How much did your dealers ask for as a deposit to order your car? I just want to make sure what mine is asking for is reasonable. I thought about 1% of the total cost of the car was the norm not 4-6%. Can you help me out, any input is more than welcome.

 

I had to put down a $1000 (refundable) deposit at the Boston dealership.

I think the large size of the deposits required to buy a MINI probably have something to do with the popularity of the car and the large number of potential buyers. It makes people think a bit more before actually placing an order.
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I had to send $500 deposit to the dealer in Denver (refundable) and another $500 in 90 days (then the $1000 is non-refundable).

 

$1,000 at Crevier in Santa Ana, CA. Refundable

 

I deposited $500 refundable.

 

I deposited $1,000 refundable until build date.

 

I deposited a $1,000 for an MCS with Sterling in Northern Virginia. This was refundable up until it went into production. One of my friends purchases a Cooper from Powerful and Wealthy in Pittsburgh and only had to pay a $500 deposit and the car was delivered within 6 weeks.

 

Mini of the Hamptons asked for $1,000 so I gave them my credit card number. They never charged my card and I was fearful they'd sell the car out from under me. Instead, my salesguy told me he trusted me and there were no concerns.

 

jbing,
$1k is enough!

If it's an order, they'll settle for it, as you could place the order with anyone with a $1k down. The only reason some Motoring Advisor is asking for more is because they 're going to deposit your check & collect a little sad interest in the meantime (perhaps?).

Important: Remember to get in writing the price you are going to pay for your MINI.
Note too, your refundable deposit will be deducted from this amount at time of delivery/purchase.

Congrats, welcome & good luck!
-s.b.

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MINI: Best horse for the buck!

 

$500 on my VISA at the order date, refundable until the build date, applied to the final bottom line.

 

when the MINI's first hit the market in 2002, after my test drive, the deposit was $1k to be put on the list, $2K to order the car. After my test drive, I put down $2K deposit and received delivery 3 weeks later....seemed fair at the time. It was refundable if I changed my mind.

 

>>How much did your dealers ask for as a deposit to order your car? I just want to make sure what mine is asking for is reasonable. I thought about 1% of the total cost of the car was the norm not 4-6%. Can you help me out, any input is more than welcome.

 

$1,000 in Irvine and at most other southern california dealerships...refundable, though some of the incompetent salespeople will try to tell you otherwise...

 

Philadelphia. $500 fully refundable.

 

at MINI North Scottsdale (Phoenix): $1,000 when adding name to the waiting list (to weed out those who are serious from those who are not), then another $1,000 upon ordering. I believe that the first $1K was fully refundable, no questions asked. I'm not sure about the second $1K, but I'd bet that it's probably refundable as well, since they seem to have no shortage of buyers.

 

When I placed my order in March 2002 I put down a deposit of $1,000.
The reason for the higher than normal deposit I think is that it provides the dealer with a higher expectation of you actually going through with the deal. AS a business owner myself I can certainly understand the dealers position. Legally I believe in most states, the dealer is required to refund your deposit if you decide to pull out of the deal within a certain period of time, which probably varies from state to state.

 

2002 Cooper CVT = $500 fully refundable deposit
2004 MCS = $0 deposit (Waived) because this is the second car bought in less than a year from the same dealership

 

Thanks so much for your input, I feel much about about the $1,000 deposit my dealer is asking for.

It looks like an 8 month wait for my MCS, at least that is what I was told. I am looking forward to being able to take advantage of the MY04 changes though with the Cordoba Beige leather sport seats, rear fog lights, shark fin antenna, and the MP3 compatible stereo. Eight months won't go fast enough.

Thanks again for your input.

 

>>Thanks so much for your input, I feel much about about the $1,000 deposit my dealer is asking for.
>>
>>It looks like an 8 month wait for my MCS, at least that is what I was told. I am looking forward to being able to take advantage of the MY04 changes though with the Cordoba Beige leather sport seats, rear fog lights, shark fin antenna, and the MP3 compatible stereo. Eight months won't go fast enough.
>>

The shark fin antenna is part of the NAV system, it is not a stand-alone item. As for the MP3 compatible stereo, most of the MY 03 cars have it. I just had the aux kit installed in Peanut and it's great! I don't believe that there are any changes in the stereo for MY 04, so you will still have to get the aux kit just like I did.

 

$500 refundable with Lauderdale MINI for 2004 MCS

 

MINI S 2002 Nashville $500 on a credit card number. I told them that was what I was willing to do and no over MSRP or add on. They agreed, plus they never charged the card :smile: Good folks.. Service department is first class oll the way.

Motor on

 

$1,000.00 at Crevier in Santa Ana. In California, there is no such thing as a non-refundable deposit on an automobile. You can get your money back at any time up to actually taking delivery of your car, even if the dealer as ordered the most hideous combination of colors and options and done extensive after market modifications. They could sue you in court however if they can prove they lost money (they must be able to prove their damages) due to the car being such an albatross. However, with the courts being so consumer friendly most dealers just chalk it up to the cost of doing business and move on.

 

San Antonio MINI Center asked for a $500 deposit!

 

When I said to the salesman lets write up te sales order. He asked what kind of deposit I wanted to make. Then he said we require a $1000 deposit. I hesitated for a minute, I was actually doing some math in my head, I wanted my deposit to be enough so that when I sold my Mustang GT I could just use that money to pay off the Mini when I picked it up. The sales man quickly chimed in while I was thinking that he could accept $500. I replied how about $5000 he seemd agreeable.

Now I have 25 days left to sell the Mustang.

 

well, my first MINI I left a $500 deposit. However this one I'm waiting for now, since I'm a repeat customer, they didn't ask for anything down, which is cool.