I went out of state like many others to avoid the $1000-$2500 dealer mark-up on new Mini Cooper S models. If you did, please share your story and negotiating
and purchasing techniques !!!!! (You know, went in last day of the month 1/2 an hour before they closed, blah, blah, blah...)

 

Is there such a thing paying below MSRP for Mini Cooper S?

 

You will be hard pressed to find a dealership selling an S below MSRP. I got mine at East Bay Mini for MSRP and no other junk add on fees. The down side was the 10 month wait...

 

Yup, East Bay MINI was the only one I found that sold at MSRP. When I went to get my MINI, they quoted me a 11-12 month wait (this was in Feb) so I decided to suck up the $2500 mark up and go to MINI of Mountain View where the wait was 3-4 month.

 

If you're willing to consider buying out of state with a great dealer (Classic Mini) and have your car shipped to CA, talk to Chief Charlie about the latest group buy from Classic. Sometimes they have specials for below msrp, a don't charge any bs fees. You can also get a group shipping rate through Concours Shipping if a bunch of people are ordering cars. We bought our car out of state through Classic and the entire process was 10x better than I've come to expect from a car dealer.

 

If you are on the west coast and buying a MINI of any sort with factory options only in stock then forget about MSRP and be willing to spend beyond that price.

If you are willing to wait something in the 10 month range then you can order a MINI to your specs and get it at MSRP at some dealerships like Long Beach.

Even if you are willing to go out of state and pick up a MINI at MSRP at Classic or Mini of the Hamptons you still need to pay anywhere from $500 to $900+ to ship the car or drive it back to your home (add airfare for you one way and expenses for the trip).

If you are looking for a bargain look for a used MINI in good condition and you might get a slight discount. I'd stay away from demo MINIs from the dealership as they tend to be driven hard from the start and not really do a proper breakin period.

Look in marketplace on NAM for a few good MINIs for sale used.

Supply is very low and demand is still very high. Not much in stock at most places selling near MSRP.

 

We live near Mini of Mt View... SO ordered in March through Classic in Ohio for $500 under MSRP: received car May 8th and IT ROCKS.

 

i bought mine out of state, waited 6 weeks, saved $2500-$5500 (depending on the dealer) even with the $99 airfare and $180 in gas and 3 day drive. well worth it!! the drive from the south east was wonderful.

 

Classic is no longer offering the $500 discount. Average shipping now for covered carrier is $1300 from Ohio to West Coast.

 

Join the miitary, and get stationed in Germany. Get it at $1750 below MSRP that way! Hehe. Not very practical huh??

 

Got mine from Classic in a NAM ultimate group buy and it was the ultimate way to get a MINI.

Order on March 1st and picked up the car on May 8th. Received a discount of $500.00 below MSRP and 20% off on all accessories (est. savings on the accessories was $ 900.00). Shipping was $875.00. Total cost of the car = accessories+ shipping was just over $ 28,000. I estimate the same car would have cost $31,000 if I purchased it from a California dealer and would have waited months and months for a order with one of the few dealers not ripping customers off with the markup.

I understand that Classic is doing another group buy, might not get the $500.00 below MSRP but you would get the car for MSRP and most likely $$ off of the accessories. Besides that Julie Saxa at Classic is in my opinion the #1 MINI MA in the world! She’ll take great care of you. Just take a look at the dealer rating system and you’ll see all kinds of great posts about Julie and classic. If I am ever in the market for a MINI again I’ll be calling Julie to place my order.

 

>>Got mine from Classic in a NAM ultimate group buy and it was the ultimate way to get a MINI.
>>
>>Order on March 1st and picked up the car on May 8th. Received a discount of $500.00 below MSRP and 20% off on all accessories (est. savings on the accessories was $ 900.00). Shipping was $875.00. Total cost of the car = accessories+ shipping was just over $ 28,000. I estimate the same car would have cost $31,000 if I purchased it from a California dealer and would have waited months and months for a order with one of the few dealers not ripping customers off with the markup.
>>
>>I understand that Classic is doing another group buy, might not get the $500.00 below MSRP but you would get the car for MSRP and most likely $$ off of the accessories. Besides that Julie Saxa at Classic is in my opinion the #1 MINI MA in the world! She’ll take great care of you. Just take a look at the dealer rating system and you’ll see all kinds of great posts about Julie and classic. If I am ever in the market for a MINI again I’ll be calling Julie to place my order.
>>

What accessories/extras did you get for $8,000?

 

" Total cost of the car = accessories+ shipping was just over $ 28,000"


OUCH!!! For a MINI?

 

A very nice MINI.

$4200 in accessories-

Areo kit
White tail lights
SSR Comps
misc other unnessasary bits.

 

Don't forget, the money spent on shipping and accessories does not get included in your CA state sales tax or registration. So yes, you have to pay shipping costs, it still costs less than the dealer mark ups or dealer add ons found at many CA MINI dealers.

Getting mine from Julie at Classic, should arrive within the next week!
Shelly

 

My experience with Mini of the Hamptons was well beyond my expectations. Faxed my specs and placed my order on January 7, arrived at MOTH February 14, JCW kit and Mini alarm installed February 17. No hassle with paperwork, FedEx is wonderful. No pricing surprises, just a very clean, straight forward, honest dealer.
Shipped to SoCal by train which met up with bad weather and a delay or two making this last leg of the journey very looooooooooong. Arrived here March 12, with two other MOTH Minis, in excellent condition; a bit dusty and some evidence of the bad weather, but nevertheless in excellent condition and happy to be home. The transport agent has had tremendous experience shipping Minis from the east coast.
I will definitely buy from MOTH when the time comes for the second Mini and ship it home by train.
:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

Did mini of the hamptons give it to you below sticker? If so how much below?

 

Considering all the bad things that have been posted on this site about BRG jobs, their market value should be dropping like a stone. while some might think that is good for pricing one of the awful machines, buyer beware.....they be slow and ugly and very, very green.....

 

They usually get overlooked, but Mini of Murray in Salt Lake City sells at MSRP and are obviously closer than the east coast dealers. I bought mine from Murray, and the wait was 3 1/2 months. Great experience, great people. One way plane ticket from LAX was $92, Debbie from Murray picked me up at the SLC airport. The scenic three day drive home was priceless and was a great way to get to know my new car.

 

I read about Murray in past posts about short wait times. Unfortunately, that no longer is the case according to this post.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mp;topic=25638

Portland: No mark-up, ~12 month wait
Seattle: No mark-up, 16 month wait, not taking orders until list gets shorter
Las Vegas: $2500 mark-up, 4 month wait
Phoenix: No mark-up, 7-9 month wait
Salt Lake City: No mark-up, 8 month wait
Denver: No mark-up, 10-12 month wait

 

MOTH gave me a great deal. Basically MSRP except they worked the numbers so I got free leather. So basiocally that's $1,300 BELOW msrp. No train trip though, at least for the car. My train trip was just 90 miles to pick up.

 

>>Considering all the bad things that have been posted on this site about BRG jobs, their market value should be dropping like a stone. while some might think that is good for pricing one of the awful machines, buyer beware.....they be slow and ugly and very, very green.....
The BRG is only about $100/6 months for insurance... must be because it SO much slower and hence SAFER...

 

I am working with Moritz Mini in TX, they have been doing a good job and they have no mark up and only the standar 3ish moth wait. They aren't chargeing any bogus fees either. I have been very pleased with them thus far. I will pick up in early July and we will see how things work out when I am there signing the papers.

 

>>Considering all the bad things that have been posted on this site about BRG jobs, their market value should be dropping like a stone. while some might think that is good for pricing one of the awful machines, buyer beware.....they be slow and ugly and very, very green.....

Not sure what pocketrocketowner is complaining about when he says BRG’s are bad cars. Mine is very cool looking and fast. They either made some drastic changes for the ’04 models or he has a lemon, actually it would be a lime considering it’s green. LOL