I identify strongly with the Gen Y attitudes cited above, except for the pricing issue. I refuse to buy anything at retail msrp except at the grocery store, and even then 75% of what I buy is on sale. The exhilaration of negotiating a big ticket purchase and the associated adrenaline rush is part of the joy of buying a new (or even used) car.

 

i dont know about you, but that just sounds pretty retarded. So what the study tells us is, if these kids had the opportunity to buy a high priced item at a discount (at the age of 26, its safe to assume they cant buy it without going into debt (financing/lease), they wouldn't put the effort into saving that money?

then that's fine... they can go to the stealerships and tell the salesman that they want to purchase the car at MSRP and no hassles. Any sales person would be happy to do that for them.

However, for the people who are old enough to realize that money doesn't just fall from the sky and understand the true value of a dollar, there is no reason whatsoever to pay MSRP for an automobile. Especially in this economy.

 

I think you mixed up the point of his post.

In a more bulleted form, here is what I think he's saying.

With regard to price
1. Mini has a policy of selling at retail, it is part of their market strategy
2. Mini doesn't flood the market with cars in an effort to keep resale high, therefor even a crowded lot of mini's is still very small in comparison.

With regard to the marketability of a Mini
1. The study shows that Mini's customization strategy is one that Gen Y'ers seem to appreciate.
2. Women seem to strongly favor the no haggle pricing, yes getting a lower price is better, but some people like going in knowing what they will pay and sometimes knowing that haggling is not an option is a stress reliever.

So put this all together and what do you get...

1. Mini doesn't "need" to lower their prices as their strategy is to keep Mini fairly rare and to keep dealerships on the same page with pricing as to not create price wars.

2. Mini is not going to lose support by not lowering pricing because their customization options and yes even their pricing strategy is appealing to many in their target market.

 

my local dealer is showing some "specials" some where lease specials and others were discounted from msrp. as much as 2750 if i recall correctly.

They have over 130cars showing on their website so that could be one of the reasons why. www.eastbaymini.com check the new car inventory and look for the special flag. Last I checked they had 5 left out of original 6 on special.

edit: none of the jcw models are on special (just checked)

 

I understand the points, i just dont find the part about women not liking haggling....

Any other mfg outside of mini/scion, offers 3 options:
1. Haggle
2. Pay MSRP
3. Pay mark-up

Mini/Scion offers 2 options:
1. Pay MSRP
2. Pay mark-up

so they are giving you 2 options. but if women supposedly dont like haggling, and would like to know what theyre going to pay if they went to the stealership, everyone already has that option... Its called MSRP. so how is that point rational at all....

sounds like some researcher looked at the data points and didnt do much analysis.. just called it out like it is. i cant for some reason understand how having one very beneficial option as being stressful.

 

No I get what you're saying, but I dont think it's about the actual process of haggling or choosing to or not to haggle, but more the expectation. I would bet Mini formed the question very generically "would you rather buy from a dealership with a no haggle policy or where you have to haggle to get the best price" something like that, and of course the "no haggle" sounds good, but of course everyone would like to pay less

 

In the end, an automobile is "worth" what someone is willing to pay for it. MINI (and Scion) have apparently priced their cars at the correct price because people have been willing to pay MSRP for them since their inception. On the other extreme GM, Ford, and Chrysler have for years priced their cars WAY above what they know the consumer will actually end up paying. Look where's it got them. I've owned almost 30 cars, most of them bought new, and have only paid MSRP for the MINI's, a launch Audi TT back in 1999, and an early Scirocco. All of those cars were in big demand and the price seemed fair for what I was getting so I paid it. All of my other cars had some sort of built-in wiggle room but in the big picture I always paid market value. This whole idea that cars MUST be haggled for is so old school, I wouldn't mind seeing it disappear either.

 

Haggling may be old school, but it saved me $845 on the '09 JCW. That's more money than I normally earn in one hour. At that rate, I'll gladly remain a dinosaur.

 

My MA has not confirmed a JCW CABRIO Date

 

When I asked my MA if she knew anything about the Bulletin# PB 12-17-08 concerning the JCW production starting in April she told me she does not have access to bulletins. Who does have this access? Zanary quoted it from some paperwork he received when he submitted his order.

 

two at the dealer I visit. One red coupe and a black clubman.

 

2 coupes (wasn't paying attention to clubmans) at Northwest Mini that've been there for months .. The one I test drove is optioned & accessorized out w/ stupid things and missing the basics (like rear foglights & xenons) to the tune of $40k.

Check the Costco auto program, I priced a JCW out through them & it was almost $3k cheaper, but not all Mini dealers work with them (not Northwest Mini at least).

 

Orlando Mini is very well stocked up on all kinds of Mini Coopers. They are advertising 4.2% financing and will probably give really good deals on a 2008 leftover. When I stopped by last week they had some 2009 JCW's in stock.
My salesmens name is Kent Little and He drives a Mini-s with a JCW kit installed on it. His E-Mail is kentl@iwantamini.com
Tell him Ronnie with the red JCW refered him. He is a good guy and will really try to help you out.
Ronnie948

 

The dealership in town has had the same 4 JCWs in stock for a couple of months. Now they've added a couple of JCW clubmans as well. Guess they're not selling as fast in this economy...everyone's trying to save $$$ these days.

 

In Toronto they are equipped with all season tires.

I purchased mine in late September last year and took delivery in November. The dealership had 5 on the lot. Apparently they were selling proportionally well for being a niche item, but nobody wanted the ones on the lot. Also, BMW didn't finalize their financing rates for '09s until late October so prior to that you could only buy one by paying cash.

Personally, I didn't like the colors of the ones in the lot, and the interior options weren't what I wanted either. I was told that the dealership had no say in what color/configuration of JCW they got... BMW just dumped some on them. I think since the JCW is at the high end of the Mini market, and essentially a special edition, prospective owners are even more inclined to want to customize it to their tastes.

As for haggling for prices... I know a lot of people love to bargain and consider themselves to be experts at it, but bargaining on a car sale is a lot like boxing with an Octopus. You might be fending off two of the arms really well, but it still has six other ways to nail you. I know a lot of people who have argued for a lower sticker price, etc and have just got burned on the options/interest rates/trade in.

I use a service that lets you know the dealer invoice cost, plus any dealer incentives. It also hooks you up with salespeople that will charge you invoice cost plus a set mark up, and also deal honestly with you on the trade in and options. I used this type of referral to get my JCW, and a new Honda I purchased earlier in '08.

An example of saving with the Honda was that the salesmanager had a connection with a major bank. Even though the interest rate was slightly higher than what Honda was offering, there was also a $6K cash back option from the bank so going with them was much cheaper. That was an option that the average customer wouldn't have been given.

When you see how they can manipulate numbers to save you money, you also see how easy it would be for them to do the opposite.

If you want to negotiate on your own you need to know ALL of the ways they can gouge you, and still go in with the attitude that they are entitled to make a fair profit. EVERYONE talks up the great deal they negoitiated for their car, and nobody wants to admit that they were fleeced.

 

The fact is NO DEAL happens that is not good for both parties. No one ever fleeces the dealership or the deal wouldn't be done.

 

Very true. However, in my experience with friends and co-workers, the percentage of people that leave the dealership thinking that they have fleeced them is large.

I saved a fair amount on my JCW (relatively speaking) because of the nature of my referral to the sales manager. Without that connection, I would have had to pay MSRP.

Even in cases where you might get them to knock off a grand from the cost of the car, you may just get screwed on your trade in (if any). Or, they may offer you less favorable finance rates, or they may not give you discounts on any options you purchase for the car. I am speaking of dealships in general, not Mini specifically.

Lots of guys are full of bravado, and think that they can go in and bargain out the best deal. However, there is no way the dealership will sell the car at a loss.... unless you luck out and they have to get rid of it for reasons you wouldn't even be aware of as a buyer (for example, they financed their own purchases from the manufacturer, and the cost of the car just sitting in the lot is too high).

As for women not liking to haggle... that sort of attitude will get you fleeced the next time you bargain with a woman! I have a few female friends that go a lot of negotiating as part of their job. They are very attractive, and have swung many deals in their favor simply by dressing "hot" for the negotiations. LOL

 

The dealer by me has 5 JCW's. 3 Coopers and 2 Clubmans. All marked down $1,000. They have had them sometime on the lot. They just do not have the things I would want on them.

 

my dealer in CO is still holding firm on msrp for orders, but will discount nickle-dime on the numerous dealer stock models, inc 3 JCWs. but then they're the only dealer in a 400 mile radius, so they can hold firm

 

Patrick Mini in Dallas sent me an email saying that they are now willing to work numbers on a JCW on the lot....too bad I already ordered one and got the military discount.

 

Well, I definitely wouldn't say I fleeced the dealer with the purchase of my shiny new JCW, but I did get a great deal. I was stopping by to look at color options and ask some questions since I was planning on upgrading my '07 S after I return from deployment and they had a car that was as close to exactly what I wanted as I could ask for. I ended up with 2.9%, $3,000 increase in my trade in, $3,000 marked off the JCW, floor mats, and free leather. The car was ordered by someone who had put $1,000 down and then backed out. The car had cloth seats and the dealer took it to a custom shop and had leather put in with the down payment money and some extra cash. I didn't have to haggle since I used the same MA from less than 2 years ago and the JCW was their "lot ho". I just couldn't pass up the offer and LOVE the car.

 

That is the kind of deal that I would grab if one existed out here (New England). CONGRATS!!!