Hi everyone! I know that the Mini S is in limited quantities, but have anyone tried to get the car under MSRP? How long does everyone think it will take for dealers to consider going under MSRP?

 

Try Brecht Mini in Escondido.....Just joking.

 

IMO, this time next year. Maybe sooner if BMW ramps up production even more.

 

Below MSRP? I don't think it'll happen with these models. Maybe in a few years when they add a number of new models to the line. I bet in a year or so you won't have to wait very long - not below MSRP? Not a chance...

 

If and when they raise the MSRP from the artificially low price it was set to create the initial buying frenzy and when supply exceeds demand, then you may see different pricing dynamics. Presently, BMW is controlling production and distribution and this car is virtually marketed world wide. In Los Angeles, I have only seen one dealer sell at MSRP and that's only for specially ordered cars, with an approximate wait of 4 to 6 months. Every other dealer in LA (and I've contacted them all) sells at a premium for specially ordered cars and cars in inventory. In my view MSRP is a bs concept in any event. It's the relative value of the car, the supply and demand, etc. that determines price. MSRP is the SUGGESTED price, not a promise or guarantee. Presently, the demand for this car is very high and supply very low and it seems a long way off befor that will change.

 

Below MSRP.....Never happen for a long time, if ever. Remember we are talking BMW. Not Ford, Chevy.

 

>>Below MSRP.....Never happen for a long time, if ever. Remember we are talking BMW. Not Ford, Chevy.


It will happen - the day they start carrying inventory or the day that MINIUSA starts allocating based on # of cars sold is the day they start dealing. In a market where volume counts more than profit per vehicle you'll see changes in selling behavior.

BMW dealers get allocations of some cars (such as Z8, M5, etc.) based on sales of other models - Ferrari has the same mentality with dealers (i.e. you get so many 360 Modenas for each 456/550 you sell). I was able to walk in and buy a 5 series four months ago at well below MSRP and then got an additional $1k back due to the BMWCCA incentives in place.

No car brand is above discounting if it makes business sense - the only question is how MINIUSA will structure quota/allotments as the business matures.

-dq

 

I doubt below-sticker sales will happen for the foreseeable future because there are only x number of MINIs being built in ONE plant in England, which is already at full capacity! They have upped the quantity to the US from 20,000 to25,000 cars to be spread among 70 dealers! It will still be rather rare until such time as production can be hugely increased, or many, many more MINIs are slotted for the US. We'll see...

 

A fellow teacher at my school bought her MC for $100 below MSRP through priceline.com.

 

They WILL be selling below MSRP within the next year. I also don't believe MINI is only going to release 20,000 in the USA. Why the back up of 6500 cars at the port in New Jersey in a 2 week period? Doesn't sound like only 20,000 cars per year to me...Plus take into consideration the other ports cars are arriving through. It is simply supply and demand. Things will cool off and they will begin to wheel and deal. Just my humble opinion.

 

>>They WILL be selling below MSRP within the next year. I also don't believe MINI is only going to release 20,000 in the USA. Why the back up of 6500 cars at the port in New Jersey in a 2 week period? Doesn't sound like only 20,000 cars per year to me...Plus take into consideration the other ports cars are arriving through. It is simply supply and demand. Things will cool off and they will begin to wheel and deal. Just my humble opinion.

Hmm.......how about in the next 6 months or so? Any hope of change?

 

As soon as the BMW 1 series hits the streets at the same price as the minis....there will also be more high performance cars in this catagory next year....whether they add to the production numbers or not won't matter much.....the pie will get smaller with all the new models at the same price...it's called competition. laugh! Whether it's the miata, PT Cruiser, etc, etc it eventually happens...the price stays up till the competition catches up...that's why car companies can never rest even on their most recent introductions.....

 

MINI has specifically stated they will not be shipping more the 25k units of MINIs to the US in 2003. Specifically.

Because of this and many other factors, you will NOT be able to find a MINI under MSRP in the next year.

When you start seeing MINIs under MSRP... it will be the regular MINIs at under MSRP months before the "S" models.

 

>>MINI has specifically stated they will not be shipping more the 25k units of MINIs to the US in 2003. Specifically.
>>
What, is this some sort of law? They'll ship as many as they can based on whatever criteria they choose. It may be that they don't want to flood the market (and thereby encourage price cutting too soon). On the other hand, they may do that inadvertantly -- at least locally -- while trying to fulfill their primary business mission of selling the most cars at the maximum profit. It's business.

MSRP is a marketing ploy. It generates showroom traffic and/or image (e.g., economy, exclusivity, etc.). What you pay is entirely determined by market conditions.

What you HOPE doesn't happen (and maybe this is inherent in the original poster's intent) is what happened to some folks around here with the PT Cruiser...i.e., people were put on a year long waiting list and locked into purchase contracts/prices that ended up being higher than the market price during the year! In other words, the price of the car fell over the year. Pitty the poor folks (I know at least one) who couldn't get out of their contracts w/o losing their deposits...AND who had to watch other people drive around in cars purchased at "below MSRP" from high volume dealers while they sat around waiting for their "above MSRP" cars to arrive. Talk about feeling like a dope...

 

It's not some sort of law.... but the plant is only capable of producing 125k cars a year total. BMW claims they are pushing the plant as hard as they can.

BMW also claims they are actually losing money at sending these cars to the US in the first year. They are trying to sell every one they can in order to get the hype up. This is common for any european import in its first year.

I'm willing to bet the farm there will not be more than 25k MINIs shipped to the US per year for the first year or 2.

Look at BMWs history... they do not saturate the US market with ANY of their cars like the PT Cruiser for example has done. So why would they start now?? Doesn't make sense.

If anyone is waiting around for the MINI to drop below MSRP in the next year... good luck wasting your time. All the positive vibes, positive thoughts, and conjecture what bring the MINI below MSRP. A fact is a fact is a fact.

Look at BMWs across the board. Many BMW dealerships won't even sell their regular Bimmers at under MSRP. So why would they suddenly drop the MINI MSRP? I just don't see any sense in it. But keep on dreaming.

 

I acutually paid way less than MSRP for a US Spec car, but I was able to buy mine through the BMW military sales program in Germany. I don't expect that the MINI will be available under MSRP in the US for quite awhile.

I would have been happy to pay MSRP or a little higher to motor in this car, it is a joy to drive.

Ultimately, it comes down to supply and demand, and the price will remain at or above MSRP until supply exceeds demand for the car, and right now, I don't see that happening.

 

>>
>>MSRP is a marketing ploy. It generates showroom traffic and/or image (e.g., economy, exclusivity, etc.). What you pay is entirely determined by market conditions.

>>>>>>Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have repeatedly made similar comments regarding MSRP. People are obsessed with the concept as if it as if it is constitutes some right or entitlement to pay MSRP or below but, heaven forbid you pay over. MSRP is a bs concept, especially with new models with limited production. The MINI is a classic of this and BMW are champs at playing this game with new models. When the Z8 came out it was selling for at least one hundred thousand over "sticker". The X5 sold for over sticker when it came out. The Z, PT cruiser, T-Bird are other examples. the new Ferrari is going for $400,000 over "sticker". As the post above says, market conditions ultimately set the price. Supply and demand and good old capitalism. If thousands of MINIs were sitting around the price would drop accordingly. To that end, there is nooooooo way there is 6500 Minis sitting on a dock somewhere. Forget the consumers, the dealers would be going nuts. they need to sell cars to make up for all the start up costs BMW stuck them with for separate showrooms etc. If BMW wanted to do any of us a favor, they would have just let dealers sell MINIs off the existing BMW lots. But, they made them create separate showrooms etc. to pretend this was some separate car company. ITS A BMW whether it says Mini or not. It's just more marketing nonsense. In any event, With people willing to wait 6 mos or more for cars on order the price stays up. MSRP is a SUGGESTED price and the market takes over from there.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the BMW Series 1 comes out but its supposed to be priced between the Mini and the 3 series so I personally see little effect. The only thing to change things will be an increase in mini supply and a decrease in demand. To that end, this web is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the interest in the car, good and bad. Unlike most cars, this car is virtually sold world wide. they can only make so many. If you bought one at MSRP or anywhere close, thank your lucky stars. Besides, the higher the price stays, the higher the resale value for all down the line. Is that bad? This is all much to do about nothing. Cars, houses, everything goes up and down in price. In Los Angeles, I am aware of only one dealer selling at MSRP and that is only if your specially order the car and wait for months. Every other dealer is asking for what the market will bear, whether the car is specially ordered or one "on the floor". NONE of this is unique to the MINI except, I think that it is atypical for this situation to happen with a relatively lower end car. It's usually the Ferrari's and the like that you have this situation. Heck, an M3 or M5 still goes for thousands over sticker and they've been around for years. It's just how BMW does it's marketing and they are good at creating demand and interest. If the MSRP on the Mini was thousands more, I believe the interest would still be there. The car is a good one, it's in small supply and it's a good value at MSRP or over sticker when compared to similar cars. That's what counts. Msrp is not an issue. Dealers will always get whatever they can for a car. Go look at an Oldsmobile right now, they are pratically giving them away regardless of the MSRP.

 

Well, I ordered mine at MSRP, but I firmly believe they will come down in the next year. I just didn't want to wait. I do not for one second believe BMW is only sending 20-25k MINIs to the USA. How could they have a 6500 car backlog at ONE of several ports that are receiving MINIs? In a 2 week period?!?!?! The math does NOT add up to 25,000 cars nationwide! Just because that is what BMW tells you, doesn't mean it is true! I know those of us who paid MSRP and more want to believe they won't go down in the next year, but supply and demand will make it happen whether we want it to or not! It is the very nature of the auto business. Next year there will be something else new and exciting to get. That is just the way it goes. Believe what you want, but you are being very naive if you think they won't go down.

 

"How could they have a 6500 car backlog at ONE of several ports that are receiving MINIs?"

Where did you hear this? I heard 650... who added the extra 0?? That's funny. I think people are exagerating to make others feel better... or maybe its that reverse psychology thing...

It may be hard to believe, but only 25k of MINIs are coming a year. There is only one plant right now making MINIs and its maxed out. They would have to either retrofit or build a new plant to make more MINIs.

The 25k number came directly from MINI corporate to their dealers. This info can also be found in any car mag or tv show like Motortrend or Autoweek for example. I'm not making this up folks... it's just the hard cold truth.

 

I know people want to believe there is some sort of conspiracy and that BMW has hordes of MINI's sitting in lots and warehouses across the world but folks, the simple truth is the car is built at the old Pressed Steel factory in Oxford which has a limited capacity. They are working 3 shifts with a max production of around 125k cars a year. The US is not the major market of the MINI. Do we really think that BMW is hording 6500 MINI's in New Jersey? Do you know how much that would cost BMW everyday to do that? I'm sure it would be more cost effective to sell them below MSRP. We are talking about the car company (BMW) that has the best margins the business. They know how to make money. Another point I think that needs to be made is BMW has been caught totally off guard with the success of the MINI. If you look at BMW's projected sales figures from a couple of years ago they would already have MINI sales shrinking to below 100k (high) and falling until 2007 when the next generation MINI hits the market. They also didn't expect to break even until 2007, they have revised that to about 2004.

Production will continue at current levels until they can expand the facility at Oxford or bring another facility on line. This is almost a given since they want to expand the line so production will increase at some point. But, I don't think we will see the kind of market flood like with the PT Cruiser or new Beetle. BMW is far to smart for that. They know how to keep a marquee a premium marquee (premium prices as well). This does translate into higher resale value for us owners though.

 

>>A fellow teacher at my school bought her MC for $100 below MSRP through priceline.com. >>>

Yeah but there was probably a $200 Doc fee!

 

I like the MINI as much as anyone here, but it is NOT a Ferrari, Porsche, etc. It's a sporty compact, not a sports car. The price WILL come down, especially as more automakers come out with new models to compete with the MINI (Mercedes' Smart car is due to arrive in 2004).

 

>>"How could they have a 6500 car backlog at ONE of several ports that are receiving MINIs?"
>>
>>Where did you hear this? I heard 650... who added the extra 0?? That's funny. I think people are exagerating to make others feel better... or maybe its that reverse psychology thing...
>>
>>In New Jersey they had a boat with 4000 cars and a few days later a boat with 2500. That caused the backlog we are still trying to get through. According to my math that adds up to 6500 cars. Believe what you want.

 

Do we really think that BMW is hording 6500 MINI's in New Jersey?
I never said they were hoarding cars in NJ. It was poor planning I am sure. They are trying to get them out to the dealerships, it is just that two boats came in too close together. I speak to 866 ASK MINI every day. (twice) I doubt they would be saying this if it was 650 not 6500!

 

I can't find a dealership in the NE to verify this... still its a completely moot point. It doesn't change the FACT that only 25k MINIs are coming a year.