I agree that should BMW cheapen the MINI it will be a big mistake. But I think we should wait to see what BMW has in mind first. We have heard that their profit margin is low on the car, so I can understand them wanting to do some things to increase that. They just need to be careful what they do. The rumours I remember hearing about 8 months ago when I was buying my MINI were things that affected the looks and not performance, that would be easier to build, such as different taillights and such. I think BMW is smart enough not to ruin a good thing. (I hope?)

 

If they want to increase their profit margins then they should start making the cars available to those who want them and stop the dealers from price gouging. The actions of the dealers reflect negatively on the brand. When the MINI came out there was a group of friends - five of us - who all decided that we were going to buy one. I am the only one who followed through because of the difficulty in buying one in California - the exploitive markup, lack of availability, bad-attitude salespeople, etc. My other friends bought a PT (eeeew), a TT, a GTI, and a Lincoln (go figure) respectively. And all of them paid MSRP.

 

>>If they want to increase their profit margins then they should start making the cars available to those who want them and stop the dealers from price gouging. The actions of the dealers reflect negatively on the brand. When the MINI came out there was a group of friends - five of us - who all decided that we were going to buy one. I am the only one who followed through because of the difficulty in buying one in California - the exploitive markup, lack of availability, bad-attitude salespeople, etc. My other friends bought a PT (eeeew), a TT, a GTI, and a Lincoln (go figure) respectively. And all of them paid MSRP.


Is clearly their loss if your friends went for such mundane cars.

 

I've been worried that something like this might happen. I've always believed that BMW wanted the MINI to be an entry-level vehicle for the rest of their product line; a great handling car that was within the reach of younger buyers. In that role, I think they were willing to live with lower profit margins on the car, since they'd make that up when buyers moved up the BMW line. But I think the MINI is better than they intended.

Instead of leading buyers to its other models, I think the MINI may have pulled some buyers away from other models. Not that the MINI is better than the rest of the BMW line but, in terms of value, its a great package for the price. And, once you're driving a MINI, why would you trade up to another car in the BMW line? Maybe for more room, comfort, or ego, but not for more fun. So, they're stuck with a wildly successful car with low profit margins.

Of course, they can increase their margin by either raising the price, or lowering production costs (quality). However, if they raise the price, the MINI becomes less accessable to entry-level buyers. If they lower quality, entry level buyers will think that all BMWs are of lower quality. There is a third possibility... continue as-is! Produce a great little car at a reasonable price, and limit production. By limiting production (their current strategy) they limit the impact that the low-margin MINI has on the average margin of their product line. In this way, at least they don't alienate and drive current MINI owners away, and they will get people into their show rooms who don't want to wait a year for delivery, and may look at other BMW models (assuming the MINI/BMW dealerships are co-located).

That's just my 2 cents. We'll just have to see which way they go. Anyway, I'm glad I got my MINI while the getting is still good.

 

"Instead of leading buyers to its other models, I think the MINI may have pulled some buyers away from other models. Not that the MINI is better than the rest of the BMW line but, in terms of value, its a great package for the price. And, once you're driving a MINI, why would you trade up to another car in the BMW line?"

After the uniformly lousy customer service I've been subjected to by several MINI dealers, I will not be buying another BMW product any time soon, if ever. And I used to be a satisfied BMW customer many years ago.

Besides, BMW is headed off a cliff thanks to their abusive use of technology (eg, IDrive, servo controlled steering, etc.) and Bangle's goofy "design language".

 

I've stewed over this for a couple of days now. Forget that the price of ours on the used market might go up. Forget that I might own a limited edition classic, I choose denial. So, I believe that RG is right and this news is wrong. I join OmToast prefer being in denial.

Also, if fuel prices continue to rise or even stay the same, the market for fun rather than functional small cars will grow. Beyond the fun factor, this is a good time to have a car that isn't a potential dinosaur on the used car market. The progeny of the 1970s bulgemobile may be today's SUVs. I'll let the Hummer owners fret and maintain my denial.

 

Those "news" reports are suspiciously vague, if you ask me. I don't buy it.

I know plenty of people will disagree with me here, but I'm not so sure that it would be a terrible thing if they built a MINI with a cheaper suspension that didn't beat Ferraris through the slaloms. Offer non-power locks, windows, etc. But to replace the whole line with a lesser car would be a shame.

Resale value was the first thing that came to my mind, as well (after the BS call, that is)! :smile:

_________________
"In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." -Oscar Wilde

 

Just coz it's published doesn't mean it's true

 

I don't care what it looks like
lets be clean,the MINI is,safe,The MINI is,Fun the MINI is
BMW needs to do a ,,, reach the masses,,, kind of thing I guess
To bad finally get to buy a new car and it,s old

 

I'm surprised that everyone here is so skeptical about this.

Helmut Penke is a finance guy, while his predecessors were car guys. Under his leadership, I feel that BMW took a wrong turn and started cost cutting wherever they can. Our MINIs were designed long before Penke, and the designers spared no expenses in making it a great car. However the low profit margins just won't do for them.

The reason I jumped at the chance to buy the current generation MINI is that I do believe the feature/quality/content to price ratio is very high. BMW is either going to raise the price substantially, or reduce the cost substantially, for the next generation MINI. If you look at the latest cars, such as the new 5, Z4, and X3, traditional costly BMW features, such as a separate temp control for the front vents, have been eliminated. The X3 interior is cheapened to the point long-time BMW buyers are turned off by it. I personally believe that is the general direction BMW is going, as that is exactly what they have been doing with recent new models.

I hope BMW management can realize what a mistake this is, and make sure the next generation MINI is still a high quality, reasonable content, reasonably priced, and desirable, vehicle.

 

The new, cheaper MINI is already here. See link for details.

New MINI?

 

Whatever BMW does to increase their profit margin, they will try to sell as a new improved feature. For instance, the '05 MINI has the clock moved from above the mirror to the speedometer. Also the new 'cleaner' 3 piece dash instead of the original 5 piece. If you compare the 3 spoke steering wheel with the 2 4-way switches for cruise and audio control with the 2 spoke wheel, you know they are saving on that puppy.

I think one of the reasons i-Drive is spreading to all their cars is because it costs less than all the switches, buttons and displays you would otherwise need for those functions. With the BCC (Body Control Computer) and all the devices on a network, the switches and controls just send commands to the computer, which then sets the fan speed, air diverter, temperature, lights, radio etc..

 

>>Whatever BMW does to increase their profit margin, they will try to sell as a new improved feature. For instance, the '05 MINI has the clock moved from above the mirror to the speedometer. Also the new 'cleaner' 3 piece dash instead of the original 5 piece. If you compare the 3 spoke steering wheel with the 2 4-way switches for cruise and audio control with the 2 spoke wheel, you know they are saving on that puppy.
>>
>>I think one of the reasons i-Drive is spreading to all their cars is because it costs less than all the switches, buttons and displays you would otherwise need for those functions. With the BCC (Body Control Computer) and all the devices on a network, the switches and controls just send commands to the computer, which then sets the fan speed, air diverter, temperature, lights, radio etc..


i-drive has been the quality nemesis of BMW in recent years. I hope that this absurd gizmo doesn't make into the MINI...it will completely take away from the driving experience and would only introduce more quality related problems.


After all, isn't BMW the "Ultimate driving machine"? So why take away from the driving experience that made them so famous in the first place?


Mercedes Benz just announced this week the removal of 600 "needless" electronic functions from thier vehicles and a revamp or total elemination of their "COMMAND" onboard system, amid a storm of customer cimplaints and reliability problems. The Germans are finally coming to grips to understand that thier "overengineering" binge fest has gone damn too far,


I hope BMW follows suit too and does away with the controversial i-drive system.