Today's economy buying a MINI?
 

Ok well I have a general ? that I couldn't seem to find an answer for once I searched.
I am a proud owner of an 05 MCS and I have loved it to death. I am looking to sell her and bring home a new Turbo MINI (maybe JCW) just so I can get a new whip and give the whole turbo thing a shot.

My ? is this: With new auto sales falling just about across the board, do you guys think that MINI might just for a short time drop below MSRP? I know I paid MSRP for mine and didn't even get free floormats when I bought mine in 05.

I plan on selling my MCS on the open market and then see what deal I can whip up with the dealer. I have a beater pick-up truck that I can drive in the meantime so there is no rush on my part.

I was also thinking about the BMW 135i. I know that they are going pretty close to invioce as far as I can tell with some pretty good rates.

But I am a MINI guy at heart and I think that I would be perfectly happy with another MINI. A MINI has way more personality than a 135 will ever have.

Anyone out there get below invoice with the current market conditions out there?
Thanks for the help guys
Dinger

if you pick one off the lot you might get below msrp but if you are ordering one i doubt it. That car was custom built for you. they aren't going to give you a discount on something you custom configured and ordered. but that's just IMO.

I would say that the chance of you getting a MINI below MSRP are inversely related to the price of fuel.

If the price goes up they aren't going to deal because the next guy who walks in the door will buy one.

And that doesn't even take into account the economy sucking. Which also is in your favor (when it comes to purchasing a car).

Given those two things, I'd say now is as good a time as any to give it a shot.

I custom ordered my MCS on Oct 2 and tracked its progress all the way from England until I picked it up last week. I got $400 off of MSRP without really pressing them. Times are hard for everyone. They will deal!

I think it depends on where you are and how the dealership is doing. Mine wouldn't budge on MSRP or even throw in mats. I checked with MINI in Utah, NM, MN and now would go lower then MSRP. They were all willing to throw in some free items, but by the time I traveled to purchase it would have worked out to be the same for me. I was shopping around the end of Oct.

I just ordered mine last night and negotiated hard on my trade in to get them where I needed to be.
I didn't care what numbers they altered, I stuck with a figure and they got there. I don't know if I'd have had any luck negotiating had I not been trading in, though.
No harm in trying. Just do your homework and be reasonable.

I just bought an 08 MCS off the lot{a raritiy here in N Calif.} and negotiated away the $2000.00 dealer mark-up rather easily. They stood firm on MSRP. I got the price that I was looking for and a decent offer on my trade in so I am happy.

I just ordered mine and they're still MSRP. No dealing.

I don't have a problem with a MSRP price off the internet when you can configure the vehicle the way you desire it.. I don't appreciate when people ask me to lower my hourly rate either. When my lifelong friend builds me a surfboard, as he has for so many years ,I don't ask him for a deal either. If he saysthat is the price, it is my choice at that point. Even still,I say good luck to you and the time may be right for a better deal.

I think its one thing if the dealers were not marking up the price to crazy levels (up to 5k over msrp) last few months, so what goes around comes around. I think it only fair to deal hard now that the demand seems to have softened. My local dealer had a ton of '09s on the lot over the weekend. A couple of months ago they had nearly zero new car inventory.

Dinger, go see Dana at Hendrick. Tell her I sent you (Eric from BumperPlugs.com)....I bet you can work a deal. :) Or have you already looked?

No dealing for mine either! BMW has to be selling a ton of these. Since I got mine...there are two others on the block. :)

yeah they wouldnt budge on mine... got some mats lol.

they said that sales are just fine and even had markups on the 08s that were on the lot. Decided to suck it up and get an 09 for msrp and wait the 7 weeks...why pay more for an older car!?:roll:

Goood opinions from all sides.
I do not have a problem paying MSRP as I did in 05 when I bought my current MINI.
I was just seeing if anyone else has had any success during these times.

Eric, I will probably deal with Dana anyway as I knew her when she was a receptionist when I bought mine.

I am just looking for the best deal as everyone else on here.

Thanks for all the opinions guys
Dinger

Seems to be different at every dealer, and part of the county.
I know that DC metro area is still paying MSRP, and delivered recorded high numbers last month.

Local dealership here in Honolulu is selling new cars on Craigslist for almost $2,000 off list price... http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/ctd/924553839.html

But then they have like 80 cars on the lot !!! :eek2:

Here I thought this thread would be about a "to buy, or not to buy?" decision in today's economy...

I really want to order my MINI, but there's this nagging voice of responsibility in the back of my head that keeps saying, "you never know what the future will hold -- wait until the economy improves."

Freakin' annoying little voice.

Next month I will really be able to answer this better. In a moment of impulse I ordered a new '09 JCW to replace my 6 month old '08 MCS. At that moment in time, there was only three cars on the lot for sale, all incoming cars were customer orders, and the MA said they would be most happy to have my late mode/low mileage car back in trade. I suspect things have slowed down somewhat in the 5-6 weeks since that day but generally speaking MINI is still holding its own in the US. Of course it's a regional thing, some areas are hurting more than others, but MINI has done a great job in the US market of protecting their value by sticking with a mostly MSRP sales structure. MINI USA can't force dealers to not discount, but they can "encourage" them not to by tweaking their future allotments, all this done in hopes that the economy will get better sooner rather than later. I guess I'm an optimist at heart, I've lived long enough to go through periods of economic hardship before, and things will get better. I can't think of a better car to weather the downturn with than a MINI.

Fishbert,

If that little voice keeps nagging, I'd suggest waiting. It's one thing to make a somewhat impractical purchase decision in normal times, but when the economy is clearly in bad shape, it could be disastrous.

For some people, buying a new MINI (or any new car or that matter) doesn't stand a chance of jeopardizing their financial future. For everyone else, there is the joy of delayed gratification.

I figure a new MINI would be a practical expense because right now I commute 90 miles round trip each day in an 11 year old Honda Civic.

And, business has been booming for my particular employer (not saying who that is), and they've been doing nothing but hiring week after week for nearly 2 years. But, it's hard to ignore the economic storm wreaking havoc just out the window...

Keep in mind list price is NOT msrp...

I just took a trip to my dealer and was awed by the selection of cars on the lot. Seemed to have everything MC, MCS, Clubman (lots) and JCW (4). If you are in the position to buy, I would bargain hard and shop around.

Which one is usually higher and which one includes all the dealer add on's?

I had to pay MSRP and I bought 2 at once. I didn't even get any free stuff. They did waive the dealers $395.00 fee for whatever on the second car.

And my MA said he can get me a sweet deal on the extended warranty etc. I'll believe that when I see it. I have a 2007 trade with low low miles but have not brought that into the deal yet. I will probably sell it myself I think I can get more dough for it.

There were lots of cars on the lot but my MA said they are all sold. They also had about 6 used cars but I am not interested in used. The economy is still pretty decent in the Seattle area. WAMU is getting ready to lay off 3000 people locally so that may dampen the spirits somewhat.

I agree with an earlier poster. It's regional. Depends on where you are.

Regards,

Pat

My 2009 was special order MSRP + driver & pass floormats + a mini T-Shirt.

Geez, I had to press for the T-Shirt. Martin, the moving light company always hooks me up with T-Shirts and ball caps when I buy gear from them. IMOP Mini could have done better then a T-Shirt but it looks like they do better with swag on the official rallys so its not all gloom and doom on the mini swag front.