[lotatoys]

Mixdman: You don't have a car yet? Anything on order through another dealer? I know PT cruisers are on the rebate and mega-incentives lists but do you really compare it to a MINI?
Anyway, what was that lawsuit threat? I remember long ago when you briefly mentioned it in this thread but I never heard the details. Seems to me that this is a "forum", a place where ideas and problems can be discussed and shared with otheres. It's a source of information and different viewpoints and I don't see that as lawsuit material. Besides, I mentioned the ever-arrogant Demi Lemarquand in my original and follow-up posts and never received a threat. He has got to be the most cut-throat, underhanded and dishonest salesman I have ever dealt with!
S how about posting the lawsuit threat you received, minus the senders name? It should be a good laugh...

[Sejanus]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys

S how about posting the lawsuit threat you received, minus the senders name? It should be a good laugh...

Check out page 6 (I think) on this thread.

[lotatoys]

Thanks Sejanus, it was there on page 6. I remember reading that when it was originally posted. I suppose there was so much disturbing content in Niello's e-mail that I didn't catch the "legal action" threat. You know who that motoring rep was? I've only dealt with female reps on my visits, one of whom is a Niello family member. Of course there was the unforgettable first "motoring rep" (Demi Lemarquand) who never made the step down from BMW's to sell on the Mini side.

[edlfrey]

The following is part of an e-mail that I sent to Debbie Horton at MINI of Murry today. I have read such positive comments about dealing with her and the dealership in Murry that I am going to give her a chance to do her Matchmaking thing! See message #7 in this Thread dated March 22 when I parted ways with Niello and MINI.

Hi Debbie:

I have an advantage over you in that I have read wonderful things about you in the MINI2 Forum and you don't know me from Adam. I was one of the first to bail out of Niello MINI when the MINI was finally introduced back in March. I wrote to Niello and MINI USA and told them what I thought of their business practices and that Niello was hurting ALL MINI sales. I then proceded to start looking for an alternative car to buy and went to my second choice the Golf TDI. I am now in the same situation with the 2003 model as I was with the MINI; I'm waiting for them to release the model equiped as I want it. With that said, I haven't forgotten my first love and have come back so to speak. What are the chances of getting us together? ................

The answers to these questions may bring me back to the MINI Family. It has taken me this long to get the nasty taste out of my mouth that Niello left.

[lotatoys]

Enjoy your purchase through Debbie Horton at Mini of Murray. I know you'll be treated wonderfully and have no problems at all. Wise choice to avoid Niello Mini in Sacramento. It's been a while since I started this thread and for a while I thought it had died off. Coincidentally, I have an interesting update as well...
Not long ago I sent a suggestion to their website suggesting they post some stories from this forum in their "Send us your motoring stories" portion of their website. Got a reply from one of the Niello brats that said those stories were more suited for their scrapbook than on their website. Maybe that means they'll look back and see how they screwed so many potential Mini (and former Niello BMW) customers. They real interesting part came at the end of the e-mail where a legal disclaimer had been added:
"Please remember that any and all information that is disclosed is private and confidential. No Confidentiality or privilege is waved or lost by any mistransmission. You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose,
distribute, print, or copy any part of this message.The Niello Auto Group (NAG!)reserves the right to monitor all e-mail communications through it's networks. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual
sender. Unless otherwise stated, any price information given in this message is indicative only, is subject to change and does not constitute an offer to deal at any price quoted. Any reference to the terms of executed
transactions should be treated as preliminary only and subject to our formal written conformation."
I suppose this is meant to scare people from talking about Niello and their horrendous business practices. Unfortunately, they can't expect an unsolicited e-mial to remain private. But it's nice to know that they are out there monitoring our communications and network activity, the way all honorable, consumer friendly car dealers do!

[olddad]

Sorry guys, too late to deal with Debbie Horton.

She got married, so just ask for Debbie now.

[mini-is-4-me]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys
I’m interested in hearing from anyone who is on the wait list at Niello BMW/Mini in Sacramento, California.

I.D.I.O.T.S is about all I can say.

Go to East Bay Mini!!! I wouldn't waste your time with any of the other Bay area dealers unless you just want to look at cars or test drive them or to do research. Research at Sacramento and then go buy at East Bay unless you simply have a desire to be abused profusely.

[edlfrey]

Quote:

Originally posted by mini-is-4-me

I.D.I.O.T.S is about all I can say.

Go to East Bay Mini!!!

I respect your choice of East Bay Mini but can not accept your derogatory choice of words because I have chosen to go to MINI of Murrey.
I also disagree with you regarding test driving, or having any other contact, at Niello. It is my feeling that MINI USA should close it down and give the dealership to someone that cares about the customer rather than the dealerships own short term profit.

[lotatoys]

I have to agree that we shouldn't be labled as I.D.I.O.T.S because we're discussing Niello in this forum. If you read the posts, almost all are here to inform others of the terrible practices that Niello uses. I vaguely remember one post a while back that was positive and that was from somebody who walked in off the street, liked the car and didn't flinch at the overpriced dealer add ons and and additional dealer mark-up. He left Niello as a satisfied customer because he didn't ask questions. And that's the customer Niello wants and caters to. Forget about the hundreds who signed up for their "wait list" or actually had pertinent questions about the cars or actually placing an order. They don't want to deal with those types.
Thanks for your tip on East Bay Mini though. i know I'll be purchasing all my accesories there as well as all servicing and warranty work. Some may choose to use Niello for scheduled maintenance becuase of the convenience and I don't blame them, but I won't call them names.

[mini-is-4-me]

Believe me...I'm a businessman and a captalist. I have not problem with "controlled" greed. I own my own company and I call it like I see it...

In my book, these Niello guys are simply taking advantage of the ill informed which is what your saying and "candy" coating it. They are crooks. It too hard to do business the "right" way when others are doing it the "wrong" way. So, I plan on telling and every person I can and making it very obvious how I feel. Take it or leave it. I stand by my comments and every time I go into East Bay, I try and remember to tell them how good a job they are doing. Since my post didn't get erased yet...it must have passed muster.

And, I take offense to ripping people off and calling it "catering" to their needs. Sure, there are quite a few other Bay Area MINI dealers taking advantage of people...but Niello is by far the "leader" of the pack. Even going so far as to set "bidding wars" on their web sites.

I have a right to speak my mind as well as you do and I think its a good thing to warn the innocent. If people are warned and then buy from them...well it serves those people right. I can see no better capacity this Web site would give than to educate the "neebies".

[mini-is-4-me]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys
I have to agree that we shouldn't be labled as I.D.I.O.T.S because we're discussing Niello in this forum.

we????
Oh, I was referring to Niello...not to you guys...even the ones I disagree with.

[lotatoys]

Since I didn't want to speak to any of the Niello cut throats during my last visit I did not find out if they are still refusing to order customer spec'd cars. Anyone know if that is still their policy? Just curious. I like to keep new users informed of the MANY reasons not to buy from Niello and this is another one.

[mini-is-4-me]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys
Since I didn't want to speak to any of the Niello cut throats during my last visit I did not find out if they are still refusing to order customer spec'd cars. Anyone know if that is still their policy? Just curious. I like to keep new users informed of the MANY reasons not to buy from Niello and this is another one.

Their web site acts like they have relaxed their policies a little bit in this area. If you want to feel like your not getting ripped off, the best thing to do is drive, even if its a hundred miles to East Bay Mini.

[mixdman]

Hi Guys!
Get this. Niello states they are Number 5 in customer satisfaction in the nation. What a CROCK! I think they left out a zero. And, no lotatoys, you can't spec order ANY kind of car from the Niello group.
Read this gem from their site. Will I get sued for posting this? I don't know....ask Tracy.

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 2002
ATTENTION ALL MINI ENTHUSIESTS: Effective immediately, our purchase policy has changed! We are now reserving cars that are listed on our inventory page for those of you that are itching to motor in your new MINI. No more checking the web every day or every hour waiting for your car to be “IN STOCK”. Now, all you have to do is call or come in and let us know which one you want. We will mark it on the web as “RESERVED”. We do not require a deposit. As soon as your new MINI arrives, we will call you to schedule an appointment to pick it up! We hope this new policy will make it an easier and more enjoyable buying experience for everyone. We will also accommodate any walk-in customers that would like to reserve a MINI.


We strive to give the best service possible. We are very excited and thankful to all of our wonderful customers who have given us EXCELLENT reviews! We are rated 5th in the nation by MINI USA for customer satisfaction! We take great pride in this and will continue to do our best. As you can see, we are at the head of the Motoring class. Nevertheless, our goal is to be #1 in the nation! We will do our very best to keep our customer satisfaction scores up at the tippy top by helping all of you in any way we can! To assist us in our goal of being #1, customer feedback is crucial. Feel free to drop us an e-mail, we would love to hear from you!


WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!

[PFmontoya]

well what if we as a group of Mini owners stage a little meet across the street from Niello's to tell people where We got ours from. I'm sure that would cause a head ache for Mr Niello us telling folks where to get Minis from.
I'll be in Old Town Sac the 28th with my Mini.

[Sejanus]

Quote:

Originally posted by PFmontoya
well what if we as a group of Mini owners stage a little meet across the street from Niello's to tell people where We got ours from. I'm sure that would cause a head ache for Mr Niello us telling folks where to get Minis from.
I'll be in Old Town Sac the 28th with my Mini.

Weeelll, there is a really cheap, good breakfast joint across the corner near Niello...

[lotatoys]

That's a great idea! I only wish I had my Mini to join in. It's being produced this week so I'll have to organize another Mini meet in October or November. Whoever makes it to the one on the 28th...post the details here!
I'm currently waiting to hear back from Mini USA about Niello's incredible claim of being 5th in customer satisfaction. My motoring representative in customer service asked me to call her but so far (three attempts and three voicemails later) I haven't heard back.

[lotatoys]

Here's the latest on Niello MINI's claim to be number 5 in the nation for customer satisfaction...
After sending MINI USA an e-mail asking for a copy of or link to the Customer Satisfaction Ratings list that Niello is apparently referring to, I received a reply that I should call MINI USA to talk to the CSR about it. After several attmpts to contact her by phone with no luck, I sent another e-mial asking for an e-mail response. She wrote back saying "No, unfortunately MINI Division does not have a ratings list available to consumers like you". Well, this seemed a bit snippy so I called and asked one of the kids at 866-ASK-MINI about the ratings and the claims one of it's dealers was making about the list. He said they did not have access to that document and did not know where it came from. Hmmm, is Niello making this up? When asked if there were another office in the MINI division that may have the info he said that his office was the only MINI office in the US. How about BMW? No, he didn't have that information. Apparently, the 866-ASK-MINI team runs everything for MINI USA, with no parent company or corporate office above them. They must also write their own checks as well.
So, with no assistance from the 866-ASK-MINI folks, I sent an e-mail to Niello MINI, asking about the list they refer to on their website. That was 4 days ago and still no reply. It's only safe to assume that there is no such Customer Satisfaction Ranking and that Niello is just blowing smoke to draw attention away from their past (and present) business practices. Once again, Niello comes through and shows their true colors!

[Sejanus]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys
It's only safe to assume that there is no such Customer Satisfaction Ranking and that Niello is just blowing smoke to draw attention away from their past (and present) business practices. Once again, Niello comes through and shows their true colors!

Maybe, but keep in mind these surveys are usually done by customers who have bought vehicles, not those of us who have been turned off by Niello's policies. It is a very limited and biased pool. The folks who bought their cars from Niello were willing to pay the mark up to get a car on the spot and obviously weren't as interested in a customized order. Given that, as long as the Niello staff were reasonably pleasant and informative, there wouldn't be any reason for them to give Niello a negative rating on a survey.

[lotatoys]

Quote:

Maybe, but keep in mind these surveys are usually done by customers who have bought vehicles, not those of us who have been turned off by Niello's policies. It is a very limited and biased pool. The folks who bought their cars from Niello were willing to pay the mark up to get a car on the spot and obviously weren't as interested in a customized order. Given that, as long as the Niello staff were reasonably pleasant and informative, there wouldn't be any reason for them to give Niello a negative rating on a survey.

You're right, there are surely customers who feel they were treated well by the Niello staff based on their purchase of a car. However, it's the fact that Niello claims to be rated 5th in the nation by MINI USA that's misleading. MINI USA has no such ratings list available and can only recommend checking with the dealership in question to determine it's source. Because Niello refuses to answer questions about their ratings list, I am assuming the obvious...that Niello is using their own, carefully screened customer satisfaction survey information and falsly stating it's from MINI USA. They seem to be doing it with their Range Rover line as well (radio ads). If you went in to any Niello dealership, there will likely be some sort of "National Ranking" in all of them. Just don't ask to see the source...