And I have to say this is even more exciting than the first one. It's gonna be a looooong 6 weeks until she gets here. Except for the grossly overpriced (in my mind) MINI Connected and GPS stuff, I'm finally getting all the goodies I wanted in previous cars.

And as excited as I am about all this it's all tempered with a sense of disappointment as well. Either I'm losing my negotiating touch or MINI is making it tougher and tougher to get a deal. I had to string along 4 different dealerships over the last month and build and rebuild my car until I could get something within my budget. In the past I'd walk into the dealership with a pile of printouts from Edmunds, the Black Book, NADA and Kelley Blue Book listing both the value of my trade-in and the MSRP vs the invoice price for the MINI I wanted. I used to be able to get them to meet me halfway most of the time. Now they don't come within $1500 of the online appraisal sites' estimates. Even though they did give me a break on the MSRP, they have so many other asinine dealer costs that I came damn close to quitting. Honestly, dealing with BMW on a $60,000 car was less aggravating.

Hopefully I'll keep that warm fuzzy feeling when the new addition graces my garage, but right now I'm feeling like there might not be a fifth MINI in this family.

 

Never gets old, does it?

My 6th MINI will be ordered later this year and it is even more exciting to me than the first two which were ordered April, 2006.

Congrats and hoping this one brings you many years of enjoyment!

 

how often do you get a new one to be on your 6th one or even your fourth one?

 

Buy them in pairs, doesn't take long to get to #4 or 6.

 

I don't keep a car more than two and a half years. As soon as I get out of the financial hole and have something positive available for trade, I move on. Same with my wife who is also a MINI lover. After two years I'm usually up around 30,000 miles which seems to be a serious barrier to getting good trade-in value. Besides, by then the free oil changes and maintenance are almost up.

 

I've only sold two MINIs, one had about 50,000 miles on the odometer and the other was over 60,000. Still have one with over 75,000, one with 72,000. The other is a '13 and has just 3,000 on it and my number 6 is yet to be born.

 

I am going to order my third one ( JCW R 60 ) as soon as they make them available to configure. Just hope they have the thermostat thing worked out.
The R 57 is a long time keeper.

 

My fourth, a coupe has been released to the carrier according to Mini USA.Can hardly wait.Q

 

It's almost time to order number 5. Can't wait until September!

 

Congrats on the ordering of your next new MINI, Gluhwein. Let the wait begin.