I just got an emailfrom a mini dealer in Socal who used to charge a thousand or more markup and the email says they are willing to be competitive and are now a MSRP dealer... may be the start of lower prices or below MSRP at least.. yes or am I dreaming

 

I could be way off but I think that more and more dealers will be going MSRP, and not just MINIs but all different makes. With the economy being so bad and car dealers having problems selling they are going to have to try different things to bring people through the doors. The top problem people have with buying cars is they hate the going back and forth over the price. If everyone went MSRP, or just a set price, that would relieve a lot of pressure off the buyer. My dealership is a straight MSRP and the buying experience was stress free. If dealerships are smart and want to compete they will follow the example.

 

End of markups? Very likely in this economy
End of MSRP? Not likely, unless demand falls off and sales collapse

 

The BMW/Mini experience has left me Blaaa! So often that even if they went significantly below MSRP and offered 0% interest rate they wouldn't see me back there. Parts and service that give me a nose bleed and a sales staff so snooty that they define the term have left me willing to buy Japanese.

 

Being new to Mini Coopers, I just bought my first one last week, I have read similar posts regarding "Markup" at dealers. I never saw "markups" when I was looking for a Mini, I thought "MSRP Only" was bad enough.
All of the prices at athe dealerships seemed to correspond to the prices as represented on the Miniusa build pages.

mininut

Don't let your experience sour you. If a dealership isn't willing to work for your money, take your business elswhere. This is the age of online buying,and all dealership need to understand that they are competing against every other dealer in the US. You can literally have a car delivered to your driveway from across the country.
The first dealer we went to was only interested in selling what was on the lot, wasn't even interested in helping us order one. The second was so full of himself it was nauseating. The third salesman I never met. All of our business was conducted via phone. This guy was motivated, helpful, and extremely responsive to emails and voice mails. Co-ordinated insurance and financing arrangements with my bank and insurance agent from out of state.
When my wife flew 500 miles to pick up the car he helped us immensly with all of the pertinent info to get from the airport to the dealership, and even paid the $60.00 cab fare.
On top of the agreed upon price. He and the dealership threw in $500.00 for the Mini Acessories of our choice (Sunshade, car cover, magnetic stone guards, mud flaps, and a JCW shift ****).
Point being, there are still car salesman,or MA's, willing to work for your $$$$

As far as parts and costs are concerned. I've owned a Saab for 14 years. I hope Mini's aren't as bad as Saab's. Time will tell though right?