how do i know what dealer to go with.... im having such a hard time deciding. (who to order my mini through)

I dont just want a good deal (obviously i'd love to save some money),but i want to make sure i have a good experience.

I want to make sure i give the right dealership my business. As well as buy from a dealership i'm going to be having warranty work done at.

Decisions decisions!!!!

 

Start by letting us know what city you live in.

 

http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm

 

i live in Savannah Georgia and have family in Orlando. I think the 'closest' dealership to me is either charleston or jacksonville, but willing to travel.

I emailed 7 dealerships yesterday, 4 have responded. None so far have anything close to what im looking for. Not that i mind ordering, but it seems like it would be easier to negotiate if they already had it on the lot.

 

interesting and amusing thanks

 

In the world of MINIs, dealing has always been difficult (if buying new). With the price of gas doing what it is, it's even harder because lots of people are seeing our little fountains of youth and thinking high MPG. Most dealers have lots of traffic these days.

It might be different out in your area, but in DFW, we expect to pay sticker and get the floor mats free (and maybe a few other trinkets). So let location and service reputation guide you.

 

I used the guide I pasted a link to, I got mine $1500 cheaper then anywhere else, along with a silver interior tossed in. To me it doesn't matter where you buy it, you can take your car to any mini dealer as long as it's under warranty.

The process is simple:

1) gather fax numbers for any dealer you would be willing to pick your car up from
2) put together exactly what you want for you mini
3) make a cover sheet that states:
"I am looking for bids on the following mini configuration, please quote me your total out the price door. That means it should include all taxes and fees. I will accept bids until two week from today ??/??/????"

It's very important you use the word bid and that you provide them a cut off date, they need to work for your buisiness, not the other way around.

At the end of the cutoff date you take the lowest bid, re-do the same faxing scheme, but make sure you let everyone know the lowest bid, be sure to fax proof along. Additionally, provide a cut off of only one week.

It takes a little bit of time to do, but it's well worth it.

 

thanks for the input guys.

I wondered if i didnt buy it from the specific mini dealership that knew i was a serious buyer that they might snub their nose to me later if i brought my mini in for service.

I have been in contact with a few dealerships, trying to find a mini on their lot close to my specs. I plan to order near the end of May. That's pretty set. I havent told any of them this. I prefer email over fax, i would imagine either would work- ?




Another question. I got a quote from a dealership today - added $795 installation fee for driving lamps - on top of the $510 i already included in the miniusa configuration. Is that normal???

 

Yes, for dealer installed items, they will be charging you installation fees. One of the many reasons I didn't get a lot of options that I would have liked to get.

 

$800 to install lights? it would take them an entire day of work to install lights?? doesnt that seem like a lot for just labor?.

 

I installed them at home on my car after buying them from a NAM vendor. OE type. Not necessarily difficult but time consuming and the car still needed to go to the dealer to have them program the car for the lights anyway. I think I ended up paying about $450 - $500, not including my time for install (about 4 hours). About $50 was for the dealer programming.

 

The dealership that I got the quote from cleared up the misunderstanding. $800 actually included the $510 charge for the lights itself.

Thanks everyone for the input.


Hopefully things will begin falling into place. I won't order my mini until Im completely satisfied with the entire deal.
I'm hoping whatever dealership I decide on will work with me... give a little get a little.
I know my grandfather is already seriously considering getting a Clubman for himself. Maybe that could be extra incentive! haha