Fig Faun

All we had to do with our credit union was let them know every 30 days that we still wanted the loan and they didn't have to reapply every time. I have kept them up to date on everything and I am now telling them we will be in on 4/24 to get the check.

On a totally different subject you said your birthday is May 2nd, How old are you going to be? I am just curious I want to see if I am the oldest so far or not, if you tell me your age I will tell you mine.

 

Joejoe: It's a good spreadsheet, but it shows nothing for dealer fees. I know my state tax rate is 6.25%, the title fee is only like $13, and registration is $50-something. $50 documentation fee, and then whatever dealer fees are. I'm estimating paying around $1600 total, just to be safe.

As for monthly payment vs. amount of interest, I'd rather pay less money, period, than to get a slightly lower payment monthly and still end up paying more in the end.


MJB: I am (begrudgingly) going to be turning 30. Probably shouldn't be a big deal, but it's just hitting those big, goose-egg-ending numbers that makes it seem worse.

 

Fig Faun

You are just a baby turning 30 was fun for me I am actually 43 and the mother of a 12 year old son.

 

That's cool. I think we're all pretty much in range of the average Mini buyer's age. I am 33 (with no girlfriend/wife/kids in sight either). FF- 30 is just a number. I felt no different when I hit 30 than how I felt at 29, at least the day after my birthday going forward.

So why did you guys/gals choose Mini? My decision was based mainly on fun factor, but also practicality (MPG) and need (or lack thereof - my last car was a hatch, mainly for the ex and my large family to haul stuff and people around. It was practical. The Cooper is strictly for me). At the end of decision time it boiled down to a GTi vs. a Mini, and the Mini won out due to fun/smile factor/MPG.

 

Lol. That's what everyone's telling me, Drew, but it didn't stop me from buying a box of Just for Men (I started greying at 16).

I'm actually buying a MINI, 'cause I love my current one. I have a 03 CR/W MCa right now and love it. It's been rear-ended twice and is out of warranty, so I decided it was time to upgrade from the R50 to the R56. I bought the original one, because of love at first sight, basically. I saw my first one in 2002 when I was driving to work. I had no idea what it was, so when I got to work I drew what I'd seen, and my coworker told me what it was. From that point on, I knew I'd own one someday. I had a good vacation in Vegas the following June, and that's when I made the plunge.

 

Fig Faun,

What dealer fees are you refering to? I had my MA send me a breakdown of all costs associated with purchasing the vehicle. There were no dealer fees added to the quote he sent me. I talked to him concerning this when I ordered and again when I got the quote. I wanted to make sure there was no dealer markup over MSRP. As for taxes, the spreadsheet allows you to input your sales tax rate (8% in the city I live in) and calculates it. The only other fees here in Louisiana are Title and License fees, which in my case came to $252.

I know everyones situation is different. Others were asking about rates, and I just wanted to share an interesting tool I found which lets you compare different rates at different terms. I found it useful to evaluate different options I was considering.

Joe

 

Drew

I chose Mini because I have always wanted one but never thought we would be able to afford one or get one. My husband told me last year that he was going to buy me a mini and I said sure you are he said no I am and then we went up to Buffalo on my 43rd birthday and I drove one and I fell in love. He ended up buying me a toy one shortly after that but I am waiting for the real thing which is a little over a week away and you are only one day away.

 

Don't feel bad Fig Faun I was greying at 18 and if I didn't color my hair I would be totally grey, but everyone tells me that I don't look my age the children I work with I ask them how old do I look they all say in my early 30's which is to me a compliment because I will be 44 in October.

 

Joejoe: Don't get me wrong; I didn't mean to belittle the tool or you sharing it. I thought that was great. I was just point out that seemed to be missing. As for my dealership, the actual dealer fees are pretty minimal. I just got my MA to send my purchase order, and I was pretty spot on with my $1600 estimate. Total fees came out to $1617.49. The included dealer's fees are the documenary fee of $50 and a "dealer's inventory tax" of $45.38. The rest is tax, title, license, and state inspection.

MJB: I don't usually dye it, because everyone else seems to like it. I'm the only one who hates it. It's dispersed pretty evenly, so it gives me a Taylor Hicks hairdo.

 

Oh! And incidentally, the purchase order also shows a "delivery date" of 4/20/08; so I guess I should be hearing something about pick up next week!

 

Dealership called my husband today and said they are available in this evening, so we got my mini tonight.

They explained all of the features in the cockpit, that I would never remember at once. I drove highway with my mini, little confused gear 4 and 6, and now I got home.

We cleaned our garage last weekend, so mini is sitting in our garage.
I am so excited to drive in the next morning.

 

Fig Faun,

I didn't think you were belittling it. I was just trying to let you know that if you added it all up then put it in the tool, you get the same thing, right?

 

WOW, congrats saki! Would love to see some pics

And Tachikoma is an interesting name, too, how did you get it?

 

Oh, right! Well, kind of, you could. I mean, those things get tacked on after taxes, so you really couldn't include them in the price of the car, because they'd get taxed in the spreadsheet.

You could tag them in as a positive adjustment in the trade-in column, and that would do the same for you.

Saki: Mazel tov! It's perfectly excusable tonight, because, well, it's night; but we are going to get pictures tomorrow, right? RIGHT?!

 

Lol yeah, talk about love at first sight. One of the things that I'll never forget was walking with a couple of friends to an concert in Philly earlier this year (I think it was Interpol) and seeing this absolutely beautiful lowered Astro Black 2006 Cooper S with black wheels scoot by a traffic light, taking a left turn in front of us at a pretty high speed. It was like, wow, a revelation - it crossed in front of me in slow motion, like one of those movie scenes. I previously "respected" Minis, but never was really interested in actually owning one until I saw this one. I think one of the main things was that it was so mean looking and bulldogish for such a small car. I knew I wanted one right then and there.

 

OK, the Owners' Lounge finally shows my MINI at the VDC, which means it's probably been there a few days. My MA didn't return my voicemail today, so I don't have "the latest"; it could be on a truck as we type. I'm hoping for delivery this weekend, but we're supposed to get rain Saturday, so maybe waiting til Monday won't be such a bad thing.

Don't tell me I'm the old man in the group... anyone over 54? I never expected to own a car like this, but with the mileage/smileage ratio, it made very good sense to make this move. I can even keep my carpool going; I'm a musician, and my carpool partner is a cellist, so having room in the Clubman for that large an instrument made the purchase decision that much easier.

The first "real car" I drove as a learner was a 1969 (or so) BMW 2002, so I've had the itch for performance a long time, just never expected to have it scratched like this.

Everyone who gets delivery: Pictures! Understand?

 

Saki Congratulations you must be so excited

Drew one more day I will be thinking of you at 10:30 tomorrow morning

Fig Faun I would have been calling my MA everyday if I was you. I am totally impatient now.

Alto Clef you are not an old man just because your 54 it is just a number the way I look at it is your as old as you feel UHOH there are days I could really be in trouble with that one.

I can not call my MA today I think today is his day off but if the Mini Owner's Lounge don't change by tomorrow I am calling. I want to go pick up my mini on Friday 4/25 the MA told me that it shouldn't be a problem and he has been through this numerous times so I am going to have to take his word for it. I think if something was wrong he would call me, or VDC would let him know.

 

That explains the name, Alto Clef. What do you play in this band? (And it's refreshing to hear the word "band" used in the classical sense. I did that through high school, and I've always regretted not continuing.) The Clubman does make a lot of sense for you. I couldn't get into the ZUG, unfortunately. The first time I saw the concept of it, I was like "Please, tell me they're not making a MINI van!" Lol. The more I look at them, the more they grow on me, though. I'm excited to see pictures of yours.

MJB: Naw, as I indicated, I bugged my MA enough when I re-ordered. Since then, I've pretty much left him alone. He makes it really easy, anyway, as when I e-mail him, he always gets back to me within the hour, even if it's to say that he won't have an answer for me until later. Plus, since I did re-order, I always still had the Purchase Order number of the previous incarnation, and could see where it was. I knew it was a week ahead, so I gauged my car off of that one (which right now is showing up in MINI of San Antonio's online inventory.)

DrewN: Better take your caffeine pills before driving tomorrow. 'Cause you are going to get NO SLEEP tonight. Looking forward to seeing your bulldog.

 

Thanks. I will take photos sometime tomorrow.
Tachikoma is a name of tank, in the Japanese manga "Ghost In the Shell"

 

My mini just changed status as at the VDC. Shouldn't be that much longer, I hope. My wife and I have been looking at our schedule to see if we have weekdays free to go get it. It would be a bummer for it to get to the dealer only to have to sit for a few days. We originally told our MA that we would take the next Saturday delivery if it fell anywhere in a given week. Now, I don't think we could wait that long.

By the way, I am 37 and have been grey since I was 18 as well. I don't dye. People say it makes me look more distinguished. Yeah, right!

Alto Clef, You told me you play violin, right? Do you play in an orchestra?

 

Congratulations Joe Joe won't be long now. Mine is still showing en-route can't figure that one out since he got off the boat on 4/12. He should be in the VDC by now. I am going to call my MA tomorrow and see what is going on. My husband and I took the 25th off to go pick up my car and my MA said it wouldn't be a problem he has done this numerous times so he should know.

 

Great news! Just got this message from My MA

"Your car ha been processed and is awaiting shipment. The scheduled shipping date is the 18th. This means that we should have it sometime Saturday afternoon. We will process it Monday afternoon and detail it Tuesday morning. You should be able to pick it up Tuesday afternoon. Of course as always, these are estimates from the trucking company and can change."

We will probably schedule to pick it up on Wednesday.

MJB-

I am sure you are right. These guys are probably used to the schedules by now and I am sure you will not have any problems.

Joe

 

Lol. Yours and mine might be carpooling, Joe. According to the purchase order, mine's scheduled for delivery on Sunday, the 20th. It's entirely conceivable for a one day difference to get from Lafayette to Austin.

 

Very Cool Fig Faun! Our cars can keep each other company on the trip. Sorry if yours picks up any strange accents or habbits along the way.

 

More good news; my Clubman is on a truck and could be at the dealer tomorrow, or more likely Saturday. I will take delivery either Monday or Wednesday! 4.78% looks like the best finance deal around here, but haven't gotten the call back from dealer finance yet. I don't expect they will compete with that, but who knows? I'm planning to pay off early anyway.

I am a violist in the Milwaukee Symphony (29 years), and will be enjoying Spring drives around the hills & dales of central WI when we play concerts in Wisconsin Rapids and Green Bay mid-May. The area in the middle of the state, east of Stevens Point, has some seriously fun roads; I'll need to have the brakes well-broken in by then. One of the best perks of my job is seeing so much of our beautiful state on concert trips & tours.

I hope to see pictures here before the weekend is over!
ps: are you all seeing MINI's everywhere you look these days?