I would fight them on this. Good for 60 days means you have until the end of February. 1 percent is alot of money!

 

According to my dealer I'm now slated for production on 1/21.

 

You are one of the lucky ones. Mine was ordered 12-19-2012, still no production number. 24 days now, dying out here!

 

Also, the dealers are hooked up with other banks. We took delivery 01/03 and they said the financing had changed. We balked. Finance dude said "if you don't mind it going through a different bank..., we can honor the rate". We of course said fine.

Keep in mind they are sending loans to the banks all day long. They get preferential rates. It's just a matter of how much they will can mark it up.

 

Well I pleaded my case twice to the finance manager but the answer was just "no can do." I'll try again when the car arrives and we finalize the contract. Also, full retail on the 6 yr 100K extended warranty - about $3050. Would not come off MSRP. So I may have to skip that for now, I can pay full retail for it anytime before the factory warranty is up. The only risk is the price will go up over the next couple years. But I figure I can always shop around for that later.

 

The 1.9% is on orders before 1/31/13. You must take delivery by 4/30/13. I fall under this category, but my hope is that the rate will fall back to 0.9% when the car arrives, and I can take a lower rate at delivery.

 

http://www.motoringfile.com/2013/01/...ine-previewed/

http://www.motoringfile.com/2012/10/...-is-believing/

Here is some slightly better information compared to what I read originally. Originally it was all hardtop (current R56 models as they were converting them to the new F56 series in 2014). According to this the 3 Cylinder for the U.S. will only be seen in the Base Cooper F56 Series in 2014 but is expected to eventually roll out to ALL Mini models as the engine matures over a 10 year span (the proposed like of the new F Series builds replacing all current R series).

I have nothing against a 3 cylinder all the way to an 8 Cylinder as they all have their pros and cons. 3 Cylinders generally get better gas mileage and have less to go wrong but simply can't produce the power of the larger engines without a great deal of stress on them while the more cylinders the more problems you can eventually encounter (my personal experience), lower gas mileage but a lot more power.

Here is why I do NOT want a 3 Cylinder especially early in the adoption:
Although it is obvious that you can get more power out of a 4 cylinder 1.6 versus a 3 cylinder 1.2 to 1.5 (the flavors they will be offering based on the model as they have mentioned the 1.2 for base and 1.5 for S which will probably include the JCWs too). BMW has mentioned trying to improve gas mileage over next 10 years drastically hence the 3 cylinder.
I can see them tweaking a 3 cylinder 1.2 or 1.5 to put out even more power than the current 4 cylinder 1.6 over time but does that mean I really want an engine that has been tweaked and stressed to the point of a shorter lifespan, hell no! I'm a computer person and I fully understand OVERCLOCKING a CPU and although up front it looks awesome and even if you keep it cooled properly it works great but you are almost guaranteed to either shorten the life of the CPU or the motherboard that it runs on. Based on that I see the first few years of the 3 Cylinders having more mechanical engine problems in the later years of their life (AKA out of warranty years).

No, Thank you.

Summary most models will be safe until the new engine matures and has proven itself but I don't want to be one of the people that ends up beta testing that new engine.

 

That was why I wanted a R56 before the new F56 ( I think it is ) rolls out but I think BMW/Mini rolls out new models in August. I wouldn't want a new model right away anyway, I'd wait at least two years.

 

I didn't hear from my dealer; I stopped in and asked the sales manager. He had just run an updated list. Of course, it is impossible to register for the owner's lounge because they haven't posted the number over there. And, when they do it will probably pop up as a 2002 Silk Green MC!

 

There are a lot of threads on here about the extended warranties both for service and for actual warranty extension. After reading a ton of the threads I decided not to buy both warranties as I had planned to do so up front. For too many reasons! From my understanding the warranties seem to go up about $100 a year MSRP but most people that are buying them after buying their car are saying they call or email all the dealers in a reasonable driving distance (depends on the person as mine would include all of Florida and GA as I have family all over those areas and can always go visit friends or family and buy a warranty at the same time) asking for Rates just before their current warranty or service expires and many are getting great deals on BMW/Mini warranties and Maintenance Contracts from a couple hundred off to about $500 off!

My plan is to simply create a savings account for both as I will need less than $5300 (total combined MSRP prices $1795 Maintenance and $3500 7/100k Warranty). Each month I make a car payment I will put just enough into a savings account as if I financed the $5.3k over a much shorter period until I have enough about a month before the first one is to expire (the maintenance contract). This will allow me to buy them based on my experience with my new Mini under the original service so it will be an educated choice and only after shopping the dealers. If I decide NOT to buy them at those times I will simply keep adding money to that account. This money can be used for regular service and repairs and if I don't use much of it and it continues to grow over 5 to 7 years it will be my future down payment on my next Mini some day.

Also a note from what I have read from other owners on here: If something happens to your meaning like it gets totaled you can get all or part of your extended warranty purchase back as it is pro-rated but your maintenance contract is 100% loss. Even if you only have 100 miles on the car and some moron runs over your mini with a dump truck...you get $0 back. That is why I decided to wait and buy them later just before I will need to begin using them. Plus supposedly most dealers are happy to sell them to you later (they won't tell you this as they want you money up front of course) but once you exceed the manufactures warranty and maintenance that comes with the car they do charge more and supposedly their is a point where BMW simply will not allow them to sell them to you.

 

I don't think that the mini version of the engine is going to be anywhere near the max potential of that engine - mainly because the version already slated for the next gen 2 series is rated at 170hp (from motoringfile). Historically also, BMW has been typically reserved in the power output the first year they release an engine, and as the model line ages they release more powerful editions. 135is and the E46 ZHP for example.

I just think that there's nothing inherently wrong or weaker with having less cylinders, it's getting down to the realm of materials science now...!

 

I would agree Science is the #1 driving factor but as I mentioned I am a computer person and I do NOT buy 1.0 of anything if I can avoid it. I prefer slightly matured products that have already been proven in the real world. I use to get paid a lot to do BETA testing and don't want to PAY to be a BETA tester.

 

You know, it's funny - I was just coming back to edit my post to say just that. Buying version 1.0 is typically a bad idea, because they don't have enough production real world miles to have sorted all the problems that are going to pop up. That's why cars always get better as model years progress, which I think is the point you were making originally.

I couldn't be happier that I'm ordering either the last year of the R56S (or second to last...). I know what to expect! That being said, I'm very excited to get an F56S once my lease is up...

Chris

 

So my wife's MINI lands tomorrow. Guessing around 2 weeks to new home in Texas (give or take a day or 3).

Finally!

 

Exactly I don't want to be the test subject especially if I am paying for it in both purchase and repairs. Don't get me wrong I've owned a Subaru Justy and a Geo Metro both had 3 Cylinders but no power and the gas mileage was awesome. I'd trade 10 HP from my future JCW for an additional 5 MPG or more. More power and more MPG would be even better. A great example is Subaru their Forester I bought about 10 years ago was 165 HP with up to 27 MPG 4 Cylinder and now it is 2013 and they are 170 HP (224 on XT model) and up to 27 MPG. So your basically telling me NOTHING has really changed in 10 years! I loved my Forester with all wheel drive and low center of gravity it handled awesome and was a great all purpose SUV but no real change in 10 years! That is just sad so I can more than appreciate change for the better.

Sorry I am almost always long winded. My point is that I am all for change but don't want to deal with any bugs it may bring to the table in the beginning.

 

This is a great subject and shouldn't "hijack" this thread.....so I'll start a new one. Danger Will Robinson, he's got his soapbox, LOL

 

Great idea!

 

This video shows me sitting in my Argo Countryman for the first time. That's the first minute. The rest of the video is the sales woman showing me how to get to Krispy Kreme!

 

Love the pictures but the videos are a nice change of pace. Congrats again and thank you for posting a little more.

 

I fought my dealership on this and received an email saying my .09% interest is locked in. You better believe I will hold their feet to the fire on this. $3,650 is lot of extra money I am not willing to pay because MINI closed their production plant! Don;t give up on this one!!! Fight on!

 

Thanks for the video. She's a beauty!!! Loved seeing the nav system too, I simply can't wait to play when mine comes in!!! Enjoy your ride

 

You are so right about this!

 

Jake, I emailed my rep again today to see what the deal was. Here are my questions and answers. Don't give up on the Fight for the interest. They CAN DEFINITELY STILL HONOR the .09 interest
Hi Jamie,

MINI Q&A
1. Have you been able to confirm/deny the closure?
· We were told the factory was to be close for an additional three weeks, which would correspond with the 21st. I have not talked with anyone about this confirmation, but Peter was doing that.

2. What i really want to know, is my MINI actually in production or just scheduled for production? If it is scheduled, then I can make a modification. If it is actually in production then I can't make a modification (which I don't think it is since every bulletin I search says the plant is closed).
· Your MINI has it’s full VIN # WMWZP3C57D XXXXXXX As such, no modifications can be made to your build at this point. The Factor has a notation on your build that your completed production date is scheduled for 1/29/13

3. So, is it closed or open?
· Closed

4. Second, I have an email stating my .09% interest is locked in

· (Yes), Peter has called MINI FS and MINIUSA regarding this about making sure you’re locked in.

Thanks,

 

I will definately try again! But the difference is not that large. For a 60 month $30,000 loan the interest over the life of the loan is $1,471 at 1.9% and $691 at 0.9%, or $780 over 5 years. For a $40,000 loan amount the difference is $1,040 over 5 years. But still, I'm going to try and secure that lower rate!

Thanks for sending that email! More proof that it can be done if they WANT to do it!!!

 

My MA Jaclyn posted this on the Mini of SF Facebook site, showing our smiles upon picking up Argo:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater