Hi all! I'm hoping to get a Cooper S soon. I'm considering used, but due to gas prices, people are practically charging the same price as new. My question is, if/when you order a Mini are you able to negotiate a price? It seems tough to negotiate when you are coming in with a car you want to custom order. Thoughts?

 

Msrp is pretty much the norm. However you do live back east where there are more dealers.I would try to do business locally where you will do your service. Most people do pay sticker and get free floormats.I sold cars for a long time and a couple of hundred dollars one way or the other isn't that big of deal.Once you have taken delivery of your new MINI you will care less about the price. Some advice about options go with LSD,DSC,Zenons,rear fog lights at the very least.Good Luck

 

Most new MINI owners are paying MSRP, although some do report modest discounts or free accessories, like floor mats. MINI factory is currently running at 100% capacity, and all versions of the MINI are in very high demand, so dealers don't feel the need to do much negotiating off MSRP.

 

yep! i got free rubber floor mats!

 

Few people get more off MSRP than free floor mats. A few have reported as much as $500 off. The MINI is popular, and has been. They have been having trouble keeping up with demand. I believe dealers still have quotas, and most sell them out.

I saw a $2,500 dealer markup on the sticker of a Clubman a couple weeks ago in Mountain View, CA (Silicon Valley). I paid MSRP on my MCS Coupe over a year ago. They had just dropped their $1,500 dealer markup.

 

Hmmm, ok thats sort of what I was thinking. Guess I'll have to take that into consideration when buying.

Curious: why would I want the rear fog? I know its a euro thing, but I don't really see myself using it.

 

it fills an empty spot on your lower toggle bank

 

Front fog is standard, which means there's a spot open for where they'd mount the rear fog light switch. A lot of people feel their MINI is incomplete without the full toggle bank. Plus it's only 100$ which you'll make up for if you get free mats thrown in

 

rear fog is invaluable.

put in an upgraded bulb and
use it as a back off no warning shot fired
warning light

it works.

 

I got rubber mats and MSRP, whooo-haaaa--uggggh!!

BTW, the sales figures are out, which shows you why we are paying MSRP.
Most car/truck sales are way, way down. This from the Wall Street Journal this morning...

May 2008 sales 6,312
May 2007 sales 4,130
% increase 53
% increase Year To Date 36

 

Especially hard to negotiate the Cooper S down in price because it basically flies of the dealers lot without much hassle.

 

I didn't even bother trying to negotiate..waste of time. MSRP

 

Me either, though my MA said no dealer upcharge on the MC, but there was one on the Clubman. However, when I actually went to order, the MA I was working with (mine was off that day - much to my dismay), he started in on how there was an upcharge on the MC, too. I called him on it, and after "some discussion" with his manager, etc (usual slimy sales guy tactic), they waived the upcharge. Now it still remains to be seen if the free floormats my MA promised me (and swapped out black mirror caps for the chrome ones coming in my package) will come through as free as well, or if Slimy MA will try to make me pay for them... I had a great MA, and in my excitement to order my MINI, I traded him for a guy I can't stand.

 

Functional:
They make your car more visible to cars behind you in heavy fog or rain. We get fairly heavy fog on the California coast and central valley. On Hwy 5 through the central valley, the get patches of very heavy tule fog. You can be driving along in clear weather and suddenly hit a patch of dense fog. This frequently causes mult-car crashes. When I last drove on 5, going 80 mph got people mad at you for holding up traffic. So, any increased visibility is a good thing.

Aesthetically, the lights fill a couple blank spaces on the rear panel. Looks better to have them than not. Inside, if you don't have them, there is an empty spot in one of the toggle banks. Some people get rear fog lights just for this reason. However, if you don't have the sunroof, there will be a blank spot in the other row of toggle switches.

 

I've seen a number of Coopers 2002-2007 go across the block at auctions in the south east, and they do, every time fetch a premium even at the whole sale level. I have thought many a time of trying to buy one, but have long since given up. They never sell for what NADA lists as a trade in value, and often approach the NADA retail value. That should tell you something.

We went to the dealer on Saturday and ordered ours. I'd go order the one that you want, the way that you want it, and enjoy it.

We paid MSRP for the MCS.

 

That's really the long and short of it. Used car dealers (non BMW/MINI) are realizing the popularity and demand and snatching the MINIs from auction at a price that is, quite frankly, too high. Once they add in the profit after prepping the car for sale, you're just a few thousand away from a brand new MINI.

 

Pretty much my sentiments as well.

When I watch the Coopers, they are for sale by BMW Financial Services, and unless dealers have specific customers for these cars or are buying them for personal use, I feel they were pay a premium for the Cooper. Add in the auction fees and transport costs and you are pretty close to a new one.

I imagine the BMW/Mini Franchise dealers ****** up every Cooper that is for sale at the closed auctions.

William, looks like you are not far away from taking delivery on yours. Would bet you are growing more excited by the day....

 

[]Me either, though my MA said no dealer upcharge on the MC, but there was one on the Clubman.


What is an upcharge? Do you mean they were asking over MSRP?

 

I did not order the rear fogs. Reasons were I never used them on my Landrover and I really like the look of the blanks. For me it gives the stripped down rally look.

 

Yes, the dealer said they were now charging a markup of $1500 on all MCs. Since the first MA I'd dealt with had specifically said "no markup on MCs" (and I'd been there 3 separate times where he could have mentioned it), I balked, and they acted like they were giving me a huge favor not to charge me. I wish I could switch back to my original MA.

 

Speak to the manager then. Tell them what is going on and that you'd like to give them your business, but throwing a 1500$ charge on top of MSRP is a bit ridiculous.

 

Simple answer, only deal with the other MA. You are the one BUYING the car, they should be accommodating you, not the other way around. Feel free to express your opinions otherwise the "bad" MA will only ever get rewarded for being "bad".

For my 2 cents on the original question, I didn't even bother with haggling. I printed out what I wanted and handed it to the first MA that I say and said "Order this nothing changes". I do so love the internet.

 

It's really tough to negotiate when a) you're ordering a custom build and b) 5-6 people are ordering a Mini the same time as you, which is exactly what happened to me. Believe me, I walked in prepared for a fight and came out just shaking my head in disbelief at how crowded the dealership was. Well at least I got the floormats and wheel locks.

I would at least try negotiating on a floor model if you see one you like.