[CooperCooper]

Hello Gang,

I received my electric blue MCS this week from Moritz Mini and wanted to share my positive experience with this dealership. I, too, am a northern California resident who was turned off by the exorbitant mark-ups charged throughout the state, and by the extensive negative feedback for Niello Mini, my closet option.

I learned about Moritz through this group, and called them to investigate a purchase. I had grown tired of the waiting list at Long Beach Mini (L.A.), since the wait time had gone from 8-10 months in November (when I was put on the list) to 9-12 months in March (when apparently I hadn't moved up the ranks much). The folks at Moritz, however, were happy to set me up with a custom order at MSRP, and in fact had an order number for me within days.

Sure enough, the car went into production at the end of the month, and by mid-April was sitting on the dock in Southampton awaiting transport. By mid-May it arrived at Moritz, was delivered by the dealership to an auto transport company near Dallas, and finally ended up in Sacramento just last Tuesday.

Throughout the process the people at Moritz were very friendly and really made the whole experience of purchasing in absentia very easy. In fact, the day after I picked up my car I called to get the certificate of origin. That afternoon there was an express mail envelope on my doorstep with the certificate. I was quite pleased to see that the business manager at Moritz was one step ahead in getting the last of my documents to me.

My only complaint would have to be the difficulty of conducting a car purchase over the phone. It wasn't always easy to get in touch with my salesperson, Richard Mills, and not all of my messages led to a response. But overall I found that everything went quite well and that the car arrived as ordered, in perfect shape, with all requested options.

Many thanks to all in the group who helped guide me through the process. Now I can stop reading about Minis and just drive one!

CooperCooper

[minirossa]

CooperCooper,
Interesting post! I too am looking to buy an S out of state.
Spoke to Richard Mills a few weeks ago myself.

How long did it take from ordering to delivery? Couple of months? Was your car shipped on a open carrier? How much was shipping?

I've been trying to sort out which out of state dealer to go to? Whether I should drive it home or ship it?
How to handle the taxes & finacing?
Arrrgggghhhh! So many decisions!!!!

Thanks in advance for the info.

[CooperCooper]

When I started my order with Moritz, the wait for a production number was all but absent. I spent a few days talking with salespeople to get a clear understanding of the whole process, then gave a credit card number to them as a virtual deposit to gain a production number. The card was not actually charged at the time, but $2000 of the available credit was held to get the order started.

Once I sent the details from the Mini USA website to Moritz, I received a production number and saw confirmation of that number within a day or two on the Mini USA website. This happened in mid-March. By the first part of April the car was in production and on April 16th it was sitting on the docks in Southampton waiting for the trip across the pond.

After the car arrived in Texas I was able to handle the actual purchase via a cashier's check and FedEx. Can't help you on the financing question because we bought the car outright. However it was really an easy process and the folks at Moritz got the car delivered to the auto transport company while I was working out the payment details with the sales manager.

TnT auto transport got the car from Texas to Sacramento in fine condition for $750, but their logistical support was pathetic. Three times I called to check the progress of the delivery and was told each time that the car had left Dallas and would be arriving shortly. Each time I called back to get an updated ETA I was told that the car hadn't actually left Dallas but would be shortly.

When I set up the shipping, I was verbally given a delivery window of 7-12 days after taking possession of the vehicle. This is, or course, 7-12 weekdays excluding holidays. In reality, the window turned out to be 7-15 days, as I learned once they gave me an actual written date for their deadline. My delivery was considered 'early' since the car arrived 13 days later. So, it took nearly three weeks for the car to make it from Dallas to Sacramento with no clue by the tracking agent as to when the car actually left Dallas.

Irritations like this were quickly forgotten, however, once the new Mini arrived. In CA, the car must be smogged even though it is already certified by Mini to pass emissions requirements here. Went to the DMV with my smog cert and the certificate of origin and was registered with no problems. The sales tax stung, but it's a given with any car purchase.

Buying out of state is a little daunting at first, but most of the Mini dealers who know a thing or two about internet sales can get you through the process with minimal hassles. Given the options in CA, it's a great way to get the exact Mini that you want.

CooperCooper

[tavis1]

How much was the taxes and the price of the car? I live in CA also and thinking of getting mine from Roadshow mini In TN. Thankyou
Tavis1

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by CooperCooper
....
TnT auto transport got the car from Texas to Sacramento in fine condition for $750, but their logistical support was pathetic. ....

A timely article on the current state of the auto shipping industry: http://www.msnbc.com/news/910242.asp?0cv=CB20

Personally, I flew half way across the US to pick up my MINI and enjoyed the drive home.

[CooperCooper]

Wow! After reading that MSNBC article I feel like I was given the royal treatment. At least with TnT I knew that I was dealing with a company that had been around for a while and one that claimed to have it's own drivers, rather than subcontracted drivers. Sounds like the only surefure option is to go retrieve a new Mini oneself.

CooperCooper

[minirossa]

CooperCooper & BruceK,
Thanks for the posts; very good info.

Friend of mine had an SUV shipped from the East coast and it took them 2-1/2 months to get their car!!

I'm still trying to sort out the when & where of buying an S. Of all the out of state sales-people I've spoken to, Troy Moss of Roadshow(Memphis) is by far the most knowledgeable and responsive.