Well, I finally did it! After 4+ hours test driving, making final decisions, talking and NEGOTIATING, I finally got my order in! Estimated delivery sometime in September...now all I have to do is wait...

2012 Manual ALL4, Pure Red w/ Black top and mirrors, black bonnet stripes, Carbon Black leather interior, Technology Pkg, Connected w/ Nav, Winter Pkg, Flat load floor, Premium Pkg without alarm & interior chrome, Anthracite rims, Auto A/C, Sunroof

 

Sounds nice. Congrats!

I am still muling over options. Can't wait to pull the trigger though.

How much negotiations were you able to do? Do tell

 

Congrats! Which dealer did you go to and how was your experience? Did they give you a date when your car would begin production?

 

So, to give all the gory details, I went in on Saturday morning without calling ahead mainly because I didn't want to seem to desperate. I had done a lot of research ahead of time, looked at the pricing info for 2012, knew the invoice price of the car I was looking for and also read what other people had gotten for discounts. In short, I had a pretty good idea of what I could get. I went to Mini of Peabody in Mass because it's the nearest dealer as I'm from NH. I was absolutely prepared to move on to Mini of Boston, Mini of Warwick and/or Mini of Hartford if necessary to get what I wanted.

Anyway, they tried REALLY hard to get me to buy something out of inventory, which I absolutely would have considered except they really didn't have what I wanted. I was absolute in my need for Connected with Nav and as of Saturday, there was one car in all of New England on a lot that had Nav (I think it was in New Jersey). It just didn't have all the options I wanted so we ended up doing what I planned to do all along, ordered it.

So, to start with, my MA told us up front that everyone paid MSRP and that's it. There were no discounts, no incentives, nothing. Everyone paid MSRP...so, we sat down and he started putting in all the options that I wanted, we checked and double checked and the price came in $1250 over what I wanted to pay. We told the MA that we really were looking to spend closer to $2250 less than the offered price and he suggested that I start removing options. Then he said he might be able to get me some free accessories, which I really wasn't interested in. I know that I can get them online for less than dealer cost anyway. Now, keep in mind that by this point we'd been in the dealership for about 3+ hours. The MA had spent a lot of time working with us...so he again reiterated that no one ever pays less than MSRP. At which point my boyfriend looked at me, I shook my head, stood up and said Thanks but no thanks. He looked completely shocked when I said that as I'm sure he had it in his head that I would just cave. So he went back to his manager, making us wait for another 15 minutes and finally came back with an offer for $1000 off MSRP. It was still $250 more than I really wanted to pay, but I think getting anything off was decent.

After that, we did all the paperwork and I'd like to reiterate what has been said before - CHECK the papers! My MA had a few mistakes on the paperwork (Connected with NO Nav, for example) that needed to be fixed. Ultimately it got all squared away however.

We were then led to the finance dealers office where we were given an overview of all the options they wanted me to buy. I'll list the prices that I can remember but don't have the sheet in front of me. Extended service to 6 yr/100k - $2295, invisishield $795, tire warranty, some other warranties, etc...I got asked what I was doing about financing and gave some vague answers and whatnot. I'm going to have to go through all of this again in September when I pick up the car but I know that they REALLY want me to finance with MINI. She told me that she could probably match any credit union out there, etc etc.

And finally...I was able to leave. I do not yet have a production number or production week nor do I have a VIN or anything like that. My MA's best guess was that he'd have that info "some time in late August" around the time that production begins. As a side note, I have my dealer's 6th 2012 Countryman slot so he was fairly confident that it would get done in August and delivered in September, as opposed to being pushed out into a September slot.

So...that's all I know for now...I'll update if I hear anything new...

 

Mini Lauren.

What a job!!!!! I've put in that time without even ordering ours. We have decided what we want, Now there is a decision to be made as to color. Originally, my wife wanted LC with BRM now she stated that I can chose the color. It's between RG with BRM/ TB with BRM or stay with LC BRM. or?????

 

Lauren,

MoP are a good group of folks. Ditto on New Country in Hartford. I have taken my '04 MCS to the incredible shop run by Gary King at MoP for all its servicing. You will not find a more keenly intelligent, experienced, and more likable Service Manager anywhere. He is a master at diagnosing issues and has a large following among the MINI owners here in New England.

BTW -- MoP contributes to the MINI community like no other dealer. For the last 8 years, they have been one of the largest sponsors of MINIs On Top and other community events.

Remember, the total costs of ownership start with the purchase but, after that, it's all about life after the 36th month!

 

I'm pretty happy with them so far...once Mini of Bedford opens I'll be taking it there for service. They are both owned by the same group though, so I'm hoping for good experiences there too.

 

Yup. The Lyon-Waugh group owns both and they are a class act. You'll be glad to know that Gary King is in the processing of staffing Bedford with Techs that meet his exacting standards.

Looks like the opening date will be mid-July or so. I saw the site on June 18th and it was still under construction. The shell of the building will be all glass (at least the front half) so they are busy building-out the interior portions that are shielded by plastic.

You're in good hands!

 

I've bought some accessories through PofM and they've been awesome in the parts department as well.

As of now, I have floor mats for a car that I don't have yet....

 

I was gonna post the other day and say apparently I chose the wrong name. I should have gone with minilauren instead of laurenmini. However, my MA finally got back to me that my order is in the system now. I've been waiting since the beginning of May for my order to go in. My MA is saying production won't start until August 31st and I won't get the car until October. I hope she's wrong about that.

 

Actually, that sounds about right. Production at the Oxford, UK plant doesn't begin until September, but production in Graz, Austria may begin a bit earlier. As long as you haven't ordered the blacked-out headlamp surround or the 3-place rear seat, you will probably be toward the front of the production queue.

Your next milestone is to receive an official production number. BTW, you can make changes to your order right up until you get your production number. After that, no changes!

Sadly, with our 3-place rear seat order, our CMS won't go into production until November

Congratulations, Lauren!!!

Think: MINIs On Top 2012 (10th Anniversary), June 23 in the White Mountains!!!

 

Just to let you know, my MINI dealer was able to get a pretty good financing deal from a local credit union. But that was after we had started with a pretty good offer we brought in ourselves from a different credit union... I'm not sure if that helped or not but it probably didn't hurt. Credit union rates were much better than MNI financing.

If you look for prices yourself try to get information on specific rates and how they relate to loan-to-value ratios. If you don't put enough down to start a rate that a credit union gives you might end up higher than you thought.

 

I just ordered a 2012 Countryman from MINI of Mount Laurel (NJ). They did a fantastic job with getting the pricing down. According to what I have read; MINI should begin officially taking 2012 orders in about a week but; production for US models may be delayed. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Based on the latest info from a trusted MINI contact, production numbers will start being issued in August. However, there are two options that will force your order into later production:
- blacked-out xenons surrounds (wait until September)
- 3-place rear bench seat (wait until November)

Other than that, it's clear sailing starting in August.

 

Thanks Koopah; they excitment is already starting to build and I'm only about three hours from placing my order!

 

i ust got a call from my ma. he said that he was entering my 2012 countryman (that i ordered with him 3 weeks ago) in the system now and i would receive my production number tomorrow. i hope he's right!

 

Let me know if you actually get your production number...my MA entered my CM in the system when I was there on site but the print out didn't have a production number or week and he said he probably wouldn't have one until July or August. :(

 

You're both in better shape than me! My MA tells me that because I wanted MINI Connected w/o NAV he can't place my order. Let the negotiations resume!

 

Wow! Keep us posted when you receive your production number. It seems a little to soon but, heck, I'm not complaining!!!!

 

So, I placed my order for a countryman about a week ago. I'm pretty excited about it. However I have some questions regarding the process of placing the order.

When I placed my order I actually emailed my build to the MA( not sure what MA stands for, im guessing sales rep). When I actually got to the dealer. I gave them a check for $500 for the deposit and was given the deposit reciept. It was getting late at the time so the MA told me his manager was putting in the order but the MINI systems were slow so I could just go home. Me, being my paranoid self asked him for something showing that the price that we agreed upon(will get to this later) would not change when the car actually came in. He gave me his card and signed the back of it stating the price OTD. I feel like there is something missing in this process. I left the dealer with a deposit reciept that just says $500, only my last name(not my first) with a southbay mini stamp. I also have his business card stating the price and his signature. I have nothing regarding the car I ordered or the build i wanted.

Now the price we agreed upon was 35300 OTD for a countryman S 2wd with technology package navi, xenon headlight, auto a/c, moonroof and ext to 6 yr maintenance.

Can you let me know if there is anything I'm missing from placing the order and if the price is pretty reasonable or am I getting hustled?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

@haicu923 -

As of June 29th, final pricing had just been locked-up on the Motoring Advisor's ordering system. Documents had been distributed with pricing on them but the final pricing seems not to have become official until 6/29. There may still be some (minor) pricing adjustments in the next few weeks.

On June 29th, my MA sent me a copy of my "Design/MSRP" sheet with the order codes and pricing for my configured CMS2. It looks as though this sheet was the result of a "Vehicle Inquiry:Design/MSRP" report from MINIUSA's "Online Ordering" system. This would lead me to believe that your MA could also run this report and document your configuration and the pricing.

Time to have a chat with her/him...

 

@haicu923 -

i did my order through email and phone with a ma willing to give me a better deal then my local dealership. he emailed me a hand written contract with all my specs and pricing, it was signed by him and the sales manager. i had to sign the contract and email it back. i also give him my credit card for the deposit but it hasn't been charged because he wanted to wait until he could enter it in the system and produce me a production number. you might want to check with your ma for at least a hand written contract.

 

------------------------------------------------------------
Shawn of MINI of Mt Laurel is my MA. I really like them at this dealership. My CM is currently sitting on the dock waiting for it's ride.

 

haicu932 --

The system is absolutely online and available for your MA to put your order in. They can print out a sheet that has all the options plus pricing on it.

You should ask them for that and ask for their signature on it that says the pricing you agreed to. I know that my MA gave me a signed print out and also a handwritten form that had all the details on it.

I would definitely get something in writing with all the options and details.

 

I just had another thought...if you look at this thread: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-dealers.html you can see the pricing lists for all the 2012 options.

You can tally up the numbers for the options that you selected and at least find out what MSRP is for your car. From there, you can figure out whether you've been snookered or not.

I hope this helps...if you're lucky, I won't have another idea 3 seconds after submitting...