Let me first say that I'm not connected to this dealership, aside from the fact that I bought my latest MINI from them, last Spring.

I just received an e-mail from International MINI in Milwaukee, announcing that they plan to sell 2010's at invoice during an upcoming ten-day event.
I have no idea if there are any "catches" involved; I just thought I'd pass the info along, FWIW.

 

Ralph Schomp Mini in Colorado sells at invoice every day of the year. They won't barter any, but they don't jack them up either.

 

I think you mean MSRP.

MSRP = retail price

invoice = dealer's cost

I assure you that they are not selling all of their car at cost.

A dealer selling MINIs at invoice is a big deal.

 

good time to be in the market for a new mini...

 

That would be a good deal then, selling at "dealer invoice". So I guess it would come down to the definition of invoice, dealer invoice or window invoice. I'll stand corrected.

 

Well if it is true it is a good deal, sales must really be down.

 

Note necessarily. The dealer may choose to make their money (and they need to, to stay in business) by not discounting freight & PDI, and possibly selling additional options.

You will still need to decide for yourself whether or not the out-the-door price is good value for you.

I took a friend car shopping for a Honda Fit and got into an argument with the Honda Salesguy when he tried told friend she was getting the car for dealer cost, when he selective failed to mention the $2000 PDI (!!!) and a few other "administration" lines. The out the door price was essentially the MSRP of the car.

 

Ayone know if it has been common to buy new Minis below MSRP lately?

I know a couple years ago, Mini stood by the MSRP and not lower. Not sure if the economic downturn has chaged this practice.
Ive seen ads for "Invoice pricing sales" from varous dealerships and manufacturers but Im sure after looking at fine print and additional mark ups elswhere, I really dont think your buying it at true invoice.

 

I got my car for $700.00 under MSRP, last Spring; I've noticed several posts from folks who have done better.
I don't know what kind of deals are being had lately, though.

 

Back in September, I bought my JCW Clubman for $1500 under MSRP plus 4 rubber mats. Not quite invoice, but a good deal nonetheless and I didn't have to try very hard to get it.

Highly recommend Inskip (Penske) MINI in Providence, RI for those in the Northeast.

The time to buy is NOW (meaning recent months) with the economy the way it is as there are some great deals out there .

 

This sale is at dealer invoice, not MSRP. International always sells at MSRP, they don't mark above MSRP.

Even selling at dealer invoice, they'll still make money--they will get a certain % back from BMW for every car sold, usually around 3%. That is how some huge volume dealers make money by selling below dealer invoice (GMC Southern comes to mind, don't know if they're still around. Or if anyone would even want a GMC these days).

I was really temtped to trade in and get a bare bones JCW, but I'll probably pass.

 

This is not true for MINI. There is holdback on BMW, but there is no holdback on MINI. At invoice, the dealer makes $0 on the sale of that car.

 

They've got to be getting something back for going at invoice--I'll bet you 37 cents there is an incentive of some sort from BMW..

 

In mid December I got $1,000 off an ordered 2010 MCS. Two years ago MINIs everywhere were MSRP (or worse, MSRP+ at some CA dealerships I heard about back then). I would say the economy is having a resounding effect across the board on car sales. I'm going with a friend this evening to help him negotiate a 2010 VW GTI. I've dealt with that dealership before and have gotten significant discounts. I'll be surprised if we don't drive away with a $26-27k car for $23-24k OTD.

Now is the time to buy cars!! .....especially if you can stand American....

 

RVExotics - the 2010 VW GTI seems like a very nice car. Good luck with the wheeling and dealing for your friend.

Anyone have any luck negotiating with Princeton MINI (especially on a Clubman S) lately?

 

They don't. I believe they had some incentives for a few months to clear out 2009s, but nothing for 2010s.

 

There has to be a dealer incentive, otherwise there would be absolutely no incentive to do this. Their inventory isn't that overloaded at IM, the overflow back lot (which is hidden about a mile up the road) isn't close to full. They're getting something, wether it be a kickback per car, or a kickback for selling a certain number of cars. I've seen that backlot bursting to the seams before, and even then they've never offered anything like this before.

 

Love the GTI's. Had a used 1984 Rabbit GTi as my second car. First was a 1970 Pontiac GTO. Yikes, I'm dating myself...

Looked at the newer GTI's before buying my MINI S. Fun car to drive. I was skeptical of the VW reliability, but on all other aspects, they seem like a great value.

 

In October, I got $2k off my JCW.

 

Reliability has been an issue for sure. I had a 2007 GTI with the DSG transmission and my partner drives a 2009 GTI with a stick. Despite the issues that have cropped up regarding the DSG transmission, I never had any issues in the year I drove mine. It was powerful, practical for a two door hatch, and the amenities were nice. My partner's car has had to visit the dealer twice for failed sensors, once having to be taken there on a truck! That was worrisome. If we weren't so upside down I would try to 'encourage' him to trade in on something else, but we blow through miles so quickly it isn't even funny. We got his '09 in Oct of '08 and he has about 38k on it right now.

The new GTIs haven't been around long enough to assess their reliability but man they're nice, and the car my friend is considering is about $5k cheaper than the Volvo C30 we tested the other day. The interior of the GTI completely blows away any of the competition he was considering: Civic Si, Mazdaspeed 3, C30. In fact when he got in last night and hooked up his iPhone to the touch screen radio and saw he could scroll through his playlists and stuff, he said "I'm sold." And I don't think he was kidding.

I'm really hoping VW has at least started addressing their reliability issues with these new models but time will tell. He doesn't put anywhere near as many miles on a car as we do so his warranty will remain intact long enough to tell.

And you're right, that kind of performance and those kinds of amenities for $24k are just hard to beat. Oh and the GM of the dealership offered invoice pricing without even batting an eye. I'm betting we can do even better

 

Invoice is NOT what they pay. Dealer invoice is what it WOULD cost them to buy the car, dealers usually dont own the cars. Then again I'm sure James Hunt can come in and tell us all about how he makes money and got his JCW for less than most people can buy a Justa.

 

There is a promotion going on this month where you can get up to $1750 back if you finance through them and have a credit score of around 750 or higher. It expires 3/1/10. You can check it out at www.miniusa.com

I just picked up the 2010 Cabrio that's in my sig for $25,750. The msrp was $28,050. I'm happy with the deal.

 

I've been to a number of dealers in New England and up here in Eastern Canada and they have always been willing to dicker on price, the same as any other car. If you're paying MSRP or higher, then maybe it might be better to shop out of State......or up here (hey, your dollars worth a bit more than ours , it could work out to be a huge savings)

 

I got roughly $6K knocked off the MSRP of my 2009 JCW convertible. I also had them pick up the cost of a strut brace, floor mats (of course), most of the cost of the alarm, and a couple of other small things that I had done on closing. I bought it at the end of the year, when sales are typically low, and the 2010s were already on the lot. I was happy to take the floor model, as it was almost exactly what I would have ordered. I also took my time negotiating a deal. Living between two dealerships also helps, as I could be transparent with them and let each know what the other was offering me. I will admit that I do enjoy negotiating, and you'll always get the best deals with high-volume dealers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when the dealer sells a car, they're also looking at revenues from service and parts for a significant period of time thereafter. Regardless of what you pay, the dealer still stands to do well.

 

Dealers can own their own cars, but usually a financing company technically owns the car. It is almost financially impossible for a dealer to buy the cars and pay the manufacturer right away with the dealerships cash. Dealers pay interest on the cars everyday they sit on the lot unsold and usually once the car is sold the dealer has 24 hours to pay the financing company for the cost of the car+interest. Sorry back on topic...