Good morning fellow North American Motoring.com readers. My girlfriend is on the virge or signing the papers for a new R56. The dealership has searched local inventory to fit her requests.

Colors she wanted was Lightning Blue, but none were sourced with the S package, automatic transmission(this option is killing me), and bluetooth. The dealership has found a white one and a grey one with the turbo and bluetooth integrated.

Are there any other must have options we should ask for before signing the papers to the new mini. We are looking at putting the $1000 deposit the dealership is requesting by the end of the week.

Price: The salesman said he can take $500 off the top, this leaves me curious how much they will let me haggle the price down, this dealership has the lowest advertised prices in the area.
I am dealing with the Mini dealership in Pleasanton, CA

Any information is helpful and will pass on to the girlfriend as she has to be alright with the choices.

 

Update to the last post:
This morning my girlfriend went to the dealership and put a deposit on a mini cooper s to be built to her spec's. Now the wait until mid January 2012 to get it and sign the final papers to take ownership.

 

Congrats to your girlfriend. I ordered my 2012 Chili Red MCS from East Bay Mini in Pleasanton on 11/19. I was told to expect 4-12 weeks for delivery. I really hoping for alot less. My status on MiniUSA is still "on order".

 

Welcome to the Mini world! Ordering (if you have the time), is definitely the best, in my opinion. Then she can get exactly what she wants. My specs were too specific and for $30k, I wasn't going to settle on a dealer's lot car that wasn't exactly what I wanted. I'm playing the waiting game right now, which is killing me but in the end it'll be worth it.MINIUSA still says my mini is also on order...but when I called MiniUSA, they said it completed production on Nov 17th and was waiting to ship. You might want to try calling instead of just using the Owner's Lounge.

 

I just got mine from Pleasanton dealership. Good choice, I've been happy with their salespeople and follow up. Congrats for your gf

 

Thank you for the replies!
Who did you deal with at East Bay Mini in Pleasanton, and did they work with you on the final price when you ordered your car?
Howard (awesome salesperson) told me the wait time should be 8 weeks putting us in mid-January.
I am curious if haggle room is there beyond the $500 they offer for going with this dealership.

 

Phillip was our sales person and was very helpful in getting our car ordered. How long did it take for you to get your Mini?

 

It's been my experence with all Mini Dealerships that you really don't have any haggle wiggle room. Phillip and the sales manager were both very helpful in getting my Mini at the price I wanted and with everything that had to have.

 

Yes, there is more than $500 worth of "wiggle room". When I ordered mine I found that most dealers would give you $500 just for the asking. I shopped the deals around the 9 dealers in SoCal and I ended up getting $1,150 off MSRP.

 

Hey Danigurrl I'm from Springfield too. Maybe I'll see ya motoring around some day!

 

Definitely! I plan on going to some Mini events too, like Minis on Top.

 

nemini.com is a great group!

 

I was about 2250 off of MSRP in So Cal.

 

I didn't find much wiggle room in the SF bay area

Howard was my salesperson as well. Went to East Bay Mini after both other dealerships in the area refused to even budge that $500. Perhaps my negotiating skills have weakened over time but it seems the deals in SoCal are way better than in bay area

 

I assume this included the Mini-tober discount?

 

make that nemini.ORG

 

Looks like the delivery date is Feb 12th.
Dealership: East Bay Mini, Pleasanton, Ca
Car spec's:
Hardtop MCS
Black top
lightning blue paint
heated seats
Base stereo
back up monitor
basic black interior
Automatic transmission
black stripes

-Any input on what you would have done different when picking up your mini?
-Any price points on what you got something for when haggling the price of the vehicle?
-Important questions for dealership/MA?

 

Great choice of color.

As far as choices whatever you or your GF want. Thats what makes a MC or MCS yours.

My dealer was no haggle. I got $1K of sticker but that was incentives. Watch for hidden fees, like Dealer prep fees. My dealer didn't have them but some do. Don't be afraid to bring a calculator or whatever. And make sure you know what every item is.

Thats all I have. Hopefully someone will more and better advice.

 

That is a good idea, did not think about checking out hidden fees like that.

 

Just curious, what is Mini-tober discount?

 

Yea I paid over $400 in dealer prep fees for my Accent in 07. The dealer gets reimbursed that from the manufacturer. But the guy told me it was the cost of getting it ready. You always learn when you buy a car.

U2U2U2 - Motor-tober is the special that MINI ran in October of 2011. Not sure if thewy did it before.