All the dealers I went to were telling me how I am lucky to be in their dealership which does not mark-up like bob smith

 

Since I live about 2 miles from Bob Smith I test drove few Minis and then turned around and got one from Alexander. Then I showed up at Bob Smith and they asked me why I waisted their time and didn't buy a car from them. Now when I go there then just avoid even looking at me. This is how bad they are.... Stay away from Bob Smith.

 

No, Bob Smith will NOT get my business. I guess because of the area they are use to people just pointing and saying "I want that one."

I'm curious about the service dept. though. Anybody have experience with them? Given that I live so close.

Booyun you nailed it. That strangely dressed guy was the guy I first test drove the Clubman with. When I wouldn't drive to my house to pick up my wife, during the test drive, he got agitated and started laying into me. Telling me that they don't let looky lews take test drives. The whole time I was there, looking, was just...uncomfortable. I could not imagine sitting down with him and talking numbers. It would not have been a positive experience.

 

I've purchased two MINIs from Long Beach MINI. They have always sold at MSRP since opening in March 2002. I highly recommend them.

 

Funny you should ask that...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=136896

 

I live down the street from Bob Smith BMW/MINI and ordered our 2008 MCS at MSRP. Yes, they ordinarily charge 3k over sticker. However, depending on your negotiation skills, Bob Smith will sell at MSRP.

 

Thanks. That's good to know.

 

Assael is still good to work with - no mark-up on any of their mini's. Stopped by Irvine MINI yesterday on a whim- current "non-negotiable" mark up is 4k!! Crevier was close to that as of a week ago, and Nick Alexander was almost 3K. Needless to say, glad we ordered from Assael.

 

Totally agree with you. I ordered mine last week from Assael. Could only get MSRP, but the MA promised free floor mats, full tank of gas and other gifts and goodies from their gift store.

 

Definitely go with South Bay MINI.

Rod Johnson at Brecht MINI in Escondido was also very helpful and nice! However, I didn't end up ordering from them because their order queue was longer than South Bay, and also the MINIs off the lot had a bunch of dealer-installed options (like Lo-Jack) that I could definitely do WITHOUT.

 

I guess I got lucky. I ordered my 08 MCS from Kirsten at Bob Smith. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and a market adjustment was never even mentioned in our discussions. She offered MSRP plus free floormats which was equal to or better than the other dealers I consulted. Also, she followed through on my request for them not to drill the front bumper or wash the car.
I never test drove a car at Bob Smith and ordered via the phone and email. I never even met Kirsten until I picked up my car.
FWIW, my MSRP was 24,350.

 

I never ordered a new car before. I understand not to drill the front bumper, but whats the deal with washing the car

 

The porters at a dealership that wash cars are using the same rags and towels all day. All they care about is getting the car cleaned up and dried off as fast as possible. One wash is all it takes to put swirl marks in your paint. If you will be taking your car to a carwash to get washed, then by all means have the dealer prep the car and make it all shiny. If you're like me and hate swirl marks, then you don't want a dealer to wash your car, however convenient it is.

 

Thanks, that helps

 

I won't post the results publicly since I'm still in negotiations, but I will tell you that *so far* the best deal is South Bay Mini (via the internet manager on the BMW side).

 

I will be interested to know. Mine is still on order and would be willing to switch or negotiate a better deal with Assael