We are first time mini buyers here and I have done a lot of research here, thanks! We only have 1 Mini dealership within 75 miles of us and they appear to be playing hardball-- they will not discuss price over e-mail or phone, but in person only. Frankly, my husband & I don't have the time to spend all day at a dealer haggling over the price (and their $399 conveyance fee). That car is equipped like we want it, except the color is not our first choice.

I was able to get a price through the Costco buying program which is about $1k over invoice + they are adding $200 in dealer costs (their price also takes into account a free premium package). The dealer is about 100 miles away. This car is the color we want and mostly has the options we want, except that it also has punch leather sport seats (we really don't care about having leather) and we would have to add bonnet stripes.

My question is, is the Costco deal a good price? I was trying to get a dealer to give me another firm price so we can decide, but this coming into the dealer to discuss price is turning us off. I realize that buying a Mini is a different experience than other brands, so any help is appreciated.

 

Do you mean $1,000 over dealer cost? If you do, then yes it's a good deal.

The only thing I will say is "don't rush" if you decide to go another route and buy directly from a dealer. Some of them are still trying to convince their customers that MINI is selling as fast as they can get them in. That is not the case. Stay away from any dealer that tells you that. You may have to travel a bit, but you will find all kinds of dealers who are willing to negotiate price. There's a reason that MINI is offering low interest rates........and it's not because there's a list of customers waiting for cars. Don't get me wrong, MINI is still selling well, but they are manufacturing more than they are selling, so you have the advantage.

BTW, as for buying and getting prices over the phone.....it's your dealer that's being an a$$.....to some degree. I bought my last 2 Chryslers by phone and had no hassles. One was at a dealer about 200 miles away and the other was at a dealer over 500 miles away. It was worth it though, I saved a ton of money compared to my local dealer. The only thing to remember is, the dealer is not going to just give you his lowest price right off the bat, especially by phone. He needs to be convinced that "yes' you want his car, but you're not willing to travel any distance until you have a price set in stone. Once they believe that you want the car (and you're not just price shopping) they'll come around and start negotiating on the phone.

 

Costco deals are very good deals except for maybe a expert haggler who has plenty of free time to work the deal and patience. I consider myself very good at it as I am in sales and what I do. Your deal is better than what I got but I ordered it built. I still got stiffed by the dealer on the floor mats. I bought from a dealer farther away and I left plenty of meat on the bone. There was another 500 to 1000 I could have ground off but I must be getting soft. It wasn't worth the hassle and I want to good relationship as I just switched to the only other dealer around. What is 25 miles more. Just more time in the MINI if they have the car you want. I bought a Mazda 3 once on the costco deal. Most painless buying experience and the fasted. It has taken more time to rent a car. They right up the deal and you are done. Add ons you can dicker on too. Fair for everyone involved. Can be a skinny deal
for dealers if you pick a high demand car they could have gotten over sticker for or a premium. They do it because people love the costco deal and it generates volume which leads to allocation and rebates.

 

I'm sorry Kemo, but is these some reason why a dealer HAS to give up pricing to someone shopping on the phone or email? Frankly when I was in car sales I rarely did this because it never results in a sale. Someone beats you by $50 and it doesn't matter whether you're the best salesperson in the world, you've lost the deal. It's not being an a$$, it's trying to protect your business and investment. I used to have people beat me up for every dime just like Island Maser, and then they'd go across the street and happily pay whatever they asked for phones, alarms and stereos.....and those folks would make 2-3 times what I did on the deal - people are funny......

And to the OP, is the price the most important thing, or is getting the exact car you want? Because depending on the model, $1200 over cost Costco deal is only about $550 off list, especially when the free packages are added into the deal.

I think people spend way too much time worrying whether they're getting a "good deal" and not enough working out what the right car for them is.

The cheapest price is not always the best deal, and the dealer has to be able to make a profit in order to stay in business and be there to service your car in the future. If everybody paid $100 over cost, there would be no dealerships - then where would you get your new car? Why do you think they beat you up to do finance and insurance deals now? Why do you think we have $125/hr service dept labor costs now?

If you don't want to sit down face to face with the dealer and negotiate, then do the Costco deal on a car that isn't really what you want. Or you could do the unthinkable, and just pay what's on the factory sticker and get exactly what you want. If you drive to the dealer and sit down and order a car, you may pay a little more but it will be exactly what you want - and isn't that the goal here?

 

No, I agree with you Dave. I meant if they were coming across as sincere and had spent some time on the phone with the salesman building up a rapport, then they should be able to negotiate an out of town deal by phone. If after building up that rapport on the phone (much more than one call) the dealership still isn't willing to deal by phone, then the buyer should move on. Again, I'm talking dealers that are not within someones average driving distance. That's what I meant by the dealer being an a$$. If they're not willing to accommodate an out of town buyer, then they're doing it wrong. As you see in my last line, I agree with you that no salesman is going to give his best price at the first meeting and certainly not on the first phone call. I sold Harley’s for years and being the only dealer within 300 miles, we did a lot of business by phone, but yes, that was once we were convinced this was probably a buyer and not someone doing price comparison shopping. Plus keep in mind that the Op is saying that a dealer 75 miles away ( a fair distance to some) isn't even willing to talk price at all, not negotiations, but just their asking price.

 

On a new MINI, depending on model and eguipment, there is roughly between 2,000-3,000 dollars in margin. If you are buying it through the Costco plan for 1,000 plus 200 dollars over cost, that leaves 800 to 1,800 dollars to argue about. Subtract the price of whatever leather package it has that you don't want to start with, you are not talking about a lot of money. If the dealer offered you even a 500 to 800 dollar discount, you are about even.

The first step, I would think, is deciding what is a "good" price in your mind and how much is it worth spending time chasing it. There are people who would spend a week chasing a hundred dollars and for many others being $500 close on a $25,000 purchase is close enough. Show up at the dealer with cash in hand and a well thought out offer and I will bet it will take very little time to buy the car.

 

I agree MINI Dave but I am not emotional about cars. If they want to sell it for what I want to offer so be it. The dealers that treat me well get repeat business and referred business. I have A Chevy dealer I have bought many trucks off. I send people there all the time and I am in a Dodge now. I will buy something from them in the future. Dave I think you were in the business a bit to long as you are a bit bitter. I sold car for a while myslef when young.
There is not the money people think in selling new cars. Used cars were very good and one time. 3 times the money of a new car for profit and commissions. Lots of $50 deals out there that makes it hard to pay the bills. Parts and service is where the action is at but most dealers screw that up too. MINI tends to be pretty smart and they get there fair share of that business but they have worked at it. Most people hate the long drawn out BS deal that comes with buying a car. Some like myself use to enjoy it- Not so much anymore. They want a fair price and that is where the grey area begins. I agree- show up on a rainy night on the last day or the month with cash I 99.9% of the time you will have yourself a deal. Been there done that.

 

I'm not emotional about it either, I buy what I want and drive it till it's time for the next one. When I buy a car I find the one I want, sit down and buy it. I wouldn't get upset if they won't make the deal, but since I'm reasonable in my offer, they always do. I don't chase all over the country trying to squeeze that last $100 out of a dealer, maybe that means I won't have as much money as some others, but I'm OK with that.....

I also am not bitter about the car bidness, I've been out of it for almost 15 years now, what I object to is the constant dealer bashing that goes on in every forum, including this one.I don't understand the mentality that people somehow are "entitled" to get a car at cost, and they should not have to negotiate or even show up at a place of business to get their purchase that way.

Then they come in and scream about being ripped off because the dealer didn't give them a free set of floor mats they thought they were entitled to?
They threaten to drive their car thru the dealers show room because the dealer can't fix something the mfr is telling them is normal (whether it is or not isn't the point here, it's the mfr that's the problem, not the dealer - yet the dealer is taking personally the brunt of the pain) or for following the mfr's requirements on warranty repairs.

My point is still, you all buy all of your new cars from the dealer, you expect them to be there and hold you hand and kiss your a$$ but won't let them make a decent profit?

And what is it with the folks who buy their car then worry and get all upset if someone get's a $100 better deal than they did?

Life is SHORT people, try to find a way to enjoy it......

<End Rant>

 

I don't quite see where the bashing went on here dave. The op said that the dealer wasn't talking price "at all", so that means they have to drive 75 miles just to find out the asking price. To each there own.....that makes the dealer an a$$ imho. Like I said, I sold harleys for a long time and if any of us had blown off every phone call, then we would have been pretty poor by the end of the week. You either work with your customers (on the phone or in person) or find another line of work. Every person that callls you is a potential customer and your job is to get them in the door, which with some people means you have to talk price.

 

it appears that you have very little leverage from the lack of competition in your area. i would not hold my breathe for invoice deal. you just have to be realistic on the market you are in.

 

Have you tried carsdirect.com? I was going to go through this route when my nearest dealer was playing hardball.

 

And I have purchased over the phone and even traded in. Tlaked the condition.Offer was fair and they had the truck I wanted. Based on what we discussed drove 5 hours and picked up my truck. Local dealer wanted more to have to trade blah blah blah. I found the dealer who had it made the deal.
I am like you Dave. If I know what I want I find it an buy it.

 

Yeah, I was just talking dealer bashing in general...

But if the OP wants to buy a car, sooner or later he's going to have to go to a dealer somewhere. Why not go to the one he'll be having his service and warranty work done at and see how it goes? If he gets what he wants, he'll have started a good working relationship with them, if not, the only thing he's lost is a little gas and time. But how many times has someone posted that they wanted a certain car, then when they got to the dealer saw one that they just fell in love with and had to have? Deosn't mean they can't get a good deal, just that sometimes your tastes can change unexpectedly.

But why make it more complicated than it has to be?

Do your research online, then go make a deal and drive a new car home. Seems like win/win to me....

 

I probaby sound like I don't agree with you at all dave and honestly, that's not my intent. We don't agree on everything on this subject, but you made a lot of good points and I especially agree with this comment you made:

"And what is it with the folks who buy their car then worry and get all upset if someone get's a $100 better deal than they did?"

Well said. I've always said the same thing (even on here at least once), make your deal and be happy. Never sit around second guessing yourself after the fact. If you do, you'll go nuts.