I'm new to the board here and am hoping to order an MCS soon, hopefully later this summer if possible. I called Northwest Mini yesterday only to find there is a 16 month (yes, month) wait for a new Mini! That's the longest wait time I've heard of so far.

I'm in Seattle and was wondering if any of you guys from around here have had better luck perhaps with a different dealership (Rasmussen Mini in Portland) in getting a Mini in faster time? Has anyone ordered from a dealer outside of the northwest and had their Mini shipped here?

I'm also actively looking around here for a used MCS but haven't found one that fits what I'm looking for. Any thoughts?

Kyle

 

Try Mini Of The Hamptons back east. It will arrive at the dealer in 8-9 weeks at MSRP, and they usually have a shipping promotion to boot! At this point, I would order a 2005. MINIUSA should be up and running on 2005 prices around the beginning of July...Good luck

 

Rasmussen had a 9 month wait as of about a month ago. We got ours from Julie at Classic Mini. Was ready in about 8 weeks, and the customer service there is top notch.

 

Rasmussen MINI has been running about a 9 month wait to get a MINI Cooper S. There are many dealers on the east coast and the south that can get you into a "built to your specifications" MCS in 6-8 weeks. I was going to go this option, but I did not want to pick up my brand new MCS and put on 3,000 miles of winter driving and arrive home with trashed paint. If you buy now then winter driving will not be a problem.

I suggest that you build your car on MINIUSA.com and send it to all dealers that have good ratings on this site. You will be surprised at how fast some of them can get you a car.

Be sure to ask for the total out the door price with all fees included with all dealer options installed. I found a big difference on what dealers charged to install some options. In some cases you would do well to buy and get certain options installed from a different dealer. Rasmussen was pretty reasonable on most dealer options. Do some homework, it is worth it.

Forget about CA if you want to pick up a car as you will have to pay sales tax. Most CA dealers are charging a substantial mark-up over MSRP and the few that are not have a long waiting list.

The following dealers ended up on the top of my list "Out the Door Cost" and were all within a 150 dollars of each other AFTER I included appropriate air fair from Portland.

MINI of the Hamptons, Southampton,NY
Roadshow MINI, Cordova, TN
Rasmussen MINI, Portland,OR (~9 months)
John Roberts MINI, Dallas, TX
Brian Harris MINI, Baton Rouge, LA

Good luck:smile:

 

Call Julie at Classic Mini in Mentor. I puchased mine a year ago April and it was great. Took about 7 weeks. I went out and drove it home. No problems. Best time I have had buying a car.

FYI: I live in Wenatchee, WA

Enjoy!

Exposed and "The Car"

 

Thank you very much for all the responses. I just got a call back today from a guy at Mini of the Hamptons! You guys have been very helpful - hopefully I'll see you on the road later this year with an MCS!

Kyle :smile:

 

I just talked to NW Mini, they are quoting a 12 MONTH wait for a new S.

Any suggestions on how to considerably shorten this wait?

Signed,

Anxious to buy!

 

Hello,

If you are thinking Portland or Seattle dealers, I know of nothing to cut the wait time. I was in the same place as you, 8-12 months. I ordered mine from Julie at Classic mini in Cleavland. It took about 7 weeks. I wanted a Cooper not the S so not sure of the wait time. I would sure try them. You can drive it home or they will ship it to you for a small cost. Mine is an "03" and have enjoyed the drive and the people at Classic very much.

Exposed and the Car.

 

Just curious... what's the problem with the NW dealers?

Are they a low priority because they don't sell many cars? and can't sell many cars because they're a low priority...

I can't imagine why Mini would create such disparity between dealers.

 

Yeah, I had the same question! I ordered from Keeler in Latham NY and am running about two weeks ahead of when they promised it...for a total of about six and a half weeks from order to delivery.

 

I switched to Julie at Classic thanks to NAM recommendations. Shortened the delivery from 10 months to 3. It is being transported from Ohio with other NAM MINIs. I understand dealers have similar quotas, but the NW has 2 dealers, a huge area, many buyers and the decency to not charge a big markup. If they charged a big markup delivery lead times might be a lot shorter (similar to CA cars), but people would complain about paying extra.

 

I just returned from Classic myself on Saturday after doing the same. HB/W, I highly recommend the roadtrip if you have the time. I had a blast but had to condense the return trip to 36hrs straight. Talking with Julie she commented that they have the same allotment as NW does but their demographics back there don't have the demand we have here on the West Coast.
If you are looking to shorten the wait I highly recommend Julie, communication is awesome. I had pics when the car arrived plus status and immediate responses on questions, what the weather was like etc....

On another note the NW forum here seems quiet, even on the PS Mini site not much chatter either.

 

I too, ordered from Julie at Classic. She made it real easy and a pleasant experience. Unfortuantely I won't get to meet her in person, as I'm haveing the car shipped out to me. I'm in for a June build, delivery in late July/early August. So when you see a CR/B "S" running around Redmond, it'll be me.:smile:

 

got mine from NW MINI .. I only waited 454 days. ...

 

I just talked to Rasmussen, they are up to a 10-12 month wait. Yikes..

 

We finally got our build date and number last week.

We ordered on Oct 6, 2004 build month of June, 2005, should receive our MINI end of July/Early August.

Looooong wait.