Thinking hard about buying a MINI. Problem is that I'd like to configure one, as the ones on the lot seem very plain jane.

If I configure one and send it to a dealer -- is there no negotiating room? Actually I should ask if there is any negotiating room down from the MSRP at all on these cars.

thanks in advance for your advice!

 

What dealer? Just so you know in advance, there is not a whole lot of mark-up on MINI's period, they just sell a boat load of them without much effort, so their paychecks are quantity over quality sales. I god $500.00, free mats and stripes, try starting there.

 

Looks like it will be in the Atlanta area. Looks like there are two dealers there. I could also drive to Nashville which would be a tiny bit further for me.

I'm really liking the Nightfire with checkerboard roof, mirrors, and MAYBE even dash if I could get a good look at one in a photo.

How long is turnaround time from order to delivery?

 

It all depends on the dealer. If they are selling MINIs like wild fire, then good luck. MSRP it is... Even the Costco/Sams club auto buying assistance perks packs off when it comes to buying MINIs.

Turnaround time from order to delivery all depends on if your dealer has used all of its space in their allocation for orders. Then they have to wait until their next allotment comes up. Average turnaround till delivery has been from 4-6 weeks.

 

I'm negotiating over the internet with a dealer in Atlanta. The internet sales rep is telling me that most every Mini nationwide sells for MSRP.

Should I try to get her to throw in a few of the assessories that I configured for free, or am I going to wind up paying MSRP? I thought also about seeing if she will toss in a longer warranty. Don't know if I have any negotiating room or not.

 

I agree there's not much room for negotiating. I bought two at the same time and that didn't even help. Your bargaining comes mostly with your trade if you have one. If not, good luck. Part of the challenge is that the dealers know if you're looking at Minis, you probably really want one, and there's no real substitute. In addition, as others have noted, there's not much mark up in the first place. They sell for MSRP pretty much.

Still worth it though!

 

I'm trying to get them to come off some of the installation fees. I wonder if that is useless to attempt too?

 

with gas high and sales at all time records on minis.. dealers can't keep them in stock.. my dealer in columbus ohio didn't want to deal..
not buying another mini i guess..
looking at the volvo c30 or the honda accord coupe

 

I'm having a tough time getting them to budge. They suggested if I wanted to get the price down to remove my stripes and go with the factory bonnet stripes for $100.

So I wound up removing a bunch of stuff and asked them to throw in some assessories for free and meet me in the middle.

I think the saleswoman put me on ice though...because when I asked them to do that they haven't emailed back today. So I'm on ice until Monday. If they push me I'll just buy a Prius instead.

 

Check the other dealer in town. Maybe you can get some competition going by mentioning to them the cold shoulder you got from the one place and say you hope you could get a bit better reception there. Some owners can get a set of mats thrown in (100$ for mats!?!?) and perhaps a few hundred off the final cost. But in the end, because sales are doing so well for MINI, it boils down to "Do you want the car or not?" Good luck though!

 

I'll do that. Though I sent my info to the other dealership at the same time, and they didn't respond (or haven't yet).

 

I too wanted to build my own but just can't keep paying the high gas prices another 4-9 weeks in my truck so what I did is ask him to check whats at other dealers in the area or whats coming in...he found me one very close to how I wanted mine plus we negotiated the dealer fees down to zero...they wanted $2k in dealer fees for Lo-Jack, Teflon, floor mats, pin stripes etc...so now I dont have to get any of that or pay the $2k. It will be here on Tuesday...cant wait!!!