My dealer never even cashed the check I wrote for a deposit. They'll just tear it up if I don't want the car or deposit it along with my down payment when I go to do the paperwork.

 

Just purchased from Cincinnati MINI. I think the $250 documentation fee must be standard in Ohio. I paid MSRP, and paid for everything I wanted, even floor mats. Dealer threw in a few small freebies, the best of which was one of those fold-up chairs in a nylon bag. They made no mention of any add-ons, and didn't try to sell me any additional warranties, or maintenance or anything. I had paid a $1000 deposit, and the final total was the amount left on the bill of sale that we wrote when I ordered the car. No surprises at all. Seriously, I couldn't have spent more than 10 minutes with the finance guy.

BTW, if you are in or near Ohio and want a MINI now, Cincinnati MINI has about 25 new cars and about 20 used cars on the lot and for sale. Check their website for the exact inventory.

 

Ditto. They will not remove the fee but they will lower MSRP and/or increase trade offer. It became a non-issue.

 

When I purchased mine back in late 07, I was given $1K off plus $500 in "free" accessories. Why? First, I was a previous customer. My 04 MCS came from thae same dealership. Second, my dad was also a previous customer. Third and finally, the sales manager was a friend of our family.

I agree that trying to negotiate after you sign a buyers order is not going to yield very much. In my case, I ordered the car over the phone and did not visit the dealership until I picked the car up so there was no signing anything, no deposit, no anything. The deal was simply based on trust.

As far as freebies, I asked for a very specific list of what I wanted included in the deal (floormats, GBO, clear signal bulbs, sunshade, some toys and other goodies) and received no push back at all. The actual dealer cost of these type of things is minimal and if you are paying a doc fee at all, ask them to include it as part of that.

 

Here in Ottawa, I got MSRP on a 08 that was on the lot. I got them to remove the equivalent of 750$ from the fees and also requested a few freebies. At the end, I got the rubber floor mats, a paint stick and the cargo nets for free. My MA also got me a very good deal on the tinted windows with a third-party (speaking of which, the MiniMart really looks wicked now!)

I must say that I am not a very good negotiator, especially when it's something I REALLY want (read drooling onto), so I'm pretty happy of what I got for my money. Did not go for the trade-in so I've put 2000$ down and sold my old Mazda myself for 1500$ more than what they offered me at the dealership...

 

Actually the Carmax idea is good only to determine if there's even a market for Suburbans. You may find the market for large gas guzzling SUVs has completely evaporated with many dealers refusing to take them. Unfortunately, this could mean the value of your trade-in has dropped precipitously. If there's no market the value will reflect that. Minis are holding their value because they're in demand. As one of the hottest cars on the road you'll likely be paying MSRP and can expect floor mats as a freebie. Beyond that, good luck.

 

My MA told me that unless my trade in was a MINI or a BMW, they would only give me wholesale for it. Listed it on Craig's list on a Thursday evening and sold it the next Monday for $200 more than KBB. Of course it wasn't a monster SUV but a Toyota RAV4.

Also, my deposit was refundable and clearly stated so on the paperwork I signed when I ordered the car. Unfortunately, I had to put that to the test and they did refund my credit card within one week of the cancellation.

 

my 08 mc msrp was 22.650. talked them down to 230000 out the door w/floor mats,rotator spoke wheels

 

Wow, you are the negotiator. You paid over 10x MSRP!

 

i r arent i. i gess it needs to lose a 0

 

with the way the economy is going, i'd be shocked if they don't start making deals. sure, you really want the mini....but there are a lot of mini dealers across the country that are going to be starving for business (if they aren't already).

 

Since seeing the original quote for a mini they had on the lot, and getting the quote for the one I decided to have built, they have jacked up the interest rate on the financing by 2%! This is exactly what I was worried about, as soon as they get my deposit they start screwing me around. There's nothing I can do because they never commited to a 4.9% financing, but thats what they showed me on quotes on '08's. I know it has more to do with mini financial services than with the dealership, but what a great coincidence. Luckily I have sold my 1999 suburban privately, so that concern is now resolved, cash in the bank is better than hoping for a good trade-in, especially on a gas guzzler.

 

I think interest rate increases have more to do with the global financial meltdown and credit shortage than with MINI per se.

 

+1

 

Actually, with the fed interest rate cut the other day, I wouldn't be surprised to see interest rates drop slightly soon.

 

This is mini financial Canada, and this was weeks before the US stock Crash, so I don't expect the state of America was completely responsible for this. She said it was waised 1% from Mini overall, and 1% more because its a new model year.... and so on.

 

MINI FS rates are higher anyway. I have a 800+ score and the best they offered was still more than a 1/2 percent higher than I got elsewhere.

 

Oh, I hope you're right...

 

That's interesting. My MA encouraged me to seek financing elsewhere and then they would try to beat what I found. He said, more often than not, they can.

 

Maybe for scores in the 600/700s or so. The only time MINI/BMW FS has been better is when I got a promo lease deal or a promo CPO deal.

On my JCW they were 5.8% and I got 5.1% elsewhere (for 48 months).

 

Yeah, between my order time and earlier this week, the offered rate went up 1% for me. Trying to see if my local credit union can give me a better option.