MINI of Stevens Creek

I luv my Mini, my Mini luvs me. It was a good decision to purchase one. The eCom sales team took care of me. There was some bumps along the way due to some miscommunication that caused some confusion. In the end, my concerns were addressed efficiently, and so far so good.
I would recommend Robert R. and Jeff Mazzella to other buyers. Motor on boys!
Thanks.

Was at the end of the repair of my son’s R53 Mini Cooper S. Needed 2 small parts to complete repair, one spark plug wire and one small vacuum hose. We had bought a set of premium Bosch silicone wires on line 20 $. We had replace the wires 2 years earlier Mini East Bay $ 45 complete. Phoned East Bay Mini $ 20 of the one wire and $ 23 for the vacuum tube. But they did not have the vacuum tube in stock. Price on-​line for vacuum tube $ 16 plus shipping. Automotive engineer and Marine Mechanic, so the wire is $ 3 and the tube is $ 1 or less at the manufactures. Phone Stevens Creek, both in stock, did not ask price assuming same Mini price. Drive 35 miles to South Bay. Steven’s Creek have part person that knows less than nothing. Spend 30 – 40 minutes to locate the correct parts. Finds parts and give us the bill. More than $ 100 for the $ 43 dollars worth of parts from East Bay. 100% mark up over the East Bay 50% Mark up. Answer from the parts person, the price is the price. Walk away in disgust. Ask to talk to the manager, after another 30 minutes of wrangling we get the East Bay price. What happens to the poor people who do not do their homework? Check you bills carefully gentlemen and kind ladies. To me this is extortion of the inexperienced.

My experience with buying my Mini Cooper S Coupe at MINI of Stevens Creek was very smooth. Tony (Anthony Williams) made it so easy for me to choose the car and process all the formal procedures that followed. He was very patient all through, very helpful (he drove me all the way till my home and back because I had missed to bring a document) and had excellent knowledge about all aspects of Coopers. Finally, it all went so quickly and hassle-​free that I had my MINI at home the very evening.
I’d give Tony a full 10 points for his excellent commitment to customers.

I am extremely satisfied with my purchase as well as the service I receive, every time I bring my car in for maintenance. I would like to give a shout out for Felix, a consummate professional who always strives to make your experience a five-​star experience all the way!

We purchased a used MINI from Mini of Stevens Creek in September 2015. We have yet to receive the registration or license plates. The dealer said the DMV requested additional information (???), which we supplied over a month ago. Just spoke with CA DMV, they have no record of *any* docs/​activity submitted on this registration since October. Dealer has their money already and is giving us the runaround. Extremely poor customer service, we are already telling friends interested in MINI to look elsewhere. Why should I waste my time and effort to force them to do what they’re legally required to do?
What’s the next step? Lawsuit? BBB? District Attorney’s Fraud Unit? Stand outside with a protest sign? It should not be this difficult; dealers do DMV paperwork every stinking day without screwing it up.
UPDATE: So the sales manager emailed me saying the dealership had done everything already and would send me a report from their third-​party DMV website showing everything was fine. Of course, the report actually says there are unresolved issues from ¹⁰⁄₇ with zero followup.
FURTHER UPDATE: No one at this place has a clue what anyone else is doing. 17 days later one manager says it’s all handled, while the MINI of USA folks said the Stevens Creek clowns needed info from the prior owner – in North Carolina! Then a letter arrived yesterday asking me to make an appointment to bring the car in for VIN verification – we handled that in November.
SECOND UPDATE: Clown College is now offering graduate degrees! A week after being told by 3 people the matter was handled, they sent another letter (dated ¹⁄₂₇) asking me to bring the car in for VIN verification. It’s as if the concept of having one Point person to deal with or internal communication hadn’t occurred to them yet.
Still no plates or registration, as we approach the 5 month mark…

I had a great experience buying here and appreciated the sales and financing staff answering all of my (many) questions. I also appreciated the absence of high-​pressure sales tactics I’ve encountered elsewhere.
I have not had the same quality experience after. The location often seems to be very busy, and the amount of time spent on customer support is limited. I’ve had service done here reasonably well but had to schedule it way in advance. The person answering the calls has been unhelpful so far several times. I wish she/​they was/​were trained better.
I also wish I was better prepared for the kind of maintenance that the mini needs. I was assured by the staff that I would get a dashboard notification if something needed to be done to the car, including a routine maintenance. Where I ended up, is with tires that have not been cared for properly. The front ones have worn to a pulp, and i’m lucky to have avoided accident. What’s even more concerning is that I’ve taken the car in for service recently and no indication was made that my tires were unsafe to drive on. Makes me wonder what else they missed. When I tried calling today to discuss this situation, I was several times interrupted by the person answering the call, and was unable to communicate what I wanted. She kept repeating they were busy and that she is sorry, instead of listening. She assured me somebody would call me back. It’s now been about five hours and I’m yet to receive that phone call…

A shining example of an auto dealer that does NOT think or care about its customers.
I guess minis are selling well, so stevens creek mini has done all it can to maximize their own convenience and profit — at the expense of the customer experience.
I live in Palo Alto, and they have made it so that it is impossible for me to drop my car off. They stopped doing loaners, and their shuttle bus only goes a radius of 15 miles which is not enough to go palo alto from san jose. But, do they have dealers every 15 miles? No. So, the dealership servers a much broader area, but shuttle bus does not.
And, too many times to count, I have been hung up on after being put on hold. Also too many times to count, I have been given attitude at the service desk. Last time for being early for my appointment!
Third, I have been given inconsistent information about my car (one mini person says X is wrong, another mini person says Y), and also I have had my car be dirty and not fixed when I got it back.
Guys, you are a premium brand. Act like it!

I was searching for BMW and Mercedes on stevens creek and other location, someone told me to check out mini coz it’s a fun car. I thought why not.
walked in mini alone (Chinese female). test drive was ok till I ask the quote of the price. the quote is more expensive than a BMW/​Mercedes with similar year and miles. I asked to get my tech company discount. the sales ask me to ask my HR! I said HR does not manage that.
I really like the car, so, I called back and ask to speak to another sales person. told the situation and asked for the price. I got sms back from the person «I’m sorry we do not have a Mini you can afford right now»!!! how rude!!!
On the weekend the manager called me on my cell said he wanna follow up! I told him his 2 sales persons are rude and I described the incident. On the phone, he told me «why are you rude to me?!!» I am shocked… I told him I am not rude to him, I am telling him how rude his sales guys are.
Molly, is that his direct line? I don’t want to call and tell me to wait for an hour. Thx.

Poor customer service. They never call back. They never answer calls and or calls go to different departments. The whole «Certified by Mini» is a bunch of Bullshit. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone, let a alone a Mini. My experience obviously has been a horrible one. Sad, cause I really wanted to love my Mini. I’ve had my Clubman for over a year now, and I’ve spent $$ well over $ 4,000 in one year. The car has timing issues now too. Maybe I just got a bad car, either way these guys will not help with anything. The service department is completely disorganized as-​well.
Cheer to all and good luck!

First time leasing a car and I knew I’d want to go with another MINI. TONY helped me find what I was looking for despite the fact I didn’t make it easy for him. I was a little indecisive but he never lost patience with me and helped answer all my questions over a weeks time.
Thanks Travis and much appreciate the help. Oh, and I’m LOVING my new MINI Cooper S.

My wife and I bought a couple of 2015 coopers from a great salesman named Brian. He was great.
The problem is the service center has no checklist process based on making sure that any added car features work after the reprogramming and/​or repairs are done. This causes us to waste our time coming back to them to fix another problem that wasn’t broken before we dropped our car off to them. Telling us it was programming issues after we find out they caused a problem. Causing us to ask ourselves, «Why wasn’t this issue recognized after the programming was completed?» This has happened to me and now to my wife. Making this a known customer service flaw and process issue.
They also promised me a manager call back. It’s been a couple of weeks and I have not heard a word. Highly unprofessional in my book and the service people go around asking for a good rating when they don’t deserve it. My wife and I live far and waste gas and time going to this service center because we live near Oakland. They can at least check if everything is working the way it should and understand that reprogramming the car can affect how added features work (wife’s issue) and the maintenance reporting system (Which was my issue.)
I’m sorry to say that the service center is disorganized, has no checklist process after reprogramming the car, and doesn’t care to call all their customers back.
My suggestion is to hire a consultant to help organize incoming calls, appointments, document reprogramming known issues that could affect maintenance reporting and features, and training requirements to keep a team professional and up to date.
I hope your so called «high class» service becomes the truth one day and that this service center can live up to the BMW/​Mini cooper standards in service. This service center makes a gas station service center look more appealing to take my car to.

Do you want leave your number 100 times and never have anyone call you back?
Do you want to be promised something but not have it kept?
Do you want to be treated like a complete idiot while they bounce you between different departments and throw around the blame?
If you want to experience any of the above, then this is the place for you! Come buy a car at MINI of STEVENS CREEK and be treated like complete crap as soon as you hand over your money!
Don’t believe me? This is a conversation i had about an hour ago with one of their sales on the phone.
me– I’m looking for Ricardo in finance
«oh, hes not here today, what are you calling about»
me– about a perma plate issue, he said he would call me back
«yea, ok can you leave your number?»
me– *leaves my number* which finance manager is in today?
«Henry»
me — he should know about it too, can i speak to him?
«hes in a meeting»
me– ok… when will Ricardo be in be in tomorrow?
«oh i really don’t know, i don’t have their schedule»
me– umm are you sure hes not in today? the receptionist transferred me to him earlier today and i left a voicemail, shouldn’t she have known?
«yea we’ve all been working with Henry today»
me– ok how do i speak to henry then?
«you can leave your number ill have him call you back after the meeting»
me– uh, i just gave you my number
«no. i don’t have your number»
me– i gave it to you 2 minutes ago
«no… you didnt»
me– gives him my number AGAIN for the SECOND TIME
«ok, i will have Ricardo or Henry call you back today»
First of all, i thought Ricardo «is not in», how is he suppose to give me a call today? Second, lets not even get into the whole numbers thing. Third, by this point clearly this guy is messing with me. Forget about basic decency when talking to your customers. They are probably laughing and cracking jokes about how they managed to spin off another unsatisfied customer on the phone.
Oh, its 8:45 now, and i still haven’t gotten a call.
Need more proof? Keep reading for the full story.
As you can see from my previous review of this place and my review history, i’m a pretty fair guy. I’ve had a decent experience with MINI of stevens creek when i first bought the car, and even sold my used car to them later on.
When we first got the car, the finance guy tried to up sell us on the «perma plate» coating that’s suppose to protect your car for X amount of years.
Now, with a quick Google search you will see this is nothing but a really expensive wax job dealerships will up try to up-​sell you on, so we rejected it right away. The finance guy quickly pulled out «special coupons» and offered it to us again at a much lower price, «this can be reapplied multiple times during those 5 years, it’s basically like getting your car detailed every year for 5 years for $ 300». It seemed like a good deal and we ended up accepting it.
Fast forward to a year later, service is gonna charge us $ 165 for detailing before they could re-​apply the perma plate. We are then told to talk to finance. Surprise surprise, the guy that sold us the service no longer works here. And we are bounced to sales. Sales say they «don’t know anything about these extra add ons» since their expertise is with the car, and we are bounced back to finance.
After being bounced back and forth, apparently no one who still works here today knows about this re-​application service of perma plate.
Let’s be honest here, this is the bay area, and no one’s gonna sweat over $ 300. But we put our trust in these folks when we decided to get our mini from MINI OF STEVENS CREEK. They made a promise, we took their words for it. Now they are treating us like another sucker that got tricked into buying their worthless service.
After spending an hour with the sales and finance managers in the store, again, they PROMISED to call us back on Monday with a solution, and PROMISED us we wouldn’t have to go to the store again to get the problem sorted.
Today is Tuesday night, I tried calling back twice. First time the receptionist transferred me to a voice mail. Second time she transferred me to some random sales person and had the conversation at beginning of this review. Apparently i can’t get ahold of anyone unless i’m physically in the store.
BTW does anyone want a used low mileage mini? Now the only thing im wondering is how i get rid of the mini cooper, this dealership have completely ruined any brand loyalty i had with mini.

I find their system of sending out surveys to be a sign of oppressive management. If I don’t score the people who helped me as 10/​10, even on metrics that the individual I worked with has no control over, it reflects poorly on them.
I have had no problems with the quality of service, however I fail to see how this management style creates anything but a culture of fear and stress. It makes me want to sell my MINI and never return to the dealership again.

This dealer’s parts dept has a high retail price markup, more like a ripoff.
I drop by to get a price on a part. I was told $ 50. I asked again if I heard the price right, yes $ 50.
Prior to coming in I did a brief search online and most stores sold it between $ 25-​$ 30.
I left upon hearing what they charge. Even with club discount, the price is marked up too high.
I call up the dealer over in the east bay, they priced it at $ 30. With discount, it’s in line with online stores.
Next, I contacted my independent BMW shop, who goes through wholesale at MINI of Stevens Creek. My shop said they can get it for around $ 26.
Wtf. Same dealer charges customers 2x at retail than wholesale.
Why do I even bother with the parts dept here.
This parts dept even tried to bait and switch a mailed coupon several years ago that offered $ 25 off over $ 25. The parts dept said the mailer was a printed mistake and that it was suppose to be 25%. I then argued that it couldn’t be a mistake with the way the mailer was written, it wasn’t a simple typo ($ vs %). Eventually they honored the coupon, I bought an item for $ 1, less $ 25 coupon.

I recently purchased a certified pre-​owned mini from this place and my experience was great. I worked with Tony Williams initially to score a brand new 4 door mini cooper s. Problem was what they had and what I wanted (primarily in price) weren’t aligning. He took the time to explain to me what I could do given my needs and we didn’t quite get to any common ground. At the last minute he remembered a pre-​owned vehicle that may meet some of my requirements and asked if I wanted to see it. I agreed and off we went.
I jumped in and we went on a test drive. Instantly I was impressed with all the bells and whistles in this puppy (it was fully loaded) and most of all the fun drive. We got back and I told him I’d have to work the numbers and see if it made sense. 6 days later I was back and we were able to come to more amicable terms.
It wasn’t all roses though. I noticed a couple of days after I rolled off the lot that one of my wheels was damaged. I called up Tony and let him know. Given the fact I drove off the lot and didn’t think to take a look at the wheels before leaving, I assumed they would tell me «Too late buddy, you already drove off and we don’t know if you did this yourself.»
That never happened. They asked me to bring the car back and they took a look. On the spot Erick Nino (Sales Manager) told me they’d take care of it and that I should come back in a few days. I did and now the wheel is brand new!
Going in I expected to have a terrible experience (as is the case with most dealerships), but I genuinely enjoyed how well I was treated and the courtesy and professionalism of the multiple people I interfaced with.
Oh… and my Mini is pretty BAD ASS! Love whipping it around all over the place. I might’ve satisfied my midlife crisis itch well in advance. Thanks Stevens Creek (especially Tony, Erick and Carol).

For the service department,
Terrible experience, waiting for 2 and 45 mins for, oil change!!!
I had appointment at 7:40 am on last Friday. I made appointment through phone, and I try to book loaner car but the agent tell me oil change don’t qualify loaner car service. (But the mini sf can schedule loaner car service even just the oil change)
First:
I went in at 7:30 but wait unit 8:20 to process my appointment. The agent told me the system overbook the 7:40 appointment, so they have to sever two people at the same appointment instead of sever one people a time. Fine. I take it.
Second:
The agent say the oil change will take 1 hour to 1 hour 15mins, so I decided to wait in the show room for my service. After one and half hour, I didn’t hear anything from them, so I went to my agent. She tell me they found one nail on my tire and get approved from me to replace it. (They never ask me and I never order any tire service, but they already working on it). Finally, we found out there have another guy have the same last name as me, he also bring his car to the service department, so when the agent star to yelling, that guy just approve the tire service. (why the service didnt double check with the full name, or don’t even remember their customer)
Third:
After 2 hours and 10 mins, I finally get my oil service done, and I about to walk to my car and here come another service guy stop me and tell me they need to bring the car to wash. So I stand next to my car and waiting for people to take my car to wash for another 20 mins. Finally, another agent came to me and told me my car already washed, why I still standing and staying here.
Overall: 2 hours and 45 mins for oil change, never go back to this dealer and don’t recommend anyone to be there. Whole service department is lack of training and communicating.

Great selection, helpful & informed sales people!
I was looking for a small, affordable car to take to college with me this fall and this was the first stop of my shopping trip. A pre-​owned ice blue mini immediately stood out, it had a low mileage, automatic transmission & was reasonably priced. Marco was super nice and really helpful in telling us about the car and taking us for a test drive. While I thought the car was a perfect fit, we still checked out Ford, Volkswagen, Honda and a few more, but the quality just wasn’t the same so we came back and bought the mini (they even stayed open later to help us). Great experience and I love my Mini!

This review is for the sales department. I would only buy from them if they offer you the best possible price because there is no advantage in buying here if you are looking for a long term relationship with the dealer.
We paid sticker for the car minus $ 500 thinking it would be an investment into our long term relationship and I was so wrong. The service and sales department mentioned time after time that they’re separate and there is no discount from one to another.

I was ready to purchase a Mini Cooper. I’ve been waiting for the right time to buy a new car and I did so a couple weeks ago! And you know what? I love my new car! It’s the perfect size for myself who is 5 feet and 105 lbs! It’s so freaking cute!!! And it runs so smooth! I took it on the 17 highway the other day and totally just gassed it…
Let me get back on track and tell you about my wonderful experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better car buying experience! And wanted to share it with you and thank those that helped me on my journey.
Upon my first visit just to check out my options and test drive one of these beauties, I met Marco who was my salesperson. I did not know what I wanted and I was completely overwhelmed by all the decisions! More so, I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to spend $$$ on a new car when my Civic of 9 years was still running so well! But, I wanted to keep my options opened since I’ve always dreamed of owning a mini coop!!!
After reading some of the Unilocal reviews, I had this fear of being totally ignored by the salespeople and being poorly treated. But, I manned up and went in anyways because I wanted a Mini!
I am so glad I came in because Marco was awesome! It didn’t feel like I was being haggled or forced to buy something I may not be ready for. When I am making a big purchase like that of a bed or a car, I do not want pressure from anyone! I’ve been there before where a salesman would breathe down my back persuading me to commit to something I’m not 100% sure of. It’s not like buying shoes where if I walked around it at home for a month and didn’t like it, I can return it. Although wouldn’t that be awesome!
Marco was very patient with me. I’m not always easy to work with because while I wanted something extravagant, my education income doesn’t always support my life style. Marco threw a lot of knowledge at me about the car and went through all my options. He felt more like a friend advising me, than a total stranger trying to sell me something just for his own well being. At the end of the evening, he even told me to not buy it if I wasn’t ready for it. That I should sleep on it and when I’m ready, to give him a call and if he wasn’t available that he would set something up so someone else could take care of me. Maybe they don’t run on commission after all? Who knows and I don’t care.
After I had a weekend to think about it, and Marco checking up on me about whether I had any more questions, I came in and made my purchase! Marco found me a great deal on a basic mini coop and I was ecstatic! I couldn’t let the deal pass so I was so ready to own a new car!
My experience here have been nothing short of awesomeness. The manager who closed my deal gave me warranty options and once again I didn’t feel pressured to buy anything. However, new owners be aware, that a warranty could cost you easily another $ 5000 which was what I did because I weighed out my options and thought it was saving me more money in the long run.
When I came back to get my stripes put on a week after driving it out of the lot, the process was so organized! I came in, I signed some paper work, got my free car rental, got a call by end of work day and I picked it up! Felix, my service guy was wonderful! He’s so nice!
Overall, I’m happy to be part of the Mini family and happier that a single girl in my 30s was able to purchase my own car and given such top treatment at this dealership by every professional employee I encountered!
So if you’re looking to buy a mini, ask for Marcos and I hope you get the same awesome treatment I did! Good luck!

Great Sales Department — Special Thanks to Marco and Carol! Awesome Experience!
I went to Mini of Stevens Creek in April to test drive Mini Countryman and I was connected with Marco Obillo at the AutoNation Mini of Stevens Creek, Marco was amazing in guiding me through the decision making and choosing the right car. He follow up with me after few weeks and asked me if I had any additional question from my test drive if I would like to test drive again with my spouse to make the decision easier. After researching for 1.5 month, i decided to email Marco and schedule an appointment for Memorial Day. I was able to get car or my choice and they gave me great offer. I was able to get my new car paperwork done within 2.5 hrs. Sales Manager Carol was amazing and making this easier.