This is a bit of GQ, and a bit of IMHO, so in IMHO it goes!
Anyway, this the car situation. My mom wants a Mini Cooper. Personally, I can’t blame her. The poor woman has driven large wagons and SUVs all her life, toting her kids around, and she deserves a small, cool car. The problem is they’re durn hard to find. After an extensive searching on the internet, I have yet to locate a Mini dealer anywhere. Seriously, anywhere. The stupid Mini US site was down so I couldn’t locate a dealer through that.
So does anybody know where I can get a Mini? It doesn’t necessarily have to be new. But it does have to be automatic (Mom can’t drive stick). And she would like to pick out the colors. So new is preferable. I live in North Carolina, Raleigh area, so closer to that the better.
I’m pretty sure I remember some posters saying they just bought a Mini. Was there a wait? Did you have to travel far for it?
The Mini is built by BMW and is available at all the BMW dealers in the Seattle area. I would guess it would be the same in NC.
There is also a used Mini dealer in Burlington IIRC.
I Just snagged this for referrence purposes
http://www.magcars.com/vehicles_list.asp
NEW MI1170 2005 MINI COOPER LIQUID YELLOW $20,999.00
NEW MI1156 2005 MINI COOPER CHILI RED $19,999.00
NEW MI1128 2005 MINI COOPER ELECTRIC BLUE $27,919.00
NEW MI1180 2005 MINI COOPER CHILI RED $19,099.00
NEW MI1147 2005 MINI COOPER PEPPER WHITE $22,399.00
NEW MI1168 2005 MINI COOPSCONV COOL BLUE $29,670.00
NEW MI1155 2005 MINI COOPER BRG $17,919.00
NEW MI1159 2005 MINI COOPS PEPPER WHITE $21,799.00
NEW MI1081 2005 MINI COOPS PURPLE HAZE $25,719.00
NEW MI1179 2005 MINI COOPS HYPER BLUE $25,369.00
NEW MI1178 2005 MINI COOPS CHILI RED $24,999.00
NEW MI1144 2005 MINI COOPCONV HOT ORANGE $26,520.00
NEW MI1158 2005 MINI COOPS ELECTRIC BLUE $24,219.00
NEW MI1176 2005 MINI COOPER PURE SILVER $21,759.00
NEW MI1172 2005 MINI COOPSCONV LIQUID YELLOW $30,950.00
NEW MI1175 2005 MINI COOPSCONV COOL BLUE $26,710.00
NEW MI1166 2005 MINI COOPS PEPPER WHITE $25,299.00
NEW MI1174 2005 MINI COOPER PEPPER WHITE $20,999.00
NEW MI1177 2005 MINI COOPS DARK SILVER $22,219.00
NEW MI1080 2004 MINI Cooper 2dr Cpe S CHILI RED $27,449.00
Cool car. Please tell me there aren’t any grand kids in the picture. If anything bigger than a 10 speed hits the back of a Mini the rear passengers will be tattooed onto the back of the front passengers. consider it a 2 passenger car with room for groceries.
I would expect to pay the sticker price but a trip through a Mini owner’s web site will probably steer you in the right direction.
I looked at the supercharged version and it was a tight fit in the engine compartment. Wouldn’t want to pay someone to work on it. Don’t think your Mom would appreciate the extra horse power either but that’s her call.
didn’t have a zip code for RDU but here is the North Carolina Dealer site
The Mini has good to excellent crash test ratings, although I don’t think the rear seat passengers are accounted for in these studies:
You only have to look at the back of a Mini to know it’s a death trap. There is no wiggle room in the event of a rear end collision. there is absolutely nothing between your shoulders and a Chevy Blazer bumper.
I once hit an Olds Cutlass with a Ford Escort and I folded the Olds like an accordian. It was a good 12 inches shorter.
Eh, grand kids are all far, far away, so essentially it’s a fun little car for Mom who deserves a fun little car. Thanks for all the help.
So should I be anticipating a wait? Turns out the car situation might be a little bit more urgent, as Mom’s old Buick Regal started to give out yesterday.
Waiting for the car depends on how custom she wants it.
The dealer here has a few in stock and ready to go.
It’s a swell car and she will simply love it!
Heh, I doubt my mom has even seen the inside of one. As for custom, I think automatic and the color of her choice will be custom enough. I know that manual is standard; hopefully I’ll be able to find an automatic somewhere as well.
Thanks for the help guys!
Hope you could find a dealer list. I couldn’t-just a place to get a price quote.
Try www.miniusa.com but you need to disable any pop-up blockers.
There are dealers in Charleston and Greenville SC, with 4-6-month waits for custom model/color choices, according to a recent news article I was sent that compared Mini’s and Hummers!! But off-the-lot purchases have been made if not fussy on color/extras. The basic model comes in automatic! A convertible will be offered in 2005. God luck and always wear your seatbelt.
Length-143.9 inches.
Wheelbase (slightly less-my joke)
Width-66.5"
Weight-2,678 lbs.
HP-163
MPG-(highway)-32-35
Whell diameter-15"
Fuel tank capacity-11 gal
Seating-4
Available colors-9
$17,000-$20,450
Be prepared for expensive service. Since you’ll be dealing with a BMW dealer for service (unless you can find a good independent mechanic), you’ll be paying BMW hourly labor rates for anything you have done to the car.
ahhh MINIs! Not all BMW dearlers are authorized MINI dealers, but yes, MINI dealers are attached to BMW dealers. Hopefully Mini USA is back up.
I live in Knoxville and ordered my MINI through a dealer in Atlanta. The nearest to me (according to the website) was in South Carolina. Since I spend a lot of time in ATL, this worked well for me. Took 6 weeks from order date to my April 2004 delivery. I used the configurator on MINI USA so I knew exactly what the car was supposed to cost me. Don’t use a dealer who wants to charge you more than MSRP! (sounds obvious, I know … but they are out there!) There had been a p[roduction lag while they changed model year and brought the convertible on board. The dealer will be able to let you know an expected wait time if you order yours.
Mine’s pretty much a stock car, with very few goodies. (nearly unheard of in the MINI community!
A couple days after you place your order you are given a number to track your car through the build process so you know where it’s at every step of the way.
Another place to look for a used MINI, would be a local MINI club. Often times member want to upgrade and put their current model up for sale.
If you have any questions about the ordering process, feel free to e-mail me.
At least when I bought mine (2003), automatic cost $1200 extra in the basic Mini (The Mini S is only a 6-speed).
I’ve seen the soft top models in London; I prefer mine with a hard roof (and its Union Jack, of course 
)
As for passengers – four adults can ride comfortably in a Mini; I just took three friends in mine all up through State College, PA, with no difficulties. Now it’s true we all average between 5’6" and 5’10" (me), but my partner is 6’6" and has had no problems driving or riding as a passenger in my Mini – and he has probs in the back seat of just about any car, so I would imagine anyone with really long legs or who needed a lot of space would have the same issues in any sort of wee two door.
Well, we located a dealer in Winston-Salem. They told us that it would be about 6-8 wks on the delivery, with an extra $1000 delivery fee. Does that sound about right? The time is not that bad, especially compared to the 6 months I thought it would take. We’re pretty much looking at a stock Mini with no real bells and whistles.
Sounds about right.
Get some bells and whistles. They’re worth it. Such a swell car. 
Nope.
The only Seattle area Mini dealer is in Fife near BMW Northwest.
I think all Mini dealers are also BMW dealers or are owned by BMW dealers but not all BMW dealers are Mini dealers.
to those who think it’s small - I guess you guys never drove the REAL Mini. The one with the sliding windows, door bins you could put beer bottles in, and the three foot-long gear stick of renowned length and vagueness. My parents somehow fitted two adults, two children, two Bull Terriers and all the luggage and food for a week on a boat into one, about 1969.
6-8 weeks is dead on for production. The earlier delay was a stop at the model change and introduction of the ragtop, that created a lag of a couple months.
the $1000 however sounds wrong wrong wrong. Unless it is actually the deposit you are putting down when you place the order, that would sound right. But it should not be above and beyond the total cost of your car once you have the order/options etc all worked out. You may incur a “Dealer Prep” fee … but even those are negotiable. If they are calling it Dealer Prep ask what included in that and you can decide if it’s worth it to you. It may be stuff like a “free” tank of gas, “free” floor mats. “free” wash n shine.
The $1,000 may be right. A lot of dealers were charging $2,000.
I would look for a local mini club and ask their opinions. If you don’t know of one, just ask the dealer. They tend to know of the local clubs.
As for bells and whistles, if you can, get the winter package. The seat warmers are so nice!