Hello to everyone:
I live in San Francisco and I'm chomping at the bit to buy a Clubman S.
My local dealer(s) all have markups of anything from $2500.00 to $5000.00, depending on the Clubman's configuration. I want a Clubman, but not enough to give money away! Greed in the Bay Area is running rather high!

I've only read a couple of reviews of Classic MINI of Mentor, as well as a few reviews of MINI of Murray, Utah. Some of the charges, like documentation fees to register the car in Utah, add up to quite a bit, and I'm going to register the car in California anyway, so I'm a little leery of the numbers coming from Utah; I'd like to make a more informed comparison.

I would sincerely appreciate feedback from members of this forum.

 

I got mine from Classic - I live in Pittsburgh and drove up there to buy mainly because Mini of Pittsburgh had 3-4 month waiting lists... Classic happened to have the car I had configured on the lot...

I was very pleased w/ the experience... We did the deal 100% over the phone - including the negotiation over the allowance for my trade...

Delivery was totally painless - I had a delivery appointment at 11am, got there at 10:15 or so...

The car was fully detailed and in the showroom w/ a cute sign on it saying "Please don't touch me - I'm going home to my new owner Manu today!"...

When coming into the showroom, I was greeted and once I introduced myself they knew about the appointment time, got the MA, offered/got us coffee and soda - VERY welcoming...

The MA spent a full 30 mins going over every detail of the car; then I took it for a brief spin... Promptly at 11 the F&I dude took care of the paperwork... There was never an attempt to upsell extended warranties, paint sealers or anything like that...

We were back on the road to Pittsburgh by 11:20!... Overall an extremely positive experience...

The customer followup after the sale has also been fantastic... I've had the car about 3.5 months now and have received 3 phone calls from the MA checking on issues (there have been none) and offering her continued assistance in any way...

Hope this helps...

 

Even if you buy out-of-state the dealer should be able to register the car for you in California. And at my dealer in Boston those fees were only $15 higher than if I'd gone to the registry of motor vehicles to do the registration myself. The dealer should be able to give you a break down of the documentation fees so that you can see where they are going.

 

There's a MINI dealer from Long Island that advertises here. They say they'll ship anywhere in the country for $500.

 

I did not buy my Clubman there (like everyone else, no inventory), however I did visit them during the "investigation" phase of my purchase decision. They were not pushy at all, and allowed me to test drive both R56 S and non-S versions, plus auto & manual transmissions for evaluation purposes. They even kept an eye on my 10 & 12 y.o. girls while my wife & I did this.

I ended up buying my Clubman at Towne Mini (Buffalo) because of good timing - they had just received one in that closely matched the one I had built on the mini site. However, I have ordered mudflaps and oil filters from Classic's parts department because they provide a 10% discount to NAM members. That has been a pleasant experience so far. They did send the wrong filters, however to make up for the mistake they immediately sent replacement filters + 5 quarts of mini oil.

Good luck!

 

come down to socal to southbay mini no mark ups or any added fees just msrp. and you do not have to go thru the out of state transfer and registration.

 

I would give Amanda a try at SouthBay Mini to see when they can get you a Mini, after that I would try Mini of Las Vegas I dealt with Jason Weinstock there. Our Clubman is being built week 38 and we will pick it up in Vegas. Mini makes a 50 state car. If you purchase like in Nevada you get a $8 temp registration, go to DMV pay taxes, get a smog test and pay registration.

 

Hey Macmansf! Although I did not buy my mini from Classic, I would highly recommend them! Brandon was who I had been dealing with and he was great. Real young guy who knew his product incredibly well. I happened to have found my exact MINI brand new that someone backed out of in Colombus. Brandon tried to do what he could but if you are going to buy from Classic, he was great to work with. felt bad that I could't give him the sale! Hope you love your MINI!