Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay - Service Center

Originally when we bought the car, I posted a *glowing* review on another site. The following is my update to that original review. Sadly, things have gone very downhill at this point and I can no long review on another site. The following is my update to that original review. Sadly, things have gone very downhill at this point and I can no longer recommend Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay. They have lost my business despite my trying to resolve the problem via the phone with Matthew at the Service Dept. We brought our Mini in several months ago for an intermittent problem. Ferman charged us $1500 to replace a part. The part did not fix the problem. Ferman insists they only are following the "flow chart" from the manufacturer and that the steps of the repair follow thusly: they will try one part at a time to fix the problem. First part? $1500 incl. labor and it didn't fix the problem. So, on to the second part. That also costs $1500. (Am I nuts to think that this is highway robbery?). They will not refund the first $1500 even though this part was clearly not the problem. (We can tell because the car is still running poorly). Matthew at Ferman Mini declined to take responsibility for the choices of the service department. I have asked to be contacted by the Manager, Paul, and will certainly update this review when and if I hear from him. I would love to work this out. I only want to be treated fairly and decently. You simply cannot charge customers to test every part in the car. Interestingly, on the second repair, the part is $1400 and the labor is $100. We just found the used part on ebay for $115 and the labor is negligible, according to the dealer themselves. So hopefully we will be able to fix it. (They charge top dollar for every single part and claim up and down they cannot do a single thing about the cost of the parts). But unless Ferman contacts me to clear up this situation, and make things right, we cannot in good conscience recommend them or do business with them. It's wrong to extract $1500 from people for parts that don't fix the problem and do not work. Hiding behind the "flow chart" from the manufacturer does not absolve Ferman of the hardships they are causing their customers. Incidentally, when I mentioned I had written a five star review previously and was going to update it - with the current situation - Matthew accused me of personally threatening him. This is just abjectly ridiculous. I am updating my review to warn others that this service department charges for parts that don't fix the problem. I think that is perfectly fair. Additionally...just what the heck is going on over there!!! We have a very common model of Mini and certainly they must have seen this problem before on a nine year old car. I find it very hard to believe that we are the first ones to suffer this sort of malfunction. However, they genuinely don't seem to have any sort of experience or depth of knowledge in order to get to the bottom of the problem and fix it. All I hear about is this flow chart. Anyway, thanks for reading this far. I'm sad to do this, as I really love my Mini and I thought the dealership, originally, was quite great, as my previous review will attest. We had a great experience buying the car. We had excellent experiences as long as the car was under warranty. And now they simply will not make it right for us. If you must buy a Mini, I would try the Orlando or Sarasota area for a dealership with hopefully a stronger and sounder Service Department. tldr: I feel ripped off. I am ripped off. More

Excellent service. Good communication. I was fully informed of the service required and the cost. The advisor was very courteous and answered all of my questions. informed of the service required and the cost. The advisor was very courteous and answered all of my questions. More

The experience was outstanding. I was very pleased that I was able to be accommodated on a Saturday for my need. I will continue to use this dealership for service and new sales. My service advisor was grea was able to be accommodated on a Saturday for my need. I will continue to use this dealership for service and new sales. My service advisor was great. More

Once the problem was identified everything went well. Service manager was very professional and helpful well pleased with service. Mat was very understanding and helpful. Service manager was very professional and helpful well pleased with service. Mat was very understanding and helpful. More

They always take good care of my Mini. Even though I'm 1 1/2 hour away they pickup the car and leave me a loaner. Great Service. 1/2 hour away they pickup the car and leave me a loaner. Great Service. More

I thought the service was great and timely. Now, I am using up the rest of the 25 words, and one or two extra, extra using up the rest of the 25 words, and one or two extra, extra More

Could not have been a better experience! Dave in Service was excellent! Great to see and visit Ryan my sales person who even remembered me! was excellent! Great to see and visit Ryan my sales person who even remembered me! More

I had an unexpected problem with my Mini and showed up without an appointment. They fixed my car and had me in and out within a couple of hours. without an appointment. They fixed my car and had me in and out within a couple of hours. More

They always take excellent care of the car while I wait in a nice comfy chair. The lounge area is always clean and neat. Thank you. in a nice comfy chair. The lounge area is always clean and neat. Thank you. More

Excellent customer service!Friendly people , comfortable Excellent customer service! Friendly people , comfortable waiting room.cxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Cxx Cxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Cxxx Xxx Xxx Xx Excellent customer service! Friendly people , comfortable waiting room.cxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Cxx Cxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Cxxx Xxx Xxx Xxx Xxx More