[azimmerm]

i don't see how the dealership can claim not to be makng any money. Consumer Reports will give you the dealer margin (profit) and it is quite a bit higher than your average car dealership, add on the "document fee" and delivery charge and you are likely looking at an additional $2000 mark up. I don't know about you, but a short 2-4 hour drive to tampa, jacksonville, lauderdale or miami is certianly worth 2 grand. Jeers to downtown mini, you may be the only game in town, but not the only one within driving distance, and besides driving the new mini home will take a bite out of that 1200 mile break-in period.

[mimicar]

I don't know how you came up with an additional $2000 mark up. I figure we're only out the $299 document fee which is hardly worth driving over to Tampa for let alone Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

I've been buying and leasing cars for a long time. I bought my first new car in 1965 and obtained my first lease in 1978. I've owned over 100 cars and trucks both new and used. Believe me, there are far worse dealerships than Downtown Mini.

Ever trade a car in? Then you definitely took it in the shorts worse than any $299 doc fee.

[azimmerm]

$1500 worth of required accessories plus $300 document fee = $1800. plus whatever the delivery charge is (im no sure... didn't look into it any further after that outrageous markup) Quite frankly i looked through the catalog and only found around $140 worth of accessories that i would be willing to pay for.

[mimicar]

First, nearly all Mini dealers (plus many others) hit you for a "doc fee" or a "prep fee". Despicable? You bet.

Second, I have my contract right in front of me and there is no "delivery charge" stated.

That leaves the mandatory $1,500 "accessory package" for the MCS. This is not dealer mark up. Dealer mark up is an amount of money added to the price of the car, no accessories involved. In our case it took less than 5 minutes to come up with items from the catalog(s) that we would have bought at some later point in time. If we hadn't found items that we wanted in the catalogs we probably would have walked. As I posted earlier, we didn't like this arm twisting and said so at the time. It was our choice to go with it even though it left a bad taste in our mouths. This will be our last purchase from Fields for that reason.

[jamesday24]

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Downtown MINI. We bought our MINI Cooper in April right off the lot. They only asked us to buy $500 in accessories, and like mimicar said, we easily found enough stuff to add to get up to $430. We said we'd take the last $70 in a certificate to get stuff later, but they ended up waiving it. Downtown MINI is constantly at the top of the list for customer satisfaction. They have a good group of people and a really nice downtown location, I didn't have to look at a BMW to buy the MINI since it is a separate location.

If a dealer is being limited to the number of cars they can sell from MINIUSA, they have to make their money somehow. At least you get something for your money, it's not just a markup.

If you want to pay less than MSRP, wait until the demand dies down or buy a used one.

ps. Orlando people check out SunshineMINIs.org for state and local meets.

[azimmerm]

I have heard very good things about their service department, but i don't like the way any of the Feilds dealerships do buisness... i have been dealing with them for nearly 10 years now.
As far as paying MSRP, i expect nothing else. i ordered an 04 MCS and that's what i will be paying, however i am not interested in any of the accessories and that is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[gatormini]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrandoMan222

I am about to purchase a Mini, and had expected to do so at Downtown Mini in Orlando, being that i live only 12 miles from there; however, experiences with their sales department changed my mind. I would rather travel 2 hours to Tampa, or 3 to Ft. Lauderdale before doing business with Mike Priest's staff.

I called a week ahead to test drive a MC and was told everything would be in order for the test drive. Upon arriving at the dealership, on time I might add, I was told that their demonstration car used for test drives was not there that day. Apparently they only allow you to test drive a single car, and that car is kept by an employee. So if you plan on test driving a MC on Fridays, look out, it wont be there. Mike Priest was very friendly and promised the mistake would be corrected, and scheduled another test drive for me the following Friday (I'm in college 2 hours from Orlando normally, and can only return to my other home in Kissimmee on Fridays).

The following Friday, worried about a repeat of the previous experience, I called before making the trek on I-4 (AHHHHHHH). The sales rep on the phone informed me that no record had be taken of the new appointment scheduled the previous week and therefore the car was not there to drive again. I was furious being that Mike himself had assured me that the situation would be corrected. Upon speaking to Mike, he called the empoloyee who keeps the MC demo car and coerced him to return to work for an hour so I could test drive the car. Still, I had to wait an extra 30 minutes for the employee to return.

Typically such an experience does not bother me, but the fact that the manager promised he would correct the situation, and then repeated the mistake was very frustrating. I certainly will not purchase my Mini from their incapable offices.

[BigMack]

Please be aware that Mike Priest is NOT the dealership Manager. He is the resident British Motoring Advisor. (about 6 feet tall, British accent)

Mike Torre is the Manager of the dealership. (about 5foot 8 inches tall, Orlando accent)

As I remember, Mike Priest is normally off every Friday.

Sorry to hear of all the problems you are having.

Try talking to Joyce Priest to organize this stuff, she is the Receptionist, and has an ability to keep Mike Priest somewhat on track. (She is married to him).

And NO I'm not part of the dealership, just a long time friend of Mik & Joyce Priest's .

[azimmerm]

I realize i have posted some negative comments about this dealership, but i would really like clarify that my comments are about dealership policys and not about the people who work there. If you should decide to go with Downtown Mini i would really like to recommend Mike Priest, he is a great advisor who knows an awful lot about the cars and he's a nice guy to boot!

[Mardav]

I have had many new cars and lots of experience with new and used car dealers (both standard and highline) and I am very happy with Downtown MINI. I purchased my '02 MCS from them a year ago (after a six month wait!) and have found their service excellent in all regards. The few issues (coolant bottle, etc) that I have had were resolved usually on-the-spot, and they always remember me on the infrequent times I have called for service.

[djlarryt]

Quote: Originally Posted by mimicar

I don't know how you came up with an additional $2000 mark up. I figure we're only out the $299 document fee which is hardly worth driving over to Tampa for let alone Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

I've been buying and leasing cars for a long time. I bought my first new car in 1965 and obtained my first lease in 1978. I've owned over 100 cars and trucks both new and used. Believe me, there are far worse dealerships than Downtown Mini.

Ever trade a car in? Then you definitely took it in the shorts worse than any $299 doc fee.

I just want to let everyone know that the $1500 add on is for accessories! To accessorize your MINI with, not just $1500 mark up! That probably only makes the dealer a few hundred bucks. And I have seen the mark up in these cars.......we are lucky to have sales people this nice to be working for what they are.

[CooperS4us]

Lauderdale MINI does not tack additional markup for accessories. No wonder Lauderdale MINI continues to be the #1 Florida MINI dealer in sales and customer satisfaction. it is easy to see why when you deal with them.

[Hotelcalif]

I live in Knoxville,Tn. and drove to Orlando and bought a 2002 S in June of 2002.You will find no better miniac than Mike Priest. At that time it was MSRP but $1500.00 in accs. But wanting R90s for my car , that was just a good excuse to get them past the wife.

[seancostello]

Quote: Originally Posted by CooperS4us

Lauderdale MINI does not tack additional markup for accessories. No wonder Lauderdale MINI continues to be the #1 Florida MINI dealer in sales and customer satisfaction. it is easy to see why when you deal with them.

Lauderdale MINI is not #1 in sales or Customer Satisfaction, that would be Downtown MINI and has been this way since the launch of the new mini in March, 2002.

[McCasper]

As a somewhat soon to be MINI owner, I have a deposit for an 05 MCSC with Lauderdale MINI, I can honestly say that Downtown Mini was a pleaseure to visit. The staff, Christine in particular, was great and helped a couple of "walk ins" to get a nice feel for the car. When I do get my Mini, I look forward to having Downtown Mini take care of all the service needs as it is so close.

The issue I have is with the Sales policy that requires the purchase of $1000 of dealer accessories on the MC or $1500 of dealer accessories on the MCS as a condition of the sale. This is on top of the annoying (but standard practice) doc prep fee. Not to say that I was not going to purchase some accessories but I have a real problem with being told that I have to purchase a set amount of them . From the looks of business on the Saturday that I went, the extra's don't seem to bother too many people so I guess it may just be me. Oh well...

I ended up calling Lauderdale Mini to confirm the fact that they do not require any minimum dealer accessories and was happy to place myself on the list for an 05 MCSC. The deposit was half what Downtown Mini wanted as well. It may take a few weeks longer to get it, slightly longer wait list, but at least I'll feel happier about the experience and my relationship with Downtown Mini will not be tainted with disgust right from the start!

[MrSpaz]

I was just poking through here and noticed the high number of posts about the $1500 "required" dealer options at Downtown MINI. Maybe I just drive a hard bargain or I come across as intimidating or something, but both times I have purchased a new MINI from Downtown, I was told that the $1500 in options was, well, optional. The trick was that if I ordered any option at all that the dealer installed, they wanted me to buy $1500 worth of dealer options. I always had the choice of forgoing dealer-installed options and not paying the $1500, and factory-installed options were whatever the cost was and that's all. They did have the "doc fee" on the invoice, but no delivery charge (I'm assuming that was part of the base vehicle price).

The people at Downtown are very personable and quite cooperative. As with any dealership, just know what you want when you walk in, stay firm and reasonable and I'm sure you'll have a good experience as I did.

[darbmark]

I have NO idea why anybody would think that Downtown Mini is number one in customer service?!!?!?!

They ignored us and passed us off several times -- that is NOT good customer service!!Hello -- I want to buy a car!! Doesn't anybody want to talk to me?

Yes, Mike P. knows everything about MINIs. (He was very nice -- once he agreed to speak with us) Yes, it is a interesting showroom . . . but our experience didn't leave us feeling confident in Downtown Mini.

I am seriously considering ordering my Mini elsewhere. It would be SO much easier ordering from Downtown Mini, but I just would rather take my business elsewhere. I am NOT going to pay $1500 for extras I don't need or want . . . I am on a budget and if I had an extra $1500 to spend, I would get a few more options or a package NOT stuff I am forced to buy.

If anybody else has any other opinions for me, please don't hesitate. I really want to make the best decision, but I would like to feel happy with my decision. Thinking about going back there doesn't make me feel happy -- it just makes me feel unwanted.

[MrSpaz]

Quote: Originally Posted by darbmark

I have NO idea why anybody would think that Downtown Mini is number one in customer service?!!?!?!

They ignored us and passed us off several times -- that is NOT good customer service!!Hello -- I want to buy a car!! Doesn't anybody want to talk to me?

Yes, Mike P. knows everything about MINIs. (He was very nice -- once he agreed to speak with us) Yes, it is a interesting showroom . . . but our experience didn't leave us feeling confident in Downtown Mini.

I am seriously considering ordering my Mini elsewhere. It would be SO much easier ordering from Downtown Mini, but I just would rather take my business elsewhere. I am NOT going to pay $1500 for extras I don't need or want . . . I am on a budget and if I had an extra $1500 to spend, I would get a few more options or a package NOT stuff I am forced to buy.

If anybody else has any other opinions for me, please don't hesitate. I really want to make the best decision, but I would like to feel happy with my decision. Thinking about going back there doesn't make me feel happy -- it just makes me feel unwanted.

My best advice to you would be that if you can only visit the dealership during busy times (ie; weekends), then schedule an appointment to see someone before you go. I know they still set appointments for test drives, so I can only assume they will do the same to see a salesperson if you express to them that you don't have time to burn standing around waiting for someone to become available.

As for the $1500 in options: This may be the issue you just need to push back on. If you don't want ANY dealer options, tell them so and that $1500 is off the table. If you want say, one option that the dealer installs, and nothing else, then sort everything else about the car and boil the deal down to that one option. Make it a deal-breaker. I like the people at Downtown MINI a lot, but at the end of the day it's still a car dealership and they want to sell you a car. To tell the truth, I've actually found the crew at downtown MINI to be more cooperative than dealers I have dealt with previously (other brands). You still need to be assertive, but for me at least there didn't seem to be as much rigamarole to meet my demands.

[darbmark]

Quote: Originally Posted by MrSpaz

My best advice to you would be that if you can only visit the dealership during busy times (ie; weekends), then schedule an appointment to see someone before you go. I know they still set appointments for test drives, so I can only assume they will do the same to see a salesperson if you express to them that you don't have time to burn standing around waiting for someone to become available.

As for the $1500 in options: This may be the issue you just need to push back on. If you don't want ANY dealer options, tell them so and that $1500 is off the table. If you want say, one option that the dealer installs, and nothing else, then sort everything else about the car and boil the deal down to that one option. Make it a deal-breaker. I like the people at Downtown MINI a lot, but at the end of the day it's still a car dealership and they want to sell you a car. To tell the truth, I've actually found the crew at downtown MINI to be more cooperative than dealers I have dealt with previously (other brands). You still need to be assertive, but for me at least there didn't seem to be as much rigamarole to meet my demands.

MrSpaz,
Just you know NOBODY -- not a single other customer was in the showroom at the time. So you can see why I would get frustrated . . . it's really a LONG story of how that dealership ignored a perfectly good customer!! No doubt about it, Downtown Mini LOST a sale due to their lackluster customer service. I ordered from Lauderdale Mini and couldn't be happier!!

[wingspan]

Quote: Originally Posted by darbmark

MrSpaz,
Just you know NOBODY -- not a single other customer was in the showroom at the time. So you can see why I would get frustrated . . . it's really a LONG story of how that dealership ignored a perfectly good customer!! No doubt about it, Downtown Mini LOST a sale due to their lackluster customer service. I ordered from Lauderdale Mini and couldn't be happier!!

What did you order if I could ask?