Any ideas for MINI's reason for cutbacks in production numbers?

 

Hopefully so they don't become like the new beetle or pt cruiser.

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02 mini cooper s, pure silver, black top and bonnet stripes, prem and sport packages, 17" wheels

 

My dealer had no explaination. They were just told of the allocation reduction, with no additional information.

 

Supply and demand??
Less supply X increasing demand + BMW = Price increase??

 

Hmmmmm.....at Thanksgiving, my sister mentioned reading a little item in the Arizona Republic newspaper stating that BMW/MINI was planning to scale BACK production to keep the MINI scarce and, I believe it said, more desirable!

I scoffed at the time, but now I'm not so sure...

 

>>Hopefully so they don't become like the new beetle or pt cruiser.
>>


AMEN! I feel for those of you still waiting (I "did my time" too!) but I would rather see them keep production limited than see the MINI turn into a "has been" overnight.

 

>>Supply and demand??
>>Less supply X increasing demand + BMW = Price increase??
>>

This is oh so true...but at least my Mini dealer is selling mine to me at MSRP...

My mom was looking at PT's when they first came out, online MSRP for hers was like $19000, the dealer wanted $25000 for one similarly equipped minus a few things!!!

 

Less is more
More or less.
Buzz

 

Here's the thing I find interesting. Let's assume I'm a BMW Dealer. I invest possibly millions in starting a Mini dealership (building, service area, upgrades, training, marketing, insurance, etc.). How many Mini's do I need to sell to recoup the investment? And, under my agreement with Mini, am I guaranteed a certain number per year, or is it completely up to Mini and BMW how many I get? There has to be some assurance from Mini that I'll be able to make some money on the product.

I also wonder if allocation is dependent upon customer satisfaction? I've seen some of the comments and ratings of a few dealers on this site, and there are some that just seem clueless as to how to treat customers. Why allow them the same allocation as dealers that are enhancing the Mini reputation.


Just some random thoughts.

 

I've wondered about that myself. I wonder if some dealers are banking on making more money when MINI owners go to buy a new car and maybe trade up to a Beemer instead of a MINI. Seems like some dealers that don't sound very customer satisfaction driven would be more worried about customer satisfaction.

 

>>Supply and demand??
>>Less supply X increasing demand + BMW = Price increase??
>>

Although mine was delayed the price is still straight MSRP - but maybe someone ordering one in the future won't be so lucky. If it's a tactic to keep the MINI scarce and in high-demand, well then I'm all for it. Trying to be different makes you the same as everyone - but waiting a year and a half for your MINI makes you unique (as well as crazy, morose at times, po'd, jealous, etc.)

 

If dealers are thinking that they are going to "grow" their customers into a bigger car, they may be on the wrong track. I'm at a point in life where I have a minivan due to family needs, but wanted a fun car to drive that wouldn't break the bank. I'm not sure that anyone that buys a Mini will necessarily "outgrow" the car, because it's just so much fun. Maybe some customers will migrate to other BMW products, but then you have to assume they're also going to look at Lexus, Mercedes, and other comparable models.

I agree with you, though, that dealers focused only on increasing revenues now, and not on customer service, are going to suffer in the long run. People that want a Mini are willing to cross state and regional lines to get one. The only problem is that if allocations are cut, wait times go up at the good dealers.

 

And PDX, as my wife called me while I waited....it makes us kind of pathetic (in a good way, of course). My friends couldn't believe how long I waited for the car, that I knew which ship it came over on, etc. That does tend to bond you to the brand.

 

Schomp MINI in Denver tells me they already have deliverd 300 MINIs. That is the same 300 cars, the MINI promised to deliver in the first year they had the dealership. Thus, MINI is ahead of it's initial commitment to the U.S. dealerships as I see it.

Not in this case. Schomp has had consistently high ratings and still is only allocated 6 Cooper S builds per month. Everything I have heard about this indicates it is a MINI international decision to cut back on the U.S. allocations to all the dealerships.

 

I think both of you (MIMiniDrive and jimmer0) make some very good points. To my best understanding, the dealers fought really hard to become MINI dealers in the first place. There were obviously more reasons to become a MINI dealer than just to sell MINIs - I think primarily it was to attract more people to their showroom - with the hopes of snagging them as long-term customers.

They certainly should be focused on customer service from the outset if they expect their investment to pay off.

As for the numbers of cars, I'm sure the dealers knew what minimums they needed to make everything work out. I also imagine that, since BMW has historically had some of the highest profit/car ratio (not to mention bugeoning sales), that they have a little more safety cushion to work with than a lot of other types of dealerships.

 

It'll become another MINI, and hopefully an AWD!

 

>>Hmmmmm.....at Thanksgiving, my sister mentioned reading a little item in the Arizona Republic newspaper stating that BMW/MINI was planning to scale BACK production to keep the MINI scarce and, I believe it said, more desirable!
>>
>>I scoffed at the time, but now I'm not so sure...

No offense, but that's bull. Every MINI sold = $$$ in BMW's pockets. I think poor dealership training, both sales persons and service techs, are part of the reason. It's not that BMW wants to scale back, they have to until more of the bugs are worked out of the dealerships, the cars, and out of the supply lines (I hear their's a big lag-time for parts availability).

 

I'm not going to go in and trade my MCS for a BMW anytime soon, but the first BMW showroom I ever wandered through was Rasmussen BMW in Portland when I was going to Rasmussen MINI. Now that I'm a little spoiled by the BMW fit and finish on the MINI, I'd be more likely to buy a BMW at some point.

Yeah, maybe an M3 if I win the lottery!

 

>>>>
>> I suspect this is true. After I gave my dealer a (quite deservedly) abysmal rating in the satisfaction survey, I got a rather nasty voice message from him that included a comment about how much this "really hurt" them.

 

I'm happy with my MC, but when I had it serviced at Morristown MINI last week, I wandered around the "Pre-Owned" Beemer showroom looking at M3's and M5's and whatever else was there. I can see the marketing pull (or conspiracy if you will) of having the two brands close.

 

Maybe they are cutting back production because they are concerned about quality, and the fact that even if there are relatively few, or, more likely, an average number, of bad builds or design flaws, they are concerned about tightening up production. After all, look at what two bad transmissions produced in terms of feedback here. 4000 MCO members, and how many owners? If it is half, we represent 10% of MINI owners in the US. And we all know, instantly, every time someone has a problem. That has probably never happened in the history of a new model introduction (the New Beetle, maybe; that was '98, so it would be have usenet and fairly serious computer people; now, web usage is much more casual and accessible).

So there is a coolant leak, and the MINI network gets, what, 500 calls the next day? Think of the brand positioning they were after. They planned on the enthusiasm, but I am sure the marketing and bean counter people undershot what they would need to provide when they ended up with a problem. Or three (coolant, latch, cold start). We are watching them, all the time. And they are watching us watch them. They watch potential owners scour the country for better deals, get detailed information from other owners, good and bad. It doesn't necessarily scare them, but it does, finally, give us some latitude to hold them accountable.

If MCO starts generating revenue, they could start building all kinds of tool that could seriously impac the brand management (a reverse auction for potential buyers to provide feedback on if there is any over MSRP interest left; a registry that is independent of MINI that would price and track resale value to a much more precise degree). The only reason the SoCAL dealers are still getting away with over MSRP is because they are probably some of the hightest ranking BMW dealers, so they have more leverage.

And, lastly, again, BMW ain't losing money. Every major repair job on this car, at the dealer, will likely run 3-5% of sticker. The MINI owners are probably in two camps: those who will flip them in a year, and those who will hold on for 200,000 mi. Either way, this car will stick around like a Beetle, and $50K worth of servicing on a $20K sale is good bidness.

 

well . . . U.S. auto sales fell 13% from Nov 2001 to Nov 2002. But Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's sales jumped 25% "thanks to its new Mini line of compact cars." (Wall Street Journal, 12/4/2002)

I reckon BMW used a penetration pricing strategy to introduce the Mini, i.e., they priced it low to "get it out there." So now that the BUZZ is on they will probably limit production a la Nike Air Jordans. It will be interesting to see what happens to pricing in the future.

BUZZ: its like a popular restaurant: people wait for hours for a table--supply and demand suggests they should raise prices, but there's a benefit to the restaurant in being viewed as a "happening place." (Of course you sell more booze while people wait . . .)

VELVET RED MINI COOPER/Black Roof/ALL OPTIONS/RALLY LIGHTS . . .
(Coolest car I've ever owned, and I'm an old guy.)

 

No one here has pointed out the fact that the US isn't the only place that MINIs are sold. I remember someone from Holland on MCO lamenting how he has to wait 18 months for his MINI!

As someone already pointed out, MINI has already shipped more cars to the US than it had planned. Maybe they just need to produce some MINIs for other parts of the world?

If that happens to keep demand strong and bolster the cars exclusivity in the States, then that's probably just a bonus as far as BMW Group is concerned.

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::Hermione - Indi Blue/White/White MCS, All 3 packages::

 

Supply and demand. Basic. They don't want a PT Cruiser
or a Beetle on their hands. I thought it was common knowledge
that production was going to be limited. VW and Chrsyler
overproduced 'em and now they can't give 'em away.
You will never see a Mini with 0% financing even if it takes
production cuts. American automakers are schmucks.
The only one who knew business was Lee Iacocca.
"People want economy and they will pay any price to get it." L.I.

 

I was told that dealer allocations were reduced because of the opening of new dealerships in Texas. :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: