Just wondering if anyone has some suggestions for shipping a Mini. More than likely if I purchase a Mini, it won't be from my local dealer. So I'm curious if people have had good fortune getting their MINIs shipped.

Major price differences between open air and enclosed?
Was the dealer easy to work with?
Did any dealers off great discounts or FREE shipping with a new purchase? (i.e. MSRP AND free or discounted shipping?)

any insight would be great! Thanks

 

Check with Classic MINI in Ohio. They've shipped (to California) a few truck loads of cars to people that aren't so close to them.

 

From my experience: Classic is about ~$1500 from Ohio to Los Angeles, but they ship in an enclosed carrier. Mini of the Hamptons has a special $500 shipping from NY to anywhere in the U.S., but is non-enclosed truck to Chicago, and enclosed train from Chicago to Los Angeles.

In my case, I went with MOTH. I managed to get them to give me free shipping and a $500 discount off MSRP (probably since my car cost >$30k, it was mid-late Februrary, and I was driving a hard bargain...).

 

Duck, a couple of the Sin City club members bought from the Utah dealership and had good experiences. Talk to Mark (Smooth is Quik). He got his MINI there last year.
Karen is an MA at the dealership there and president of the Utah club, and a really nice lady. A 1-way flight to Salt Lake City is pretty cheap, and the easy 1 day drive back will get your break-in half done.

 

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

I have transported a couple of cars from various points in the country with no problems except this last time (this last week with my wife's car). I have used both open and closed... the open is much cheaper but the car will be very dirty

 

Depending where the car is being shipped, check with Autolog first. They were by far the cheapest that I found and use enclosed train cars so it is quicker, safer, and cleaner. I have dealt with a few other companies and they were very shady and rude, but Autolog was very nice. It was under $1000 from NY to Seattle. If at all possible find a company that is the shipper themself, and not just an agent that finds a shipper for you like most "shipping" companies are because they will overcharge you and jerk you around. Jerks.