Hello all.

Like many others of you out there I am debating between '06 sooner vs. an '07 later. Let's put aside '06 vs '07 opinions and just look at logistics here.

If the '07 is "introduced" around fall of '06, and production begins around summer next year, when is the soonest I'd ever have an '07 model arrive at my front door? Specifically an MCS? Presumably MCS-JCW is not even on the drawing board yet.

If I have to wait until summer 2007 to have my new mini, then that's not worth it (i'm still driving my old crap Cavalier until it dies or until I get my new Mini... guess which will come first?)

Thanks!

:: o - r o n ::

 

Depending on when 2007 production starts (which nobody seems to know yet) figure 30 days from start of manufacture of your car until delivery on the east coast, and 40 to 50 days until delivery on the west coast.

Odds are we won't hear anything definate on when 2007 production will begin until after the start of the new year

 

You also have to consider the bugs that could be in the initial shipments of the 07 minis. best to wait a couple of years i guess for the 07 ones, mayb an 09...

 

alright, so let's say, hypothetically, that production starts september of 2006. and I've put in my order with my local dealership (Northwest mini / Seattle) now (or, put my name down for them to put me on the waiting list as soon as it becomes available). Would this mean that I should expect to receive my Mini around October/November 2006? Even if I ordered an MCS?

I haven't talked to my dealership yet because I figure they'll give me the run-around on the '07.

I understand the "bug" issues with a new model, but do you really think they'll be *that* bad?

Thanks

 

Given the average time it takes for a MINI to be built and shipped to the west coast it's probably a safe assumption that you would have a MINI by the end of November 2006 based on the timeline your proposing.

It doesn't make any difference if you order a Cooper, S or a convertible of either variety, they all run down the same production line essentially. The only exception is that convertible frames are welded on a seperate line....

Keep in mind however, that timeline doesn't take into account what if any waitlist that your dealer may have. That is only from the start of production in Oxford until arrival at your dealership...

There is also the possibility of a significant waiting list at many dealers once the '07 production actually starts... Some dealers are gearing up for a 60 day stretch between the end of the 06 production and the start of the 07 production where they won't be receiving ANY vehicles. They are getting information from MINIUSA that is leading them to believe that there will be a 60 day gap where the plant will be shut down for retooling for the design changeover. If that's true, it could lead to a sizeable backlog of orders pending at some dealers...

 

YES. Look at the history of ANY car maker when they introduce a new model. In the case of MINI, the whole engine is new. There are bound to be issues just as they were with 02-03 MINIs that were sorted out from 04 on.

IMHO, best time to buy is prolly 09 since 08s will be fixing the bugs from 07 which might introduce new ones.

I bought a "new" 1979/80 mustang after those Crappy Mustang IIs of the late 1970s. Totally new design. Totally crap.

 

It seems, then, that with the 60 day "freeze" and the dealer wait and so on, that a *realistic* delivery date would be more like january or february 2007?

If you had to make a "best guess" would you say that's about right?

 

i wouldn't worry about the new model bugs. it's a MINI, everything will be covered. be a pioneer. be the first!

 

If your top priority is delivery time, you should order from a Midwest or East Coast dealer and either ship or drive the car home. Have you checked delivery times at your local dealers?

 

I'm 53 yrs old and the 1st time I ever heard this theory about not buying a 1st year model because of dependability and design mistake issues was when the Ford Focous was introduced. My daughter knew a girl that knew a girl who bought a 1st yr Focous and had nothing but problems. Made sense to me!

So what did I do? Bought an 02 MCS! USED! with 4700mls on the odometer. 1yr and 7K more miles and not one single problem. I found out the 1st owner only had to deal with a rear hatch rattle that was fixed on the 1st try.

I understand the theory and even except it. But what would happen if the entire car buying public was educated to this "do not buy a 1st yr model". Hell! Every auto manufactorer would go bankrupt because they would loose their asses on all their 1st yr models. And they have to have 1st yr models 'cause in this industry, you can't stand still, you have to offer new and that new has to be innovative.

I really beleave that the manufactorers are well awear of this delemna and are determined to put it to death. I know that GM/Pontiac made 3x the effort to get the Soltice "right-out-of-the-box".

Would I do again? Buy a 1st yr model? NNNNNOOOOOO!!!

 

Based on my best guess from what I've seen MINI do in the past.....
IMPORTANT NOTE! The following information is 100% pure opinion and is not based on any information officially released or unofficially leaked by MINIUSA or BMWAG. It is merely a guess based on past MINI history, and the timeline proposed may not actually come true!

Based on what MINI has done in the past, my guess would be that '06 production will end in late June of 2006. The plant will then be retooled and employees trained from July to August 2006. The first MY 2007 cars may roll off the line in late August, early September. First East Coast deliveries by mid-September and the first West Coast deliveries by early October.

Also based on what MINI has done from MY 2002-2006, not all of the anticipated options and/or colors will be available when the first 2007 MINIs go into production. Instead they will be phased in over the next several months, with some items not being available until Jan 2007 build cars at the earliest, the last expected item on the 2003's didn't show up until March builds (DVD Nav). From what I have seen, I would bet on delayed options before I'd bet on when the first 2007's will arrive.

My suggestion if you want an '07 as early as possible is one of two things:

1. Contact your local dealer NOW and request to be put on the waiting list for an '07. Odds are many dealers are either already running, or willing to start a waiting list for '07s... However you will probably need to put down a $1k deposit (fully refundable).
2. Contact one of the dealers that's a sponsor here on NAM: Classic Auto Campus in Mentor OH, MINI of The Hamptons in NY, or D&R in Indiania. Odds are at least one, if not all of these dealers would be willing to start a list for the '07s if they haven't already. Doing this might shave a week off your delivery time. Again be prepared to have to put down a $1k refundable deposit.

Again there's really no way to know what the timeline is going to look like right now. Odds are we'll know more about it towards the end of the winter. As soon as the news breaks it'll be up on Motoringfile and a few hours after that somebody will probably post it here.

 

Didn't I read somewhere that this engine is already in production and installed in a couple of Euro-model cars, a small Peugeot or Renault, I believe? That would eliminate most of those potential engine "bugs". I would imagine the gearboxes and drive gear would be the mostly same as now. Electrical, I don't know, they could cause problems there.

 

Last I checked (which was about a month ago) they said anywhere from a 7-10 month wait, although they expected that to drop quite a bit once production on convertibles went down (haven't gone back in to confirm this yet)

 

I guess it all really comes down to 2 things: money and patience. (neither of which I have very much of!! )


Anyway. If I could have my way I'd want a mini (well, right now, but..) next summer or fall. All things (eg mechanical bugs) being equal, I'd rather have an '07 because of the Turbo and better efficiency/fuel economy. As far as all the fancy options, I probably wouldn't go much past the standard package options - for either model.

What I figure is this - if I'm going to order an '06 and won't get it until next summer (july/august) and I could potentially have an '07 delivered to me by october, then the extra couple months wait would be worth it to me. Otherwise I'd probably just buy an '06, drive it for a couple years, and then sell privately and get an '09.

This last option (buying '06 then '09) doesn't bother me at all - either way I get a Mini and eventually a turboed mini - but I worry that it will cost me a lot of extra money given the loss in resale value of the '06 come time to buy an '09. It seems like I'd be better off just buying the '07 in the first place(?)

Well.. that's my psuedo-logic anyway...

Any thoughts??

 

I was told by a dealer the other day that the plant was scheduled to be shut down and retooled in October-November. That would mean you wouldn't see an 07 until January.

Of course, he could be jiving, too.

 

Take a look over a MotoringFile... If the timeline posted there is correct, then we could be looking at staggered introductions of the 07's...

 

where?

this? http://www.motoringfile.com/2004/01/...INIGetsAPrince

 

No this...

http://motoringfile.com/2005/11/16/b...ed-to-the-web/

 

Interesting! Thanks for letting me know about this. According to this the '07 MCS wouldn't even start selling until june 2007.

Looks like i'll be ordering an '06... ;-)

 

Just keep in mind, nobody knows how accurate that document actually is...