I don't know if the delivery process is supposed to be uniform from dealer to dealer... After reading about many deliveries over the past year+ on the forums, I was expecting quite the production, and brought along the family and a camera in anticipation.

From what I saw of other owner experiences, the delivery might consist of some of the following:

Car is parked inside, under cover. New owner's name is displayed on a delivery sign. Car is unveiled at the appointed time. Steering wheel has some sort of "Your Car Has Been Thoroughly Inspected" seal across it, to be ceremoniously broken by owner. Owner proceeds to receive a detailed orientation before the doors are thrown open and said new owner rolls proudly out into the open air, a symbolic birthing into the world of motoring. Owner may (if lucky) have received some free do-dads, maybe a hat, t-shirt, floormats, etc. "My Delivery Experience" photos are quickly posted to NAM where all can enjoy.

A delivery, by design, to be remembered.

Is this what most of you experienced?

My experience differed:

Arrive a few minutes after appointed delivery time (oops, my fault). Am told the car is still being cleaned. After 10 minutes or so, the service/prep guy drives the car around where it is parked out on the lot among all the other cars. Detailed orientation proceeds. End of delivery. No freebies. No "We Actually Inspected Your Car" checklist (that I saw). No "Proud Owner With New Car" photo. No triumphant motored exit from the building. No cheering crowds.

Did I miss something? Because my MINI delivery experience was, well, absolutely the same as my Honda Pilot delivery experience (although the Honda orientation was actually a little more extensive). In other words, it was completely ordinary. Like any other new car at any other dealership. And not what I expected.

I felt slightly...deflated.

 

i really cant believe that. Those clowns should lose their franchise license.

 

Man, woop-dee s$%!, you got a MINI!

I'm still waiting for mine.

 

I know, it shouldn't matter, it's the car that's important. A trivial gripe. But say you order a filet mignon steak, at a restaurant about which you've heard nothing but rave reviews (both for the food and the service), and the waiter brings out your steak, drops the plate in front of you, says "Here," and walks away...perhaps that steak might not taste as good as it might have with a little more flair in the presentation. And I thought MINI was known for its flair in the presentation.

 

Mine was somewhere in between those two extremes. Sorry to hear that your delivery wasn't all you expected it to be.. sounds like your dealership is dropping the ball.

Take the car back, with family in tow and stage some pictures. If someone comes out to ask what you're doing, tell them that you were less than impressed with your delivery experience so you're staging one to your satisfaction.

Enjoy the new MINI!

 

That's a fun idea. The dealers will either love it (if they like their jobs and their customers) or they will think it a nuisance (if they don't like their jobs and equate their customers with sales). Maybe if every NAM participant did that some of the lazier MINI dealers will reconsider. And since my car has been purchased out of state I will have to stage a mock-delivery at my snooty local BMW-MINI dealer. The BMW sales staff will probably enjoy it. But I bet the MINI sales staff will ignore it (they're too busy writing up orders).

 

I hope mine is nice. Although I believe I have seen some at my dealer and they sound just like LagunaSol had.

The only time I think I heard of all the Pomp n Circumstance was from pics of a delivery at Classic MINI in OH.

 

Your motoring advisor is lousy plain and simple. My MA she has always been extremely detail oriented and makes the delivery experience absolutely memorable. The car is impeccably presented and delivered in the showroom, never outside, and fully detailed. Big gift bow in top of dashboard, 2 packs of MINI mints and plenty of freebies to choose from after you sign the papers. I took delivery of my 3rd new MINI a little over one month ago from the same MA and same dealer and one of the fribbies I got was the extremely coveted Chronograph MINI watch .

I think you need to blast your motoring advisor in the post sales satisfaction survey.

 

I wonder if my persistance on discounts on accessories and money off the car has anything to do with their slacking

 

Maybe you were just a PITA customer to them

 

Well I knew that but just didn't want to say it.

 

I took delivery of my Jet Black S Saturday afternoon.

There was not much Fanfare, the car was sitting in the middle of the showroom with 2 tech polishing it up. We sailed thru the paperwork and Dave, my MA, did a walk thru and away I went!

I am another satisfied Clissic MINI customer. Dave and Ed were great, made the whole process smooth and easy. I'm actually glad there was no big production. I did like watching prospective MINI buyers oogling over my car in the showroom, they kept the techs busy wiping their fingerprints and nose prints off the windows etc.

 

My new MINI has been sitting at the dealer (here in Germany) since last Tuesday, and I'm still waiting for a delivery appointment. Throughout the whole process, there has been NO customer service, so I don't expect much at time of delivery.

Just curious, what is the normal waiting time in the States (from MINI arrival at the dealer, to customer pick-up)?

 

Your car is there and you haven't gone to pick it up? I would walk right in and ask for your car, forget an appointment....


My delivery was not spectacular. I just showed up, signed the papers got the detailed walk through and off I went.
To tell you the truth I wasn't expecting much and I was so damn excited about getting the car I could have cared less. I almost smacked my MA and told him to forget the details and let me drive my car but I was patient and let him do his thing...

 

It all dependas on where you live. ours got here in about 6 weeks, and I live in Philly. those on the west coast or just off of it have it the worst. expect 10+weeks there .

 

Laguna:

Did you get your car at MINI of Murray? That's where I'm getting mine! So far, I've gotten a good vibe by talking to my MA on the phone, and I hope my experience is different, especially since I'll be coming from out of state to buy.

Now, I don't necessarily need a parade or an office party, but a little acknowlegement that this is an extraordinary car would be nice!

If you go back and stage pictures, be sure to post them! I'd like to see the look on your MA's face!

 

[font='Century Gothic']My 05 is at the dealer one hour away. I have meetings and then a business trip I cant miss. Do you think I should let my wife who does not know how to work "the pole thing coming from the floor" as she calls it, go pick up the car for me or just wait until I get home next Saturday. I'd like to have a clutch left but it seemed pretty easy to drive to me? If waiting for a child to be born is anything like this I think I am going to have to stick with pets. The wait has been excruciating[/font].

 

Yes. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not griping about the dealership, I'm just saying the delivery was not what I expected. It was ordinary. Perhaps too much reading about others' experiences tainted my perspective.

When I was picking up my car, a gentleman had just flown in from Georgia to pick his up and drive it home. I didn't see a car under cover for him either, nor a brass band warming up, so if I were you, I would expect the same as what I got. That way, anything above that will be a pleasant surprise for you. :smile:

 

Yikes, I don't think I'd want someone figuring out how to work a clutch on my new car. If it were me, I would definitely wait and pick it up myself.

 

My delivery from Cincinnati MINI was very much like yours. Very hum-drum. But I was so excited to get my car I really didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there and drive!

 

Ours, too, was somewhere in-between - we had a flawlessly clean MINI indoors, in the delivery area, the MA took us through everything we needed to know about the car, and there were a lot of smiling faces around us as we motored off into the sunset (poetic license there - it was mid-afternoon. ) Got a free hat, too.

What made this surprising for me was that this was a used '04 they had on consignment. I'd assume a brand spankin' new MINI would be even better. Hopefully we'll find out about that firsthand in about 5-6 months.

Either way, I was pleased, and we have our MINI. Motor on!

Bill

PS - Dealership was Ralph Schomp in Littleton, CO, if anyone wondered.

 

Perhaps being a combo BMW/MINI dealership affected the attitude? After all, when you're selling $70k M3 convertibles, there's nothing special about a sub-$30k clown car, right?

Or maybe the initial magic of MINI mania is over. After 1,000 deliveries, you get tired of the hoopla and just want to get the cars out the door already.

 

1 day. Sometimes the day of!!!!

 

Actually is the attitude of the Motoring Advisor and the floor sales manager that makes the difference at the time of delivery. Some of this folks are simply not into the cars and they see sales/delivery as another job to make money but nothing with about it inspires true "PASSION" to them.

My dealer opened its doors March 22nd, 2002 and 3 years later, the passion about the product and the customer is still intact. These people go to great lengths to ensure that every delivery is a memorable experience, because they know that if the pull the right strings, those customers will become repeat customers (Like myself and many others).

Lauderdale MINI having a showroom accross Lauderdale BMW imports has not seen their passion diminished after 1500+ deliveries.

The assistant sales manager at Lauderdale MINI (Larry) used to work for the Lauderdale BMW showroom. He tells me that there is absolytely no passion at all for the product they sell in that showroom floor. The BMW buyer sees the car as another fancy/disposable toy to be leased and thrown away 3 years down the road. He even told me about a guy buying a new 2003 BMW Z8 Alpina ($125,000) that got pissed off because Larry put a tasteful gift bow on top of the dashboard.

See...get my drift?

Its all about PASSION!

 

There were no marching bands and Vegas showgirls at my delivery, but the car was in the showroom with 3 other Minis that were being delivered. The sales guy spent about 45 minutes going over the car's features with me. The part that sucked was the F & I guy who tried to sell me about $6K worth of extended warranties.