Thanks for the information, needed that!

 

I just got through the insurance/ credit check and am waiting for the electrician to be scheduled. Hopefully my electrical situation is OK and I will get the Mini E in a few months.

I would not rely on the tax credit when deciding whether to lease the Mini. There is a recapture clause (meaning you would have to pay beck all or part of the credit), and one of the reasons for recapture is a lease which is "shorter then the economic life of the vehicle." Until I have more specifics I would be wary of counting on that $7500.

 

I agree 100%. The more I've looked into it, the less likely it seems that I would qualify for the credit by leasing the Mini E. I'll still lease one if offered though!

Keeping my fingers crossed,
Stan

 

Congrats to everyone who was accepted. We just got an email a few days ago saying we were accepted also.

And definitely don't rely on the tax credit. I have heard info saying it will and won't apply to the MINI E. Last I heard was from BMW that they were taking the tax credit and we will not get it.

We should get our cars in about a month at the soonest. They are waiting for the charging boxes to arrive, which should be in a month or so. They want to get all of them off the lot by June 30.

Check out this sea of MINI Es waiting for us: http://revengeoftheelectriccar.com/e...arrives-in-us/

Where is everyone who has been accepted? I'm in San Diego, CA.

 

Victorville here, which is about 50 miles from my dealer, Mini of Monrovia.

Stan

 

Wow, cool pics. Good to see that some cars have made it to this side of the Atlantic! I was just discussing with a friend whether there would be Mini Es in San Diego, since it's about 100 miles away I'd like to see a charge station there for weekend trips- maybe the Mini dealers could each hook up one or two nearby locations. Time to start that petition

"I represent the LBC.." well, actually my dealer is Long Beach Mini but I live nearby in OC.

 

So, about the tax credit. I spoke with someone else who says that it's a consumer tax credit and it can't have been taken by the dealerships. Also, the IRS says that we get the rebate (but I have heard that their representatives are wrong 50% of the time). So I guess no one's still sure.

About the MINI E in San Diego. We are in San Diego county, but not the city. Our house is within the 55mi limit of the nearest MINI E dealership (which was in Irvine for us). The MINI E dealership in San Diego is not participating in the program and will probably not have a charge station. MINI doesn't seem to want us to be charging anywhere but our houses. I think they want to keep us in a 55mi radius of our homes, possibly to show us how inconvenient EVs are. I wish they would give us an adapter to plug into a 220V outlet. The car is capable of charging from that. The clipper creek is basically a big box that doesn't do anything. All the charging components are in the car.

However, I did hear that we might be getting 120V cords, though that would take around 24-30+ hours to charge the car fully though.

I don't think MINI really wants us charging away from home, probably due to liability.

Let's keep each other updated!

 

I've also been accepted and am awaiting my electrical inspection. With the town permit and inspection I doubt I'll see my Mini E before June. I'm very excited to be getting one.

I've started a blog at My Mini E. I'd like to hear from others in the field trial. I'm from Long Island, NY.

-Stu
http://www.stuartistry.com/my-mini-e

 

Awesome! They started the west coast first, so we'll start getting the cars first, but you'll get them soon after. right now, we're all just waiting for our wall boxes. Any time now!!

 

Well, the real cost of the Mini E is the lease rate of $850, plus tax (around 8% depending on the state) plus liability insurance (also around $50 per month), for a total, including registration fees, title of around $1,000 per month. There is NO tax credit for the user, as the vehicle is not purchased but leased. The reason for this is that BMW wants to expense the vehicle cost as r&d expenses and to achieve that the lease must be limited to 1 year and the lease must be a lease because otherwise it is not owned by BMW anymore.

I am debating whether the cost are too high, given the challenging times we are in. Also, one needs to see that the same car is being tried out in Berlin, Germany, for about EUR 400 per month, which equates around $520, all in. So pretty much half the price. I don't see why Americans should pay double.

Best

Klaus