It was love at first sight which turned to obsession when I test drove the MCS at Brecht in the fall. Hated the mark-up ($5,000 at the time) and figured I would wait it out. Then I got laid off. Now I am back to work and ready to buy!

I am disgusted with the mark-up and am unwilling to pay it. Is that possible from any SoCal dealers? Anyone know what the wait times are these days?

Is out-of-state really the best way to go? I have built a MCS online, but not married to the options at this point. Are the inventories decent enough to buy off the lot?

Thanks! This is a great forum!

Divamac

 

I haven't shopped for a MINI for a small while now, however, Long Beach MINI is the only dealership still that I am aware of in the So Cal area without a mark-up. And they also have a lengthy waiting list for a personally spec'ed MINI. They do have inventory on hand, so you may luck out. I have heard nothing but great things about long distance shopping, namely from Classic in Ohio (A NAM sponser). Mini of the Hamptons is still around and moving merchandise. If I had to do it over again, I would go through Classic. I stupidly paid a small mark-up at Irvine, but it was lower than their normal rates since I got an '04 when the '05 were hitting the lots.

Butch

 

It will pay off for you to make some phone calls to the California dealerships and find out what they have - waiting lists, mark ups, etc. You will most likely find a better deal out of state....which is very sad....

I know Brecht has a ton of cars on their lot - and last week - believe it or not - they took the mark-ups off a lot of them in order to move cars off their lot. They are moving to a smaller area up the street. It surely doesn't hurt to call and try to deal with them. Maybe you'll get lucky


Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven)
05' Cool Blue MCSC

 

If you're willing to travel, Sandia Mini in Albuquerque NM has Coopers available at list. I don't think they have too many S's in stock but you could call.

 

I believe there is a dealer up north (Pleasanton?) that sells MSRP. I could get more info on that if you like.

 

Check out South Bay MINI in Torrance. They don't charge a markup. They are a new MINI dealer--long time BMW dealer. While they are open for business, I believe they are doing a grand opening event for the MINI showroom sometimes in May. But last time I checked they had 50 MCS's on order all at MSRP.

http://www.southbaymini.com/index.asp
18800 HAWTHORNE BLVD.TORRANCE, CA. 90504 PHONE (310) 939-7300

A quick note, don't bother trying to email them. They aren't fully set up for that yet, even though they list their addresses. Call them on the phone for best results.

Talk to Jennifer Osborne if you can and let her know that Richard from c3 sent you. They were one of our major sponsors for AMVIV Kick Off Dinner, and I just want them to know we are trying to send business their way.

Richard

 

That's really strange. I bought my MINI second hand about a year and a half ago and all the business cards inside are from South Bay. Hmm.

And do you absolutely have to have it new? There are some good prices on Ebay and Autotrader. For that matter, there are a few in the Marketplace forum that are really good deals

 

It might have been South Bay BMW??? They just opened their MINI showroom a few months ago and moved both the BMW and MINI showrooms to a single location. I wouldn't be surprised if someone traded in their MINI for a BMW and that's how you acquired it. :smile:

 

Welcome to NAM

I'm in Lakeside and I bought my MCS at Crevier in Santa Ana. I had a great experience and yes I paid something over MSRP, but, I got what I ordered in six weeks.

Send me a pm if you want my phone number and I will tell you about my experience and suggestions.

Earl

 

Here's another vote of approval for South Bay MINI. I ordered mine in late February from Jamie DeFrance, and it's in-production right now with a completion date of March 16, according to MINIUSA. No markup, great service, and they also have plenty of cars in stock.


By the way, South Bay MINI is "new" in their Torrance, CA location, but my understanding is that they were doing business previously at a different location, a little farther north. That might explain the discrepancy about the biz cards in the used MINI...

Definitely call or visit, though - email and web don't seem to be the way to go with them.

_Dave_

 

First, what's with an LA dealer named "South Bay"? I keep thinking they're in my area (as in the San Francisco Bay.) Is there a real bay down there??

Up here you can get MSRP at East Bay MINI in Pleasanton - I hear there are still waiting lists. Not sure how long, but probably 3-6 months.

If you want to order, check out Salt Lake City and AZ dealers for close options. If you want a road trip, order from Classic or MOTH, or any number of southern dealers for little or no wait (beyond production times.)

If you want to buy off the lot, decide what you want and start calling or emailing - most dealers seem to have inventory on the web, so that's one place to start.
Good luck!

 

Just thought I would confirm Pleasanton Mini sells at MSRP. Great service and nice people.

 

Yes, much like the existence of towns and cities named "Springfield" in other states, there is an area near Los Angeles called "South Bay". And yes, there's a real bay here: the San Pedro Bay. It's formed in part by the Palos Verdes Peninsula. You might have seen it in movies like Charlie's Angels, Driven, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Aviator, among others. It's home to Catalina Island (not actually *in* the bay), the Port of Los Angeles (Fifth largest in the world, I think?), and Long Beach. We quite like it!

_Dave_

 

Divamac,

After attempting to get Brecht to lower their price to no avail, I went to MINI of Murray in Salt Lake City. They were great! The MA picked up my daughter and I at our hotel and took us to the dealership and we were out in 30 minutes. We waited 4 months for the car (this was Aug. 2003), so things are better now. Paid MSRP, had a fun trip with my 8 year old, and took 750 miles off the break-in in 2 days. Southwest Airlines flies to Salt Lake 3 times per day from San Diego, and it is a beautiful drive through the desert to San Diego.

Dave
2003 DS/B MCS, 15%

 

Divamac,

Talk to Sean @ Brecht. I was just there last night, with service issues. As Donna/Mike noted, the mark up on the cars on the lot seems to have gone away in advance of their move. They've got a fairly decent selection of MCS's and a whole ton of convertibles.

Jim

 

What service issues do you have now??

Earl

 

Let's see... leaky on-side taillight, dash rattle, window adjustments. Just the stuff they've been working on for a month now.

 

Another vote for South Bay Mini

We ordered a January production and just picked it up last week. Car went out the door at MSRP as promised and they handled everything well. Drive back to San Francisco was a nice way to take the edge off of the break in miles :smile:

 

Put a deposit down on my new LY MCSc yesterday at Brecht MINI. Most of them on the lot had no markup. They by far had more convertibles on the lot then hard tops (maybe 5:1). Also a nice MCS JCW all decked out for only $40k.

Mike, my MA said that right now they are just trying to move the MINI's and that some of the markups will be coming back as it gets closer to summer. Nick Alexander in LA was still going to chage me a markup even though I've bought 5 other cars from them (325i, 545i, 545i, 530i and my '02 MSC). Blargo on Nick Alexander. Thanks Brecht & Mike!

 

What a bunch of dopes .

I've said it before....make an extra 2/3/4000 on this sale and loose a customer and loss 1,500 to 2,000 on your next five, six, or ten cars.

I also realize the MINI dealers are not getting enoght vehicles to support the operations they are obligated to put in right now. So what do they do.

Earl

 

Another vote for South Bay Mini. We ordered an automatic S to our specs for my wife yesterday from them at MSRP, no fuss-no muss.

We did check with other local dealerships (and closer to home). Each was very friendly and offered MSRP after some negotiations but each left us with a feeling of "you are lucky to get MSRP". Southbay's straightforwardness and MSRP policy out of the gate gave us a feeling that they are seeking to do business with us as a partner, rather than just 'more revenue'. That says a lot about the dealership and sets the stage for the future.

Give them a call, you won't be disappointed (310-939-7300). Jamie DeFrance and Jennifer Osborne are great.
JB

 

this is some great information you all provided.

I did stop by Brecht today to see what was on the lot and see if Sean was budging on the mark-up. Without exactly telling me so, he said that he can drop the mark-up just by asking. but all the cars do have lojack and permacoat and mats. When i told him that I figured that might as well be called a mark-up (taking the biggest profit margin add-ons and forcing them down the buyers throats), he didnt disagree. Anyhow he said that he can't do anything about the permacoat, but if the lojak isn't already installed, he cannot force me to take it. For the record, I had spoken with Sean last summer when I was first tempted, and have nothing but good things to say about him.

They are overrun with convertibles, so they have no mark-up.

Finally, there is one on the lot with 400mi that was a demo which he's offered without mark-up (but with lojack and permacoat). It has all of the options I wanted (except it has cloth, I would have gotten leatherette). I would have jumped on it, but it has the R90 wheels, which I am not sure about for monetary reasons. I am going to sleep on it and see how it feels in the morning.

Again, thanks for all the info!

Carol

 

I hate to be a naysayer, but, having seen how they are driven, I would strongly advise you to avoid a demo car. The cars I've witness being demoed are driven hard, thrashed really, with no regard for the break in. I've also heard of demo cars getting damaged and having bodywork as well. Overall I just think its best to get a new car unless you are getting some kind of deep discount that makes a really big difference.

I don't know what you are looking for exactly but try calling around. At Southbay they told me that they stopped loading on Lowjack etc after the first batch of on hand stock, so perhaps they have somethere there at MSRP.

Best of luck

 

Carol, if you decide to purchase the demo, be sure to negotiate a free extended warranty. Test-drivers can be pretty harsh, so you will want the extra-added protection. Best of luck to you!


Clover

 

I DID IT! After another drive and a bit of negotiating (I got an extended warranty) I went ahead with the car from Brecht. No mark-up, but it did have Lojack and PermaPlate, and, of course, the 350 demo miles. They offered to swap out the R90's, but a night's sleep made me realize that those wheels are bad-***!

I get to pick 'er up on Saturday after a detailing!

Thanks for all your input and advice!

Carol