To avoid excessive CA dealer markup on the Cooper S model ($2,495-$3,495 my area, I refuse!), I did what many other California Mini buyers have done; purchase an MCS out of state for MSRP. It is possible to do this because the Mini is a 50 state legal emissions vehicle. I took some photos on the return trip and thought I would post them. I ordered my 2004 MCS over the phone with Tom Bush Mini in Jacksonville (family in area) and it arrived 10 weeks later. I decided to wait for the model changover and get a new 2004 MCS in Pepper White that was unavailable 2002-2003 on the MCS. Factor in-one way airfare, fuel, food, and lodging and I paid about $575 over MSRP. The car is now registered (PM me if you CA buyers need the details) and has been home about 7 weeks. I have 5,300 trouble free miles except for rare stumble in 1st gear. I dropped off dealer today to have software v.36 installed. Service manager claims this will cure it 99%. I will keep my fingers crossed.

The 2,500 trip home was a breeze as I only traveled 500 miles a day. I took it easy the first 1,300 miles to break in the engine properly. The Mini was so easy to drive and shift, the steering so precise, that I easily could have drove home in 4 days instead of 5. A smooth ride with 2 adults and luggage. Met many great people on the way and it was a joy to see this great country of ours, even from the I-10 freeway. It took me about 20 minutes to remove all the dead bugs from the bumper, hood, and grill once I got home. It was filthy! I have read some horror stories from those who decided to pay a shipping fee from truck/rail companies, so I decided to pick my Mini up in person and experience the car myself. If your a CA resident contemplating doing what I did, I say go for it. Bring plenty of camera film, or storage media!, and enjoy a trip you will always remember.

 

:smile: :smile: We just moved to CA from VA and our next MINI (Cabrio) will be coming from Sterling MINI - #1 on the list - Yayyy!!! I refuse to pay the $3500 mark-up here in So Cal.... :smile:

Chow!

Donna

 

>>To avoid excessive CA dealer markup on the Cooper S model ($2,495-$3,495 my area, I refuse!), Brecht right? I spent 20 minutes with MINI NA employee at the SD autoshow and asked her if MINI USA could stop this. No joy there. Oh well it makes the resale of my car better. Looks like a great road trip. I was thinking of doing the same, to get a Base Pepper White MCS.

 

NICE COLOR! If I do say so myself! :smile: :smile:

 

speltzer,

Good job on your new mini. I also did the same thing. Ordered mine from Classic Mini in Cleveland. My girlfriend and I drove my Pepper White "03" mini home to Washington state back in April. We also had a great time and saw some things we may have never seen if we had not done this. I would tell anyone to do this.

You can see our trip at: http://community.webshots.com/album/68305165DZoSFg

Randy

 

>>>>To avoid excessive CA dealer markup on the Cooper S model ($2,495-$3,495 my area, I refuse!), Brecht right? I spent 20 minutes with MINI NA employee at the SD autoshow and asked her if MINI USA could stop this. No joy there. Oh well it makes the resale of my car better. Looks like a great road trip. I was thinking of doing the same, to get a Base Pepper White MCS.

Same here. Base PW MCS w/one factory option; Xenon HID headlights. I love em!

 

>> :smile: :smile: We just moved to CA from VA and our next MINI (Cabrio) will be coming from Sterling MINI - #1 on the list - Yayyy!!! I refuse to pay the $3500 mark-up here in So Cal.... :smile:
>>
>>Chow!
>>
>>Donna

Just don't forget who is available to drive it west for you


Miss you guys

 

I agree with everyone here about your story and pictures, they're awesome!

Isn't that a sight, when you see that "Welcome to California" sign! You kinda appreciate our Golden State a bit more.

 

>>Just don't forget who is available to drive it west for you
>>

 

congrats! :smile:

 

Sounds like a cool road trip--I like rt 66/10 a lot...I too thought the whole over MSRP thing was a circus and eventhough i did make some progress in lowering the premium at a local dealer, I decided I really wanted a blk/blk MCS with JCW and I had no luck finding a blk/blk car in the western US, that wasnt reserved--in the upcoming 90 days--i have always had luck reselling black cars and the blk MCS' seem a bit rare....So, I checked with Mini of The Hamptons and they had exactly what i wanted...All 3 pkgs--dont unsderestimate the seat warmers even in SO Cal...They feel great after a workout/surf/long day!! Also, they had a JCW kit in stock and were reasonable on the install...Jerry Halloran at the dealer was very nice to deal with and was very cool during the process...I have dealt with shipping classic cars across the country before and used a great enclosed shipper. It was pricey, but covered is the only way to go...In all it was a really good experience, and i would have felt like a chump paying over sticker and not really getting what i wanted...When u thin k about it, $2.5-4.0K over sticker on a % basis is pretty outrageous on a car the price of the Mini...I just broke the 1200 mile barrier and love the car...Couple of minor mods ( Iwant to keep it looking clean--tint, aero grilles, anthracite 17's, toyo ts-1's, Whalen, Mini Sirius set up (off ebay) blk calipers (coming soon) and maybe a carbon fiber scoop) and I am stoked...If you knew the heavily modded beasts that I parted with before the Mini you would be shocked, but the car is super fun and very well done...I havent had any stumble/yo-yo problems, but I have driven some modded and striaght MCS'...I gotta say the JCW kit is worth the dough, is clean and mostly is an accepted resale mod....while we all want to see things improved in a car, the MCS is great value...That LA Times review in today's paper (see Bridger 1/2/04) hit the nail on the head...Happy New Year...MJ

 

Had mine trucked in from Southampton, NY....at least some of the pictures turned out

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288307749

Too bad the speedo shot of 16 miles didn't!

 

Congrats on your MCS. It was a good story and very nice pics. I'm from San Diego and got our 04 Jet Black Mini Cooper at Brecht for MSRP with CVT, Lojack, permaplate, leatherette interior and 4 yrs maintenance free service. My wife just wanted the base model with CVT. I guess we got lucky for buying our MC for MSRP. Its a good thing we've waited and got what we wanted. But all in all, as long as you got what you wanted, those price wouldn't matter because its all worth it.

 

Looks like a great time, I love all of the pictues with the signs from different states. When my wife and I move back to the USA this June we are going to pick up our Mini on the east coast and drive to where ever we get stationed next. I am in the Air Force. Hopefully it will be Colorado!

 

Thanks for the nice story... you're sure
to have many more adventures in that
great lookin' MINI!

God speed.

 

Thanks for all the kind words. I will respond to acouple of comments.

- The 2 local dealers would order me a MC at MSRP. They were only charging a markup on the S model. They claimed supply and demand.

- As for proper engine break-in, my MCS does not have cruise control. Easy to alternate my speed. My brother picked the car up from the dealership after it arrived (never met my MA in person!) since I could not fly out for 3 weeks. He was more than happy to throw on a couple hundred easy break-in miles on my car. I was very conscious of my speed and alternating RPM's as I drove those critical 1,250 miles. I actually had the oil changed in Texas at this point. The 1.6L supercharged Tritec seemed happiest at 70 mph, which in turn is about 2900 rpm's. I also recorded my best fuel mileage at this speed.
Getting new blood in Texas

 

Speltzer - who are you using for service???

 

I must say you did the right thing!!! I did the exact same thing last spring. I picked up my MCS in Tampa last March and brought it back to N. CA. The greatest trip along Route 66. Only travelled about 200 miles of interstate! Plus, the great trip land my Mini in the NAM calender. I think you will now have an extra fondness torward your MCS. Enjoy!

>>To avoid excessive CA dealer markup on the Cooper S model ($2,495-$3,495 my area, I refuse!), I did what many other California Mini buyers have done; purchase an MCS out of state for MSRP. It is possible to do this because the Mini is a 50 state legal emissions vehicle. I took some photos on the return trip and thought I would post them. I ordered my 2004 MCS over the phone with Tom Bush Mini in Jacksonville (family in area) and it arrived 10 weeks later. I decided to wait for the model changover and get a new 2004 MCS in Pepper White that was unavailable 2002-2003 on the MCS. Factor in-one way airfare, fuel, food, and lodging and I paid about $575 over MSRP. The car is now registered (PM me if you CA buyers need the details) and has been home about 7 weeks. I have 5,300 trouble free miles except for rare stumble in 1st gear. I dropped off dealer today to have software v.36 installed. Service manager claims this will cure it 99%. I will keep my fingers crossed.
>>
>>The 2,500 trip home was a breeze as I only traveled 500 miles a day. I took it easy the first 1,300 miles to break in the engine properly. The Mini was so easy to drive and shift, the steering so precise, that I easily could have drove home in 4 days instead of 5. A smooth ride with 2 adults and luggage. Met many great people on the way and it was a joy to see this great country of ours, even from the I-10 freeway. It took me about 20 minutes to remove all the dead bugs from the bumper, hood, and grill once I got home. It was filthy! I have read some horror stories from those who decided to pay a shipping fee from truck/rail companies, so I decided to pick my Mini up in person and experience the car myself. If your a CA resident contemplating doing what I did, I say go for it. Bring plenty of camera film, or storage media!, and enjoy a trip you will always remember.
>>
>>

 

I like your white MCS. Very nice !!!

I'm also picking up my car from out of state. I'm flying to Cleveland tomorrow for my IB/W MCS and driving it back to OR, where the car will be registered. The best thing is that I'm getting many accessories from Classic with 20% discount. Since I'm picking up the car, I don't have to pay for shipping for the parts and there's NO SALES TAX in OR.

_________________
04 IB/W JCW MCS w/aero kit

 

Great story and pictures. Your Pepper White is very cool!

Regards,
Red

 

Right before Christmas I did the same thing. I bought my S overseas and had to pick it up at a port in Baltimore. Over 800 miles to get it home to Indiana, a fun way to get to know a new car. The only problem I had was the weather. Before I got into PA it started to snow, so my day old Mini was christened with road salt :???: . Handled fine in the snow.

 

Great pictures! Wonderful signage/timeline theme....Congrats on the new car.

Jonathan, is that you? Welcome to NAM....

 

Speltzer,

Great story, great trip, great pics! GREAT MINI you've got there!

Hey, is that photo of your car getting an oil change in Texas... is that a Jiffy Lube you took it to???

I didn't think they would touch a MINI Cooper...the one where I live (Jersey Shore area) said they won't do it... anyway, I suppose the place in Texas did a decent job since you obviously made it to CA with no troubles.

Motor On,

-boognish

 

On the oil change;

-Stopped overnight in Bernie (?) Texas. Quick lube place down the street agreed to do the oil change and charge me $11 for the labor (had filter, 5 quarts of Royal Purple synthetic with me). I had about 1,275 miles on the odometer.

-Being a proud new Mini mcs owner, I stayed in the garage to watch every move the employees made working on my car. I new something was wrong when the mechanic could not find a 36mm socket to remove the canister filter.

-Now the manager is assisting his employee in trying to remove the filter. After searching in vain for 10 minutes, they come over to inform me that they do not have the proper socket to remove the canister to change the filter.

-After reinstalling the drain plug, they refilled my crankcase with my oil and I was told they would not charge me. I appreciated their time and effort, and gave the manager a $5 bill for his effort. They apoligized, and wished me luck on my journey home.

-At 5,000 miles I had the oil/filter changed