There was a new GP for auction on Ebay by a St. Louis dealer with a delivery in New Jersey.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

The best it could do was $32,250. This is only $50 above MSRP plus the $800 for the New Jersey event. Is it looking like the interest in these cars is not as great as the dealers think? I know that Classic plans to charge $35,000 for their units. If the best one of the first 80 units can fetch on Ebay is MSRP, what makes the dealers think this markup can be supported?

 

the market is in a weird spot right now. people are unsure whether the new car will be a bigger hit or whether the current ones will be instant classics.

 

Why no Recaro seats in the American version? Anyone have any insight?

 

One word ... airbags

 

people that hunt ebay are looking for deals, not what the dealer is going to charge them.

 

Another JCW GP put up by MINI St. Louis and it didn't even hit the MSRP. There are waiting lists at dealers for these cars and no one is even bidding on these on Ebay. Hmmm.....Good luck to those dealers that want above MSRP.

 

It just might be the seats or lack thereof.

 

I thought about one of these cars but 1) Wasn't going to pay over MSRP and 2) Turbo '07. I don't think the GP cars will hang with an '07 w/ suspension mods, new downpipe, and custom ecu tune.

 

Not necessarily so. I have seen many one-of-a-kind cars sold on ebay go for prime dollar. (I had a brother-in-law recently try to buy a mint '59 Caddy that went for over $90K in great ebay bidding war!) If someone is looking to buy a GP and can't get one from a dealer because they are all pre-sold, then the next place to look these days is ebay. Obviously the interest isn't there or it would have sold.

I agree with some of the posts here where the market is soft right now on vehicle purchases, and I'm sure some are thinking, "Why buy this GP for lots of $$$ when you order what you want for less?" Unless someone REALLY has to have a GP and has deep pockets, they'll buy to be the first kid on the block with the new toy. Plus, I think the '07 have more to offer than this '06 GP, other than being a collector car.

 

You are correct on that. the 61 Caddy (running! and w/ AC) in my garage will surely be hitting ebay soon, but we already know that it is a rare car and will fetch a premium price.

as for regular ole MINIs... dime a dozen and it's almost cheaper to get exactly what you want from the dealer.