[Halfgreek]

Okay, so I took a test drive at East Bay MINI today. I took a drive at MINI of Concord last week. I'm fairly certain that my next car will be a MINI Cooper S. However, I'm not ready to purchase. And I won't be until about May of 2003.

When I asked East Bay MINI about their waiting list they said it is a year for Cooper S. This is pretty long. Especially when I was thinking more along the lines of 6-8 months.

So there is essentially 5 dealers in the area:
A. Niello in Sac (no way am I going there based on the long thread)
B. East Bay MINI (MSRP, no nonsense, great reviews by others on this board, 1 year wait).
C. MINI of Concord (looks like they charge about $2K over MSRP, I don't know about wait times.)
D. MINI of SF (dealer extras, questionable service, shorter wait time)
E. MINI of Mountain View (don't know anything about them).

So my questions are:

1. Does anybody know about the wait times at MINI of Concord?
2. Does Mountain View charge extra? How are their wait times?
3. What are the wait times from SF?

Since I'm willing to wait awhile do you think I should just put my $1K deposit in at East Bay MINI and ride it out for a year and get a 2004 model?

Your thoughts?

Thanks,
Chris

[Sejanus]

Don't know that much about Concord, but I'm still on their e-mail list and it seems like they usually have a few cars available so I would imagine their wait time isn't too bad.

[spoon]

based on my experience, i have been happy with niello mini. there are no surprises because the price is listed on their inventory website. they usually have 1-4 coopers and 1-2 's's in stock.
i think one of the biggest complaints is that niello doesn't take custom orders. i guess i was lucky to find what i wanted in their stock. walked in, took a test drive, and left with a cooper in less than two hours.

[Halfgreek]

Quote:

Originally posted by spoon
based on my experience, i have been happy with niello mini. there are no surprises because the price is listed on their inventory website. they usually have 1-4 coopers and 1-2 's's in stock.
i think one of the biggest complaints is that niello doesn't take custom orders. i guess i was lucky to find what i wanted in their stock. walked in, took a test drive, and left with a cooper in less than two hours.

Did you have to pay anything over MSRP at Nielo?

[spoon]

Halfgreek,
yes, about 800 for their 'protection package' - which includes floor mats, wheel locks, and paint protectant. i think the markup on the 's' is even higher. i realize it's simply a dealer markup (that stuff isn't worth 800), but that's what i expected when i started looking into the mini. price you pay when a car is this new and unique! the price listed on the website is the price you pay...
hope this helps

[PFmontoya]

Concord
Well i got mine from Concord and they are ok.
Hello Spoon See ya at sf oct 19th?

[Halfgreek]

Quote:

Originally posted by PFmontoya
Concord
Well i got mine from Concord and they are ok.
Hello Spoon See ya at sf oct 19th?

So at Concord. Did you just buy whatever they have in stock or can you order it and get it delivered? If you ordered it, how long did you wait?

[PFmontoya]

bought one off the floor and ordered one

[Halfgreek]

Quote:

Originally posted by PFmontoya
bought one off the floor and ordered one

So, on the one you ordered from them, how long of a wait time?

Thanks.

[PFmontoya]

just 3 months
and i can't wait!

[Halfgreek]

Here is a summary of what I know so far.

There is essentially 3 ways to buy a MINI in the Bay Area.

#1 - Buy off the lot of whatever is in stock and not accounted for. You can do this at any dealer with varying markups.
(NOW = MARKUP = NOT NECESSARILY WHAT YOU WANT)

#2 - Place your order at a dealer. Wait about 3-4 months and get your MINI. The caveat is that pay a markup. On the Cooper it is about $1000 and for the Cooper S it is about $2000-2500. This is the case at Concord, San Francisco and Mountain View.
(3 MONTHS = MARKUP = WHAT YOU WANT)

#3 - Get on a waiting list for $1000. The wait is about 12 months for a Cooper S. You place your order about 9 months after getting on the waiting list. Your $1000 is refundable up until you place your order. However, you do not pay the markup. This is the policy in Pleasanton.
(12 MONTHS = NO MARKUP = WHAT YOU WANT)

So what it comes down to is that I can't really get it right now. I was thinking more like 6-8 months. However, what I'm going to do is put $1000 down and get on the waiting list in Pleasanton. Then I have time to think about it. Then if I ever decide to pay the markup and get it sooner I can. If not... well... then I get a 2004 MINI Cooper S for MSRP in October of 2003.

What do you think?

[mini-is-4-me]

BUY from East Bay MINI...they are the best!

Trust me...I think they are sand-bagging that 1 year wait...they just want to "over-deliver" on your expectations instead of "under-deliver" and have you be upset at them 8 months in. Eventhough they say 1 year....all the people I talked to picking up a car at the same time were waiting 6-8months. They are the most popular that's why there are more people waiting there.

The 1 year is a worst case scenario....if people ahead of you in line, change their mind, lose money in the stock market, die, get terminally ill, lose their job and a whole bunch of other nasties, then you move up in line (and this stuff does happen) That's why 12 months typically turns into 6-8 months. I got my car there in 1.5 months but I was willing to take someone elses reject. If you would do that you could probably get your car alot sooner, you just may end up with heated seats or some other insanely ordered California option. (BTW> no offense intended if your going for heated seats)

[Sejanus]

I agree that the one year wait is probably a worst case scenario. I know my Cooper came into East Bay a couple of months ahead of what I had originally been quoted.

[lotatoys]

Quote:

based on my experience, i have been happy with niello mini. there are no surprises because the price is listed on their inventory website. they usually have 1-4 coopers and 1-2 's's in stock.

Niello loves customers who walk in and pay their price, no questions asked. That's why I avoided the long wait and signed up out of state. Mini of Murry in Slat Lake City is great. No mark-up, shorter wait time and what better way to spend a little $ over sticker than to fly out and have a great drive home?
As for service I'm going with East Bay, based on what I've read here on MINI2. Anyone have problems scheduling service for same day drop off and pick up?

[spoon]

Quote:

Originally posted by lotatoys

Niello loves customers who walk in and pay their price, no questions asked.

i'm not trying to promote any dealer, i was just sharing my experience. i expected to pay a premium - and msrp is premium alone - when purchasing a new and unique car. similar to people who bought the new beetle or pt cruiser the first year. and what's $800 on top of a 4 year loan? a small price to pay to drive off the lot that day with the car i wanted. if i wanted to pay under msrp, i would've bought a pt cruiser.

[jaycbird]

Since you're willing to wait, you've chosen wisely.


Since I was unwilling to wait, I decided to look at the mark-up as a gratuity to which ever dealer I would eventually deal with. In other words, it became a popularity contest. I went with Concord, whose staff ROCKS!


Pleasanton was very pleasant, however the 14 month wait I was quoted at the time just seemed... unbearable! In the end, I will have waited 6 months, due to the Indi Blue S delay, but that was MY choosing, so I'm ok with that. (I'm not so ok with the current lock-out, but that's a different thread...)

With your patience, you might actually have the HK system available!

[olddad]

Couldn't find fault with MINI of Murray.
Short wait time, MSRP, exactly as I ordered, full tank of gas and a MINI odometer T-shirt.
Really nice people that I would not hesitate to do business with again.
The trip home was fun and not very long at all. Hard to keep under 90 though...watch for cops.

[lotatoys]

Quote:

i'm not trying to promote any dealer, i was just sharing my experience. i expected to pay a premium - and msrp is premium alone - when purchasing a new and unique car. similar to people who bought the new beetle or pt cruiser the first year. and what's $800 on top of a 4 year loan? a small price to pay to drive off the lot that day with the car i wanted. if i wanted to pay under msrp, i would've bought a pt cruiser.

I wasn't trying to upset anyone with my comments either. I just pointed out that not all dealers were cutthroats like Niello. If someone is willing to take what's on the lot and pay extra for the priviledge then that's their choice. My point is that there are other alternatives to paying top dollar when a little internet footwork and some phone calls wil get the same car much cheaper. You didn't have to put your name on a wiat list at all, as even Mini of Murray has cars on the lot to sell. Still would have only paid MSRP, spent a little on a plane ticket and would NOT be driving a PT Cruiser (AKA Neon). By the way, an off the lot "S" at Niello will cost you more than $2k over MSRP.

[ksb]

The summary of the SF Bay Area dealers here is nearly exactly what I have learned in my shoping this last few weeks. Except...

East Bay seemed quite confident that 12 months was what I should expect to wait for an S, and that was for a 2003, not a 2004. Is it just the case that they have a smaller allottment than the other dealers, while at the same time selling at MSRP that causes them to have such a longer wait time?

The Concord sales people don't seem very well informed. Nearly every question I asked ended up being a discussion between a few sale people. "Uhm, like, I'm not sure. Let me check.... nope the S doesn't come in green" I'm on the fence as to whether that is a bad thing though. I can learn what I need, hopefully, from these forums, and then see that they get the order right. Nice that they don't requre a deposit to order, and I can back out at the very last minute (not just when they order it).

On the actual markups (S only):
SF: $2900 with 3 month wait
Concord: $2500 with 3 month wait
Mountian View (phone call): $2500 with 3 month wait
East Bay: MSRP but with $1000 deposit for 12 month wait

So, I've put the deposit down at East Bay and ordered at Concord. We'll see if Concord gets it right, if not I'm not out anything, though I'll have to wait for East Bay. If Concord does get it right, I'll have been out of my $1000 deposit for 3 months.

Ya know, East Bay said they have 400 people waiting. That's $400K sitting in a bank working for them. Hell, who needs to mark anything up when you can have that kind of money sitting around for you?

ksb

[jaycbird]

Quote:

Originally posted by ksb
...East Bay...Is it just the case that they have a smaller allottment than the other dealers, while at the same time selling at MSRP that causes them to have such a longer wait time?

The Concord sales people don't seem very well informed. ...Nice that they don't requre a deposit to order, and I can back out at the very last minute (not just when they order it).

On the actual markups (S only):
SF: $2900 with 3 month wait
Concord: $2500 with 3 month wait
Mountian View (phone call): $2500 with 3 month wait
East Bay: MSRP but with $1000 deposit for 12 month wait
---- --- --- ---
Ya know, East Bay said they have 400 people waiting. That's $400K sitting in a bank working for them. Hell, who needs to mark anything up when you can have that kind of money sitting around for you?
ksb

Just a couple IMHO's to the above...

re East Bay (Pleasanton): You've hit the nail exactly on the head, on every point!

re Concord: I've stopped in there a few times, and there have been a couple moments of confusion, though I don't blame them. With the myriad of options between the two types of vehicles, plus the detailed changes being made from the 02's to 03's I'm not surprised that they check with each other. (Not to mention that BMW-MINI itself doesn't seem all that sure!) I am ok with the self doubt and double checking. Also, since my dealings with them are 'real time' (ordering, manipulating options, etc. NOW), I expect their information to be more 'live' than East Bay.

re Mountain View: I never went there. I figured the Stanford kids would have mobbed the place!

re SF: Did someone actually TALK to you?!!!