I have been considering buying a Mini for a year now. Last Summer, with the high gas prices, I was not surprised that they were in high demand and my local dealer was getting the sticker price for every car.

But now, I would think that they might be willing to negotiate the price a little, but I am finding they are not.

Should I expect to have to pay the sticker price for a new Mini off the dealer's lot?

Does anyone have any tips on how to find a good deal on a new Mini? I want to find one in stock.

--BobG

 

They might give you maybe 500 off sticker, but not much more than that. On the other hand if you order one there is a $650 destination charge, so 500+650= $1150 more to order one assuming you get that $500 off.

 

Actually, they add the $650 destination charge in the price of the cars on their lot. Is that normal? (I mean in the price breakdown sheet I see "destination charge --- $650"

Can anyone confirm whether or not I should expect to pay the destination charge when taking one off the lot? Or is it reasonable for them to knock that off the price.

I saw that there is a dealer about 40 minutes from me in NJ that has 22 Mini S Convertibles on their lot compared to my closest dealer's 3. I think I will drive out there tonight to see if they are more willing to make a deal.

I assume that its better to go to the other dealer directly than get my closest dealer to obtain the car from another dealer. Is that true?

--BobG

 

The destination charge is on the window sticker of every new MINI, and it's the same on every car, regardless of where you buy it. That's what it costs the dealer to have the car shipped from the port to their lot - as an average. It might not seem fair if you're buying a car from a dealer that's less than 20 miles from the port, but it's a level charge so that all dealers will have uniform sticker prices.

As to discounts, I think if you act quickly you should be able to get a deal on an in-stock car, but I think inventory levels are down quite a bit from where they were at the first of the year, and as they dwindle the dealer will have less incentive to discount a car. Also, you'll have better luck getting a discount on a Demo or a car with lots of factory options ......like a loaded JCW. If your dealer doesn't have what you want and the other dealer does, just buy it from them - they won't be willing to sell the car to your dealer if they know you're interested.

Good luck, and once you've bought it the price won't matter - you'll be having too much fun in your new MINI!

 

I recently bought a mini cooper 09. I bought one that had come into port without a destination assign to it. The dealership gave us $1000 off the price. I tried getting a better deal with another dealership and was told that anything over a $1000 off a mini was "never going to happen" and "get real". Even though the ecomony is slow, mini is keeping inventory limited and running the low interest rate promotion - thus holding firm on pricing. After searching NAM, I think the $1000 off was a good deal. Unfortunately, mini is just not flexible. The mini is worth it, you won't regret buying one. Good luck.

 

Buying a MINI is not that different than any other car.
Talk to your local dealer and see if you can make a deal. If not get on the net and find out what other dealers will do. If you can do better with a dealer not close to you offer your dealer a chance to meet the other dealer price.
Then take the deal you can best live with.
Simple.

 

I got 1000$ off the sticker price plus floor mats. My car was not on the lot, but on a ship without an assigned dealer. So it is certainly possible to get a deal.

 

Thulcatt is correct. My recent experince:
In late June I emailed 8 east coast (NC to NJ) MINI dealer sales managers and told them exactly what I wanted (pasted from the MIN configurator); was willing to special order if they did not have it on the lot; was going to go with the low bid; and a cash, no trade in sale.
3 never responded
3 came back at full MSRP
2 came back below MSRP.
No one had exact vehicle I wanted. Went with an special order over 10% below MSRP plus some thrown in goodies. Deal took 3 emails and one phone call with winning dealer (about 20 minutes total of my time). First time I saw dealership/MA was when we took delivery five weeks later.
Pete