Hey,

my car will arrive at the dealer on the 5th of june.. have a question for you guys.. i bought the car with a markup of 3k and am paying the full amount in cash.. is that fair?

i knew that if you are paying cash the whole amount you have to have a discount atleast?

What do you think guys?

 

The mark-up is fair if you've already agreed to it. What difference does cash make? I write out a check for every car I buy. They cash the check, they have cash.

There is no discount for buying a new car for cash...ever. As far as the mark-up goes, I'd tell them to pack it and buy it somewhere else.

 

Whatever anyone else tells you about the fairness of the price doesn't really matter. If you think it's not fair, discuss that with your MA and find out your options.

 

There's a few dealers around SoCal that dont mark up, it sounds a little late unless you want to start over.

 

actually most dealership prefer you not to buy all in cash. They will like customers to finance thru their bank to make more money off from interest.

I think its unfair that there's a 3K markup. I live in Los Angeles and getting my MCSa for MSRP. I'm got one ordered from Monrovia MINI

 

The dealer I talked to doesn't charge a mark up, and he said there would be a $500 deposit but refundable if I don't want the car when it got here. Could you just start over? $3k is a lot of money. Maybe if you tell your dealer you are going to start over at another dealership, they will sell it to you at MSRP. Can a dealership blacklist you (so you cannot order another one anywhere else) if you do not take delivery of an ordered mini? I wonder.

 

i dont know.. i think i will give it a try.. because at the beginning he didnt explain what is 3K for.. because back home we dont have markups on cars.. am new here in LA

 

Could Dubaian have meant by "paying in cash" is that he is paying in full? Most dealerships prefer customers pay in full rather than finance and will provide incentives for those that do. Some offer discounts, freebies, and other preferential treatment. I have gotten discounts on purchase prices for doing so. At MINI, it is my understanding that customers who pay in full get priority on build and delivery schedules over customers who are financing or wavering on the purchase.

As to the original posting, markups by dealerships are "fair" for those that know it and still do business there. However, its always is to the benefit for any shopper to shop around. Many folks on NAM buy from dealers who do not markup, even if it's out of their way. You could certainly try and bargain with your current dealer, but if you really want to cut out the markup, you may have to go to another dealer. If the dealer "surprises" you with a markup well after you put your deposit down, that should be a deal breaker and I would walk away.

 

paying a markup is either

uninformed foolishness -or- unrestrained impatience

 

yeah i meant am paying in full when i will pickup my car.. he didnt explain excatly what is the 3K for so i don't know i will give it a try.. and have a discount.. treatment was really good from my MA.. most people had problems with my dealer..

 

I'm not sure this is true. The interest earned would be the bank's profit, not the dealerships. IT is the bank that is lending the money, therefore taking the risk and getting the interest. A dealership offers financing as a way to "make the deal" on a purchase to a customer that wouldn't ordinarily afford it.

 

By 3k markup do you mean the markup over invoice, i.e. MSRP.

or a markup over what you agreeed on paying?

Since you ordered there should be no differance on price than what you agreed upon.

Yes some dealerships will give you a cash discount, although mini does not seem to come off of MSRP, since there is such a huge demand.

It was a shock to me as well, since I love to deal off the price. This has been mainly american and some japanese cars. They are willing to take off from MSRP since the sale volume makes up for it.

From the research I have done, mini is not like that at all. Its MSRP way or the highway. I think I have read maybe 2 cases where someone got anything off MSRP.

But i agree 100% if you agreed on a price beforehand there should be no markup in that price. Also unless something has changed, there should be no cash discount as to mini its all the same, if it was a ford or dodge, I would say try and get 500 off for paying cash.

 

at the beginning he told me there will be a 3K addition to the price.. but didnt explain what is it exactly he told me its like a service or something i was new... didnt know anything about it.. but now i knew alot of people bought the car at MSRP... mine was MSRP + 3k

 

If he mislead you than i would bring it up. There is plenty of profit over invoice, they are marking it up to make more money on top of that.

Did you sign anything? If NO, than reject the order and rebuild at a dealership that does not charge a markup over msrp. Yes it hurts you, but 3k is alot.

If YES, read over what you signed and see if it clearly lists the 3k as a service. If it does you should get something for that 3k. If it does not , the best bet would be to talk to the manager and say this was a misunderstanding and you would still like to buy the car at msrp.
At this point they can say, no you can reorder, and sell the car to someone else and keep your deposit.

Good luck either way and hope it works out.

 

thanks daveag98 for the info.. i think i will bring it up.. i hope everything goes well

 

I've always thought the markup thing was kinda bizarre, but it's been going on with some California dealers since day one, so I would not consider it unusual at all, even if it might seem unfair. MINI dealerships on the whole have not been a good place to wheel and deal since the car has always been in such high demand...so MSRP is still the general rule. Not even sure if cash was even adequate leverage for a discount.

On the other hand, MINIs are a great value, so even if a discount is not offered, don't fret too much....you're still getting a lot of car for the money.

 

I'm young and have never purchased a new car, so I may be ignorant too.

But the fact that MINI will charge over MSRP to their customers almost makes me not want a MINI at all. Just my thoughts, it's a principal thing. I don't like to even pay MSRP, but I've accepted that I will more than likely be forced to do so because I do, in fact still want that Cooper S I've been eyeing and waiting for since 2004....

I hope you get your $3000 returned or taken off the price or somehow make things right, but then at the same time, if you're comfortable with the marked up price and that's what the car is worth to you, then I'm sure you'll be happy with your purchase, and it really isn't our business. Whatever makes us happy, eh?

Good luck!

 

Fair? No but when is life ever fair? Do your homework next time.

 

Dealers do this not MINI

 

Build your mini on Miniusa.com , pay that price that it gives you not over. Thats msrp.

I understanding wanting to get the price down, but its true mini's hold thier prices so well since they do not deal. Its a pretty good trade off in the long run. Buy an american car and it looses like 40% of its value when you drive it off like the lot.

 

MSRP-Manufacturer's suggested retail price

 

Cash means nothing (as others have said). In fact, anytime you get a loan, say at a bank, as far as the dealer is concerned, your paying cash ... (unless your paying in $20s)

If you have signed a contract, IMO, your stuck. However, it appears CA has a new law. Check out http://www.carconsumers.com/CBBR_summaryFAQ.html

Its looks like get a short cooling off period, can say you dont want it, and go to another dealer!

Best of luck.

 

I went to Bob's Mini Cooper dealership, I had 'cash' in hand and was ready to buy. The gentleman smugly told me how they sell themselves and that they charge a 3k markup and proceeding to let me know that i wouldnt find any dealership that would charge less. Needless to say I just walked out of there and took my check elsewhere. Most of them will try to make you pay markup, but if you take your time and look around, you will find what you are looking for. I ended up getting my mini @ Alexander Mini dealership with a '500' markup (for LoJack) which I honestly didnt mind having.

 

i got mine at Alexandar they didnt charge you a markup!!

 

A dealership does make more money by financing a car. They don't normally get the interest (although some large dealerships do have their own financing companies), but they do get kickbacks from financial institutions...especially the manufacturer's own...I assume Mini dealers use BMW FS.

Any 'cash discount' can be negotiated with any method of payment. It's all cash to the dealer; whether it's a cahiers check from your personal account or the bank you get your loan from.