Gladly Van,
Before I get into the inner workings of the dealership and ordering system and shed some light on the situation... let me ask you this...
Have you ever worked for a BMW or a MINI store in the sales department?
Have you ever worked at a Penske store?
There is much you don't know about the MINI ordering system... well infact the BMW/MINI ordering system. I guess it is easier to jump online and publicly defame a dealerships wrong doing in broad generalizations than to ask the dealerships personal and managment what happened and why it happened and resolve the problem/issue(s) amicably. Believe it or not, the dealership staff does everything they can for there clients. It is in their best interest to do so. I can tell you that MNS is an extremely fair dealership and takes customer satisfaction very very seriously. (As evidence by their long history of NEVER selling a NEW car above MSRP... and allowing customers to order what they want as opposed to ordering cars and since they have a captive audience... sell the cars over MSRP like the majority of the other dealerships did since the reintroduction of MINIs to the states...Their support of a MINI spec racing series, their support of local car clubs and charrities and of course the "Rallys" they put on at massive expense to the dealership and volunteered time by the staff) Partialy, because in this business especially at a Penske store... everyone is in fear of losing their job... it doesn't matter what you did for them in the past... just what you have done for them lately. One false move, or act of improprioty will have you removed... therefore, the salespeople really do try hard to make sure everything goes as perfectly as possible for the clients. Do things go wrong? Of course... It is a store ran by humans and they/we are imperfect creatures.
Does the MNS sales department do things that are unfair to customers? Simply put... NO. Never have... and likely never will. If it happens... there will likely be a "change of guard" at the MINI store. I can assure you that the MINI sales department did not, and would not ever sell "your slot" to anyone. It isn't worth it to them... also, this would anger your salesperson because his customer would be taking a back seat to someone eases customer. A complaint would be filed or at least heard to upper management and then the whole thing would unravel and people who start to worry about their jobs... again... The Penske stores are FULL of bureaucracy which is sometimes good and sometimes bad... but it plays very well into the hands of the paying customer.
The ordering system for BMW and most especially MINI is just as full of idiosyncrasies as the cars themselves. The ordering system is not an exact science. All dates and even prices are considered estimates on the DCS printout commonly referred to as a "Build Sheet." All prices are considered estimates. The only things that are facts is the vehicles color(s) and equipment and of course VIN/Production numbers. Thats it. Some people get hung up on all of the numbers on the sheet and start drawing up conclusions in excitement. The sheet you were given or possibly just spoke about being a week 44 production could have been moved by the factory to say week 43... or even week 46 or 47. All without the dealerships knowledge or consent. The dealership is just an agent that acts on your behalf to acquire your desired vehicle. They don't have nearly as much control over the timing, process and handling of the vehicle as most would think. The dealership does not physically own the vehicle until the car has entered the US... and it could be argued that they do not truly have ownership of the vehicle until the vehicle is signed off on by a dealership employee once the vehicle is delivered off the transporter and onto the stores property.
The other thing that could have happened is when you order a car from MINI the production slots are given to the dealership in a pre-configured form. The dealership then contacts the client and asks how they want their car built. The pre-configured car in the production slot is then modified to the customers request. Now... the production slots can only be modified for a certain amount of time. How long? Who knows!!! I've ordered THOUSANDS of MINIS and I have never once been able to set my watch to it. No one has and nobody can. But once the car is "unmodifiable" its just that... nothing can be done. The car is being built... like it or not. These slots can literally last 1 day or 3 weeks in a modifiable status there is no warning of them about to "flip" into an unmodifiable mode. They just do. No rhyme. No reason. Just frustration. I have had it where we were modifying a "modifiable" order and once we had selected all of the choices and hit submit the car could no longer be modified!!! $h*t happens. It sucks, but I assure you the dealership did not have one ounce of malicious intent against you or your Countryman.
Simply put, if your car was delayed, I can assure you it was not a dubious plan against you, MINI North Scottsdales sales department does not have any malicious intent against you and all they want to do is make there customers happy. They want you to buy the car, be happy, tell a friend and consider them the next time you think about purchasing another vehicle.
Also, I am guessing the fact that your issue seems to be more with the "week 44" production, that you are unhappy you are not one of the first people with a Countryman in the country... The east coast always gets there car first just as an FYI... its physical location allows this to happen... but hey... just be happy you don't have to shovel snow.
I am sorry for your frustrations and I hope you do enjoy your new Countryman in good health when you do receive it.
I guess my perspective is a little different than yours. Hopefully I have shed some light on what possibly could have taken place. Just be glad your phone didn't ring and your sales person was on the other end telling you that your new MINI is at the bottom of the English Channel because the boat sank... Ohh ya... FUN TIMES in the car biz!
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:22 pm
