[obehave]

This is my story and I'm sticking to it

The lead in:

Been noticing a faint whiff of antifreeze for the last couple weeks.
Being the good MINI2 citizen I know this may be an indicator of bad things to come.
Check the seam on my tank and there's just the faintest line of blue at the seams. That would be indication #2. Fluid level is still between Min - Max so I'm not horribly concerned but I want it looked at.
Made an appointment.

The visit:

Arrive on time and drop my car off with Mr Service Advisor. Heretofore referred to as MR SA for brevity. Although what Advice do I get ???? Do I need advice on leaving my keys???
I describe the faint whiff and blue stain.
Go to the comfy lounge and try to get some work done.
After 3 + hours my laptop has thoroughly warmed both thighs and I'm very bored. Enough work where's my car?
Well much to my NOT surprise there it is setting in the parking lot, done.
"It just got there I swear." Why do I not believe this?
"There's nothing wrong" I'm told. "What makes you think there was a problem?" I'm asked.
I would have thought that the blue stain- faint whiff may have been a tip
I inform them of this wonderful site and all the great info to be had here.

I'm then explained to like the poor retarded child I must be " You Can't Believe Everything You Read On That Internet. A Lot of Uninformed People Put Bad Information on There" No *****!!! Really WOW Thanks. minitech and here2help...you getting this

I reiterate the Blue line faint whiff statement.
"Let's go look" says he and Mr Service Tech is invited too.
"Show me the line you're talking about"

Here comes the other shoe

That would be a bit friggin hard to to since the whole tank looks like one of those blue Italian Ices. WTF!!!!
Being a fairly calm person I point this out with a witty "Kind of hard to tell" type remark.
We stare at it for a while.
The heat is now on and I'm simmering.
Mr SA has good instincts. He cuts and runs with an over the shoulder "I'll mail you the service statement. No need to take up more of your time"
WOW that's fu¢kin considerate!! How about fixing and cleaning my fu¢king car!!!
Get in my car. The seats are all wrong and the stinking paper mats are all bunched up under the pedals. Aren't they supposed to remove these things. I know I used to. You leave the customers car BETTER than when they dropped it off. Has this concept been tossed out the friggin window?

I'm a slow boil type of guy. I try to be considerate. I also used to be a part time mechanic at a garage MANY years ago.
So during my 30 minute drive home I come to a full boil. Throw the noodles in we're making pasta.

The aftermath:

I get home and call Mr SA. I vent. I vent long and I vent hard. I'm so ******ed I don't feel guilty for acting like an *****.
He pretends to pass me off to Mr Service Manager but surprise surprise I get hung up on.
I call back and get Mr SM. He get's his too.
Of course by now I'm out of steam and realize I'm being a putz.
But of course just when I'm running low I get. "Well you don't have to get it serviced here. You can go anywhere." Thanks for the recharge Mr SM. Yeah that's right send me 70 miles away to another dealership because your service dept is incompetent. Guilt all gone again, Yeah!

Epilogue:
I become human again and actually have a decent converstion with Mr SM.
Do I think this will make a difference? Not on your life! Of the 4 times I've been there for service not once has it not sucked.
They're overworked,undertrained and from the top down I don't think they really understand what Quality of Service means.

Of course I found out Mr SM actually reads this site. At least the dealership Feedback part.

Yes I'll go back there when I have to. I'm too lazy to make a 140 mile round trip and take basically a whole day off work just because.
Besides I'm a dreamer. I keep hoping I'll get a good experience from Checkered Flag Service.

Enough dirty linen

[tavis1]

well its nice to see peckerflag hasn't changed. I live here in CA but, when I was in the millitary I was sationed in virginia beach in th early 90's. Ibought a used 87' jeep comanche and got the royal screwing of a life time. If you read some of the thigs I have written on this cite about So Cal dealers and MSRP I've been told it sounds a little bitter and rude. This all stems from peckerflag. Yes after nearly 13 years I'm still bitter, thats how bad it was. Well my friend,I would make that 140 mile trip-it could mean your LIFE.

[Gryphon]

obehave:
I don't think it is "dirty linen." You are entitled to decent service which you feel you did not get.
You are not lazy to feel that you do not want to drive 140 miles. You should not have to.
Do you have a digital camera? Buy a small notebook and start recording EVERYTHING including time and quotations. Take before and during and after pictures.
Send this stuff off to anyone who might care--BMW, the owner of Checkered Flag Service, the mayor if the town its in, the Chamber of Commerce and so on. Write to your mastercard and use the procedure to stop payment until service is correctly delivered.
(Yeah, I know it is a ton of effort and such a pain in the neck, but you need to step to the plate and get what is rightfully yours.) IMHO.
Gryphon

[ChrisN]

obehave:
You wouldn't happen to know when the new service center at the dealership is scheduled to open would you? I have an appointment on Monday for a software upgrade, and I have already had an experience similar to yours. Now I am dreading Monday even more.

[AprilWhine]

It might be better when MINI is separated from BMW service.

[BartMack]

I'm sorry to hear such consistantly bad things about Checkered Flag Service Dept.

I'll mention this in general terms when I go in to pick up my new MC. (I won't get anyone in trouble!) I think they are building a new service facility adjecent to Checkered Flag MINI?

(Currently MINIs are serviced NOT at the MINI dealership but down the road at Checkered Flag BMW/Jag/Porsche/Audi, and I've not been there yet)

And they REALLY do park everything on top of each other AND out in the road! It has caused some accidents on S Lynnhaven Road, I think!

[teridrag]

Anything recent with Checkered? Had been wondering about going there instead of Sterling. Maybe that's not such a good idea ... at least until the new facility is built?

[mhh366]

New to the forum. I am awaiting the july 18th build of my MC! I ordered it from Checkered Flag but didn't get the impression of the dealer that is voiced on this forum. The manager has helped me a lot and I hope it stays that way when I have it serviced. I will deal with him directly if I have any problems. I hope that they have their service area finished when I have to use it. Any idea on how service is now there?

Look forward to motoring soon!!!!!!!!

[ChrisN]

The ordering process is definitely not the problem at Checkered Flag. The MINI group has been awesome. The problem is bringing the car in for service. I cannot tell you how disappointed I have been with that end of the business.

[BartMack]

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisN
The ordering process is definitely not the problem at Checkered Flag. The MINI group has been awesome. The problem is bringing the car in for service. I cannot tell you how disappointed I have been with that end of the business.

I agree about the sales dept really being awesome. I stopped in there a couple of weeks ago to re-sign my order papers (I added xenons at the last minute) and they were cooking out lunch on the grill. Invited me to stay and have a hamburger (which I did).

The service dept is currently at another location, on the same street as my office, and to look at it they are OVERwhelmed with Jags, BMWs, Audis, Porsches, etc parked on every square inch of asphalt with barely airspace between them. All out into the street too. The occasional MINI I see there looks like it can't wait to get out of there..

[mhh366]

Do we have to bring it to that BMW service or can we bring it to any BMW dealer? I think MINI would like to know that their choices for MINI dealers (i.e. Checkered Flag) is doing a poor job of service. Maybe they don't care at all. I will definately talk to their general manager if the service is poor.

[GMINI]

Ixne on the any BMW dealer ervicese. Forget it. Well maybe in five years. As soon as the warranties on these first cars are up. Until then these lucky dealers we know and love have the only MINI service to speak of - and that includes oil changes and bulb replacement.

[curmudgeon]

I'm on my 2nd MINI so I have had two sales experiences with CFM and a few service repairs. I originally purchased a 2002 Cooper in April 2002 and traded up to a 2003 Cooper S the second week of June 2003.

SALES: On both purchases they were upfront, friendly, and fair. Paid MSRP on both cars with each car having a few dealer add-ons. The `02 Cooper had an alarm, CD changer, mats, and was slated for driving lamps that the parts were on order for. I didn't care for the driving lamps so there was no problem having that accessory cancelled and the cost removed from the deal. Good experience!

When I decided to trade it in on the Cooper S I went by the dealer to see what was available and what the order time would be. I wanted British Racing green only with Sport & Premium options and either leather or cloth seats. They went over their list and discovered that while most S's were already spec'd and spoken for there was an unsold BRG S model at the local port that would arrive in less than a week. I asked them to call me when it came in so I could see it, and true to their word I received a call a few days later that it was being PDI'd and would be ready to inspect around lunchtime. Went by, looked it over, and it was what I was looking for. BR green, anthracite trim, Premium, Sport, black leather, HK sound system, OEM alarm, mats. I negotiated a good trade price for my `02 and said I was ready to sign the papers. The salesman said a handshake was all that was needed so I went home to reinstall the stock exhaust (had a MiniMania on it) on my `02. Came back two hours later, did the paperwork, and took delivery of the `03 Cooper S. Again, a great experience!

SERVICE: The 2003 Cooper S has not been in for service so the following is related to servicing the `02 Cooper (5-speed). I complained from early on that it was hesitating, near stalling, and had really poor driveability with the AC on. Several different service appointments ended with them saying there was "nothing wrong" or that they couldn't duplicate the symptoms. This was utter B.S., the damn thing would just about cut off during warm-up daily. These appt's were spread over a year, and they NEVER upgraded the software even though I requested it numerous times. The last appt was in early June and I asked if they had 33.1 or 33.2 available and was told they did. When I picked up the car they had fixed the hatch rattle (new striker) but said they DIDN'T HAVE the latest CD and that they couldn't find the problem. A franchised dealer without the latest software, and they don't know which version they do have? At that point I decided that a trade to the S was imminent, I was tired of screwing around with their inability to fix the Cooper's driveability problem. Currently their BMW/MINI service dept. is lumped in with Jaguar/Porsche/Audi on a crowded lot, they're ridiculously busy and overtaxed. The lot is so tight I fear for my car's body panels every time I leave it there. They're moving into a new building in a few months that's actually on the MINI lot and BMW/MINI service will be separated from the other brands, let's hope a new building and better working conditions will help them improve. Perhaps they'll hire better techs or send the ones they have out for more MINI training because they're definitely in need of a kick in the pants to come up to standards. It would also help if the service dept. showed a bit of enthusiasm towards the MINI like the BMW/MINI Group itself does, I got the impression that to them the MINI was "just another" import.