Hi All!

I'm a complete novice when dealing with Mini dealerships and sales people. All of my research thus far has been on the internet, but I haven't quite figured out a few things so thought I would ask the experts:

1. I'm under the impression that I'll probably need to special order my mini since my local dealer in Portland, Oregon doesn't currently have the type of mini I want (JCW Hardtop with lots of bells & whistles). Can anybody give me a quick and dirty on how the special order process works? I've read something about dealers having a certain number of allocations??? Does this mean that dealerships can only special order a certain number of minis?

2. Typically, how long does a special order take? 1 month, 3 months, 6 months?

3. If I have to special order should I expect to have to pay MSRP? How successful have folks been about negotiating? When looking at the mini website and applying all the options I want the price is around $45K. Just trying to guage if that's what I will probably spend or if it's fairly common to be able to negotiate a lower price (even for special orders).

4. Anybody have any recommendations for a "Mini Advisor" at the Mini of Portland dealership (on Canyon road)?

5. Not sure if I should put this in a different thread, but I'll go ahead and ask here...On a JCW Mini Hardtop do any of the windows (side/back) come tinted? Also wondering if I get a sunroof if it's tinted or if I would have to pay to have the windows and sunroof tinted. Anybody have a ball-park cost for tinting (not looking for dark tint, just some standard tint that are on most new cars these days).

Thanks for any feedback you can provide to the self-confessed novice!

 

Hi.

1) I had dealers talk to me about allocations and how there's very little of them for JCW. But in the end, the dealer that I went with didn't even mention it and said they can simply edit any car that is down the pipeline to be built to your specifications. Someone should elaborate more on this because I'm still confused as how my dealer was able to do that while like 3 other ones said they couldn't.

2) 6-8 weeks approximately.

3) No. Build it on CarsDirect.com and that is the most you should be paying. I got $1750 off MSRP on my JCW Hardtop a week ago using CarsDirect as a negotiating tool.

4) I wish I did.

5) Windows don't come tinted. Not sure about the sunroof. Tinting around here in California is about $300-400 for the front, rear, and hatch windows.

Let us know what CarsDirect comes up with!

 

Thanks for the info Invis!

I tried carsdirect.com, however a JCW Hardtop wasn't one of the models available, sadly! They did have JCW clubman and coupe, but not the hardtop. I'm starting to think the JCW hardtop is hard to come by in which case I wonder if I'll be able to special order. Guess I need to get off my duff, drive up to Portland and talk with an Advisor.....hope I don't get the run-around after driving 200 miles round-trip. Calling doesn't seem to help - they want you to come in.

 

You're welcome. The JCW Hardtop is there. Check out my picture. There's 4 body styles nested into that category.

I did all my negotiations through email. I added all the options I wanted on my JCW, saved a copy of the CarsDirect pricing, and attached that copy to all my emails to the local dealers. And especially needing to drive 200 miles, that's not worth it!

 

Definitely don't call. Send an email to any dealership within a certain radius you are willing to travel. Even if you'd prefer to work with your closest dealer, it's helpful to do this so you can use offers from other dealers as leverage with your local dealer. Tell them exactly what you want (down to colors and options) and tell them to name their best price, including all fees. Don't forget that you can go to the Test Drive Take Down event at any dealer and get $750 off on top of your best negotiated price. If someone calls you and asks you come in, simply tell them that you want to negotiate remotely and won't come in until you're ready to pick up a vehicle.

 

Thanks so much for all the tips!! Invis, thanks for the guidance on using carsdirect.com - I was finally able to figure it out. I tried putting in my options and for the most part it worked, however there were some discrepancies between the miniusa.com website and the options available on carsdirect.com
For instance, on the mini website I choose Eclipse Gray with Chili red roof & mirrors, however the carsdirect.com website doesn't allow that combination (I had to choose Highclass Gray Metallic, which isn't even an option on the mini site that I could find). Overall, probably close enough though. From the mini site (excluding all dealer accessories) was $42,050. The carsdirect.com site showed MSRP pricing at $41,950, Invoice pricing at $38,107 and Target price at $40,107 so definitely better than the mini site. I've saved (hopefully) my picks and printed it out (just in case I need to re-create it).

Also thanks for the tips on emailing instead of calling. I will definitely do that and see what they can offer me. So ya'll think it's a good idea to also contact other dealers even though I doubt I'd purchase from them? There is only 1 mini dealer in Oregon. I think the next closest dealer is in Tacoma and Seattle so maybe I'll try to email them as well.

Any other tips, please feel free to share! Thanks much!

 

MINIs and a few other companies, don't discount off MSRP unless it was a demo/loaner or previous model year.

Highly recommend the event to get the discount certificate!

Order time is based on a few factors:
-How long between ordering and the car actually goes into production(based on allocation schedule)
-How long after production before car is put on boat to ship(up to 2 weeks)
-How long after arriving to the Port in Maryland until put on truck to ship to your dealer. (up to a week usually)

If you have any questions about ordering, let me know, I would be glad to answer any questions you have as I am a Client Adviser for a MINI dealer

 

I have a new base coming in and I ordered it. No options at all and I am getting $750.00 off on the Test Drive Event plus and additional $500.00 off from the dealer. Along the way and before this, I got offers of $1,000.00 off, $750.00 off and $500.00 off. There was one with cold weather package and Bluetooth on the lot that was offered at $1,000.00 off. So it is possible under many different situations to get money from the dealer or Mini, Good luck.

 

I was at NW MINI, in Tacoma, to get an oil change. There was another customer there waiting for his oil change also. He mentioned that he was from Portland, I asked him why he was getting his car serviced in Tacoma. He said, "I bought it here, MINI of Portland wouldn't deal with me."

Dave

 

1. Not all locations will discount the price below MSRP... if they have one sitting on their lot for a long time they might deal, but if you are ordering one they don't have I'd expect to pay MSRP.

2. Currently I'm looking at 6-8 weeks, but it might take a little longer to ship to CA, then trucked up to Oregon... I'd probably add at least another week (if not two) and say 8-10 weeks, but your local MA will know more... plus you can look at https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d-updated.html, which is saying ~21 days to Port Hueneme, CA.

Note: Our location is currently running a special... $1,000 discount on all their Cooper Hardtop's.

 

"MINIs and a few other companies, don't discount off MSRP unless it was a demo/loaner or previous model year."

I was told that lie by an MA in April 2010. When I called the bluff the sales manager promptly gave me $1,000 off of $22,600 msrp on the car I ordered. There are a lot of other folks who have documented dealer discounts here including on this very thread.

 

Thanks for all the feedback! It'll be interesting to see if the Mini internet sales agents pull the "we don't give discounts off MSRP" card. I really dislike dealing with car salespeople (mini advisors or otherwise).

Yikes, too bad to hear about the guy getting his oil changed in Tacoma due to not getting good service (or any service at all) from the Portland branch. Hope I have better luck!

It's been 10 years since I bought a car and the last one I purchased was all via the internet & email with a car lot out of Ashland, Oregon. It was actually a very positive experience so I guess I should hope for the same with the Mini agents. Too bad there is only one Mini dealer in Oregon!

Thanks again everybody!

 

You can get your MINI serviced at any dealer. The Portland guy I spoke with could have chosen to have his car serviced at the Portland dealer, he didn't for his own reasons.

The people at NW MINI are really nice though!

Dave

 

I also have a "graduation" coupon for $750.00 off any Mini Cooper.

 

Sweet. Are you getting Eclipse Gray with Chili Red roof/mirrors too?!

Yeah, sorry for not mentioning that in the beginning... CarsDirect will have some discrepancies, and I stumbled upon that same exact issue when I built mine on there. But since CR roof/mirrors don't cost anything compared to a black or white, it's okay to just choose those but still have EG as your main color. I believe Highclass Grey Metallic is a more expensive color than Eclipse Gray, so watch out for that.

 

If you are Costco member ask for your dealer's special pricing as well, in San Diego that was an easy $1800 over invoice... being a 4 time Penske Auto Group buyer I squeezed a bit more from my dealer.

 

InVis,
Yes, At this point my plan is to get Eclipse Gray with Chili red roof/mirrors. I'd also like to get the JCW bonnet stripes, but not as shown on the various websites. I'd prefer to have them be parallel centered on front and also on the back; likely need to talk to the dealer about that.

I am a member of Costco and checked there, but they said minis through Costco are not available in my area - likely because there is only 1 mini dealer in all of Oregon?? Not really sure what's up with that...instead they suggested I get a Mitsubishi Eclipse because they had dealers they could work with on that vehicle - LOL!

Showing my current car (Acura) to a potential buyer today at lunch. Depending on how that goes will determine how quickly I will move forward that purchase.

Thanks again for everybody's input!
Tracey

 

Just change your zip code on the Costco auto site to one near PDX. We're over in Spokane and had to do that for a purchase in Seattle. It worked like a charm once we did that. I spoke with the dealership in PDX re:Costco pricing and found that it was significantly better up in Seattle.

 

I'm probably a novice myself, I was just at the Mini dealer last week test driving. I'm planning to order my car this summer. But maybe my input will help a little bit, since I'm from Portland too.

I was told 6-8 weeks.

I asked this too and I also mentioned the Costco program, my sales advisor basically said that I would still be looking at paying MSRP or very close to MSRP. I'm planning on getting a Justacooper optioned out to around $22k, so I'm not expecting a huge discount on a base car with few options at the low end of the price spectrum. Carsdirect seems to confirm this, the target price is only $300 less than MSRP. Am I wrong and should I be pushing for a lower price?

I worked with Clint Morey, he was very friendly, knowledgable, took me on a great driving road during the test drive, and I didn't feel pressured at all.