So who "owns" them?

Dealers have a floorplan credit line with their bank. Basically as soon as the car is built and in transit to the dealership, BMW/MINI bills the dealer for the car and they take the funds from the floorplan credit line. At that point, the dealer does "own" the car for the invoice price but they also have to repay the balance to their creditor (which in most cases is also BMW) when the car is sold and pay the interest charge every month until then.

 

More than likely that's dealer stock. Invoice on an ordered car is unrealistic.

 

And that is the incentive for dealer-stock "invoice" sales, which can have a negative rippling effect in the long run.

Personally, I think it's sad to see this. All this heavy discounting and incentivizing does is devalue the cars over the long term, the more "bargins" there are (and people line up like cheap lemmings to pay), the more the general car line is devalued. So keep hammering dealers for your "discounts" and pay the price, people. When MINIs were exclusive and sold at MSRP or above, resale values remained solid, about 35% avg depreciation over the first five years, with the biggest hits in years 4 and 5. Now, the resale cellar is the only limit. I can actually see MINI cut back on production numbers to try and correct this course.

Sad sad sad. Makes me wish gas was $4.50/gal again, MINIs would again be in uber-high demand, and the heavy discounts (more than $1K off msrp) would fade away as they should. Sad but true: we are a society of cheapskates, and that's no more evident than with the numero uno depreciating asset: cars.

 

There is currently $1,250-$1,750 "option credit" in the form of free auto, Sport Pkg, or Premium Pkg. So at "invoice" price, your dealer could still be making $1,250-$1,750 if the car qualifies for the credit... they are not selling these cars at cost because they get the credit.

I do agree with you though about the discounting hurting the resale values and overall market for the car.

 

I ordered 10 'MCS and got $700 under MSRP. Delivery in another 2 weeks. Should I try to get an even better deal?

 

Sorry in advance.....long post. I’m a retired salesman and sold Harley’s, which is one of those vehicles that is supposedly always msrp or above……the truth is, that’s a load of BS. Everything is negotiable.

jeledonut, that's a tough one. You've already committed to the deal, the car is on its way......it will be hard to renegotiate, but it can't hurt to try. It's your money, keep as much in your pocket as you can. The worst that will happen is they say no. The only real way to get them interested in renegotiating, is if you have prices from other dealers that are substantially lower than what you paid and they see that you are really ready to back out. Keep in mind that because a dealer wouldn't want to rework a deal after it has been finished, does not make them the bad guys. They are in the business of making money and you already agreed to a price, probably put something down on the car, etc, so to them, the deal was done. I'm not saying don't do it, just have your figures ready from other dealers, etc.

Normally, if you hadn't already made your deal, I'd suggest doing the following; make an offer and leave. The longer you stay at the dealership after you've made your offer, the more the salesperson realizes they have the advantage because "you really want the car". Stay long enough to show you are serious, then make your offer, thank them, leave and wait a week. If they don't call you (they usually always will, even if it's just to make a counter offer) and you still want the car, then go back and tell them you are interested, but their price is too high, so since they're not accepting your offer, where do you stand. The fact that you stayed away for a week, makes them wonder if they are going to lose the sale. Because of this, they will lower their price from the original quote, if it looks like your ready to walk again. The next thing to do, is shop around.....next City, out of State/Province, etc. An out of State/Province dealer may just surprise you with an offer over the phone that is lower than what your local dealer offered you in person. Once you have those other prices, make sure that your dealer knows that you want to buy from him, but you can't just be throwing money away (especially in this economy), and unless you can reach a price, you'll have to buy elsewhere.

Now saying that, it boils down to "are you happy with the deal"? If you want the car and $700 off is okay with you, then there's nothing wrong with that. I've seen a lot of people that get upset when they hear someone in their area paid less than they did......never get mad at a dealer because you find out that another customer got a better deal. Be happy with yours and accept the fact that the other guy just did a little better job negotiating or the sales manager just told the staff that 6 cars had to be sold by the end of the week and the other customer was there at the right time. Like I said, once you're happy with the deal, never worry about "did I do good enough".

One thing I will say is "never, never" pay msrp or worse....higher. It's a mini, there are a ton of them on the road, rental companies have them in their inventory and there are all kinds on the used market. Once you drive that new mini off the lot, it will drop significantly in value. There are literally a handful of exotic cars in the world that go up in value.....as much as I love Mini's, they are not on that list. The other thing is; for every dealer that tries to tell you that Minis are getting msrp or better, there will be 10 other dealers that are more than willing to dicker.

 

Ok yes, you said what I said a bit more "specifically". I also agree I dont want the Mini to turn into the Kia's of the car world with huge discounts and mass selling.

 

thanks Nemo for your insight. I went back to test drive the MCS, and I am absolutely satisfied with the price I got barring the dealer throwing in any last min fees. It's absoultely a go-kart on steroids and that is fine by me!

 

700 under msrp is not a bad deal. But like you said, if they try dicking you with extra fees, throw a fit and threaten to leave. Thats one thing I refused to let my sales 'managers' do to MY customers. The main reason I quit the crooked business.

 

yes, after negotiating the "best price" they were gonna give me for my trade in, I asked for $800 off their asking price. The sales manager agreed and immediately told me there was a $295 admin fee. I actually expected to see a $400+ fee like Mazda wanted. I threw a fit and they dropped it, but I figured MINI deserved the reasonable "fee".

I think you got a great deal and should enjoy the car!

 

My dealership actually did the same thing! They had mentioned some standard admin/service fee for around $300 as well. So makes my $700 under invoice really only $400 under invoice. Since I haven't really made the purchase yet I guess I will try to throw a fit and see what that does for me as well. Although they might see right through me because I can't wait to get into my mini!

 

I threw a fit a Mazda because they made me stay there for roughly 4 days and about 40 hours. I was PISSED! I made them drop everything and ended up getting the Mazda 6 for $1000 under invoice, the G6 we were trading in was SELLING around town for $10,900 and they gave me $12,750 which was the wifes payoff, no charge for floormats and no dealer prep.

I actually called the president of Davis-Moore (through a friend) and told him what his sales manager was doing to us. Then we got the deal of a lifetime on her new Mazda 6.

I figured since Mini was so very straight forward, didnt play games and treated me like a CUSTOMER they deserved to make their money off me.

I say if they're playing nice you should too. I'd not throw a fit if you're happy as that will go into your "service" files and they will label you a bad apple. If you're happy, the price is right, I think they earned a little "admin" fee. It does cost money to keep the doors open.

 

agreed.. even if they dont take a cent off $400 under msrp is a bargain compared to the huge fun factor of the mini. I just can't wait til my mini arrives. Should hit the port on Mon and hopefully under a week to be transported and prepped!

 

I was no where near that patient. I had to buy that 06 used one but we fell in love at 1st drive.