The floor mat thread

[milliethemini]

Mikkol, did you get any free rubber car mats and a key chain for your MINI when you bought it? Because that's pretty much the defacto $100 freebie these days.

We bought our all Indi Blue MINI Cooper S in August this year, a few weeks before they announced the 2004 pricing and options. All things considered, we are happy with our purchase, with the exception of the no-charge metallic paint on the 2004 models, because our year end discount effectively got reduced by $600.

If you do get an option of freebies, go for the rubber mats. You CANNOT put no-name rubber mats in the front, they won't fit in the footwells. Believe me, with the amount of rain we get in Vancouver, they are a must!!

Oh, and LittleD - MINI Richmond got the pricing for the 2004 models on September 15. So I would say that not only MINI Yaletown, but all Canadian dealerships, got official word of the pricing mid-September.

[mikkol]

Quote: Originally Posted by milliethemini

Mikkol, did you get any free rubber car mats and a key chain for your MINI when you bought it? Because that's pretty much the defacto $100 freebie these days.

I got the keychain but no rubber mats All I got is a set of carpets which seem to be come with the car. I actually bought the rubber mats (like $105 w/ tax) at the service center afterwards. A absolute need in Vancouver eh? I actually sold the original carpet online to support the rubber mats. Seems like in US they don't have it as standard.

I wonder if your mats got a different pattern from mine coz I heard that they changed the design from the circle shape one to something else...

[milliethemini]

I guessed I lucked out with the mats then!! As of August 2003, the mats were still the circular patterned ones. We think they look cool, though they don't really seem to keep the dirt in check as well as they should.

We have the rubber mats in front, the carpeted ones in the back, since we haven't had any extra passengers than the two of us, and the weather's still nice and dry (though I hear that will change on the weekend). Can I ask roughly how much you eBayed the carpeted mats for?

[LiddleD]

hey again Mikkol, yea it frustrates me too to know that the instant the dealer knows they have your business, they almost seem to forget about you. that's exactly i've felt since i "somewhat confirmed" the sale. as for the freebies, i just emailed my dood and i'll expect a reply in a couple days or so...is it reasonable to ask for the rubber mats as a freebie? i know i'm getting a keychain already...i asked about a 1:18 scale model of a Cooper S...since i collect 1:18 scale models....he offered me a 1:43 scale model in exchange for the good review...which is probably the size of a hot wheels' car...(ridiculous!) i said no almost instantly...hehe...

milliethemini: yea the prices only came out as of late, i still dont really understand why it took Mini Canada so long for the official pricing. the least Mini Yaletown, or Richmond for that matter could do, was to share a little sympathy. they didn't show the slightest bit of urgency for my sake! good service my *****!
so where you from milliethemini? noticed it was your first couple posts...you mentioned vancouver, you familiar with the small town of PoCo? haha...surprisingly enough people have no idea where it is in relation to the rest of the Lower Mainland.

~ Darren

[TINMAN]

:white:

[LiddleD]

yea i was pretty shocked too TINMAN, if you've read any of my earlier posts, i was beaming with smiles from the service there, but as time passed, it just got worse and worse. oh well, what can ya do? i'm just gonna bite my tongue and wait till my baby arrives...can't stop picturing myself in it i just wish i could count down, if only i knew when it was coming...there'd be a countdown everywhere i go!

[milliethemini]

LittleD,

Not that I am taking sides with MINI Yaletown, but if you look at it from their perspective, there's not very much they can do. They have no car to give you, and since all the infomation about the progress of the car is listed point-to-point on the Web, there's not much information they can give you except regurgitate what you already know.

I recall a comment that was made by the editors of the long-term review of the MINI Cooper S on edmunds.com, when they first bought a MINI Cooper S last year - "remember that the Mini salespeople don't have to sell the Minis. They are really just scheduling test drives and taking orders. It is likely that you will not get the level of service you would expect when buying a less trendy car".

So in a way, the MINI Yaletown salesperson has provided the level of service required. You test drove the car, and you placed the order. If the number of salespeople at MINI Richmond is any indication, they probably only have 3 salespeople on the floor at anytime at MINI Yaletown. If so, those salespeople would have their hands full tending to people coming into the showroom, scheduling test drives, taking care of paperwork. When we went to pick up our MINI, our salesperson spent an hour and a half with us. During that time, only 4-5 people came in, but with only 2 other salespeople on the floor, that was already a crowd!!.

And if several people have ordered 2004 MINIs too, they are probably just as anxious as you are and spamming their salesperson daily "Is it here yet? Is it here yet??" No surprise that your salesperson doesn't respond to your email right away, when you consider all the circumstances.

It would be nice if we got service above and beyond the call of duty, but that takes some really exceptional people to do that, IMHO. Lest you think we MINI owners have it bad, go to www.edmunds.com, go to their long-term test drive reviews, and read up on their experiences of owning a Ferrari 550 Maranello. Believe me, MINI service seems exceptional compared to the service of Ferrari America!!!

[milliethemini]

Oh, forgot to mention a couple of other things.

LittleD, I think it would be very difficult for you to answer the BMW survey until you actually get your car, as I would think that you couldn't truly indicate your overall buying experience until the car is actually in your hands, and you have had a few days to drive it to make sure everything seems to be working fine. Tell your salesperson or BMW/MINI Canada that you reserve judgement till the car is actually in your possession.

Forget about getting the model scale MINI as a freebie!! You can get those cars anywhere, but the rubber mats are one of a kind, so negotiate for that instead. BTW, I happen to have THREE 1/24 scale BRG/W MINI Cooper models by Maisto - one in my office, one at home, and one at the woman's office (she's Millie's real owner, she's just allowing me to drive it to my work to break it in - oh, the pain!! haha). Hope you are sitting down - they look great, and have decent detailing on them (though my work colleague, who is a hard-core model kit enthusiast, tells me Maisto is rather low-end - who cares?), and they only cost me $5 each. That's right, $5 each, and of all places, I found them at the toy section of the Real Canadian Superstore!! An AutoArt version at Matchbox Hobbies goes for $45, so I think I'm doing pretty good. Not sure if you can still find them at the Superstore, I think I bought them all (sorry!!)

[LiddleD]

yea i see your point milliethemini. although i guess i was just a little more frustrated because i kept hearing of everyone else who has production numbers, VIN numbers, and projected production dates, and delivery dates. I on the other hand was not given any of those pieces of information, and still have not been provided with them. anyway, i have decided not to really push much more as i think i will just frustrate myself, as well as the dealer in the end.

about the models, yea they're basically everywhere. i have over 70 1:18 scale models ...about 8 or so of them are Mini Coopers...some Bburago, and some Maisto...but yea, i know what your friend means when they say Maisto isn't great quality, because when you compare them with Bburago or AutoArt, Maisto's mostly plastic parts, where as Bburago and AutoArt use more metal....and plus...Maisto's made in Thailand, and Bburago's made in Italy...not sure about AutoArt, but they're stuff is top notch too.

i was definitely goin to wait for the survey until i got my car. there's no way i would take the survey now coz i realize i'm a little more 'emotional' rite now...hahah...but oh well, i just wanted to release some steam earlier, i just wasnt expecting what i got...that's all. it's ok tho.

~ Darren

[mikkol]

Yeah rubber mats clearly is worth more than model cars, and they can only be bought from dealers (or online)!

milliethemini: i sold my carpets for around 50 bucks USD Was thinking to keep it but then i thought nah maybe just keep some cash instead.. and sell them quick b4 there are more 3rd party ones in the market

[LiddleD]

i was offered the rubber mats instead of the "velour" ones...is it a good idea to take them instead? i'm not even familiar with what the velour ones look like? let alone the rubber ones? which looks/functions better as a whole?

~ Darren

[milliethemini]

The 'velour mats' refer to the carpeted mats, which I believe come STANDARD in Canadian MINIs. They are the ones that Mikkol said he eBayed after getting the rubber mats.

So I think that partly answers your question. I have both the velour and the rubber mats, in Millie we put the rubber mats in front, while leaving the velour ones in the back. With the rainy weather that we are expecting in the next little while (finally!!), you will want the rubber mats.

However, your salesperson is offering to replace something that is standard with a non-standard item, which to me makes the rubber mats less of a freebie. However, you do not need both, as it would be silly to put the rubber mats on top of the velour mats.

When we got Millie, my car salesperson threw the rubber mats in as part of the deal.

BTW, the rubber mats are very cool looking, with circular patterns on top of them. They are just as unique as the MINI!!

[HarryHBMCC]

My car came with velour (carpet) mats and I bought rubber mats last winter when my velour ones were getting kind of yucky. The rubber mats are nice but the acoustics of the car are worse with them, boomier. Just like you wouldn't put rubber in your livingroom to improve the sound (carpet is best), carpest is best in your car. It is a bit more comfortable in summer too but the rubber ones are great in winter.

I only use one set at a time, obviously, and I got rear ones too for the times I take friends out to lunch with their salty boots in winter.

Harry

[LiddleD]

yea that's true Milliethemini, that's what I was getting at too, it's not much of a freebie if they're just swapping one for one. I went onto Miniyaletown.net and I had a look at the rubber mats, they do look pretty cool! but I'm afraid I dont want them INSTEAD of the standard ones, if I dont get them free, then I'll just buy them because I would like the option of switching when it gets back to warmer weather.

who said you dont put rubber in your living room???

[Humourl3ss]

I'm separating this from the other thread, as it's veered totally off topic.

Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that though....

-CW