My wife and I have been thinking about buying a new Mini for a while. We're just starting to do some research. I think we have decided on the Mini S, and she insists on getting a manual transmission since it will be her car. We went and test drove a couple today and liked them a lot. We didn't talk prices at the dealer, but they had a $995 markup on the sticker. I could never bring myself to pay over MSRP for a car, but are people getting deals under MSRP?

Thanks!
Bill

 

P&W MINI is Pittsburgh gives $500.00 off MSRp, Free racing stripes and free mats!

Talk to Graham or John

 

i been trying ot get t their website all weekend but its nto working

 

That's sounds like a good deal, but unfortunatly I forgot to mention I am in the San Franciso Bay area.

 

When I bought my 2005 MINI new in the Bay Area, SF MINI and Mountain View MINI wanted $3500 over MSRP. East Bay MINI would sell at MSRP but it was a 10-12 month wait. So I bought my MINI at Classic MINI at MSRP (3 month wait) in Ohio and drove it back to California. It was a blast.

I would imagine it will be difficult to find a new MINI in the Bay Area at MSRP let alone under.

 

I believe they are at MSRP, good people too.

 

Shop around, you have 4 local dealers to try, the mark up and delivery time varies, or you try out of state as mentioned. Eventually it comes down to cost vs convenience, I was dead against paying over MSRP but given the choice of $500 or waiting a few months or going out of state I went for it.

Once you've done it once, its east, MINI of Mountain View will do MSRP for returning customers.

 

A road trip would be fun, but we just couldn't pull that off anytime soon. We test drove at Concord Mini, but I bought my BMW at East Bay last year, so "maybe" they would cut me some slack down there. I tried the Costco auto buying service, but they told me Mini refuses to offer them any deals either. Oh, Concord told me if I ordered one. That's what I was expecting, so that would work for us.

 

I agree about not paying more than list. Check out Roadshow in Memphis. It's possible you could get enough off list to have the MINI shipped to you and still save over buying locally.

 

Thanks for all the tips guys! We are still in the beginning stages, but I'll let you know how it works out.

A little off topic, I was surprised to see the only thing that covers the sunroof id the mesh screen. That seems like it would let the car get really hot in the sun. It got hot just on our test drive. Do you guys have a problem with that, or is there a good solution (other than no sunroof)?

 

I know initially, MINIs were going for more than MSRP in California, I do not know about now. Traditionally, MINI dealers worked like Saturn dealers...you pay the MSRP posted on the car. Both MINI dealers in Atlanta work that way.

As far as your sun roof issue, just have it tinted, that works great in cutting out the heat.

 

Mini of Concord is MSRP and not far from you at all. I have read of only a few negatives experiences but have always been treated great there!

SF on the other hand, been there five times and walked out empty handed and frustrated every time.

 

FYI: I purchased my wife's Mini through Long Beach BMW-Mini in Long Beach California and they offer ALL Minis at MSRP whether they are in stock or you order one. They offer great service and a good selection and as soon as our Lexus IS250 comes off lease in two months we're ordering her another new Cooper S through them as well.

Matt Limburg is my contact there.

Mel

2006 Full Factory JCW Cooper S Convertible, Sport Pkg, Premium Pkg, Convenience Pkg, Leather, Exterior Carbon Fiber Pkg, Zenons, LSD, TSW 18" Wheels, etc.

 

Thanks again for the info! Concord Mini is where I test drove. I didn't talk price with them, but they did have a $995 markup on the window sticker. I would imagine I could get them to remove that, but it sounds like MSRP is about as good as it gets in my area.

I thought about tinting the sunroof (when the time comes). Either that or I will just skip the sunroof altogether.

Maybe we'll check them out again this weekend. My wife is still trying to decide what she likes. We drove the S with the sport suspension, and she thought it was a little harsh (I liked it). She wants to try one with the regular suspension. We would have done that last time, but they were closing soon.

 

I know here in SoCal the sunroof option is highly desirable especially for future resale value. Before I bought my 2006 JCW S I looked at several very clean low mileage Minis but passed on them because they didn't have the options I wanted, including the sunroof.

When I had a 2003 Coupe I had the sunroof open almost everyday and really got allot of pleasure out of it... now that I have the Convertible I usually have the top down at least once a day.

My wife's buying a new S within the next few months and she's getting the sunroof with the Premium and Sport packages.

 

No problem, however I stand corrected. I was just in Mini of Concord for a service today and go to talking with one of the SA. He was telling me, they now DO charge a markup! I was very disappointed to here this. He was also telling me that ALL the dealership in North CA are now. I know SF is most likely still the highest.

You could always mention, "Oh really you are marking them up?, East Bay said they would do drop the markup and do MSRP", and see what they say?

I still like the guys over at Concord, have always found a warm welcome there although I didn't even buy from them.

While your looking at different dealers, remember to ask about loaner car policies. That is the only reason I ever regretted not buying mine from Mini of Concord. I have all my services done with them. Their policy and many others is, you only get a loaner if the car was bought from them. I have since bought a used mini so now it doesn't matter as much though.

Good luck in your search!