I hope this is the right place to be posting this...

I'm just at the beginning of the purchase process of getting a Mini. I haven't 100% decided if this is the car for me... simply because I haven't test driven it yet, hehe!! But I'm sure I'll like it.

But I'm worried about something. I'm pretty young and have very little to NO established credit. If I go into a dealership and order a mini, how soon do they start the financing process? It seems like from most of the posts around here, people start looking for loans once their Mini's are on the boats over here and they're days away from reciving their car. Well if I'm going to be waiting 6-10 weeks to get my car, does that mean I've got all that time to start looking for a loan from my bank, a credit union, or discuss this with the dealership? I mean how exactly is this done?

This is my first time purchasing a new car, by the way. Treat me like the total and complete newb I am.

I guess what I'm looking for is a thread where people discuss their experiences with the ordering/buying process, or if someone could maybe describe the process they went through? I think that would be really helpful if I had some sort of idea as far as the road I'm going to go down over the next couple of weeks/months.

 

Welcome...in my instance, I ordered a car, and the dealer took a deposit, and also had me fill out a dealer finance form (even though I'm financing elsewhere). I have no idea if they went ahead with getting my credit report/approving/not approving a loan or not, and they said that do that with all customers...I assume as a fall-back in case a customer fails to come up with their own financing, the dealership has a way to recoup some money.

I will say that before I placed my order, I already had a pre-approved loan in place from Pentagon Federal Credit Union (excellent rates and service, you should look into them if you can, www.penfed.org) that is good for 90 days, although the interest rate won't be locked in until they disburse the money, so it may go up/down.

I would highly recommend having financing in place before you order the car...if you have little/no credit history, you may have a difficult time finding a lender, or at least a lender with decent rates, unless you're putting a significant % down payment on the car. Good luck, and let us know how you make out.

 

Welcome to NAM, RELF I used to sell and manage new car sales many moons ago, so here's basic strategy for MINIs:

1) haggling can be counterproductive. Demand outweighs supply, especially up in yr end of the rainforest and only two dealers. If this was back east y'd be in more of a position to bargin, but not in Portland. So unless U can snag a year end closeout or untitled demo remember msrp and no more is the general guideline; over-msrp markups are not justified in this economy. msrp is not as bad as most everyone would like for you to think. Look at it this way: when U drive yr MINI off the lot you won't hear the dull thud of instant 30% depreciation. I think Rasmussen is an msrp dealer.

2) assuming U have a decent job that allows you to save up, save as much as you can for a down payment. Even if you have little to no established credit, having 25-30% down, a good job, and a possible co-signor, should get you into a decent base-level MCS under $25K at not too steep an interest rate (10%+). 1) applies here as well because MINIs dont depreciate steeply, lenders are more willing to cover a less risky 70-75% of the vehicle cost with a loan.

3) you can start 2) by researching CUs, banks, tell them what's up. If your work has a credit union then start there. Do yr research at the dealer as well, they may have a new buyer program or something similar that, with a good dp, can get you financed w/o taking you to the cleaners (10%+ apr). In yr position, getting pre-qualified'd by someone on the loan front before U order is essential.

4) y'll have to fork over a deposit to order, which can apply to yr downpayment, varies with dealer, roughly a dime ($1k). Ask Rasmussen their policies about returns, their COSTCO program, etc.

5) get a good "Motoring Advisor" (salesperson) that knows their stuff inside and out, like how long ur wait will be. Since Denver is normally about 75-90 days from order to delivery, I would think Rasmussen is about the same. Dealerships work on allocations and build slots, so when you place your order that is essentially what the deposit buys you--a place in line, if any.

4) Go to MINI USA web site, build yr car and dont go too crazy.

Key rule: save as much as you can for yr dp. One nice thing about long waits: they allow you to save up. Good luck to you, and Im sure others will chime in here as well. We Nammers are an opinionated lot, especially some guy from Mork and Mindy-land code-named Wandrur...

 

sequence speaks wise words. I was heading down this kind of route before the economy decided to nosedive, so my down payment has been steadily shrinking. Luckily, MA told me that financing won't be an issue for me, even though I'm not in the top tier of buyers (though still in Tier 1 credit...thank god).

Happy configurating! Get that test drive done...and you'll never look back.

 

That's pretty much S.O.P. for any dealership, mine did it with me for my 2nd MCS. turned out dealer bested any other rate by half a point, so Im going with them because I hate putzing around with third-party financing and the potential logistic nightmares. Plus, some MINI dealerships will not honor checks from CapitalOne and other 3rdP finance companies that also deal heavily in consumer credit. Gee, I wonder why?

Relf it won't hurt for you to fill out the MINI Financial Services (MFS) app, to get a good idea of where you stand. Besides, I went with them for my first MINI, and while the customer service was nothing short of phenomenal, the rate left a little to be desired.

In the NAM forum search, type Rasmussen MINI and look for any recent posts from the last couple years to get an idea of who has their act together at Rasmussen sales-wise. Actually, the dealer should be yr first step so you can MOTOR in a demo and see if you wish to go further down the twisty path to bliss. Strategy is a good thing, plus you have zero sales tax.

 

So I went and I test drove a used Mini today....

I'm in love. The one I test drove had a whole bunch of crap on it that I don't need (GPS, some crazy 6 changer CD and god knows what else) so I won't be buying that one, I'm almost certain I'll be ordering mine, but I have a few questions for you experts...

My father (who test drove it with me) is worried that having air conditioning in that car is a bad idea because the motor is small. Is this something to worry about? Does it affect the gas mileage?

How does the Mini handle in the snow? I live in the willamette valley so we get snow like once every three years, but I mean, I still need to get to work safely when it snows... so any thoughts regarding this?

 

Air conditioning on 4 cyl is no longer a problem in fact its hard to find a car without it anymore. As far as gas milage there have been articles that say its better to run the AC than drive with the windows open. Im getting 32+ on a S with automatic in the city.
I havent drivin it in the snow yet, how ever there is another thread on here that claims the car has no problem in it provided you have at least allseason tires or better yet dedicated snow tires if you live in an area that gets alot of snow. Of course if the snow is up to your bumper your not going anywhere, but then again thats true of any vehicle including 4x4 suv.

As far a your loan it should not be a problem as long as you dont have bad credit and your working. Your down payment might be higher and your intrest rate might be higher since you have no credit rating, but its a secured loan and they should not let you over finance (oweing more than what the cars worth). Its an excellant way of establishing credit, don't abuse it and dont over extend yourself

 

I was kinda expecting that. Putting a higher down payment down and not getting the best interest rates around. I'm hoping the economy still kinda works in my favor, but I know loans are tight and hard to come by right now.

And I'm hoping that, getting a loan on this car will serve as a nice way for me to establish credit for myself since I've avoided doing so until very recently.

 

So, I know a lot of people have posted, but I'll give my two cents as well. I just got my car exactly one week ago and i LOVE it, so I'm glad to hear that it sounds like you are definitely going to be purchasing. I am also very young like you and have little to NO credit ( i know this because when I went to get my loan, they told me). This was also my very first new car/any car buying experience

Here is what I did:

1. Ordered my MINI and gave them the $1k down payment to secure the order

2. Had to wait a long time, so in that time I searched for a good loan rate. MINI itself was pretty high and I am part of a credit union (only for one month) so I went through them. However, since I had no credit, I had to fax them the Bill of Sales so they knew exactly how much the car was for and that I wasn't just borrowing more money than I needed. Once that was over, I got the loan approved!

3. It only took 2 days to get my loan approved and that includes them calling me to fax over my Bill of Sales, etc. etc.

4. Credit Unions are a very good idea, I think, because they are small and personal (but what do I know, I'm just a kid like you)

GOOD LUCK!! It was a little bit of a pain to coordinate everything, but it all worked out in the end, and I have a REALLY low rate, oh and an awesome car!

P.S. I drove it in the snow yesterday, and it was GREAT!

 

Sounds like someone plays Warcrack!

Welcome to NAM.

When I bought mine, I was able to put $5000 down, and my dealership was part of a credit union program, which my own CU belonged to. So using that I got a decent interest rate, and financing was a breeze.

Get the AC. You will honestly notice no difference with it on, at least if you buy an S. Down where I live, AC is a survival issue in the summer, so it's used a lot and my difference in mileage was so marginal, I could easily manage it with a little less pressure from my right foot. Besides, up there in the land of rain, you'll want the AC to help defog the windows. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can get a new Mini without AC anyway.

Take your time, and get exactly what you want!

 

....I totally do. What gave it away!?!?!!

 

All MINIs come with A/C, you cant get one w/o. No worries

they're good snow cars as long as U have decent A/S's, and the snow doesnt get too deep. Will be fine for the WV.

 

Gee, I dunno.... RAINFOREST ELF.

 

Take the A/C; you never know where you might end up at. My sister graduated OSU and bought a new Honda without AC there in Corvallis; she wasn't leaving Oregon, until she married a navy pilot and ended up in Pensacola Florida. Try selling any car without AC down south