Hi everyone! I'm waiting for my MINI to arrive, it should be in the next week or so. A 2-month wait is almost over!

I never drove a MINI yet, never even physically laid my hand on one. No test drive or anything. Here's my MINI story, hope I don't bore you!

I was shopping online for a 4 door, manual transmission car with enough horsepower to zip around city traffic, small enough to fit in any space, and enough trunk room for big grocery shopping. I have a failure prone 2000 Ford Focus, so I was looking for a car similar to it, but without the failure rate. I must have put over $10,000 into repairs since I bought it brand new. It's killing me!

Not knowing about current car models, I went to all the different car sites, and couldn't see paying over $20,000 for cars that didn't look interesting, and worse yet, I couldn't add sporty tires and other nice trimmings without taking a souped-up engine for literally thousands of dollars more, even if you don't want it.

My brother in law told me about the MINI Countryman. I know nothing about MINI, I thought it was just 1 car, I didn't know there were different models. I didn't bother looking at the MINI site before, because I wasn't interested in a tiny 2-door car. But a 4-door MINI was interesting.

Can you believe, in all of Hawaii's MINI showrooms (only 2, haha) there were 60 MINIs, and all of them... automatic transmission! I decided to play around with the 'build your MINI' and maybe a mainland showroom might have what I'm looking for. After hours of tinkering, I fell in love with the basic 2-door hardtop with every feature I could think of, and still under $30,000! That was my budget, and I could get it fully loaded. Nice! A few beers had totally helped convince me that I didn't need a 4-door. My drunken fingers clicked 'send this car to a dealer' and I went to sleep.

Next day I get a phone call from my local dealer, who is on another island. We have BMW here on Maui, but the official MINI dealer is on Oahu. I was prepared to hear 'we have a car almost like what you selected' but instead he said 'Nice car! I can have this built for you, usually a 2 month wait, do you want it?'

I was blown away. He walked me through my car selection over the phone and I got to add black bonnet stripes to the hood, along with those sassy turning xenon headlights that I somehow forgot to add after the third beer.

A day later, the MA calls me again, I take camera shots of my license and car insurance with my phone, send it to him. Credit check is done! Now he emails me a car worksheet, I get it on my phone, print it out, sign it, take a snapshot on my phone and send it back. All this during my lunch break at work. A few days later, I get a withdrawal from my checking account by BMW, then a call from my MA with my order number, and told to sign up at the Owner's Lounge.

I've ordered all the MINI goodies and cleaning supplies, cleaned up the driveway, and ordered vanity plates. Just a matter of getting the MINI (should be here in the next 7 days!) and doing the financing and insurance.

When my MINI arrives, I'll actually walk into my local BMW/MINI dealership for the first time. I've called them about a month ago to ask if they carry MINI accessories, and when I said my MINI is being built, the salesperson on the phone said 'Cool! I look forward to seeing you when you come to pick up your car!'

I just think it's awesome that I can totally build a car from scratch, work with the MA, track the vehicle from being built to its actual arrival, and not having once met a person face-to-face, and I've never even physically laid a finger on a MINI. When I get the car, it'll be my first MINI experience, ever! Sort of scary to some people, I guess, that I'm buying something sight unseen, all by phone, and not ever having driven a model. I think it's exciting!

I've only heard fantastic things from other MINI owners I've run into, they rave about the local service department, and all love their MINIs to death. They all say the same thing, too.

"You are NOT going to regret buying a MINI!"

I am so going to miss my 2000 Ford Focus. I better spend quality time with it before it leaves my family this month

 

What a great story! You've picked a great car that will make you smile every time you drive it for years to come.

Welcome to the family and best wishes!

Ps.......20th anniversary, we are headed to Hawaii during 2013 to celebrate!!

 

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.

Will you ferry your car to Oahu when it needs service?

 

tpetro: Wow, you're visiting Hawaii for your anniversary, nice! I'm guessing you'll be visiting Maui or Oahu? Either island is fun! The other islands like Kauai and Molokai are less populated, there's less activities there, but the natural scenery is just breathtaking. I'm a city dweller, so I don't actually see much of Hawaii, even being born and raised here! Even my girlfriend enjoys island hopping just to enjoy the scenery!

aleclee: Aww, the ferry boat was shut down, there was some kind of big political thing about it. If only I could ferry my MINI to the other islands, I'd take it on excursions every month to see all of Hawaii! Here's hoping we get the ferry again! Thankfully BMW of Maui does all the MINI servicing, so it'll be convenient for me, as they are located right next to the local shopping mall

Cheers!

 

Cool. Glad to hear that you can get authorized service without crossing water.

I am familiar with the BMW dealer's location. We've vacationed on Maui a number of times. Lovely place.

 

Wow, I am sure that you will love your new mini!! I just got back to cold Chicago from Maui.. All I kept thinking was this place could only be more perfect if I was driving my roadster! The mini truly is the perfect car for all the fun driving in maui.. Enjoy!