I ordered my Ice Blue MCSa on Thursday, and got my production number on Friday. The car is currently in production according to miniusa.

Today I received my Vehicle Inquiry Report (VIR) from my MA in the mail to sign and return.

My MA and I had built my order with an automatic, but the VIR is for a manual! In addition, the Cold Weather Package was added when I only ordered heated seats. The automatic climate control was added when we didn't build it. Also, my ordered arm rest was missing.


Clearly I will contact my MA tomorrow, but has this ever happened to anyone?
I have to say it doesn't leave a very good first impression about MINI attention to detail. Part of me says give me the manual (I went back and forth on manual or auto) AND give me the extras added free, along with a discount that MINI is currently offering on cars delivered by 2 May.

Suggestions/thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

Seems like too much is wrong, but I'd almost agree, I'm currently having buyers remorse on getting the automatic instead of the manual but my car is in production already..

 

I would go ahead and take the manual and insist you receive the spontaneous add-ons at no extra charge. Seems reasonable to me. Good luck, let us know what your MA says!

 

Stick with the manual. I had never owned a manual car before this, so I was a bit hesitant, but now I couldn't be happier. I do wish I ad found one with an arm rest though.

 

Simple mix-up in paperwork is my guess......

 

The whole point in ordering (and waiting so long )is that you get a MINI *exactly* how YOU want it. If the dealer tells you there's nothing they can do about it, I'd suggest that they "eat" the bad order (i.e. put the car on their lot and sell it themselves) and re-order your MINI to your specs...

 

Go into the Owner's Lounge and pull up the specs on your car. If the items listed is not correct, then your MA made a mistake entering your build data. I know because my MA made two mistakes on my build. Talk to your MA and have him build you another car. Make sure all the details are correct before he enters the build specs to place the order.

 

The Owner's Lounge isn't always accurate, mine has not listed a few options everytime I've gone on but I have been assured everything I ordered was ordered (and everything is on the VIR)

 

Sometimes it isn't a mis-order... sometimes they take a car from their allocation that is close to what you want and then put in a change request for that car (though Auto to Manual is a pretty big change). It can take a while for the new spec to get applied, but as long as it hasn't started production, you should be OK.

When I got my car 5+ years ago, I ordered it with a body-colored roof... I found out after waiting 3 weeks that they mis-ordered and it was too late to change. I insisted on the body-color roof and they re-ordered, but found an allocation car that was just 1 week away from production, so I only lost a week and a half or so.

It's kinda funny, but I ran into the owner of my mis-ordered car w/ the black roof at the dealership a few weeks ago. I went up, introduced myself and said "You bought this in the week after Thanksgiving of 2005, right?" and his eyes got really wide...

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I talked with my MA this morning. It was indeed a paperwork mistake. He submitted a previous build we had played with that was in my file.

I have the option of having them rebuild the car or taking what is in production and not paying for the extras.

I went up and test drove the manual again to make sure I wasn't making a mistake not ordering a manual. It is a blast driving a stick again, but even with hill assist, it was hairy taking off from some of the outrageous hills our city has.

And, in day to day driving I think the automatic is going to be much easier to live with. Especially with sport and the sport paddles!

So, what I'll do is have them do a rebuild. I'll post updates on how it is handled. So far, they have been more than willing to make it right.

 

Glad you got it resolved smoothly, hopefully it won't be too much of an extra wait for you!

 

It's always better to get the car that you ordered. Glad you were able to find a way out that you were happy with.

 

If your car is not as ordered when it arrives refuse it & reorder. Having a stick when you spec'd an auto is a huge deal. I'd also ask them to give you something for having to wait an additional 6 weeks.

That being said it is possible that the owners lounge is not showing the correct spec now but will later. Time will tell.

Good luck!

 

Well, I have the rebuild complete. I think the mistake was fate stepping in. I changed the top from black to white and upgraded to the Leather Lounge seats.

She is as retro as I can get her. Can't wait for some nice graphics

And, best of all, the delivery date won't be effected.