When I bought my 2015 mini cooper s on the 15th of January I was excited and, I must admit, a little overwhelmed. This car has more technology than any car that I have ever owned. As a result, I was very pleased to hear about a feature that mini offered called "second date". As I have been told, this offering helps owners go over the car after a few weeks of ownership to see if there are any questions or if the owner is actually familiar with and taking advantage of everything the car has to offer. There are a few things that I am learning that I just outright missed in the first few weeks. Anyway, does anyone know how long after purchase I should be contacted for the appointment. I've owned the car over a month and still have not heard anything. When I brought my new car in to have the navigation installed about a week after purchase, the salesman said that I would be contacted by email. I was also keen to hear that the dealer tops off your gas and gives some sort of goody bag at the time of the "second date". Any insight would be welcome on this issue. Not feelin' the love of a "second date". One last thing, should I contact corporate or the dealer if I do not get contacted. At this time, I am a little disappointed in the dealership. The car was not washed and vacuumed as promoted in dealer's literature after the navigation was installed and I got a filthy loaner car at that time. Have heard that dealers jump when they get a call from corporate. Any thoughts on this would be welcomed also.
My local dealer as a full time technology employee who does exactly what you described. He came to our club meeting and said to call him anytime for any tech questions a new MINI owner may have. Maybe you just fell through the cracks, call your dealership and arrange an appointment.
Thanks for the input. Will follow up with service manager and hope for best. As most of us, I love the car, and am even considering buying a mini for my daughter's first ride. But, this weak service and follow=up do tarnish my enthusiasm on going back there for another car. Like many of you on this board, my family is a 5 car family, creating lots of opportunity for dealers who treat you the right way. My land rover dealership was much more attentive to detail and customer service.
That's unfortunate to hear. I was contacted by my dealer days after I bought mine...hopefully they make it up to you.
I'm guessing they might be overrun with recall's on the new gen3 cars... lots of stuff going on in the background.... and they MIGHT have done you a favor NOT washing your car if it was extremely cold... the high-treasure spray can get water into some troublesome places in the winter... and many owners DO specifically ask that their cars NEVER be washed by the dealer due to fears of getting scratched....
Oh. The op is one of THOSE customers. I had my car in for a headlight bulb. WHAT? You didn't wash and detail my car?? I'm never coming back here again!
Welcome to M/A I read something about the second date thing, but really don't know how it works. My recommendation is to call your dealer & expertness your concerns to them. You may have slipped through the cracks & been missed somehow. We are all human & make mistakes. Give them a second chance to make things right. Enjoy your new MINI.
Welcome Aboard! Who cares about the dealer. Go out and enjoy driving your new MINI. Connect up with your local group and enjoy the comradery.
Good to see you posted.... Many first time posts/rants on multiple groups are one time "drive by" postings that folks never come back to read... The MINI experience is more about the people and the cars than about getting a dealer to kiss your butt since you bought a upgraded economy car.... Don't get me wrong, most dealers are very good, and seem to do a good job, but the reality is, I'm sure dealers have priories, and for some reason you got pushed down the list... Yeah...like I said before, maybe it was too cold, but maybe they were doing a last minutes fix to help somebody, or something.... My interactions with dealers have been limited to a purchase, 2 free services, and a quick drop in no appointment visit in 10 years....oh yeah...they sent me a balloon in a box with cookies a week after I bought my car..... I sincerely hope you are not one of "those" folks who will never be happy... I might suggest, say "oh well", and a mini is not a land rover...the gen1 cars from 2002-2006 WERE 50% Rover, but let's just say BMW took over the brand for a reason....lol. Enjoy your new car, its about going for a drive... If you NEED some hand holding, reach out, and call the dealer... Telling the world you are not happy before giving them a chance to correct it is " poor form" IMO........
I think we should give the OP the benefit of the doubt. A couple of replies seem designed to push this person away rather than help welcome them. Maybe that's not the case & I'm mistaken, I often am.
I guess I never got the feeling the op was seeking a handout or otherwise. I've always been able to become friends with the folks that have sold me my new cars and tend to think that reaching out to the dealer will result in a positive MINI owner experience.
Yeah, the hate here was a little strong... Understood if some of you have had bad dealer experiences, but not all dealers are bad, and not all customers are looking for handouts. That being said, the OP should be a little more, ahem... less expecting of his dealer. **** happens, people fall through the cracks - reach out to your salesperson and see what's up. No need to escalate this to management yet.
Perhaps, Zippy, but their corporate council has had time enough to ensure that we have no MINI logos on our website. If they have time for us, they certainly have time for their new customers...
It really depends on the Dealership. My local Dealership is a Sewell owned dealership, and Carl Sewell literally wrote the book on customer service... http://www.amazon.com/Customers-Life-One-Time-Lifetime-Customer/dp/0385504454 I bought my 2007 CooperS used from a Mazda dealer, and Sewell MINI treats me like their best customer. I went in for an oil change last week, and they gave me a CooperS loaner with a TollTag -- and they don't require you to replace your gasoline, like most dealerships. They have this really cool system that "recognizes" their loaner cars when you enter the service drive. When I get to the cashier desk, my paperwork is ready, and someone has been dispatched to bring me my washed and vacuumed car. Good customer service is really more about the dealership than the car company.
Unfortunately the way US trademarks are enforced in the us makes it hard to "let" a company use said trademark...if they do, then they may have possibly have lost rights too that trademark, as you MUST enforce your rights if it is brought to your attention...I wish BMW/mini would let you "lease" the use for a very specific use as an enthusiast site (say offering for offering products, but not endorsing, etc) , say $500 a year to cover legal fees, so you could show the logo....maybe I am a dreamer, but seems to me would be a win-win....