[jlivingood]

I thought it'd be a good thing to start a feedback area for Don Rosen's now that they are open for business and delivering cars. They seem to have a lot of good potential and are all excited to be selling MINIs.

So, perhaps we're all in pre-delivery mode. Looks like they are charging MSRP and no more.

What # on the wait list is everyone?

I am #64 - but I am not sure if that is a combined list or not. I am waiting for a Cooper S. My test drive is set for this Thursday.

Where is everyone else? If you got a call to take delivery, what # are you? I heard that they were up to #15 already - perhaps higher.

Jason

[sdmidget]

Hi Jason:

I had my test drive of a standard Cooper today (red/white w/ 15" wheels). Very impressed - didn't think I needed an S - and now I'm sure that I don't. Did the on/off onto the Schuylkill - got up to 70 fairly easily. I was hard pressed to observe the speed limit in the esses too - you get up to speed so smoothly -don't realize it.

I dealt with Amos (who came over last week from the Porsche side). They apparently are only scheduling test drives for those who have a deposit down already.

One thing that concerned me - He didn't ask me anything about the spec I was interested in. Told me that they weren't going to start taking customer orders for cars until May - with delivery 2 to 3 months after that. Until then they would be getting in pre-specced cars. I should check periodically over the next month to check on status.
[This may be a question you want to ask as well ]

My question is "if a pre-specced car comes in that matches what someone with a deposit wants, how would they(we) know?" Any body else get the same story? [Call to Alex the manager probably in order!]

They have quite a few cars with not too many options (i.e. low MSRPs). The one red/white Cooper I saw with the sport pack was sold (I want a BRG/White w/ sport and premium packs). There was also a BRG/white with premium pack (sunroof, etc) and beige/panther black leather sitting out back - also with a sold sign (I must admit that the interior looked pretty sharp) Lots of yellow/black, too

Things are still hectic there - Amos was the only salesman/test driver there over lunch [had 11 telephone messages on his desk to return]. Maybe after things settle down a little......

By the way, I'm #29 on the Cooper list.

Steve

[sdmidget]

On March 23rd, rdcrdc3 wrote that he had ordered his Cooper for delivery in June.

Was this at Don Rosen's? If so, what # are you on the Cooper list?

(See my previous post on this thread)

[rdcrdc3]

I am number eight on the list at Don Rosen. When i orderd all i did was hand them my printed out spec. sheet from from MINI USA.com and they took my e-mail and said the car would have a May build date and a June delivery. And that they would keep me posted as to all events concerning the car via e-mail.

[sdmidget]

Strange.

I'm #29, and as I posted above - "can't order until May - then 2-3 months until you get your car"

Who did you deal with? Alex the Manager?

[rdcrdc3]

I delt with Rob a sales person. And Hillary who is the showroom manager at Don Rosen. Are you getting a Cooper or a Cooper S ?

[sdmidget]

Getting a Cooper - was #29 on the Cooper list when I gave Ed Kress my deposit back in December

[loder]

Hi.

I have my drive scheduled for Thursday at 7:00.
I am going to get to the bottom of the ordering situation then.

I just got back from London by the way. Where the Mini's weren't as common as I thought they'd be. I saw maybe one per day, and I did a lot of walking.

Also on that note, I stopped into the Local dealer there on the 22nd. They had no S's, no party no fanfare. I was pretty unimpressed. I also saw that there were about 20 used MINIs for sale.

[mini philly]

I gave Ed Kress my deposit last June and I'm number 20-something on the Cooper S list at Don Rosen. I too dropped by on Saturday to check things out. So far, I am not overly impressed by the consistency of the message being delivered.
Mark called me last week to say that they would have 2 Cooper S's on site, but there was only one (Dark Silver), and it was hidden in the garage and you had to ask to see it.
Alex told me last week that I would be able to put in my spec this week when I come by ("just ask for any salesperson"), but Rob said that they wouldn't be taking specs for some time.
I had sent my specs in anyway over a month ago when the MiniUSA site made configuration possible, but I never received confirmation from the dealer.
I'm planning to hold Alex to his word for the S test drive later this week, and I plan to check on the spec situation. I'd take an Electric Blue pre-specced car if it met my specs, instead of the Indi Blue, but not if the H/K stereo system is not being shipped until September.
Working the kinks out, for sure. Let's hope that the Service Department takes better care.

[sdmidget]

There was an S (Dark Silver/White) available for test drives when I took my Cooper test drive yesterday (3/25)- in a chili/white. I have composed a letter to Alex, which I plan on faxing to him tomorrow (along with my MINIUSA spec listing). We'll see what comes out of it.

[sdmidget]

As mentioned in my previous post, this morning I faxed Alex a letter, along with a printout of my spec from the MINIUSA site. Within 2 hours I had a call back from him!

While he didn't have anything coming in similar to what I wanted , he said he could replace a pre-specced slot w/ my exact requirements. As a result, per Alex, I now have a Cooper ordered - with an April build and a May delivery Exact spec is as follows:

BRG/White Roof and Mirrors
Sport Pack with White Alloys
Automatic AC
MFSW w/ Cruise
On-Board Computer (now a separate option - so didn't need the sunroof!)
Chrome line bumpers
Panther Black Kaleido Cloth

Is that outstanding or what????

BIG GRIN

WAY TO GO ALEX AND DON ROSEN - AT MSRP

[jlivingood]

Congratulations!! I think that bodes well for the rest of us, in many respects. And, it's a good sign that you are #29 on the list and have a May delivery date scheduled. I believe it is quite possible for them to do between 20 and 30 per month which means we may all be in MINIs by early fall. :-)

Best of all you got to spec your own car!!

Jason

[jlivingood]

Well, drove the S today over at Don Rosen's. Fun, fun, fun!! Can't wait till I get my very own!

The dealership was quite busy (I was there around lunchtime) with many people in the store for pre-scheduled test drives. Perfect day for it.

After my test drive, I asked about the list and the wait, etc. I was told previously that I was #64 on "the list" - without noting if it was a combined Cooper/Cooper S list or just the Cooper S list.

I learned today that the # you get is on either the Cooper list OR the Cooper S list, meaning that they are not combined lists. That said, however, they expect that I will definitely have a car by end of year and most probably in the fall.

If someone walked in today to buy and S, the wait would be a year and a half!!

So, back to the S list. Their first 30 Cooper S cars will be pre-spec'd. The expect to get those 30, to be built shortly, in June. Those on the list will have the choice of taking a car as it comes in - and may say no thanks, I'll wait for my car as ordered or I will take it. If they don't take it, the next one up the list is called. They thought they'd see both - some people will take something right away if it is close to their spec and some will wait for the car to arrive as-ordered.

After the first 30 arrive, they expect to receive approximately 12 Cooper S cars per month. And while they did not acknowledge this, I would expect that the # may be higher if other dealers are not yet open for business (namely Otto's). If the math works out, I can expect a car in September or October. Then again, that may just be optimistic of me and I should expect something more like October / November.

Guess we'll see!

Jason

[sdmidget]

Think "September/October" ....."September/October" ....."September/October" ....


Did you get to do the on/off the Schuylkill as part of your test drive? If so, the S probably had no trouble getting up to speed!!!

By the way - which salesman took you out??

[jlivingood]

Quote:

Originally posted by sdmidget
Did you get to do the on/off the Schuylkill as part of your test drive? If so, the S probably had no trouble getting up to speed!!!

By the way - which salesman took you out??

I go onto the highway from Lincoln Drive - the path I chose for my test drive. I got off one exit later at Manayunk and headed left and up the hill to Rock Hill Road. It was about a mile on the highway and I think I was doing fine in 3rd gear. I shifted to 4th and it seemed fine. 5th and 6th gears were bonus gears! In 6th the revs dropped down quite a bit - a very nice highway cruising gear.

And no problem getting up to speed - especially with DSC temporarily switched off. ;-)

As for which salesman, it was none. I was permitted to take the S out solo on the promise of my first born if I brought it back with even a scratch...

What a joy both the MINI Cooper and the Cooper S both are!

September/October, September/October, September/October...



Jason

[DuncanP1]

I posted the basics of this message on the General Area.

This morning I visited the nearest MINI dealer, Don Rosen MINI. They were active but not overflowing with people. Within moments after arriving a saleman greated me. When I told him I wanted to put down a deposit, he said no problem and we did the paperwork in about 5 min. I went to order a Red Cooper and figured that I wouldn't see one till the fall. I was told that a car ordered today would be delivered during June. This surprised me and caused me a bit of a problem in that I will be working out of the U.S. for most of June and July. I was told that they want to hold my order till late April so that the car will arrive when I am back in the States. Also, they are selling cars at MSRP (the same as on the miniusa site) with no options required. All in this dealer is up and running and has delivered about 2 dozen cars. I was very happy with the place and the salesman.

If their customer service is as good as it was to day, post sale, then I think MINI will do very well in the Philadelphia area.

[jlivingood]

Quote:

Originally posted by DuncanP1
When I told him I wanted to put down a deposit, he said no problem and we did the paperwork in about 5 min. I went to order a Red Cooper and figured that I wouldn't see one till the fall. I was told that a car ordered today would be delivered during June.

WOW! That's amazing! I had the Cooper figured for a much longer wait list. I guess they must be getting many more Coopers into the dealership than Cooper Ss. By the time Otto's opens, all of the pent up demand will be satisfied!

Jason

[MadAboutMINI]

I finally got my Cooper S test drive today and I posted my comments in the Cooper S forum under the test drive feedback sticky. I want one!

I heard basically the same things that you guys already detailed:
- 30 pre-speced Cooper S will be coming in June
- they'll work those down the list until they're all gone
- customer specs for Cooper S's will start in May (for July & later delivery?)
- they are getting cars that were originally destined for Otto's
- expect 12 or more Cooper S cars to come each month (starting in July?)

I was #70 on the Cooper S list, but Amos said that a good number of people have dropped off that list so that I should at least be in the 60's at this point. He felt that a late summer/early fall delivery was very likely.

I've been pretty happy with Don Rosen's so far, they are obviously swamped, though. I expect a voicemail to prompt a call back within 24 hours and that isn't happening at this point. It's not a big deal, 'cause I'll call back if I don't get a response .

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Amos said he had 3 pre-speced Coopers that aren't spoken for yet. Hard to believe, but true.

[jlivingood]

Quote:

Originally posted by MadAboutMINI
I was #70 on the Cooper S list, but Amos said that a good number of people have dropped off that list so that I should at least be in the 60's at this point. He felt that a late summer/early fall delivery was very likely.

I've been pretty happy with Don Rosen's so far, they are obviously swamped, though. I expect a voicemail to prompt a call back within 24 hours and that isn't happening at this point. It's not a big deal, 'cause I'll call back if I don't get a response .

Wow! If you were #70 and you may be in the 60s, that's great news (for you and me)! I was #64 on the S list. So maybe I'm in the 50s!? I guess I better get moving on getting my current car ready to sell. :-)

I agree that Don Rosen's seems to be handling themselves pretty well at this point. I have a friend who lives down the street and reports the place busy ALL the time. So I can understand why it takes them awhile to get back to people.

It's really hard to believe that they have Coopers ready for immediate delivery! I wonder if they are simply unusual specs or perhaps people just think they are sold out for months and have not been trying to get one?

Jason

PS - I noticed on my test drive that the metal "Cooper S" emblazoned door sill plate was missing.

[sdmidget]

Just curious as to whether any of the Don Rosen staff are MINI2 members - or regular viewers. If so, they can see that the regular crew on this thread has a favorable opinion of their efforts so far.

Keep up the good work!