I've been reading some posts about different dealer surcharges in the forums and had a question.

My salesman here in MD said that the extra $400 surcharge (basically for mats) was mandated by the factory, not the dealership. Am I getting the shaft on my order, or is there anything I can do about it?

Sucks that I'm reading all about dealerships taking orders for deliveries in April/May and we have to wait till August.

 

Is this over aznd above the price you got on the build-your-own on the website? Over MSRP? becasue I got mats, and I didn't pay more than that.

 

A full set of mats is less than $100 (rubber or carpet). The wait for an S is longer than for regular Coopers, but you might want to check other dealers. Also, there are no mandatory charges from the factory. If you want, you can have the car without mats and buy aftermarket ones.

 

$400.00 Floormats? Ouch! Bend over. You should find another dealer, check the rating system link on the left of this page.

X2

 

Sounds like BS to me. Theres no way mats are mandated by the factory....

Theres a destination and handling fee of 550 however. This is mandated. Perhaps that is what you're reffering to?

 

which dealer are you using? i paid msrp (for an mcs) at mini of towson. mats were optional. let your dealer know that you'll be calling around.

 

Funny thing about mats... I got the MINI ones, and they're 94.50, but my dealer charges like 115 for them, because if INSTALLATION! uuh, i think i can install my own floor mats, but thanks. He said they had to, so whatever. My only charge from the dealer was 300 for basically the paperwork. I've heard this varies from dealer to dealer, so maybe your 400 was part of that mark up.

ryan

 

Your dealer is flat out lying to you. Dishonest creeps. The factory/MINI would never "require" this. I wouldn't trust any vendor or contractor who lied to my face. Next thing you know they'll be telling you there's a sur-charge for the included service.

 

MINI carpet floor mats, $95.00. Paid MFSR ($24,500) for my loaded MINI Cooper S.
*** Motor On ***
Charles

 

Hi.
Just my 2 cents... There isn't a mandatory surcharge by the factory. We, here at Bill Jacobs MINI, are simply asking for MSRP... which we feel is completely fair. There is no reason to pay more than what a car is worth.

 

MINI USA and MINI CANADA have their MSRP's listed on their sights. If you are paying more than that you are paying too much. MINI North America don't charge $400 for mats, just the dealer your dealing with. I got MINI rubber mats for free with my Cooper. Shop around don't take their Bull.

 

If it were "mandatory" and "from the factory", then..... why wouldn't they just raise the MSRP and eliminate the headaches? Yep... sounds like BS to me, or quite possibly a mis-informed salesperson.

PS: Cocomats rule! http://www.cocomats.com - so glad I got 'em!

 

Bought mine at Towson also....during the deposit, wait, order, delivery process, I was adamant about the price I was promised. So when I went to pick up the car there was no mention of extras...car mats, etc. They kept their promise of MSRP.

 

Didn't pay anything extra for mine. but at $400 for floor mats, I hope they're really nice floor mats.

_________________

02 MCS ~ Sport, Aero, Rally Lights

 

I got my floor mats for FREE also! I paid $40.00 for the rubber winter ones though, not $400.00!!! It's the dealer that makes money off of every option in the book. As if the dealer isn't getting enough!

 

Rule #1 You can't buy MINI's in CA.

Judging by the absurdity of the scenario you described thejamesgang, I'm going to assume that you broke the cardinal rule of MINI motoring. I bought my MCS at the next closest dealer - Moritz in Dallas. I'm told that there's now an ethical dealer in Houston as well, which would be even closer to CA.

Moritz has a $50 fine for car buyers which, although despicable, is the lowest fine I know of in the US. Other's have been able to haggle and such but AFAIK there is no US dealer with a true policy of selling at true MSRP -- they all add at least a bogus "doc fee" or such.

I suggest you buy the car naked (the car, not you) and get your mats, graphics, accessories and such from Classic MINI. They are a genuine MINI dealership, cars and all -- not an aftermarket supplier but they mark down all parts by 20% or more. For example, my carpet floor mats were $68 and the roof decal was $129.

 

Earlier in my post, i said i paid 300 for processing, but it was actually 400, so maybe your 400 was similar to that kinda fee, and they just called it floor mats, which would be a lot cooler than my deal, because i just had a flat out 400 dollar fee for processing and still had to get my floor mats, separately.

also, the dealers can charge whatever they want for the MINI accessories.

Ryan

 

The salesman added the $400 to the bottom of our order sheet and said it was for floormats, etc. He may have been talking about paperwork and other stuff, but said that they "had to" do it. He also said that the factory was slowly reducing this fee so that it may dissappear altogether, but he never said it was a dealer fee.
Maybe I misunderstood him, maybe I didn't ask the right questions, but if all of you don't have to pay this so called mat fee, maybe we should look around and go to another dealership.

 

Name names, mate...we're all friends here. :smile: What dealership?

 

Maybe he's getting a set of these new hand-woven silk mats. Goes with any interior.

 

Tate Mini of Annapolis

 

As the late public address announcer at Oriole Park at Camden Yards would say...Thank Yoooouuuuu!

 

Sit on your carpets- make a wish and you won't need gas...or a Mini.

 

What is that supposed to mean?

 

Are you sure the "mats" your talking about isn't short for metalic paint because thats a $400.00 option. I paid under a $100 for my Mini floor mats.