To whom it may concern:\r
We are very disappointed with Bob Smith Mini of Calabasas. We were looking for a third car as a commuter to save miles on out other two cars and thought it would fun to get a mini. The sales person we thought was accommodating and helpful finding us our JW Motor works pre owned minicooper, telling us to come back the next day to get a few things fixed (chip in the windshield, funny sound on the clutch, and dull red stripe which he said we could get re done). We left happy, and the next day it went all downhill from there. \r
The salesperson denied the mention of the clutch and replacing the stripe (it was much worn and needed to be replaced); luckily the chip in the windshield was mentioned in the sales contract so they had to do that repair. After talking to sales manager he finally agreed to pay for half the sticker repair. We ended up doing it on our own as they were going to require us to take time out of our day to drive to Van Nuys and get it fixed.\r
A month later it was up for service and there were a few issues (for a pre-owned certified car, that was surprise) and they let us know that we indeed did not have run flats like the car should have come with, but instead normal tires…which is awesome as there is no spare on the mini and I was 8 months pregnant at the time. They told us they were not going to put the correct tires on the car. Also the windshield wipers, which were supposed to be included in the maintenance plan, was not covered as the previous owner must have replaced the wipers with a non BMW brand, and they would only exchange the wipers if the wipers were BMW….how were we supposed to check all these things the night we purchased the car, when we would have a assumed a 150 point check surely would have caught all these issues.\r
The final nail in the coffin was this week when, after telling them since we bought the car that the clutch was making noises since we bought it, the clutch went out. The service advisor, before even taking the car apart told my husband it’s your fault. How can you know that until you get it open, and proceeded to tell us it would not be covered under our extended care plan or warranty as it was our fault?\r
After doing basic research we found that the Mini mechanics board had talked about a common clutch problem that was occurring that would cause the clutch to burn out with normal wear and tear. The advisor wanted nothing to do with that and let us know it would cost $4000. After talking with the much friendlier people at the new Camarillo Mini we discovered that they charge $110 and hour in labor vs. $195. For the horrible service we received since we bought the car, we will be purchasing our next car at Camarillo Mini. My family buys quite a few cars every year, and I hope the way the advisors and sales staff at Bob Smith Mini feel about customer service was worth the loss of our combined family’s sales for life. Not to mention the general rule of a happy client tells two people and unhappy person tells five. Both my husband and I have been in the customer service/sales industry all our lives and have never been this unhappy about anything we have ever seen before.\r
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