I ordered a 2013 JCW Countryman with the bench seat option, but just found out that they do not come with a standard floor in the trunk. The standard floor only comes with the bucket seat option. The MINI configurator was misleading on the flat load floor option by saying that the flat load floor will replace the standard floor. I assumed that if I do not pick the option then I would be receiving a standard, but that's not the case. I was at the dealer to compare and all the cars with the bench seats don't come with a standard floor, only the cars with the bucket seats have them. I emailed MINI about this and hope to find out something soon, will keep you guys up to date. Did anyone have this problem and what you guys did about it? If anyone was able to retrofit a standard floor into the bench seats?

At this point, I'm thinking about not taking delivery of the car and do a new build.

 

The flat load floor was never really a "standard" feature for the bench seat cars in the US. What happened is this:
- For 2012 model year MINI added the rear bench seat option. Those cars started production in November 2011. While the bench seat was a no cost choice, selecting the rear bench required the $250 flat load load floor option.
- For 2013 you can get the bench with or without the fat load floor. If you want it it's $250 option.

For what it's worth my $250 flat load foor attachment has been gathering dust in the garage for months. I have never carried anything that required a flat floor even with the seats folded down. I like the boot well better because it is easier to keep grocery bags from rock and rolling when motoring home with gusto after a trip to the store. With the flat load floor you risk having your apples spill right out of the boot when you get home.

From what I read it is rather complicated and expensive to retrofit a flat load floor as it requires a lot of trim pieces in addition to the 'floor' itself. If you have to have it ordering another car may be a better option for you.

I suggest doing a search for flat load floor within this forum. There were some detailed exchanges and clarifications on the various configurations several weeks back.

 

Here is the thread I was refering to:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-question.html

 

It's like deja vue all over again.

 

I know what the flat load floor option is. What I'm talking about is the standard floor that folds up and clips on the sides behind the rear seats. I wanted that floor as it's convenient, you can choose to use it or if not then you can just put it up behind the seat.

 

You need to brush up on your flat load floor knowledge my friend. The feature you speak of only comes on the rear bucket cars, presumably to prevent items to fly from the boot into the passenger section. The rear bench does not come with that, even if you pay the $250 for flat load floor. On the rear bench cars you only get to cover the "well" in the trunk.

Again, do a search as there are pictures of all the various configurations. I would take pictures and post since a picture is worth 1,000 words but don't have my FLF around so best advice I can give is search for them cuz I know they have been posted.

 

I don't think you can get that piece at all with the bench. It's flat floor or nothing.

 

Yea, that's what I figured. Going to put in a new build.

 

I took pictures and since I have them I figured I might as well post them just so you know what you're getting if you order FLF with rear bench.

FLF in its typical dust gathering spot:


It's just a single level shelf with piano hinge sort of thing to get into the well:




CM's boot without FLF (my preferred / typical configuration):


and now with FLF in place:


With FLF open to get things in and out of well:


$250 for this:


The cars with the bucket seats and FLF option get an additional level that can be secured against the rear seats thereby blocking the open space between the backrests. If that's the feature you're really after then order rear bucket seats with FLF instead of bench.

 

I was pretty surprised about how the flat-load shelf situation worked out on the CM. My MA admitted it's one of the biggest headaches they face on ordering CMs. No customer understands it, half the MA's understand it, and everyone wishes it was different. I know I was kind of stupefied to read through the boards on NAM and learn that if you didn't order the flat-load floor, you didn't get ANY familiar false floor. I've had one on the other MINIs, and it makes sense. But it wasn't worth the money for ME.

On my Element, I made a raised false floor out of ply and rubberized it to keep groceries secure and carry supplies and sundry below (no recessed trunk space like in MINI boots). I anticipate building something similar for the CM out of pressboard and felt, like the flat-loader. Crazy!

 

I agree, all the MA's at my dealer plus the parts department didn't know that 2013 bench seat setup didn't come with a floor. I am planning to build a custom box out of pressboard that will fit in the well and add a lock & key at the same time. Will take pictures and post them when I get around to building it.

 

Looks like I may have missed the FLF option on my 2013 (w/ rear bench) as well. I was doing some searching on retrofit options, and it looks like there are possibly two:

1) The OEM level cargo floor retrofit kit (same as the $250 FLF option) -- Looks like about $400+ in parts, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to perform the retrofit myself. Any one try this themselves?

http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/...roduct=8405912

2) The OEM cargo floor that comes standard with the bucket seats.



http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2011-C...unk/ES2573122/

At less than $200, this would be cheaper, but it's not clear to me whether this part would be a simple plug-and-play item in a countryman with the bench seat. ECS says that it fits both 4- and 5-passenger models. Anyone know?

Nick

 

Looks like I may have also missed the need to check the FLF option on my 2013 with rear bench. Looks like I have two options:

1) OEM level cargo floor retrofit kit -- Same as the $250 FLF option on the rear bench countryman, but will cost $400+ in parts, and I have no idea how difficult the parts are to install. Anyone with experience?



http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/...roduct=8405912

2) OEM trunk floor part that comes standard with rear buckets -- At less than $200, it would be appealing if it would simply snap into my countryman with rear bench, and it covers the entire trunk floor vs. the one above, which only covers the well. Anyone know how easy this would be to pop in? It seems fine in the pic below:



Available at ECS, and they even say the part fits the 5-passenger version

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2011-C...unk/ES2573122/

 

I have all the part numbers for the $250 FLF option from my MINI parts department. It comes out close to $1000 for the parts alone. You can not just buy the floor and snap it in because if you didn't check the FLF option then you don't get all the plastic trim that the floor sits on.

 

Thanks. I'm a bit surprised by the $1,000 figure, as it seems like the OEM retrofit kit, which includes all of the trim pieces and mounting hardware, is priced at $400-450 at the link in my earlier post. The panel alone is $160 or so. Am I missing something here?

 

Let me show this to my MA & parts advisor. My car should be in the first week of April, let me see what kind of deal they will work out for me. I'll let you know when I find out.

 

Yes,

This is the same part number for the 4 & 5 seat options: without Level cargo floor.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/51479811135/ES2573122/

This lid the diagrams for the regular rear cargo :



&


Here is the diagram for the retrofit ; level cargo floor



To get the FLF option it does not specify 4 or 5 seat configuration.

Looks like the side brackets and hardware and loading sill will be needed. I am curious to see what part number you guys get.

Thanks and I hope that helps.

 

Do you know what ship yours is on? I had a very similar schedule to your sig and was wondering if you knew yet? I checked today and found that my baby is aboard the Toledo which is moored in the English Channel currently.

As for the FLF, I told my MA that it seemed like that option was something that should be a "no charge adder" and he said it would not be a problem to waive the cost of it. That only made sense to me. Plus I'm a stingy bugger!

 

What state are you in? I think they come to different ports. When I called MINI, it just says that it's in transit and doesn't tell me which boat it's on. How did you find out which boat your car was on?

As far as the FLF, I'm trying to work it out with my MA to see if they can add it for no additional charge since they didn't tell me that I needed that option. I originally had that option checked on my build but they told me I don't need it since it comes with the standard floor, so I removed it before sending in the order. In a way, it's their fault for bad advice.

 

That's actually great that the MA advised against it because you have something to point to. I INFORMED them of the hinky FLF business, so I'd have little case, ha.

 

I'm in Minnesota so you are probably correct, since mine will get off the boat in Baltimore, MD and take a truck to MN.
Hopefully you will be able to make a case to your MA or their manager to get something thrown in since it would be quite the process to add the FLF at the dealer. Maybe get them to drop your price by $500 or more?? I have read a lot about the FLF in this forum and it seems to be a hit or miss with some people. It makes a lot of sense for me since I got the bucket seats rather than the bench. The FLF is the only way to make it a solid surface to load long crap into the car.

Best of luck manho1dup!

 

Update:

I went ahead and sent an email to the GM of my dealer saying how his sales staff are not fully informed about the cars they sell and they do not provide proper information to their customers. As in my case, my MA told me I didn't need to order the FLF as it already comes with a standard floor. Anyways, the GM replied and he said he will be there when I take delivery of my car and he said that he wants to make things right for the mistake of the MA. My car should be here in a couple of weeks, so I'll update and let you guys know what he does to make things right.

 

This flat load floor thing is such a mess, along with a few other strange Mini option problems I have questions about. I have been shopping for a new car and the Countryman is one on my list but after dealing with Mini directly I’m starting to think different.

I go to one dealer and they tell me the flat load floor is standard on all 2013 Countryman with the rear bench and is only an option on models with the rear buckets. He said the rear bucket models have the load floor that latches in the up-right position and the extra floor is to cover the hole when the standard load floor is in the latched position or folded over the seat backs when the rear buckets are folded in the down position. He showed me all the 2013 Countryman on the lot and all with bench seat have the flat load floor but does not show it as an option on the window sticker. I then go to another dealer and he tells me it is an option and all the 2013 Countryman on his lot with the rear bench seat have it and the window sticker shows it as a $250 option. So my question was why does one dealer get it at no cost and at another it cost $250?

I thought the best way to get the answer was to go direct to the source, Mini. So I sent a message to Mini and their response was a Joke! First they just say that the Mini website shows it as an option. I responded stating the their response did not really answer my question, which was why one dealer gets cars with the flat load floor and it does not show on the window sticker while another gets the flat load floor and the windows stickers shows it at $250. Their next response was to ask for the VIN number of my car. I don’t own a Mini yet, so what will they do with my VIN number? I respond back asking them why the VIN number, now they want my phone number. Is Mini that difficult to deal with? Why can they not put in writing what they could tell me on the phone?

 

INTERESTING!
Post your results if you have them...
I'm curious too...
I did not order the flat load floor out of cost principle, but I do wish I had one in general,and will build one if need be.

 

Are you sure there was a charge for the floor? Ill look at the window stickers later on our '12 and '13. Both have the floor that covers the cubby in the rear but not the portion that would cover the seat back when down. If memory serves me right, both cars listed on window sticker but only one was charged $250.