Prior to ordering my custom 2012 Mini I did plenty of pricing research off of MSRP. I looked at Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds, and TrueCar.

I spoke/visited/emailed local and distant Mini dealers in. I found that some MAs are terrible and others are very helpful. The key was to visit often. I found larger big city Mini dealers were more willing to bargain. Let me begin by saying that ALL the Mini dealers began by stating that Mini's are a hot seller and there folks are buying at MSRP when custom ordering. I fell for that line back in 2002 for my first Mini when they were new in the states. I actually told one manager to 'cut the bsh!t' and he then offering 1% off MSRP

Yes, I know that anything on the lot or "older 2013's" that they are trying to move out of inventory they are willing to negotiate more but you end up with options you really did not want. I once ended up with a fully loaded BMW with 5 external cameras I never needed nor used. In Virginia, they require state inspection stickers plastered on the front windshield so I know exactly how long they have been sitting there.

That said, I thought it would be extremely helpful to potential buyers to start a thread to show the deals you got or did not get. A co-worked of my said he paid full MSRP because that is what the dealer said folks were paying.

Some dealers now have preferred pricing (i.e 1% OFF MSRP with no negotiation) that no matter what price they sell a mini for they get a flat commission-- like $150. So they are less likely to bargain but they will if they believe you will purchase your Mini elsewhere. Remember, warranty service can be performed at any Mini dealer.

So, I managed to get 2% off MSRP of a custom ordered 2014 plus a boot mat and a Mini keychain tossed in plus 20% off any other accessories. Of course, once I committed to one dealer, a second dealer 120 miles away was now willing to negotiate even more off MSRP and include delivery of the Mini to my house and fedex all paperwork but I decided I really did not want to know since I already agreed to work with a dealer. So what deals did you get (or not get)?

 

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Two of the dealers I visited spent more time explaining why they didn't deal and why they didn't need to due to market demand. When I stated that I wouldn't be purchasing from them, they both called and emailed that they had lowered prices due to market adjustments. I reiterated that I wouldn't be purchasing from them and when I made my purchase elsewhere they both acted surprised at what had happened. Needless to say, I am not impressed with their methods. I do love my Mini.

 

they will for cars on the lot for SURE, but if you're ordering a car i think u're pretty much paying msrp

 

I had been forced to look for a new car when my 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo was destroyed by a runaway tire in August. I immediately wanted to purchase a MINI - I'd really always wanted one, the Fiat was a compromise. Fun, but a compromise. Well, the local Crown MINI in Richmond was hit and miss. They'd go out of their way to answer any of my questions and scour the country for a car that fit my wishlist, but they would NOT budge on MSRP minus some bull**** 'preferred customer' $500 off. They knew of my situation. They knew my price range. I kept getting these emails with cars anywhere from $1500 - $5000 over my budget. Finally I checked with a dealer in VA Beach. They had a car (2013) that had been on the lot for a while. It was the color I wanted (Pepper white / black roof) with the options I wanted (NO sunroof, 6 spd manual, base audio, heated seats, arm rest, manual air con - basically stripped) PLUS it was an S (which I couldn't really afford and hadn't been looking at) AND it was in my price range with the deal they were willing to give me. I told the Richmond dealer what I was looking at, asked them to match it, and essentially they told me to screw off and watch out for a 'new' car that had probably been beaten by the dealer, test driven the snot out of it, blah blah (essentially bad mouthing the other dealer) and refused to budge on the MSRP of any car that they had on the lot.

Well, I bought the car from the dealer in VA Beach. They were great and I LOVE my car. I never thought I'd be driving an S. If I hadn't gone with the dealer 100 miles away, I'd be driving a MINI with options I didn't need / want, the color that I didn't want, and no turbo.

 

We special-ordered a 14 Clubman and ended up paying MSRP - $1800. That included a $500 USAA discount that I think MINI funded, so the dealer came down $1300. The key is to not do the deal at the dealership. Say thank you very much on that offer, I'll think about it then leave. Then I started emailing several dealers within 100 miles of me for their best price on my build sheet. Took the best price back to dealer #1 (again via email), who is closer, and said if you can match this I'll put a deposit down today. Done deal. BTW, no trade-in.

If you get attached to particular car on the lot, you lose some leverage, and they know it. Emotions get in the way when you're staring at the car you want!

 

[QUOTE= Done deal. BTW, no trade-in.
![/QUOTE]

Yes, if you have a trade in, there is really no way to know exactly how much of a discount off MSRP you actually received.

All dealers must pay the exact same cost to the manufacturer for any new car they sell (usually called invoice), but there are a large number of variables in a new car purchase cost: the "sale price" (which most people focus on); the value they place on your trade-in; various dealer-fees (documentation fees, inspection fees), any dealer "add-ons" such as floor mats, paint and fabric protection, etc.; extended warranties and maintenance plans; the money rate (if financed); the lease rate and residual value (if leased); participation in shared manufacturer-dealer rebates and incentives, etc. etc. etc.

Any of these impact the profit margin of the dealer on any car they are selling, and if they can't make $ on one area, they will try to make if up in another. A dealer who has a hot selling, in demand, or limited volume model will discount less (or not at all), and may even charge an additional sticker price above MSRP. Conversely a low demand vehicle with high numbers in inventory will be more heavily discounted.

 

If you have a trade-in, it would be nearly impossible to get any discount off the msrp since you are also negotiating with the trade-in value.

 

Not necessarily. My dealer has been doing it differently for the last year and a half. Being a bigger dealership network (Owned by Sonic Automotive) They take pictures, send them to NC or SC (cant remember) and they appraise the car. Send the quote back to the dealership and that is what trade is. They are also doing "true-price" and supposedly do not negotiate. I bought my last car there and it wasn't exactly a normal deal. I had a used car I was all set ot buy and there was an issue with CPOing it and that fell through so they made this current car that came in used a CPO for me and we kept the price the same as the previous deal that we had signed on. I think "preferred" or repeats customers get more of a deal as they would work with me on the price of the car and probably ended up loosing money on the sale but made up for it on the used car I traded in.

I know this is kind of irrelevant as MSRP applies to new cars and my last 3 MINIs have all been used (can't swallow that pill).

 

This is essentially what I did and got about $1500 off total for my custom 2013 Clubman S. I got an offer from Dealer #1, then emailed about 4 others in the area. One kept wanting me to "come in and talk", but they were the furthest so I dropped them. The others played and gave me an emailed quote. I then called the ones that gave me a quote to see if they could do better, telling them that I had the same deal from dealer #1, which I did. Noone came down, so I went back to Dealer #1 and told them others had matched their price but that I wanted to do business with them. They wouldnt come down any further so I suggested throwing in an installed roof rack and all weather mats and we would have a deal. MA asked the manager, came back with an "OK". It wasnt a painless ordeal, but I think I got a fair deal. I would have not felt the same just taking what they offered.

 

I forgot to mention that I started by trying to trade in a 2011 BMW X5 at a Mini/BMW dealer and they simply would not budge. I ended up selling the X5 to CarMax for more than they were offering for a trade. I really did not want to try to sell it myself. Later I could focus on the Mini purchase.

A second BMW dealership with a familiar sales guy--who I have worked with before -- told me to NEVER trade in on a purchase because there are too many moving pieces.

 

6th and dog whistle, how big were your downpayments?

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My down payment was $1000 to order. At first the dealer suggested $3,000, I said no.

 

Just $500 deposit, that's all they asked for.

 

I am in Oregon with just 1 dealer in the whole state. There are two other dealers in state of Washington but they are hundreds of miles away. i.e .my choice of shopping around is a little limited. Any of your happen to know of individual who work at dealers at Oregon or Washington who has a little more common sense to work with ? I contacted both the OR and WA dealers and so far for a 2014 hardtop (which I have no urgency and can wait), I am getting the standard, "MSRP is the best I can do. Most if I can get manager approve is $250 off. Good Luck".

 

My close friend is also my MA. Believe me when I tell you that $250 off a new F56 is as good of a deal as you're going to get right now. These cars aren't even on the lot yet. Supply and demand are going to be a factor when thisd car is first released. If you want to wait until they hit the lot and have been sitting for a while (then you don't really get a say in options) then they might start discounting. If you're a returning MINI customer, you can throw an additional $500 loyalty bonus on top of that.

And for the record, MA's have little to no say on what discounts are given, it all goes through the sales manager.

 

Thanks SoCall. As an academic discussion, isn't it counter intuitive in terms of discount on a custom order car. Hear me out here. If a customer custom order a car, he/she is going to get the car, there is no sales activity need, dealer just enter the order, and count the quota to sale figure. i.e. it is a net new business with no need to bring inventory to the lot .. etc. Wouldn't the dealer want to offer discount to just get this order which seems to be the easiest sales to be made?

 

Already getting no promise on the $500 returning MINI customer deal. Getting the whole "we'll see what my manager says line".