Long Wait For Mini S

[res04ics]

Hi,
I just ordered a Mini S from Northwest Mini. They tell me the waiting list is almost 18 mos. out. Is this standard across the United States? Thanks.

[alinnes]

wow, that's strange because the waiting time in the UK is coming right down. Average is about 6 months now, but a bit of ringing around can usually find a cancelled order or dealer with shorter wait.

[daro911]

Quote:

Originally posted by res04ics
Hi,
I just ordered a Mini S from Northwest Mini. They tell me the waiting list is almost 18 mos. out. Is this standard across the United States? Thanks.

It's worth a wait but not that long. There are plenty of "S's" in the UK that are below list price and with only a few thousand miles on the clock. Plus if you look around over here there always seems to be an odd brand new car available for immediate delivery. Suggest you try looking else where in your BIG back yard ...Good luck and Happy New Year hopefully with an "S"

[Jorgeaz]

we put our deposit down in May and are expecting delivery in Feb. You could buy a slightly used one if you want, i've seen a few of them about in the local paper. there's not much of a savings though.

I don't know how it goes in the UK but here we have to buy at the dealer closest to us. There's 3 in my area. We went to one (Knauz) to test drive, spoke with the salesman, made the deal, but when he found out that we live 2 miles closer to another dealer (Patrick in Schaumburg) he said "no sale" that i had to go to the other dealer (Patrick) to buy. he acutally sent our business elsewhere.

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by res04ics
Hi,
I just ordered a Mini S from Northwest Mini. They tell me the waiting list is almost 18 mos. out. Is this standard across the United States? Thanks.

18 months! No, nationwide that's not normal at all. Hope your deposit is refundable.

It really is worth it to call around to all MINI dealers to see how soon each of them can provide you with a Cooper S - and at what price. Many US members of MINI2 have successfully purchased from out-of-state dealers, enjoyed significant cost and time savings, and gotten a great roadtrip out of the process (myself included ).

Start dialing around....

Oh and look in the For Sale section of this site - sometimes MINI dealers (or helpful MINI2 members ) post when there is an unexpected availability of cars.

For example: http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=20884

[SilverGAGT]

The wait in Cincinnati is about 6 months....

When I was in Miami in November, the wait was only about 3 months....

So, I'd say that is not normal, but being in a corner of the country, you might need to travel a bit to find one sooner.

[David W.]

I just ordered a Mini S and was told the wait was five to six months. I can wait.

[jtucker]

I couldn't handle that kind of wait. I put my deposit down at Princeton (NJ) MINI at the end of July, and my car is in production now. I could have had a Dec build, but passed on it. I was originally told to expect a March delivery, so it's coming a bit quicker than expected, at any rate.

Shop around. Wait times seem to vary greatly from location to location. And some dealers reportedly have them sitting on the lots...

[mrhollio]

I got on the waiting list to order in Feb this year (no deposit needed). Tried to bribe the dealer but still didn't get to order until end of September. I picked it up December 19th one month earlier than projected... Dealer said that was pretty normal here in Southern California.

If people are looking for a MC instead of a S, Long Beach MINI had 18 available as of yesterday ('02 and '03's) all bought from the East Coast.

[Bluesmaster]

As of 12-30-02, Midwestern Mini in Dublin, Ohio had 7 MCS and 25 Coopers in stock. No waiting. I got my S last week. 3 hours and out the door.

[BJA]

I don't know what to do! The Texas dealers I've talked to all say a 3 month wait so I plan to order my MINI in the summer so I am not upside down on my "smart buy" car. However, if it's going to be months of waiting I really need to get the car ordered now so I am not faced with turning in my car and having nothing to drive. Hard to know what to do.

[teich]

I have put together a list of dealers, markups and waits for many of the dealers acorss the country for exactly this reason. All the data is <1 month old, so it should be pretty accurate.

MCS Wait list times

I hope you find it useful -- anyone with new or more info just let me know and I'll update the list.

Oren

[BJA]

Thanks Oren!!!!!

[res04ics]

Thanks for the great list Oren! And thanks to every one else who responded.
The deposit is refundable and from the information provided I think I'm going to have to do some checking around and order out of state. I want a very specific car so I'm sure that I'll have to order it but it looks like the wait time can be cut dramatically. I'm soooo excited!

[Andy@Ross-Tech.com]

I had a great experience with Habberstad MINI on Long Island. Last I knew, they had no waiting list, and are charging MSRP.