But that's dealer stock, so of course they can beat the deal. OP was talking $500 off an ordered car which, IMO, is realistic. Apples and oranges, people...

 

Buying from dealer stock is nice, if you have a dealer that will buy the packages. The closest dealer that I have doesn't usually buy packages, as Sport, Convenience, ect, but will buy the sport wheels, but no HID's, no white tail lights, as an example. They get that Mini S model up to $29K, but then it is missing those items that I mentioned. In saying that, they usually buy the Premium package, which I would never buy. I hate leaking and ill running sunroofs. Also, the more electronics these cars have, the more possible problems. IMO/ Good luck in your dealings.

 

I've asked for quotes from:

Townson
Annapolis
Passport
Inskip
Richmond
Sterling

...and Global Imports in Atlanta.

No one is offering anything on a new car, expect Townson which offered the $500.

I really can't find anything on a like that we like.

Lucas.

 

And if they did offer you a big discount in reply to an email - I'd bet on it being a low ball (worthless) deal......

Your best bet is to go to the dealer you like, sit down with the salesman, and order the car the way you like it - once you get it specc'd out - make them an offer that you can live with and either they take it or they don't. But be aware there's not a lot of markup on these cars, and a lot of the markup is in the packages - if you order a car without any packages, there's less markup. You're not expecting them to lose money just for the priveledge of selling you a car, are you?

And while service and sales are disconnected in your mind - it all happens at the same store ultimately, and if they aren't making any money in sales, well that's why you have $150 /hr labor rates and sky high parts costs.

The point being is that you are buying a car, not a deal. Buy the car you want, the deal will follow, and years from now it will be the car you remember, and all the fun you had with it, not what you paid for it - that you'll remember and think about.

It's no wonder people hate to buy a new car, all they can think about is "am I being screwed if I pay $100 more than the next guy?" instead of what a great car they're getting.....

It's a drive, but our local dealer is very accomodating - Baron MINI - 913-722-5100, ask for Liz or Aaron....and they usually have quite a few cars in stock at any given time. Or they will order you what you want.

 

There's at least $4K of margin. I want $2K off. It's not a not a charity, it's a business. In this economy if they can't live with it then I can live with out a mini. I never understand why it has to be emotional.

I think we Americans, as business oriented as we are in out professional lives, are too willing to accept a screwing in our personal lives. It's all the same.

 

Some good thoughts here. In sales, they are told that the best customers are the ones that don't beat them to death on the deal. Being in that arena several years ago, I don't think that this idea has changed. But, we all want a deal. The MINI COOPER is the issue, really. If you keep this car for 5+ years, the what I paid for it will be minor, unless the dealers charge over invoice, but that's another story.

Here in Iowa, we are finally getting a local dealer. Willis in Des Moines. They will be on board in June or July, probably. That will make it better for us here to get service, and deal with a local dealer, and maybe use Willis to get better deal from Baron in KC or Mini of Omaha. You guys on the coast have a better deal, in that you have several dealers to compare with.

 

Not so. MINI's have an almost exact 10% markup from invoice to MSRP, it would take a car with almost every available factory option to get up to the level that you are asking for. MINI's also do not have holdback. There are current incentives that give you a choice of free packages but only on cars in stock. I believe you can get a discount on an ordered car, but I don't think it's going to be as much as you like.

 

...and in BUYING the dealers the customers like the best are the ones that bend over backwards to offer a great deal. Not sure I see the point, unless your point was to state the obvious?

 

I'm kicking myself a little. The dealer's price matched what the mini website said and I didn't think I had any bargaining room. It was a seller's market at the time (oct 2005).

* I think they only had like 4 or 5 cars on the lot.
* There were no other dealers near by.
* there was a constant flow of potential buyers and often a wait to talk to a salesperson.
* They claimed 3 month wait to order the MC and no wait to order the MCS. When I think back that could have been a lie... It did get me to get me to spend a couple grand on a stripped down S instead of the well equiped MC I was ready to order.

I was just glad they weren't price gauging...

No regrets. I've paid off the loan and love the car.

 

I actually just found out yesterday when I took my car in for it's first oil change, mine was a dealer Demo before it sold to someone who basically didn't drive it at all before he traded it in at MB of Tampa for a smart car .

So in addition to getting a car with a 39,400 sticker with only 2840 miles for 27,600, I found out the warranty and maintenance have an extra 5K and 3 months added. This is by far the best deal I've ever gotten on a car, but I took a risk since I bought it from MB of Tampa sight unseen other than pics, and had it shipped to me in SoCal.

And by the way, I think this building good will might be way overrated, at least at some dealers, because the folks at Mini of Ontario (California) couldn't have been nicer and got me into a new 2010 Clubman loaner (besides the oil change they are going to see about adjusting the Sunroof to decrease highway wind noise) so I don't see how I could have been treated better even if I had purchased from them.

If you are willing to expand the area you will buy from and will consider something like a Demo, you might be able to save a LOT of cash.

 

Radgator, your car was not a demo when you bought it, it was a used car, and the price reflected that. Still a good deal for you, but not the same thing.....

So Karmavore, if it's just business and not emotional, how do you come by your justification for your price?

Why should the dealer split his profit with you? Just because? No one has offered to do that with you yet, and yet unless you can get such a price concession you're not buying - that sounds pretty emotional to me.

You're correct that everything sells to the market, so far in your market area $500 off seems to be the going rate, why aren't you satisfied with that?

Just for info's sake, when I went in to buy my '09 Clubman S the car market was firmly in the toilet (Jan '09), the dealer had about 125 cars on the ground and more coming, but in spite of that he didn't have exactly what I wanted, so they changed an ordered car to reflect my wants, we negotiated a price and I placed the order. It was simple, painless and in 6 weeks I had my car. And yes, I got a discount commensurate with the local market conditions and the profit in the car I ordered - about $1300 on a loaded Clubman S.

Today, the dealer has about 35 cars on the ground, not as many coming, the market has firmed up somewhat and I could not get that deal, even as a returning customer, on the same car, if I ordered it today. Those are the realities of the marketplace and the MINI bidness.......

The thing I always wonder is why a car is never worth sticker price, but if $500 or so is taken off, buyers go ahead with the deal. Why? Why does $500 make or break a $30K deal?

If the dealer marked it up $3k and took $3500 off would that be just too good to pass up?

The thing I think people need to focus on is the true value of the car - it's not really based on the sticker - it's the "what you get for what you pay" that matters. If it's got a $30K sticker, either it's worth $30K or it's not.....

 

man y're awfully confrontational for noob that thinks $500 off an ordered car is "light." Get a grip. Or a Chevy!

 

And beleive me pal, they will live w/o you busting their *****. I dont know what magic hat U pulled the $4K margin number out of.

Also, betcha right now U could get a killer deal on a Toyota!

 

how did you arrange shipping? cost? company?

 

The dealer offered to arrange shipping which was around 950.00. So I looked online and found a site that tells you to enter your shipping info (car type, pick-up and delivery address) and you will get 5 quotes within 24 hours. Then a bunch of brokers start emailing you and when you rply with your cell number they start calling you. It's actually kind of sleezy because they don't actually own a car moving company but are more like broker/dispatchers and try to get you to sign up right then. I ended up taking the one with the lowest price which was $690.00 (basically 190.00 on CC to the broker, and 500.00 cash or money order to the driver upon delivery of the car)and it worked out well with no damage to the car and they ran ahead of schedule. I had to deal with 2 charges on my CC though but they took the duplicate off without a fight when I called them on it.

 

would you happen to have the name of the company you used? were you happy?

 

I posted this in another thread where someone was asking about paying msrp. I just copied some parts that may apply (okay, I'm lazy and didn't want to type a new version ). Maybe something in here will help;

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.

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.

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.

 

Right, but what Toyota is there even comes close to being in competition with the Mini S, or JCW?

 

Don't know what you are saying to these folks but three of the dealers you mentioned went $2k below msrp almost immediately. And Towson was the only one that was not competitive or helpful.

I think if you relax your perspective and take some dealer stock and ask for additions you will find they are a lot more financially flexible.

 

I think that is what I'll find in six months, when my lease runs out on the car that I have now. Something else, I think that I'll just wait for the 2011's to come, as I'll be so close to that date, anyway. If what we all hear is true, there should be some minor revamps in the offing. Hopefully, not too many.

As for dealer inventory, I mentioned earlier, many dealers don't like to order the "easy order packageges". I don't think that the profit margins are as high on those as there is on the individual options. Just a guess, but the Mini that I test drove in December in Omaha had no packages, just all individual options. Dual panel roof, automatic heat/ac, spyder wheels, tan leather interior, hi fidelity radio, horizon blue, HID's,garage door opener, automatic dimming mirror, heated side mirrors, heated windshield washers, racing stripes and the real, deal killer, no rear fogs. That car listed for over $29k, and I think that I hit all the options, may have missed one or two, but you get the picture, no packages even though like with the cold package, they had ordered all the items in it. Maybe Willis in Des Moines will work better.

 

Why do I feel like Im being lectured here?? Where do U get these little factoids in bold?

 

OK, Dave... with out getting into basic economic theory I will just say this:

I arrived at $2K off based on personal budgeting, factoring in a basic cost benefit and a comfortable percentage of total household income vs. an additional car payment.

I asked the dealers above what they could "do for me" and the best I got (until today) was $500 off.

$500 < $2K so no deal.

No emotion, just good ole fashioned economics.

 

You're wrong.

1) Please explain to me hemisedan's point, because I sincerely did not understand what it was.

2) $500 was much less than what the initial replies to my thread suggested I could get. Did you read them?

 

OK, so it sounds to me like what you are saying is that you can only spend so much $$$, and in order to buy the car you'd have to get that $2k off the sticker - which is considerably different than what you said before. But then the next logical question is, why not simply buy a little less expensive car?

That's what I did with my '09 Clubby. I also had a budget I'd arrived at in much the same way - I specc'd the car I wanted and didn't get a few bits that made the price go out of my budget, and I'm perfectly happy with my car, don't miss any of the extras I didn't get one bit. Would that work for you?

Cause what I got out of your previous statement was that you thought the dealer's profit on the car was extreme, and you were willing to split it with them....

 

No, not at all. I guess I spec'd the car with everything we "needed" and nothing we couldn't live with out and asked the dealer if that would work for him. That was our strategy anyway.

I guess the thing is we can get everything we want on the Mini (save Comfort Access) for $2K less on a 4-door GTI. This is where we are at the moment... to MINI or to VW.