Customer ReviewsforFerman BMW/Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay

On Tuesday morning, March 28, 2023, I messaged this dealership through their website regarding a used 2020 Jaguar F-PACE I wanted to test drive. A rep called me right away and said the car was available, so I set up an appointment for 4pm that day. I arrived at around 3:40pm. I was not offered a seat or anything to drink, but I also figured that the wait would not be long. Six minutes later, my phone rang, but I dismissed the call. I stood around for 10+ minutes until the sales rep returned and explained that the car had a deposit on it, and the potential new owners were currently driving it. He took my information down in case the deal fell through, and I headed to my car disappointed. When I was in the parking lot, I received a text from a different sales associate who explained that she had just tried to call me (it was the call I dismissed) because she had just learned the same information that the other sales rep shared with me. I asked her politely why I didn’t have first dibs since I had set up an appointment in the morning. She said the deposit came through on Saturday, and the internet department was not on-site to confirm if the car was still available. Essentially, a deposit had been placed on the car 3 days before I set up my appointment, and the person I spoke with that morning did not mention that to me at all. In fact, she told me the car was 100% available. This so-called “miscommunication” is highly unlikely. Instead, this “misunderstanding” is most likely a feeble attempt to lure me to the dealership in an effort to upsell me for a larger profit. I ended up contacting Gettel Toyota of Lakewood about a different Jaguar F-PACE, and the first thing the sales rep did when I arrived was offer me a seat and a drink. A few minutes later, I test drove the Jaguar. Minutes after that, I bought it. If you’re looking for a used car, I recommend you find a dealership who doesn’t have this type of “miscommunication.”

Hello *****,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience here at Mini of Tampa Bay, our attempt to reach you has been unsuccessful. I want to first and foremost apologize for the level of service you received while being interested in one of our pre-owned vehicles, please note that I have reviewed the communication process between our business development center and here at the store level and we are currently addressing the circumstances that led to your unacceptable experience.

I have also engaged our call center management and training to address coaching opportunities to more proactively assist with these types of situations to prevent a similar situation in the future.

We understand that this doesn't entirely make up for the time you lost or the frustration caused,but I would like to send a gesture of goodwill that maybe you can enjoy or use towards a nice day out, whatever the case may be just to let you know this concern has been taken very seriously. 

Could you please confirm your address?

Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any further questions. we appreciate your time and feedback.

I hope you have a great day.

Kind regards,

***********************
Assistant General Manager
Ferman BMW/MINI of Palm Harbor
******************* office
************ cell
*********************************

Hi ****,Thank you for reviewing the situation and for recognizing the gap in your customer experience practices.The first contact attempt I received from you was on April 4, 2023. That was 24 hours after I shared my experience across multiple review sites. In that written response at ***********.com, you asked me to contact you.This is another missed opportunity because you had my contact information when I originally set up the appointment on March 28, 2023. That means that you or another team member could have called me directly for an entire week to address my concerns. Yet, I did not hear from anyone until I left a negative review. Furthermore, you asked me to reach out to you in that response.On April 10, 2023, you did call me directly and left a voicemail. However, this is nearly one week after I published my review and nearly two weeks after the original incident occurred. If you are working towards more proactive call center and training processes, please review your actions because there is still more room for improvement. I appreciate your gesture, but it is not necessary. My only request is for your dealership to take the steps necessary to spare future buyers from this outcome.Thanks,*****

I do not like to leave bad reviews but the experience I have had with this dealer is unacceptable.I bought a brand new 2023 X3 M40i in February 2 2023. After a few days the car started shaking while driving it. I took the vehicle to the dealership in March 2, 2023 and it has been 2 weeks and they said that the vehicle has a manufacturing issue and they do not know how to fix it. The communication has been very poor.I spoke with the service manager and sales manager. They advised me to raise a complaint with *** which I did.They keep saying that they are trying to fix the issue but the fact of the matter is that I bought a brand new car so that I do not have to worry about car issues. Shame on *** for having such low customer service and shady dealerships. At this point, I am escalating this issue and I demand the loan to be canceled and I will NOT be buying a car from this place!

Our service director ************ spoke to ****************** to follow up after repairs were completed.  ****************** stated he has been driving the vehicle all day and feels it is safe and properly fixed. He is now looking forward to enjoying his new vehicle.