First Post, so to get this out of the way, Nice to meet ya! Now on to the questions.

#1. Waiting List
I went to my local Mini dealer (only one in the state), and was told the wait for a MINI is 7-10 months if I order it. Is this true? If not, why would he tell me that with the risk of maybe losing the sale because of the long wait time?

#2. Dealer Stock
Above mentioned dealer has 0 stock of any MINI cars at all (not counting 2 used). I noticed that by visiting miniusa.com, some of the dealers show their inventory. Is there anyway to find out who has the car I am looking for with the options that I want? When I built out the car on the website, I didn't go for anything out of the ordinary, so I would assume the car I want is out there (MCS, Convert, Cold, Performance, Sport) but how do I find it without having to call every dealer west of the Mississippi? Anyone have any suggestions?

#3. Service
If I was able to find a dealer out of state, how does that affect my warranty as far as service is concerned. I would think I would be able to take it to my local MINI dealer for service and warranty even though I did not buy it from them. Is this true?

#4. Cars Direct
Anyone have any experience with using them to buy your MINI?


Thanks everyone, looking forward to being part of the group.

 

Yes, you could purchase out of state and have it serviced at any MINI dealer. Check with your local dealer though. They may restrict service loaner cars to people that purchased their MINI from that dealership. Other then that (and that varies dealer to dealer) your actual MINIUSA warranty will be valid at any dealership.

Welcome to NAM.

 

#1: Call another out of state Dealer! Lots of people do this to save money and time if their local dealers charge premiums or have long waitlists. I suggest calling Classic MINI in Ohio. We have several dealers within a couple hours of Birmingham Alabama, but we bought from Classic because they are so good and don't charge silly premiums above MSRP. We had a fantastic weekend picking up the new Cooper and then motoring back home. The icing on the cake was the fact that the engine was broken in by the time we got home.

The folks at Classic are fantastic with out of state buyers and I believe they have a special deal right now on in-stock MINI's (something like $500 off or $500 in free accessories). Ask for Julie and tell her I sent ya!

#2: again, call Julie at Classic

#3 Your local dealer will service your new MINI regardless of where you bought it.

#4 Sorry, never used them. . .

Good luck and I hope you find the MINI of your dreams ASAP!

 

We have three dealers all within doable distance. We ended up choosing the least inconvenient one. They agreed in writing to give us a free loaner as long as we own the car--given the distance and inconvenience, that was worth something to us.

It is worth noting though, that when you end up with an Enterprise rental rather than a dealer loaner, they will make you return it within the 24-hour rental day unless the service manager authorizes an extension (not likely with routine service).

For what it's worth . . .

 

jimmyjoejimbob,

Welcome to NAM You came to the right place to ask your questions.

Where are you located? May help in recomendations.

7 - 10 months

Check the internet for stock and then call.

Service will not be a problem, however, loaner may?

I have never used cars direct but I would have Classic ship it to me or go get it.

I'm in San Diego and a friend of mine had his brother go to FL with him to get his and took turns driving it back. When they got back his brother said, "I've got to get one of these" and they went to GA/NC (somewhere in that area) and got one for his brother.

Check out the vendor list and call them.

Earl

 

I don't think checking the internet sites for stock will help you much, if you mean going to individual MINIUSA dealer sites and looking at New Vehicles in Stock....

I can tell you that the 2 dealers in state here list recent arrivals as in pre-ordered vehicles in their New Vehicle Inventory, so while 15-20 vehicles may show as in Inventory, in reality few if any are actually unclaimed...

This may vary from dealer to dealer, certainly if you see a dealer site listing a large inventory its worth a call to see if any are actually available....

 

I don't know how up to date the inventory is on the listings of each dealer but it is just a phone call.

Not knowing where jimmyjoejimbob is does not help. Also, is he willing to travel to get it and if so how far. Then again it can always be shipped.

Earl

 

If I were in your shoes I'd determine how far I'd be willing to drive the car back (taking into consideration the weather conditions this time of year) and call every dealer in that zone to see what they have and what they are expecting in that is unspoken for. I'd find out for sure if they sell at MSRP and whether they have any other 'funny' mark -ups.

If happy with the prices tell them the specs you want and they may even be willing to change a car slated for imminent production for you if they have the allocation free. Once you find the combo of factors you like (price/specs/availability) nail them down with a contract faxed to you describing it all with the final price, equipment, ETA spelled out, and put a deposit down being sure that it is fully refundable (everything should be in writing IMHO).

Hope that helps. Shipping from a distance is an option you may wish to consider, but for me the ability to inspect a car pre-delivery is key, not to mention the cost/issues that could arise from having a car shipped.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes


PS: If you are on the West Coast there are MSRP dealers; we got ours at South Bay in Torrance CA with no markups or excessive doc fees at all and I know there are others. I do think that if you were to find unclaimed cars in inventory you can likely even get some money off or free added accessories if you negotiate since they really want to move them at the end of the month/year.

 

Check with Larry Taylor at Downtown MINI, in Orlando. He got mine ordered and here in 6 weeks. Take yourself to Disney World and drive home, probably pay for a nice vacation over the $$ you save on Calif. prices. Probably have to have it inspected when you get it back there for the Calif smog compliance. For all the bad talk about non selling Dealers doing warranty work, I've found all dealers seem to think BMW USA's money is still GREEN and readily accepted. I made that mistake for my mom when we didn't use my VW dealer to buy her car. She got a higher interest rate and no discounts off the price. NEVER AGAIN, I go where I can make the deal

 

I wonder if the MA meant 7-10 weeks?

 

When its the only dealer in the state, like Rasmussen in Oregon, they frequently have very long waits...

 

Wow! Thanks for the respose guys/gals.

Nope, defiantely said months.

I left out where I am for the simple fact that I have been kicking the tires at my local dealership and would almost feel bad not ordering from the sales lady that has been helping me because she is fantastic. However, the 7-10 month wait is what turned me off. I am one of those impulse buyers, I see what I want, and I want it NOW! I would like to see her get the sale, but I am too impatient for that.

I am willing to drive to go get it, and yes I am on the West Coast. I figued that the dealer inventory on their websites through miniusa.com were most likely not up to date, that is why I was wondering if there was a faster way to find out actual stock through another site possibly. I also was getting annoyed by the fact that not all dealers list inventory, so I kept having to click each one individually. When you are on a slow connection, it sucks having to wait for those flash enhanced websites to load.

It would be nice if miniusa had a feature that when you built your car, it would allow you to check dealer inventory to see if anyone actually had the car. I understand why they don't do that, because it would definately hurt the local dealers. As a consumer though, some people don't like to wait, and if the car is available somewhere else, and is unsold, I would think MINI would rather sell the car than lose a sale all together. That is why I was thinking about using cars direct, and was wondering if anyone used them.

 

No, I don't think so. These guys out west routinely banter about this multi-month long waiting time. They either don't get the allotments of cars or they have so oversold them that it is a LONG wait for most of them.

Do I hear ROAD TRIP??

 

Or he is in Washington with Northwest MINI. My wait is about 10 months or so. Which is fine as I can get our current car paid off so I can afford my MINI.

 

Call South Bay MINI in Torrance, CA. 310 939-7300 Ask for Jennifer Osborne (she's the Motoring Manager). They have a shorter wait list and sell at MSRP with no games.

 

Man, with a 10 month waiting list they ought to pay you interest on your deposit. At least throw in the floormats and give you MSRP, don't you think?

 

Nope. I'm out in Seattle and I got lucky getting my MINI in 5 months. I was originally slated for the Jan 2006 build group, too.

 

It depends I would believe, on the number of cars your dealer can/has sold, and the stock is allocated by preference to the high volume dealers. What a shame, I recently got my second MINI, first was about 4-1/2 months, but this time, only 6 weeks from order to delivery. You have my sympathies, hope you do OK!

 

I got MSRP but no interest or floormats.

 

I paid for my floormats, as well. First time, I never knew a car could come without floor mats. Been buying motorcycles too long, I guess.

 

your dealer should be able to look up stock at other dealers and see if there's anything that might fit the bill for ya. the guys a MINI of St. Louis looked up stuff for me and would have been able to get it (although nothing matched and we ended up ordering and waiting for my 05 MCc). also, they, like almost any other dealer, would be willing to work with you long distance.

 

You can always try MINI of Murray in Salt Lake City. They seem to be popular for out of staters. They have a short wait time and they sell at MSRP.

 

Welcome to NAM, jimmyjoejimbob! I was at Long Beach MINI recently and they had a lot of convertibles on the lot. Give them a call at 1-888-294-2211...ask for Matt or Tony. Very nice to deal with...

 

There are lots of stories on this site about Californians waiting a long time for a MINI and lots who bought out of state and got 1 right away. I waited 5 weeks for mine from the dealer in Morristown NJ... Now that same dealer has a large number of cars on the lot. No wait if they have what u want!

BTW... When u were growing up did your mom call you by your full name when u got in trouble.... "James Joseph James Robert!!!!"... hahahaha

 

Boston, MA. 5 Weeks from the moment I said yes. A few cars on the lot here as well.