My infatuation with the Clubman began in January, when I started hearing buzz about this most amazing car. I contacted my local MINI dealer (Otto's MINI in West Chester, PA), and a wonderful MA (Michelle) let me know that the Clubman's official debut was February 16th.

So we drove to the dealership (about a 35 mile trip) to check it out, and fell in love! We'd never owned, or even really looked at MINIs before so it was all new to us. I'd owned a number of BMW 5-series cars prior to the Clubman, so I'm familiar with BMWs, and a big fan of the marque. Many of the commands and functions in the MINI are very familiar to BMW owners, and it was reassuring to us that the car was made by BMW.

Anyway, we placed our order for a MINI Clubman S that day, putting down the customary $1000 deposit. As you can see in my sig, our Clubman was produced on March 20th - a bit quicker than we'd expected! It landed in NY on April 8th, where it sat at the VDC for about 2 days before being loaded on a truck and transported to our dealer. We couldn't pick it up until the following Saturday, April 19th. Now it sits - pampered - in our garage!

The Purchase Process

There are a lot of questions on NAM about the pricing and financing of MINIs, so I thought I'd share our experience.

The car: MINI Cooper S Clubman
Color: Lightning Blue/Silver/Silver w/Pacific Blue/Piano Black interior

MSRP: $23,450
Metallic Lightning Blue Paint: 500
Premium Package: 1,500
Cold Weather Pkg: 500
Convenience Pkg: 1,500
Sport Package: 1,500
Limited Slip Diff: 500
Rear Fog Lamp: 100
Cloth/Leather - Pacific Blue/Black: 1,000
Chrome Line Interior: 250
Anthracite Headliner: 250
Navigation System: 2,000 (ouch)
Alarm System: 500
Sirius Satellite Radio: 1,000 (double ouch)
Hi-Definiton Radio: 500
Park Distance Control: 500
Options Total: $12,750 (insane, yes, but typical for BMWs, and I guess, MINIs)
Destination & Handling: 650

Total Factory Price: $36,200

Accessories:
Clubman-logoed Floor Mats: N/C
Mud Flaps - Front/Rear - installed - N/C
Checkered "Clubman" Rear Door Sill: $405 installed (crazy, yes - but awesome)
Checkered Mirror Caps: $140 installed
iPhone adapter for armrest: $140

Total Price w/Accessories: $36,885 (wow, that's one expensive MINI)

Sales Tax (PA 6%): 2,213.10

FEES
PA Registration Fee: 36
Title Fee: 22.50
Encumbrance Fee: 5
Messenger Fee: 4
Notary Fee: 12.50
Documentary Fee: 55
Total Fees: $140 (not too bad, based on posts I've read on NAM)

TOTAL PRICE AS DELIVERED: $39,238.10

Before I go on, I know this is a lot of money. And yes, I know I could have purchased a 1-series or 3-series BMW for this, but it wouldn't have been a MINI!

We financed through the dealer, via Chase. Our rate for a 48-month loan was 4.49%. We have excellent credit, but we also have a mortgage through Chase - not sure if that helped on the rate.

I shopped around a bit, but their quoted rate was fine with me.

Pick Up

As mentioned above, we picked up the car on Saturday, April 19th. Our MA was ready for us, and the process was very smooth.

Met with the financial advisor to complete the paperwork, which took all of 20 minutes. She did offer a whole laundry list of extra cost items, as below. In the same vein as how options are packaged together, they offered the following service packages:

The Piccadilly Package: includes
The Xzilon paint protection package: $468
Tire & Wheel guarantee: $574
Total: 1,042

The Waterloo Package: includes
MINI Maintenance Plan (6 yr/100,000 miles): $1,395
Easy Care Gold extended warranty (10 yr/100,000 miles, $100 deductible): $2,401
Total: 3,796

Other options:
Road Block: $545
Certified Plus ("Appearance Protection Contract", covers PDR, Interior repair, sprayless scratch repair, alloy wheel repair): $595
LoJack: $695

I did not choose any of these packages, though I may consider adding Extended Maintenance/Warranty if we decide to keep the Clubman long term.

I had read many of the "pre-delivery" posts here on NAM, and proceeded to look over the car very carefully. The only issues we found were:
- they forgot to put the navigation DVD in (no big deal)
- the put the wrong floormats in - regular MINI ones instead of the Clubman ones we asked for - our MA has already set aside the correct ones for us to pick up
- Not the best detail job I've ever seen, especially inside. Lots of lint and other little nits on the black cloth seats.

Not too worried about it - I'll take care of it on my own. Did notice some cosmoline around door handles - AFTER we had gotten home. Had to clean it up myself.

The Clubman includes a nice little collapsible storage box. MINI also threw in a quart of oil, in a nice vinyl case. Bonus!

Otto's Mini gave us a $25 gift certificate to use in their boutique. We used it to purchase a "Checker" license plate frame, that was installed on the car before we left.

Overall a great purchase experience! Very friendly dealership, fair price (I think), and a very nice MA.

So far I only have 205 miles on the car - busy 10 days! - but have enjoyed every minute behind the wheel. I'll post a review in the next couple weeks.

 

woweeeeeeeee!!!!, and I thought my Clubbie cost a lot at @29 with about 2500 or so in accessories!

Thats about the same process I went through in upstate NY but Miss MINI came a little quicker as I was one of the first to order!

All I can say is 1200+ miles later I'm one very happy camper (if there is such a thing)! My only complaint is I can't seem to keep her clean...the blue (same color as you, checkers and all) are dirty even after the smallest drops of rain :(

My dealer has been incredible too, have gotten all kinds of goodies and freebies! They just installed checkered door handles after the problems with the recalled roof rack. Now thats service

 

Ican't figure out how the dealer and/or MINI determines what to put into the added package. My wife and I bought from Otto's but didn't get free mats or mudlfap. We didn't get the vinyl case or oil. I guess Mom likes you best!!

I was so anxious about getting my car I was lucky they didn't try to cahrge me over list. However on the 2nd vehicle we did get an adjustment.

Worked with Michele Dewey--she is #6 in the country.

 

Your info on the purchase experience is very helpful. I was wondering if you considered going to any other area dealer or was Otto's your only choice? I ask since I am starting my own MINI dealer tour. Otto's is on the list, as is Main Line and possibly Princeton. If one dealer is particularly bad, I wouldn't mind skipping them and not wasting my time.

 

Great post - thanks for sharing your experience with us. Beautiful Clubman - welcome to the Clubman world...

Donna

 

We live out west of the city, so Otto's was the most convenient choice. Reading on NAM it appeared that we were unlikely to pay much below MSRP anyway, so convenience won out.

But that's not to say buying from Otto's wasn't a great experience - it was!

Now I'm getting requests to fill out the "Sales Experience Survey" from MINI, but I feel like I should hold out a bit, to make sure any problems are taken care of promptly/properly.

 

Thanks, Donna! So far so good! Now I just need to put some miles on her and bond...

 

wow ... that is one loaded MINI ... congrats!

i had no idea that MINI dealers offer these extended warranties and add-ons at the time of purchase.
i never got any offered to me (not that I would purchase them)

 

wow.. almost $40K for a mini.. yes you said it, but yea for $40k, i'd sooooooooo rather get a 135i, or a 328i coupe sport pkg... lol..

 

Wow... I think you win for having the most expensive Clubman on NAM. Have fun!

 

Yeah, but if you were to spec out a 135i in the same manner as this Clubman is spec'd, you be at almost $50k.

 

my current mini is from Otto's and my second one will be from them as well. I've got nothing but the highest praise for them for each and every aspect of my sales and service experiences.

 

That's good to hear. I head to MINI of the Main Line on Saturday for my first local dealer visit. Then Princeton MINI. Otto's is on the list, but its the furthest away from me. I'm trying to stay closer to make service and warranty trips a bit easier, but Otto's reputation makes them worth a visit it sounds like.

 

We were waiting and waiting for the 1 series to come out. My wife was entertaining the thought of a new car to give her E46 a break. We checked out the 1 when they arrived at the dealer. Looked and felt like a BMW, fine. Then I sat in the back seat and my head hit the headliner (aptly named I guess?). I'm only 5'10", but our 15 year old boy is 6' and growing. The 1 was out, along with our Euro delivery plan.

Not to fret. We went next door and bought a Clubman the very next weekend.

 

divxz, you may take your new MINI to any MINI dealer for service and warranty - it does not matter from which dealer you purchase it - so buy where it is best for you. Naturally it's nice if you can buy where it's serviced but think how many people move their homes during the course of owning their MINIs - or think about those who've driven to far off places to purchase and then driven back home.

 

Exactly. I have purchased BMWs before, and I end up with the same case of "option-itis". The 135i I specced came to $47K. A 5-series I liked came in at $65K!!

So although expensive, I am very happy with the car. I would hate to have regrets over not getting one option or another, so I just went all out. So far, so great!

 

Can't comment on the service end of things, but the sales process went very well - no complaints at all.

 

Yeah, you are right. Believe it or not, I've never had warranty/dealer service at a place other than I bought it. Gotta get used to breaking that habit.

 

25K for my Clubman S, I trade often it seems, and all the extras put me upside down in the car when I drive out. MFSW and metallic paint is the only thing extra on my Clubman S. It had Dealer-installed Garmin GPS, but I had them take it off. Best Buy put in a Sirius Starmate and my total cost there was only about $300 which included hardwiring my radar detector. You may be able to tell, I'm the CHEAP GUY, but it drives the same, and I can't live without satellite radio anymore. Probably $1000 for factory Sirius with lifetime subscription isn't a bad deal, but then it is ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS! I DIY oil changes every 2K to 4K so extended service warranties don't make much sense. Enjoy your ride, I LOVE mine and I am glad to be back in a MINI, without the jarring sport suspension. Much nicer on the road NOW!

 

Nice work and nice price!

 

I officially started my purchase process today. I visited MINI of the Main Line right outside Philadelphia. I had an appointment and met the Motoring Advisor assigned to me.

I have to say the experienced was mixed.

I didn't 'click' with the Motoring Advisor, unfortunately. He wasn't a jerk or anything, far from it. I was just hoping for some of that MINI enthusiasm and experience that I keep hearing about, which I didn't feel I got. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that amazing.

Perhaps because I went it with a lot of knowledge about the vehicle and the packages he didn't feel the need to 'sell' me. If that was the case, I appreciate his recognition of my knowledge but come on, 'sell' me a bit! Show some enthusiasm!

In terms of numbers, fees were comparable to what Lorne_K2 experienced at Otto's MINI. No talk of any free stuff, but that would likely come at delivery if at all.

So, it wasn't a bad experience but not an awesome one. I'm off to Princeton MINI next to see how it goes there. Then I'll decide which of the two I'll buy from or if I need a 3rd option and go up to West Chester to Otto's.

 

The first MINI dealer I ever went to in the county I live in, back in '04, was a real disappointment to me. I knew more that the very young MA there and the top fellow was not particularly friendly. I happily found a great dealership over the border in CT. Thank goodness I took the time to test drive a second MINI at another dealership - the rest is history.

Enjoy your next visit!

 

I had essentially the same experience. In my case, I think the MA has been in the biz for a while, and might not have the same level of enthusiasm for the product she once had. Heck, she doesn't even drive a MINI! (I'm sure many MAs don't - it just surprised me...).

I stopped back by the dealer on Saturday to trade in my "MINI" mats for Clubman ones (ack, pretty much the same stuff - glad I didn't pay $110 for them!!). My MA saw us bit didn't even say hello! After selling us a $36K car just 2 weeks ago! Very disappointing, and sadly reaffirmed what we tend to believe about salespeople - they got our cash, now on to the next prospect.

On the bright side, we met the "Prime MINIster" of the PhillyMINI group, a very nice lady that we're looking forward to sharing some good times with over the coming years.

Anyway, I guess the MINI marketing folks have done a great job of leading us all to believe that the MINI experience will be a unique one, and we (justifiably ?) are disappointed when it ends up being just like buying any other car...

 

Hey there-
Just picked up my Clubman S and it too lacked the navi disc. They found one for me in parts but it doesn't seem to work. I'm expecting that it's not the current disc. Wondering if you got yours. How long did it take? What is the exact title on the disc? Hoping I don't have a bogus nav dvd drive or something else...
Thanks in advance for getting back to me.

 

I would not be too worried about the MA. Once you get your MINI you won't see or here from the MA again. The service department is the important thing. Since you have the luxury of several dealerships to choose from, I'd pay more attention to what people think of their service.