Ohio MINI Car Dealers

Don't waste your time or money. I bought a brand new S in 2005, and a worthless 100,000 mile ext. warrenty. Ft. end parts worn out 55,000 mi. (not covered), A/C compressor 65,000 mi. (not covered) 2 cooling fan motors first one covered under 3yr. 36000 mi warrenty, 2nd one 400+ bucks. 93,000 mi clutch covered but they want to bang me 800.00 for a flywheel, I can buy 4 on line for that much. Stock run flat tires lucky to get 20,000 mi. Not covered unless you pound a nail into them, 325.00 ea. I was so happy when I bought that car, and I'll be so glad to get rid of it. It's just a hole to throw money into. Oh ya the battery blew up also, scared hell outta me, Same evening after having service, seems no one added water.

I am afraid I ran into a scam yesterday. My daughter is looking for her first car and found one on line by a private seller that was too good to be true. Well, when we contacted the seller, we got a story about putting half the money in Yahoo Auto and the car would be sent to us with us having 3 days to take it to a mechanic before the sale was completed. It didn't seem right so my wife got on line and found the exact same thing happens all the time except no car shows up and the down payment is gone. Needless to say, we went no further. Armed with this new outlook, we quickly foundseveral other Mini's that appear to be in the same category. Lesson to my daughter, if it seems to good to be true it may well be too good to be true. Oh well, back to looking and saving.

Oh, so you're close. I was just in Indy last weekend. Nearest dealer to me - I'm in Louisville - is Cincinnati MINI. Held me back for quite a while to have the nearest dealer 90 mi away. Maybe you want to talk to them as well as Dreyer & Reinbold..... does D&R have a good rep? I know a few folks both here and in Cinci that thinks Cincinnati MINI is pretty good..... I will find out, I guess. As I said, they were straight up MSRP pricing. But it still holds that a demo MIGHT not be a good deal - what you're saying is having them waive the doc fess (about $250?) and dest ($650): I don't know, for about 3% of the price, is it worth it? If we were talking about a Lincoln Navigator or Camry demo, yeah it's only been softly driven. But a MINI ?!?! As stated before, I myself was quite tough on the demo (but I didn't go to D&R, so abused demos there are not my fault !!!)

I just ordered a 2009 Mini Cooper S with all options. My expected delivery is in 8 to 10 weeks. Paid MSRP. I tried to buy from the NW Mini dealer, but they were too busy to even bother talking to me after I waited an hour at the dealership. On the way home I stumbled on a little place selling used Minis who have worked out an arrangement with an authorized dealer in the midwest. I bypassed the waitlist of the local Mini dealer, plus I didn't have to take their aweful customer service. While I didn't like paying MSRP on a car for the first time, I basically skipped to the front of the line. I understand this place does about 2 to 3 new orders per month, but they aren't able to advertise as they aren't an authorized dealer. Oh, and as a side note, I was told that 2008 production is wrapping up in 2 weeks. I was offered an '08 model at a $1,000 discount... but went with the '09 anyway. I can't wait for my Mini, and now I don't have to (as much)! :)

A reporter would like to speak with consumers who are thinking about trading in a gas-guzzler for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. If you are in the process of making this decision, please respond to jwahl@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information no later than Wednesday, July 22nd.