If you feel the need to laugh, please laugh with me & not at me, ok?

I really, really do NOT want run-flats. Would it be absurd or insulting to negotiate the price of my MC/MCS (haven't decided) if I were to NOT take delivery of the actual tires but asked the dealership to install new tires that I purchase elsewhere onto the MINI rims? Speaking of the MINI rims, I'd like to have a set of rims that aren't offered by MINI...do you think asking to have my pre-mounted wheels/rims swapped out for the run-flats/MINI rims be a bit much?

Does anyone know the MSRP for the wheels/rims? What about the Dealer cost for the wheels/rims?

How much wiggle room is there when it comes to negotiating purchase price with a dealership?

What kind of "extended warranty" should I get/avoid?

Any & all advice is very much appreciated.

 

It seems to depend on where in the country you are. Some places are MSRP only, some are MSRP+. Some are beginning to introduce slight discounts. Why not just buy as is and then go to the tire store and get them switched - why complicate the purchase process? I doubt many dealers are going to be interested in negotiating this. Just my opinion.

 

I agree..depends on what part of the country you are in. I bought in Portland OR at MSRP no haggle or anything....but sounds to me like the best bet would be to find the wheels and tires you want to buy them or go to Tire Rack and have them shipped to you and then switch them out. Alot of people here have had excellent luck with Tire Rack. Good luck!

 

Wiggle room??? none sorry to break it to you. Everyone seems to say the same thing theres the price take it or leave it.

 

Well, the dealer will likely be happy to sell you non-runflats from thier own stock, but they will not likely oblige to lower the cost of the car AND install someone elses tires.....In fact they are not likely to install tires purchased elsewhere at all without a whine....and thier labor rate to mount and balance those puppys will stun you.....they will charge at least $100 to mount and balance those tires you purchased down the road

Your best bet is to just negotiate on the car....maybe get a $500 discount depending on inventory and when thier 07 come in and get your tires at the tire store, take your brand new runflats and sell them on ebay

 

Reality is that the car has to be delivered with wheels and tires. It's a mobility thing.
If you get an MC, you can get 15" wheels which do not come with runflats.
LOTS of people have the dealership install aftermarket tire/wheel combos on their car. It'll cost you though. If you want to sell your take-offs, there's a market. You can get anywhere from $300-1200 depending on the combo and the desperation of the buyer. I wouldn't expect more than $6-700 for 17", $4-500 for 16".
Negotiating depends on your locale. In the SF Bay Area, MoMV is still charging $1500 over MSRP.
Good luck!

 

Wiggle room?



My best advice is to just get the run flats, use them up, then buy your new tires when you need to. I doubt any dealer is going to give you a price break on items you want them to install, that in their opinion, they are already providing to you.

 

Everything and anything is negotiable. It may not be to the extent you would like but regardless, what harm does it do to try? Be upfront and ask the questions but be prepared to listen to what others say as well regarding taking delivery and selling the wheels and tires yourself.

Not sure if you saw that MINI of the Hamptons is offering free shipping and $250 discounts right now. It doesn't sound like much but for a MINI it's not bad at all. Shop around, ask a lot of questions but don't give up.

 

i tried man. i tried to negotiate with my dealer a straight exchange of the Pirelli run flats on my MINI for just performance tires and they wouldn't do it.

but in the end. i had almost 6 percent if not closer to 8 knocked off the price, and two sets of matts included.

people will say you just gotta know how to do it. am i saying i did. not in any way.

 

acutally I think the dealer shouldnt have a problem. I klnow my dealer is pretty cool about upgrades and other things.

 

yeah i thought it was a for sure thing too. i guess it depends on the dealer.

but so far i'm happy with my run flats.

 

Based upon my experience there is not a single answer to your question. It depends on the dealership. Some dealerships offer modest discounts on cars in stock, others don't. The most I saw was $1,000 off MSRP on 2006 MINIs in stock at a NC dealership. Some others have offered discounts of $200 to $750 off an instock car. I am fairly confident that there are no discounts being offered on 2007 cars at this time. Two dealerships in the same state just a hundred miles apart--one sells at MSRP the other charges a premium over MSRP. It all depends, but generally if you want to specially order a MINI you have to pay the price. That is what I found.

 

That was my experience too... I wanted to order my JCW (besides, only one of the 3 dealers in the area had a JCW and it was not equipped with what I wanted), and found they would not deal on the price.

I too tried to get a different set of wheels and they just wouldn't do it.

The reason this is surprising is that they made 10% + dealer holdback (~3%) on my purchase, and because I order it... they would not need the dealer holdback money to keep it on the lot, etc...

I did make out on my trade in... it was clean and I got private party price + tax benefits from the dealer. So I wasn't too broken up about it.

 

The best time to get the dealer to give you the best price is the last days of the month.

The only true wiggle room dealers have right now is if the car has several dealer installed options. Like aero kits and sat radio. They charge a ridiculous amount of money for these options. Example $3,000 for the aero kits and $800 for sat radio. The price is mostly labor from there own dealership which they can move on.

We are not big fans of the extended warranty(ies) at all.

 

The best advice you can get here is "Ask them". The worse they can say is no, and probably won't laugh. I asked for a discount when I bought mine. Told me there was a waiting list for the Cabrio if I didn't want it. Gave me some free accessories. Nothing lost, a few accessories gained.

 

sometimes demos are discounted a nickle or dime, as well as MINIs loaded with over $30K in dealer installed or JCW extras. Otherwise, just be like the rest of us, pay MSRP, and smile as U drive it off the lot knowing the car will not take an instant 20-30% depreciation hit. I have NO trouble paying MSRP for a car that depreciates less than 10 percent/year.

And just drive with the runflats (why are U so vehement against them?) and swap for conventionals when they wear out around 20K or so. If U live in a Discount Tire served area they will sell you full road hazard and replacement warranties for around $22/tire. good luck

 

From my experience (about to get my new mini), I don't think they will be willing to do the swap that you want. They are, however, willing to give some kind of discount of 2006s at this stage, so I would tell them that you are not interested in the tires/wheels and therefore the car has less value for you than someone else and see if you can negotiate a discount from there. Then you can sell the tires/wheels the car currently has and get the aftermarkets.

 

No bad advice on this thread. My experience also. I did not want the run-flats, and I wanted R99 mini wheels, which don't come from the factory. The dealer orders them from Mini parts and installs them. They are not interested in any kind of swap because (at least in Indy) they have a storage container full of take-offs from previous customers who wanted something different and were willing to pay. I took delivery as is, ordered some R99's I found on eBay from a dealer in TN and had them mounted at the local tire store for $60. Way less complicated than other options. Price on the car is pretty much what they ask you pay! lol Anyway, its worth the wait. The car is wonderful!!!

 

I've got to ask

is this the first time you are buying a new car from a dealer?

After several years of watching car purchase questions here on NAM, I'm of the impression that for a higher number of purchasers than the aveage make/model, this is their first experience with a new car dealer....

not intended as a slam ... I'm just curious. Having bought some 20+ new vehicles over the last 30+ years I'm amazed at some of the things people think of asking dealers to do. Now, don't get me wrong .... ASK if you think you'll get it ... it can't hurt (much). Hey - my dad always said I was a lousy negotiator with car dealers so I'm not throwing stones. I'm just curious as to my hypothisis that for many, a MINI was their FIRST 'new' car.

 

Capt, Yes, for me. I'm nearly 60 and have owned nearly new cars before like demonstrators, etc, but never ordered one from the factory. It just seems like the thing to do with the Mini! And I am definitely happy with the result! I love my MINI, and that's my own experience, not just the hype on this site.