Ouch, sorry to hear that so many of you had your orders screwed up. I know how time seems to crawl while you are anxiously waiting for your MINI to be built and delivered. Seems like MINI didn't put any QA into the website or the dealer ordering process for the '07s. Hope MINI finds a way to push your re-orders through the queue quickly.

 

My MINI was one of the ones effected. Tuesday I contacted my MA, he agreed we had a problem. Wednesday he re-optioned one of the dealer inventory MINIs to my specs. Today I have a new production number with a week 6 build. My MA and therefore the dealership made every effort as quickly as possible to rectify the situation.
Yes, I will have to wait a little longer for my MINI, but I'm getting what I want. Whether or not MINI USA does anything to apologize for their oversight will not lessen my enjoyment of the car.

 

Glad for you MiniC - thats about as good as it gets so far.

 

I just spoke with my MA. Having been in sales for 22 years, I have to emphathize with the "lowly salesman". In the big picture (not just BMW) the salesman in any business is the low man on the totem pole. Not being fully informed, they are left to order "in the dark". So we have a "screwup".
I asked him how many cars he had to deal with at the dealership, and the number he said was 95. He said they'd been able to "save" all but 4. So they lost 5% to reorders. I'm one of those, and of course, those numbers don't make ME feel any better. I was not ready to accept a fairly stripped down Cooper S that I tried to put all the mainline performance/handling options on, incorrectly arrive minus a cruise control or the multifunction steering wheel. Along with the stereo upgrade, the items I put on the car were necessary to make it the Mini that I WANTED TO DRIVE. A DRIVER'S CAR. Again, it comes in at just over $25k...not a lot of money for a performance MCS, IMO.
That said, he quickly informed me that they would comp me the rubber floor mats I have on my order for front/rear/boot. I had sent an email courteously requesting this "comp", and mentioned that, as a salesman myself, who has "eaten it" on freight and further discounting when I've had a product error or delivery screwup during over more than two decades in sales, I felt I was letting them off easy...and that this was the right thing for BMW to do.
The online system was giving him problems and he could not give me a delivery date for the reorder, nor did he have any idea if these reorders would be moved forward in the line.
I want to state clearly that I have no beef with my dealer, the MA, or anyone I have dealt with at East Bay Mini. They are stuck in the middle of a tough situation.
I am honestly feeling a little depressed and let down about this deal, but let's face it... it's not life and death, and I'll (and WE"LL) get through it. Does it leave BMW with "egg on it's face"? YES. Will I still love my new MCS when it gets here. YES, YES and YES!
Remember this, guys and girls... look out the window right now. Is the sun shining? Are you above ground? Hey, TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD.

BUT A NEW MCS WOULD SURE MAKE IT BETTER!!

I want to add that my MA at East Bay Mini is Robert Mathews, and he is a great guy. Blair and Kristina have been very helpful, too.

 

I guess I should name my dealer since they have been very cooperative. It's MINI of Pittsburgh and my MA was Graham Chandler.

 

DOH!!! No MFSW for me either!!! I think I am just going to take the car anyway. Since my wife has a GTI with DSG we'll probably just use that for long road trips and such.

 

My order dosent even have eny sort of extra stering wheel.imp atient
E-mailing my MA now!! Hotpefully 1-866-ASK-MINI is wrong.

 

My MA just confirmed that even though both items were on the original build sheet when the order was placed, the car DOES NOT have the MFSW.
Like others, this is a 'must have' item for me. We are discussing a re-order with late March delivery.

 

This really sucks. In my opinion cruise control should be a standard no-cost option. A car at this price should have it. I am considering not taking the car and maybe buying another make.

 

Yes, you're right. Cruise control should be standard equipment. It's not, somebody screwed up with the ordering codes and now many of us have to take something we are not happy with, or re-order. None of us are pleased with this, but don't you think buying another make of vehicle is a little extreme?

 

It appears that the order I placed in December for my MCS has also been messed up. I had speced the car with a Sports Leather Steering Wheel w/Multifunction for $550 but in Mini Owners Lounge when I review my order, it is listed only as Sports Leather Steering Wheel. Not having cruise control or radio controls on the wheel is not an option for me. And neither is placing a new order and waiting an addition 8 weeks an option. I called ASK MINI and they told me to talk to my MA. I've left a message for my MA and waiting to hear back from him.

As the whole Mini concept is based around custom cars, Mini should accept responsiblity for such mix-ups while placing orders and provide solutions that are acceptable to the customers. Mini might be this big global conglomerate with an almost monopoly but they have to take responsibility for their mistakes.

 

Good luck with that loaner.. I somehow doubt they will go for that.

But if they do that would be awesome.

fjork: You went from "I'll take it anyways.." to "I'm gonna think of a new car model/brand to buy" in less than 2 hrs? LoL Don't think so drastically =P

 

Reordered mine today. Pisses me off that someone will be driving the one I've been waiting 3 months while I wait again. Wanted the new Mini for Vegas, now I'm not going.

 

I totally feel your pain. It dawned on me today that I might have to re-order also which will just add to my wait for no fault of mine. Is your dealer doing anything to make up for this mix-up - like expedite your new order, or give you a price break or anything else?

 

He hasn't offered anything yet. That would be nice.

 

Hahhaha I know. I think you'd be pissed too if you had to drive your wife's new beetle to work. Hahahha. Now it's going to be alot longer. The good news is that I added the audio package since the car will be built later. I will however go into the dealer and make sure I get a nice long test drive with my would-be no cruise control mini.

I'm guessing the wiring harness must be different for cars w/o cruise control. Who knows. Nowadays you'd think they just would have to plug in the wheel, connect a lead then flash the ECU...

 

Did you ask the dealer to make up for the mix-up? I doubt they will do anything voluntarily.

 

I'm trying to stay away from this thread, but every time I look its getting bigger and bigger. 95 orders at one dealership? How many incorrect orders does it take before Mini acknowledges that this was a flaw in the ordering system, and not operator error?

And why was there no one at the factory that checks orders before they enter production? Each one of these could have been cleared up with a phone call or email.

And why was there no one in Quality Control that compared the cars build to the destination market? Its a very simple thing to see that no car with a 3 spoke wheel missing MF buttons should be heading to the USA. How could these cars ever leave the factory?

When they finally got their heads out of their *ss what did they do? They send a bulletin to the dealers that said "you have a problem". That was probably a week or two ago. Right then they should have made the call to either rebuild all the cars, RIGHT THEN, or commit to an engineering solution - a harness jack to install at the VDC, or on a recall basis for affected vehicles.

But instead we have dedicated, early adopters, going to the back of the queue, or taking cars they did not order. And we're stone walled here. I mean for pete's sake, throw us bone Mini! How about a phone call?

Its a spectacular DEBACLE. Right on top of the USA intro. Mini makes spectacular blunder on dozens of car orders. Do they think people are going to glaze over this in the JD Power surveys? You think they would make some effort at damage control?

They have the opportunity here to be the very best car manufacturer, by going above and beyond the call to make this right. They could be the biggest hero, and win our faith and commitment by making all these orders right in a timely fashion. They could live up to the pitch they use to sell cars. Well, I must be dreaming because it does not look like thats going to happen.

So I invite you to join me at the MotoringFile's comment messages, to whizzy all over the USA intro. I think they've earned it.

http://motoringfile.com/2007/01/31/u...#comment-91415

 

Greg-

I know you are upset. You've had your chance to vent. Your order got screwed up. But we are still just talking about a purchase, a thing. If you want what you ordered (and you should get what you want), then let them re-order it. The company didn't catch a glitch in the system. That's what happens with a new product. But you are starting to let this rule you. It's not the end of the world, just a steering wheel. You'll get another one.

 

dbhouston: Maybe its not affecting you, hence you don't think that waiting 2 extra months is a big deal.

Mini has to make up for this mistake...

 

Its not ruling me. I decided immediately to take my order without the MFSW. I won't miss it, and it cost too much to begin with. They should have just been standard. I ordered it reluctantly because I enjoyed the radio controls on our other car, but its no great loss to me.

So, I'm quite content with what I'll be getting. What I'm upset with is the raw deal that people who do care about this are being handed and the lack of accountability on the part of Mini. Their lack of action is in complete contradiction to the ethos they use to market the cars. It is hypocrisy. The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. I find it offensive.

 

Sorry but for something you are asking for.. "Loaner for 2 months from dealerships" is way out of there league..

You are putting the blame on the dealership there instead of MINIUSA.

 

Not quite clear...is there a specific date on which this mistake with the MFSW was rectified?

All the people (including myself) who's cars just finished production the 31 of Jan possibly could have this problem also?

 

I just got my production number for week 10 and checked in the OL (finally!) and my order is there, although the specs are off from what the dealer emailed me. My Tucsan seats are missing, and I have the Bluetooth AND the Sports package but my steering wheel is listed as "Sports Leather Steering Wheel" with no mention of multifunction. Is it too soon to worry about it? How do I see the part number via the OL?

 

It may be too soon. My MA told me that for at least the first 48 hrs. after getting the prod. number the specs wouldn't look right. She said something about how they just modify an existing car in queue with your order. I haven't received my number yet, so I can't verify that.