Has anyone heard of a restriction placed by MINI on registering a new MINI in a state other than the one it was pruchased in?

I have a low priority number from a dealer in another state since the local dealer is quoting 3 years for an S.

A salesman at a non-MINI BMW dealer told me he had heard of this restriction.

scannon

 

Hello Scannon

This is sounding pretty bogus to me. The only restriction I know of are that certain dealerships are refusing to sell MINIs to people who live out of state. There is no way they could keep you from registering your MINI in any state. Also, I have heard some people saying their MINI dealership has made them sign a contract saying they won't resell their MINI. This is also bogus, as they have no legal remedy to back this up. So, if you have signed a contract saying either you won't register the car in another state or resell your MINI... you can ignore the contract as it has no legal basis in any court. Just don't tell your dealer this... just sign the stupid contract if that is what it takes and then do with your car as you please.

 

To follow up my reply... a dealership CAN refuse to sell you a car though if you live out of state.. that they can do. But the other stuff they can't.

 

Makes no sense not to sell to out-of-state residents since all states don't have dealers. They wouldn't want to exclude anyone based on geography, especially since they've supposedly made it a point to be inclusive in their advertising.

 

Thanks for the info. I have a signed purchase order for my car and the salesperson knows I am out of state and will be bringing the car back to Colorado to register.

I thought it sounded pretty bogus in the first place but wanted to know if anyone else knew of the restriction.

As far as reselling MINIs, I drove a used one at a VW dealer yesterday. It had 425 miles on it and had been registered in someone's name. The dealer bought it at auction and reportably have several more in the pipeline. They are asking $26K for a Cooper with Premium package, leather interior and not much else.

scannon

 

Actually it does make sense not to allow out of state people to buy MINIs. Here's the logic...

For instance, here at the SLC Utah dealership they only charge MSRP for all MINIs. Tons of people from the pacific northwest and california have been coming here to get MINIs because their dealers charge way way over MSRP. Even many out of state dealers have been coming to buy them in order to mark them way up out of state. I think this stinks big time for everyone. I don't want people jumping in from out of state and "stealing" these cars from the loyal BMW customers here. So that's basically the logic.

They are excluding anyone really... the waiting list is so bloody long across the country there isn't enough cars for everyone anyways. The last thing I want is out of state dealers coming into other states and making prices shoot up and such.

 

I agree for the most part but...... there is one thing you didn't consider. I as well as others fall into a catogory that don't have a MINI dealer in state. I want a MINI too.
Another thing to consider..... If a dealer out of state is closer than that of a dealer in state..... why should you have to go farther away to buy your MINI?
I'm not flaming... just making a point.
I just don't think there's much of a way to control that type of thing here in the US.

Also wanted to note:....... Post # 100!!
I really spend too much time on here!
SW

 

You're right Sfiveten, it does stink for people who don't have a dealership in their state. Hopefully this will change soon. Basically the resellers and dealers ruined it for everyone, and that is why some dealers stopped selling to out of state individuals.

An example of a dealer abusing the system. A certain California and Pacific NW dealer were each representing themselves as private buyers to 2 different out of state dealers who charged only MSRP. They then took the MINIs they bought back to their dealerships or ebay and jacked the prices way up. This was discovered and thus came the "no out of state buyer" deal. It's too bad, but personally I'm glad this was put to a stop.

#100?? Get to work, stop playing on the message board! hehehehe.

 

I got word today that a fellow who works here picked up his new MINI out of state and is on his way home with it. Lucky him.

Thanks for the info.

scannon

 

I live in NH and had no problem ordering my MINI from Peabody, MA. I just hope something doesn't come up because I'm pretty excited about the car.

Shad