[OhioCowboy]

I've been dealing with MINI of Pittsburgh and looking for any feedback about them. My own dealings are mixed- Difficult to get a return call, forced to take CD changer, & T Shirt @ $700.00+ "instead of adding a premium like other dealers".

[MiniWinnie]

I had no problems at all dealing with MINI of Pittsburgh, with the exception of having to drive all the way to Baum Boulevard from the North Hills. The drive home (in the new MINI) was much more fun!

[OhioCowboy]

I picked my MINI up last night, and it was a good experience except for the drive from Baum Blvd to the airport to drop off the rental car. DETOURS!!!
Dan was very helpfull and knowledgeable about the MINI.
The only problem I had was that they said they had no way to program the various electronic and remote options the owners manual said could be programmed by the dealer. I'm 2 1/2 hours away. (West of Akron)

[OhioCowboy]

Oh No, Here it comes!! - No service after the sale. Endless voicemail, no returned phone calls from sales or service dept. No response to email. Luckily the problem does not spoil the fun of driving the MINI! From their stationary - "Our reputation is built on our service" - I expected more.

[MiniWinnie]

Really? I have needed stuff from them twice, and have gotten fast response both times. are you calling 412-682-0788?

[Maurice]

OK, I'm in the process of buying from them. Some observations:

They're a very low-pressure showroom, and let the car sell itself. To me, this is a good thing. How much of this is the dealership's culture ("It's a great car, but it's not for everyone, so people need to make up their own minds") and how much of it is "We're selling a popular car and we don't have to work hard" is anybody's guess.

So far, the only real drag is the required $1000 purchase of dealer-installed options. Because of this, we dropped the Premium package from our order. The upsides are that a) we'd been thinking of getting a number of these options anyway, b) at least we'd be getting something for our money, as opposed to various other dealers just tacking on "markup," and c) they did not give us a hard time about dropping the Premium package. (Like I said, low pressure.)

Quote:

Originally posted by OhioCowboy
Endless voicemail, no returned phone calls from sales or service dept. No response to email.

I've found this to be true as well. Voice mail and emails probably won't be answered. The key seems to be this: be friendly, but persistent. Our experience shows that this is what gets results.

First off, after we'd placed the order, we'd decided to drop the Premium, as I mentioned. I sent an email and left voice mail, but no response. So the next day, I called and explained politely what we wanted to do. A day or two later when I got the production number and checked the Owner's Lounge, there was no Premium package. Cool.

There was, however, a slight mistake when they submitted my specs (they'd spec'd Sport Suspension Plus, whereas we just wanted the regular Sport Suspension--an easy mistake to make, as I see it). So I called back, talked to...I forget who I talked to (not Bill, who's our usual contact), mentioned this issue, and it was fixed the next day.

In what may seem to other members of the forum to be a psychotic break on my part, I realized that the car was scheduled for production way earlier than we'd thought, and I wanted to have it moved back. Why? Well, we'd prefer a 2003 to a 2002 model year for various reasons. (If anyone wants an 8/23 production date, you may want to talk to Bill Schmitt about this.) I called a couple days ago, and they said it would be no problem to get later production. When I called to check on the process today, however, I found it hadn't been done, and they'll do it next week. Either way, I'll call to follow up, and check to make sure it's done. (Or, if it hasn't been, remind them.) In any event, I'm ok with this.

It's possible that they're swamped with requests for information, or perhaps there's some issue with using the new system. Or maybe they just need some friendly reminders to put your tasks back at the top of their In boxes. While one might like a more, oh, rapid-response kind of dealership, I find that it is possible to work with them. Friendliness, politeness, and persistence are the key.

Hope everything works out for you, and that this was of some help.

[OhioCowboy]

Bill did return my call today.Same call to voicemail of service department was unanswered. Too late for me on this purchase. The sales department is responsive while the service department is nonresponsive. Unfortunately I have 2-2 1/2 hours each way to the dealership to submit my warranty claim. The service department is not open on the weekends or after 5-6 pm. I would have to take a day off to take the car in for inspection. Granted, I knew that at the time of my order, but now the problem has become a reality and I guess I'm regretting my original decision to buy from a dealer 140 miles away!
I've made my claim within 2 weeks of delivery and will wait to see how the claim is handled. They've got a pretty good situation going for them - Sell at MSRP + and know that a lot of owners are hours away for warranty work and therefore won't be bringing it in for anything but major problems.
-L8R

[Maurice]

Quote:

Originally posted by OhioCowboy
I guess I'm regretting my original decision to buy from a dealer 140 miles away!

Maybe you (or someone else on the forum) will correct me if I'm wrong here, but can't you have warranty work done at any MINI dealer--in your case, the much closer Classic MINI in Cleveland? There's a thread on their sales policies here, but I don't know about their service department.