I ordered my new JCW 2 weeks ago. It is a manual, so I guess it is not really ordered, it is just queued to be ordered and the allotment reserved.

Anyway, I am getting some conflicting information from people on something. I have had two people tell me that they were able to order it with a limited slip differential. The miniusa configurator does not show this option, and I was under the impression that they were not doing them anymore since about 2009 and instead only offering the electronic differential lock control. If a mechanical LSD is available that would be my preference.

Can someone out there shed some light on this?

Thank you.

 

Can confirm that there is not a mechanical LSD - All 3rd gen MINIs have a EDLC instead, which is active when all the stability controls are off. Those two people were probably misinformed or mistaken.

 

Yes, we were finally able to work that out. The wording on the order sheet can be a little vague and deceiving, but it clearly is the ELDC once you read it in total. Thanks.

 

Bringing this thread back for you. It sounds like you need to firmly talk with the dealership GM, and also MINIUSA. At the very least your salesperson is sub-par, and at worst your dealership doesn't want your business.

I also "ordered" my JCW 6MT in March knowing full well that it was a Reservation and the manuals weren't being built yet. My sales staff has been very helpful in communicating the timing. They sent me screencaps of when the car went status 47 [accepted by the system as an order], and 150 [production scheduled].

I was their first manual JCW order allocation, and even then my build appears to be 1 week behind others on this forum, and to make that happen my dealership had to call MINIUSA's production allocation rep and ask why mine was being pushed behind the rest of the country's allocations. MINIUSA couldn't give a good answer, but they did bump up my production slot by a week as a consolation.

Perhaps your dealer or salesperson isn't aware of what it takes to make it happen, or simply doesn't care. Nevertheless, now's the time you either have to do their job for them, or find someone that can. It's a bummer you've had to deal with this mess. If I were in your shoes I'd be grilling the dealership owner [the GM's boss] until a fire was lit under the staff's butt and I was satisfied they wanted to earn my money.

Good luck!

 

I have done the MiniUSA part and am waiting on a call back from them, which they said would come today. Waiting on that so I have more ammunition for going back to the dealership and will be going to the GM this time instead of the salesperson who doesn't seem to either know anything or want to give me any information.

 

How many New England MAs does it take to make a halfwit? Just kidding.

 

Can't answer that question without vulgarity. How many ****wits in a halfwit?

 

Going up the chain is how the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Don't be afraid to talk to the GM, and if he's worthless, the owner.

 

Heard back from MiniUSA yesterday, but only to get the name of the dealership which I forgot to give them in all of my ranting. They said they were going to get back to me.

Late yesterday evening I received a long email from my MA. I have a feeling MiniUSA has reached out to them regarding the lack of information I have received and everything, but I am not sure where things will go from here. Hopefully they get me a production number sooner rather than later and we can move on. Wish me luck.

 

Good to hear that you are getting results!

 

Well, some good news, but still not the news I want to hear. I got a call from the dealership GM yesterday and we talked at length about what is going on. He basically told me that Mini takes a pretty crappy approach at choosing who got the first cars, and that is by sending them to the big market areas. Living in NH, we are not exactly in a big market. I have not heard back from MiniUSA yet but plan on fact checking that and letting them know what I think about it.

The other good news is that my build would have gone up in price with the 2016 changes, and they are not going to charge me more than my original order. They are also contacting their people at Mini corporate to see what they can do to fast track my order. Nothing will probably happen, but my mind is at least a bit more at ease now that I have more information and that the dealership is finally willing to answer my questions. Hoping to hear back from MiniUSA today as I really want to give them my opinion on this.

 

That's good the GM talked to you, but IMO his response is bordering on indifferent, blaming MINIUSA instead of pushing to solve the problem. The price cap is a fairly crappy consolation, it could be re-interpreted as "we're not going to overcharge you for us being lazy". I'm assuming this is MINI of Bedford? Herb Chambers and Peabody have much higher volumes.

I would communicate to MINIUSA that the GM was essentially unwilling to help solve the problem. He needs a big fire lit under his chair. MINI does make some choices as to who gets more or fewer allocations, and it's logical that it's based on dealer volume, or in some cases, a new dealership trying to gain traction in their marketspace.

I'm not yet convinced that your dealership even has any allocations to "sell" to you. Start calling other MINI dealers, transparency isn't something your current dealer is offering.

 

+1

 

MiniUSA called me but I was in a meeting and have 15 minutes for lunch before the meetings start again. Going to call back and see what they have to say.

Yes, it is Minis of Bedford. The GM did say he was going to try and expedite things with MiniUSA but he is not sure what will happen. Hopefully with talking to both of them I can push something along.

I will see what happens when I talk to MiniUSA today and make my decision from there. Peabody and Bedford are owned by the same group, so maybe they can steal an allocation slot or work something out there, or maybe MiniUSA will do something. If not, I will be calling Minis of Boston to get away from that ownership group.

 

Spoke to MiniUSA. We chatted for a bit and she is going to reach out to the dealership, but said there is nothing they can really do except pass my frustrations along (which I already have) and tell them to make sure I get the first slot available (which they already promised me).

I then proceeded to explain how their process of not looking at existing orders and how long they have been outstanding and instead sending cars to the largest markets first is a complete load of BS. Nobody who orders a car 3 months after someone else should get their car first, that just isn't right. She checked the ones that are within shouting distance of me and they are all spoken for, so going elsewhere will not get me anywhere. I told her that if I did not get an allocation in July I will be calling back and will not be happy at all. All I could get through that whole thing was the "I understand" etc.

If I do not get a July allocation I will be canceling my order and will either go to another dealership or will give up on this car altogether. As much as I really want a JCW and to stay with Mini, I am not sure it is worth this kind of aggravation.

 

I can relate to how you feel completely. It's tragic to hear how unaccommodating MINIUSA was with that phone call.

I put in my "reservation" deposit back in March knowing full well the timetable was approximate and flexible, after all I know exactly how easy it is to push back car production for a new model. If I were in your shoes and here it is and the cars are going down the production line and both the dealership and MINIUSA can't be bothered to have you be part of it, then it's their own damn fault for pushing you away.

Wait, I just had an idea. PM me your email and I'll copy you on someone I know at MINIUSA and let's see if we can make something happen.

 

Dealer allocations based on sales volume isn't unique to MINI, sounds like to me your dealer never had one and "sold" you a car hoping they'd get one soon.
My big city dealer has already received three JCW's and has two more incoming. For the next round they have two more for next month and expect at least that many from now on. I would go somewhere else that has a configurable slot and you'll have your car by August.

 

Well, not sure if any of my discussions with MiniUSA (customer care and the Product Manager) and Minis of Bedford actually did anything, but I officially have a production number and am in status 112, scheduled for production. When I talked to the Product Manager last weekend he said he was going to do whatever he could to get the ball rolling ASAP, so if he did do that, he has my sincere thanks and I will be sending him an email.

Now comes that rough but exciting stretch of waiting for the car to be built and tracking its every move.

mtbscott, keep in mind that my order is for a manual transmission JCW. Those are just reaching the US now by boat so there is no way your dealer has seen 3 of them. I could have gotten an automatic easily before now, but I have always preferred to drive stick. I think my argument that people who order their cars ahead of others should take precedence over just sending to a big market is valid, especially when you consider that the JCW is one of those cars that a very small percentage of the population actually knows what it is, and it is not something that Mini actively advertises. I'm not saying Mini is the only one who does this, I am only saying that it isn't right. You probably would not be happy either if you ordered something then hear that someone who ordered 2 and a half months after you did will be getting their order before you.

Anyway, very excited that things are finally in motion, and glad that I did not have to take other steps like going to another dealer or another car. I admit I did start looking at other brands a bit because I was not convinced this would be taken care of to my satisfaction.

 

It's a little strange to me that Mini delayed the F56 JCW manual tranny. Remember, for the R56 JCW you couldn't even get an AT the first couple years. I know, I have an AT on mine, and it's great, but for a performance model a lot of people prefer a stick. My 2007 MCS was a stick and it was great too.

 

Sorry, I've been out of the loop. I never meant to imply my local dealer had had ANY manuals yet but they have already had three auto JCW's as showroom cars, two more auto showroom cars on the way, and looking like two allocations a month for the future. Anything they had on the table could be configured with any transmission from now on and if I had bitten the day I was in there, I could have had a manual in hand by early August.
Hope things keep rolling well for you so you can get some driving in before winter comes.