Just curious how that experience goes? Is there any negotiation on the pricing?

Just purchased a '13 MCS and LOVING it. Has all the options, color, etc i wanted. I see a lot of posts about folks doing build to order. Was just curious. Never done that with a car before.

 

curious if you bought your car "off the lot?"

 

I did. As they pulled it off the truck. 3 miles on the clock. Was still wrapped up in the plastic, hadn't even checked it into the dealer yet and I saw it. Loved the white/silver metallic color. I couldn't pass it up. I had always wanted a MINI (came from a 3-series BMW). I was going to get the red but just loved the white/silver.

 

From my experience, depending on where you live, the amount of Mini dealers in the area (ie, Socal has like 9 dealers in the greater LA area) you do have some room to negotiate, but I could only get $500-1000 off, which was nothing!

They say that they're a low production output company, and seeing that there's high demand, and low supply, they don't need to do much to the pricing to get them to sell, but good luck with your process!

 

I placed an order the beginning of this month and am currently waiting a ship which it should be on today!

Basically I searched around and found nothing that I was interested in, the car had to be exactly what I wanted as I didn't want to second guess the purchase. I went on Miniusa and built my car. Went to the dealer I chose to do business with, placed my deposit on the order and 6-8 weeks I have my car.

 

First MINI I bought was off the lot. I traded that one in 1 year later to order a MINI to my tastes. I was able to get about 1600.00 off the total MSRP.

 

When I bought mine, there were no 'on the lot' cars, all had to be special ordered and you had to have an available slot. There were no negotiations available at the time but they are a 'one price dealer' and did not have the additional dealer markup that was customary at other dealers at the time.

 

First one was a 2003 S sight unseen straight off the boat before the dealer got it. Second was a 2007 S built to order in the first day that you could order one, before any demo cars were available. Third was my wife's Justa Clubman, bought off the lot. Last one (so far) was my Roadster, ordered before the dealer had a demo. I'd seen a Coupe, but no Roadsters.

All pretty much list price, no trades involved except for trading the first for the second. Didn't get a great deal on that as the mileage was on the high side and there was a little unrepaired damage.

 

Interesting. Just curious.

I got everything on my MCS I wanted. Basically fully loaded. Have 0 plans to trade or upgrade or anything, was just curious as I'd never done it. I normally make my dealer deal/trade with other dealers across the US to get the exact car I want. Did with my 3-series too. They do that and it takes a few days to ship it cross-country or from a more local dealer, then I go in and negotiate price and purchase.

Building one online sounds fun though haha. Maybe ill do that with the next one.

 

Just a couple of thoughts.

When you order a car, the dealer really has no incentive to deal on it. It's not like you will ever find exactly what you want anywhere else. So if you want that car it a sure sale, why deal?

On the other hand, if you buy what they have on the lot or nearby, their already paying something for it, they may have to pay taxes on it at the end of year, they need to move inventory... Something... They are much more inclined to deal.

 

Richard, I respectfully disagree just a little. We ordered our base Coupe, very few options (as we wanted), and we still got the $750 off with the Not Normal, plus $500 off MSRP because we asked what he could do for us on that, plus a discount on extended warranty, gap insurance, and a discount on the labor for installing our dealer installed spoiler. And they didn't pressure us to get anything that we didn't want. We saved about $2000, from what it could have been if we had paid the listed prices. And I am quite sure that they do this regularly.

We actually did better on the Coupe, which was ordered, than we did on our Hardtop, which we bought already on the ship, because we learned from a year of reading this forum, and we tried harder.

And if you wait for a good finance deal, it makes a ton of difference in your final costs, if you have to finance. YAY!!

 

I was talking with an MA yesterday, and he said you actually have some extra leverage when the car comes in, since the deposit is refundable and you're under no contract to buy. So you can walk away and leave the dealer stuck with the car to sell.

Anyway, point is the dealer is still motivated to make you happy.

 

I ordered the last 2 cars I bought: 2010 MINI and a 2011 BMW 328i. In both cases I felt I was able to haggle with the dealer just as much as I had in previous "off the lot" purchases. If you don't like the deal you're getting, just take your business elsewhere even if the next dealer is 100+ mi away.

 

I guess it depends on when you are ordering. I bought mine just after the cash for clunkers program ended. The dealer made a lot of money on that. The new 2010's hadn't even started production, and I guess they didn't feel they had to do much for anybody.

Even so I got a couple of hundred off and a pretty good markdown on the clearbra install.

I paid cash,and no trade, so i didn't have very much leverage.

 

It also depends on how many dealers are around you. :-) multiple dealers mean that they are more competitive. They have to move cars, and need the volume. My hubby and I are about as hardcore about dealing as... well... Hamsters. We're bad at it. In fact, he won't try to haggle at all, and left that to me. And we still did well, without being annoying to anyone. The whole ordering experience was enjoyable for us.

 

I had visited the dealer half a dozen times over a few month period, test driving different cars on three of those visits...two Roadsters (one a JCW) and a Coupe. I configured a Coupe and asked for a price; the dealer returned price sheet that reflected a 3.8 percent dealer discount. That was much different than when I purchased a 2003 MCS online; the dealer I was dealing with at the time steadfastly refused to discount anything.

I was pleased with the quote and told the salesman if he would throw in a glove box organizer gratis I would put a deposit down that day. He quickly agreed.

Prior to configuring a car I had discussed two 2012 Coupes the dealer was trying to move. Neither had the features I wanted but the discounts were about twice as deep. I decided that it was worth spending an additional $1,500 to $2,000 to get a newer model, zero test-drive miles, and the options I want.

 

Two additional thoughts:

@richardsperry: I think dealers often make their money by underpaying for trade-ins. They might discount your purchase by $2K, making you feel like you have a bargain you can't pass on. Then they underpay you for at least as much for your trade-in. After all, do you really want the hassle of selling it yourself? So you feel good about the deal and saving the hassle. The dealer chuckles all the way to the bank. I think buying for all cash without a trade-in provides the greatest leverage to the seller on the total deal.

@JoanieB: You are smart about not being annoying to anyone. The dealer needs to make some money...maintaining the facilities and inventories and paying the staff costs real money. And a buyer is establishing a long-term relationship. If I am a jerk at the sales point and then need some flexibility on a service issue, how anxious will the dealer be to accommodate me? Karma is important.

I have often wondered how much dealers make from a sales v. servicing. It seems like a small margin on high volume sales which fuel volume on higher-profit servicing is a formula for success. Thoughts?

 

It does help to have a great Motoring Advisor, who knows what they are doing. Our MA told us that he does almost as many customer configured cars as he does lot sales, so he knows the system well. And it helped, too, that we had been going to that dealership for club events, in the past, we knew everyone by sight and they knew us. We had a club event in which we met the staff and the General Manager, and they are interested in hosting our club events on occasion, they are involved enough to know that club people talk to each other about their experiences, good and bad.

Yes, starting out rocky might make a difference later, especially if the buyer is really hard nosed about it. In our dealership, the waiting lobby for service is located between the service desk and the sales desks, so the sales staff often come through and talk to their prior customers.

We brought a big box of bakery Christmas cookies for our MA on the day we picked the car up, and also a box for the SA who oversaw the work on our spoiler. Since they both went above and beyond, we wanted them to know that we appreciated that. When we go in for service in either MINI, they will remember us. They've already done me some good turns with Winnie, and I love taking her there, even though it is farther than I have to go. We are, however, lucky to have multiple dealerships within an hour of here, so we can be picky.

 

I think I've got 5 dealers within a hours drive.
Baltimore
Annapolis
Montgomery county
Alaxendria
Sterling

 

Don't go to Baltimore. They won't budge on pricing.... AT ALL.

 

Annapolis will, and I believe they are under the same ownership. I think willingness to budge depends on so many factors. Best advice? Try multiple dealers and don't seem too committed to buying a MINI and only a MINI.

 

I found this to work well: Select your options on the Configurator and email the result to ALL your local dealers, asking them to email you their best price -- and telling them that you are selecting a dealer this way (assuming none have bad service reputations). When they respond, select your dealer and begin negotiations. The dealers negotiate cars all the time, while you (probably) don't. This method puts a little strength on your side as the dealers know they are bidding against each other for the starting price. Politely inform the ones you don't select -- be nice; in the end, you may be going back to one of them. Good luck!