Hi All,

I checked out a 2011 Mini Cooper S tonight and was a bit surprised that the dealers wanted MSRP.

Basics:
2011 Mini Cooper S
Chili Red
Premium Pkg
Sport Pkg
Bluetooth
Total = 27,200.00

Dealer Options:
Paint Coating
Stripes
3M Film protection (on bumper and doors)
Yadda Yadda Dealer Pkg
Total = 30,000.00

I told him I was not interested in the $3000 in options he installed on the car...I just wanted to pick up the car at a fair price (Edmunds.com is showing 25,500 for my area for that car). I was willing to go up to 26,000 but he said 28,000 was as low as he could go. This was because, from the dealer, Mini is not discounting any models except the Clubman. I expected that on the Countryman...but a 2011 Cooper S (with 2012 models on the way in a few months) and at the end of the month?????

Am I off base here or does Mini just tend not to deal? This was in Raleigh, NC.

 

Some will deal, others want MSRP. Pays to shop around if there are other dealerships not too far away.

 

I recently bought my MCS and did a lot of research on what different websites would consider a fair price as a percent of MSRP. For my location, Edmunds projected the lowest expected price; both KBB and TrueCar had expected "fair" prices much closer to MSRP. It may be worth checking those sites too. Also your local Mini club's website might have some people's experiences.

 

So, what is a fair price for this car:

2011 Mini Cooper S
Prem Pkg
Sport Pkg
Bluetooth + Ipod

Dealer came back with his costs for everything (including all the addons):

Is that a fair price? Also, NC sales tax is 7.75% so this seems low (should be about $1900).

 

1) For the sames tax, some states only charge you tax on the difference between your trade and the new car.

2) Why is the dealer charging you for wear and tear?

Check out http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ it walks you through what you should expect buying a car.

 

Thanks nddst

1)Trade in is not a factor on this deal.
2)Who knows, I am trying to throw all of that out.

I've been checking out a few sites, but what is realistic for this car (given we are at the end of the model year)?

 

I agree.

I encountered the same issue at one dealer. The Motoring Advisor flat out told me that they only sell at MSRP (I wanted to order a 2012 as they dealer had no 2011 models that interested me) so I walked out.

I e-mailed two other dealers in my area. One immediately responded and said they would sell for $750 off MSRP. I responded with several points:

-Invoice price for the build
-Profit if they sold at MSRP
-Edmunds true value pricing
-Profit if they sold at Edmunds price

I closed by asking if they could come closer to the Edmunds price.

That dealer then responded that they would go as low as $1000 off MSRP.

I've used the same strategy at another dealer, and I am now getting close to $1200 off MSRP, which is very close to the Edmunds price.

So I would shop around, use the Internet sales department at each dealer to your advantage.

 

Thanks erbn. The Edmunds price is $25,500...if I add in the dealer listed tax, title and tags it comes out to $26,800. This dealer says he is losing money at $27,500 and needs $28,200+ to make a profit.

I'm very curious to what others have paid for a 2011 of this configuration.

 

i paid $1100 over invoice plus some bs advertising fee of $200. i'm sure i could have gotten that taken out, but i pulled an all-nighter and just wanted to get out of there. another dealer was offereing $900 over invoice at the time, but the finance manager was a *****. i guess socal is a good market for buying minis. it looks like NC ain't the best market. if you're willing to take a road trip to pick up a car, you might be able to get slightly better pricing.
if you haven't noticed, the spread b/w invoice and msrp is 10%...so it's not a whole lot of room to negotiate. i can see dealers charging msrp, but all those dealer fees are ridiculous. nick alexander likes "scotch guarding" all the cars that show up at their dealership...easiest way for dealerships to make money b/c mini doesn't get a piece of that action.
btw, the bonnet stripes are free with the sports package, but i'm sure the dealership's gonna tell you that the car was ordered w/o them so they have to charge you $100 for two strips of vinyl and $80 for a "professional" to put it on. that's the story i was told, but it was the last thing i made them throw in before i signed on the line.

 

That's a joke.

 

Well in November 2010 when the 2011s were still pretty new I bought my MCS. Sticker was $27,800 + stripes, floormats, prep, taxes (No trade in so NC Road use fee nearly $800) I paid $27,500 out the door. And I'm quite sure they stilll made a profit


Oh, technically you do not pay sales tax on vehicles in North Carolina. Its call a road use fee and its 3%, not 7.75. So its 3% of price of car- value of trade in

 

Is it really that important to bend a dealer over and get the absolute best possible price? I mean you're going to have a pretty close relationship with that place for the next 3 or 4 years. And yes, they do have an institutional memory...

Even worse, you bend over another dealer and expect your local guy to service your car with a smile...


I mean really...

 

Once the dealer told me I needed to pay him for wear and tear, car wash, full tank of gas, internal prep, plastic footwell covering, and a second detail...I walked.

I guess some folks like to get bent over.

I mean really....

 

The original post did not sound like a buyer trying to get the absolute best price, but a FAIR one to me.

Read some more of the dealer experiences folks are having. When a dealer adds in costs for paint sealant and wear and tear.......

I act towards the dealer in the manner they act towards me.

 

I went back and looked at my paperwork from the Charlotte dealer. I did not get charged for wear and tear. I can not even imagine what that even is. Me thinks I would also have walked if a dealer tried to charge me that. But, not all dealers are crooks. I bought mine my first visit to the dealer, I got what I think was a very fair price and deal was made in about 30 minutes.

 

Needforspeed,

When I bought my car I was fortunate enough to have several dealers in my area. I spoke to a Salesperson at each of the various stores about what I wanted. I made it very clear to them that I was a buyer and I would be buying soon but I was in my research phase and not buying today. I took their card and left.

Then I went to the MINI car builder on the MINI website and built "My Car". I printed out the build sheet of exactly what I wanted and sent it to the Salespeople I spoke with. I told them that this was what I wanted and I gave them a commitment that I would come down to their place and buy the car if they would do "My Car" for me at $1,000 off MSRP. I told them that I had sent the same to the other places I visited so they knew they had competition.

Within 3-4 days every dealer responded and offered me my deal. No haggling, no B/S. Maybe you should try what I did.

BTW, I went to the MINI site car builder feature and I checked out what your car should cost: Hardtop, Premium, Sport, Bluetooth. After you add destination charge of like $800 I see $28,000 MSRP before the "transmission credit" of $500. So that’s like $27,500 MSRP. Tax and tags are additional but since I don't know what your state's fees are I can't speak to that.

Keep in mind that car salespeople have a lot of down time in the store. If they have your car to work on they will find what you want. You just have to be a little patient. Try it! What can you lose!

 

I bought my car from a dealer 26 miles away, because they had the car I wanted on their lot. However, I get my car serviced from a different dealer that is closer to my home, and they not only service my vehicle with a smile, but they actually do a much better job than the dealer from where I purchased my car.