OK, here is the latest situation: I am so tempted to order an MCS right now. I have built a custom MCS on the MINI website with an MSRP of around $28,200. By getting price quotes from 8 MINI dealers, I was able to negotiate $1200 off MSRP and free floor mats. Yes, that's $1200 off of a custom order MCS! What makes me still undecided is the following fact: The closest dealer to me is 2.5 hours away. So if I end up getting an MCS with minor or major problems, traveling to the dealer will be problematic. It seems like most people on here have had zero problems but I occasionally keep reading about some of the annoying problems. Part of me says I should wait until the 2008 model comes out and hopefully the problems will be fixed by then but on the other hand the 2008 model price will increase and there is no guarantee all the problems will be fixed by then. Please help me make a decision!

 

Join the "Gotta have Faith" mini club. I think we even need a grill badge.

My new Mini is going to be delivered tomorrow (finally). I live 250+ miles from the nearest Mini dealer. There are a lot of Mini's in my area and many are new and still under warranty so they must be doing the drive/transport for service/repairs.

 

MINI seems to be releasing improvements as they get them done, rather than holding them for a model year change. I get the impression that an early 2007 will be less like a late 2007 than the late 2007 will be like the early 2008. Did you follow that?

I don't think you are going to see much change in reliability between a 2007 ordered now and a 2008 ordered as soon as available.

 

My dealer is about 90 miles away. When I take it in, usually they offer a rental car. Some dealers offer loaners instead. Check the dealer's policy on that. Could make a difference as to which dealer you want to use.

MINI has a roadside assistance policy under warranty. If you break down with a warranty issue, they will tow it to the nearest MINI dealer for repair.

 

It's kind of funny. . .before the MINI I was worried about how far away the dealer was. Now that I've driven her for 3 days, I think a distant dealer would be great! Good excuse to put more miles on!!

 

2.5hrs is not acceptable by me. I would not have bought mine if my dealer was more than 1 hr away. I am crazy about the MINI's but I would not have... GTI would have been my second choice as I like the European cars.

 

I was interested in buying a 1st gen MINI when they first came out, but the BMW dealer here was not yet a MINI dealer, so I waited until they added a MINI dealership. (Actually, the MINI dealership was around a couple of years ago, but I decided to wait until the 2nd gen came out to decide whether to buy 1st or 2nd gen.).

Personally, I would not buy a car that I could not get serviced locally (or at least in the nearest big city, if living in a smaller town).

gl

 

I would say go with the 2007 especially with the money off, but first talk to the dealer about them being so far away, and see what they have to say as far as if issues happen how will they be handled.

 

In the end, when you have a problem you will have to get it towed or drive it to the dealership. During warranty there is roadside assistance that might pay for towing.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far. Actually, the dealer I will be buying from is not the dealer closest to me. So, probably no loaners or rentals for me while having my car repaired or serviced at the nearest dealer.

 

wow... how did you work a deal like that?? My dealer wouldnt budge on a custom order...

 

I shopped around. I got in touch with 8 dealers. Actually 4 out of 8 dealers said MSRP only. I took the initial offer of one dealer (2.5 % off MSRP) and showed it to the others and they kept bidding. After a few rounds, I ended up at $1200 off and free floor mats.

 

Courious as to where you are located.

 

Nice work! I'll have to try that trick when I'm ordering my Mini. Did you do the negotiating via email, or have to resort to lots of phone calls? Care to share the name of the dealer(s) that you've been working with?

If you definitely want a Mini then I'd say go ahead w/ the awesome deal you negotiated and get it now. 2.5 hours is a looong **** drive for a service call, loaners or no. Before I pulled the trigger you might want to contact the closest dealer to you and see what their service policy is (loaners, rentals, whatnot) and make sure it applies to people that didn't get their car at that dealer.

As far as the Mini Roadside Assitance goes, it looks like they'll tow you for free to the nearest dealer (or a dealer of choice if it's w/in 50 miles). The terms are on the miniusa.com site, click Contact & FAQ on the bottom, then the Warranties section.

 

I am in North Florida. I talked to all the dealers via email during negotiations, no phone calls at all. The 4 dealers that were willing to negotiate with me were the following ones: MINI of South Atlanta, Vista MINI and Lauderdale MINI (both in Fort Lauderdale) and South Motors MINI in Miami. The best deal was offered to me by Lauderdale MINI. The other 4 dealers in Florida I talked to were totally unwilling to take anything off MSRP.

 

I'm nowhere near Florida, but I'll definitely try your tactic with some dealers in my general vicinity when I finally decide to order my Mini. I'd just planned on going with my local dealer (~15 minutes away), because I'd never heard of anyone getting much if anything under MSRP on a custom ordered Mini.

 

man... i guess living in cali sucks once again!

 

Sounds like a good deal. I agree with Mystfynyou, if you purchase insure that they provide you with a good support system and or overnight loaners.

 

i'm 114 miles from my MINI dealership. i say go ahead and order the MINI, especially since they are giving you $1200 off.

 

And just because you buy a Mini at a dealership doesn't mean that you can't have work done at another one

 

$1,200 off MSRP might be a record. How willing to knock an amount off MSRP, was Mini of South Atlanta?

 

They'll definitely do the work, but different dealers have different policies about giving you a loaner when you bring the car in for service. Some won't do it if you didn't buy the car there (and some don't provide loaners at all).

 

I told them I am looking for 5% off, and they said they could take 2.5 % off. That comes to $700 off on a $28,000 car.

 

Don't do it!!!
My 07 MCS has been to the dealer 5 times in 1,800 miles. Mini customer service doesn't want to help. I can't get it bought under the lemon law. I have it at the dealer for repair of a very minor dent and replacing a weather stipping. Today it enters it's FIFTH week. They do not have parts for the 07.
The dealer (Vista, Ft Lauderdale) won't buy it back because in the words of the used car manager: "we have had too many problems with the 07". He would not buy my car AT ANY PRICE.
Yes, they are fun, but if you have to travel so far to the dealership you will regret it as I have.

 

I agree with Steve, don't do it. If the distance between your driveway and the dealer is too much for you to handle, then you might want to pack and move closer to the MINI dealer. You should also consider purchasing a car from the closest dealer to your front steps. I think Chrysler has some great deals on vehicles they're trying to sell. Itt'll make your $1200 floor mat deal seem like like a complete rip off. Good luck.