[squishy]

this could be an interesting thread. it's meant to curb the spread of disinformation, not to poke fun at our friendly MINI dealers.

with that in mind, what is the most ridiculous thing you've had a MA tell you about your car? i'll start:

1) pointing to the sensor in the middle of the dash near the windshield: "That's the O2 sensor. It tells the automatic climate control how hot the car is."

[actually it is the sunlight sensor. the temperatur sensor is on the lower right of the climate control controls. the O2 sensors are near the catalyticl converters.]

2) "The batteries for the remote recharge when the key is in the ignition. So you need to rotate the use of your keys so one won't go dead."

[owner's manual states to replace a dead remote battery with a CR 2032, a common non-rechargable battery.]

--squishy

[uptick]

At time of inspection at delivery:

Me: What's that notched part on the rear bumper? [pointing to the location for attaching the tow hook]

MA: Uh, that's a parking distance sensor.

Me: Oh, really?! [thinking doesn't MA know I did not order PDC in the first place...]
OK, thanks. [now let me have my car so I can get out of here! ]

[AtomicKiwi]

I don't have any good stories, but I'd just like to say that I should be a MINI dealer because I know more than these people.

[MGB Boy]

Generally speaking, I'm willing to cut your average car salesman / saleswoman / salesbeing some slack for not knowing everything that us uber-geek car nuts know about a given model. I cut them this slack on the basis that they sell a lot of different models etc. and that's a lot of trivia to pack into the brainpan. But MINI dealers really have no excuse. At the dealerships I've been to, they have dedicated MINI staff that sell MINIs only, no other brands. And the MINI only come in two flavors of a single model. It's not like these cats are memorizing the entire Chevy/Pontiac/GMC/etc. model line-up, all they have to know is the MC and MCS. If that's what you get paid to do 40 hours a week, you'd think they be pretty good at it, but apparently not all are.

All that being said, my MA didn't tell me any whoppers, but of course I didn't have any questions either. In the 10 months between when I put down my deposit (Oct 01) and when I picked up my car (Aug 02), I'd already soaked up every bit of info possible and read the pdf version of the owner's manual from cover to cover, at that point there were no questions left...

-Ricardo

[stryder]

I had the MA at Classic MINI say about 2 months ago 'we're not like those other dealerships who price gouge and make you buy extra stuff'

I said uhh, in 2002, you had mandatory packages that added at least $750 to an MC and $1000 to an MCS for window etching and paint sealant - perhaps you should check with someone who has worked longer then you.

He shut up pretty quickly And it is good most dealers realized price gouging was stupid.

Oh, and when I picked up my car (not at Classic) there was a random plastic zip tie on one of the battery cablesI asked what it was for. He just started at me and said 'uhh' I'll get back to you. (He called me the next day and said it got left from the factory during assembly)