What Happens When MINI Dealers Close
Update: We’ve just heard from MINI USA that MINI of San Francisco isn’t being eliminated but is being transitioned to a new operator. We’ll have more on this tomorrow.
It’s no secrets there have been more than a few MINI dealers close shop recently. Small cars are struggling to find buyers in the US and some MINI dealers are feeling the brunt of that. Recently long time dealer MINI of San Francisco send out an email to customers announcing that they would be closing the dealership this Spring. While sales have been down, for MINI of SF it was the ever increasing cost of the space in the heart of a very expensive city.
This is an overall trend in the US automotive industry at the moment is bad enough. But losing a MINI dealer like MINI of SF feels different – no matter what the reasons.
First and foremost there’s a loss in the MINI community. MINI of San Francisco (along with many others) had strived to create a community of owners and become a gathering place of sorts for the local MINI owners. Losing that is a huge loss for a group of owners that MINI USA wants to retain as owners.
Then there’s the service aspect of a closing. There are hundreds of owners who rely on a dealer’s service (sometimes to literally keep their R56 going). A disruption like this could drive those owners who live nearby away from the brand due to a lack of convenience.
We want to hear your experience with dealer closings. Have you been affected as an owners or even a Motoring Advisor?
<p>I remember being at that dealership in 2006. They were charging $5000 over sticker for cars at the time.</p>
<p>They did have the highest mark-up in the Bay Area, but it wasn’t quite that high. I believe the highest it got was $3000 for an S and $1500 for a Cooper. That was when to purchase a MINI you had to make a deposit and get on a 3 month waiting list. How times have changed.</p>
<p>Yup, times have changed. When bought my 2004 Cooper from them they were asking $2500 markup. I got them down to $1250 because that was what Mountain View MINI (now Stevens Creek MINI) was asking. East Bay MINI had $0 markup but the wait time was 6-months.</p>
<p>Gabe, thanks for writing this piece. As r_k_w commented in another post, some poor business decisions lead to the closing of MINI of SF. When they moved/separated from BMW of SF dealer, I feel that hurt them. The Showroom and service center separated to two different locations. At the beginning they even setup an Express Service at the sales/showroom location, but that didn’t last long. The cost of leasing two different buildings in SF is what most likely caused the closure.</p>
<p>I found two independent places in SF that work on the BMW MINI’s. I had a repair done at one of them back in early 2015 for my R50. They did a good job. Here in SF you see lots of R50/R53 and R56. In my neighborhood, must be a total of about 30+ MINI’s – mostly GEN I & II.</p>
<p>I called MINI USA to let them know, that the closing of MINI of SF is going to be an impact on many owners and sales of new and used MINI’s at least on this side of the Bay Area will probably drop.</p>
<p>Loosing Mini of Plano is a big deal for me because the customer service was very good. I’ve always been treated well there making you feel special even though my car was purchased elsewhere.
The service aspect is what hurts me the most since I do not live close to any Mini dealer and the independents that I do trust are either just as far or farther from me. I know the F-series cars are better but this doesn’t bode well for a future purchase in my mind. And this really sucks because I love the brand and the cars; I still really like my r55 and the current clubman could be a worthy next car.</p>
<p>At the end of August2017, I purchased my Clubman from Princeton MINI. About a week later, I was informed that the owners (MINI of Mt Laurel) was consolidating their two dealerships and Princeton would close at the end of September. They left all of their customers in Bucks County PA and Mercer County NJ without service. Yes we did have MINI of Edison opening, but this is over an hour away (not convenient nor is MINI of Mt Laurel) There is a BMW dealership near the old Princeton MINI location.</p>
<p>continuation…. Otto’s MINI in Exton PA, closed their doors about a month ago, moving the MINI dealership and service to Otto’s BMW in West Chester PA. OK there are some quirks in their setup, but they are addressing the issues.</p>
<p>At least Otto MINI moved service to Otto BMW dealer. BMW of San Francisco (which owned MINI of SF) has no plans to bring in MINI service. I asked, and they said, nope. Wish they would.</p>