Hi all, I'm the new girl and looking for a mini cooper s to buy because the boost is such a thrill. I went to the Dealer in Houston (Momentum) and test drove the car. I was asking about adding an alarm and floor mats but the prices were so different. They gave me a price of $895 and $185 even though the base price on their website is $295 and $135. Do you know why there's such a large price difference?

 

Welcome to NAM. I would recommend not getting the accessories from MoMINI. Order them from Classic Mini, a forum sponsor. bmwparts@driveclassic.com tell them that you're a NAM member, and give them your username, and you get 20% off parts. You're looking at about $300 for mats and the alarm. And if you bring them to the HMMS meeting on the 9th, I can put the alarm in for you, leaving just a $50 dollar trip to the dealer to have the alarm activated.

 

Dealers make a huge profit of dealer installed accessories. It's one of their favorite ways to pad their profits. There're probably even trying to charge to lay the floor mats in the car. To avoid having this happen to you try pricing the accessories you want at other dealers or take advantage of offers like the one in the post above.

I suppose because I live in a small town I'd never consider paying $895 for a car alarm. Maybe it's different in the city. Car alarms are so common now that most people ignore them, thinking the owner probably screwed up and set it off.

Will you get an additional discount on your car insurance with the added alarm and if so, how much will this be?

 

Also, make the dealer give you rubber floor mats for "all 5's". Ask for Will (Manager), he took care of me.And since I forgot in my first post.

Web Sites you need to know living in Houston.

www.hmms.org

www.metroplexmini.org

www.cooperspeed.com

Cheers.

 

Thanks. that's really really helpful of you!

 

Thanks! That's really really helpful info. Where's the HMMS meeting going to be at? I haven't even order my car yet . I appreciate the lending hand to help install it. I'll definitely ask you more when I get the car.

Do you know by any chance if you can order the arm rest separately? it's $200 at the dealer.

 

Get the armrest as a factory option. Its either 200 or 250, but to retrofit it, is around 250-300.

Here is the thread about the meeting.
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ead.php?t=9703

 

Hi sillyvibe. I got my alarm installed at the dealership and it was expensive. If I knew about this before hand, I would have done it outside the dealership.
Looking forward to see some pics of your new mini. I got mine a month ago and I love it! (see pics in gallery if you like)