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Any benefit to ordering from a LARGE Mini dealer vs small volume dealer?

Discussion in 'Cooper SE' started by The Dark Side, Oct 25, 2021.

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  1. Oct 25, 2021 #1
    The Dark Side

    The Dark Side New Member

    I was talking to the salesman at a mini dealer on the east coast who claims they are one of the largest volume dealers in the country and they have more "pull" with Mini than a small volume dealer. He seemed to indicate that his orders would be built sooner. They do actually have a SE for test drives, which the other dealers do not.

    This dealer is about 1:45 from my house. The local dealer is about 30 minutes away, but is a small volume dealer.

    Any benefit from ordering through the larger dealer vs the smaller, but local dealer??

    Cheers,
    TDS
     

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  2. Oct 25, 2021 #2
    Puppethead

    Puppethead Well-Known Member

    Twin Cities, MN
    It's all about the allocation slots at the factory. Larger dealers will have more, so they can usually get the cars started more quickly. Of course, if you time things right with the smaller dealer it wouldn't matter much. Once production begins at the factory it's pretty much all the same process for everyone.

    If you like the smaller dealer you should ask them about when they'd get the order in, they should be pretty up front about the allocations. You may even get better personal attention with a smaller dealer, although my dealer is one of the bigger ones and they're great.
     
  3. Oct 25, 2021 #3
    endquote

    endquote Active Member

    San Francisco, CA
    For what it's worth, my order from a smaller dealer in Northern California got delayed four times. I ended up ordering from another dealer that claims to be the largest in California, and it came more quickly. If it's only 1:45 away I would go with the larger one.
     
  4. Oct 25, 2021 #4
    ColdCase

    ColdCase Active Member

    I purchased from a larger multi location dealer. The had a SE to test drive. After configuring the car, he found that there was a nearly identical one on the boat in route that wasn't called for. Dunno if that happens much at a smaller dealer. A larger dealer may offer accessory discounts.
     
  5. Oct 25, 2021 #5
    Caconym

    Caconym Member

    Vermont
    This has probably been answered a bunch of times already, but does 'allocation' refer to the assignment of a production number? Or is it something that affects when production is scheduled after the number is issued? I ordered from a smallish dealership in September, got a production number two weeks later, and have been sitting at 'order received' for three weeks. From what I can tell, this isn't out of the ordinary, but am I still waiting for my dealer to be given a slot? Is anything still up to them?
     

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  6. Oct 25, 2021 #6
    cmdonnell

    cmdonnell Member

    I think from the complaints I've seen the people who ordered without allocation were saying they didn't get a production number yet. I think once you have a production number everything should be the same. (Caveat: I don't REALLY know anything. I did order a car at the beginning of Sept and it sat in 'Order received' for 9 days.)
     
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  7. Oct 25, 2021 #7
    insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Ann Arbor
    One forum member noted that Penske dealerships order a lot of MINI Coopers. If one of those dealers is near you, I'm sure they would have more slots than any smaller dealership.

    I ordered my SE from one of the smallest MINI Cooper dealers more than 6 months before production began yet I still didn't get a slot for a 2020 model. After 51 weeks of waiting, my 2021 SE was the last car MINI of Ann Arbor delivered before going out of business the next day. It was worth the wait.
     

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