[goonerij]

I friend of mine ordered a new Mini One in January, for Mar 1st delivery, from Stratstone Derby and has been looking forward to going to the showroom next Saturday to pick up her shiny new Pepper White One.

Stratstone have now called and demanded full payment in advance of Mar 1st (and obviously before any chance of seeing the vehicle) and said that they will drive the vehicle to her home in Mansfield, approx 50 miles - because they will be too busy to process the paperwork and for her to go to the showroom on that day!

So, money in advance, no chance to see the vehicle , 50 miles on the clock and the associated road dirt (severity dependent on the weather). Surely this is not normal?

Any comments and advice would be appreciated.

[Greenie1]

A full inspection of the car before you hand the final monies over.

[deanquartermaine]

Simple no money until you have inspected the car!!

[simeds]

don't see the problem personally. If they're delivering it they're going to want paying first, as theyll want the funds to clear. If she really wants to pick it up, try organising a different day. What is it with all this must have the latest plate stuff when they change every 6 months.
My clubman was driven 213 miles for delivery and arrived spotless !, and 213 miles closer to being run in

[DaFlake]

I had to pay before I could see the car but I didn't sign any acceptance papers until after inspection. This is pretty normal.

[JP1611]

Quote: Originally Posted by goonerij (original)

I friend of mine ordered a new Mini One in January, for Mar 1st delivery, from Stratstone Derby and has been looking forward to going to the showroom next Saturday to pick up her shiny new Pepper White One.

Stratstone have now called and demanded full payment in advance of Mar 1st (and obviously before any chance of seeing the vehicle) and said that they will drive the vehicle to her home in Mansfield, approx 50 miles - because they will be too busy to process the paperwork and for her to go to the showroom on that day!

So, money in advance, no chance to see the vehicle , 50 miles on the clock and the associated road dirt (severity dependent on the weather). Surely this is not normal?

Any comments and advice would be appreciated.

I bought my car from Stratstone Derby at the end of January, and I paid for it at the time of collection. I didn't actually examine the car before I transfered the money, but I guess the option was there as the car was under a cover in the show room. The hand over took around an hour.

I would not be happy having to pay the balance up front then having to wait weeks for it to be delivered. It was not so important for me to have an 08 plate, so I imagine the dealership was not so busy which resulted in a better service.

[airbusA346]

Quote: Originally Posted by simeds (original)

don't see the problem personally. If they're delivering it they're going to want paying first, as theyll want the funds to clear. If she really wants to pick it up, try organising a different day. What is it with all this must have the latest plate stuff when they change every 6 months.
My clubman was driven 213 miles for delivery and arrived spotless !, and 213 miles closer to being run in

My dad has a company car and everytime we get a new one (every six months) they manage to put the previous plate on, so for the Touareg we have at the moment we ordered it late enough so it should be delivered with 57 but when we went to collect it we found out they had registered it a few days before the 57 plate came out so now it looked like we had a 6 month old car on 07 plates when really it was brand new.

[MINI&MERCGUY]

This is certainly not normal. Do not pay over the balance (cost - deposit) until you have seen the car. This business of the garage being too busy is absolute nonsense. They couldn't possibly be too busy for the entire day that they couldn't find time to hand the car over to you at the garage. Even if that was the case, they should be able to fit you in the following day. Insist on picking the car up at the garage and only paying for it when you have seen it.

[Richard Crofts]

I paid in full before collection, but no papers were signed before I saw the car and collected it. If I were you I would not be 100% OTT about the payment, but I would refuse the delivery, I'd rather pick the car up at dealers on a different day! Several reasons for this

1. If there is a problem then you are there face to face to sort it with them
2. You have no idea what sort of a ragging a young sales or mechanic will give the car in its first 50 miles!
3. If it is dirty on arrival then it reduces the chance of you spotting something

[iain cooper]

agree entirely with the previous two posts....................you pick up the car from the dealer and pay for it there and then.

also if you arrange to pick up the car at say 2.00pm, arrive at 1.00pm, and have a look around the dealership, and you'll probably find the car and be able to give it a once over, externally anyway.

delivery is a no no !!

[Lolance]

Driven to your house? NO! At least get it transported if they won't let you pick it up on Saturday.

Pay without seeing the vehicle? I would personally never do this, you need to see it at least so you can confirm they ordered it in the right colour!! A full inspection is the best bet.
If they are saying that they're too busy on Saturday, then they must be very slow and/or poorly mismanaged! You plan in advance for these things!!

[Hickster]

I paid the balance a week in advance but that's because I paid by cheque. Didn't sign anything though until I'd seen the car.

I bought my first MINI on March 1st 2003 and I think that might have been a Saturday too. Even then when demand was huge I had no problem picking up my car on the day. It sounds like they're just trying to make life easy for themselves. If it were me, I'd insist on collection on the day - make them earn your hard earned cash!

[supa-dupa-cooper]

I ordered my new Cooper D last September for a March 1st delivery, and to this day all I have paid is a £250 deposit....

...ive seen the car twice since it arrived...going to sign the paperwork on friday and then am paying the day I collect it.

[dlpruk]

Why should the dealers register the car in your name before you've paid for it?

[JG.26]

I think if you can then delay the pick up date by a day or two and go and inspect the car first. If you do that and spot a problem before handing the monies over it will make life alot easier in the long run. A good dealer should accept a bankers draft or building society cheque on the day of collection without you having to wait for the cheque to clear.

I recently collected my Corsa VXR. Originally I would have had to wait 12 weeks for delivery from the factory but my dealer found an unregistered car in Vauxhalls stock with the spec I wanted at a dealer 200 miles away so I said I would have this one and save the wait. The car was driven up to my local dealer which is quite normal in the trade when ferrying cars around. Car arrived on the Friday and inspected it over the weekend, all perfect and fine. Collected the car on Monday afternoon after the PDI and stupidly as it was parked around the back I didn't inspect it but did the paperwork and handed the cheque over. Car was brought round to the front of the dealers and noticed the lower spoiler was cracked, ie it must have been kerbed during the PDI. It was definitely not damaged the previous Saturday. I wanted to reject the car there and then but it made things very awkward as the dealer wanted me to accept the car and bring it back later in the week to be repaired, they had my monies. It was only me blowing steam in the showroom and refusing to leave that they agreed to swap the spolier from another showroom model there and then. Moral of the story is DO NOT hand any money over until you have inspected the car thoroughly and do not be fobbed off by the dealer if there are probs at pick up time.

Also I'm unsure of your legal rights if you make payment and sign the paperwork off the garage premisses, I'm sure your rights aren't as great.

[Streeters]

I work for a main dealer myself (not MINI) and for 1st march this is pretty standard practice as they're trying to get as many cars out as humanly possible in a short space of time, usually a dealer would only expect 3 or 4 handovers on a saturday whereas 1st march could be a lot more (we have 12 at the mo) so We always ask customers to come in during the week before to pay for the car , they can also see it while they're there. this speeds up the handover process on the day as its just then swopping cars. We too offer to deliver the car as well where possible as it again frees up space and time as we usually do this out of hours. Customers STILL get to sign a handover checksheet on the day of collection/delivery where any faults can be noted and subseuently rectifed (doesnt happen too often!). Its up to the individual realy, but I certainly wouldnt pay in ful for a car that i hadnt seen at all

Remember you are the customer and dealers shouldnt DEMAND anything, they should ask and explain the reasons why. Supadooper Jo is doing her docs the day before and paying the cash balance on the day, that should be how it works and i'm sure it was discussed with her and the dealer NOT demanded by them.

I'm sure if you told them to cancel as you didnt like the treatment you were getting they'd sing a different tune. Perhaps speak to the manager and explain your thoughts / feeling and see if they can be more flexible. Getting a new car should be a good experience for customer and dealer alike.

[Tracie]

My recent experience with my local Reno dealers, ( I was going to have a Clio 197), paid deposit of £500, car ordered ( 6 wk build)..went to collect car and to pay with my debit card on the collection day..inspected car before I paid to find it covered in scratches. The dealer wanted me to pay and take it back to be sorted at a later day but I rejected the car and walked away.
I would never ever pay for a car without seeing it unless I was totally loaded and money was no object!
When I collected my old MINI it was with a Building Society Cq and I didn't hand that over until I'd checked the car

[BU51 BEZ]

Surely if they have got the time to deliver the MINI, then I would assume they also have the time to hand it over in the showroom.
Please take this into consideration you will in effect receive a second hand car, as you are not the first person to drive it, I know it is still new but I would not be happy about this arrangement.
Now if it were to be delivered to your door on a transporter that would be different, as for money before delivery I would be ok with that, but just dont sign anything until you have checked it, if there is something wrong tell them to take it back.
But after saying all this, I would still rather pick up from the showroom as it makes for a better experience, as was the case with our first brand new MINI CLUBMAN just before new year.
Just demand that you wish to collect the MINI and they make time for you, after all you are the customer that is paying there wages
Hope it all works out in the end
probably see you around in the near future as we are local
all the best BU51 BEZ

[JAMIE1131]

I'd tell them to foxtrot oscar! If you find a problem at the dealer you can refuse to accept the car, kick up any amount of necessary fuss in the showroom and have the opportunity to speak to senior members of staff there. If it gets delivered chances are it will be a driver dropping it off, any probs and they'll tell you to take it up with the dealer. By which time the car will be in your hands and they will be far less likely to help you out quickly.

[Streeters]

Just a reference back to BU51 BEZ's comment, a lot of dealers deliver out of hours or get a driver to do it due to time constraints so it's not always the salesperson that delivers the car .Personally i'd collect from the dealer too in view of my earlier post, but if anyone colllecting their new car thinks they are the first to drive it then they're mistaken, factory workers, transport drivers, technicians to road test, drivers (to fuel it), salesperson (to double check) thats at least 6! But i know what you mean though, the perception of being the first is still there, I had to explain to someone once that he couldnt possibly be the first to drive his car unless he worked at the factory! also another reason for collecting it is that most MINI owners have a fair wait for their cars and accidents can and do happen