We just bought a Countryman today and couldn't be happier with the total professionalism, courtesy and expertise displayed by Steve who certainly knows his product and customer inter-action. Zain and Omar are a total credit as well. A thoroughly stress free and pleasurable experience. read more

The Service department is dysfunctional. They do not communicate even after repeated calls and requests for call back. They kept my car for a week without any explanations even after repeated calls for a straight forward answer. read more

Great experience with the dealership in most aspects of my purchase. A few things could and should have been explained that were not or incorrect, but we worked through them (I guess). Delivery was fast, paperwork was even faster. Overall, order a PPI when buying any car, relying solely on a salesperson, well, sort of at your own risk - regardless of make or model. I would not hesitate to buy again...but would order a PPI. read more

I had a 7:00 am appointment (for 2 weeks) for an oil change on my 2018 2dr MINI that I bought in May 2021. This was my first service appointment since purchase. I arrived at 6:50 am and I was the 4th car in line at the Comm Ave center. At 7, when they let us in. I was the first of only 2 MINIs in line. The MINI behind me had work being done that was not routine and it was gone after an hour. My oil change took 2 hours and 45 minutes! The service team offered me no explanation. THEN, having driven 20+ miles away I noticed that whoever had worked on my car forgot to replace the passenger-side floor panel. I pulled over and tried to replace it myself, but clearly there's a trick to it or a tool that is necessary to snap it back into place. I had to drive back to the dealership to have them reinstall it. So my thoughts: (1) If an oil change is going to take almost 3 hours, there should be an explanation and, at the very least, an apology for taking up your time. Maybe even a hefty discount. (2) It's a nice touch to wash and vacuum the car as a courtesy, but maybe next time, make sure you put all the pieces of the car back together. I love my MINI, but I will probably go somewhere else for routine servicing. Between having to get there during morning rush hour traffic, waiting, driving away, driving back, waiting some more, this event ate up half my day. I need to go somewhere that respects my time. read more

Herb Chambers Mini - Oops! Somebody forgot to put the panel back. - Car Dealers Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Alll the necessary things to be fixed and/or replaced was done.i would recommend this business.

They over charge like crazy. I've moved around the country a few times and I have always gone to a mini dealership for repairs. Although dealerships are usually more expensive, but this place is out of control compare to other dealerships I've been to. Changing 2 break pads ( not including the disc) is over $800. You can get that replaced less than half of the price anywhere else. Mini of Manhattan is not even like this. They also had hidden fees for oil change that was not communicated upfront. The pros is that they always have appointments available. read more

Mark Ravin is the reason I chose to be at this dealership. I'm pretty sure every time I come here, my bubble bee cooper will have a good take care. He is the best!!!!! read more

Staff was polite and friendly, but they misdiagnosed several issues my car had that Mini Peabody correctly identified. Had I followed through with Herb Chambers Mini's suggestions, I would've been out several thousand more than necessary. Also, it goes without saying that their repair prices are obscenely expensive. I'd find an independent shop to get your work done if your Mini is out of warranty. read more

update: this car buying experience believe it or not got worse. Badis messaged my husband and called me a liar. He claimed he never said the things I claimed he said. I am absolutely floored a car salesman would text MY husband and tell him I was lying and that HE was accommodating. So not only did you have zero interest in helping me from the moment I walked in, treat me like shit, and tell me you thought my husband was a lazy asshole, but then you turn this around on me? im reporting this business to the military base to have it blacklisted. Our military members deserve better. My husband has been deployed overseas for months so I went to Herb Mini to look at a vehicle online my husband found and was interested in. Right now I'm a "single" working mom to 4 kids and don't have a lot of extra time or energy. My husband called the dealership and was assured the vehicle he was interested in, and one other was there for me to see so l didn't have to find someone to watch my kids and drive to Boston for nothing. When I got there I was introduced to Badis. I don't know if it's because I'm female or what, but he was rude and degrading for the entire experience. Badis claimed he didn't have the vehicles to show me. I said my husband called and they told him you guys DO have the vehicles. He's like you want to see the vehicles? (Insert annoyed tone) I'm like yeah, I didn't drive all the way here for nothing. So he begrudgingly took me to the garage to show me a vehicle claiming the other one wasn't there to see. I FaceTimed my husband to show him the car. Only because my husband was really interested did I stick around. During the time he showed me the car, he rudely told me my trade in wasn't worth what I wanted for it, that I was at a quote luxury dealership, that he didn't need my business because the car is popular and would sell quickly, and that my car would sit on the lot for 2 years before it sold. Again, only because my husband is serving overseas for our country, and I felt like he deserved the vehicle he wanted, did I stick around. The icing on the cake was when Badis said I should come in with my husband the following week, and I reminded him if he wanted to deal with my husband it would have to wait until November when he got home from deployment did he finally grasp the fact that I wasn't there for myself. He said, oh I thought your husband wanted the car and was just a lazy asshole who went to the gym and sent his wife to take pictures for him. I will never refer anyone to this dealership, EVER. They are supposed to meet me with the car today or tomorrow. " read more

Herb Chambers Mini - Car Dealers Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I leased a MINI here in 2018 and am now financing it. I have annual checkups with my vehicle here and am always treated extremely kindly and feel that everything is explained to me in great detail when something needs maintenance. There have even been several times when I was given a full diagnostic health check and was recommended to go to other places to get the problems taken care of, as it would cost significantly more at their garage, so they have even saved my money! The guys in the garage are super sweet and they even offer a free Lyft if you need transportation in some cases. Not only do I LOVE my vehicle but I am so glad I went here to buy it. During the buying process I was not pressured to buy extra features or upgrade in any way (except the winter tires were heavily recommended, and being in New England I agreed.) If you want a MINI, go here!!! read more

I used the web interface to ask a question about service. I was looking for a dealership to service my MINI Countryman and asked if they could tell me the nearest MBTA stop as I thought I could visit the MFA while they serviced my MINI. In her reply, some complete idiot named Maddie decided to refuse to answer the question I asked, instead feeding me a line of crap about how they would "take a look through the vehicles we have on our lot" and get back to me. WTF?? Then of course she wanted to know the "best number to reach you." Total scam. I asked for I formation regarding service OF AN EXISTING CAR and she thinks she can sell me another one instead? Business must be really bad when you have to troll people. It's bimbo assholes like Maddie that give women in business a bad name. read more

This is the only place I will bring my 2016 mini. Mark, Matt and the crew are the best at the mini service desk. Honest, reliable and I have never had issues. Highly recommend. Worth the $$. read more

Took my 200$ when my cat kept dying and would not start and told me my oil pans and valve cover was leaking when neither is both have brand new gaskets and the valve cover has a new cover and I just had a battery draw. The real problem was that I needed a new oil cap, oil filter cap , starter and alternator which was brand new. That wasn't the only problem my turbos are leaking oil ,so they greatly missed diagnose my car after I told the service writer they were new his response was who ever did it didn't do it right instead of making the tec recheck their work. the manager or supervisor never answers the phone nor is in the build or return phone calls. They don't even deserve a half star JUST DONT GO! read more

Ugh, gross. Let me tell you about my first visit to this craphole. My friend and I walk abound for 15 minutes-- no joke-- and not a single sales guy approaches us. You'd think make side comments like "Where are the BMWs?" "I wonder if we can test drive something?" and "Maybe someone will come help us..." would incite some sort of interest on the part of the sales rep to come, you know, try to sell us something. So, we leave vowing never to return. -1 star. Then, I get a call from the GM. Seems my friend has a friend who knows her personally, and she's gotten a call telling her how mistreated we were. She wants to invite me back, and apologizes for the way we we(n't) treated. Back to netural on this. This is getting long and boring, so bottom line is I'm set up with a lame sales guy who tries to upsell me, doesn't get my budget, and tells me herb chambers doesn't negotiate prices on used vehicles. Amazing. I wasted a good hour of my life at this place, and another two minutes reviewing it. read more

This is the most "inhumane" service I ever had done in my lifetime. Not only they overcharge like crazy, but also make you pay for issues that were resolved on their own. I understand that everyone is trying to make money in this world - but this dealership broke all greediness records. Check your invoices carefully! They are very unprofessional & unorganized. I will never go back to any Herb Chambers dealership again. read more

Strange experience -- I brought my car in to get a couple of repairs. When I went to pick it up, I realized they had replaced my rear view mirror. They did not charge me, but they also didn't ask me if they could do this, or even let me know about it. My guess is that they must have broken the mirror while doing something else. It put me off and made me realize I prefer my local mechanic, who is straight with me about things. read more

A big shout out to the girls at Herb Chambers MINI of Boston: Sara Espinal and Katie George!!! I just picked up my new MINI two days ago and let me tell you how happy I am with my experience. Three months ago I designed my new car with a big help from my sales advisor/genius Sara Espinal. Sara is super friendly, very knowledgeable and I really appreciate all the tips she gave me with the design. She followed up with me in regards to some discounts she was able to sign me up for and was equally excited when the big day came. Sara made the entire process very easy for me. My new Deep Blue MINI Cooper S is super sexy and very comfortable to drive. I love everything about this car (I've been driving MINIs since 2006 and this is my third baby). I would also like to mention how awesome Katie George is. Katie helped me with all the paperwork and she gave me great tips in the process as well. These two girls know MINIs inside and out and they kick butt. I highly recommend to everyone who is interesting in a MINI to work with these two ladies, I guarantee you won't regret your decision. read more

Herb Chambers Mini - 2016 MINI Cooper S Deep Blue - Car Dealers Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Extremely disappointed by the sales department at this store! I am in the automotive industry and at some point wanted to be a part of HC group. My Mother in-law wanted to own a mini, she lives in Dedham and wanted me to assist her with the purchase process. After 30 minutes of being invisible, I realized we were the wrong demographic for the company or brand...we then left and our prepaid 2 hour street meter, and drove to Peabody to find her, her new vehicle. I will edit this review and attach a picture of her and her vehicle when she takes deliver of her Mini from Mini of Peabody. A BIG thank you to the staff of Herb Chambers MINI of Boston for wasting my family and I's time. Good luck to the sales guy that skipped us for the Asian lady that was waiting to for her Lexus lease to run out before she buys the MINI that you think she wants and to the other sales guy that I made eye contact with several times that was attempting to sell a car to a guy looking for a business card and lastly to salesman that saw us leaving to told my wife that they were very busy, WE WERE NOT IN LINE FOR A FREE CAR! I doubt you will be receiving her service business either! read more

I'd give this place 0 stars, if I could. I have owned 2 mini cooper clubmans: an '09 and '16. The 09 died with under 90k miles, JUST after warranty expired, and needed $12k worth of work done to it because of minis incompetence in their maintenance department. My current car, 2016 clubman, has been in the shop (herb chambers) MONTHLY since I got it 9 mo ago. Finally, I called Mini USA to file a complaint and all they did was offer a pathetic discount on the next mini that I PROMISE not to buy. This is a company, and herb chambers is an organization, that clearly will not stand behind their products. Matt and Kyle, maintenance managers, will absolutely NOT stand behind you if, and certainly WHEN, you have car troubles. The rest of the department is sufficiently incompetent, not even considering that you will be waiting forever for your car, they are never available to answer the phone, won't call you with updates, won't tell you what they actually did to your car before going ahead and ordering parts. Mark, Matt and Chris, the service advisors, are all nice enough, but they're just the bearers of bad news. They have their hands tied when they tell you what needs to be done next. Last job I'd ever want is theirs. I'm not alone in my experiences. I have multiple friends who have ditched their minis pre 90k miles because they crapped the bed and weren't worth fixing. Yes, they're adorable and fun to drive. But they are NOT reliable and NOT worth this hell. Move on to the next car company! read more

Having a bad day with your car with low mileage is enough stress as it is. The folks in the service area of Herb Chambers MINI made me feel taken care of, not duped for the cost of the repairs, and generally satisfied with venturing here over non-dealer options. On the first day I dropped by, one of the guys offered me a doughnut from the box another happy customer brought in. That alone put me at ease. Throughout the day, I got update calls as the mechanics determined the root cause (and I was right...!), the timeline for when the parts would arrive, and when I could plan to pick up my car. Easy, simple, and out. I think the worst part of my experience was having to take the green line but that's out of their control. read more

I really wanted to like this place because I just moved from NY to Boston. I was the third car in for service at 7am. I wanted to buy new tires (if needed) and have my oil changed. After an hour and a half I don't think anything was done on my mini. No oil change, car wash, nonew tire, no sticker for when to change oil next... I paid $87 for an oil change and the "service" light was still on. I returned exactly a week later to deal with "service" light. Chris Armstrong was very nice and helped manage situation and get my new tire/ brakes flushed. When I got in my car a new light was on (remote battery low). Chris Armstrong quickly got me a new battery and was very nice. I think the mechanics/technicians have no attention to detail -they gave me my car twice with lights still on for various issues. Chris was nice so that's why you get 3 stars instead of 1.... read more

I've changed my 4 star review to a 5 star - because the MINI Service Advisors are top notch. They give it to me straight, try to help me out whenever possible, and I don't feel like I'm being taken advantage of. Are they cheap? No. But does the job get done? Yes. If Mark Ravin and Matt Appleton leave, I'm not sure I'll ever go back. read more

Worst service experience. Had my clutch replaced for thousands of dollars and when they returned my car the air conditioning didn't work. They tried to say it must have been a "coincidence" that it stopped working right after the completely opened up my engine. Of course when they went to fix it they realized it was their fault. They gave me a "free detail" thereafter - I made an spot and when I arrived they said "we have so many deliveries all details have been cancelled". I asked why they didn't call me and he then trashed their phone department. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. read more

I was interested in getting a Mini, so Herb Chambers was the first on my list of several different dealership, and ended up being the only stop. My salesman was Sam, he was incredibly knowledgable, friendly, patient, and kind. He walked us through the entire process, was totally transparent about the ways in which they price both new and used vehicles, and never tried to push us into any sale. It seemed as if he wanted us to make a genuinely informed, smart purchase. (I ended up getting a great deal, too.) He's stayed in contact with me routinely ever since to make sure everything with my Mini has ran smoothly. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who may be in the market for a new Mini. My experience with the Service dept. has been great too, everyone has been very kind and helpful. read more

so this is how the story goes me: id like to look at a mini ahole:uh ya, if you want, put down 4k and the waiting list is till august me: wouldnt it be nice to see the car first? douch: huh? me:smell ya no dice, i got a jetta instead read more

Horribly customer service. It's like they actively go out of their way to piss people off. I bought my Mini Cooper S from them in August of 2009 so I speak from experience. Avoid, avoid, avoid! Josh read more

Arrived at 7:30am. Gave key to guy. Sat down with rep to talk about car trouble. Wife had to leave for work, so asked if we could get her bag out of car. "No problem--we'll bring it down for you." Five employees and half an hour later, wife had to leave for work without her stuff, and still no sign of car. Rrrgh. Then technician, rep, foreman all come over and say the car is ready outside. Wrong car! Mis-tagged. Car somehow already in the shop. After talking to mechanic, wound up in waiting room/lobby for like 40 minutes waiting for rep to come tell me what mechanic found. Everyone friendly, but count me not a fan: this should have taken fifteen minutes, and took two hours instead--on a work day morning. read more

As legend has it, Herb Chambers owned a copier franchise and sold it. One day he was looking to buy a car, and was so mistreated by the staff, he bought the dealership. I respect that kind of grit, so I will be easy on his Mini dealership, but facts are facts. I walked into his dealership to BUY a car, not look at, haggle, negotiate or shop and even compare. About 15 minutes later, a nice enough woman(name withheld) asked if I needed help. For the test drive, they copied my license and I waited another inexplicable 15 minutes So as I was test driving, this lady informed me that it was 6-8 weeks for a new car. I then asked if they would be willing to sell me their demo car..again no haggle, just needed a car. No problem says she, she will speak to the manager and call me in the morning. That was 5 days ago. My secretaries phone calls have been unanswered as well as inquiries from the Mini website, which ironically go to this dealership Wonder if Herb needs to buy a Mini? read more

Seriously guys? You brought my rating down from 5 stars to 1? Shame on you. Shame shame shame on you. We got a call that they would lower our interest rate if we came in to talk to them. Okay fine.. we know that gimmick, but it's MINI. We trusted them. So the husband goes in because we needed a new inspection sticker anyway and the brakes were grinding. Here's how it went: "Hey! We can lower your interest rate by 2%, have you trade in your car for max value (2010 Mini Cooper with 6K miles on it), and you can get a brand new 2011 Mini for the same payment!" An hour later: "Okay, so for some reason our computer won't let us give you full trade in value. It's only 5K less than book value. But your new payment will only be $50 more a month and we'll only tack on another $5K to your car loan." Uhm, no thank you. It's still a 2010 Mini with 6K miles. But thank you for wasting an hour of my life. Lets move on to the inspection and brakes. Another hour later: "Your car has been inspected and is outside all ready for you." My husband looks, sees the car, goes to sign paperwork to leave, turns around again and the car is gone. No one can find our car. Then they told him it still needed to be inspected so they took it back to the mechanic. He asked about the car every 10 minutes from there on in. AN HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES after they said the car was ready, it finally reappeared. We owed $30 for the inspection and they said the brakes needed to be used more and then the noise will go away. This MINI experience lasted 3 1/2 hours and all we left with was an inspection sticker and a bunch of lies. Hence, the 1 fking star. read more

Let's say it it was a pretty bad experience purchasing my vehicle from this dealer. They were sneaky and tried to steal money from me. I knew what vehicle I wanted & was ready to purchase. The finance dept. sales man tried to get me to finance with them even tho I had a check ready from my credit union with an extremely low rate. And I received the "we can definitely beat that rate" from him and next thing I know I had 15 inquiries on my credit report and no beaten rate. Ha. Secondly I was overcharged $150 for registration. And was given a run around from staff telling me it is their fee to register the vehicle. The vehicle was missing a key and was told I had to pay for it. I had to talk with the GM to get results. I did receive my key, a refund and an apology for the experience I received. read more

I bought a Honda from Herb Chambers years ago, and every interaction I had there felt slimy. Not to mention the numerous fuck-ups from the service department - like the time they replaced my CD changer and installed it upside down? Yeah. I bought my Mini from Herb Chambers and the sales staff was fine, and Mark in service is a nice enough guy, but I still question the quality of work in the service department. It took them something like three tries to fix a rattle in the passenger side door from the speaker, and then the drivers side door wouldn't unlock after they'd done some work... And every time they screw something up, and I try to get them to throw me a bone, all I get is "Well, you're welcome to take your car wherever you'd like for service..." Why do I keep going? Well, it's like any abusive relationship. I keep telling myself "Oh, they'll change, once they realize how great I am", but time after time, I keep getting hurt. Won't someone help me break this vicious cycle? No, really, I keep going back because they're on the T and conveniently located. That's about it. Although, I am writing this from the lounge at Peabody Mini... read more

I stopped into BMW of MINI a couple weeks back while on a hunt for a new car. While we didn't end up buying a MINI (the car we were looking at didn't end up having all the features we wanted), it was a pleasure dealing with Andrei Kunevsky. Andrei is probably one of the best car salespeople I've ever worked with. He was knowledgeable about the car, answered all of my questions and was super responsive via phone and email without being pushy. If we ever do consider a MINI again, I'll definitely be buying it from Andrei. read more

Test Drive a mini. Love it and interested in buying it. We didn't buy that day, but the process of being a potential buyer was all in all not bad. As soon as the papers are signed, this is where it all goes down hill. Lets go over the sequence of events: 1. Arrange for a pickup of the car and schedule a time for pickup. We were 10 minutes late for our appointment. In this time, our sales person went for a test drive. We were fine with this until over an hour and a half later, we were still sitting there. We go to get the car, and the Venture guard we sprung an extra $700 on, and the bonnet stripes were not installed. We decide to take the car for the day and bring back later for service. 2. After arranging to drop off for service to install the stripes and venture guard, it was clearly relayed that both the front and back bumpers would have the venture guard installed. We get the call that it has been completed and go to pick it up. The stripes were there, the front venture guard was installed, they forgot the back. We leave it yet again. We speak with our sales person who expresses "disgust" in the service we have received. She tells us she wants to make it up to us and will Fedex us some license plate covers as a "sorry for the bad service." 3. The car is finally complete. The dealership arranges to drop off the car and avoid me a trip out to Allston again. All is well. My girlfriend writes an honest assessment of our service in a survey to the dealer. 4. The dealer calls back. In this process they state they want to do whatever it takes to make us satisfied customers. We remind them of the promise from our sales person to send the plate covers. They say, we'll check on this and get back to you tomorrow. 2 to 3 months later, we haven't recieved a call back. 5. Our car was bumped and it did some damage to the venture guard. A service guaranteed was that if/when you want to replace the venture guard, call us up, and we'll swap it out free. Service informs me the replacement is "not covered" due to the car being bumped. Apparently a bumper guard does not cover bumping... ***UPDATE*** After speaking with Sales, they waived the cost for the bumper guard. This ups my review one star. I have called the sales person 3 times now to ask about this with no call back. They have our money, thats all they wanted. Lets just say the service is less than spectacular. Absolutely LOVE the car! The dealer plain and simple sucks. * As a side note, my girlfirend and I stopped in to Mini of Peabody to check it out. I have to say. they ACTUALLY have cars to you know LOOK AT when you are buying them and the staff was incredibly nice. I can't say I have experience dealing with them, but I KNOW I will not be recommending Herb Chambers MINI of Boston to anyone. read more

Purchased a brand new 2012 mini countryman s from Herb Chambers Mini...that was 8 days ago and I've gotten to drive it a total of 2 hours since. It's been in their shop ever since. In addition to purchasing a faulty mini I have received sub par support from their Sales, Service & GM. 2 hrs after purchasing my mini I got an engine failure error light. After speaking with service I was instructed to call mini roadside assistance and have the car towed in. Mini roadside refused to tow my car in w/out $120 first 20 miles and an astronomical rate each mile after b/c I wasn't in the system yet. I of course refused. I was then instructed by service to drive my car down. After not having the deposit for an enterprise rental they acted as though there was nothing they could do. No loners avail- only loners were part of BMW. Same company but I was told "it's a different department. nothing we can do for you". I was expected to find my own way home- take the bus- etc...after I purchased a NEW car only hours earlier. I had to demand a manager to secure a loner car. After 3 days I picked up my car- assured they fixed the sensor issue. I got into my car...drove approx. 20 feet outside the dealer and the light came back on!!!!! They had my car for 3 days and fixed NOTHING. I am now told they are opening a PUMA case w/engineering to try and find out what is wrong with my car. I received a call from the GM, Melissa Steffy, after writing a few emails...but the call was just a brief brush off apology. I am still without a car. Herb Chambers clearly doesn't stand behind their vehicles, they provide sub-par service and are too large to worry about the bad experience of 1 person. Buyer beware- think twice before heading down to Herb Chambers dealerships for your new car. read more

Holy crap--world's most expensive oil change. And the service is nothing to write home about. I bought my Mini out in Peabody a few years ago, because the folks at Herb Chambers didn't have any available for a test drive, but did have a few in stock for sale "at a premium". Sleazy, eh? But Peabody is such a pain in the neck to get to that I started doing my regular service at Chambers. Never again. They have different guys working there each time I go in, got grease all over the place, way overcharged, blah blah blah. The parts department seems safe enough, if you just want some wiper blades or something, but other than that, I'd stay away. read more

I bought a used mini from another dealership, but bring it in here for repairs. This review is for the service department. I love my mini, but dislike the dealership. To be honest, I'm not sure there is any good dealership in the world. They are all about ripping the customer off, and making as much profit as possible. This review is based on comparing them to my ideal dealership, who is honest. I know, an oxymoron. Plus: They will wash your car for you if you aren't so late because of their bad estimate that you have to leave before they have a chance to do it. Free bottles of water. It was more for staff then customers however, based on watching it, but it didn't run out. Their mini roadside assist paid $300 to tow my car from Worcester to the dealership. Average: The service advisors seem to care when you talk to them. Its the same dealership BS however: "I have to talk to the service manager and get back to you." Minus: It very hard to find for new customers who have never been to the service department. Maybe thats just Boston, but it was very confusing on my first visit. They aren't good at making estimates on how long it will take. Based on 3 visits, they missed the estimate each time. The prices are VERY HIGH. A $100+ oil change? Dishonest: I called and talked to a service advisor. I asked "is that covered by the warranty?" They said yes. I came in and they said it was not covered. I discussed it with them in detail, they finally decided to give it to me for free, but I shouldn't have to go through that. The mini roadside assistance spent an hour "trying to find someone who was willing to do the tow to the dealership and couldn't find anyone." I made one call, and the first person I called in Worcester was willing to do it. I called mini to give them the phone number, and they had them out 75 minutes later. read more

I have had two experiences with Herb Chambers MINI. Both were less than stellar. The first time was in 2008 when my wife was ready to buy a Clubman. We called this dealership asking about a few colors she was willing to consider and they said they had one in stock and to come on down. So we piled my brother and his wife, who were visiting from California, into our car and headed down to buy my wife a new car. When we got there they said they didn't have that car, but they had others we could look at. Huh?! When we asked to talk to the person we spoke to on the phone, he wasn't available. What?! We ended up driving to Connecticut to buy her MINI. No weirdness, they simply had what they said they had when we got there. Fast forward to late 2012 and I decided I wanted to order a new, customized MINI of my own and thought I'd give them another chance because I'm a pretty forgiving guy and I was looking for the best price possible on my new car. I requested a quote and heard back from someone confirming my request, then a week went by before I heard from them again. In that time, I had received a quote from two other dealerships and proceeded with one. When Herb Chambers got back to me I explained that I had made a decision to buy elsewhere. A few weeks later, while my car was being built in the UK, a sales manager from Herb Chambers calls me and says they can take the car and deliver it to me and that they have a lot of pull with MINI corporate that other dealers don't, so they might be able to get it to me sooner than the dealer I was working with. That felt kind of sleazy to me. I'd already made my decision on who to work with, so why try to snake the sale away from the guys I decided to work with elsewhere? It just seemed in bad taste to do that. Needless to say, I just can't see myself doing business with these guys after these two interactions with them. A great dealership doesn't become great by trying to take sales from other dealerships after the customer has committed to working with the other dealership. read more

I This review is lengthy. Buying a car isn't a two minute process and so my review is reflective of about two weeks of dealing with Herb Chambers Mini. Seriously, a five star review for a place I had contact with almost every day for two weeks and never once pissed me off? I'd throw in a six star for that if I could. I'll be frank: after several not pleasant experiences at another local Mini dealership in Peabody, I wasn't sure I would end up buying a Mini at all. I'd read online reviews of Herb Chambers and....they weren't good. I did not have high hopes. Mini enthusiast websites felt Herb Chambers Mini wasn't good because they weren't a dedicated Mini dealership. While that may have been the case before, Herb Chambers Mini now has a dedicated sales staff, managerial staff and finance department. I met all of them and they were professional yet approachable and obviously passionate about their job and the Mini brand. Mini held a "rally" event and by visiting a dealer you'd receive a voucher for up to $1000 if you took delivery of a new Mini by December 2 and since I was in the market for a new car, I decided to drag my butt down to Allston. On a Saturday morning. During Head of the Charles. If nothing else, I learned what you'd have to pay me to do that again. My first interactions were with Katie, an assistant manager. After registering to attend the event, she contacted me to see if there was a specific model car I was interested in. When I supplied her with the build sheet I'd made on Mini's website, she replied to my email with a list of cars with similar trims and amenities she'd located. When I showed up Saturday morning, I met with Katie and she introduced me to Luigi, the motoring advisor (Mini-speak for salesman.) We started with a test drive of a model similar to what I was considering. He explained the features of the car and off we went. While he was in the car, his presence wasn't intrusive. I was direct with Luigi; I knew exactly what I did and didn't want in a car and a sales experience. I didn't want to be talked into a car that wasn't what I wanted, I didn't want the stereotypical dealer schemes where they try to sell you a car based on monthly payments instead of total price, I wasn't going to do 50 rounds of negotiations. I didn't want a four-square on a piece of paper. He understood and didn't seemed phased at all by my direct demeanor. We discussed my car options, I decided which car I wanted, and he asked me what my offer was for the car. I told him what I was willing to pay, Katie approved the price, and Luigi sold me a car. The dealership needed to get the car shipped in from another Mini dealership several states away. While this process wasn't exactly speedy, Luigi kept me in the loop the entire time. For almost two weeks, he fielded every question I had and responded in a timely manner to emails and phone calls. When I took my car in for trade-in evaluation, I met Jamie, the manager. Polite and direct, I fretted this part of the deal. I believed my car to be in great shape and condition but you're always told dealerships will low-ball your trades. Jamie gave me a fair offer for my car. Keep in mind "fair" in business is realizing a business is in business to make money and finding that sweet spot where the business makes money and the customer feels they have a good produce or service is the name of the game. My new Mini arrived and although it was Luigi's day off, he came in to finalize delivery even though I told him it want neccessary. That's a level of professionalism which didn't go unnoticed by me. I met Monica, who handles the financial arrangements. She made the finance paperwork as quick and painless as possible. And you know that part of buying a car where the finance person tries to sell you pixie glitter to ward off Pegasus attacks, mudflaps and an upgraded vuvuzela? That didn't really happen: we talked about additional warranty options but there was never a moment she tried to up sell me some laundry list of upgrades as if her mortgage depended upon it. After some unsavory experiences with that in the past, this was absolutely refreshing. It's been over a week since I took delivery of the car and I've heard from Luigi several times. It's nice to know I wasn't just a sale and he's continued to check in on me. I don't know what to say to people who had bad experiences with the folks at Herb Chambers Mini but I would absolutely buy a car from them and work with Luigi again. read more

Thanks for being so honest! I had my car serviced today and they vacuumed my car. I had a $10 bill hidden in the side of my seat. I noticed that they vacuumed down there, however left the obviously misplaced $10 there. :) ...and 5 stars to Mark in the service dept. he has always been above and beyond helpful to me!! read more

My experience is with the parts and service departments. First the parts department: I needed some maintenance stuff for my Mini - wiper blades, motor oil and filters, etc. Down to Herb Chambers I go, where the guy at the counter was extremely unpleasant (after a long wait) to deal with. Mini parts are expensive, and I don't expect to be treated like I'm doing anyone favors, but it would be nice to meet the same level of professionalism and friendliness as you'd get at, oh, say, a CVS. Or maybe a cranky meter maid. In the end the counter guy made me very very sorry I interrupted his coffee break. Not being one to learn my lesson, some time later I foolishly attempted to schedule service at HCM for my Cooper. Again I got the sense of "these annoying customers keep interrupting our coffee breaks!" They couldn't offer me a service date for nearly a month. I understand they are the only Mini dealer in Boston, so being swamped with business isn't really their fault, though that market situation does seem to affect their attitude in dealing with customers. I was able to schedule service with Mini of Peabody within the week; they were extremely cordial and seemed happy to get my business; and I was extremely pleased with the quality of service. Also their parts counter was all business. My advice: Read the other reviews of people who have dealt with the service side of HCM. If you don't feel like being the proverbial fish in a barrel, take your car and your business elsewhere. read more