I just had another great interaction with Mina Gallery and felt compelled to share it with the rest of you. I have a 2000 XKR and wanted to upgrade the interior with the chrome shifter bezel a few months back, so I ordered one from Mina Gallery. It came promptly, I installed it, and loved it so much that I decided I wanted the three chrome beauty rings for the tach, speedo, etc. A few weeks had passed, but when I ordered the rings the person helping me only made me pay the difference than what it would have cost as a package.

Fast forward a year later--I decided that I want the three smaller beauty rings for the oil/clock/battery cluster. I call and explain that I've already purchased the shifter bezel and big chrome beauty rings and just need the three small ones. Their representative Chris says "No problem, I can do it for $30 dollars shipped." That's less than if I had bought all the items at the same time. Great price, customer service, and I've always been impressed with the quality of their pieces.

 

I'm just curious, what's your opinion of the chrome shift bezel? I see someone has one on ebay that they got as a token for an error with an order. My leather one has the majority of the pins broken off which makes it squeak too much, so I was thinking of going this route instead of another OEM version.

 

Hi Midlife,

I would definitely suggest it--the surround on certain years of XKR's is just a matte black plastic, so the difference is huge. I think in those cases it is nearly mandatory to upgrade and well worth the money. Good luck!

 

If you are talking about the leather one on an XJ series, I don't think the XK series will fit. This is the XK8/XKR forum.

 

Lew, I do understand they are different, I was simply looking for an opinion of someone that has purchased the general product from Mina Gallery. I have read several posts about people being pleased with their customer service, but I haven't a feel for the quality of the product.

 

Hey guys....I actually ordered several products from Mina a few years ago when I had my 07 xkr. In all honesty the service was below avg at best.It all depends what you order though.In my case the wrong shifter knob was delivered (it took 2 months to get the correct one),the wheel caps were delivered half cracked (even when fixed 2 of them fell off my wheels. Even when they sent me new ones my tire/rim guy had to crazy glue em to stay on!!! lol) Not to mention the mina valve stem caps faded away after a few car washes.

I currently have the 2010 xkr and really dont need many accessories from Mina anymore,but I'm toying w the idea of getting that "rear diffuser". Yep...despite a bad experience with Mina I'm getting suckered in again it seems lol

 

For the price that these cars sell for, ALL of them should have come with the chrome surrounds and the rings. If the surround rings look half as good in person as they do in a picture on the net then you've really added some good looking parts.

Now you won't have any trouble or worry about breaking anything if you have to remove the console to get to the radio etc.

Maybe I'll get the chance to see them in person at one of the Kaiser Cars and Coffee this summer.

 

I've bought a couple of things through Chris at Mina and have been very pleased with the service. Plus, Chris is more than willing to answer any questions on the phone.

 

When I ordered my Mina exhaust from them for my 04 XJ8, they sent me the ones for 300-308 series. When I called them they profusely apologized, sent me a pre-paid return label and sent me the correct ones. Quality is the best.

 

I am not one to advertise for others unless I really feel good about my experience with them--I have nothing but good to say about Mina.

Green Jewel--I will do my best to make it down to Salem this summer. We can compare flipped Jag war stories...

 

We're all quick to vent about bad service or poor quality...I know I am. Unfortunately, we don't seem to be as quick to talk about our good experiences. I try to make it a point to do the latter. Sometimes I will go out of my way to tell a supervisor about a persons good service or the job they did. If we'd all reinforce excellence, maybe we'd get more of it.

 

I'll wear my Green Jaguar hat but I'll be driving my Arrest Me Red plastic car. I'll find you guys.

 

An update--I got the small rings a couple of days ago. They slipped right in (nice & tight). They look perfect, the fit and finish couldn't be better.