Hi everyone,
Due to a home purchase, I just sold my M5 (2013) and am looking for a new DD. Test drove the GP2 and was immediately smitten. I do, however, have a couple of questions:

1. Although we are well in 2014 and the cars remaining on dealers lots are essentially 1 year old cars, dealers keep prices high. The best I could do is 4K off of sticker. What I find puzzling is that there are still several GPs out there so it would seem logical to see bigger discounts. Thoughts?
2. Can one comfortably talk on the phone using bluetooth at freeway speeds or is the car too noisy for that?
3. Is it too complex to upgrade the stereo? I am not looking for B&O quality, but the system on the GP is as good as I had on my 1993 sentry...

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

$4,000 off on a GP is a good deal. I'm a sales manager for a BMW and MINI dealership in TX. I also just traded my 2013 M3 for a GP2 and I don't regret it. I got my employee discount and if your getting a 2013 GP2 for 4,000 off MSRP go for it. As far as sound system you can't go to crazy on adding subs and all that because you want to keep the weight as low as possible. Call GT Auto Concepts in CA and talk to Vince. Ask him about the DuelL AG FoCal System for the GP.

 

Thnks 477! Good info. How does the GP compare to the M3?

 

It doesn't compare... I enjoy driving the GP more than the M3. The M3 is a great car but it's too heavy and the cost to gain hp is ridiculous. Intake -$1,000 bucks only 3 hp gain etc etc. the GP handles like a champ, a few mods like intake, front mount intercooler, JB Tune, down pipe and exhaust..... And you're set

I have no regrets and I only have 320 miles on the GP.

 

In answer to #2 i don't think talking on Bluetooth will be a problem. I have used my iPhone GPS and that's fine.

Without the back seat i think the GP is slightly louder than my '09 JCW was. Maybe not even when i put the back seat down in the '09.

And I am completely deaf in my left ear.

 

I would check with Integral Audio. They are the only company that I know of that has made a nice system for the MINIs. The GP might be different, IIRC did it lose the rear speakers? Because racecar?

If so, the harness might be a tad different where the IA system plugs into the factory system, but I would give them a call if the stock system isn't what you want.

 

Oh yea, 4,000 off on a 2013 GP is a good deal. I recently looked very hard at a GP, but bought an R56 JCW instead, so I have some recent experience with wheeling and dealing.

I was able to get $3500 off the GP. Now, the story there though is there was NO dealer discount involved. There was a factory $3,000 GP discount(what's odd about that though is that some dealers show the $3,000 discount and some don't?), plus a $500 loyalty discount. The dealer told me they really, REALLY wanted to sell me the GP, they just could not offer any additional discounts. I also called two dealers closer to me with GP's, explaining that I was a serious buyer. Already had approval through BMW financing for any Mini I wanted. Both of them held to $3500 off as well.

I bought my car 3 weeks ago. From searching many dealer inventories at the time, I counted about 30 or so GP's around the country, so there are several out there as the OP noted. I suppose you might find a desperate dealer somewhere that will deal with you.

The GP's are going to sit for a while, IMO. The Mini brand is a niche vehicle anyway, and the GP buyer is a very, very small subset of that. And while I absolutely love the GP, at that price point, perspective buyers will be drawn to other cars as well. That's a very pricey car for a dealer to have in inventory for months on end, so you might get lucky with one of them. On the other hand, we likely won't see another factory uber performance Mini for several years, so dealers may be willing to wait it out.....

If I was set on getting a GP, I would take that $4,000 deal in a heartbeat.

Good luck!

 

I use the Bluetooth daily talking on the phone, no issues for me on or off the highway.

 

The gp is actually quite quiet on the highway and the Bluetooth system works well.

 

I love my GP and can totally talk on the phone on the road. But I do admit I didn't like the stock sound of the exhaust so I swapped it to the Akrapovic which I found much better on the highway. Not that either was bad, just this is better, plus when I add the downpipe I'll want it quieted down that bit.

Yes the audio can be swapped as many have done it, just find an audio guy with the knowledge.

$4k off is a deal and prob makes many of us current GP owners sick as we didn't get that discount, and we waited a long time.

 

4K off is appx 10% off. The real question is how would these cars hold value down the road. How are prices for the GP1 these days?

For the stereo upgrade, how easy is it to install speakers in the back?
Thanks...

 

Look in the market place on here. There are a few people selling their GP1s so you can get a good estimate of how they hold their value.

 

The GP1 still seem to bring a premium. What will be ironic is in 10yrs if the GP2 is bringing a premium because it's rare.