Also,

If the other MINI Ss are for sale I would post his name here (the salesman's name) and no one should buy from him. He should be able to go to the boss and get it done of they have more Ss available.

Earl

 

Naw - I'm moving to SF in 1 week, so I'll never see that dealer again! I am just trying to avoid the 4K markup in Cali. I've sent an email to Julie to figure out what the process is and what they need for down payment, etc.

As for sold vs. not - I test drove one that is STILL listed for sale...they HAVE other S's on site, they are just jerking me around.

No need for the saleswoman's name, she tried to go to bat for me and didnt get anywhere. Its not her fault. But I am more than happy to say that it was the manager, Chris, at Northwest Mini that told me all this.

 

:smile: Earl, sweetie:

Remember that he has to have a dealership to service his MINI. Even if they are butt-heads in the sales department, he needs their service department! If he had a variety of dealerships to choose from, like we in SoCal do, that would be one thing. But, I think he's pretty well stuck with this outfit, so he'd better be diplomatic! :smile:

Something to think about!

Clover

 

. . . as the wait to run the production line will drive you insane. Then you start tracking the shipping lanes and various hurricanes. Mine made it thru the big 4 somehow. Then you see pictures of Mini transport ships upside down (true). Then it gets to the states and the VDC stuffs around for a week or two. Then you get to call the trucking company to see why they are a day or two behind, etc. The least of your worries is getting your perfect car - which it will be. Julie at Classic is supposed to be great. I used Moritz in Texas for MSRP and drove it back to soCal - reaching my break-in period on a very straight long back road in Arizona. At 1251 miles I was well over 4500 rpm's and 90 mph! .

Order away,
Mike

 

Hey, Mike!

I have survived the spec'ing and ordering of two MINIs, so far! When I started dreaming about MINIs every night during the first MINI's waiting game in Spring '02, I knew I was in a cult!

I suggest that our friend call around the country to see if anyone has a MINI on the lot that matches his specs. I have friends in San Diego who found theirs in Florida. They flew back to take delivery and drove back cross-county in 'em!


Clover

 

I knew what I wanted and called Mini of Murray a couple of years ago and couldn't have been happier. I just looked at the mini web site, and called in increasing radius until I found a dealer that would let me order, didn't have a huge wait (ended up being 4 months when Mini of Mt View was quoting >18!), and didn't charge over MSRP. There was a lower deposit threshold, I think, but I could have been wrong.

If delivery had been under $750, I think I might have had it shipped. But for me, it was only a 17 hour drive home!

matt

 

I would LOVE to do a mini-pickup-roadtrip, but given that I will be starting a new job, being gone for a week within a month of starting wouldn't be a good plan . However, I could pull off a weekend road trip, so I might call Oregon, and Nevada...

 

I had never driven one when I bought mine!!

Can

 

You go, guy!

Clover

 

Seattle and Portland both have long waits on MCS's, you can't expect to buy one off the lot. If they have them there they are most likely cars customers have ordered but not picked up.

We bought ours from Classic due to the PNW wait, and it was a great experience. Keep in mind that all new cars are not alike, and alot can happen at the VPC. Also be sure to specify if you want the front plate installed (ie holes in the bumper) and things of that sort when buying out of state.

Julie is excellent about communicating via phone and email and made the process extremely easy.

FWIW, my experiences at the Rasmussen in Portland for parts/service/sales have been above average. Had it not been for the wait, I'd be comfortable buying from them.

 

After a 15 month wait, my MCS arrives in two weeks. During this time I routinely tried all West Cost MINI locations and suggest that you (Matt) look for good resale MINI, pay the huge CA mark-ups (2500-6k over MSRP) or wait until you can travel further like Cleveland or Chicago. I didn't want to wait but the other options were'nt attractive to me so I did.

One note, the allocation for Rasmussen (Portland) and Northwest (Fife, WA) is supposed to be increasing in 2005, the wait may come down substancially.

Either way, enjoy the new job and eventually your MINI.

 

That's the ONLY "S" they have on the lot?

 

HOLY COW. Julie @ Classic really does rock.

She called me to day to talk about what she had, and seems to have my dream one set for production on the 20th! HB/B + Lapis Blue + Anthracite + all 3 combos.
I've put down a deposit on the car, because it exactly what I want.

She even has better interest rates than my local dealer. Even though I haven't yet purchased car from her, I already feel like I could recommend her. So, well see!

Color A28 Hyper Blue Metallic
Upholstery T6LP Lapis Blue/Panther Black Leather
Options ZCW cold weather package
314 heated mirrors and washer jets N/C
494 heated front seats N/C
ZIA interior surface anthracite N/C
ZPP premium package
249 multi-function steering wheel N/C
403 glass moonroof N/C
534 automatic air conditioning N/C
550 on-board computer N/C
ZSP sport package
210 (DCS) Dynamic Stability Control N/C
520 foglights N/C
522 xenon headlights N/C
586?17" alloy wheels w/all-season run-flat ... N/C
329 black bonnet stripes N/C
383 roof and mirror caps in black N/C
429 interior surface anthracite N/C

 

Sweeet!! I'm really happy for you that you got it all figured out the right way!

 

yes she does

Ae you sure you don't want an LSD?

 

Pretty sure. I don't intend to do any real tracking or autoxing, so no real need for one given I will have the DSC.