Hello all. Newbie here, and I am considering an 06 MCS purchase new at the closest dealer to me. They are marking up the MCS $595 above MSRP. Is that a good deal these days? The salesguy was quick to point out that California dealers are still marking up in the $1500 range. BTW, I am in Seattle, Washington.

 

LIES LIES LIES!

There are plenty of west coast dealers that sell at MRSP/Sticker. Even a few in California that sell at MSRP/Sticker

If you can not find one locally then try looking to the east coast or midwest say Dryer and Reinbold. They will sell at MSRP and then you can do the breakin on the way home!

 

When I bought my MINI, the CA dealers were marking them up $1500 but adding a few trinkets that they said were worth about $500, things like sun shield, locking lug nuts, floor and boot mats, etc. Thus, the actual markup was about $1000...according to the dealers.

 

I had this similiar question when I put my small deposit down to be on the wait list at Northwest MINI. This was a couple of months back; two weeks ago, I cancelled my spot on the list and got my deposit back. I sent my specs to several dealers and all were selling at MSRP. The wait times varied, as did their "dealer fees." Some of these fees approached the markup at Northwest MINI. Anyway, after cancelling and checking around...I opted to order from the east coast and to have the car shipped back to Tacoma via train and truck; it all comes out to be a little less than what I would've paid if I ordered from Northwest MINI. And there won't be a LONG wait time. I should have my MCS by end-May/early-June.

Anyway, welcome to NAM!

 

Thank you for the comments and the welcome. Another thing I could not believe is the sales person at northwest MINI said that from the date I would place my order, it woulld take 9-12 months for delivery! That seems outrageous to me! Maybe I will look around on this board to find other dealers around the country.

 

Greetings from Patrick MINI in Schaumburg, Illinois. We sell at sticker and have competitive pampered shipping available or you can plan your own "motoring roadtrip" to break-in the new MINI in proper motoring fashion.

 

9 to 12 months after officially placing the order? Wow! This wasn't what was expressed to me recently at Northwest MINI. Nevertheless, check around; there are a lot of other places that actually have inventory on their lots, as well as be willing to work with you building to your specifications. For me, it was a toss up between MINI of the Hamptons in NY and MINI of Murray in SLC. Ultimately, I went with MINI of the Hamptons.

Anyway, good luck with it!

Curious, though: What do you have in mind for ordering?

 

I would order an MCS with leatherette sport seats, HK sound, manual transmission, cruise steering wheel, 16 inch runflats with the BBS-style wheels, and that's about it. Maybe a bonnet stripe as well.

 

This is what happens when the "monopoly" thing comes in to play. I am really surprised that WA still only has 1 dealer. You would think that Lynnwood and Puyallup, being the car Meccas that they are, would have a MINI dealer by now. Something going on behind the scenes?

 

I ordered my Mini in NC on Feb 22. MA called me today and said it arrived today! That's just over a month. I would look into calling an east coast dealer near a port (NYC, Baltimore, Charleston) and have them ship it by truck (or you could fly out to get it and bereak it in driving it back!).

 

My offer was around $600 - $700 over invoice (with the invoice price calculated with options I wanted added in) plus dest/hand, plus goofy doc/admin fee.

Dealer countered with just couple hundred under MSRP, plus d/h, plus some goofy admin/doc fee with some mats thrown in.

I'm in CA and dealer in mid-west, so I was looking at a few hundred dollars to get to the car, though I travel for pleasure that way several times a year and would have made the trip one of my pleasure road trips.

But the price was not enough under MSRP and I declined. Toyed with the idea of targeting say 4 to 6 dealers by FAX with an offer to by the car (as I spec it and when it arrives as ordered) for lowest price under MSRP plus D/H. (If dealer wants to add doc fee/admin fee, he'll have to include it in the price, no tacking it on as an "afterthought"...), but I'm fast talking myself out of wanting a MINI...

I'm thinking prices are going to come down. I've been following some used MINIs here and I've watched on a BMW used car lot drop thousands of dollars in price and still (as of today the ad's still running) not sell. Other used MINI ads run and run too. I'm clipping them out of the paper and building a file..

The number of people who'll pay over MSRP and even MSRP (and nearly MSRP for a used one) all just about have their MINIs. Pretty soon, MINI's going to have to deal with the rest of us... if it wants to continue selling cars.

Sincerely,

RockC.

 

Contact some of the vendors from this site and you'll be treated fairly. Classis MINI can't be beat, but there are others as well that will sell for MSRP plus throw in some worthwhile goodies. I'm not talking about the "fabric treatment" and "paint protector" that some add on. Classic even has a bunch of MINI's on their lot right now, give them a call.

 

Look up Classic MINI in Ohio. I bought mine there in May 04 for $300 under MSRP and they threw in at least $200 worth of free stuff.

 

Generally with the west coast dealers, you either pay over MSRP and get a short wait time, or pay MSRP and get a long wait time. NW MINI sounds the worst with a long wait time and markup. If you aren't in a rush, you can go to Rasmussen in Portland, OR and pay MSRP with a 9 month wait. If you must have it now and at MSRP, then you are stuck with ordering from a dealer fair away.

 

Also, the dealer I went to yesterday said that they mark up the non-S MINI by $395 and said there is a six month wait for those.

I don't know about buying from an east coast dealer or even Classic MINI, because I have a trade-in. I don't have the time to drive both ways. )-:

 

MINIs still getting mark-ups? How 2002! Oh well it's good for our resale values, anyway! haha Jimbo

(ps seriously the fact that some folks are starting to get meager discounts suggests the markups will soon go the way of the dinosaur. And I have to hand it to the poster who offered a dealer 6-7 hundred above invoice: that takes some cahunas, dude! )

 

All markups are negotiable, I used to sell 'Vettes and the greedy dealer tacked on 5K for standard, 10K for Z06. Folks rarely paid them, maybe a few k for a Z06 because they're more limited in numbers. Tell them U will pay MSRP and no more, and they should acquiese to get your business. there's no excuse for any dealer who makes their customers wait 9 months for a car to charge a markup.

As far as doc fees go, that's another story, but know that the mandatory destination charge one pays is from the factory to the consumer, not factory to the dealer. This includes most of the charges related to ********, paperwork, and delivery. All so-called "doc" fees are just markups in another guise, for dealers do not make their money on new cars. Yet the dealer I bought my MCS from has no such charges, never has for the last 65 years. I paid MSRP, and that's it, man. Jimbo