And The Waiting Begins... Now!

I did it!  I ordered a MINI Cooper on Saturday!

Exhibiting true Libra qualities, I have been both rash and indecisive during this time. 

First the decision to even get a new car was/is pretty rash.  I did not even have a kernel of an idea of getting a new car even a month ago... there are/were not many good reasons to get a new vehicle, i.e. how little I drive and the financial security I have attained/gained largely thanks to not being tied down by a car payment.  But once I made the initial window shopping trip to the dealership, it has pretty much been the mental point of no return.

The MINI website allows you to "build" your own car... and I have lost count on the number of times I have done that... for a person who is indecisive, the website is a nightmare (actually it's quite cool) - change the color, add a white roof, pick this package... and then figuring out if it is worth the additional cost to add it on.  Heck, I couldn't even decide on the base model!

So what I "ordered" (more on that in a bit), is not quite the car you saw a couple of weeks ago.  I decided NOT to go with the convertible model.  While a convertible would likely be great here in Arizona, I just didn't know if I wanted it all the time.  Likewise, I had some reservations about the maintenance of the cloth-top roof.  I am sure we have all seen some pretty crappy looking convertible tops on the road.  And the "regular" Coopers have some pretty unique roofs anyhow... and, given this whole car is a serious self-splurge to start with, the additional cost for a convertible was hard to rationalize.  But my current model does have a sun roof... and that will be a first for me... so I still have the "open air" feel if I want it.

So here my Cooper v2.0:

Now, this is still potentially not the "final answer"...

On Saturday, my $2,000 deposit put me on a waiting list for the production of my MINI Cooper. 

If I get a January 2006 production slot, my salesperson will call me at the end of this month to go over all the major details to then build my dream Cooper (if I get pushed to February '06 production, that call will not happen until December).  Whenever that happens, the deposit becomes non-refundable and thus "locked in" and unable to change the car... though certain "dealer installed" options (iPod adapter, security system) will still be open for debate until the actual car arrives in the States (the cars are produced in Oxford, England).

So, bottom line, the estimated delivery of my Cooper (at this particular moment) is anywhere from late February thru April 2006.  Believe it or not, the timing was a tad quicker than I expected (I was told the current estimated wait time for a Cooper S Convertible is 8 months)... as mentioned in my original Cooper post, the "waiting" is a Cooper rite of passage.

So that's it for now...

There is a lot more to tell... let's just say my experience at the dealership was unlike any other car buying experience I have ever had or witnessed (and to tell you the truth it didn't really feel like I "bought a car," which technically I guess I haven't done just yet)... so I will share that episode with you probably later this week... and since this is going to be a fairly popular topic here at W&C for the foreseeable feature... I have added a new blog category called The MINI Cooper Chronicles to keep easy track of it all.

Comments

[Jeff]

Whee! Ooh, I shall live vicariously through your Cooper excitement. ;)

[Scott C]

What fun!! I hope you Cooper comes as you want, when you want. I will be interested to hear your experience, as I might consider one in the future.

[Scott-O-Rama]

I am so F-ing jealous.

On a different note, I am getting pop-up (pop-under?) ads everytime I visit your site now.

Did you change something?

[Kenna]

Yippee - remember me when you want accessories; I start working for a company that supplies Mini Cooper parts and accessories on Dec 12.

P.S. Yeah, I got the pop-ups too ...