Seattle Mini

Here’s an honest and true experience that I recently had with Seattle Mini and Mini USA.
Let me start off by saying that I had to remove this review in order to have my car fixed. The manager of Seattle MINI called me and told me that I had to remove my review along with my review on Unilocal in order for me to get my car fixed — in response to being told to remove my review I reported this to the WA Attorney Generals office, the BBB, MINI USA headquarters, and Unilocal.I told him to put this in writing and he refused. This is not only bad business practice but it goes against Unilocal and facebooks terms of service. You cannot tell a customer to change or remove their review in exchange for something.
Last Summer, the Airbag warning light came on for no reason. I took my car in and they told me the seat mat sensor was bad and had to be replaced for over $ 1100. This also happened on previous Mini that I owned and is also the subject of a major recall. After complaining about this happening to the second Mini car and looking up recalls — Mini agreed to pay for the fix. However, they could not located a part until a couple of weeks ago — it took them months and months to «find» a part. They would not provide me with any information at all and I called frequently. Finally — the manager said they discovered defects with this part and that they wouldn’t be able to provide me with a time frame when this would be fixed.
I have a family and a business. For the entire Summer, Fall, and part of Winter, I was unable to let anyone ride in the passenger seat because the airbag wouldn’t activate in the event of an accident. This is a serious safety issue that Mini is either trying to cover up, or trying to fix without letting their customers know what is going on. I also reported this to the National Highway Safety Council.
Before you purchase a Mini I advise you to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Go to online databases and look up issues that other drivers are reporting. You will see that this is a major issue. This was the second Mini I purchased — thinking the first one with all of the problems was a fluke, it was not. This car is loaded with problems. I would not recommend anyone purchasing a Mini without knowing what they are going into first. I’m only offering my advise and giving you my honest account.

Minis are junk. I own one. Constantly breaking down and expensive to fix as they are put together very tight. Also, the service department is so busy that they rush cars through and fail to take the time to review and inspect a vehicle and really take care of the car before something major appears. They are pushing cars there in order to increase profits and make as much money through their service department as possible.
They couldn’t answer my questions about the car and failed to catch problems with the car when I had it inspected, which ended up costing me more money when the car needed maintenance.

Erik was great and very thorough with communication. The service went longer than expected, but Mini covered a rental from Enterprise as they did not have any more loaner minis. My ONLY complaint, (other than Mini’s just being incredibly expensive to fix), is that I spent $ 3K and I didn’t even get a car wash? Three Thousand dollars! C’Mooooon Seattle Mini. Orlando Mini never let me leave with out a sparkly new wash. And I know it’s always rainy in Seattle, but still, I’d like to have a clean car in the rain.

Jonathan Buckley, assistant manager of the service department is thorough, transparent, honest and genuine. I had purchased a Mini Cooper Clubman S somewhere else. Then imported it to Canada. It had a massive electrical failure. Jonathan towed the car. Gave me a loaner. Called to tell me it would be repaired for free completely. Including the tow. When I tried to trade the car in for a brand new Mini it was discovered the car had been in a major structural accident. (I found out the engine wasn’t even bolted to the frame on one side! No wonder it started to come apart!!!) The dealership I bought it from had lied. I was told it was accident free. In fact it had been written off and rebuilt and sold to me as «perfect» when in fact it was unsafe to drive. I had to re-​import the car to the USA. This was no small feat. I am Canadian. Now live in Seattle. You can’t re-​import a car without paying taxes! I had negotiated for months with the previous dealer and they were prepared to take the car back and refund most of my purchase price after I hired a lawyer… It was a nightmare. I had to gift the car to my Daughter. Then she had to import it since she is American. It was revealed at the Port of Seattle by the border official that the DOT sticker was painted over and covered up. You cannot re-​import without proof it meets emissions or originates from the USA. I was devastated. I called Jonathan Buckley. Explained my situation. He spoke to the border official. He asked if they would accept proof the car was always serviced by Mini Seattle. Was defective. Originated in the USA. He did this on the fly!!! The Port Authority agreed and accepted his documentation. The Officer said: get that car gone back to where you bought it. Thanks to Jonathan I was reimbursed for the car. I went on to buy 3 more Mini’s after that! My whole family now drives Mini’s. Frankly, just because of Jonathon Buckley. We know, if we stick with Jon we will always be taken care of. Jonathan has retained us as customers because he goes far above and beyond the call of duty. He’s an exceptional person who has more integrity and professionalism than you will find in any business, anywhere. Thank you Jonathan for everything. Happy Motoring!

Superb customer service and always willing to find a way to help get the price down. Great MINI style, refreshments and new wave music in the lobby. I have never had such a great experience at a car dealership!

We bought our first Mini a few weeks ago. Their service has been great and we are very happy with our car. Mike was knowledgeable and very helpful during the process. I also appreciated their honest, non-​typical-​sales-​people like attitude.

How to be ripped off again after buying a car that breaks down regularly — come here. Had to bring it here for recall service, so got a loaner, which I was instructed to bring back at the same gas level to avoid 10.00 fueling charge
Drove 36 miles, put 1.7 gallons in, that’s 7.5 mpg. This car only gets 17 mpg most od the time, but seriously? What a ripoff. Don’t buy a Mini. Sorry I ever did.

UPDATE: They courteously reimbursed me for the lost merchandise. I truly appreciate it. ORIGINAL: While my purchasing experience was great, I am a little annoyed with the service department. After putting less than 1,000 miles on my new to me (’08) Mini the battery began to have trouble and then suddenly the radio stopped working. I took the car in and they put in a new battery and radio, and everything works just fine. The problem, which is minimal, but worth bringing up, is that when I brought the car in there was a CD in the CD player. It was the only CD that was in the car and the only one I listen to, and now it is gone and no one at the service station will get back to me about its whereabouts. I don’t think anyone stole it, I think it was removed during testing of the radio and simply forgotten about. However, this is very unprofessional and their lack of response is making me quite upset. This was only 2 days ago that I picked the car up.

Great service, attitude. The staff is friendly, helpful, and fast.

The best coffee in lake city way!!! Always friendly service cheap gas and friendly staff what else you can ask for in the morning

One of our MINI’s key fobs went through the wash and needed to be replaced. So my wife orders a new key fob, and pays for it over the phone. I go drop off the car at Seattle MINI, and the the person at the service desk asks me if the fob had already been paid for. I reply that it had, and I am informed that there will be an additional half hour charge for ‘labor’. Whatever — a few mouse clicks followed by 10 minutes spent watching a progress bar is notionally the same as rotating my tires, or something else trivial that requires a wrench. I get it.
Over an hour later my new fob is ready, and I’m checking out. The same service desk person tells me there are no records of my wife having paid for the fob, and assured me that he had done a thorough search to verify this. I assume my earlier assumption that my wife had pre-​paid was wrong and paid for both the fob and labor. Upon returning home, I checked and sure enough, my wife pre-​paid for the fob. After some initial confusion on their side, things were eventually straightened out with their accounting department, and a check will be mailed to us for the difference. Now I have two problems.
This is not the only bad experience I’ve had at Seattle MINI. The last time I was in for routine service, I waited nearly three hours for it to be complete. When I finally asked what the hold-​up was, I was told it was because my car was waiting to be washed, and that they were backed up. Thankfully they didn’t insist I keep waiting for it, but I bet they would have let me wait another hour there if I hadn’t asked them about it.
Bad experiences plagued by sloppy service and a general disrespect for my time. On the plus side, it’s not a terrible place to be stuck waiting. There’s free coffee and Costco snacks, and a nice bar where you can park with your laptop.

I am looking to purchase a car. Really considered the Mini Coopers, unfortunately, no one at Seattle Mini on Lake City would acknowledge my presence. This was disappointing experience. I finally left without any acknowledgement by the sales or receptionist.

This is the BEST dealership that anyone can ever expect to have. They treat their customers like gold and are honest.
I was about to go through a car buyer service as the last car I purchased at another new car dealership was a bad experience.
I credit that this is owned by BMW so their customer service is a class act.

UPDATE–
I received a call from the Service Manager, Jon, a day after my appointment and lengthy Unilocal review. I was informed that all parties involved were spoken to and there may have been a few miscommunications. John took care of the situation the best he could and offered many apologies. End result, I felt heard and understood as a customer after that crazy situation and would be more than willing to give Seattle MINI’s service department another try. Thanks Jon for taking care of the situation!

I purchased a used 2006 Mini Cooper from another dealer and have brought it here to be serviced a few times. The first visit cost me almost as much as I paid for the car, though I’m not sure I can fault Seattle Mini for this. During one service I had them install an aux jack for the Mini’s sad (an not upgradable) stereo system so that I could play music from my phone. The volume needs to be way up to hear it, and after 15 minutes of driving it will switch to the blasting radio and aux will be unavailable. On a subsequent visit I told them about this and my «service advisor», Jeromy, said he would have service look at it. I received a call at work from him saying they couldn’t duplicate the problem in the shop. I told him that it happens to me when I drive for 15 minutes. He told me they would have one of their drivers do that.
When I picked up the car he told me that the driver drove around for more than 15 minutes and he could not duplicate the problem. Maybe the problem corrected itself? If it happened again I should bring the car right back in. I got in my car and began to drive home when I noticed that the mileage had not changed at all since I dropped it off. I had been lied to. I didn’t feel like driving back to make a stink, but I felt taken advantage of, and it made me wonder how careful they had looked my car over for the rest of the service.
Soon after my visit I received an automated email asking me to take a survey about my recent visit. I gave Mini Seattle pretty generous marks, but noted my experience and disappointment. Soon after I received an email from Jeromy apologizing for the «misunderstanding» and offering to pick the car up from my house and take car of it. I responded that I would appreciate it. I heard nothing in reply. I am going to take my business elsewhere, and I’m thinking just to sell this Mini to wash the taste from my mouth.

The folks at Seattle Mini are true Professionals. I had a complex trade-​in and wanted to surprise my wife with an upgrade for her Birthday. I came into Seattle Mini as a sceptic recalling all the horror stories typically associated with buying a car. The hassling, the back and forth, the sleezy sales man things that we have all heard about. Well, I can attest that the experience at Seattle Mini is the exact opposite.
Ron (in the sales department) worked with me to determine exactly what our needs were and then advocate on our behalf for best pricing. Ron is a great guy who works with great integrity to give you the best deal. I truly felt he was working on my behalf to get me the best deal. Not too mention that the showed true patience as my two kids (both under 3yr old) ran amok through their showroom.
The manager (LA) and his team were great in working with us as we had indecision on exactly what car we wanted. These guys were patient and worked with us each step of the way. truly coming true with their motto of doing what it takes to make the customer happy.
My wife ended up with a car that she absolutely loves at a great price and all with out the hassle that you would typically expect at a car dealership. I’m a beleiver now and will take all my business to Seattle Mini. I can’t recommend Ron and LA and his team enough. These guys are great!!!

Lee was very patient and helpful in parts dept. My relationship with Seattle MINI just starting as I bought my car in only recently. More to come

I will be factory ordering my MINIs from here for life! And Raychel in service takes care of me every time!

I’ve had pretty inconsistent experiences with the maintenance department and customer service at Seattle Mini. I’ve continued bringing my car here while it was under warranty, but will definitely be looking to take it elsewhere once that’s lapsed and the routine maintenance is no longer covered.
A lot of the issue I take with the company is that there is a lack of respect for my time as a customer. I totally get being backed up or having a busy day, but I have never received a status update phone call within the range of time I was told to expect it, and I’ve always had to chase them down for information — you can typically expect radio silence until well after that window has passed, and when you do finally hear (when you call them) it’s usually to be informed of an additional delay. I have never gotten my car back in the promised amount of time and usually not even on the day I was told it would be finished.
Also, don’t schedule early morning services because sometimes you’ll be left waiting for someone to show up for 15 – 20 minutes.
They do provide loaner cars, which is a very handy –and in this case necessary– service. It’s also a nice way to test drive their other models in a way that is more representative of how you’ll actually drive a car. :)
I’ve also had pretty mixed phone experiences with customer service or the folks responsible for scheduling service appointments — some people are incredibly friendly and helpful, while others are dismissive, argumentative, or outright rude about answering questions or listening to the details of an issue.
3 Stars — At the end of the day my car has been taken care of and it’s an incredibly fun drive, so in that respect I am a happy customer. However, the inconsistency of my experiences from a personnel perspective have been at times exasperating and left me reluctant to bring the car in. I’ll be looking to find another company to work with.

I went to Seattle Mini with the intent to possibly buy a… well, Mini! What I first noticed is I wasn’t attacked by salesmen as I walked out of my car. I was able to browse the small car lot for a bit, then walk in. I was greater by the receptionist and told to help myself to snacks and drinks while she finds a salesperson for me.
A few minutes later I met Kay, the salesperson that I dealt with. Kay was nothing short of professional and very all knowing about the Mini Cooper S. I told her what I would like, however I didn’t see the car on the lot that met my requirements. She told me not to worry, they have cars «on the roof» and on a lot across the street on the other side of the building. We went upstairs and I saw the car that I wanted. After going over the numbers with her, she would go to her finance manager herself, no bullying from him trying to «make a deal.»
We haggled a tad, however the deal that I got was very fair for both parties and I was really happy. I wait for 1 ½ hours to have the car prepped and cleaned and I was told that I could just wait at the office or in the lounge until the paperwork was ready. I was in-​and-​out of the finance department in less than 30-​minutes and on my way to drive home with my new Mini Cooper S. This was one of the best dealers I’ve ever purchased a vehicle from and I’ve bought 30+. Outstanding customer service and a great car buying experience!