Responses to an earlier post (MC vs MCS and Other Newbie ?'s) have been helpful (and more would be welcome), but I wanted to run another quick one by the board. Are most buyers getting stuck with those dealer "processing fees"? The nearest Mini dealer to my home has a sign in the window saying that all transactions will get tagged $400. I've been able to negotiate my last two car purchases, and paid an over-invoice price. I understand that a Mini will, at least for now, be sold at MSRP. But has anyone been able to avoid paying a "non-negotiable" processing fee? I should add that I don't intend to lease or use any dealer financing. Thanks.

 

I would like to know if anyone has experience at this. I'm sure it's negotiable, but they probably figure where you gonna go? Schomp in Denver told me there is no doc fee of any kind.

 

MINI of Mountain View adds $1,500 to MSRP. It is on the window sticker. However, there have been a few people here who said they negotiated it away. I didn't.

 

Part of the MINI world is deception. I don't like it but adding these mythical fees is annoying. Your choice is to go elsewhere.

 

Irvine Mini attempted 2500 over sticker. I told them it was too bad i had to go elsewhere since they were closest to me. I simply mentioned that several other dealers would be happy to charge MSRP. She asked her manager and then remembered it was "sales weekend" haha. O well!

 

Normally I refuse to pay "processing fees" out of principle. If it's low ($50-100), then it shouldn't be enough to affect the sale, from the dealer's perspective. In the case of $400... that looks like built-in commission for the salesperson or just plain profiteering. "Processing" is the cost of doing business (insert diatribe on gross vs net profit). Wal-Mart doesn't charge you a "processing fee" to have the cashier ring up your sale. It's built into the price of items.

Were the dealer to sell the car at invoice + $400... I would pay it. MSRP (in the case of MINI) starts the dealership at roughly $2k in gross profit already. Adding another $400 on top is ridiculous.

As noted, the high demand for MINI means you might have little choice though. Personally, I'd go somewhere else or do without.

 

That is pretty shady. I guess it has everything to do with availability. California's densely populated MINI dealers seem to keep them a bit more honest. Assael wanted to charge roughly $80.

$400 is steep.

 

Braman Palm Beach: $689 Dealer Services (plus $165 to process tag transfer!)
Didn't negotiate down since we did not go for any of the other dealer add ons-LoJack, Teflon, Pin Stripes, etc. I wanted to be able to say, "Look, you already made almost $900 in pure profit. Don't drill the front bumper for a tag and throw in some mats." It is a delicate dance.

 

The only processing fee I was charged was $107 for tags and registration. Somewhat higher than if I did it myself but well worth avoiding a day at the DMV.

 

In the deep dark past in the last century doing registration and providing tags were a free service from the dealership.

 

There are State fees to register the car and get the tags. I don't ever remember a dealer paying those State fees.

 

I wouldn't pay it. Everything is negotiable. When I bought my '03 I got a $350 discount off MSRP. I would not have insisted on this discount were it not for the $299 non-negotiable BS fee they were charging.

Get a discount or find another dealer.

 

Many MINI dealers charge only MSRP, however others layer on processing fees, document preparation fees, just because fees, etc. These are great examples of creative price-gouging and greed. My advice is to offer only MSRP and get the deal in writing. If dealer insists on excess fees for the privilege of selling you a car, go elsewhere. There are several MSRP MINI dealerships who advertise on this website and will be delighted to work with you.

 

Mine is MSRP+499 dealer prep fees

 

In my case, it was optional to begin with. I could have chosen to waste the day at DMV.

 

Buyers paid for tags but never paid a processing fee which is profit for the dealer. Today buyers pays for virtually everything. My dealer doesn't even discount mats. We pay full retail.

 

WinneMini -

I'm also buying my car from them, expected to arrive some time in May. When I placed the order we didn't discuss any of the dealer add-ons, i.e. LoJack, pin stripes, etc. Did you discuss that when you picked up the car? I'm just wondering since I'm tempted to call up my MA and have him fax/e-mail me a copy of the final invoice w/ tag/title fees and taxes so I don't have to go through the hassle of arguing with them when I go pick up the car.

Thanks for your help.

Ani

 

at7815 you should have gotten a print out of your order with pricing, and should have included any and all fees. I just checked the Braman site and they don't have any prices on their vehicles. Beware, get things in writing.
Good Luck

 

My state license was $21, don't think I'd pay someone $178 bucks to go to DMV for me....now if they were going to pay the $800 in sales tax I'd let them.

 

Well, mine is around $100. But, I'd still pay if it was $21.

 

Hank Aaron in GA wanted a $300 doc fee which was non-negotiable (for 5 minutes worth of paperwork since I brought my own financing & had to do all the vehicle registration myself since it was an out of state purchase but HEY at least I got quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about rip-off Dealer Fees for my troubles ) & they also wanted a $500 dealer prep fee which I negotiated to zero. Every dealer is different, some will negotiate the fees & some won't.

 

Mine was MSRP + a $50 document fee. On the other hand, I got free mats and they drilled the front plate free (and installed both). It was very reasonable, IMO.

 

Dealer prep fees are ridiculous. It's bad enough we pay separately for transportation and, in some cases, advertising.

 

Loui -

Thanks for the info. I did get a print-out with the order details, pricing and so forth except for taxes and title fees. I will call my MA and have him send me a copy of what the final balance will be w/ the taxes added. I don't think there will be any problems, but if there are, I'd rather deal with them now and not later.

Thanks again

 

anything above roughly 50 bucks, dep. on market, for a dealer prep/proc fee is pure profit.