Looking for a fun ride that will not cost you an arm and a leg? For many, the Mini Cooper fits the bill. That being said, the car comes with many items that can be viewed as either annoying or part of its character. The dealership issue is one of those things.
Where do you buy a Mini Cooper? The dealership, of course. When you start looking around your town for them, however, you will notice something very odd. Most cities only have one Cooper dealership or none at all! Yes, you might live in a fairly large city that has no Mini dealer at all.
For some reason, the powers that be decided to make the Mini Cooper a limited release item. Instead of flooding the market, the car would be sold in limited numbers so that it would have more mystique than other brands. Part and parcel to this approach was the decision to open a limited number of dealerships across the country.
This limited release strategy has led to the proverbial catch-22. When gas prices went through the roof, the Mini Cooper became very popular. Depending on the model, the car will easily get 30 miles to the galloon and the car only cost $25,000 or so. Combined, these factors have made it difficult to keep cars on the floor at the dealerships and it is pretty common to see Mini Coopers on the road.
As a potential Mini Cooper owner, the dealership issue is one you need to think through. Simply put, there is no competition amongst dealers. This means the quality of service you receive at the single dealer in town can be iffy. You can do searches online to see how other Mini Cooper owners feel about their local dealership. You will see a lot of complaints, but have to keep in mind the fact that people who get good service rarely get online and write as much.
The secondary issue that comes up with these cars is the service itself. If you are in an area with a dealership, repairs and maintenance are not a problem. What if you are not? You have to find a mechanic who can work on the car. There is nothing particularly difficult about the car layout, but it generally is a good idea to use experienced mechanics.
I own a Mini Cooper and live in a town with one dealership. I haven't had any problems so far, but can definitely tell the dealer knows it is the only game in town. Other Mini owners have had different experiences, so you need to think through whether this is a fact you can deal with or not.
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Dirk Gibson is with DCJAutoParts.com - find car parts online for a huge variety of makes and models. |
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