Was supposed to collect a car today... Left disgusted!
Discussion
The wife and I were supposed to collect an 06 Cooper S convertible from Bristol this morning. We bought it over the phone having owned a Mini before and expecting a high quality of vehicle from a main dealer.
Well after the hour drive down there we went in and waited for the salesman to finish another handover. He brought the car round and we went out to take a look... it was a total pile of s
t!!
The car is an 06 with 37k on it...
I had a walk around the car and without really looking found the following:
- Roof was faded and had huge brown patches of in-ground dirt.
- Both wing mirrors had half of the lacquer missing, one having huge gouges out of it too.
- The edges of the boot lid were so chipped that the metal was exposed
- Same on both door edges, lots of bare metal exposed
- Drivers side door shut had several dents and chips down to the metal
- Passenger door shut had chips
- Passenger door card looked like it had been chewed by a dog (I'm assuming the previous owner kept shutting the belt in the door?)
- Interior was filthy, plastics around the doors and seats were covered in mud, the rear had not been cleaned at all.
- General paintwork condition was very poor with every panel having at least one noticeable scratch that would not have polished out, the whole car was covered in swirl marks too.
I hit the roof. I'd asked on the condition before buying and was given the usual lines about it being an approved used car and of a very high standard. They offered to rectify the issues after telling me that I may have been expecting too much from a used car and then to deliver it to our house. I refused as after letting me drive almost 100 miles to collect it and presenting me with that POS that I had no faith in them. So got them to write a letter confirming my refund will be issued on Monday and left.
Be warned... do not even think about buying the cool blue/blue roof cooper S that is listed on the mini site! I just couldn't believe the attitude they showed me. They had genuinely expected us to just pay up and drive it away, trying to justify the state of it by saying that it had only been washed yesterday so they hadn't seen the damage. There was no answer when I asked why I wasn't called to update me on the state of the car!
We stopped at Mini in Swindon on the way home and have bought an R56 Cooper S with 15k and a sweet list of options instead! The staff there were as professional and friendly as you would expect and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
Well after the hour drive down there we went in and waited for the salesman to finish another handover. He brought the car round and we went out to take a look... it was a total pile of s
t!! The car is an 06 with 37k on it...
I had a walk around the car and without really looking found the following:
- Roof was faded and had huge brown patches of in-ground dirt.
- Both wing mirrors had half of the lacquer missing, one having huge gouges out of it too.
- The edges of the boot lid were so chipped that the metal was exposed
- Same on both door edges, lots of bare metal exposed
- Drivers side door shut had several dents and chips down to the metal
- Passenger door shut had chips
- Passenger door card looked like it had been chewed by a dog (I'm assuming the previous owner kept shutting the belt in the door?)
- Interior was filthy, plastics around the doors and seats were covered in mud, the rear had not been cleaned at all.
- General paintwork condition was very poor with every panel having at least one noticeable scratch that would not have polished out, the whole car was covered in swirl marks too.
I hit the roof. I'd asked on the condition before buying and was given the usual lines about it being an approved used car and of a very high standard. They offered to rectify the issues after telling me that I may have been expecting too much from a used car and then to deliver it to our house. I refused as after letting me drive almost 100 miles to collect it and presenting me with that POS that I had no faith in them. So got them to write a letter confirming my refund will be issued on Monday and left.
Be warned... do not even think about buying the cool blue/blue roof cooper S that is listed on the mini site! I just couldn't believe the attitude they showed me. They had genuinely expected us to just pay up and drive it away, trying to justify the state of it by saying that it had only been washed yesterday so they hadn't seen the damage. There was no answer when I asked why I wasn't called to update me on the state of the car!
We stopped at Mini in Swindon on the way home and have bought an R56 Cooper S with 15k and a sweet list of options instead! The staff there were as professional and friendly as you would expect and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
Edited by fivesixseven8 on Monday 30th March 06:39
That sucks.
Good job you have a keen eye, imagine what else you would have spotted after owning it a week!!!
We looked at about 10 cooper s's before buying one. Most of them wre not looked after very well.
The one we finally bought was an 05 pepper white cooper s, even after looking over it carefully after washing it I found the front splitter was damaged.
Luckily it was only £30 for a new one and easy to fit, we are happy with it now.
Steve
Good job you have a keen eye, imagine what else you would have spotted after owning it a week!!!
We looked at about 10 cooper s's before buying one. Most of them wre not looked after very well.
The one we finally bought was an 05 pepper white cooper s, even after looking over it carefully after washing it I found the front splitter was damaged.
Luckily it was only £30 for a new one and easy to fit, we are happy with it now.
Steve
Steve UK said:
That sucks.
Good job you have a keen eye, imagine what else you would have spotted after owning it a week!!!
We looked at about 10 cooper s's before buying one. Most of them wre not looked after very well.
The one we finally bought was an 05 pepper white cooper s, even after looking over it carefully after washing it I found the front splitter was damaged.
Luckily it was only £30 for a new one and easy to fit, we are happy with it now.
Steve
I'm expecting to find the odd mark, it is a used car after all. I just expected a dealers standards to be higher. The fact they offered it up in that state was quite insulting. Good job you have a keen eye, imagine what else you would have spotted after owning it a week!!!
We looked at about 10 cooper s's before buying one. Most of them wre not looked after very well.
The one we finally bought was an 05 pepper white cooper s, even after looking over it carefully after washing it I found the front splitter was damaged.
Luckily it was only £30 for a new one and easy to fit, we are happy with it now.
Steve
I'm quite confident that the one we have gone for will be OK. The sales guy is going to call on Monday about a collection date but asked for upto two weeks as he wanted to make sure it was as good as can be.
Funny that, I had the same thing happen around the same area. Went to pick up a car which had 4k on the clock to find there was lots of stone chips and a dent on the bonnet which the dealer said was ok under the cherished program. I left with a loan car as I think they knew that I was going to hit the roof if I was not sorted out with one. I think that I will just ask for my deposit back as I am really unhappy with the way I was treated.
And here was me thinking that Mini dealers were perfect?
And here was me thinking that Mini dealers were perfect?
Take a trip up to Swindon. I dealt with a guy called Dean today and he was a joy to deal with. The finance bloke was refreshingly honest and open too. Decent deal and even offered their RTI insurance for their minimum (£148 for 3 yrs btw.)
Quite surprising to see such a difference between two dealers from the same group.
Quite surprising to see such a difference between two dealers from the same group.
okgo said:
Being in the same group is irrelevant tbh, its about individuals.
Sorry to hear that, you were right to walk away though, and you were right to buy an r56
Is it a much better car then? I was very impressed with it, having so many options made it a nice find too. It was around £23k new!Sorry to hear that, you were right to walk away though, and you were right to buy an r56
As it is for the wife I went against my norm of researching things to death. It has tlc and full bmw history too.
fivesixseven8 said:
The wife and I were supposed to collect an 06 Cooper S convertible from Bristol this morning. We bought it over the phone having owned a Mini before and expecting a high quality of vehicle from a main dealer.
Well after the hour drive down there we went in and waited for the salesman to finish another handover. He brought the car round and we went out to take a look... it was a total pile of st!!
The car is an 06 with 37k on it...
I had a walk around the car and without really looking found the following:
- Roof was faded and had huge brown patches of in-ground dirt.
- Both wing mirrors had half of the lacquer missing, one having huge gouges out of it too.
- The edged of the boot lid were so chipped that the metal was exposed
- Same on both door edges, lots of bare metal exposed
- Drivers side door shut had several dents and chips down to the metal
- Passenger door shut had chips
- Passenger door card looked like it had been chewed by a dog (I'm assuming the previous owner kept shutting the belt in the door?)
- Interior was filthy, plastics around the doors and seats were covered in mud, the rear had not been cleaned at all.
- General paintwork condition was very poor with every panel having at least one noticeable scratch that would not have polished out, the whole car was covered in swirl marks too.
I hit the roof. I'd asked on the condition before buying and was given the usual lines about it being an approved used car and of a very high standard. They offered to rectify the issues after telling me that I may have been expecting too much from a used car and then to deliver it to our house. I refused as after letting me drive almost 100 miles to collect it and presenting me with that POS that I had no faith in them. So got them to write a letter confirming my refund will be issued on Monday and left.
Be warned... do not even think about buying the cool blue/blue roof cooper S that is listed on the mini site! I just couldn't believe the attitude they showed me. They had genuinely expected us to just pay up and drive it away, trying to justify the state of it by saying that it had only been washed yesterday so they hadn't seen the damage. There was no answer when I asked why I wasn't called to update me on the state of the car!
We stopped at Mini in Swindon on the way home and have bought an R56 Cooper S with 15k and a sweet list of options instead! The staff there were as professional and friendly as you would expect and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
bristol and swindon are both the same dealer group by the wayWell after the hour drive down there we went in and waited for the salesman to finish another handover. He brought the car round and we went out to take a look... it was a total pile of s
t!! The car is an 06 with 37k on it...
I had a walk around the car and without really looking found the following:
- Roof was faded and had huge brown patches of in-ground dirt.
- Both wing mirrors had half of the lacquer missing, one having huge gouges out of it too.
- The edged of the boot lid were so chipped that the metal was exposed
- Same on both door edges, lots of bare metal exposed
- Drivers side door shut had several dents and chips down to the metal
- Passenger door shut had chips
- Passenger door card looked like it had been chewed by a dog (I'm assuming the previous owner kept shutting the belt in the door?)
- Interior was filthy, plastics around the doors and seats were covered in mud, the rear had not been cleaned at all.
- General paintwork condition was very poor with every panel having at least one noticeable scratch that would not have polished out, the whole car was covered in swirl marks too.
I hit the roof. I'd asked on the condition before buying and was given the usual lines about it being an approved used car and of a very high standard. They offered to rectify the issues after telling me that I may have been expecting too much from a used car and then to deliver it to our house. I refused as after letting me drive almost 100 miles to collect it and presenting me with that POS that I had no faith in them. So got them to write a letter confirming my refund will be issued on Monday and left.
Be warned... do not even think about buying the cool blue/blue roof cooper S that is listed on the mini site! I just couldn't believe the attitude they showed me. They had genuinely expected us to just pay up and drive it away, trying to justify the state of it by saying that it had only been washed yesterday so they hadn't seen the damage. There was no answer when I asked why I wasn't called to update me on the state of the car!
We stopped at Mini in Swindon on the way home and have bought an R56 Cooper S with 15k and a sweet list of options instead! The staff there were as professional and friendly as you would expect and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
CatherineJ said:
Dean at Swindon is 1st class.
I'm sure Edward will be very disappointed to read the comments made here. He does frequent Pistonheads and i'm sure he may pick up on the thread.
Dean obviously takes pride in his work and in the quality of what he sells. If we ever buy another Mini it will be from him again.I'm sure Edward will be very disappointed to read the comments made here. He does frequent Pistonheads and i'm sure he may pick up on the thread.
Up until the day Ed had been spot on. The finance bloke, Nick was also on the ball and very helpful. The used sales manager that spoke to me didn't impress me or my wife at all. He even seemed surprised that I didn't want them to try and rectify the issues, nor did he apologise for presenting a car to us in that state! If they read this then I hope they can take the criticism on board and learn from it.
I appreciate that Bristol and Swindon are the same group and we went to them for their reputation. We had travelled all the way to Bristol, I knew the Swindon showroom was near the M4 so popped in on the way home.
Batlamb said:
If you put down a deposit down over the phone and then go and see the car and find that the salesman was lying to you about the condition of the car is it easy to get the deposit back?
You are 100% entitled to it back. They either give it to you or you take them to small claims, not that it would get that far. Batlamb said:
Okgo thank you so much for saying that as I shall be able to sleep easy tonight with that advice.
No problem, sometimes the manager might want to give it the large one, but when push comes to shove there is no legal grounds for us to keep anything should you not want the car etc. Good luck.va1o said:
Its a pain when you go to collect a used car after putting down a deposit on it without seeing it only to discover its not the car you thought it was.
Sounds like you got a good outcome though, R56 Cooper S is very nice indeed.
It was just insulting that they thought I would actually buy the tatty old nail they presented me with! Then trying to mitigate it with "it was only washed yesterday" and failing miserably... "So you washed it yesterday, but either didn't even bother to inspect it, or you did and thought you would not bother to tell me and hope I just drive away in it?" They couldn't really answer that one... Sounds like you got a good outcome though, R56 Cooper S is very nice indeed.
Letter is being written to the MD today.
I don't mean to be funny but if they offered to rectify all the things and deliver the car why didn't you take them up on that?
I assume you were after this typre of car in the first place?
I guess they should have had it in a better condition but mistakes do happen in all peoples jobs so as long as someone offered to put right a wrong then I would always be prepared to give them that opportunity.
Maybe I am just too soft
I assume you were after this typre of car in the first place?
I guess they should have had it in a better condition but mistakes do happen in all peoples jobs so as long as someone offered to put right a wrong then I would always be prepared to give them that opportunity.
Maybe I am just too soft
ohdear said:
I don't mean to be funny but if they offered to rectify all the things and deliver the car why didn't you take them up on that?
I assume you were after this typre of car in the first place?
I guess they should have had it in a better condition but mistakes do happen in all peoples jobs so as long as someone offered to put right a wrong then I would always be prepared to give them that opportunity.
Maybe I am just too soft
I refused their offer to fix it as they were going to insist on me signing and paying for it and then having it delivered to me blind. The evidence I had showed me what their standards were like and I didn't have any confidence that it would be delivered in the condition I expected. I assume you were after this typre of car in the first place?
I guess they should have had it in a better condition but mistakes do happen in all peoples jobs so as long as someone offered to put right a wrong then I would always be prepared to give them that opportunity.
Maybe I am just too soft
I found Bristol MINI to be shocking.
I went in, was ignored for 30 minutes by all staff - just couldn't get anyone interested in talking to me. Perhaps being in my early 20's they thought i couldn't afford it. Idiots.
Vines MINI in Redhill sorted me out very well - and have been great so far for all followup queries and servicing.
I went in, was ignored for 30 minutes by all staff - just couldn't get anyone interested in talking to me. Perhaps being in my early 20's they thought i couldn't afford it. Idiots.
Vines MINI in Redhill sorted me out very well - and have been great so far for all followup queries and servicing.
[/quote]
I refused their offer to fix it as they were going to insist on me signing and paying for it and then having it delivered to me blind. The evidence I had showed me what their standards were like and I didn't have any confidence that it would be delivered in the condition I expected.
[/quote]
Yeah thats seems fair enough, perhaps you could have said you wouldn't want to pay until you saw it delivered to you?? However if you didn't fancy the car after it wasn't in the best state you would probably always be looking for something wrong in the future so it was probably best to look at getting something else.
However I have found in the past it can be wrong to judge any dealership based on 1 visit, I have had bad experiences on occasion but when I have gone back later I have been treated fantasticly well. It really does depend on so many things; individuals, circumstances, the car etc. Hopefully they will earn from this instance as you said and not let it happen to someone in the future.
Enjoy your R56
Edited by ohdear on Monday 30th March 13:22
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