Any tips on negotiating best price on a Clubman?

I have about three dealers around me and when I tell one that I have a lower price, they lower their price some more. For the one I have configured, the MSRP is $28,950, and one dealer today said he'd sell it to me for $31,100 out the door, which seems pretty good. It's about $700 lower then his original price.

 

Unfortunately I am the last person who should chime in. I love my new Clubman, but I would never pay more than MSRP. I almost walked when they tried to tack on a $500 delivery charge. Now, if that figure includes MSRP and taxes and no surcharge, then you may have a good deal. What does out the door mean to this dealer?

 

Our dealer only sells at MSRP plus the standard destination charge, so no "negotiating" involved. I have yet to hear of anyone who has gotten better than MSRP although those lucky people might exist. I refuse to pay over MSRP for any car. If I were in an area where all the dealers had a markup, I would be looking at an out of area dealer and either retrieving the car myself or having it shipped, which is usually around $500. It just rubs me the wrong way when a dealer tries to gouge the marketplace when the car is a hot ticket. We all know they make money selling at MSRP so the upcharge just rubs me the wrong way.

 

You didn't say where you live.
Name this turd-like dealer and the peeps here will name others for you to visit.
Would you consider a dealer 1000 miles away? You should.

Don't pay a penny over MSRP.

 

There's charging me MSRP plus tax/title/tag plus dealer fee.
I'm in Miami, FL

 

We have 8 MINI dealerships in Florida. Get a price from Tampa Ferman MINI and Downtown MINI in Orlando. They will both sell for MSRP, I believe.

 

Whats the dealer fee? Whats it for?

 

It's something a number of West Coast MINI dealers are notorious for doing, and it looks like it has spread east. Basically, it's a "the MINI is so in demand that you're gonna pay us a few thousand extra bucks for the privilege of buying one" fee. As jumboshrimp pointed out, it's an "upcharge"; most would simply call it price gouging.

Many people buy their MINIs elsewhere at MSRP and either get them shipped or drive them home from far away. Our local dealership has customers from all over -- we are, after all, in a smaller market. But what better way to get to know your brand new MINI than on a road trip? I'm almost sorry I live just 3 miles from my dealer.... Well, actually not.

BTW, Mr. Ray, I saw in another thread you're a Week 36er as well. Why not join us in the Week 36 support group in 1st Gear?

 

Thanks for your responce tancred, I understand whats happening on the west cost however, only ZekeDog can answer my question. Dont automatically assume its an upcharge. If that was the case I'd tell the dealer where he could put his mini.
What Im asking is if the Dealer fee's are state mandated enviormental fees cost of obtaining title transfer, installation of after market acessiories etc. Those are legitimate charges. Installation fees and after market accessories can be negotiated. Go look at the morristown mini site in NJ he sells his accessories at 20% off on the internet. Some people on here have gotten extras thrown in for free.
I personally wouldn't go buy a car out of state to save a few bucks unless I intended to have it serviced there. I'd rather buy from a dealer that had an excellent service dept after all they are the ones that will help you out, and fight for that hidden warranty when the engine or trans dies a few thousand miles after your warrenty expires.

 

Dealer fee is what they call "owner money", it's pretty much in almost every deal and can range from $199 to 6 or 7 hundred dollars. I hardly ever get it dropped any more because it's the bottom line dollar amount the owner has to make on every deal. Some people think they can get rid of it, but it usually pops back up somewhere else. It's the ownership making sure they get their cut of every deal made at their business. I've stopped going crazy over getting the best price anymore and let everyone make a little bit of money, with MINI it is MSRP, Taxes, Tag transfer, and the dealer fee. Pretty standard stuff, and NO please take off all the dealer add-on accessories or I wait for one that doesn't have them on yet.

P.S. I think Downtown MINI has a $399 dealer fee, not the thousands people here are alluding to. Yesterday, Toyota had a $649 fee that they called "Dealer prep, receipt, install, etc." BTW unless you actually SEE a copy of their purchase order and a truth-in-lending finance agreement no matter what anyone says here you can't be sure they did NOT pay any of these fees being talked about here. The fees may have been re-titled and added in somewhere else, whatever they called them, usually adds up to 4 or 5 hundred dollars.

 

Basically, I think the dealer fee is just a way for them to make a little more money.
I'm trying to get it waived. I want to pay MSRP, tax, tag, and title. There are other ligitimate fees, like a lemon law fee, and some other stuff, that you have to pay in Florida. But, Like I said, I think I can get one of the dealers to waive the dealer fee. I'm sure they are making a healthy profit without it. I don't mind people making money, that's how you feed you family and pay your mortgage, I just want a fair price, after all, I'm getting ready to lay out $30k. That should be enough, eh?

 

I want a MCS and Ferman charges $599 for paper work and Downtown charges $389. I am new to dealing with Mini dealers but this is what I experienced over the last 30 days. I recall extra charge for title at Downtown and that cost included in Ferman paper charge. "I could be wrong, but I do not think so."*
* Mr. Monk

 

Oops, sorry, ZekeDog, didn't see "tax" the first time around. Sometimes my reading comprehension isn't so good! (Weak excuse: where I live, we don't pay tax until we go to the DMV to get our plates, so I tend not to think about it as added to the MSRP, although I guess I should.) That completely changes the picture. I hereby rescind the snarky remark about dealer fees in your case.

What are you having installed at the dealer? Are you getting tinting, clear bra, or driving lamps installed there? That would give a better sense of what is being wrapped up in that fee, and how much negotiating room you may have.

 

I negotiated a deal without those charges, but that was longer than 30 days ago - "the old days", when they had MINIs in stock.

 

I bought from Habberstad in Huntington, LI because they had a June production slot when anyone else within earshot was many more weeks out. There was no "best deal" because everyone charged the same thing. No one negotiated -- even though I tried early in my shopping. I "shopped" production slots. There was no other real differentiator between dealers.

I paid MSRP, plus tax, title, etc. No dealer fee in the "etc", though. It was all reasonable and peaceful. With the MSRP clear from the outset, there was none of the usual chest-thumping that most find so unpleasant. Just another thing about the phenomenon that I enjoyed.

 

Ditto on my Habberstad experience ... my second car from them. Never gave me any BS over the years. Dealer fees are like 40 bucks i believe.

Dealers make about $2000 on a stripper Clubman and significantly more on loaded ones. there is really no reason for $500 "dealer prep" fees ... those are car mall scammy fees.
To get a free set of rubber floor mats took some whining though