1st question - the IL chomre items are excellent. They hold up well - very weel in fact - we sell quite a bit of their Miata chrome line and if you can image how "picky" some Miata owners are (like myself) - we need to make sure the quality is there. Now, as far as 'outside' chrome items, I have yet to see any chrome items hold up well on the outside of a car - meaning that all the acid rain, cars wash detergents and harsh climates will in fact discolor any chrome. You will not find many chroming shops that will do a lot of outside chroming - possibly bike places like a Harley chromer - but again, no guarantees. I have not see the Mini chrome door handles you speak of...I do not recall seeing from Chrom Design.

As far as HA or GI lists - I /used/ to be #150 at HA for an S - until I found out when I would be expecting mine - Late Spring of 2003. So if that gives you any indication...also, I was not really impressed with the S in terms of torque. I drove the S at GI and HA a number of times and was not impressed - I LOVE the dark silver, but I opted to go for the standard Cooper and put in a small turbo down the road. Just my opinion really.

Hope that helps.

-Peter/Atlanta

 

We are number 186 on the list at HA MINI. Marty Martino told me last week that they expect to get around 30 S allocations a month instead of the 7 they had planned on. I got the impression that we could probably expect to spec our car sometime late this year. We are actually very happy with our pure silver cooper we picked up last week at HA and may just cancel our slot. A V6 MINI rated at 205HP may be produced which would be an awesome performer. HA does have a bunch of base equipped Cooper S models coming soon as spec cars if that is of interest.

Joe

 

I'm having difficulty getting a straight answer as to when to expect spec'ing and delivery. Was told that HA's allocation may get bumped and I could expect a December '02 delivery. I only put my deposit down 2 weeks ago so I'm pretty far back on the list. I am absolutely confused as to what to do.

 

Ninedriver, where did you hear about this 205 horsepower model? I'd like to hear more...how long before they'd be delivered, etc?

As an update, I STILL haven't heard back from HA about getting my deposit back. Well, Jeff did call me back to make a counter-offer: move me up on the list. But he hasn't returned my call for me to tell him my answer!!! Which will be no; I don't like anyone that does that kind of business...there were people on the list LONG before I was - why should I get one sooner, right? :smile:

 

I was at the HA dealership when another MINI owner came in and showed me a magazine he had with artist's illustrations of the V6 MINI concept. Dealers won't want to talk much about a car that doesn't exist but I would be very suprised if a V6 MINI does not appear. Remember that BMW intended for MINI to be a brand, not just a single car. I'm sure we will see a convertable and a V6 offered within 1 to 2 years. The drawings of the V6 MINI looked great...larger fenders, wheels and a V6 badge on the grill. I am sorry to say I don't know which magazine it was in. I'm sure we will see it again though.

Joe

 

I am #1 on the list at Hank Aaron. I have declined all the pre-spec cars, and was the first customer allowed to "custom spec" my Cooper S (or so they told me). It's scheduled for production the week of June 8-14, so I'm guessing I'll see the car in another 8-10 weeks. Jeff and Marty at HA are first-class guys.

 

peter,
will you also carry Xenon as aftermarket products?


>>As far as Mini chapters goes, none has been set up in Atlanta - but there is LOTS of talk now. Something will be happening soon....our shop normally works on Miatas, but we are now expanding our line into a very COOL car line: the Mini. We will have a new exhaust, intake, wheels, tires, OEM parts, accessories and other items that we have done for the Miata. We will also service Mini Coopers and have quite a bit planned.

 

I was really put off at Global Imports this weekend. The blond woman at the desk was VERY rude. :evil: I didn't have my insurance proof w/me since we took the a different car - silly me - so they wouldn't let me drive. I was fine with that and when I told her, "that's fine, my husband can drive," she repeated to me several times w/o reprieve that /I/ was not allowed to drive. I finally sai, "I KNOW...my HUSBAND will drive." What at B*tch!!! I was ready to flash some cash and say, "this is being spent elsewhere, you B*tch?!" Anyway, didn't like her at all. They do charge a markup, but it wasn't listed on any of the stickers...in fact at least 3 didn't have any stickers in them at all. Wasn't impressed w/them at all.:evil:

We also stopped by Hank Aaron to see their selection. Didn't speak to anyone intentionally. They had a lot (7 or so?) of Coopers sitting out there waiting for owners seemingly...yes, HA doesn't seem to charge a markup, but I saw $2700 wheels put on at least 3 different cars, lojack on a another. I too have had problems w/phone calls w/these folks. They did finally mail my deposit check back to me. Not sure if I shared before but when I told Jeff at HA that I was going to a different dealer because the wait was shorter, he offered to move me up on the list. I didn't accept, but other customers be warned!!

 

Hi all....
Well I hope everyone had a good Memorial day weekend.
Mine was good.
Over the weekend I took a trip out to Atlanta. While there I decided to head out to HA MINI. I spoke with several people there including Sidney Barron (General Manager). They were all very nice. They allowed me to take several pics for the site and play around in the cars. They had around 20 cars on the lot. Alot of them with add-ons..... aftermarket wheels, Bonnet stripes, roof flags, etc.
I addressed the only real issue that has been mentioned here.... return calls.
They indicated that they were trying to keep up with all (about 70 per day) of the calls but were having some trouble doing so. Jeff stated that currently they only had a handfull in the sales staff which made it hard to keep up. He also stated that due to the small quantity of cars they are moving each month (around 20).... there is no real way to bring on more staff just for calls. I figure that as volume picks up, staff should pick up, and thus return calls will be easier to handle.
That being the only complaint thus far.... the guys at HA MINI seem to be doing a great job.

I will have the pictures back on thursday of this week and hope to have them posted later that day. Be on the look out.
SW

_________________
Motor On!!..... Mini Me!!

 

After visiting Century Mini in Greenville, I wanted to follow up on my earlier post... First of all I drove a Cooper S, and it was definitely a blast! Linda, the saleslady that seems to be handling most of the Mini sales, was very helpful. Their markup seems to have been reduced somewhat since I spoke to her on the phone earlier this month. Now all of the cars have a $2395 "package," consisting of a CD changer and a luggage compartment organizer. I overheard another customer stating that he didn't want the CD changer, and he was told "we still charge the $2395, but we'll add some rally lights or something."

On the positive side, I was told that I could have a car built and delivered in the July-August timeframe. Since Century's markup is the highest in the area, I guess their waiting list is shorter.

 

Yeah, but $2395 markup for a CD changer and organizer!?!?! Call me crazy, but that is the same cost as a replacement supercharger on this car. I guess if you want something bad enough. Keep us posted.

-Peter

 

I decided not to buy from Century BMW/Mini in Greenville because of the mark-up. Instead, I opted for Mini of Charleston, and gave them a deposit last week. They're selling at MSRP with no add-ons. Plus, that will give me an excuse to visit Charleston in the fall. The other Carolinas dealer (located in Winston-Salem, NC) is also selling cars at MSRP.

 

I just found this site and read about the GI dealership charging a markup. I put a deposit down at GI on 6/3 and was told that they were only charging MSRP. Anyone know why their policy has changed or should I expect suprises down the road.

I was also told that I would have my S in September, someone told me that this is due to a lot of orders falling out or being pushed back because they are not putting xenon headlights on them(which I don't want) at the moment. Any truth to this rumor?