So I am wondering if dealers will drop to invoice pricing on these or if MSRP is still the lay of the land. I have decided to join the ranks of Mini owners after driving one today but am not sure how firm the dealers usually are on pricing.

 

When I bought my cars there was not much negotiating. I got some freebies and such but pretty much paid what they wanted which was MSRP. I ordered both my cars and didn't choose off the lot. I think if you buy a car off the lot today you might have some more negotiating room. You might be best serviced to understand exactly what you want and then call several dealers. However until you prove to a dealer that you are a serious buyer it's difficult to get a serious quote.

The best advice is to find a dealer you like and do the best you can.

Pat

 

Thanks for the feedback, I was looking at buying off the lot directly and not placing an order. I would assume there is wiggle room on lot cars versus custom assembled ones.

 

Custom ordered mine and paid 1400.00 less than msrp.

 

If it's the one in your sig it sounds great. How much was it?

 

With the '11 car in the pipeline soon, and info trickling out about it already, any '10 sitting on the lot has GOT to be a hot potato that any dealer would gladly unload on the cheap. Walk in and start talking about ordering an '11. I guarantee you the sales drone will offer you a look around at his/her available '10's on the lot. Act disinterested but play along. If you find a car you like, lowball the hell out of them, and when they blink, say fine, your intent is to order an '11 model anyways. I'll bet that you could steal an in-stock unit right about now.

 

what he said.

I got my 2010 MCSa for close to dealer's invoice. So it can be done.

 

The longer the car stays on the lot, the easier it is to negotiate. End of month and end of quarters (March, June, September, December) are the best time to buy. The problem with this game is that you must be patient and have more than 1 car on your list.

It's a game... that's all.

 

Well I already started talking to some dealers but I am not in a huge hurry, but would like to get out of my R32 before the summer is up. I suppose I can go look at a few models and act less than interested and gripe about '11s coming out soon and maybe I will just wait. I know from past experience they would rather you take a car off the lot when you are there than walk away.

 

generally that is correct. it also depends on geographics-- in areas of the US with many dealers, it's easier to negotiate, while in areas of the US with few (like the Pac NW and the Mountain Time Zone) then prices aren't as negotiable, especially on ordered cars.

And I'd be wary of those who boast huge discounts ($1,000+off msrp) on ordered cars. More times than not, they are ordered, but the original customer smelled possible buyer's remorse, got cold feet, and backed out at the last minute so the dealer was stuck with that car, ergo a decent discount for someone who wanted that specialized configuration. Sounds like it'd be an easy sale, but one man's dream MINI is another man's junkyard...

Plus, if gas ever spikes up over 4/gal again, demand for MINIs will rise, supplies will diminish, and one can kiss the discounts goodbye. good luck to you

 

I paid 24,700 for the car. 27,200 with taxes and registration.

 

Wow seems like you got a really great deal.

 

Did you save your build by any chance?

 

Yeah. It's pretty much In my signature. If you are in or close to California, call Amanda at South Bay Mini. It's in L.A. Tell her you are a NAM member.

 

Mk4 or Mk5 .:R32?? I'd think long and hard before dumping a Mk4. I had one and regret the hell out of ever getting rid of it. I'm not going to make the same mistake with my M Coupe.. it's not going anywhere.

 

^Yeah, why would you want to get rid of an R32? Those things are hard to come by.

There was no negotiating on my '08. The only extra thing they threw in was few floor mats.

 

To anyone who got a $1000 discount, did you trade in your old car? Did you get a fair-for-a-dealer-trade-in price for it? Or was it about $1000 less then what you expected? You know where I'm going with this......

 

Its a MK5 R32 with Nav. I am getting rid of it because I would like better gas mileage but with the mini I am not losing the feeling of fun driving.

 

You can always walk away from a deal if you do not like it. I have found that if you are talking about signing on the dotted line and then try to walk out the door they will do almost anything to make the deal happen.

 

I got about $1500 off the MSRP. I did order the car. Yes I did a trade in. The first number they gave me was a complete joke. The second was still far less then I wanted, but at least I didn't have to go through the selling headache. I got no freebies on the car. Not even floormats. I know a lot of people say you can't get a discount if you order but that wasn't my experience.

 

Edmunds' TMV (True Market Value or what people have been paying) for your car's specs and location is $24,961, so your savings is closer to $261 than $1400. Good deal nevertheless, especially when you're getting exactly what you want.

FYI... be aware that MSRP & Dealer Invoice are marketing ploys. Therefore, they're made available to the public to give the impression of a good deal when a buyer pays under MSRP. What's not available is to the public is "Dealer's Cost" - the actual cost the dealer paid for the car and keeping the car on the lot for sale, and other things like kickbacks and rebates a dealer gets from the manufacturer. Even the sales staff is not privy to this info. Dealer's Cost for a car varies from one dealer to another depending on the volume of cars a dealer can move. Thus a big volume dealer has more room to negotiate than a small one.

The best thing a buyer can do is go to many dealers as possible to get a sense of "fair pricing", check with the lowest valuation sources you can find (ie Edmunds, NADA), then make a offer of $1-$2k below what you're willing to pay and see what they say. Play the dealers against one another. There are folks who, after having done all the research, would walk up to a sales rep, hand him/her a business card with a price for the desired vehicle and say, "That's what I'm willing to pay for this car. If you can make it happen, please give me a call." and walks off. No back-and-forth chit chat. This happens a lot at luxury brand dealers in minority communities of people from Asia and the Middle East where haggling is a fact of daily life.

 

I only stated that I saved $1400.00 of MSRP. I called and spoke with about 4 other dealers in California. None of them were interested in dealing much on a ordered car, they all wanted to sell me something off of the lot. I think you are mistaken when you quote your price that people are paying in my area. The car dealers are dealing on cars sitting on the lots but not much off of MSRP when you order a car.

Larry

 

+1 on this.

There's only one dealer covering the Buffalo/Rochester NY area (Towne MINI). I ordered my 06 MC and paid MSRP. I bought my 09 MCS off the lot this spring, and negotiated a decent (but not spectacular) deal. Towne is fairly easy to work with, and treats their customers like close relatives when they bring cars in for service. But being the only MINI dealer within a few hundred miles means that buyers don't have a lot of leverage.

Bottom line: make a deal you can live with and be happy with your new MINI.

 

Ugh. Not even close to capturing the magic of the Mk4.. send her packing!

 

Yeah i had a Jetta GLI manual before the R32 and really miss that feeling of being in tune with the car. The DSG is nice when I just want to cruise around but when I feel like driving the car, the manual mode leaves a lot to be desired.