Like the Miata and the PT Cruiser, the MINI began life generally priced above MSRP. A couple of years later MSRP is common for the MINI. A look at the PT Cruiser reveals lots full of these babies with $4,000 discounts. Miata's too can be bought at big reductions from MSRP. Perhaps the MINI with the narrow market it appeals to has already reached saturation as far as price is concerned.
I checked ebay recently and noticed the MINI's aren't attracting the high bids they once did. Should we have waited for a bargin?

 

>>Like the Miata and the PT Cruiser, the MINI began life generally priced above MSRP. A couple of years later MSRP is common for the MINI. A look at the PT Cruiser reveals lots full of these babies with $4,000 discounts. Miata's too can be bought at big reductions from MSRP. Perhaps the MINI with the narrow market it appeals to has already reached saturation as far as price is concerned.
>>I checked ebay recently and noticed the MINI's aren't attracting the high bids they once did. Should we have waited for a bargin?

The short answer is probably not. Look at the volume of PT Cruisers that's sold every year. It's a mass market car in every sense of the word. It's meant to be a utility type of vehicle with rational buyers - not something that people typically lust over. At it's core is a tall Neon. Just like the Beetle at it's core is a tall Golf.

Now look at the Miata - it simply is now just one convertable lost in a sea of convertables released over the past 5-7 years. Ontop of that Mazda hasn't really done much with it. It's looks aren't exactly head turning and it's brand image isn't overly strong. Granted it's a great car but how many people reall know that?

Now look at the MINI - 25 to 30k sold year in the US. A very specific design that looks like nothing else on the road. Tons of culture built around the car that will continue to grow. And a parent company that knows how to sells cars without low financing and cash back. Add all that to the fact that the MINI is by far the most dynamically advanced car in it's range (just look at the rear suspension) and you have the makings of what could be a long term hit.

 

>>Should we have waited for a bargin?

And miss out on all the fun NOW??? This is the best time to be part of the MINI community. There are regional events happening every weekend. The excitement that we're having now probably will wane over the next few years. This is THE YEAR to buy a MINI

 

Price drop? Doubt it. There's a reason why many dealer's have waiting lists, becuase MINI is controlling the flow. They want the pent up demand. That way they don't have to offer cheapo financing and dealers can get MSRP.

Unlike the US auto makers, if demand dries up in the US, MINI will just build more cars for someplace else. For the US auto makers, if demand for a model starts to slow they have two choices, 1. Shut down the line which means layoffs (bad for employee relations) or 2. Slow down production which still means layoffs.

You will probably never see a sprawling MINI dealership (for those of you in S FL think Mullinax Ford) becuase MINI wants small dealerships, it needs them to keep demand up.

 

I've visited quite a number of MINI dealers in my travels lately, and note the following: (just my observations/opinions):
Cooper S:
Demand still exceeds available supply in most markets. Many east coast dealers quote a four to six month wait. The only cars I've seen available for sale are used MCS's priced above MSRP. Prices for used '02's are starting to soften. At the big northeast dealer auctions, used MCS were bringing near MSRP.
Cooper:
Demand is softening. A number of dealers had CVT models available for immediate delivery, and sevral dealers had one or more 5 speeds on the lot, hoping for new homes. Pricing remains MSRP.

Here is one thing that may change the picture for 2004. Future dealer allocation will be based on past deliveries... the dealers who sold the most will get more cars. This may have an afffect on pricing/inventories in the second half of MY 2004.

 

Robert, Just take delivery of your MINI and enjoy. I'm 55 and have owned lots of cars over the years, but my 03 Chili Red/White MCS gives me more smiles to the mile than any other car I have ever owned.

 

MSRP means exactly that, Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price.

Think about it a minute, if the manufacturer wants the vehicle to sell at MSRP, they won't give the dealer any room to move. If the manufactrurer wants to get the word out about Mini's selling below MSRP, they just need to raise MSRP to whatever they want and than give the dealer 'margin' to move, in otherwords, allowing the customer to bargin down.

Unless you find out exactly what the dealer is paying, MSRP is really quite meaningless, except to do a cross comparrison with what others have paid.

Find out what the dealer paid and see if you can pay that plus a maximum of 10% for the dealers, margin which is fair and reasonable. In all likelihood the dealer won't budge from MSRP on a 'hot' car like the Mini, it usually takes a few years before the you'll see felaxiblity, only after the manufacturer see's a slowdown in demand will bargining begin, that's why you see the price movements in the Miata and the PT Cruiser.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject.

 

>>Unless you find out exactly what the dealer is paying, MSRP is really quite meaningless, except to do a cross comparrison with what others have paid.

It's easy to know what the dealer is paying, that info is available in many places on the net, or go to Hastings or some other book store and get a book with exact dealer cost. On a base Mini Cooper with no options dealer markup is about $1600 or close to the %10 mentioned in MGear's post.

DJ has it right, "take delivery and enjoy". The waiting, which has just started for me, gives me to much time to think about issues that don't really matter........Come on late September!!!!

 

Unless the US dollar stops it's decline against the Euro,BMW will have no choice but to increase the price.New cars are not an investment,buy a Mini and enjoy it.

 

Okay than, there you have it, as iwannamini points out, it appears the general mark-up is around 10% which in my book given how hot the Mini is that's quite fair and reasonable. And I agree with DJ too, take it run! Well, in this case take it and drive away!
One other factor and there are many in this equation, is how many Mini's BMW has to sell at a certain margin in order for the product line to go into the black. For most new car releases this takes anywhere's from 5 to 7 years, naturally sales volume will shorten or lengthen that time.
Now I don't know how true this is but listen to this. I read an article in an official BMW newsleter before the Mini was introduced in the USA that said a BMW bean counter made a major mistake in figuring out production costs. This error will result in lengthening the time it will take Mini to get to the 'Profit Land' (this pun is intended). If this is true, price increases are more likely for the future and the type of price reductions we see with the PT Cruiser and Miata won't happen as quickly with the Mini. The wise money says, if you want one, buy it now and if you pay straight MSRP you can drive away happy. Pay MSRP with free floor mats and consider yourself very fortunate.

 

Nope, I'm buying now so I can have it by Thanksgiving!!!

 

Gobble, Gobble!

 

I read a little while back that BMW was trying to figure out how to lower the cost of production on future MINI designs to increase their profit. Producing significantly more cars creates only a short term benefit as it devalues the entire line. BMW studied the marketing of Miata, the New Beetle, and PT Cruiser and determined that they were not going to flood the market, thus maintaining their niche status. In fact, their concept of creating an entire MINI line with a cabriolet, 4-door, wagon, etc. is based upon maintaining a unique image. Don't expect much price softening on new cars.
Used car prices initially (and then new car sales) might be adversely effected by negative service problems and MINI's inability to correct them. It may take a little while for the general public (vs. enthusiastis) to discover some of the problems the MINI has such as too many defective windshields, 1st gear surging/stumbling/ heat related drivability. If word spreads that its a cool car but "has problems" then we'll see a softening. Hopefully BMW will have figured out how to correct these isssues and insure the future value of the car and the future value of the marque.

 

I would not rely on Ebay as an indicator of the strength of the used car market. How many people are willing to make a $20K decision online without being able to kick the tires?

Most of the cars on Ebay are used. It is unrealistic to think that folks can put a few thousand miles on a car and sell it at MSRP. Fact is, the MINIs do depreciate as soon as you leave the dealership, but not by as much as other cars.

The Philly dealer has sold all cars thru January 2004. The West Chester dealer recently had a couple of available cars--but they were loaded with all packages and nav.

Will you ever stop second-guessing your decision and simply enjoy yourself? Don't worry about the resale market, your color selection, your options, etc....just have a good time with the car!

 

Hi,

I am from Sydney Australia.

I got my Cooper last year and now I am looking at getting a Cooper S.

The dealers here now seem to have plenty of ready stock of the Cooper and the S. Worst case wait is 3 months if I get factory ordered Sat Nav and dark silver (most popular color here for the S). Other than that there is a huge range of color and option combinations available within a month.

There were plenty of Coopers available.

The dealer offered a very sharp price on the S. It was about AUD$5,000 cheaper than last year when the S was first releases over here (I think the US launch experience had made the dealers a little greedy). At the time I could not readily justify the huge price differential between the Cooper and the S and the lengthy wait.

Now the price of the S here is fantastic. There is no real reason for the enthusiast driver here to buy a Cooper.

 

Sorry forgot to mention my main point (after all that excitement over color choice).

I think one of the big factors in the sharper price being offered is the AUD/GBP exchage rate. In the last 12 months the AUD has strengthened by about 1/7. So on an AUD$35,000 car a discount of AUD5,000 will not make them worse off assuming that MINI Australia pays GBP to MINI UK.

Well I dont know...just a thought.