[moola]

Greetings all from a newbie to the forum!

I'm working on getting my Mini Cooper - I'm shooting for Thanksgiving week in November as that's when my current lease will expire and I will have time off to get across the state to pick up the new car!

Anyone out there have any experience with Motor City Mini in Detroit, MI? I'd like to hear your perspectives on dealing with them. So far, the guy I've been working with has been fine, but I'd like other input as well!

Thanks in advance!

Martha

[moola]

O.K. So I figured I'd post my own reply to this since I've now gotten deeper into the process and have called around to a number of other dealerships to find out what's going on.

First of all, be wary of the payment calculator on the MINIUSA site. All it calculates is based on the base MSRP of the car. It does not include tax, title, license and any other fees that your dealer might have. This is where I ran into conflict with the person I was dealing with at Motor City Mini.

Specifically, Motor City Mini added on tax, title, license (which you have to pay, I know) but also a $160 document fee and a $795 acquisition fee. As I've contacted other dealers in Ohio and Illinois, I've found that the acquisition fee is a lease-related item that all banks/leasing agencies have and it is rolled into the price of the car and therefore into your payment. The document fee varies, but mostly they fall into the $50-$70 range. NOBODY else is claiming a $160 fee! The guy at MCM also tried to tell me it was $144 for a license for the car, but that strikes me as high also. I'll have to call the Secretary of State and see how much it would be to register the car here in Michigan to compare.

So, if you're thinking of leasing a car from Motor City Mini, do your homework! At this point, it looks as though I will be taking a trip to Patrick Mini in Chicago to get mine, since the sales rep at MCM told me outright that his fees were non-negotiable and the guy in Chicago has lesser fees ($595 acquisition, $50 documents) and is going to give me free floor mats.

The best advice I've been given is to shop around. Send your car specs to several dealers and ask them what your payment will be. They will roll in all their assorted fees and charges and give you back their payment and you will be able to do an apples to apples comparison.

Good luck to all!

Martha

[moola]

Well, Friday I got an email from David Green at Motor City Mini saying that he was only going to hold my production slot until Tuesday. I asked him about negotiating the fees and his response was that he was glad that I had found my car at other dealers and at an "apparant" savings and wished me the best! Jerk! Not dealing with him any longer, needless to say. I'll be getting my car from Patrick MINI in Schaumberg, IL. Should have my production number early next week.

So, watch out at Motor City Mini if you don't want to pay big extra fees on a lease. Purchasing may be a different situation, but I'm definitely not satisfied with my treatment there on the leasing end of things.