I had been looking for a MCS in the Bay Area for a while. All but one dealership charges around $2,500 over MSRP, while the other charges MSRP but has a 9 month wait!

Chatted with someone in this forum who told me about Mini of Pittsburgh who said they got a MCS for MSRP including shipping! I met with the sales manager at Mini of Concord (a friend recommended them) and he said that since my friend knew the owner of the dealership that they would be willing to give me a 50% discount on their markup. Then he got offended when I told him that I had to think about it! He was saying what a great deal it was (it was still $1,250 over MSRP) and that I should be grateful. I told him that I heard some out of state Mini dealers will charge MSRP including shipping and he scoffed. He said good luck. You'll never get it.

In July, I contacted George Malloy at Mini of Pittsburgh and ordered a MCS JB/JB. I "tracked my Mini" on the web site and followed it through production and shipping over the pond. Last week, George called me and said that he was getting the car soon and asked that I fax him a check so he could begin the shipping process. On Friday, he said he had a truck coming to my area and was I interested in getting my Mini on it. Uh .... YES!

He called me on Saturday and told me that it was being loaded on the truck and that I should get it on Tuesday. Sure enough, 8:30 am Tuesday morning, my Mini arrived on the truck. In perfect condition!!

George's service was excellent and he made the whole process simple. I still can't believe that my car arrived in perfect condition in only 3 days!! It was easier to get the car from Mini of Pittsburgh than to get it from my local Mini dealer which is 2 miles away! Also, back in July, my local dealer said he wouldn't be able to get me a Mini until October.

I highly recommend anyone considering a Mini in the Bay Area to call George.

http://miniofpittsburgh.com/Our-People.aspx

See you out there!

 

I don't think free shipping applies anymore ...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...1&postcount=13

 

Make sure you drive by your local dealer and show it off.


Repeatedly.

 

Bummer. Maybe when gas prices go down they'll do it again.

 

Remember a big part of car sales is the "theater" of it all. You know, the waiting for the sales manager to OK the "I oughta kick myself offer"; the negotiations and haggling over $100 ("You mean you'd walk away from this car for $100?" - "uh, yes.") and all that other stuff.

And guess what, the MINI sales folks are car salesmen, too - even if you choose to call them "Motoring Advisors". And yes, I know, they work as a team but ultimately they are paid according to total sales revenue per location.

 

You have to wait, but East Bay MINI, charges MSRP, and is local to the Bay Area.

Eddie Dagstanyan was my MA, and gave me A++ Service and I would recomend him to anyone. All in all it was the best car buying experiance I have had.

East Bay MINI
Tel (925)251-7033
Fax 925-460-0289

eddie.dagstanyan@hendrickauto.com

 

Already did!

hehe

 

That's great. How long did you have to wait?

 

9 months wait? I waited 12 months for delivery from EB MINI.

 

12 months? Wow. Don't know if I could have waited that long. I ordered my Mini on July 12 and got it on September 6th. A little less than 2 months! Plus, service has been great!

 

That's a very good point. I've never paid MSRP before in my life. Normally, you look at the factory invoice, dealer incentives, etc. But not with Mini ....

 

We ordered it early July 03 and received it June 26th, 2004. I had a chance to order it in December 03 but passed on it. I thought it would be more fun to have when the weather was better.

 

Glad it turned out okay for you.

Sales staff at my local BMW-MINI dealer were too busy selling cars to acknowledge me (3 visits and an appointment they did not keep) so I contacted an East Bay dealer who said they would sell at MSRP, but had to wait until the price was established (for an MCSa which was a new thing then). When it came time to order I was told there would be a $2500 mark up.

That's how I ended, through recommendations on NAM, ordering with Classic in Ohio. I'm delighted with the entire experience except that I missed the basic dealer orientation (such as how to unlock the gas cap). I might not have been so pleased if it had been most other cars, but the MINI does tend to make one smile--even when tearing through the owner's manual at the neighborhood Mario Andretti center.

 

I was one of the first ones on the East Bay MINI waiting list back in late April 2001. My order was placed on April 26, 2002 and I took delivery on July 2, 2002.

If you can handle the wait, I highly recommend East Bay MINI

 

So, did you have to wait 15 months???

Sorry, but I don't think I could wait that long, considering there are other options.

Maybe I'm missing something, but what kind of service are we talking about that everyone recommends?

 

There were no other options back when I was on a waiting list (late April 2001) ... the first MINIs didn't arrive until the end of March 2002 and the first customer-spec'd MCS models weren't built until the end of May 2002.

Here's my timeline for a West Coast delivery in 2002:

04/26 - On Order (received production number)
05/03 - Status 111 and 112
05/17 - Status 150 (Week 23 [ending 06/07] build)
05/27 - Status 152 (being painted)
05/28 - Status 160 (released for distribution - a week early)
05/29 - Status 182 (waiting for train)
05/30 - Status 193 (in Southampton, loaded on Tricolor)
06/25 - Status 196 (in Oxnard, discharged from Tricolor)
06/26 - At VPC
06/27 - Released to carrier
06/29 - Arrived at dealer

I live less than 5 miles from another MINI dealership but drive 80 miles round trip to East Bay MINI for servicing because they treat me right

 

Yeah, I called East Bay also and they said 9-12 month waiting period once the order was placed. No markup is nice, but I got mine from Concord in two months. I'd already sold my Bronco and had it timed so that I was w/out a car for only two days between cars. FWIW my parents just went in and picked up an MCSa from Concord and they took the markup down by more than 1/2 I must have been asleep when my Dad was teaching me about negotiating a new car purchase Oh well, it's been miles of smiles and no worries since goin' Mini.

Later

 

MSRP is bad enough, I would never pay mark ups for anything less then a very limited/rare car - even then I'd think twice. If South Bay in Southern Cal hadn't worked out so well I would have looked into anywhere else I could drive the car back from. Paying the upcharge is basically giving them approval for and rewarding them for the behavior

 

Ordered my Mini Jan.21,05 arrived from Mini of the Hamptons by covered truck Mar,19.Saved 7 Hundred dollars,car was in perfect condition.

 

I was exploring an out of state purchase but decided against it. I didn't need the car at the time and I didn't feel like smogging it every two years. And I was too lazy to drive it back.

 

MINIs are 50-state cars (as oppsed to "49-state" cars), so if you buy a MINI out of state and bring it into California, it will be treated like a car bought new in California. You'd still have to ship or drive it to CA, however!

 

Unfortunately, that's not true. Search the threads and you will see need to smog it if you purchase it from outside of CA. And then smog it every two years thereafter.

 

I believe it has to be smog tested to register it the first time.

 

For reference:

All gasoline-powered vehicles, new or used, being registered for the first time in California must pass the California Smog Check. A vehicle will fail the California Smog Check if it is not equipped with the originally required smog devices.


http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/NonCAVeh/NonCAVeh.doc

 

You're right -- I stand corrected. A car imported into California must pass smog check upon initial registration. After initial certification, however, a 2002 or later model year car that's California certified is exempt from the biennial smog check requirement until it's six years old. MINIs meet this requirement since all MINIs sold in the U.S. are sold as California Certified cars. If you tamper with the smog control equipment, of course, all bets are off!

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/ftp/pdff...smog_check.pdf