I did not know this.

Here is an article from Autoblog on why the Audi TT was not being sold in California this year. The last sentence caught my attention.

http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000187065466/

I did not know there was a special version in California. Did any fellow motorors from California who went out of state to buy their MINIs know this?

Any comments?

 

not true-i bought my 05 s in new york and drove it back-right on the manufactureres satement or origin (car was not titled in newyork) it says"emissions legal for all 50 states".

 

maybe '06 models?

 

I also bought my Mini from New York and had it shipped to L.A. Some of you " old timers " might remember Mini Queen All I had to do was get the car smogged in L.A which it passed with no problems and then register it. Funny side note was that for some reason they( ca DMV ) only charged me the registration fee based on the base price of about 18,000 and not the full tag which was a little over 26k as it had every option available at that time. I never could figure that one out and I wasn't about to go back and ask

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Only thing I know is that most MINI's sold in California require one additional piece of equipment: an extra lining of the dealer's pockets!

 

MINIs are 50 state legal. There's no different one for California.

 

I flew out to NY in June of 2002 to purchase my MINI from miniqueen. She was the biggest MINI enthusiast MM there was. When she moved on it was a great loss to the MINI Community.

 

You are so rite ! I was on the hook for 6k over on my 02 when common sense prevailed and I cancelled the order and got it at MSRP from NY. The DMV miscalculation of my sales tax ended up paying for the delivery The local dealers are STILL getting over MSRP and we are just about into the 4th year for the car.


Randy

 

I think it is why here in California we get so many 'no waves'. The people buying in California, for the most part, just want a car. Those of us who researched, did our homework, and bought out of state did so because we knew that it was all states legal and we 'understood'. Being a part of a community is worth more than all the california dealers' markup combined!

If someone waves - it's because they know, too!

 

I think you're right. When I was trying to work with the SD dealer, they seemed SHOCKED when I mentioned the high mark-up and contacting out-of-state dealers for price quotes. I thought, "Do that many people come in here and just buy off the lot?" I guess the answer is "Yes." It's too bad that not everyone wants the full MINI experience, but if they're not into it, it's their choice. Luckily there are plenty of people who are!

 

The article says it only applies to 2006 cars. The cars' emissions didn't change, but some new regulations went into effect. Those of us Californians (like me!) who bought out-of-state cars in earlier model years wouldn't have been affected. Since I already have a car, I don't know if things have changed for 2006.

But the article does list New York as a similar state as far as emissions laws go, so maybe I could order from Mini of the Hamptons again and not have any problems.

Anyway, I'll have to remember this thread in the future when I tell people not to buy in California.

 

I bought my 06 MINI overseas in Holland and the manufacturer's certificate that was delivered with the car states it is legal for all 50 states as well.


Tony

 

I think ours MINIs are different, what about the California emmisions recall, isn't that it right there?

 

Hmmm. That sounds pretty funky. I'd want some corroboration before I believe it. If the emissions were different, that would likely affect the power, and that would have to be disclosed. Besides, it's not like the MINI was a dirty car in the first place. I don't recall my SMOG numbers when I brought my '04 in from VA, but they were pretty damn low.

 

I live in az

The only Mini dealership in Az is Mini of North Scottsdale
i ordered my mini and paid for with absolutely no mark ups
so all you cali folk who are looking for a new car MNS is where you want to look not the other side of the country i give MNS

 

It's the exact same software update available nationwide. It was just required in california by the DMV.

Denver was selling at MSRP at the time, but I only got on the wait list 18 months before the dealership opened. At that point I was roughly #400 on the wait list and wouldn't have seen a car until late '02/early '03.

Thankfully miniqueen was on roadfly at the time and had a short list. Two months before the dealership opened (so January of '02) I got on her wait list and was #19. Big difference.

 

Power was robbed with the flat spot in the rpm range that developed after the factory recall. Someone mentioned that it could be caused by a lean fuel mixture. I'm gonna have to get a guage so I can see, but that's just the way it feels.
Getting on the freeway for ex., steady at half throttle to accel. in say 3rd gear, the engine will rev and pull smoothly right up to 3000rpm and then it's like dead accel. pedal for maybe a inch worth of travel, then rpm climb again.
Have not changed TB and have no ECU tune.

 

but that doesn't mean they're identical in all 50 states. The Prius hybrid is slightly different in CA, while they're both "50 state" cars.

Hmmmmmm

 

MINIUSA (or a politician) will probably quote you.

 

I bought my last car in Virginia and had it shipped to Cali. The cars had 2 seperate stickers for emissions..one "all states" and one "california". (I guess we are a seperate state). Anyway, I took it to the DMV and they checked the sticker on the door as well as the engine to match it. I guess people were taking stickers and putting them on Cali cars. Anyway, the rule (if I can remember correctly) was if it had an "all states" sticker, it would have to have 7500 miles on it before it entered Cali and it had to stay in the other state for 6 months before I could bring it in. When I ordered the car, the dealer made sure it was a "cali car". They could order them that way if they wanted. Since most of the dealers that were getting the car were on the east coast, you either bought it from them or paid $5k over MSRP at a lot here...if you could get one. Aaaaanyway, that may be the same thing going on here..or it may not but if anyone is ordering a car from out of Cali, they better check first...or it's going to be a painful process. It's painful enough buying out of state when you go to the DMV and get to pay $2K to register it OUCH!

 

hmmm thats odd... i knew that most cars in california were different (lower hp and better smog bits) but i didnt think that MINI did that too... hrmm interesting.

 

California has at least 3 no-markup dealers: South Bay and Long Beach in the LA area and East Bay up by San Francisco. And I've heard of people haggling away the markup at Irvine Mini.

FWIW, anyway.

 

This is not correct, Tori. Since SoCal is one of the leading areas for car collectors and enthusiasts, (please note all the automotive design studios here), auto mfrs. design their engines to conform to California emission standards.

We don't get lower hp cars, but we do have lower octane fuel than many other states. I don't know if we have better smog bits, but we do have required periodic smog checks.

"The Mini Cooper S, which in most states has similar emissions levels to the TT, actually has its own special version in these states."

This quote from that linked blog is incorrect. MINIs were designed to comply with California's tough standards in all 50 states.


Clover

 

"MINIs were designed to comply with California's tough standards in all 50 states."

There's nothing to worry about then. My other car was built with 2 versions...California and all states. What I didn't understand was why they would call it "all states" when in fact you had to buy the cali version. Pretty confusing and a lot of people made some serious mistakes when ordering them. They did a very thorough check at the DMV with my car since it was purchased in Virginia.

 

You don't remember quite correctly. The 7500-mile rule applies to used cars only. If a car is new, you can buy it anywhere and bring it to CA and register it (once it has passed a smog test).