We in the Pacific Northwest may top this one. My dealer is Northwest MINI in Tacoma, WA. I plunked down my down payment in January of '04. The little guy still hasn't been ordered yet and the projected delivery month is this May.
This is, uh, character building.

MCS -- DS/DS, LSD, DSC, front fogs, Xenon, Lapis leather, Anthracite headliner and int. surface, chrome Line interior, Cruise, black rubber mats,
+ wheels from Tire Rack: 16 x 7.5 SSR Comps with Avon Tech M500 205/50WR-16's.

 

OMG!!! How can you have waited this long? You probably already know you could go to other dealers and would have already had it in your hot little hands!!! You my friend - must be THE most patient person on earth...:smile: Is there another reason why you haven't gone somewhere else to purchase?

Donna
02' CR/W MCS & 05' Cool Blue Cabrio

 

I would definitely be going some where else! It should not take that long, even on the west coast. I had mine in less than 2 months. But I am on the Gulf Coast.
Sorry about the wait. I would say it is worth it, but after a year.......yea, it is worth it!

 

I ordered my MCS in mid-June '02 per my specification and picked up my car in mid-Aug of '02. I live in Michigan and called most of the MINI dealers in the country to locate a dealership that could place a order immediately. As expected, most called back saying that there were waiting lists of several months and price mark-ups of sometimes several thousand dollars. Towne MINI near Buffalo, New York, called and said they could order my car immediately, AND they weren't charging over sticker. I thought it was too good to be true. Long story short, 8 weeks and a short plane ride later, I was sitting in my new car.

At the time I picked up my car, Towne MINI had sever coopers and cooper S's on the lot available for purchase. I was genuinely surprise.

My advice. . . call around. You will find your car. Plus, you can service the car at the closest dealer once the car is dealer. BTW, Classic MINI of Mentor, Ohio, has a very professional/compitent service department.

 

Try Mini of the Hamptons. They have some available on the lot. A number of S's (5-10). They are used to dealing with out of staters and do a significant buisness over the phone. They are one of the sponsors of this sight. I'm local so it was easy for me. I bet you culd get the car sooner that May even if you custom ordered now.
Why the hell haven't they ordered the car. I would demand a full refund of your deposit and take your buisness elsewhere Why on gods green earth would you want to fund a bunch of clowns like that?

 

DUDE??!?! Check the sponser directory, Classic MINI can order and/or find you on at sticker and have it delivered for under $1000 more! Tell those wing nuts to pucker up and take your business elsewhere!


I ordered my 03 MSC in July and picked her up in August here in Jacksonville, FL.

 

The dealer in Tacoma had a waiting list to get on the order list. They stopped taking orders about a year ago and I think they are just about to start taking orders again. They were quoting 18 months for delivery. I eventually ordered one from Rasmussen in Portland on June 6th and it arrives in Port Hueneme on 2/19.

 

I Ordered My Mc In June Of 04 I Didnt Take Delivery Of It Until September 04. Let Me Tell Not Only Did I Not Get The Car I Ordered But They Had The Audasity To Tell Me That The Car Was In An Accident The Day I Was Supposed To Pick It Up. And I Had To Wait On A Delivery For Another One. But It Was Worth The Wait. Instead Of Getting An 04 I Got An 05 In Sept. But It Wasnt The Color That I Wanted It Didnt Have The Sport Package. But I Learned To Deal With The Color All Black Everywhere Its Actually Nice The Chrome Stands Out Really Well. I Ordered A Mc With Sport And Premium With Red And White Roof With White Stripes And White Wheels. But The Black Looks Nice. It Has The Hk Sound System Premium And Heated Seats. Also Dsc Which Works Great In The Snow. But Im Adding Things Little By Little. Chrome Side Markers Center Console Which Is Great. Aux Input And Im Picking Up A Set Of Oem V Spoke Rims Next Week. As Well As Finally Putting On My Bonnet Stripes. Silver Mettalic On A Black Mc Looks Hot.

 

As it is turning out, the wait has had some benefits, and at my age (53) perhaps I have less of a sense of urgency than some of you. If I had ordered from Classic MINI back east (a dealership that gets high marks here) back in Jan. '04, then no LSD, no anthracite headliner. Also the build quality of MINIs seems to be steadily improving.

Another interesting thing is that my ideas about options on the car, especially wheels, has evolved thanks in large part to educating myself here at NAM. Let me just digress a moment and say Thank You to the sponsers and coordinators of this great website. Anyway, back in Jan of '04 I wanted the 17" S-lite rims. After much reading on the Wheels & Tires forum, I have completely changed my mind. Now I'm keeping the standard X-lites, mounting snow tires on them and selling the standard tires. I purchased a set of very light rims from Tire Rack: SSR Comps 16 x 7.5, and mounted Avon Tech M500 tires on them. The "S-lites" are a heavy rim.

 

I originally wanted to order my Mini S last September, but was told by NWMini that they were not taking orders until January of '05....Well, lo and behold earlier this month they called and said that I could order Sparky, but it would be 10 to 12 months before delivery.


A friend of mine ordered his Mini from them in January of 2004, and still has not taken delivery! It is at the falcility in California, though.

I still have not gotten an adequate explanation of the disparity between the delivery times of other dealers and NWMini. I may end up taking my order elsewhere.

 

Wow. I ordered last Friday and picked up last Tuesday. Local dealer had three cancellations on MCS, one of them a convertible. So I had a choice of a dark silver with white top, or a pure silver with silver top (chrome mirrors.) I got the pure silver.

 

What is anyones experience with Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma dealers? Schomp in Colorado is saying 8 to 10 months for an MCS.

 

I don't know about OK or TX, but the KS dealer in KC is fairly prompt. I ordered my MC Jan. 3. I have a production week of Feb. 7 and was told I can expect it at the dealer by mid-March. Wait was no different for an MC or an MCS. Baron MINI in KS-very friendly!

I have to admit waiting is fun. I am furiously racking up the many items I intend to accessorize my MINI. Now if I could just think of a name for it.

 

Ordered October 22, 04 - Car arrived at dealer December 21, 04 the JCW and other options installed by dealer over Christmas and I picked up December 28, 04.

Mini of Dallas has been good to work with.

 

I bought mine at South Bay in Ca. last Friday MSRP 10 minutes from LAX and 3 onth Wait. Southwest has tickets on sale cheap right now the have a doudle alocation because they just opened. bought it over the phone and picked it up drove up the coast for a MINI vacation.

 

I placed my order on 10-22-04 and picked it up with the options i ordered before x-mas, it's a 05 MCS....I still have yet to be able to 1000 miles on it!!
i got mine from www.flowmini.com they have a lot full!!! You could even maybe get it for under MSRP, sales are slowing down

 

I waited 8 months 2 weeks 1 day 9 hours for my 05 MCS thru Schomp. It was good: more $$ for downpayment and like others I rethought original desires. The pacNW waits however are outraegeous--all those states and only 2 dealerships? Good job BMW market survey division Jimbo

PS those long waits are good, our residuals are holding very nicely thank you VM

 

I guarantee this won't happen anytime soon with the MCS, what with the waits and markups and demand that continues 3 years after release. I have heard however that small discounts are possible with the MC or untitled demos. Jimbo

 

I initially did my test drive at NW Mini before hearing about the delays and had a difficult time getting a straight answer from them about delivery dates and guaranteed model years. Since I wanted to order a '05 mcs prior to the engine change, I decided to go out of state (Classic) and will be doing a x-country break-in trip back to Seattle.

 

So how many model years and price increases and OEM changes have you had to endure over this time? That'd be my only real concern-- how is your MA dealing with this situation? Jimbo

 

What I find really interesting in this discussion is the fact that I am in So Cal. We have more dealers than any other state, but still have the mark-up. It is incredible. South Bay is the second dealership to confirm MSRP sales locally. Thank goodness! There is one dealer currently advertising that he has over 100 MINIs on the lot available for delivery now. He still marks up the price by $2000 to $3000 on any sale. Incredible.

BTW my wait was also self imposed 20 months! That is if you don't count the time I waited just to get my name on a waiting list from when I saw the MINI at the 2001 NY auto show.

 

I too have been learning a lot from the NAM site so I am somewhat grateful for the long delay before I can even order my car (I think I will be able to place the order in July). I don't really need a new car (I walk to work and almost everything is within 2 blocks) and am old enough that, finally, but this took a long time to happen, I don't mind waiting.

A big disappointment has been learning about the markups. My local dealer (who ignored me the first 7 times I went and waited--so I still have not ridden in a Mini) told me markups vary with models from $2000 to $4500. A nearby dealer that told me early in 2004 that they did not have markups began doing so for the 2005 models. I contacted dealers within an 800 mile radius and found one willing to take my deposit and not charge markup so I am grateful and not upset about the long lead time. Unfortunately South Bay was not yet open because picking up a Mini in my fantasy town (LA) would have been ideal. I should have been even more patient!

Now to lunch with shorts and T on to celebrate Lot15's warm weather in Manitoba.

Happy motoring.