MINI of Universal City

It’s not every day I learn a «worthy» life lesson.
To anyone who has just bought or is going to buy their first car by them selves ever or anyone who is not already doing this, ALWAYS have everything checked by an independent (even these guys).
Yes they covered my 3 days worth of rental fees, but completely missed on the most basic of trouble shooting. I took my car to them because my dash keeps showing me a car on a jack lift icon every time I turned it on and my hand brake light won’t turn off (along with other things), after a long convoluted journey of what it could be, it took an independent race shop maybe 30 seconds to find out my rear brake pad sensors were never changed out the last time I had my brakes changed, (before anyone asks, no, I did not go to the dealership for the brake pads, so I agree it is not entirely the dealership’s fault here).
So, 2 days something hours and $ 165 +/​-​later, I basically paid to rent the mustang I was given for a weekend.
With that said. other than a few hick ups, these guys have been AMAZING for the last almost 3 years, even after all my factory warranties and stuff expired.
I’m still a little annoyed about the $ 160 I paid and now feel like I got nothing accomplished with though.

I needed a car after my accident and divorce and I knew I had to get the car of my dreams. So I went to Mini of Universal and spoke to Greg Paijuk. He was very helpful and understanding of my needs. The presses was easy and fast. Thank you for making my car buying a dream come true.

Customer service is not this dealers strongest asset! Odd location that can be easily missed if your not paying close attention. Had countryman serviced here after relocating from the east coast and would never go back! Thankfully there are multiple MINI dealers in Los angeles to go too instead!

My experience at Mini of Universal is always a smooth sailing one with Philip Horvat
MINI Service Advisor
MINI of Universal City he is alway professional &.Always goes the extra mile rather you need a mini gift or a new engine for your Mini thank you for your expertise
ML

Philip and George are amazing… they really know how to take care of the customer and are lovely people to boot!

«The saying says better late than never» I bought my Mini at Xmas 2015 & from than to now I have been back to Universal several times to customize my mini and my experience there has always been great! I love love Phil, Marc and Marty oh and the guys upstairs all have given me great customer service!
All of them have been awesome!
Thanks Steve
On a serious note my buying my Mini have been a great experience I think as humans we have a tendency to talk about the negative more quickly than the positive experiences we have and for me this has been a very positive experience! I would definitely recommend to anyone to come to Universal Mini and talk to Marc Perry or Marty and they will get you the best deal and make sure you find the Mini that fits you!!!

Kameron was the one who helped me out, he made my day much easier. I appreciate the time he put into me and made it clear what’s gonna happen with my car service. He explained clearly and made sure I understood. Thank you!

Brought my wife’s car here for an oil change. Philip was awesome and made things super easy!
Left the car there and got a ride home. When the car was done, they picked me up from my house.
Overall, had a great experience. There’s not a lot of dealers who can give great customer service like these guys.

I was so stressed when my engine light came on for my 2011 mini coop and had always been skeptical with going to a dealership for service. But honestly, no one knows these cars better than they do. They are the specialists!
They kept my car overnight and gave me a free brand new mini coop rental to drive for 24 hours while my car was getting fixed, which was fixed upon that time frame as well.
They fixed my car to perfection, washed and vacuumed. Everything was completely covered under a warranty that I wasn’t even aware that existed. What a relief!
Amazing service! Thank you to Philip Horvat for helping me out, being so sweet and keeping my nerves calm as well! You guys are fantastic and recommended to all!

The best dealership experience! I shopped quite a few different ones in search of my frost blue hardtop Misty. The team is always professional and courteous when I bring my car in for service. I have been leasing my mini for almost three years, in that time I’ve not once had a poor experience. My car has needed repair no less than 5 times (drivers for whatever reason just LOVE to hit my car when it is parked) so I consider myself seasoned in this observation.
I highly recommend Mini of Universal because you can buy or lease a car anywhere, but I haven’t experienced the fun atmosphere or stellar service anywhere else at a dealership. Ever. And buying a car is a relationship y’all, whether you realize it or not.
To drive my point home, I injured my spine this year and can no longer drive. Mini of Universal has gone above and beyond to help me w arrangements and getting through this tricky time. You do not find that anywhere, and that’s a business worth supporting.

Best car buying experience!
Jon was the most real and straight to the point sales guy. I tell everyone to go here and ask for Jon. I love my 4 door mini cooper s.

I came here just under a year ago to buy my first car. My family previously owned a mini so I knew that is what I wanted to buy.
When I first started looking everyone was super friendly, helping me out in whatever way I needed.
I saw a car I really liked, I bought the car. They told me everything was great and that the car passed all of their tests and it was very well looked after.
6 WEEKS after getting the car the engine died as coolant lines in the car were cracked and damaged. They never told me this.
The fluid destroyed the engine and despite having a warranty they told me I had to cover everything! (Through determination they paid for everything in the end)
Something else they did not tell me was that my
Clutch needed to be replaced, again nothing was said or documented until I had purchased the vehicle!
Also some other minor things like the window washer line would unhook, and the right passenger window would stick, again they told me it wasn’t their problem.
They changed their tune, they were arrogant, had no interest in helping me and basically in a polite tone told me where to shove my car.
So basically once these con men receive their money DO NOT expect any help what so ever from them if you have a problem with you’re car.
Save yourself a pretty miserable and angering experience and shop else where for a car.
A friend of mine works with one of Mini’s corporate offices and told me that mini is a great company but the only major problem they have are the dealerships and the terrible, low life con men that work their. After my experience he isn’t lying!

What an amazing find on Unilocal.Thank you Dez for providing the best service one can ever ask for.
My mini needed some tuning up, and he was able to direct me the entire time and was extremely professional with all his work.
I really appreciate senior advisors that won’t try to persuade you into getting all these things your automotive doesn’t need. This was fast, cost efficient and I would recommend anyone to go see Dez in Studio City!

Updating my review again because now I have purchased THREE cars from this dealer. I cant say enough about it, when no one else can do a deal at all, and not even close to what they can do Tony & Greg are amazing. They make it happen, are cool, honest and best in the biz. I checked out many other car dealers before coming back only because I wanted to try something other than MINI but just ended up in a great Countryman, the safest car I could find statistically! Thanks guys!

This is my first ever Unilocal review and it’s only because my experience at the dealership was that great. This was my first time purchasing a car and Ned was an absolute rockstar!
As someone that works in sales, I’ve always tried to make sure I work with perspective clients and make their experience as blissful as possible before, during, and after they sign a contract with me. I couldn’t help but be amazed with how Ned did just that.
He was understanding, had great attention to detail, and wanted to make sure that the process was as painless as humanly possible.
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and a better guide to getting set up with my first vehicle.
Sincerely, thank you Ned I definitely owe you one sir!

My sister and I had one of the best dealership experience. Ned Flores walked us through learning about Mini auto, performance and culture to sales process with absolutely no pressure. Follow by Ned, Tony at finance was transparent and worked directly with us without any dealership gameplay. To finalize the lease, Alex was incredibly well organized and took less than 20 minutes to complete the paperwork.

2013 Mini Cooper 5+ Stars.
Lease end purchase process 0 Stars.
I waited 3 hours doing paperworks. At the end of 3 hours they ask me to call BMW financial to purchase my leased mini. They lost interest when they learn I am paying cash for my mini. So I am left on my own to process tax and registration. It was a blessing in disguise when I went to DMV and did it myself. I saved around $ 500.
Below are the charges they try to impose on me
1. Lease end inspection charge $ 150. They said they need to get the car smogged. I end up registering on line and received my tag without having to smog the car
2. Sales Tax. Universal mini charges me around $ 1750. DMV Charges me $ 1300.
3. Overstated lease purchase amount from $ 14,117 to $ 16,790 !!! I was able to catch this.
I am very dissapointed with the sales team. I wasted so much time there. I hope this review will change the way they treat a customer who is paying cash. I guess they make more money with a transaction that is financed. That is the reason why they ask me to call BMW financial after they realize I don’t need financing. Thanks a lot Universal MIni!!!

Had a great experience here. No hassle or pressured sales. They did everything they could to give me a good price on my trade in. Found the Mini that wanted exactly! Thanks to Chris and to Alex for the excellent service!
The Mini Cooper 4 door S in Pepper White! Awesome car!!!

I’ve bought a few cars. More than a few. I get the game — come in, fall in love with the test drive, then get caught up in the mumbo-​jumbo with the salesman and the manager and the finance guy until your head is spinning and you just want to leave, but you can’t because they took your keys and you’re stuck.
Evidently Mini Universal City gets that too — and they get that it sucks, because they don’t do that. In fact, my experience there was exactly the opposite.
My girlfriend leased her last mini from Mini Universal City and needed (yes, needed), to upgrade from a manual to an automatic.
We came in on a Monday morning and met Anthony, the salesman. Anthony digs cars… and he knows his stuff. He explained everything that was different between the 2013 model we were turning in and the 2015 model we were driving (these cars are super-​cool, btw.) Also Anthony is a fun guy to deal with.
They appraised the 2013 car quickly, and presented an offer. We met JD in the sales office (who also really knows his stuff). They explained everything about the new lease. We needed a little time to think about it so we left.
Over the next few days we communicated with Anthony via email and text. He always answered our questions quickly — even on his day off. I also had the pleasure of an email exchange with the General Manager of the dealership, Huw (yes, that’s how you spell it.) Huw is also a no-​nonsense guy who’s committed to customer satisfaction. There was an issue with this lease that I felt the dealership could correct, and Huw did everything he could to make the deal work.
We’re both very busy so I asked if they would prep the car and have it ready for us after work (which was about 8pm.) The said no problem. We showed up, and we parked right next to a brand new grey 2015 Mini Cooper base with a moon roof, racing stripes and Union Jack on the roof. It was detailed and had a huge SOLD sign in the window… it was waiting for us.
The check-​in of the 2013 car and signing of the new lease took about 30 minutes (again, no nonsense… JD had everything ready and Anthony got us going quickly.) Then Anthony stayed after closing to make sure my girlfriend knew what every knob and button did in the new car.
I don’t think our experience was unique at this dealership. When we arrived there was another couple leaving who couldn’t stop saying «thank you» to JD in the sales office. They also drove off in a new Mini.
So THANK YOU from us to Mini Universal City as well. If you stop by ask for Anthony or JD and I think you’ll be really satisfied too.

This was the best car buying experience of my life… all because of CHRIS, ALEX, & TONY.
These guys are truly amazing.
What a great experience. Not time wasted going back and forth with a finance person and so on.
Thank you MINI of Universal City.
Israel Sanchez