I'm a Jaguar Convertible Girl!! Only Red or Zircon Blue, only light interior! They are few and far between, but worth the hunt! I have had 5, but was not able to locate my gently used #6 anywhere in the USA, after aggressively looking for 3 months and wanting desperately to make a cash deal! Because I was interested in a Red Convertible on several sites, Cars.com sent me a snap of a cute little red number at BMW of Monrovia. I didn't know where Monrovia was, and have never wanted a BMW, but this Sassy Red 2015 hard top convertible looked classy and unique, only had 4,700 miles, was a 1 year lease return w/ a clean Carfax, and is CPO, so the warranty was transferable! AND was at the low end of my price range. I was mildly intrigued! I decided to email to get more details at about 8:30 on a Friday night. My Husband said, "you wont hear anything until Monday"! Ha! 10 minutes later, Jonathan Fairman, Internet Manager, called! The Hubbs was surprised and impressed! Jonathan was articulate, cheerful, knowledgeable and humorous as I explained what I was looking for, and that I don't particularly like BMW's. He told me a little about the Red 425i, and about the Sonic dealerships, and how they are revolutionizing the car buying experience with competitive no-haggle pricing on vehicles for sale and and trade ins. Jonathan answered my questions, and never pushed me to react about their car. I appreciated that, and since I liked his personality and attitude, I made an appointment to come to look at the Red Convertible on Saturday at noon. Jonathan said he would park the car in front of the dealership, so I would be able to see it when we drove up. That was nice, since one of the reasons I told him I have driven a Jaguar convertible for the last 20 years is that I like to stand out in a crowd, and there are so few of them on the road! Unlike BMW, MBZ etc, which are ubiquitous here in SoCal, and basically all look alike to me! When we arrived, Jonathan warmly greeted by name! He was nicely dressed, professional and personable in an unforced, sincere manor! He was very helpful, patient, never pushy. Jonathan knew all the basics about the car, and the specifics of the history of this car. Any time I asked a question he wasn't sure about, he never tried to "snow me", but said, we'll ask "The Genius"! (That's what they call the person who knows how everything works on the car) My Husband and I were equally impressed with the car, and all it's bells and whistles, and with Jonathan and The Genius (so sorry, that's what we called him and I have forgotten his name). I decided to go for it! We were then escorted to the Finance Guy, Dave, who was also knowledgeable and patient as he explained why we had to go through the finance manager even though we were writing a check. Dave also told us how the contracts and warranty work. After a 45 minute wait, and an hour with Dave, we were in the parking lot, sitting in the shiny "new" car, getting further operating instructions from The Genius, and a 2nd Genius! Jonathan was there too, and they all made sure we know how to drive the car, put in gas, sinc our phones, work the top and windows, etc. Overall, our Sonic BMW of Monrovia dealership experience was great! We would highly recommend them. Especially Jonathan, The Genius and Dave, all of whom treated us very well. Their entire team was friendly and nice. Throughout the 8.5 hours we were there, several employees came over to chat with us while we were waiting and offered us coffee/water, etc. Nice! Both the newly completed BMW showroom and the cool looking Mini showroom were modern, clean and beautiful. The ONLY negative for us was that it was a very long day, and there were no snacks or munchies except for popcorn, apples, coffee drinks & water. (We're admittedly spoiled by MBZ and Jaguar dealerships with their wide array of drinks, soups, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola bars, nuts, fresh bakery goodies, sandwiches, etc).
Pamela Carlton
Oct 20, 2016
