[RBEmerson]

Here's one strategy for getting around the waiting list without risking a term in jail for Grand Theft: Auto.

I bought a demo MINI from West German BMW of Ft. Washington, PA. They are not a MINI dealer; they bought the car from a car auction. The car was used as a demo and had 2367 miles on it when I took delivery. A friend works in the used car business, basically conveying cars to and from used car auctions. Alan cautions that auctions are not for novices. However, it's not unheard of for dealers to simply clear a car off the lot by sending it to an auction.

To date I've put almost 2,000 miles on the car in a little under a month (partly because it's that much fun to drive and partly because of where I have to drive to) and it's only shown one problem which I knew about when I bought the car: the ECU problem which, with luck, will be fixed tomorrow (11 Oct. 02). The car had to minor problems: hatch latch - fixed with lithium grease - and the right rear seat release was broken by another prospective customer. See my negative comments on Don Rosen service in the dealership forum under the Don Rosen thread for the story of getting this fixed. No other defects were found.

Could the car have been mistreated before I got it? Who knows? How long did I have to wait to get my MINI? Two days (time to re-detail the car and get my trade-in, a 2002 Ford Explorer, ready to trade in). The price of the deal: $24,300 with the sport package. Could I have saved money? Of course, but I'd still be dreaming of the distant date when I finally would have my MINI. [GRIN]

[stryder]

Congrats on your purchase, and being creative enough to avoid the typical lines. I just want to mention my experience with demo cars. When I first test drove, I took the demo car out of the dealer's lot, turned onto the street and stomped on the gas and didn't shift to redline. The salesman didn't even flinch. (The car had 80 miles on it at the time). I'd imagine I wasn't the first person to do such a thing, nor anywhere near the last in the life of that tester. (I also beat up on the tires going around corners, but that'd be obvious if you look at them) I'd keep this in mind if you plan to keep the car past its warranty period, but if you don't, or just keep extending it in mind you should be quite happy with your purchase.

Best of luck and welcome to MINI ownership.

[RBEmerson]

Hey, thanks! I've had the car almost a month and I still occasionally take a peek in the parking area behind my office and have to laugh. Whatta great car!!!

Y'know, I thought about somebody taking a brandy new, never been run car and saying "what'll she do?". I'm not as worried about this as I would have been even only 10 or 15 years back. Engines are generally pretty well built to work out of the box. For example, in the "bad old days" I'd have run a new motor for maybe a hundred miles and changed out the oil to get out the casting sand, chips, and maybe the remains of some slob's lunch. Everybody I've run into of late, including my BMW dealer (we also have a 325Xi - v. cool car to drive, BTW) says "don't mess with the oil - it's just not worth it." Now, I suppose a cynic could say, 'yeah, well, that's so you'll be back later for a rebuild". My wife's last BMW, an '87 325is (darn close to an M3 for a lot less money), was still pulling like a freight train at 165K and she would have kept the car but the rack was going, the trany was potentially at risk (funny noises on occasion), the trunk lid had begun to rust (poor undercoating?), and we'd had enough electrical problems to wonder if Lucas, Prince of Darkness had supplied the electrics. And all of this with minimal oil changes (my wife just wouldn't let the car sit long enough to get a regular oil change).

Hmmm... come to think of it, when I demo-ed the car with maybe 60-100 miles on the clock I pretty much mashed the loud pedal. Oh, and spun out of a hard right-hander. V. interesting to see the landscape start to go by sideways while gazing out the windshield... It was all the salesman's fault. We started telling racing lies (we never raced each other but knew a lot of the same people) and he said, "ah, go on and really put your foot in it." I did. I really thought he'd say "get out of the car and never come back." Instead [diminuative of Richard beginning with "D" that triggers the "no rude words" censor] just said, "Oh, I've had worse rides." I should have taken the hint about the car's abysmal weight balance and rear end loading but we bought the car and it survived without another major spin. But that's another day's tale. [GRIN]

Anyway, trying to get back to my point, with the '02 BMW, the break in is simple: don't lock the brakes for a while, for the first 1K don't use engine breaking and keep it under a 100 MPH (honest!). That's it! Even though the MCS motor is a Chrysler (Neon-based???) motor, I figure it'll stay glued together if it's fed oil and not beaten regularly.