I ordered a Countryman back in Nov. It should be at the dealer in the next few weeks. This is the first car I have special ordered. At the time we ordered they did not have any thing close to what we wanted. I'm also really disappointed with the CM's the dealers have on their lot. It almost forces you to special order one because they are poop!



The MA keeps calling me asking what dealer installed accessories I want so they can make sure they have them at the dealer ready to put on when the car gets there (I’m not paying the dealer $85 hr to install something any way I can do myself). Honestly I have no plan what so ever to get any thing extra put onto the CM until I test drive it and look it over. I think the MA think it’s a done deal and I will come in and sign on the line and take deliverer of the CM, it’s NOT the case. I want to test drive the thing first and foremost. They didn’t have an Auto ALL4 on the lot when we ordered ours, only auto they had was a FWD which we did test drive. I have not seen a lot of the options in person we ordered and I want to test every thing out while operating the vehicle before any paper work is even talked about. I’m not saying we will hate something but there’s a small chances we mite. I also want to see the report from the VDC to see if any damaged happened to the CM while in transit and repaired at the VDC. Anything more than a bumper scratch I will not take delivery. Did any one else do and feel the same way as me?

 

These are all great points I never even thought of ! (test driving the car, asking for the VDC report to check for damage) I think I'll do the same when mine arrives just to be safe.

 

We had one in the delivery pipeline and did as you plan - inquire, inspect, and test drive. We decided after the test drive that, while it was undamaged and looked OK, actual time spent with the options left us wanting some changes for our MINI - so we turned it loose for someone else to take home.
We worked with our MA to revise the configuration based on what we had learned and repeated the process two months later. The wrong wheels arrived on the car, the only disappointment - the dealership scrambled and swapped the tires onto the desired wheels and we were good to go.

Good luck with your delivery!

 

Did the dealer use your deposit you put down on the first one for your re-order?

 

Yes and no. The deposit, which was carried over, was in the form of permission to make a transaction against a credit card that was never exercised.

 

Thanks for the info..

 

I didn't do what the OP is suggesting, but it sounds like a good idea. It's surprising how many people don't realize that they're not committed to the car they ordered until they do all the paperwork and sign it. A lot of people think that their deposit is nonrefundable so if they don't take delivery they'll lose $1,000. Not true. Cotnballs2000, I think your plan is a good one.

 

My CM left the VDC sometime last week. My MA called me 3 times about what dealer options I wanted so they could have them there ready to go. I understand the reason and I'm glad he is being proactive but when I told him I wanted to look it over, test drive it etc before any thing is put on it I think I burst his bubble. I can't believe someone would special order a vehicle and not take it for a test drive and complete check out prior to signing on the line for a 38K car. I'm not sure how to take his response when I told him if I don't like something there's a chance I will have to reorder. Maybe it has never happened to him or was it a ego thing like how dare you?

We have two major concerns. One is the leather seats, wife is short (4'10) and has to sit in the seats to make sure she is comfy (seat looks to have high boasters) and has a safe seating position (far enough away from air bag and good visibility). Second one is the sun roof, doesn't seem like the sun "shade" blocks out that much sun. The sun is pretty intense at the altitude we live and we don't want to be in a solar oven. I wish the Mini sight had better photos etc of the configuration you choose.

 

That's smart... but go ahead and load it up with any accessories you'd want! You're still not signing anything, and you can always walk away. I asked to have them install the driving lights for me. I still have no obligation to buy it if I change my mind.

 

Our CM is in, going in Saturday to test drive it etc. I hope it doesn't have swirl marks or orange peel on it!

 

Cotnballs2000… How did you make out on Saturday ? Did you take delivery ?

 

If this hurts somebody feelings I’m sorry. This is MY honest opinion. I really tried to like this car but just too many things about it was uncomfortable or un-user friendly. We drove two different cars today.



We went to the dealer today to take delivery of our ALL4 we ordered back in Nov. We insisted on a test drive of the car since we did not get a chance to drive ALL4 Auto when we ordered and I'm glad we did, right off the bat we noticed the lag from the time you stepped on the gas till the car responded. Sport mode really didn't help much. When we test drove the S FWD CM I didn't notice the lag being that bad (read about it here but didn’t think it was that big of a deal) and how awful the run flats were. I can't see how people can handle the run flats it was the worst ride and road noise ever! I would have taken that thing straight to Discount Tire and spend 600 plus bucks to take them off ASAP! The nav interface IMO is awful; it has nothing on the Garmin 660 (same price as the Mini nav option). The lounge leather seats in the wife's and my opinion are torture devices. Wife has a bad back from a USAF injury and I had a bad MC accident back in May with a broken pelvis and I was so glad to get out of the seat after the test drive. I'm only 5'11 and the seat didn't go down in height enough. My eye sight was just a few inches under the sun-visor. I had to bend down to see out the side window well enough to turn into traffic. If the wife could I think she would have beaten the center console to death. She tried to just crack the window and it kept doing the express up and down. I think I could get use to the center buttons but the wife wanted nothing to do with them. I was very disappointed with the fit and finish of the whole car; you would think Austrians would have more pride. We really liked the sunroof and the power steering was really nice at low speed. The CM responded to steering inputs really well. We were not impressed with the brake pedal feel, it felt like warm oatmeal. Acceleration was uninspiring.



We did test drive a manual and liked it much better but still felt the lag but it was less pronounced. The shifting was a bit clunky but wife really liked the clutch feel. The manual also had cloth leather seats that were somewhat better but still not very comfortable. My wife is 4’10 and the upper side bolster prevent her from putting her arms down to her side. She had to raise her arms higher than she normally would while driving creating an uncomfortable driving position. The manual didn’t have Mini Connect but the standard iPod interface that was kind of hard to read and navigate. Just wasn’t big enough. The fan motor was really loud even on its lowest level.



I really wish they had an ALL4 and some of the options we wanted to test drive before we ordered because we would have not ordered one and waited 3 months for it; we did get our deposit back due to that. We spent a lot of time test driving both a manual and auto today and just couldn’t like it enough to spend 34-38k on one. No Countryman for us and I'm very disappointed. Back to looking for a AWD.

 

Cotnballs2000, no hurt feelings here but sorry to hear yours have. I too ordered my countryman well before one was even available to see never mind test drive. But then again this is my 3rd, so I was excited for the changes: ALL4, comfortable rear seats with doors, additional room in the hatch, overall a mini I'd been waiting for sometime.
Yes, there's been issues, and I with others have had to deal with them. But things like run flats, seating and comfort along with driving vision, position of buttons and the way they work I would of thought would of been experienced during your original drives. Run flats are run flats. I enjoy my lounge leather, not only for the look but for the feel, but I don't think the actual seating and adjustments changes with non leather. BMW/Mini is one of the few companies that allows the availability to order exactly what you want and is probably unfair to think there should be vehicles on lots exactly to ones desires. I think BMW has come a long way production/quality wise from my 1st mini. Yes the countryman are built in Austria, but all from the watchful eye by BMW located in Germany. It's been mentioned more than once on this forum and others... You either love or hate your mini... theres usually no in between. My last vehicle was a Infinity, also at $38,000-39,000. A better ride without run flats perhaps, more adjustments as far as seating and comfort perhaps, better technology perhaps, it too was AWD and not better in the snow, perhaps more bang for the buck overall but boring to drive. When my dealer finally received a countryman and had the opportunity to take one for a ride....it was f/w drive and a auto, not a all4 manual as I ordered but knew the 4 door, with overall extra room was the right decision for me. When I took delivery, I was not disappointed.
Sorry for your disappointment, happy you had the opportunity to drive what you ordered and in return recieved your refund and wish you well in your search for a AWD.
No feelings hurt I hope .... But I Love my Mini

 

Wow, That's a long wait to decide there is a laundry list of dislikes about the CM.

 

Could someone please tell me what is a VDC report ?

 

I should have my car in about two weeks. I didn't know you could ask for the report. Do they have to show it to you. Do you have to let them know you want it so they can get it before you get there?

 

I have also never seen or heard of a report from a manufacturer's port facility (Vehicle Distribution Center). I have seen the dealer's pre-delivery inspection report on new cars I have purchased.