Hi All,

I've been in contact with my local dealer regarding ordering a F56 Oxford without Oxford Plus - manual and no sunroof are a must for me. They said all the cars they will be allocated will be built with the Oxford Plus pack but they can make the modification to that order when they get word of their allocations.

1) I've been told "mid-May" which is fast approaching regarding the date they should be able to customize the order for me. Has anyone successfully ordered a 2022 F56 Oxford yet?
2) Does the dealer's statement regarding customizing one of their allocations for my preferences sound reasonable?

Thanks

 

What does allocation mean - that each dealer only gets a certain number of oxfords to order?

 

That's the way my dealer made it seem. That they had a pre-defined number of 2022 Oxfords (at least of the F56 variety) that they would be receiving. All of those by default would have the Oxford Plus. They want me to put a deposit down and they will change one of these to my color specification and remove the Oxford Plus pack. I just don't know when I will be able to "place this order" yet.

 

What you're hearing from your dealer is the same thing I heard from my dealer regarding my JCW order. I ordered on 19 April, but couldn't get a production number for a JCW slot until this week. So it took roughly 3 weeks to start production. My dealer told me that plant production is down to 2/3 of the normal rate due to COVID.

This is my second Mini, and the second time I've done a factory/custom order. Each time I put down a deposit and wait.

 

Thanks. It sounds like Oxfords are kind of like promos and MINI doesn't want to sell too many of them probably because they don't make enough money on them. I remember last year, when I asked about Oxfords, one dealer told me that MINI was not making them anymore but I could still order a regular one.

I'm curious to hear what will happen with your order. I too want to delete the moonroof, and an inability to do so may be a deal breaker for me.

Do you know (aside from color, wheel, transmission, and moonroof) if there is anything else you can customize?

 

My understanding is there are only the following customizations:
1) One of the 6 main colors (British racing green metallic being my choice)
2) Either black or white roof and mirrors
3) Either black or silver wheels
4) Oxford Plus or not

Oxford Plus includes 2 items - the dual-clutch automatic and the moonroof and costs $1500 (which I guess is quite a bit less then those two things normally are). These cannot be separated, so if you want the automatic you're stuck with the moonroof and paying an extra $1500. And it seems, at least in my dealer's case, that anything they receive without specializing the order will include Oxford Plus because most people want the automatic and moonroof.

I honestly got lucky to even be able to test drive a base model with a manual. It was mislabeled as an automatic on their website and otherwise there was not another within 150 miles of me.

 

Thanks for the breakdown of the options.

I like the BRG4 color too. I think it's brighter and prettier than the previous BRG.

It sucks that you can't separate the auto from the moonroof. I want the auto but just really don't like the moonroof.

 

I ordered a 2022 Oxford two-door at my local dealer yesterday. Chili red, black top/mirrors, black wheels, six-speed manual, performance summer tires. Today I received the Design/MSRP doc:

​​​​​​Model Code 22MX Cooper Hardtop 2DR - Oxford USD 22,900.00
Color 851 Chili Red 500.00
Upholstery K9E1 Carbon Black Leatherette N/C
Options
7GG Touchscreen Media Display N/C
6AC BMW Assist eCall
6AE BMW TeleServices
6AK ConnectedDrive Services
6AP Remote Services
6NM MINI Connected
1V2 17" Tentacle Spoke Black alloy wheels 1,250.00
383 Black Roof and Mirror Caps N/C 4
94 Heated front seats 500.00
4AA Headliner in Anthracite 250.00
534 Dual Zone Auto Climate Control 500.00
8S4 Variable Light Decoding N/C
ZMR Remove Panoramic moonroof N/C
ZMT Manual Transmission N/C
ZPT Performance Summer Tires N/C
ZX4 Oxford Edition Credit -6,150.00
Net Total 19,750.00
Destination Charge 850.00
Gas Guzzler Tax N/C
Training/Service Fee N/C
Total Suggested Price 20,600.00

My sales guy checked to see if it was possible to get the pano-roof without the automatic and that is not allowed. I had to have the manual but the pano-roof would have been nice.

While this is going to be an inexpensive and fun car, I would like it even better if MINI/BMW had included Android Auto.

We're looking at a July build and August delivery.

 

We're in opposite situations, but the rule seems to be the same. My dealer told me today that, if I want auto transmission, moonroof will come with it. No deletion.

And yeah, not having Android Auto is a pretty big weakness these days, when so many new cars in this price range have it.

 

None of the MINIs even at the higher trim levels have Android Auto do they? Just Apple CarPlay? I’m an iPhone user and from the bit of research I’ve done I’m thinking it may be possible after the fact to modify the software to run CarPlay. Not a deal breaker for me but a bit of a disappointment since my VW does have it.

My sales person called me yesterday evening actually saying “we don’t have any allocations” and we’d have to try and secure one. I’ve been told on multiple occasions now that they only produce 1000 for the general public each model year. I don’t have the context on if that means of each variant or total, but can anyone corroborate that?

If I’m to proceed they want me to put a deposit down to “hold” while they try to get an allocation to order from MINI or are able to trade one with another dealer.

As this is also just a secondary (actually it would be my third car) fun car for me, the doubts I have about moving forward with the process at all are compounded by the possibility I may not even be able to get one and who knows when it will be available based on the current manufacturer slowdowns.

 

@Bob-O One thing I left out, any idea if they let you add the Bonnet Stripes to an Oxford build?

 

Apple Car Play is supported but no Android Auto - at least not yet. I've had Android Auto since 2017 in a Chevy Colorado pickup and now in my 2019 Colorado so it is disappointing that MINI doesn't offer it. I'm wondering if AA takes more screen real estate than the funky MINI screen has room for? Or maybe a licensing thing? Whatever it is, MINI is missing the boat on that.

My sales guy spun his monitor around to show me an allocation list and they were listed by model and color. There was a red two-door on the list which is the color I planned to order and since I was the first person to show up with a deposit check ($500) it became my build. We didn't discuss total worldwide allocations but when I talk to him next I'll try to remember to ask.

I was pleased that I received the "build sheet' the next day. He jumped right on it, determined that they could not configure the pano-roof on an Oxford with a manual transmission and apparently found that they could swap the all-season tires out for the summer performance tires that I want since that is listed with an option code.

 

I'm not a fan of the Bonnet Stripes so I didn't do any research on those. However, while doing my research I never saw anything that suggested that they are available on an Oxford so my guess is no. I did find that the Bonnet Stripes are a $100 MSRP option when included on other models when factory installed but are $87 MSRP at the MINI parts counter. So you could purchase them after the fact and install them yourself and save $13!

 

Thanks again Bob, that's very helpful.

I appreciate you posting your build sheet since that actually shows which variant of the wheels come with the Oxford. I like the tentacle spokes, so that's a bonus. I at least have been able to see one in person in the exact color scheme I am interested in (they had a sold 2022 Cooper S on the lot when I went for a test drive). British racing green, black roof and mirrors and silver wheels.

Good to know about the summer tires as I may opt for that as well - though I'm not sure as, if I decide to go this route, this would likely be my main driver between March-October/November. Do you know what particular tire it is?

I'm not sold on totally sold on the bonnet stripes but I did notice they are only a $100 options. My fear if I bought them and put it on myself is something would end up crooked and it would drive me crazy, so maybe it's best to leave them off.

 

Funny you asked about the specific tire because I spent at least an hour last night trying to find out exactly what tire it is without success. But I did find a MINI dealer, IIRC, that had a page about tires and they had Michelin, Pirelli and Hankook's listed. I've also seen quite a few close-up photos of Pirelli's. So my guess is one of those three in a run-flat variant.

As far as the Bonnet Stripes go, it's OK to be OCD. I am, and putting one on crooked or with some other flaw would drive me nuts, too!

 

A short while back, BMW announced their plan to (finally ! ! !) add Android Auto. The next day, MINI was quick to announce that this will not include their vehicles.

I find it difficult to believe that MINI sales are so great right now, that MINI has no issues pissing-off like 85% of their potential buyers.

 

While I've never understood not just including both, those numbers are probably quite a bit different if you consider just the US, Europe and the UK. I did a quick search and see a little over 50% iOS for the US, about 40% for the UK and around 30% for Europe as a whole.

 

I placed my Oxford order a couple of weeks ago. Sales folks said they were unable to separate the roof from the Plus. The other things like summer tires silver wheels are on the build sheet. I have a production number but no build date or VIN yet. I'm sure your dealer will be happy to do bonnet stripes for you if you pay them once the car gets there.

 

I don't understand why MINI would do that - predetermine the colors. I get why they would limit the number of Oxfords, but wouldn't it make more sense to let the market decide what colors people want? Color is one of the most important things to buyers. It doesn't help MINI if they end up with too many colors that people don't want or too few colors that people want. When you consider that the roof color could be different from the body colors, it just seems too difficult to guess which color combos would be in demand.

I too am interested in bonnet stripes. If you could get it for $100 installed, as MINI has it on their website configurator, that would be a pretty good deal. I'm sure buying the stripes and getting someone to install it for you would cost much more. And it seems a hassle and risky to do it yourself. I have no confidence that I could do it without making the stripes look crooked.

One MINI salesperson told me that he actually hates bonnet stripes because they can be damaged or get dirty easily (and be hard to clean off). Although I guess if the stripes go bad, you can always just peel them off.

 

I had stripes on my first Mini. Thought I liked 'em (though was going back and forth during configuration at the dealership). Ended up peeling them off later.

 

I may go with a simple matte charcoal or a matte black wrap on the entire hood to minimize rock chips in the paint and create a different look for the car.

 

Well, I went ahead and put a deposit down for them to try and secure an allocation for me. Wish me luck.

 

Excellent - and good luck! I believe that it's still pretty early since ordering began for these. Hopefully your dealer hasn't sold a bunch thereby leaving one for you!

 

Good luck! Since I may order an Oxford myself, I'm very interested in your journey with this order, so please post updates when you have news. I'm excited for you.

 

Will do, haven't heard any updates yet, but that's probably to be expected.