Anyone have experience with this dealer? I usually wouldn't consider buying a car in a different state (or city for that matter) but considering their recent announcement of selling cars at invoice, I may have to schedule a road trip.

 

(ooops) Just found the Classic section in the Vendor's area. Most of what I need to know will be answered there, but feel free to respond if you have anything to add.

 

I purchased there and live about 8 miles away. I like the group of people there. Mike Kost is a great guy as is Bill (can't remember his last name). The day we went looking for a car, all the sales people were busy so the GM answered the phone while the receptionist took us on a test drive. I believe now she is one of the sales people. The entire dealership is comprised of fun loving MINIacs.

Classic throws a summer bash (at least for the past 2 years) that is always enjoyable. The last outing was to Nelson Ledges Race Park complete with track time if you were so inclined. The salesmen (and women) were all quite nice and even enjoyed some tracktime themselves. I think there were about 150-200 cars there that day.

Thom

Thom

 

I ordered my 05 PW/B MCS there back in 04 and they were really great with the whole transaction. my MA even sent me pics of my car when they got it in and when they were loading it in the truck to be delivered to me in CA. all in all, a great car buying experience and wouldn't hesitate doing it again with these folks

 

Yes, the search button is in the upper right corner of the page and should be used before posting new threads

 

I almost bought a car from them a couple of months back. It was not exactly what I wanted so finally I didnt. They seemed great guys. They sent me all the info and pictures of the car for me to make a decision and they were going to ship it to me for free. I would definitely have done business with them if they had what I wanted. I will probably check their inventory again just to make sure!!!! Invoice is too good to pass up!

 

I just checked but it says $1000 off the price. Where did you guys find out that they were offering invoice?

 

Cars at "Invoice" are just like "MSRP" It's an arbitrary
number, but it's a starting point either up or down depending on supply and demand.

 

I found the ad on the forum. MSRP and Invoice are not arbitrary... or at least not once they are set. MSRP (base price) for a an S is $20900, and invoice is $18892. By selling at Invoice they are selling at least at $2000 discount, which is a lot more than any other dealership is offering out there.

 

OOH! OOH! Pick me! Pick me! Sadly though, my favorite favorite person from MINI, Julie, is no longer there. She was the BEST. I heard from her recently, and she says hello to the MINI community!

I was a NEUROTIC motorer to be. I called her almost everyday at the end of the journey when Dobby hit the docks on American soil. We became friends! :D :D

But the whole place was GREAT to work with...Julie even ran out to the truck and snapped pictures of Dobby, and sent me an email titled, "HE'S HERE!"

And the day I picked it up was a joy. It was, here's your keys, now go have fun. They even told me they got me 1.9 as opposed to the 2.9 percent interest they initially quoted me. It was my best car buying experience EVER. This was almost three years ago...

 

Thanks for the help, planeguy. I realize you must get tired of seeing people posting first and searching later, but I searched on "classic mini ohio" and the search results were less than ideal. It found anything with classic, mini or ohio in the results.

If you have a way to narrow our searches down, feel free to use my search string above as an example for your tip. I'm all ears.

 

Agreed. Anyone else selling '06's for invoice that you've seen? Seems like a pretty good deal.

 

asaulo1,

Funny you should respond. I'm leaning toward a PW/B MINI just like yours. My wife and I are trying to come to an "agreement" on the car. She thinks the PW is classy and while I like Blue a bit better, she's is right on with her comment.

 

The ad is under Announcements - Vendor announcements on the NAM Forums home

 

I bought my 03 MCS from Classic as well, they are great to deal with. i would go direct to www.driveclassic.com click on MINI, they had an offering of $1,000 under invoice for awhile. Sale might be over, but who knows. And yes they have had a party in the summer / fall since October 2003.

Tom

 

I bought my '06 MINI (PW/B) there on January 19, 2007. I spoke a bit with Mike Kost and worked with Tiffany. All were very nice and there was no pressure. They let me drive many different MINIs before I finally picked the one I wanted, and they gave me $1000 off MSRP.

The only bummer is that it is now covered in salt and grime (it was 1 degree today).

I have an appointment on Wednesday to have them look a few warranty issues. The iPod interface quit working, and the hood seems to be a little out of alignment. It slightly binds on the top left when I open it. We'll see how service goes.

 

I ordered my 06MCS from Mike last January - Great transaction. I was kept apraised of every step along the way.
Chili Red car arrived on Valentine's Day to my wife's delight.
Only service experieince was adding a JCW intake - very proffesionaly done. A bit expensive for shop labor, but what dealer isn't?
Long story, short - if you can get a good deal from a great dealership - just do it!

 

Thanks, Dirge.

Best of luck getting your issues taken care of.

 

I bought "Sparky" from Classic in May of '05. I flew in from WA state to Cleveland airport. Julie Saxa had originally told me that she would pick me up there, but some personnel issues kept her from doing that, so she told me to just grab a cab, and that they would take care of the fare.

Sparky was there in the showroom after I arrived, and after a thorough orientation on all of the features, I was out the door by 1:00 p.m., for the start of my 2450 mile drive home.

Overall, my experience with Classic was top-notch! They were all profiesiional, friendly, seemed very customer-focused.

 

That's not $1,000 under invoice, any MINI dealer would be insane for doing that. It's $1,000 off MSRP, which, as some poster said, is a COMPLETELY different thing. At $1,000 under MSRP, the dealership, at least on a S, is still making about $900.

A dime discount is still quite good tho. Prob clearing out stock to make way for R56.

 

too much crack smokin going on out there. No MINI dealer will ever sell any product at invoice--maybe a percentage above, but never at or below. Sheesh.

 

Did you read their post?

The ad says they are selling them at "dealer invoice". I've bought cars before at dealer invoice. They made their money on the back end with advertising reimbursements and volume spiffs from the manufacturer.

Right now, I can get a coupon to buy any Dodge/ Chrysler at $1000 off "Invoice". It can be and is done.

Whether or not that's what Classic meant to post is another thing, but there is no debating that is what their current ad says.

 

Huh. I wonder what "Invoice" means. Actually I don't. I'll be pissed if its a lot less than what I paid.

 

I called them today and spoke to Tiffany.......it is $300 above invoice and then there is a $250 document fee and a additional $75 fee. Net, net, net is $625 above invoice. Tured out to be a 7% discount. I then called a dealer in Chicago and got the same 7% discount........

 

"Dealer invoice" is a universal term. It is the invoice from the manufacturer to the dealer and signifies what the dealer paid to the manufacturer. This will be the paper they pull from a large 3 ring binder to show you what "they paid" and how "little they are making off of you". While this is typically accurate, it may not be what they acutally paid because of incentives etc, but is their "invoice" nonetheless.

MSRP or "Sticker" is the universal term for the sticker placed on the window that lists the suggested retail price for that vehicle as set by the manufacturer.

I'm not really bothered either way, but the ad is misleading if the cars are not being sold at Dealer Invoice and should probably be changed.