Schin, the dealers here told us it would not be possible to use the coupon to purchase the car on the same day of the event simply because you don't receive the coupon at the event...Mini USA emails the coupon to you after the event, the coupons are not issued by the dealer. When we ordered our car we stipulated that the dealer would not require us to take delivery on the car before June 1. The dealer events in our area are scheduled for mid May, so that should insure we don't have to take delivery until we have the coupon. Ozarkgolfer mentioned above that his coupon arrived just a few days after the event...hopefully ours will too.

 

That's not what my dealer says, but you could be right. I do hate the waiting, but it does give me more time to ensure the check has arrived from my insurance company (last MINI was just totaled).

 

I would completely agree if I weren't dependent on a rental car for now. Insurance is covering most, but not all of the cost, and I don't think I can stretch it that far. If the car really is delayed by a week or so when I think it's coming in, I might be able to push delivery until after the dealer event since I'll be out of town for a good bit of the first two weeks of May. I can hobble along by borrowing a car from a friend, but it would be a pain. Might be worth it for $750, though! Definitely need to see how this plays out.

 

Ask your dealer to show you the Sales Bulletin for this. While it does say that "this offer is not meant for previous customer sold orders", the next paragraph says that if a customer orders a car before the event, the customer is still eligible if he registers and attends the event and the retail date is on or after the event. And given that the certificates themselves mention nothing about this issue, it's clear that while Mini would prefer that customers with cars already on order don't use the certificates, if they do, they will honor them. In fact the same bulletin describes how the dealer can deliver the car the same day of the event and give the customer the $750 off the price of the car.

 

Great call - Mini have a sales event and you cannot buy a car and take advantage of the 'coupon' that same day? Riiiiight!

 

According to the bulletin, it seems the one thing they will enforce is that you must both pre-register and attend the event. "Walk-ins" at the event are not eligible for certificates. Looks like Mini is tightly controlling distribution of the certificates...you have to show ID at the event, and the certificate is issued in the customer's name and is not transferable (except to family members in the same household with the same address) and each has a unique number so they can be used only once.

 

Each Mini dealer's website seems to have a different way of 'registering'. The dealer I went to to for my 'Event' asked what time I wanted to attend. I entered 11am and got zero notification that it was accepted. I showed up at the Event at 11.15am, filled out a form and was given the 'tour'. I left shortly afterwards and my certificate arrived on my email.

Another dealer just asked for my email address and details and left a voicemail to make sure I was coming.

At the end of the day, Mini want to sell you a car and to do that they want you in the dealership. This is a $750 carrot to get you in there and they do not care how.

 

This is an interesting spin. The previous two events I did the walk-in thing, signed in, and got the certificate. The people who manage the certificate sign-ups are not from the dealership - they're traveling with the event.

While I signed up in advance and stated a time preference, the only confirmation I got was the next screen on the web site. I expect no difficulty with the on-site signup - they're out to rope in as many potential buyers as they can...

 

We'll have to see how this works out but I got my info directly from the sales manager so I would assume he would know how it works...
Hopefully I can take delivery same day (provided it's there which I think it should be)

 

My MA emailed today to let me know that the car was built and waiting to get on a ship. I wrote back letting her know that I signed my wife up for the event so that she could get the $750 coupon. This is what she wrote me back...

 

Well, that would be exactly the opposite of my experience in the previous two coupon promotions...just sayin'

 

And specifically NOT what two different sets of people were told standing next to me at the Event last Saturday. Their MA found out about the $750 and had their clients come down to take advantage of the situation.

 

I emailed my MA about it days ago and he won't write back about it. Grrrr.

 

That's bologna. Tell your dealer you insist on seeing a copy of the Dealer Bulletin on the Test drive Takedown program. It's as I described it above. Wonder why your dealer is fighting you on this as the $750 comes completely out of Mini's pocket, not the dealer. All they need to do is follow the rules on the bulletin and the certificate itself, and Mini will reimburse them the $750. Maybe they just don't want to be bothered.

 

I still think some of these dealerships must be somehow claiming the $750 from Mini even when the customer doesn't claim it....

 

A few emails later and we just settled on them discounting the car another $375 (1/2 of the promotion) off of our previously agreed upon price. Now she won't need to take the better part of a day to go do the test drive event, so I'm satisfied with that.

 

No way they could do so without the certificate number, and they would not have that unless the customer gives it to them. Mini USA emails the certificate directly to the customer after the event.

 

The test drive takes 30 minutes max. If it were me I would invest 30 minutes to save the other $375, but to each his own. Sounds to me that perhaps your dealer realized he/she was caught misleading you (you would have seen that if they showed you the dealer bulletin) so they just gave you $375 from their own pocket, as them honoring the $750 certificate costs them nothing other than the trouble of processing it.

 

It's tempting, given this scenario, to get the certificate and then go through the purchase process, including the $375 consideration, and at the final step, when you're both agreed that everything is spelled out, hand over the certificate and ask for your 750 off the bottom line. That's what the certificate is about - get your best deal, then get $750 off that.

 

I was also going to suggest that, but I would think the dealer would (correctly) argue that the $375 they promised was tied to an agreement not to use the certificate. I guess it could get interesting if there is a new sales order with the lower price that does not mention the certificate. Every dealer's standard order form that I have ever seen states that the order form is the "entire" agreement and that the dealer does not recognize any verbal agreements. But that provision works in both directions. That's why any buyer is smart to get everything agreed to on the sales order so they have proof. For example, with the car I just ordered I added a paragraph that said I don't have to take delivery prior to the date of the Test Drive Takedown event, in case my car arrives unexpectedly early.

 

Even though MINI reimburses the dealership, does the now discounted sales price lower their reported revenue from vehicle sales? The net for the dealership is the same, but I wonder if vehicle revenue is some special metric that they want to protect. *shrug* Just a thought. Can't see why else the dealers would fight you on this.

 

Yeah, there does seem to be SOME reason for the reluctance by some dealerships.

 

For those who have already attended a TDTD session, what happened at that dealership (besides getting to sign up to get a certificate)?

We have one report (that sounds like a lot of fun) of an autocross course set up so it was possible to exercise the different MINI models, with professional drivers in attendance. From my local dealer, it sounds like getting a usual on-the-road drive might be the max they're planning. Anyone encounter some different spins on the TDTD tour?

 

Just attended one at East Bay MINI yesterday- there were a lot of people and commotion, but all in all it was just a well-attended dealer 'meet and greet' event. Considering that the whole theme of the event focuses around comparing MINIs to their 'direct competitors' back to back, I was surprised that the only cars they actually had available to compare to were the Juke vs. Countryman, and the Beetle vs. Hatchback. Supposedly the Audi TT, Mazda MX-5, and Fiat 500 cabrio should've been straight in line as well.

In any event, I did certainly enjoy an extended solo test drive in the new Roadster. Otherwise, some refreshments, a t-shirt and some friendly chatter made it a pleasant experience. No autocross or hot-shoe drivers, but it was definitely worth the trip in. I'm looking forward to getting the certificate by email- and my car's still awaiting transport across the pond.

 

Does anybody know if the $750 can be used along with the special 2.9% MINI financing? I know when I tried to use a similar USAA $500 offer I was told by my MA that it didn't work with special financing rates.