[MINIjewel]

I would love to hear what you have to say, good or bad. Although hopefully there will be no bad.
Please let me know what you think, and comments on the dealership website are also appreciated.
Aimee
International MINI

[Daddu]

WHAT no Smile for the camera?????

[MINIjewel]

Quote:

Originally posted by Daddu
WHAT no Smile for the camera?????

If you're talking about the picture on the website, I was smiling. Just a crappy digital camera.

[Daddu]

OH I SEE,
I'll have to see the smile in person when I visit your fine facility in July during the AMC/Nash get together.

I have bought one Cooper from International and have a second on order. The first salesperson was too slick for my taste. If I had to work with him again, I wouldn't. He doesn't work there anymore and that's a plus for you guys.

Other issues:
My current salesperson (KL) seems to be very good. Although he has not been successful at getting my floor mats sent to me. I paid for them in April. Don't want them now. I'm going to get a set from Moss Motors. We are going to apply the cost of the mats to the new car.

Overall, International seems to be a decent dealership with good people working there. However, it seems clear the emphasis is on sales and not on follow through.

I really don't mean to be hard on your dealership, but this is my experience so far.

[greyhoundmini]

I regret to say our experience was not positive.

Our main issues were the additional dealer markup, the attitude of the sales men, and the lack of knowledge about incoming orders. Those incidents and encounters forced us to travel to Illinois, where we bought 2 MINIs.

Dave

[SJCzar]

International was the first dealer I contacted when I became interested in the MINI. I guess that there must have been some confusion at the time or maybe the person I spoke with wasn't too knowledgable because I was told that the list was full and they weren't going to be taking any more names. This was in July of '01. I ended up going with Patrick in the Chicago area.

I stopped in at Int'l. (since it's 5 minutes from my home) just before I put in my final specs to look at the wheel choices and get a few other questions answered. Kyle (KL) was very helpful. He was real enthusiastic about the car and could answer all my questions. He told me about things that I hadn't even thought to ask about. He knew up front that I had ordered my car somewhere else so he wasn't just trying to land another sale.

Hopefully everything will go just as well when I need any service work done. I'll be interested to hear the remarks from people who have had their car into the shop
already. I've always been pretty satisfied with the sales experiences with all the cars that we've purchased over the years. It's been the service end that's left something to be desired.

this feedback with your managers?

[jcam711]

Aimee,

I stopped by International MINI in Milwaukee last night (I'm here on business this week)

1) Storefront needs better signs - I didn't see the small MINI emblems on sides of the building - had to drive/walk around to find the store

2) I thought I'd buy the license plate holders (there's going to be a local rally where I live, so time to add some chrome) ... store had them in the glass case, but no one had a key and I was told to come back from 8:30-5:30 when parts dept. is open. That just won't work, 'cause I gotta work.

I have enjoyed the two billboards I've seen around town. And I like that you are asking for feedback - that's always the sign of a dealer who will be great.

[ezrally]

So far so good with Int. MINI. While yet to have car in our hands, we got on the list in Jul '01 w cash down (our idea) and they stuck to the pecking order (black '03 S) and we have been assured no MSRP markup!
Hopefully we won't be stuck with any add ons (ie mats etc) unless we want them. I believe this has to do to with the order being customer spec. and the willingness to wait.
We will let you know how it goes as we pick up our car...
Aimee I am correct in this?
Also Aimee is most helpful in all cases (answers questions same day etc) and should be a salesperson!
Erik

[pezboy]

Interesting.

I was assured a $4000 markup on an S.

[ezrally]

Quote:

Originally posted by pezboy
Interesting.

I was assured a $4000 markup on an S.

Was that on an S you had ordered from International or for one on the lot early on?
I know if one came in and wanted the S off the street it was 3K over...

[pezboy]

Well yeah that was for pre-spec cars. But I was told they were taking no orders for custom cars until March 03.

So basically it's either buy one with a $4k markup, or wait to even get on a list in March.

[dukesantos]

Ordered our Cooper in April, car delivered on schedule in June. Aimee was very helpful; I thought the Brit salesman was a little too slick but he performed OK. The accessories in the display case -but you have to go to parts to buy it -is a common problem at car dealerships. It is very annoying after parts dept. hours or on weekends, shouldn't be that hard to remedy.

[milwaukeeboy]

Hi Aimee (aka minijewel),

The short answer is: I love your building and all of the people that I've met there ; I'm upset with the fact that I couldn't get my MCS from my hometown dealer .

I'm kind of a johnny come lately, not getting on the bandwagon until May 2002. By the time I came in for a test drive (with Kyle, whom I like (if he is a little wishy-washy)) it was June (16th I believe). I drove both the MC and MCS and decided that I wanted (needed) the s.

I was told that there was a long list and that it would take $4000 to get ahead of the list.

This prompted me to start calling around and I eventually wound up ordering my car from Roadshow of Memphis. (I put my money down on July 10th and the car was produced on Aug 2nd .)

What I really don't get is this: is there a waiting list or is there not a waiting list. If so, why let (rich?) people jump ahead. If not, well...

Anyway I'm not slamming Int'l. I stop in and talk with Kyle and Anthony on a semi-regular basis (they know that I ordered out of state). I also plan on having my service done there. I am pretty sure that even if they had a $1000 down list (like many of the other stores) that I wouldn't be remotely close to the top of it so in my case I may have had to go out of state anyway.

Hope this is relevant and not too rambling.

Cheers,

p.s. I'll try to say hi next time I stop (although I spend a lot of my visits in the back lot drooling over the latest arrivals).

[MINIjewel]

OK, sorry I haven't responded to all your concerns for so long. I was getting caught up in the Off Topic forum.
Here's the straight scoop.
If you were on our list, you got a car for sticker. If you were not, there is a premium. The premium is for cars on the lot. It will not move you ahead of anyone on the list.
KL is young and inexperienced in sales, but is learning quickly. He has become a valuable asset to our staff.
SF no longer works here. For any of you that came in early on, you know who he is.
The parts situation is rather inconvenient, but will not change. Parts and service are only open M-F from 7:30 to 5:30.
Anything you want from the parts department can be ordered by phone and shipped to your door also. You just call the parts department, and they will take your credit card over the phone. You will just pay a small charge for shipping.
The wait to delivery of an S right now is 8 months. The wait to delivery on a Cooper is 2 months.
I know about the signage problem, and hopefully that will not be an issue for long. We still can't move the Porsche sign, but I am expecting a Fed Ex package (today actually!) with a banner so we can cover it.
I will be sharing this information with my managers.
I hope I answered everyones questions/concerns. If you have anymore comments, they are very welcome.
I apologize for any unfortunate experience that anyone has had here. We are trying to improve, and any feedback helps us considerably.
By the way ez, you will get what you ordered, nothing more unless you want it.
Aimee

[ezrally]

Welcome back to the important topic(s) MJ!
What you say reinforces what I already knew about International/MKE MINI. Nice to have it spelled out again about MINIs not being over sticker & no add ons. Seems some people wanted a MINI with no waiting or having to be on a long list.
Hopefully see you in about a month to pick up one of the first black Ss!

PS MINIUSA says they have lots of people (six by noon) checking their status on cars going to International...

I am sure it must be difficult starting up a new dealership. Of course, I would like to have a good relationship with my dealer and I believe that can still happen. I have been treated well by all the people at International although I did buy my first MINI from SF. Not a wonderful experience. KL is doing fine.

I will be taking delivery on my next MINI from you within the next two weeks. It's going through VPC now. We are really looking forward to getting it.

You might want to check out the feedback on minicooperonline. They have a dealer feedback section in their forum. International has been getting mixed reviews, although not the worst by quite a bit.

Again, I appreciate your taking the time to review the posts and responding. That in itself raises my opinion of the dealership.

[MINIjewel]

I wanted to let everyone know an update. Because of the things posted here, we have made a change. No more markup on the S!! See, your opinions and comments do make a difference!! Thanks guys, keep 'em coming!
Aimee

[AidenL]

Aimee, great to see the action being takes as a result of the comments in here.....

I wish I could buy an S from you, its great to see that you all care.....

Website looks good too !