$1000 off MSRP and a few things thrown in and it wasn't a fight. However, this is the 9th+ car I've bought from this dealer...they treat me right. It was ordered BTW...Clubman S with everything.

 

I used a MBNA (or is it FIA now?) Fidelity MasterCard that rebates 1.5% of purchases into my Fidelity IRA. I took delivery of the car on 6/18. I was able to put ~$5500 (in addition to the $1000 deposit) on the credit card.

Advice for S.F. MINI customers: compare every detail of your order against the car that was delivered. I realized 10 minutes after driving off the lot that the bonnet stripes were missing. Also they did not heed my two earlier e-mail requests to not put the "SF MINI" stencil on the hatchback. I took it back the next day and they scraped off the stencil, and told me they'd call me back about the bonnet stripes, but so far six days of radio silence.

They're going to take a severe beating on that BMW/MINI quality survey.

 

I will also be putting the max amount (I think $3000) that the dealer will let us on our Visa just to get the airline miles .

My MA (Northwest MINI)told me that they will not go below MSRP and that he won't "throw anything in for me". He did say some other things but I'll have to update you once I actually get the car, I don't want someone else to get my deal and then I'd be screwed. lol All I can say is this will be my second purchase from the same MA and they BETTER hook me up... I'll keep you posted!

 

I got away with a coffee cup...

 

I got $750 off MSRP, free mats and a cap.

 

Well, I just got a call from my MA and he said that the owner of the dealership decided to add $1400 mark up over MSRP last week . I told him that if they cannot sell it for MSRP then I'll take our business elsewhere or we just have to wait. It seems that all the stealership in the bay area are adding markups no more MSRP

 

I placed my order last week at East Bay Mini and was able to negotiate down to msrp (it did take some work and I did have to escalate to the sales manager). However, I used Concord as leverage since they were still offering msrp.

 

I purchased mine from Concord and was told when picking it up about the decision to add the mark-ups on new orders. I was lucky to have been picking up my car I ordered a few months ago so was still able to get the deal we agreed on.

 

Look at page two of this thread for dealings I had with East Bay Mini.
I ended up going to Long Beach Mini and gave up on all the San Francisco
Mini dealers. I'm getting a JWC Clubman S for msrp due in September.
Maybe the Mini website configurator should not have any prices and say:
"CALL DEALER FOR CURRENT PRICE"
It is supply and demand I guess, but it sure ticks a lot of buyers off!
Especially us return customers and Mini enthustists that have had Minis'
since the 1970's.

 

Mats, hats and now t-shirts.

I told my MA what I'd said in my comments for the CS survey and he said "that's worth a t-shirt at least!"

 

Otto's Mini in West Chester, PA quoted me MSRP when I ordered my Clubman S two days ago. Since I bought my 2008 Cabrio S from the same Motoring Advisor/Dealership last year they were kind enough to throw in the front/rear/boot rubber floor matts and the JCW side scuttles.

This will be the 3rd time that I've paid MSRP for a MINI (2002, 2007 and now 2008). I would never pay over MSRP for a Mini. If they tried to there are other fish in the sea to order from. You guys out in California may need to travel a bit though to get that it would seem. You shouldn't be penalized because you live in a certain area of the country.

 

Stainless mug, hat, and a key chain with a bulldog wearing a mini shirt. Maybe I could have got a little more if I had picked up from my MA (he was out). I know someone else from my dealer got mats.

 

So what am I to do now that I'm ready to order my Clubman?

Damn markups!

 

Try East Bay Mini. They said that the markup was only for out of area people. I think they wave it if you ask.

 

Got a keychain with dealer logo on it. That's it.

Said that we were thinking about getting something from the "accessory store" for our daughter (bulldog, backpack, or t-shirt) and they didn't even seem interested in SELLING us anything!

 

For the people here who got nothing....did you bother to ask?

 

I did at Scottsdale dealer, the MA apologized and said "no" I said "anything" at all and he said their selling them all at MSRP with no freebies and that was that. I understand this dealer is among the top 15 mini dealers in the U.S. so its supply and demand I guess.

 

When I ordered, I asked about negotiating on price and was told "no." I asked about any flexibility on options pricing, and got a "no" again. That was expected.

I asked about any "freebies" with the car - specifically asking about floor mats since I know lots of dealers throw them in. Again, "no" and was told "if I even gave you a free hat I'd get fired." I also asked about discounts on parts for customers, noting that BMW dealers have given me 10-20% off and that at least two MINI dealers give 20% off on all parts. Surely a customer should get some discount? "No."

Later I asked about pricing on warranties and if they would meet pricing from elsewhere (i.e. extended service contract is $1395 elsewhere, $1788 here). "No, that's our price."

Asked about clear bra and tint, which cost $480 more (total) from the dealer than they do from the installer that their own BMW dealership uses. Asked if they would match his price. "No, our prices are competitive."

At delivery, I mentioned that we wanted to get something for our daughter (stuffed bulldog, backpack, or t-shirt). Nothing free, and they couldn't even be bothered to see if they had a shirt in her size for me to BUY!

 

SPF Zero,
After reading your writeup, I think I would have gone somewhere else. It sounded like they really did not want you bussiness. There has to be another dealer in Denver, or nearby.

Anyway, Lots of luck with your car.

Larry

 

Seriously....if a dealership wants to do absolutely nothing for you, screw that. I understand people pay MSRP for these cars, but you can't even throw in a $5 t-shirt? When I first started reading this forum I thought it was pretty bad that people thought getting shirts and hats was a "deal." Give me a break.

 

Ahhh, nice to live in FL or CA where there are multiple dealers. Next closest from Denver os about 400 miles away.

 

I picked up my Clubman from South Bay Mini in Torrance CA for MSRP 2 weeks ago. I also got floor mats, mudflaps, and keychains for free. Car delivered with full tank of gas. I had to come back a week later for the mudflaps to be installed. They filled up my tank again. Amanda White was my MA but Avi Nemes took care of me for delivery and the mudflaps install.

 

T-shirt, floor mats, HC brake & automatic selector covers, sports stripes (yet to be installed), and upgraded seats (HC cloth/leather). The seats were unintentionally omitted from the bill and I did not bring it up (I hope it does not come back to me as bad karma - was I wrong for not pointing out the mistake?).

 

Agreed! The first dealer we went to was hesitant to give out freebies. The dealer we bought from gave us free labor for installation of 5 accessories, $40 off those accessories, nice rubber floor mats (not the boot though), key chain, and a bulldog stuffed animal.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by chowdah

Agreed! The first dealer we went to was hesitant to give out freebies. The dealer we bought from gave us free labor for installation of 5 accessories, $40 off those accessories, nice rubber floor mats (not the boot though), key chain, and a bulldog stuffed animal.

Sales manager Paul Belair from Century Mini in South Carolina even told me that I would have to pay $1000 as a deposit before I could make an ATTEMPT to talk to the general manager about getting something under MSRP. Like...is that a joke? Who would actually do this? Here's the exact text (in all caps with spelling errors intact) from the email:

WERE GOING TO STAY CLOSE TO MSRP AND IT WIILL REQUIRE A $1000.00 TO GO TO GM TO REQUEST ANYTHING LESS THAN MSRP. MC AND VISA ONLY.

PAUL


Sometimes I wonder...