[Trevers]

I have read all of the Herb Chambers horror stories on both this forum, and the minicooperonline forums. And I know that thses boards usually only see the problems and not the positives, so I ask this...

Has anyone bought their Mini from Herb Chambers in Boston and been satisfied?

I do have an order there.

I chose to order there because it is a 15 mile drive vs. a 40 mile drive to Peabody.

I am not looking for a glowing report, just a couple of people that will tell that they got what they ordered for the promised MSRP.

[dr remulac]

I remember a long time ago, on a different waebsite, a lady
made 1 positive comment about Herb Chambers.
Go to MINI PEABODY and talk to HRASCH CHECHEKIAN.
KING OF ALL MINI SALESMAN and all-round good guy.
He will feed you and give you free floor mats.

[KatanaPilot]

Herb Chambers is about 2 miles from me. I wanted to give them another chance when shopping for a MINI, but all they did was to remind me how big a mistake it was purchasing my previous BMW there.

Therefore, I drove 45 minutes to Peabody, was treated with respect, and I decided to purchase my car there.

I'm sure there are people who are perfectly happy with Herb Chambers, but I'm not one of them.

Edit here: I wanted to add that their Honda guys did give us unbelievable deals (CRV for almost $1000 below invoice)so we were happy with that. Honda service has been okay as well.

[Cape Cod MINI]

It was all I could do to not post a message right after you started this thread. I saw that you were looking for positives and I figured I would back off. Now that two others have posted my feelings I may as well jump in!
We all hope it goes smoothly for you. Granted, the deck is stacked against you. But, as soon as you take delivery RUN to Peabody and establish a relationship with them.
Simply put Herb Chambers MINI sucks.
Your 15 min. drive will never compensate for the hell you will most likely be subject to.
My advice would be to cancel your order and go to Peabody.

[BobsCooperS]

Bought my MINI at Chambers, Mark is a good guy. The rest of the company SUCKS! I live a few miles from Chambers and trek all the way up to Peabody, because in a word? respect!

Bob

[jcsinnh]

Bought my MINI at Chambers, Mark is a Jerk!! See, so all is subjective but, at the risk of being repetitive, I believe I would still be waiting if it wasn't for an intervention by MINIUSA Customer Service.
Hey, Hrach never fed me!!!!!
I am still surprised that HC is allowed to keep the franchise and...wasn't there a whisper that he was getting another one in Worcester? Is there a god out there who can stop the torture of these innocents? Peabody - for both sales and great service (and I'm not on the payroll and live 100+ miles away)

[bakerjc]

Quote:

Originally posted by jcsinnh
Bought my MINI at Chambers, Mark is a Jerk!! See, so all is subjective but, at the risk of being repetitive, I believe I would still be waiting if it wasn't for an intervention by MINIUSA Customer Service.
Hey, Hrach never fed me!!!!!
I am still surprised that HC is allowed to keep the franchise and...wasn't there a whisper that he was getting another one in Worcester? Is there a god out there who can stop the torture of these innocents? Peabody - for both sales and great service (and I'm not on the payroll and live 100+ miles away)

Hrach gives out free mats? Geez.....Joel at Peabody made me pay for mine.

But I did drink about a gazillion cups of coffee while I was buying the car.

And a Herb Chambers MINI annex in Worcester? That's in my hometown. I'll still go to Peabody. Not too long ago we were toying with the idea of buying a <gasp> minivan, stopped up at the HC dealership in Auburn. We were treated like crap, lied to, and at one point belittled. Never again.....

[Cape Cod MINI]

I got a call yesterday asking me how my recent service visit at MINI of Peabody was. Naturally I gave them a perfect glowing report. All 5's because that's what they earned. At the end they asked if I would like to add anything. I said "will you really take down what I say and add it to the report?" "Of course" came the reply and I said something like "Please note that the other MINI dealer, Herb Chambers MINI in Boston treated me worse than the dirt on the sole of your shoe. They were rude, arrogant, condescending and not interested in my business. How they are allowed to keep the dealership I'll never know.......blah blah blah".
Couldn't help myself I'm only stating the facts.
Hey John, did you ever get the package from Herb Chambers as promised by them?

[KatanaPilot]

The day I saw a JDPowers trophy in Herb Chambers' BMW showroom was the day I lost all respect for JDPowers. (I go there to pick up brochures. They are at least good for that)

Money talks man, money talks.
It amazes me that they got a MINI franchaise. Again, money talks.
Didn't MINI say they only selected those BMW dealers with the best customer service?

As I mentioned before, their Honda dealership can be extremely aggressive with price. If you need a hot Honda product, go to them at the end of the month. My friend still takes her CRV to Herb Chambers for service. (Trust me I mark the old filter and check the oil to make sure it is changed) Just a few days ago the service writer actually came out and gave her the whole speech about how important it is to give them all 5s when Honda sends you the survey, and anything less than 5 is a failure. They even gave you a cheet sheet on where and how to mark the response.

And I am still waiting to hear back from the MINI motoring advisor about a test drive. :-) I went in there last September. They said they didn't have a car to test drive because a customer crashed it on a test drive. And he would call me back about a test drive after they get that demo fixed, which would be in a couple of weeks. (all evidence point to them selling the demo) They also were spreading untrue rumors about Peabody to keep me from going there. (We don't charge over MSRP! Peabody charges you $4000 over MSRP just to get on their waitlist :-) This is all too funny.

[jcsinnh]

Hey, Trevers!

Had enough? The only real sad part is that #1 MINIUSA doesn't yank the franchise despite the fact that they must know what goes on there and #2 They are still selling MINIs at hi prices, with auto-add-ons, and with poor service both in terms of quality and time off the road.
I must say that the former sales mgr. Rick Lawrence was OK when I picked up my '03 MCS but I had gone through so much that he must have seen the baseball bat I was carrying as I walked in that morning.

[Trevers]

Being that I asked for positive feedback and have recived nothing but bad stories makes me belive that I will be canceling my order. But it remains to be seen whether or not I order another MINI.

More reasons why I probably won't get a MINI...
- Peabody has a 8 month waiting list.
- Peabody charges "dealer prep" (which is BS IMHO)
- Peabody wants $1000 dollar deposit
- Peabody is ~1 hour from my house
- MINI Long Island has cars but is a painful 4 hour drive
- I find it a huge PITA to take my WRX to the dealer for service that is literally 5 min from my house, and with the number of problems reported with MINIs I don't think that I could deal with the HUGE drive to the dealer for service.
- If I want a car that rattles I'll keep my WRX (That's why I want a new car, I can't stand the rattles)
- I hate RT 1 in Peabody/Saugus (It's horrible)
- If I find a car somewhere else I won't get "priority" service at Peabody


I'll keep checking back on this thread maybe you guys can convince me otherwise.

[snid]

wah.

You live in Boston and Peabody is an hour from your house? You cannot deal with the HUGE drive to the dealer? How about us poor souls 200+ miles from the dealership?

wah.

I'm not going to "convince you otherwise".

[Trevers]

Yeah, Yeah, not everybody has 2 MINI dealers within an hour drive. But that's not the point. I guess the point is that one bad dealer can ruin what could have been a neat car. I should not have to drive past a dealer to get to another. I live on the "Automile" which is populated with many dealers that have a crufty reputation yet I have never found feedback as bad as I have for Herb Chambers.

[bakerjc]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trevers
Being that I asked for positive feedback and have recived nothing but bad stories makes me belive that I will be canceling my order. But it remains to be seen whether or not I order another MINI.

More reasons why I probably won't get a MINI...
- Peabody has a 8 month waiting list.
- Peabody charges "dealer prep" (which is BS IMHO)
- Peabody wants $1000 dollar deposit
- Peabody is ~1 hour from my house
- MINI Long Island has cars but is a painful 4 hour drive
- I find it a huge PITA to take my WRX to the dealer for service that is literally 5 min from my house, and with the number of problems reported with MINIs I don't think that I could deal with the HUGE drive to the dealer for service.
- If I want a car that rattles I'll keep my WRX (That's why I want a new car, I can't stand the rattles)
- I hate RT 1 in Peabody/Saugus (It's horrible)
- If I find a car somewhere else I won't get "priority" service at Peabody


I'll keep checking back on this thread maybe you guys can convince me otherwise.

>The 8 month wait may shorten, looks like Peabody is getting it's allotment increased. I was lucky....they had one on the lot waiting for me to buy it. Called on a Monday night, drove it home Wednesday.
>The dealer prep is nominal...at least they were up front about it. No surprises when I went to finalize the deal.
>$1000 deposit. I could see where that could be a personal issue, tying up $$ for a long period of time. How strong are your desires to have a MINI? Others happily pony up a refundable deposit (others are happier buying off the lot....instant gratification)
>Peabody is 1.75 hr from my house.....I look forward to the trip each time. 'Course my MINI has been pretty much problem free.
>MINI Long Island? Could be a one time trip. Do the deal over the phone, go down with your plates. And have an enjoyable 4 hour first ride in your new car. Call it "A MINI Adventure".
>Long drive for service: Again, this could be a personal make or break item. So far I've been delighted with the operation of Peabody; sales, service, parts dept. They'll let you hobnob with the mechanics while your car is being worked on. They go to great lengths to explain what is happening, what they are doing, and if you ask the correct questions on the sly you'll get knowledgable "secret" answers. I don't believe there is a great deal of preferred service given to people that bought the car at Peabody, what you may be seeing though is the continuation of the social relationship that has been in the making during the "8 month wait". Herb buyers, CT buyers want to chime in here?
>Rattles? Nary a one with the exception of my old 47 year brain MINIing over the MA roads. The fit and finish on my MINI is top notch. I'm aware of the posts from others, but so far I'm delighted with this car after 5 months and 13,500 miles. I'm not saying it hasn't had issues, but the problems were taken care of promptly, professionally, with courtesy and respect for my needs and wishes. Again, it took me an hour and forty five minutes to access that type of service, but well worth it.
>Rt 1 sucks. Yep. Sure. No doubt. But, lets bring in the quality of service again....
>Priority service: I think I dealt with that previous.

So, my advice.
1: Peabody
2: Plunk down $1000 and wait or buy off the lot
3: Thoroughly enjoy yourself with the ownership of a MINI.

[el blue]

I live 2.6 Miles from HC. Had service there. Won't go back. Love my Cooper S foibles and all. Most car dealers leave lots to be desired. We are lucky that a dealer as well respected by owners as Mini of Peobody exists at all.

Get over the dealer issue and buy a Cooper. If not, it's your loss.

[bakerjc]

I've not heard much about any group that bills itself as the "HC MINI Club".....

Now I'm not saying there is a "Peabody MINI Club", but it does seem to be a central theme. The service is good at Peabody, but the social group you could become a part of is wonderful.

[Cape Cod MINI]

You are doing yourself an injustice.
Just because HC sucks doesn't mean you shouldn't get a MINI.
Who is most vocal about their cars on all the message boards? The whiners. For every whiner w/ a minor, or perhaps major issue, there are 5 or more of us who are thrilled with our cars.
Peabody is getting an allotment of 114 (if I remember the # correctly) for September. This is the largest allotment any MINI dealer in the US has received. Give 'em a call.
On the other hand, if the drive from Boston south is too much for you then a MINI isn't the car for you. I've turned a 2.6 mile round trip to the video store into a 54 mile cruise because the MINI is so much fun to drive. If you don't enjoy cruising then no sense in wasting your money on a great cruising car.

[jcsinnh]

Living in NH, I could have gone to MINI dealers in Boston, Peabody, Hartford. I chose HC. It was my only error in 2002. However, I can assure you that had I bought my car in Des Moines, the service at Peabody would be the same high quality as if I had bought it there.

Trevers, we've given you the answer. We are not being compensated for them by Peabody (well, except maybe CCM who gets $$$ out of everyone somehow). Ball is in your court but you know where all of our votes are. And, to be fair, I now have a negative tale re Peabody, albeit quite minor, just to prove that they too are human (well, maybe not Hrach but the rest).

[jacobsen1]

I went to HC for a test drive and they loaned the car out!!!! We went to Peabody and even though they had a rally planned that day Hrach gave us a test drive in a S, took us to his museum, and then took us out to eat! We went back the next Tuesday to test drive the cooper and he fed us again. We ordered a MINI and had a september build date, but the car was born on the forth of July, and is there now. The stupid Certificate of Origins aren't there so we are waiting to be able to bring our baby home....

Love peabody though....
Hate HC and would reccomend avoiding at all costs...

Good Luck!
Ben

[rfinprc]

I bought mine at HC. I also have a Honda I bought there in '96, and I still take it there for service.

I'm not likely to keep going back there for MINI service, though. I've been in twice, and it's been fairly poor both times. In one case, I asked them to put the car on the lift and check by the rear bumper for damage, because I had been "hard-tapped" from behind. They were going to charge me for it, until I raised a stink.

Mark talks a good show -- it remains to be seen if he'll make a difference there, but I doubt it.

Peabody, on the other hand -- fantastic. I had the MINI towed there from Hookset NH after the fabled porcupine incident. Gary was incredibly helpful, even though I ended up using a body shop for repairs. They spent at least an hour -- probably more -- and when I suggested that he write me a bill for the time, he declined. So, they certainly show no bias against people who purchased elsewhere. His message wasa that he wanted me as a service customer no matter where the car made landfall.