That would require rejecting the MINI ordered from MINI of Mountian View. It has landed at Hueneme and should reach the dealer soon. Hopefully, the car will pass muster and I wont have to reject it.

 

Mini is doomed. BMW is going to shut it down any minute now. At least mine is on the boat. Hopefully the dealership I am working it through will stay in business long enough for me to take delivery.

I have no idea why BMW is projecting a record sales year for Mini. Kind of silly to tell investors that, as it can hurt the stock value of BMW here in the U.S. Go figure.

Clearly, they are doomed. The R56 is killing them. I know it is killing me! Having to wait 8 weeks for it is maddening! ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Obligatory whine recorded for the day

 

Right. Same conclusion. Word for word.

 

Even if the R56 outsells previous models that may still mean more R56s on lots and potential bargaining. I assume with the new design the factory can produce more cars. For a while at least, and perhaps in anticipation of the R55, MINI may be producing more than they are selling. It's likely that running the line at the full rate has the lowest production costs and once the R55 starts coming down the line there will be less R56s.

 

Great minds think alike


But to the point: As dealer inventory raises, deals off of MSRP are to follow.. something very unique for the MINI consumer

If your shopping around NC for a MINI, based on 150+ R56s sitting on the dealers lots, and year to year sales down trending, I would think you could cut a deal off the lot...

 

I think some people are! I've also noticed used MINIs in the "pre-owned" lot for the first time ever. I know for a fact that some of these are there because the owner traded for an R56 (I know the owners). In my case the initial shipment had some nice MINIs but they were all dealer spec and that simply was not good enough...so I ordered. I also had to wait for a manual tranny in a Cooper and for the color I wanted. Makes me wonder how many cars in the dealer allocation are customer spec. The initial influx of R56s were all dealer spec and they may move a bit slower off the lot as are the used R50/53s.

 

And if that starts happening then just imagine the deal you could cut on an 06.

 

Nobody has mentioned yet that nationally almost all automakers were down in April, even venerable Toyota had a year over year sales decline, but MINI still managed a small increase in an otherwise very bad month for car sales nationally.

 

The thing is (as relates to the long-term)...R56 has gotten almost universal great press (even from initial skeptics) as well as nods from owners (even owners of the venerable R53) who are blown away by the car's real-life prowess. This in spite of reported/perceived quirks (which each MINI iteration has had). I therefore think, based on these two here-and-now, non-speculative realities, that the future of R56 is very bright indeed. R56 is out-performing it's own hype (as did R50/53)...and I know owners who are even now waiting for the Clubman to pull the trigger all over again!!!

What I wonder/muse about (and this has little to do with numbers) is if MINI appeal can broaden to the folks now driving Hondas and Toyotas who (let's face it) need a little more fun in their lives. Is it the same group of quirky odd-***** that are buying MINIs over and over? I'm on my second, a friend of mine who shall remained un-named (his initials are UJ) is on his fourth!! I think new MINI owners are indeed coming into the fold/cult, but the initial onslaught/feeding frenzy of the early years would be very hard to top. Not that I'd complain if it happened.

 

Chrysler was up year to year for the month of April...

 

I'm coming from a 1990 Acura Integra -- that's a Honda. Before that it was a 1980 VW Rabbit. First car was a 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider. The Alfa was not new, but the others were. I tend to keep cars for awhile.

 

That's to your credit then. I still run into people who I simply do not consider "MINI-worthy." They are afraid to step out of the norm, embrace the quirky, have some fun. They want it safe. I've had two friends who wanted a MINI but talked themselves out of it because of this. I still think those who buy MINIs are those who are able to take just one step off into the great beyond, which is a great thing.

I think MINI wants to win more of these "daily driver" folks over. I know I try to explain to the inquisitive why MINIs are just so darn good...they look at me as it I were speaking a foreign language!!! Most seemingly just don't get it! Folks need to raise their expectations about motoring, I think.

 

I'm one of those that plan on getting Mini as daily driver... fun, fast and
pretty good mpg.. whats not to like...

So being able "deal" on the new 07s is a good news to me... hate paying
MSRP (or over) for any car. I wonder how R56s are selling in socal..

 

As soon as someone is albe to "deal" on a 07 R56, I would hope someone begins a new thread announcing it? Mine charges an extra $595 above MSRP

 

I got $2K off on mine !

dean.

 

Not surprising...I'd seen $1,500 off R53s and that was over a month ago!!

 

The best so far is MSRP, free matts and the racing stripes front and back for free. Tried to get the 4th year maintenance but turned down so far. I may keep trying. Gokartride, I am also trying to talk myself out of this car. Kind of like in Animal house when the devil was on one shoulder and angel on the other.

 

Too late, my friend...you're one of us now!!!

 

I have a friend whose Cooper has needed extensive work. Her loaner was an R56 (I think an MCS but I don't know for sure), and she was glad to get rid of it. She didn't like the "refinement." Said her mother would like it. Yikes--I'm her mother's age--am I getting old?

 

Y'all that think dealers will start cutting deals on 07 models just because there are more cars on lots gotta PLZ lay off the crack, it ain't going to happen--esp as gas creeps to and over $4/gal in some markets. Supply and demand will then dictate more markups in the trendier markets, and MSRP for the rest of us Try to live with it

 

Why pay the shipping when you can get a one way ticket for under $200 to virtually anywhere in the US. Enjoy the drive!

 

I ordered my MC but a similar 07 was on the lot at around $25,000 but we didn't notice the $2,800 in custom wheels added which I didn't want. I said to the salesman I am a cash buyer (already had financing and check in hand) that I would buy the car for MSRP but wanted the standard wheels installed or you could sell me the car for $25,000 as is. This would be a $2,800 discount but was for the wheels which to me is a huge mark up. Eitherway, the dealer said no. Could have sold a car right then with a check in hand but said no. If it was a Ford, I would have gotten the wheels and $3,000 off.

It seems they are still selling very well and the dealers are playing chicken with us and are winning.

 

I have seen dealers offering attractive lease deals in the $280-$300 range on R56 Coopers with no money down and no inceptions for 36 months. I almost fell off my chair when I saw these deals while reading the paper Sunday morning.

 

I think that it is impossible to compute the sales success without having a full understanding of the company and its needs, but...

Official MINI Press Release: The new generation of MINI is now available in all the major markets worldwide. This caused sales to rise by 19.2% in April to 18,263 MINI sold (prev.yr.: 15,323). For the year to the end of April 2007, the world’s most successful small car in the premium segment is 0.6% above last year, with 65,245 deliveries to customers (prev.yr.: 64,841).

 

I got free fresh baked cookies when I ordered mine. Oh, I also got some bottled water. I was prepared to pay MSRP but wasn't going to pay more than that. Anytime you custom order something, you're going to pay full price.