100% South Bay and Long Beach MINI has been an MSRP dealership from inception.

 

Yes, Long Beach MINI has sold MINIs at MSRP since they opened in 2002 -- I've purchased two MINIs from them, one in August 2002, the other, my beloved Wicked Wanda, in 2003. I got on their interest list (waitlist) in March 2002, and they were strictly MSRP. They not only have always sold at MSRP, they have never taken deposits. If you don't take delivery of your spec'd MINI, they sell it off the lot.

I believe that South Bay MINI opened their dealership in 2004, but it could have been 2005. I don't remember.

 

I was going to ask if long beach sold at msrp, guess thats my answer. do you happen to know how their (both dealers) prices tend to be for extra stuff and installation? in particular I want the jcw aero kit and sport stripes, with some extra stripe bits for the bumper, hood scoop, and sunroof. would they even do that extra striping work or would I have to go to some other shop to get that done? Im at ~$31k on the configurator myself...then a lot higher with the aero kit and anthracite r90s.

 

Well, before she was an MA at South Bay, Amanda was a MINI enthusiast here...since 2002, I believe.

 

Give the sales department at Long Beach a call and ask them. I don't know what they charge for installing the extras. While having Wanda serviced, I saw their vinyl guy install graphics on one of the showroom floor MINIs -- he did a quick and good job.

 

+1

I'm cheap in general, but when it comes to cars I love 'em loaded. That's why I buy loaded used cars.
Could you pay less? Sure. You could also buy a Kia. Value is in the eyes of the nut behind the wheel.

Enjoy the MINI Chuck!

 

ok maybe so, but I'm still peeved about the name stealing .

I KNOW I've had it longer than her since my dad called me that as a kid (adhd haha) (20+ years ago)

 

How much would you need the cold weather package in LA

 

Somtimes it gets in the 60's in LA .

 

Heated seats alone are worth it. It dips down into the 40's and 50's on a regular basis here during the winter.

 

That it does.... and they help a sore back too.

 

You need to shop around. Buy online and get it shipped to you for $500. I got an 07 s with the same options as yours plus jcw suspension, tuning kit and aero kit for less than you are quoting. Never pay over msrp at the least.

 

Maybe he was seeing improved college possibilities for the kids.

Have you checked into what kind of resale value the car should retain over a given period of years? I don't have anywhere near that many options, but I understand that some translate better into increasing the Bluebook down the road than others.
That would put you in the extreme minority on this site.

 

Look at his sig... you think a 5-7k in options is an issue? Why don't you say hey man congrats on the order rather than trying to urinate in his wheaties? I mean really, how does his car order and specs affect you?

 

Yawn. He doesn't seem to be the one crying about a post on an online forum. Good luck with your cause and welcome to my ignore list.

 

Cars (and especially options) are best viewed as expenses rather than investments.
When I smile as I look through my sunroof, I don't think "ah - I'll get 30% of it's original cost when I sell".
When I put an address into the Nav, I don't think "boy, I could have saved money by sticking a GPS to my windshield and plugging it in to the cig lighter"
Spend it once, enjoy it forever (until crash do us part.)

 

All valid points. I (we) enjoy our cars. Two things help me out with these purchases; one is I realize that it is not an investment - I will lose money when I sell it. Secondly, I will keep the car for many years. During those years I will use it and enjoy the many options that I got on it.

The Porsche 911 (993 Cab) that I have had a window sticker of $84,700 when new in 1997. Now, they can be bought in the 30's. But, I love that car! Never fret about the money you lose on cars.... just the smiles they put on your face.

 

Funny you respond just like my teenager

 

I was referring to the mitigation of a portion of the loss. Besides being unrealistic, seeing a car as an investment would be mutually exclusive of the realization that it will depreciate.

 

Yet you speak of it in terms of 'loss'. There is no loss in an expenditure, only an expense. For an expense, any cost recovery above zero is .

Note that this is easier to do when you pay for a car outright vs. finance. When financing (esp. with available 6 year loans), it's easy to get upside down such that you owe more than the asset is worth. If liquidity is an issue, loss mitigation can be a significant factor.

 

By loss I strictly meant loss of resale value.

 

Suggestion: Laser blue body color top with the sunroof!

Nice anyway you do it

 

You can get into a Euro delivery 335i for this kind of money. Mini's are great values in the base cars, but the options are poor values. It's almost a great bait/switch scheme.

- Mark

 

And it works great. Provide the ugliest dash for free, and then charge $200 for a decent one that costs $000 more to produce. Put a dinnerplate in the center and get $2100 for a nav system to fill the wasted space. They've got it down pretty good.

$1,900 for leather seats! Uh... I mean leather covered seats. Or is there some kind of gold foam underneath? Can't they use the skins from Mad Cows?

 

I bought mine from Bob Smith about a month ago. It was a stock unit, not ordered and had the added 3000 dollar over sticker pack. I was able to bring it down only 500 dollars after discussions with sales. I should have pushed for more but I was so hot to buy that I became an easy target!! lol! I enjoyed the staff there and I was going to inquire about the JCW package for 20+ Hp next week, but now I am wondering about their service department after looking through this forum.

It was the closest dealership to me and hence, I paid too much!!