I have an email into my MA to find out. Also, I called the trucking company last night to see if they have any info on my VIN, but no information yet.

 

So my car is at the dealer and ready to be picked up.....but it came with the wrong seats, headliner, and dash I'm not too sure what to do. Rather than a very dark antrhracite interior that i had wanted, it came with a bright silver interior with gray seats and the white headliner.

 

Make them fix it!!!!!!

 

Let us know what you find out!

 

RallyMINI, you don't work for the post office due you? Sorry to here of the screw up. I can now add that up to my list of things to worry about

Well a full four day weekend of stalking the dealer didn't help...like I thought it would.

At least the OL say's at the dealer. ASKMINI now says in transit.

reminds me of that Mervins commercial with the gal that had her face plastered on the store window;
"....open, open, open, open....."

 

I'm gonna call them and see what they say. I'm sure they will be willing to correct their mistake...but thats A LOT to replace practically everything in the interior. Imagine how many rattles that will cause

Fingers are crossed that things will turn out alright. :impatient

 

Man, that totally sucks . I wonder if there's another unsold new car with your specs somewhere in the US that they could just swap with.

Today, after driving my new car about 160 miles since I picked it up on Friday, I got my first flat tire (left rear tire). There's a lot of construction going on in the area where I work, so maybe I hit a nail or something.

I'm so glad I got the add on tire and wheel warranty! And glad I have run-flats as it would have really cut into my lunch break to change tires. But still...

At least the tire pressure monitor works. But I could hear the whir of the flat tire before I noticed the warning light was lit.

 

Well, at least it was ONLY a flat tire!

 

The word from the dealer is that i can take the car as it is (fully wrong interior)...or start the order process all over again and begin waiting again

for 25k i would really love to get the car i specc'd. This is the first time i have ever custom-ordered my own spec. But i can't really wait through another period of waiting. I need a car so i can start working again (just a college student, but i need the money)

Oh mini dealers :impatient

 

You could always threaten to place your order with another MINI dealer if they will not install the right parts onto your MINI, but like you said, I dont know if that would increase rattles or other problems...

 

RallyMINI, that totally sucks. Been there, done that, although not to that degree. My current beater was supposed to have a cruise control, but showed up without one. I took the car, but beat myself up over that decision for a long time. Turns out the car has done quite well as it's almost 12.5 years old and has pretty much been neglected for the last 5 or 6 years.

Anyway, buyer's remorse is a very real thing for big purchases and it loves to get its hooks into something like that. I'd ask the dealership to spend some time scouring the other MINI dealers around for a car with similar specs and see what you can find. I may also ask in a different forum for pointers to dealers without long delays in filling orders in case it comes to that. Even if you had to have it shipped or take a long road trip to bring it home, that wouldn't be the end of the world.

Unfortunately, mistakes happen. The true test of one's charater is how one deals with them. Sadly, I find myself flunking that test more often than I care to admit.

Hope it works out!

 

I am really sorry to hear that RallyMINI. All this wait and anticipation for what??????
Say a prayer and move on.

sfodoug has some good wisdom.

 

I think you should also contact MINIUSA, in writing to complain about this. There should be a way for them to put your full spec car at the top of the production list, cutting down the wait time for the new one. But since they've completely screwed the interior, I can understand if you can't live it!

 

I called 866askMINI and they said that they were very sorry that this happened, but that there wasn't much they could do besides putting in a formal complaint.

I'm still up in the air about taking this car or not. I'm afraid of remorse, but ordering a new one is almost out of question due to my need for a car for work. sad:

 

this is really a nasty thing that happened to you!

did you have a sheet from the dealer or a print out of what was on the owner's lounge showing your configuration? and it came wrong anyway?

wow that is pretty scary!

 

Yah, i even called in before giving them my charge card number for the downpayment to double check and make sure all was right. They assured me that the order i wanted would be correct. It just didnt turn out that way

The saddest part is that, although I have been part of the MINI family since they first came out in 2002 (i drive a early production 2002 cooper) and have been an active member on this forum and many other MINI forums, they are just treating me like another customer. They haven't offered anything to make up for their mistake, and have yet to offer an apology even. I expected more from such a close knit community as the one surrounding the MINI. (so far atleast...things might change, i'm trying to stay positive and have some hope for this dealer)

 

That totally blows, although it could be worse (insert picture of MINI with crushed roof at PH VDC).

What to do? On the one hand, who cares what color the interior is. On the other hand, what's the point of special ordering the car if you don't get what you want!!?!!??

If it were me....I would order another car. I think. You'll be owning the car for a lot longer than 8 weeks; if you take this car, you'll be living with the car you don't want for a long time...

I would definitely try to figure out if the dealer entered the order incorrectly or if the order got messed up during the production process. If it was dealer error, I would document the error to BMW corporate and I would take my business to another dealer (yes, what a hassle).

Just curious, did OL show the correct order details?

 

Well, first off they definitely should not be charging you for ANY of the interior add-ons that you ordered or that were placed on the car. For that matter, I think you have a good argument for getting a serious cut off of the MSRP. Another thing that you might want to consider is negotiating a rental car while you wait for a new order to come in. Either your auto insurance or the dealership should be able to offer this (though the dealership really needs to step up to the plate here). The fact is that they screwed up (or MINI screwed up) and they need to fix it. They should either unload the car on you at invoice or at a substantial discount on the options OR allow you to be placed at the top of the cue on a re-order. If I were you, I'd call into another dealership and see what they say. You could call Mini of Peabody (978-536-0088), talk to Vinny or Joel, tell them your story and ask them if they've got anything with your spec's coming in that they could swap with your dealership, or if there's a way this could be rectified through them. They're the #2 dealership by volume in the US and the #1 in service, so they may be able to hook you up.

At the least, your dealership should be give you a huge price cut on the car. You should probably send a letter to Mini USA as well. Putting stuff in writing always adds gravity to the complaint.

 

BTW, I got my flat tire fixed (actually, they replaced it). Cost $260 (just over half of the cost of the insurance). I'm very glad I got the 5-year tire and wheel insurance now. I'm sure I'll have more than one more flat tire driving on Boston's pothole filled streets in the next 5 years. It sure is nice to have run-flats!

 

I just went up to Classic MINI to ask if they would give me any sort of price cut or anything. The response was "If you don't like it, you don't like it. Things like this happen sometimes."

 

Thats really crappy. I can't say I would be the nicest person in that situation.

 

I just said thank you, and walked out. I didn't know what else to do. I don't think there is much i can do besides taking my buisness elsewhere or taking the car despite their mistake

 

RallyMINI, it really sucks to find yourself in this position. Despite the fact that the dealer (or someone) screwed up, there is only so much you can expect from a dealer. There's a high likelyhood that, should you not accept the car, it will sell within the next few days for full price. Given that, combined with the backdrop that a dealership is in business to make money, you should have some idea of how much the dealer will do (i.e., how much $$$ they'll invest in you). I'm sure your MA is unhappy with the situation as everyone wants a happy customer. I would expect them to help you to the extent that makes financial sense, but when customers are practically lining up to buy the product, that may be a relatively small amount.

At the end of the day, I don't think this will be a 100% satisfying buying experience for you regardless of the outcome. I suspect that possibility went out the door when the wrong car showed up. I think you need to evaluate what's important to you and what you're willing to put up with and/or do. It's my opinion that your best option -- if you don't want the car with your name on it -- is to enlist your MA's help in tracking down an alternate that more closely matches your specifications, if one's available out there. Apparently www.miniusa.com links to all the dealers, so you could probably search through inventory yourself if you were so inclined. Beware, however, that inventory that is already sold often shows up as available. Alternately, AMW and others have vouched for their MAs at various dealers; it's possible that they may be willing to help out.

I really wish this hadn't happened.

Oh, BTW, what are your specs anyway?

 

Thanks everyone for the helpful/kind words. This is helping me through this mess.

I do think that if i dont take this car(still debating)...i will ask for them to look for similar specs elsewhere. Unfortunately, from what I've been told, my specs are rather rare since i didn't opt

2006 DS/S MCS
16 x lites with all season runflats
Front and Rear Foglights
Xenon Headlights
Anthracite Headliner
Anthracite Dash
Black/Black Leatherette
LSD
DSC

The red ones are the ones that I didnt get. Instead i got the normal White headliner, Silver dash, and Black/Silver leatherette. They almost messed up half of my option specs.

 

Well....I guess the constant calls and the visit up there made a small difference. They are willing to give me a $200 discount off the price. (in theory saving 400 off of my original price since they can't charge me for the anthracite). Still up in the air about it, but atleast they are trying.