressured as I have with Maria. She is truelly a wonderful lady to work with and I cannot express my graditude towards her!! I consider my self somewhat of a perfectionist mixed in with a bit of OCD, so not only did she help with the selection of all the 5000 possibilities that this car has but her patience with me is what really made her stand out from the rest. If you are in the market for a MINI or even thinking of a MINI and have similar traits to me than I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Maria Makris from Patrick Mini, located in Shcaumberg, Il.

Thanks Again Maria!!

 

I know what you mean, everyone I have dealt with at Momentum Mini has been so very nice. No pressure, they don't need to as these babies sell themselves. That is one reason why I bought mine so fast after 'just looking' at one. No pressure. After I put in my order last Saturday I have been emailing with me MA to change my order a total of 3 times now (and today was the last, I swear) and each time he has gotten back to me very quickly with the changes and a copy of the order :D
I'm just praying that everything goes this smoothly after the car comes in and I go in to sign the paper work.

Congrats on the new mini!! I know how excited you are.

 

How much did she knock off MSRP?

 

I bought a car from PAtrick once. Once is enough. Enough said.

 

She deserves a gift from you when you take delivery doesn't she

 

Just because you got money off MSRP doesnt guarantee a great experience. Some of the happiest people I have sold cars to paid MSRP.

 

I paid MSRP!!!! But she did throw in 1 set of mats, and racing stripes!!!

 

I'm really happy to see such a glowing review of a MA. My dealer experience (different dealer) has not been good and it's great to see someone so happy.

I don't think that discounts off MSRP are the issue, or even freebees - I'm not getting either. What I DO think is really important is the MA and dealer staff making you feel valued, and your business appreciated. Good communication, a sense of excitement, etc go a LONG way.

 

People at Patrick were not very friendly when I visited this weekend. Two people walked past and didnt even offer help (or say hello) when we were outside looking. When we went in we talked to someone, but it was brief and she didnt seem interested...

I will be buying at Bill Jacobs 30 minutes south.

 

Any of the above mentioned dealers in St. Louis? I'm moving near there this summer and take delivery of my order this fall.

 

Nope those are all Chicagoland dealers. The only one in/near STL is "Mini of St Louis". That's where I ordered mine!

 

Are they still working out of trailers? Last time I was there the dealership was being renovated.

 

I ordered my MC with Maria as well and she was great! It was the best car buying experience I've ever had, absolutely no hassles, badgering or pressure and she answered all of my questions no matter how silly.

 

Interestingly, the first time I went to Jacobs and was looking around outside, people there walked by and didn't say anything. But, of course, that's the way I like it! Sales personnel letting me look to my heart's content, without hovering over me constantly and driving me nuts! When I went inside, I discovered a wonderful, no-pressure approach which has remained each time I've "dropped by." Now, they may not be perfect, but so far, they've won me over by steadfastly resisting any urge to strong-arm me. At this point, if you've decided to buy from them, I'd say you've made a good decision. I'm certainly going to continue my relationship with them. Good luck and good driving!

 

+1 for maria, She search all over the midwest for my 07 MCS. I wanted one with no roof and under 24K. They found the perfect mini for me.

 

what can you do...? I am intrested!!

 

bump

 

Afer spending hours on the Mini USA site comfiguring my mini I sent the configuration out to seven dealers. Maria was the ONLY MA to respond. From the initial contact to delivery of my car she has been terrific to work with. My opinoin of Patrick Mini may change as I deal with others there. I can't think of any workplace where everyone is top notch but when we are lucky enough to deal with someone that is we should share the good news.

 

I live in the area, now in Mexico for work, and never have purchased a car from Patrick. But the guys in BMW parts, specially Kurt Baumann, and in Mini parts, specially Jim Hackney, are great as well!

 

This one right here <-- I was going to reply saying how jarid rocks but he's already replied here.

 

We shopped at both Patrick and Bill Jacobs. At Patrick they didn't have any 08s configured quite as we wanted, but there was a used 07 that fit the bill ok. We went in to talk to a (BMW) guy in the trailer. After we started talking price he was away from the desk for a minute and we happened to notice the owner's manual sitting there. Lo and behold the original window sticker was in it and revealed they were trying to sell a 1 yr old car with 16k miles for about $1000 over the ORIGINAL MSRP!!!

Bill Jacobs was great to deal with and after some fumbling found out they had the exact car we wanted.

 

I saw an 04 S model on a non-mini lot once - they were asking 34,000 for it. original sales price was about 23k.

 

And this is the reason I decided to just buy brand new and build my very own Mini. Resale value is crazy good and it would cost almost as much to buy it new. I've never purchased a brand new car with but a Mini I can justify it now Sigh....3 more weeks of waiting. It's killing me

 

Maria is a great person to work with. I shopped around the Chicago area for a MINI JCW and she was the only one that gave me the time-of-day to answer all my questions. I never stepped foot on the lot because I am out-of-state, so I can't speak about those areas.

Maria was always there for me. Even though I had to delay my purchase, I will contact Maria in the future when things settle down and fall in place.

 

I just ordered from Jacobs in Naperville. Both times I have been there it has been hard to get someone to offer us some assistance. There was definitely no pressure, but I think some of that is because you pretty much know you are going to pay somewhere close to MSRP. The young man that ended up ordering my car was very nice though.

I am very unhappy with their appraisel of our trade in though. My wife works at the corporate headquarters of an auto manufacturer and we know exactly what our trade in should bring at auction. We even told them the auction house we got our info from and it is the same one they use.