[simon373]

Hi all,

My second new Mini was purchased recently and for the second time I have been disatissfied with the level of customer service provided. It seems to be that as soon as your order is placed you are somewhat forgotten by the sales team. I have had to chase them continually regarding my part exchange, number plate, delivery of the car, etc.

They are also far too keen on selling the Supergard product. It's amazing how it keeps appearing in the quotation. Like a £350 boomerang, it keeps returning! They must really care about protecting the surfaces of our new Minis

And then there's the finance. They seem to take offence when you don't buy the car through their PCP scheme. Saying no several times starts to grate and makes the buying experience uncomfortable. I don't think that the salesmen in question credit the general public with having a great deal of intelligence.

But I keep returning for more. And that is testament to the car, not the dealer.

Let's hear about some good dealer experiences

P.S. Just noticed that I have posted this in the wrong forum. Oops.

[andrewcregan]

My Mini dealer has been fantastic so far. The girls on reception always answer quickly, are very courteous, and put you through immeadiately. If my salesman is busy, he always rings me back. This isn't because he is chasing a deal, as I signed up for the car weeks ago. In fact, thinking about it, the number of times I have changed the spec, it is a miracle he ever speaks to me!
He has shown me all sorts of intriguing information on his computer screen, so I am in no doubt that the car is exactly what I want, and will be built and delivered to fit my timetable.
I was never asked about Supergard.
Cannot comment about finance, as I had it sorted before walking into the showroom.
My car is 5 weeks from delivery, and so far the experience has been very good.

[popey]

I was offered the Supaguard for £150, but said no and got it for free in the end

[Lots]

I hate to say that i do not have a good story to tell from my dealer - i am stupid for purchasing three cars from them now.

The first was driven through one of those heavy duty platic doors (the kind that are used on industrial freezers) and scratched it - all just to have its stripes fitted.

The GP I could tell them more than they knew about the car and when it was going to arrive. They tried to give my car to the dealer principle and tell me it was not mine - i knew i had ordered the first one from them and luckily could tell them it was mine due to the number!

It gets better, nearly two weeks ago i collected my new car - the paperwork was wrong when i got there so the total price was incorrect, not in my favour. After me personally re-calculating it I also found that they overcharged me for the colour coding. When i got home I realised that they had not taken off my £1,000 deposit - went back and got it refunded, but no apology!

I know that you will say more fool me - but i did go to another dealer, spec'd a car and they were going to call me about some JCW parts and availability - they still have not called since May!

I think that the thing we all know is that MINI's can sell themselves because they are great cars - a monkey could sell one - and in my experoence may have given better service.

Sorry to moan, I will use any other dealer for the next car that is proven to be better than mine so far. I am sure that there are some.

[DerekH]

Simon373 Supagard pack of ebay £20 did whole car inside and out 3 to 4 hours masked of rubber plastic etc, my BMW ndec06 £150 to supagard that was good price £350 is ripping you off for Mini , tell them to take a long run and jump.

[Arnbut]

My dealer is very easy to deal with; I've just had issue with my car and they've helped me get a replacement.
The staff is very helpful & polite. They laugh at my twisted humor. And the girls are cuties (I got a hug the other day from one...).
Global Imports has been very fair with me. I often question their service department's availability and attitude, but that's a much longer story.

Sorry for you folks that are taken for granted. I hope that the dealers and Mini realize that the greatest marketing tool ever made is positive word-of-mouth.

[NJP]

The dealer I bought my MCS from - D ick Lovett in Bristol - have been thoroughly hopeless. I've tried to be fair by giving them chance to sort everything out before complaining on a public forum like this, but they're just not interested.

After my test drive, I phoned three times and left messages with reception saying that I was interested in one of the showroom models and wanted someone to call me back. When I got no reply, I left work early and visited the showroom, only to be kept waiting for an hour (until after they closed) and told to come back the next day. I refused and paid a deposit there and then. Bad idea, in hindsight, but I needed a car quickly and they had a MCS which matched by ideal spec there on display.

From there, it went from bad to worse. I was charged incorrectly and it took months to get a refund. I was promised a free Scalextric to say "sorry", which never arrived, and it took several calls and visits to find out why I didn't have a registration document (they'd registered it to the wrong address). I won't even begin to list the amount of times I visited to garage to try to sort things out.

Even after I wrote to the MD, I got a lot of promises and very little action.

My girlfriend is buying a Cooper D soon, and is dealing with Rydale in Cardiff instead. Let's hope they're better. However, I suspect that the popularity of MINIs means that the dealers can afford to be complacent at the moment.