Flow MINI Raleigh

[kiwigould]

So I went down to Leith BMW today on Capital Blvd to get some work done and as I pulled out, across the road I saw a sign that said coming soon Flow MINI of Raleigh. Can it be true that Flow will be just minutes down the road from me. This is Fantastic. Has anybody heard when they are planning to open.:yeah!:

[TWISTER]

it's delayed for a bit due to the economy last I heard from J at Flow

[Mini Barb]

When I took my Mini in for service in March, they told me it was going to open the first quarter in 2010 in the old Saab dealership. Below are two articles regarding the Flow Mini Dealership.

http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/03/16/story11.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1277280.html

[Hunter99]

I go by there every so often. They have been doing some minor work like stripping out junk inside, The sign is new and was not there before. I can see the economy holding it up a bit but it is moving forward.

[R52 WUF]

This is great news for Eastern NC. Between the newspaper article in the Rocky Mount paper and Flow opening up in Raleigh you will see the Eastern part of the state take off with MINI's. :agree:

I am so excited for you guys.:dance:

[BlimeyCabrio]

There's already an insane number of MINIs in the Triangle area. When I got Blimey they were still a little unusual around here. Not anymore. People are shocked when I tell them the nearest dealer is in W-S because they see so many on the roads here.

But, yep, this will be a good thing IF they can get some good mechanics and service managers at the Raleigh location.

[DB_NC]

I spoke to someone at Flow this morning when paying for the free service extension plan (6yr/100k mls). She told me their target to open is now December.

[kelyparker]

There's already an insane number of MINIs in the Triangle area. When I got Blimey they were still a little unusual around here. Not anymore. People are shocked when I tell them the nearest dealer is in W-S because they see so many on the roads here.

...call me selfish, but i do enjoy being the only MINI like mine in town! with a dealer in raleigh, do you think the novelty will wear off if there are suddenly MINIs everywhere you look? ((....except on rally days, of course))

[wildcrazy442000]

At the BRP tour we had 40 MINIs doing a u-turn, now that is fun.

[BThayer23]

The novelty will never wear off 'cause it's still very different from almost every other car on the road. Find yourself in a string of 40 MINIs and you'll feel that novelty just the same as the day you bought it.

[maacodale]

The novelty will never wear off 'cause it's still very different from almost every other car on the road. Find yourself in a string of 40 MINIs and you'll feel that novelty just the same as the day you bought it.


Ab-so-friggin-lutely!:ms_thumbsup:

[goose2000]

I was by there a week ago, looking for tires at that tire place next door ( nothing in stock and bad prices ). Looks like it will be pretty soon. Think, truck loads of new MINIs coming... Wow FREAK OUT! :yeah!:

And company technicians to actually service us now.

[Agnt006]

At the BRP tour we had 40 MINIs doing a u-turn, now that is fun.

Hahahaha! That was the best!

[CoachWes]

Awesome news. The Flow site says late 2009.

If the novelty wears off, then you just need to add more mods!!!!

[Hammerette]

this means i won't have to drive to winston-salem to turn my MINI in :D

[bknblk]

At the BRP tour we had 40 MINIs doing a u-turn, now that is fun.

Ah, memories............:lol:

[kelyparker]

If the novelty wears off, then you just need to add more mods!!!!

You're right. I concede.

[Chuffed2Bits]

I knew from sources that I have that they (Flow) had the power cut on there awhile back (long before there was even any outside indication that it would be a MINI dealership).....I guess to start the refurbishment. But I too, just recently asked the WS Flow guys when and they told me December.

~Lyn

[Sidewalk]

...call me selfish, but i do enjoy being the only MINI like mine in town! with a dealer in raleigh, do you think the novelty will wear off if there are suddenly MINIs everywhere you look? ((....except on rally days, of course))

In an average week, I see about two MINIs. I am 89 miles from the nearest dealership (Hendrix). I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A DEALER NEARBY!!! But, alas, people in my area only buy "normal" cars.:sarcastic:

[DStrange56]

I spoke with Flow Mini of Winston today, and they're hoping for a December opening.
I can't wait!

[Lee L]

I just saw at Flow's site that it now says Early 2010.

Hopefully they will have some type of grand opening event. I will be there for sure.

[sezen]

I talked with Flow earlier this afternoon and the word is still early 2010. I'm really excited about the new location~

[RudyT]

Went by the new location for Flow MINI of Raleigh yesterday. Not sure when they are opening, but building is completely gutted and under construction. They practically demolished the old saab building. It will be exciting what the final site will look like.

Sign is up for hiring out positions and a big sign out front with MINI of Flow. Hopefully it won't be long.

[Augie05]

Great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hunter99]

Figured I'd give an update.... Was at Flow last and Steve, one of the Service Advisors, is transferring to the Raleigh location. He said they are trying to open on Jan 4th and are planning a true Grand Opening party for the MINI community a couple of months later. He said they are thinking like this to let the winter weather get past and can have nice weather for whatever event(s) they come up with. I'll be there and hopefully will help me get back into club events!!! Been over 2 years now.

[Taylor]

If they have a grand opening party, I'll definitely be there. This will be the first time I have lived less than 1.5hrs away from a dealership. :dance:

[MiniJenniS]

My roommate is a MINI tech and he is one of the ones that is moving to Raleigh to open the new location. They are having him move the last week in Dec. and hopefully opening early to mid Jan. But they are looking a little behind last time he went up, so hopefully they are getting into gear now.

[birdman13]

going to be nice having one so close to me

[unc-v]

So I don't know if anyone else got the mailer in the mail today, but Flow of Raleigh is opening on January 4th!

[Chuffed2Bits]

I got the post card too that says January 4th. It would have been cool if they would have given the club a sneak peek like WS did for us with the '09's. Also.....hope they are going to honor our club discount there. :ponder:
~Lyn

[birdman13]

sweet - anyone headed over?

[Chuffed2Bits]

I'll be headed over there soon for an oil change......I don't know if I am happy or sad. I didn't get one last "nostalgic trip" in to Winston for service. LOL

~Lyn

[BThayer23]

Let's crash their party. =)

Maybe 5:30 on Monday the 4th?

[BlimeyCabrio]

I may be in for this!

[Chuffed2Bits]

Maybe we should do that.......I'm in. Then again, I have always done what people have told me NOT to do.

~Lyn

[birdman13]

Let's crash their party. =)

Maybe 5:30 on Monday the 4th?

I'd be up for this (its only 5mins. from my house)

[mrbeebe]

In theory....the next 10 days

[BThayer23]

Cool, meet in the parking lot at 5:30. I'm not expecting any sort of grand opening party or anything - that'll probably be later - but it would be cool to show up and say hi to people.

[unc-v]

I'll probably be there. Excited that there is finally one in Raleigh and I will get to meet some of you!

[Chuffed2Bits]

I'm in.....I will be there. Let's see how many others we can get to give a shout out to Flow MINI Raleigh from THMMC!

~Lyn

[TWISTER]

Someone please put decals on each door a customer might come through. I did it here in Winston with no issues from management

[jcauseyfd]

I'm hoping to make it out there Monday. Unfortunately, I have no THMMC paraphernalia and was actually planning to get more spotter cards at some upcoming event.

[jcauseyfd]

They have a web site - www.flowminiraleigh.com (http://www.flowminiraleigh.com/). w00t! Street address is about the only info there for now.

[Tmini08]

Cool, meet in the parking lot at 5:30. I'm not expecting any sort of grand opening party or anything - that'll probably be later - but it would be cool to show up and say hi to people.

I will try to make it there.

[BThayer23]

I have one decal that's probably two years old, no website address, but I'll bring it with me.

[TWISTER]

Jak has a few new ones

[colejd]

I have about 10 of the spotting cards. I'll be there.

[yaemsiri]

I only have about 10.

[yaemsiri]

Mark, Can you mail some to me next week?

[TWISTER]

I don't have any more, you need to order some from our vendor

[Poppa Bear]

Just curious but how would I get some spotter cards for distro over here in Europe? Do I contact ya'll or the vendor directly? Paying is no problem, just trying to figure out how to spread the infection/obsession!!

Cheers!!

[TWISTER]

I used an online source to have them print and ship cards to me. http://gotprint.com
Here are the files needed:
http://tarheelminis.org/-LOGOS/businesscard_front.pdf
http://tarheelminis.org/-LOGOS/businesscard_back.pdf

[Poppa Bear]

Excellent, thanks!

Cheers!!

[yaemsiri]

Stopped by Flow Raleigh this morning. There are 27 new Mini there now. The building (outside) finished but the sales office (inside) is still under construction. One construction guy is saying they suppose to finish construction by Monday for Tuesday opening.

[BThayer23]

So you're telling me that a construction project is actually going to be delayed? When does that ever happen? =)

I'm still planning on going tomorrow (Monday). That's when the flyer said they'd be open.

[yaemsiri]

The construction guys were still trying to finish the tile flooring this morning. Hopefully, it will be good enough for people to walk on and be able to move office furniture and equipment in tomorrow. Dusdee and I still plan to be there at 5:30pm.

[yaemsiri]

I went there during lunch time and saw Steve and another Sales guy from Flow WS. They are setup office for Tuesday opening. But they say they will be glad for us to come over 5:30pm today.

[unc-v]

Sweet. I will be there. I rode over there earlier and it looked to me that they wouldn't be open today. Oh well, one day late on a construction project isn't that bad. See you guys in a couple of hours.

[BThayer23]

Cool, thanks for the update, Jak. See you there.

[colejd]

They are still putting in some flooring and the furniture. They claim the service bay and showroom will be active tomorrow. They couldn't sell cars today as the state tax man hadn't given them the software to sell cars. The service bay is 2 -3X bigger than Flow in WS. Call them in the morning after 9 and you should get someone.

[jcauseyfd]

Had about 10 or so of us show up. Talked with several of the staff members there and got to check out the service bays. Gave them a couple club stickers which they were glad to put up for us. Very receptive to the idea of involving the club in activities. Grand opening celebration in 60-90 days once they work through some soft opening issues.

And they had a really nice CR vert MCS. :-/

[BThayer23]

Yeah, I think one of the MA's was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people (and MINIs) who just kinda showed up. =)

They all seemed friendly, excited to get things off the ground, and happy to take the time to show us around. Their service building is HUGE - big enough for 30 bays. Thanks to everybody who came out in the bitter cold. Can't wait for a big grand opening in the spring.

[BlimeyCabrio]

So if I can just get them to rent me a bay by the hour (or week... or month), I'm golden... lol

[Chuffed2Bits]

I was all set to come out but I had some issues on this front and I could not check the board to make sure that everyone was still a go even though they weren't open and I didn't want to come all the way from Clayton. Now I wish I had. :cry:

~Lyn

[BThayer23]

It was freezing out. Save your tears for the grand opening. =)

[Chuffed2Bits]

Yeah, I know it was cold.....felt pretty good here in my warm house. But still......I am a woman of my word and I SAID I was going to be there...I hate not following through. I just wanted to be able to check the board yesterday before I went and I couldn't. No worries.....I go in for service next Thursday. :happy-smiley:

~Lyn

[Max Headroom]

Hmmm........I'll have to check it out next time I'm in that area visiting kiwigould. Sounds like a great facility!

Gary

[racephan]

I am glad to see all the positive comments in the other thread about the FLOW Raleigh Service Dept.

I was wondering if anyone has had any positive or negative experiences with the Raleigh Parts Department staff named Juan?

I have now dealt with him on 4 occasions, three times by phone and once in person and all 4 occasions - he was argumentative, rude, hard to understand and on one of my orders, he actually refused to listen to me and than still ordered me the wrong part for the wrong year car after I tried to correct him. Of course, the wrong part was delivered and he refused to accept blame and didn't apologize for the mistake. He reordered the part and reluctantly agreed to mail it to me as I did not intend to drive back to the dealer a second time to pick it up.

I have also asked him about the THMMC accessories discount that Flow WS offered and he said its 10% vs. the 15% WS gives. The last part he quoted me with the 10% off was still higher than the advertised price on both the WS and Raleigh sites.

I am very disappointed in this person's customer service skills as the WS Parts Dept staff were so friendly and helpful when I dealt with them.

[yaemsiri]

Jon,

I think you should call Kevin (Flow Raleigh GM) directly to resolve your problem.

Jak

[racephan]

Great, thanks.

[TWISTER]

His name is Kelvin

[jcauseyfd]

Jon,

Without going into details, I'd agree with your assessment.

[BlimeyCabrio]

I had the same kind of parts fiasco there this week. Atrocious service and total lack of competence. I will NEVER buy parts from Flow in Raleigh if I have to deal with that dude. I'll mail order instead.

[racephan]

Good to hear I am not alone. That is exactly how I felt after the last call too.

[Nan]

I took my MINI to Flow-Raleigh last Thursday for brakes. I had a 10:30 appt that morning, but instead of waiting, I decided to drop it off. They finished with my car Friday night at 7:30. They did not call to keep me updated on the status of the brake job (i.e that my car would not be ready on Thursday). I had to initiate each round of calls. In addition, on Thursday evening, they told me I needed tires which I declined to purchase. When they returned my call Friday at 5:30 to say the car was ready, they had installed brakes and tires on the car. After I reminded them that I did not authorize the tires, they uninstalled them. Needless to say, I was frustrated by the experience. I'll be riding to WS for future warranty work and to Peak Auto in Apex for future non-warranty service.

[blitzcat]

Wow! Did they pull employees from other Flow Imports dealers in Raleigh, or are these new people that don't know about how those MINI customer surveys work yet? And I haven't seen those mentioned yet in the thread, were there surveys?

[Nan]

I haven't received a survey yet....

[Tmini08]

It took a couple of weeks before I received my survey.

[wildcrazy442000]

I would have given Flow W/S good marks on my last several services. If I had received surveys to fill out. Since I have been in for service at Flow or Hendrick's somewhere around 20 times in 40 months of MINI ownership, they must have a good idea of what I might say.

[N2MINI]

I would have thought that a new dealership would have gone well beyond the call of duty to start with..
Kinda like some New Resturants do in the beginning.. then service gets lax, prices go up, food portions shrink etc..

Hate to hear some of ya'll are getting bad service down there, while others are happy with them??

[TWISTER]

I forwarded a link to this thread to Kelvin this morning. Kelvin is the kind of manager that won't let things get out of hand. His office door is always open and has made a point to help this Club many, many times and the individuals in it. If you have an issue, please take it up with him, he'll make sure it's resolved.

[jcauseyfd]

Maybe you should also forward him a link to the Thumb's Up thread (http://www.tarheelminis.org/showthread.php?3829-Thumbs-Up-to-Flow-MINI-Raleigh-thread&highlight=flow+raleigh). While I noted an issue with parts, my experience with service was very good. I do think folks need to realize they are still in the soft opening phase (though it is getting late in the game), so I cut them a little bit of slack. Hopefully all of this feedback, positive and negative, will help them moving forward.

[TWISTER]

I did

[racephan]

A big thank you to those who shared this thread and my comments with FLOW Raleigh's management. I only recently purchased my pre-owned MINI so I certainly planned on buying additional accessories and services from the new local dealership. I hope FLOW Raleigh can fix the problem in their Parts Department and keep my business and grow it with others. For now, I ordered my accessories I wanted online from a vendor to avoid the trouble I reported.

[BThayer23]

I've dealt with Juan at the parts desk a few times. Just be patient if you call, it sounds like he's busy during the day. I just kept calling every few hours till I got connected, or I waited till he called back. It seems like they're still staffing up - when I go to the BMW parts counter, there's usually a few people back there, while it seems like there's only one person behind the MINI parts counter. And he's very good in person. I showed up at 5:58pm one night and I was attended to with patience and professionalism.

[JumpingJackFlash]

Checkered Flag Mini in Virginia Beach has a combined BMW parts counter there (though they do have another BMW division location further down the road). There are anywhere between one and two people at the front handling customers; not sure how many are behind the scenes running parts around. To my best knowledge, they only have one person handling service calls. This can make getting in a bit hectic if several people show up at one time (or combined w/calls).

Sometimes I call to order something, and sometimes I file the request though the website via web form. If Flow Mini has it, try using the latter. I'm sure the parts counter will receive the request in a timely fashion.