MINI of Madison

This was my first vehicle purchase. I wasn't excited about it but it was important that I purchase a vehicle before winter arrived. If I had more time to shop around I would have avoided Mini of Madison about it but it was important that I purchase a vehicle before winter arrived. If I had more time to shop around I would have avoided Mini of Madison all together. I purchased a 2011 Nissan Sentra. I was told that it was on an auction site and that it had been tagged so the lowest price they would take would be the sticker price. I mentioned to Sheena that I am not interested in haggling and I do not see the point in going back and forth on a price. I first looked at the vehicle in mid October, the purchase was finalized in mid November! Why? That is a good question, I assume because they were looking for a better price to come from the auction and it didn't so "selling it wholesale and locally" was a better option. The original price was 11987. I offered 11700 and that was not enough, a month later Sheena sends me a text message stating that the vehicle is now 11495. Lower than what I offered to begin with. I am sure if I had been in a situation where I was able to wait a bit more, the price would have come down further. I had been receiving texts every week with a lower price before I figured that 11500 was a good price for a 2011 with 31000 miles. I came in to purchase the vehicle on a Saturday, David the finance manager was very polite and did his job well, except for a minor second key issue and a replacement key policy. I am not sure if it is appropriate to air out the whole interaction but Shawn the new car sales manager came and said that there was nothing he could do and the company had to balance customer satisfaction with profits. If that is not some of the worst things I have ever heard from a manager-of any company- I do not know what is. After explaining to Shawn that I did not agree with him and after he told me his hands were tied, he said he would meet me half way on purchasing a second key. I do not know how that is possible when just minutes before there was nothing he could do and it was my option to sign the key replacement policy- which would indicate that I had been given two keys to begin with. I told Shawn that that was unethical and inappropriate. He said that that was what I could do because people do that.... After Shawn was no help, David offered to pay for the other half of the key out of his own pocket because I explained that that was quite shady what Shawn wanted to do and coming from a manager, inexcusable. It was above and beyond for David to offer to pay for my half of the key. I should mention, I still have not received the key but I am hoping that will happen soon. Finally, when I finally signed all of the papers and had the keys placed in my hand I left. I stood in the parking lot for about 20 minutes with my mom going over how to use the car, figure out the lights, mirrors, radio, and controls. No one showed me the vehicle in detail I guess that may be a good thing for them because then they would have seen how their detailing was not very detailed at all. About two weeks later, my mother mentioned that she thought that the car was missing an antenna, I called Sheena to ask if my model had an antenna and she said no, that the newer vehicles don't come with antennas. I went to look at the same model vehicle at the Zimbrick Nissan dealership and I saw that my model does indeed come with an antenna. I called to see how much it would cost to get one and the Nissan parts manager told me about 40-50 and that my warranty didn't cover it. I called Chuck to ask him for the information about Zimbrick management and who I could contact to air out my final frustrations. He told me there was no one because each dealership was ran individually and that I should send him the letter. I was not sure if I believed that and after I went in that evening to talk to him, he told me again to write the letter and he would pass it out to the general management at their next meeting. I aired out my issues to him, though, when I look at the situation in its entirety are relatively small and minute issues, but they are most definitely issues that should not have been. By the end of the meeting he offered to put on an extra antenna he had in his drawer and to discuss with David and Shawn what happened when I came in to purchase the car. Chuck tried to put the antenna on, but the actual issue was that the previous antenna has broken off. He told me he would set up a time for me to come in and have it installed and settle the second key issue. This was about three weeks ago at the beginning of December. I have yet to hear anything from anyone. This was my first car buying experience and my first and last time dealing with Zimbrick Mini of Madison. I would have hoped this would have been a lot smoother and easier an ordeal. The only Core Value that I saw from the Zimbrick Mission Statement came from David when he offered to pay for my key out of his pocket. I would not recommend this dealership to any of my friends even though the name is well-known in town. The service and experience were subpar. More