Hi All,


I am currently in the process of negotiating price with a dealer on a custom built F56 Cooper S. MSRP as built is $36,800 and per my research the invoice in $33,921. The dealer is willing to give me $1,500 off the MSRP of my custom order. I've searched the forum and several people have negotiated below MSRP on a custom built order. Think I can squeeze them for any more?

Thanks!

 

Not likely on a custom build. Off the lot yes.

 

Not certain if you mean "custom built" is an ordered car as opposed to off the lot. Either way, the deal should be similar, unless the dealer has something on the lot they really want to move. Those sorts of cars often provide opportunities for better deals.

That said, there isn't a lot of factory to customer incentive cash available now. There's some loyalty money and low interest rates, and maybe USAA if you're a member.

We THINK, but can't be sure, that the factory is offering direct incentives to dealers. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

If you are ordering, you're looking at probably May or June delivery. Make sure your deal clearly states, IN ADDITION to whatever dealer discount you finally agree to, you will be eligible for any incentives available at time of delivery.

If you are financing/leasing through the dealer and are taking advantage of the current low rates on offer, make sure these are locked so that if they go away when your car is delivered, you still get them, unless a better offer is available at delivery, in which case, you need it to be clear that you get whichever is the better.

Variables are many. Is there a trade involved in your deal? Are you willing to walk away from the deal if the dealer doesn't do better than $1,500 off?

How hard do you want to fight to save maybe another $500 or $1,000?

If you love the car and the deal seems fair to you.... that's what matters in the end.

 

FWIW, I'm guessing invoice on your $36,800 car is around $34,000. Assuming the dealer is getting back end cash one might try invoice + $500, or about $34,500 on an ordered car.

Then, of course, it depends on if you want any add-ons. Margins are high on those, so be careful.

 

Appreciate all the color. Yes, by custom built I mean one that I am ordering. Invoice per my calculation is $33,921.

 

I was able to negotiate 2000 + 500 company incentive off 34,350 MSRP for my custom order 2017 F56S mid-December last year (2016).

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-the-deal.html Post # 154 on page 7 of the thread is my actual deal done last October when rebates were generous.

I see by your invoice calculation that you are using the formula correctly!! I just rounded in my invoice estimate for your deal.

Good luck with your negotiations. Let us know what happens.

 

Once you have the invoice number, one question will get you a decent deal: How close to invoice can you get so I can say yes to buying this car today?

When you get the dealer’s magic number, if it works for you all you need to do is clarify: Is your offer before incentives or does it include incentives?

 

Honestly, I think that $1500 off a custom order is a fantastic deal.

You're getting the exact car you want, AND you're getting a discount on it. You're not being forced to make any concessions because of options or colors you don't want.

If you want invoice pricing, pick a car off the lot.

 

I appreciate all the feedback! Very helpful! I've gotten the dealer to take $2,000 off the MSRP of $36,800 so a discounted price of $34,800. I tried to negotiate the conveyance fee, but no luck on that front. So all-in with conveyance of $35,299 before tax and registration. I feel like that's a decent deal on a custom order, but I asked for the following and was denied on both fronts:

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Congratulations on negotiating $2,000 off of MSRP.

Non-governmental fees vary from state to state but it is difficult to get them removed. I would consider the additional $500 off they offered ($2,000 off instead of the $1,500 they first offered) as an offset for the conveyance. Basically, they are clawing back some of the discount, which is disappointing but your only other option would be to try and shop your order to another dealer. If you do shop your deal, it is a simple matter to call another dealer and speak to the sales manager and tell him/her the exact deal you have been offered and tell them that if they can beat the deal you have, you will be glad to order the car from them. Depends on location of dealers in your area, etc. I certainly wouldn't drive 200 miles to save another $500 bucks and I'd be thinking about where I'd be getting service and warranty on my new car.

If they are willing to lock the 1.4% or whatever the low APR is, this is correct.

It is also correct that they cannot hold factory incentives.

HOWEVER, I believe you will be eligible for any rebates/incentives available at time of delivery and you should insist on this.

Why? Well, they are discounting the car $2,000. I assume this is a DEALER discount and has nothing to do with any back-end money or direct factory-to-dealer incentives because they can't know those incentives until you get to the delivery month.

So, if the $2,000 feels comfortable to you, and they are correctly willing to lock a great APR loan rate, the only thing I would insist upon is that you retain eligibility for any factory incentives/rate offers that may come into play at time of delivery.

Usually the wording is "any vehicle sold from dealer inventory..." And, when your ordered car arrives, it will be part of dealer inventory until you buy it.

If there is any lack of clarity on this from the dealer, I'd confirm by calling MINI USA. Unless MINI USA has changed the rules, eligibility for incentives at time of delivery was their deal in 2016.

Good luck.

 

Thats pretty good and if they throw in some free stuff when you pick it up. If you find a floor model you can get some deals on the last years model. On made to order most of the time there is not much discount. Some dealers that are high volume and might have room to budge. Good luck.

 

Do. It.

Rate can be locked for up to 60 days from order placement/credit app, but cash or rebate incentives can not be locked.

 

I guess that's up to your dealership. My dealership gave me the better finance rate and the factory rebate on a special order at the time of delivery.

 

Not all incentives are created equal or carry the same staying power. The finance rate is the only thing that can be locked.

Currently, the MINI loyalty incentive is considered a monthly incentive with no guarantee it'll be around when the ordered vehicle arrives. MINI actually eliminated it in the traditional sense for the first 2 months of this year, replacing it with 'Thank You' incentives for hardtop owners who traded their cars in, instead.

 

http://www.clark.com/beat-the-pricing-from-online-c

Unfortunately for the consumer, if a dealer has the corner on a market (like being the only Mini or "whatever car dealership" within a 100 or more miles, they can stand firm on any price.

Fortunately for the dealer, the next guy or gal through the door will spend whatever the asking price is and only be concerned w/ the monthly payment.

 

Quick update. The dealer clarified that I would be eligible for the lower financing rate upon delivery if one was available. That being said, still debating incentive eligibility at time of delivery. If there was a factory-to-dealer incentive available at time of delivery, isn't this simply passed on to the customer? I feel like the dealer is trying to pocket any incentive that may be available at time of delivery. Am I misinterpreting the mechanics of the incentives?

 

You are doing well by not caving and keeping the conversation going with the dealer.

There are factory to dealer incentives which the dealer can share with the buyer, or not, in the form of additional discounts.

Then there are factory to customer incentives such as rebates, loyalty bonuses, special financing rates, etc. These vary from month to month but SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THE CUSTOMER AT TIME OF DELIVERY as they don't impact dealer profit -- unless a truly unscrupulous dealer finds a sneaky way to pocket a rebate that is supposed to go to the customer. Usually the way the dealer sneaks this is to lock the customer into a final sale price, such as $1,500 off of MSRP. Whether that discount comes from a rebate or out of dealer profit is hidden from the customer.

Easy way to prevent this is to lock in the discounted price PLUS any available customer rebates, bonuses, or special finance rates -- none of which require the dealer to kick in more cash from his side of the deal.

So I understand the dealer's desire to protect any factory to dealer bonus money -- that's the dealer's right. But there is no reason for them to prevent you from enjoying the benefits of any customer rebates that might be available when your car is delivered -- rebates we won't know about until that time -- and rebates that, if available, should be stacked on top of any discounts you and the dealer agree to now.

As far as the "conveyance fee." Hard to get that removed, but what you can do is say, "We've agreed to $2,000 off of MSRP plus tax and license. I understand there's this conveyance fee your dealership charges that is not a government fee. So, to get us to the $2,000 net discount from MSRP, it looks like you're going to have to go $2,500 off of MSRP and then add the $500 conveyance back in to net me the $2,000 off of MSRP we've agreed to. And, of course, if MINI has any new customer cash rebates when I take delivery, I get those ON TOP OF the $2,000 net discount. If we agree on this, we have a deal right now."

Hope that's clear.

 

And DON'T FORGET the power of "10," as in, "If this deal goes as smoothly as we all hope it will, I'm looking forward to giving you top ratings on the survey, which I promise I'll do for you if we can agree on the right deal and the car delivery is a happy experience."

And then you carefully restate all the terms of the deal you will say "yes" to, making sure dealer discount is kept separate from factory offers and making sure whatever can be locked in is locked in and whatever options on incentives available at time of delivery are preserved. Watch all the moving parts every step of the way and you'll do fine!!

 

Hi All,

Apologies for the delayed update. I straightened everything out with the dealer. Locked in at a minimum an interest rate of 1.4%, which if lower at time of delivery I will be eligible for that rate. Also, any additional customer incentives that are available will be honored at time of delivery. All-in of $35,299 including conveyance ($499), which equates to $2,000 off the MSRP of $36,800 of a custom built 2017 Mini Cooper S 2-door HT. I just received an e-mail from the dealer with the 7 digit production number. Hopefully the union doesn't strike.

 

Consider yourself lucky to get $1500 off. Most dealers won't give you anything (and let you walk away knowing the next one through the door will pay their price).

Mini's dealerships are rare and do not face any local competition (unlike domestic cars) or ever BMW's where there can be another local dealership and thus competition for business.

My dealership (which has a great service department) is a "Sonic" dealership and has discounts on their cars (a tag off the rear-view) showing $1 off or even $1 more than sticker). There are other cars in inventory that may have a couple of hundred off, but that's the most I've ever seen.

Only game in town, pay to play. They offer incentives authorized by MINI and a USAA discount for a Vet. That's it. They are fair on trade-in values and the service department will price match parts you can find on the Internet (got my JCW tune @ discount). But even at that the parts guy will say they are losing money on some of the parts they have to price match that are being sold on line by other dealerships (yeah, right!).