MINI of Knoxville

I brought my 2009 Mini in to Mini of Knoxville for an oil I brought my 2009 Mini in to Mini of Knoxville for an oil change and my 50,000 mile service on December 11 2010. I dropped the car off in the morni I brought my 2009 Mini in to Mini of Knoxville for an oil change and my 50,000 mile service on December 11 2010. I dropped the car off in the morning and had intended to pick the car up at lunch. After a few hours (longer than Eric had estimated the service would take) I called only to find out that "there is a little problem". Apparently as the technician was driving my car onto the lift to perform the service, he drove off of the side of the ramp damaging both the drivers side front wheel and tire. I went to the dealership to look at the damage and took Eric up on his offer for a loaner car while I waited for the dealership to find a tire. I was told that a tire was ordered that day and that it would arrive at the dealership on Monday. Monday came and went and I never heard from the dealership. On Wednesday (after I called Eric) I was told that the tire would get to the dealership on Friday. I understand that things can happen, but I can't understand a complete lack of communication from a dealership that was responsible for the problems to begin with. The tire arrived on Thursday and I dropped my car off to have it mounted on Friday (at this point, the wheel had still not been repaired). When I went back to the dealership to pick up my car, I was greeted by Dave who had not put eyes on the work that their "wheel guy" (that is what Dave referred to him as) had performed. The wheel had been repaired, but I could still the the evidence from their screw up. I informed Dave that I wanted a new wheels. I showed Dave the exact web site that I ordered the wheel from and it cost a whopping $125. Dave informed me that he would call me when the wheel arrived. At this point, I did take my car home. A few weeks later (January 7th), Dave called me to let me know that the wheel had arrived and that I could come by the dealership to have it mounted that afternoon. When I got to the dealership, Dave and I inspected the wheel (it was apparent that he had not yet looked at it) and immediately I saw that the box the wheel came in had a big slash in it. As expected, the wheel was damaged and Dave told me that he would order another and call me when it arrived. 2 weeks later (January 21), Eric called me to remind me that my wheel had come in and that I could have my car fixed whenever I could get to the dealership. I called Eric back to find out if it was the wheel that had been ordered after Dave and I noticed that the first wheel had been damaged. He told me that he had to check and would call back. Several hours later, Eric called me and told me that it was the same damaged wheel but that a new one was on order (all the while saying things like "don't worry, we are going to take care of you") I continued to wait. 2 weeks later (February 2), I called Eric to find out if the wheel had arrived. He told me that he had to check and would call me back. Due to the fact that calling me back was not one of Eric's stronger points, I specifically asked for him to call me back EVEN if he did not find any news out. At this point, I started to get a bit frustrated at the situation and the fact that the dealership was treating me like this. Eric did call me back and told me that the wheels was not yet there but it was on its way. I asked again if it had been ordered and he said "Yes." That Friday (February 4), I called again and Eric again "had to check and would call me back." I never heard back from him so I contacted the General Manager (Steve) to get him involved. When he called me back, he informed me that a wheels had not been ordered but that he had them order on. The reason that he explained to me that a wheel had not been ordered was that Dave wanted to know what the resolution was from the damage complaint that was filed with the shipping company before he ordered another wheel. After another week, I was told that the wheel was in and made an appointment to have it mounted on Saturday (February 12). When I arrived, the only individual that I saw was Eric. It took over an hour to have the work done (the first 20 minutes involved the wheel (unprotected) sitting by a door that people were coming in and out of. Once the work was completed, my wife and I left the dealership. Not only did I not see Dave on Saturday, I also did not see Steve. I am not in a business that involves customer service, but if I was, I would have expected ONE of them to be there to ensure that everything was completed in a timely manner and PROPERLY. In the end, my customer satisfaction was not worth $125 to Dave. Additionally, Eric lied to me NUMEROUS times for reasons that I still do not know. I can say one thing definitively and that is that Grayson Mini/BMW is NO BETTER than any used car salesman I have ever bought a car from. I strongly encourage anyone dealing with this dealership to think twice. More

Admittedly, I've always been a car nut, but typically still hate the purchase process. I have a background in my career of Customer Service and for many years now Sales. I am very often dumbfounded by still hate the purchase process. I have a background in my career of Customer Service and for many years now Sales. I am very often dumbfounded by how unprofessional Salespeople can be. Poor presentation, poor or no followup, not knowing their product, all the reasons one looks for NOT to return to buy again or recommend a friend to buy. MINI of Knoxville gave me all the reasons to buy and to recommend them to a friend and it was all spearheaded by Andrea DeMarco. From our first contact to signing the papers, she was always there, always following up and assuring our interests and needs were met. She seems to have a great support group within the dealership, from the Business Manager to the Service Manager, who from now on I want as my best friend. Thanks to all for making our purchase fun again. More

From my initial contact to driving away this has to be the best new car buying experience in all my years. Ms DeMarco was very professional, friendly and answered all my questions promptly and thoroughly. the best new car buying experience in all my years. Ms DeMarco was very professional, friendly and answered all my questions promptly and thoroughly. Tom Pack in finance was great and the gal who did the delivery and went through all the great features on the 2011 MINI was perfect. So all in all I would HIGHLY recommend anyone to give them a chance if youre contemplating a new MINI. Mike McKnight More