[Romhog]

well they do have the leverage to do so, after all where else in this area are you going to get a Cooper S made to order in about 8 weeks. Its called supply and demand. But like I said, there is no fee on my deal there. My friends made around having my mini will be made up of people like you, and a local club. If your saying that most at Cinci have mini's and they do things, then yes, I will get to know them.. thats all.

[miniyoda]

Quote:

Originally posted by Romhog
well they do have the leverage to do so, after all where else in this area are you going to get a Cooper S made to order in about 8 weeks. Its called supply and demand. But like I said, there is no fee on my deal there. My friends made around having my mini will be made up of people like you, and a local club. If your saying that most at Cinci have mini's and they do things, then yes, I will get to know them.. thats all.

MINIOKI's first outing was at the Dayton Air Force Base museum, and that afternoon we went to a major car show at the science museum. We'll probably to it again this year, and have outings in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincy, Indy, and many other places in the three-state area. I'll keep people posted, but if you want, join the MINIOKI group on Yahoo

MiniYoda

[Romhog]

yea whats funny is I live 2 miles from WPAFB! Did you happen to be in the group that went the the classic car show in Dayton last Summer? At the Boomshoft Museum? I was leaving as a group of about 13 Mini's were coming in.
Once I get my baby, count me in.

[miniyoda]

Quote:

Originally posted by Romhog
yea whats funny is I live 2 miles from WPAFB! Did you happen to be in the group that went the the classic car show in Dayton last Summer? At the Boomshoft Museum? I was leaving as a group of about 13 Mini's were coming in.
Once I get my baby, count me in.

I was the lead car of that group! Check out

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...=dayton+ meet

http://www.r53w11.com/sept8th.htm

[Bluesmaster]

MAG is just like any other car dealer. They are in business to make money. It's easy to get a big discount on cars that don't sell. MAG has had up to 13 MCS in stock for the last month, a great selection. I was quoted the $1500 over sticker but had no problem getting the car for sticker. Chad was no problem to deal with. In and out in 3 hours, with a clean, detailed, shiny car. December 21st was MCS day for me. No hassle, no problem. If you are a serious, qualified buyer you can negotiate with MAG or anyone else. It's tire kickers that dealers don't deal with. I sold cars for years, I know. MAG is OK.

Bluesmaster

[dco43054]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bluesmaster
No hassle, no problem. If you are a serious, qualified buyer you can negotiate with MAG or anyone else. It's tire kickers that dealers don't deal with. I sold cars for years, I know. MAG is OK.

I would beg to differ, or maybe it's that MAG's policies are affecting its ability to move vehicles at $1,500 over sticker. But I still refuse to drive across town and get down on my knees. And life is way to short to argue er, negotiate. I did my deal in 5 minutes on the phone.

I treat salespeople with respect, and I expect to be treated the same way, and I'm no tire kicker. I took my checkbook with me to buy a car from MAG in June, and walked out with as many checks as I walked in with.

I did speak with Chad in October - and he said there was nothing that he could do about the markup over sticker. So I picked up my phone, dialed 513-271-8700 (Cincinnati Mini) and said Helooooo Gibson.

Guess the name of the tune changes just a little in December when all the knowledgable buyers head down the road a little and are treated with the same respect that they are willing to give.

Dave

[Romhog]

life is not "to short" to do anything but ask. What takes longer is driving down there to cinci to get it. now that makes life shorter. A voice is a powerful thing! Its not begging. And also look at the time of the year. In April to Oct. your going to deal with things like that. Cinci has to right to bark it up because the wait is so long. Columbus im sure is even easier this time of the year because its winter.

[Bluesmaster]

Quote:

[i]

Guess the name of the tune changes just a little in December when all the knowledgable buyers head down the road a little and are treated with the same respect that they are willing to give.

Dave [/b]

Well,

I guess there are always issues for people that need issues. Sure hope you enjoy driving to Cinci for service, etc.

[dco43054]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bluesmaster
I guess there are always issues for people that need issues.

The only issue I need is for a dealership to stand by their word.

I bought my '97 Explorer from Graham Ford in Columubus, Ohio. I walked in the door, said I would like to buy an Explorer. Found one I liked. Told the salesman I would pay "Dealer Cost", which is what they were all selling for at the time, from straightforward dealers. I walked out the door in an hour with all the paperwork signed. Gee, that wasn't hard now, was it? Picked up my nice, new Explorer a few nights later after a couple options were added, and have recommended the salesman and dealer to many people since.

No hassle, no screwing around, no Fred Ricart (sorry to the rest of the world, you just really have to experience THAT mega-dealership to know what he is all about).

Quote:

Originally posted by Bluesmaster
Sure hope you enjoy driving to Cinci for service, etc.

And who said I was going to Cinci for service? I don't think I have said anything about MAG's service department. Haven't had any experiences with them yet. I have heard they were pretty topnotch from my BMW-owning friends.

Dave

[miniyoda]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bluesmaster
Well,

I guess there are always issues for people that need issues. Sure hope you enjoy driving to Cinci for service, etc.

you don't have to go to the place you bought your car to get warranty service. that would violate federal trade laws.

[Bluesmaster]

Dave,

I agree with you that Fred Ricart is someone who I don't have any interest doing business with. I got the impression that you were so upset with MAG that you didn't want to do business with them at all. Sales, Service or amything else. And my point was anyone can get a good deal on an American car. And so you did. The fact that there are many Ford dealers around (competition) makes that a given. Ramhog seems to understand the gist of my posts. That is, you are painting the situation with a broad brush that MAG is no good and myself and others that had a good experience and had no problem "dealing" with MAG feel that your experience, for whatever reasons, is not typical. Sales negotiations, especially for cars, are something some people do well and enjoy and others hate. I'm trying to be fair to others who might not consider MAG when there is no reason not to, IMHO.

Bluesmaster

[Romhog]

yea I have fun with it. Its a game. And im the winner either way. I either get the price drop, or I walk out. I got the price drop. If you dont like the price, go elsewhere. Heck take a trip to England and pick it up. The ticket is prob less than $1500. I agree that paying that is not an option. But talking it down is.

[dco43054]

Bluesmaster,

There is a very key difference here - Eric Robare of MAG told me a year and a half ago, and a number of other people too, that since the cars would be in such short supply, MAG would establish a list of interested people, and go down that list giving people their chance, in order, to purchase a vehicle at sticker. For a vehicle in short supply, that is a very fair way to do things, and I had absolutely no problem with that. One year ago, there were supposedly 400 people on their contact list.

When the vehicles came in, suddenly all bets were off and profiteering took over. No list, no selling at sticker, nothing that they had verbally promised for months. I do realize that I had no contract whatsoever with MAG. But at the same time, I hold them to their word, because in a business relationship, that is as important to me as a contract.

So that is why I refuse to make the purchase from MAG, and have celebrated Cincinnati MINI's straight shooting.

I agree that horse trading can be a sport. I once spent 3 hours in a Pontiac dealership obtaining top dollar for my trade and the lowest price I could for their car. But that was a different time, and a different product.

Glad you had an experience that was enjoyable to you. It certainly has not been for about 400 other people.

Dave

[Romhog]

I hope they are reading this hehehhe

[Bluesmaster]

Dave,

After all is said and done, considering the problems with the early Minis, I'm sure that the car you get now (03 Model) will be a better built and more trouble free vehicle than the group that "had to be first". Not only that, but you are now happy with your deal. The same thing happens whenever something new and hot hits the market whether its cars, toys, computers or whatever. (PT Cruiser, WRX, Playstation 2 at Christmas) It makes more sense to let the early buyers deal with the problems and pay the price. Knock on wood, my MCS has no problems so far and I have put 1000 miles on it in 3 weeks. I guess the fact that I like the car more now then when I got it is the important thing. That said, I doubt that those other 399 people feel the same way you do about MAG. After all, how many people on any "list" like that follow through on a purchase anyway? Once you get your car and start motoring this will be another minor bump on the landscape.

Peace,
Bluesmaster

[dco43054]

Bluesmaster,

I am happy with my deal, with the dealer I am buying it from, and with the projected delivery time. All work extremely well for me.

Happy Motoring,

Dave

[Romhog]

Well I just want you all to know that I picked up my S yesterday from MAG. I had no problems, and was treated very well. There was no mark up on my car, and they spent time to go over everything about my new car, and cared about what they were doing. Im not going to name names, becuase about 3 of them total helped me. I don't see what the big problem is. Im asure sales were down for this time of year, but even if it were July I think I would have been treated the same. They have about 20 Coopers in stock and Yesterday there were 4 S's there. Mine and another guys were taking delivery, and there was 2 unaccounted for.
They are starting to build up a good stock.

[Romhog]

just curious, has anyone purchased a mini from columbus of late?
I wonder how their waiting list has been for S's
Not that I need another one

[miniyoda]

Romhog....not sure about the columbus waiting list, but given the choice, I'd rather buy there than buy in cincy. And while thinking about it, I need to do the 25K service soon, and I'm wondering if there's a shop better than Cincy (which would be....oh...say....75 of them?)

miniyoda

[Romhog]

miniyoda,
I just had my car taken there because I wrecked her. They took the car to a body shop because they don't have the equipment. I dont know Cinci very well and they stated I would have to just pick up the car from the body shop. I found that odd because I towed the car to THEIR dealership.
I would expect to have it picked up from there. I dont care if they outsource the work or not.
its just not good buisness.
Im still glad I bought my mini from Columbus.
The sales dept. is kinda in and out of there, but service is awsome. and once you own the car, thats all your going to be dealing with after the fact.