My first post here, as my wife and I are looking to lease a Clubman.

Should I assume that there is no real chance of getting a lower price on the car that we'd like to order (base Clubman, sparkling silver, with most options except AT, sport and the stereo upgrade)?

If not, what is reasonable to expect in terms of "throw-ins" to take away the pain of paying full MSRP? What did YOU manage to get from the dealer?

I'm just finding it hard to accept having no cards to play in terms of the negotiation (only one dealer here in the province, which doesn't help).

I'd appreciate any comments. Thanks in advance.

 

Same situation here in the US. The Clubman just launched less than 3 months ago, lower production and higher demand = MSRP or above. MINI dealers here are rarely, if ever, negotiating the prices of new Clubmans. Either you pay full sticker price, and if you don't, the next guy behind you in line will. In Canada I assume this situation to be even worse because you guys have far fewer MINI dealerships and the number of MINIs imported into Canada are not even a third of the cars we get for US consumption. Another suggestion you may want to look into is to buy your new Clubman south of the border and import it into Canada. Sometimes this is a good proposition but sometimes is not. Sometimes the exchange rate may work for or against you. Sorry, i can't give you the answer you want to hear, but if you want a new MINI Clubman you are going to pay full sticker price for it, be it in Canada or elsehwere.

 

I did manage to get about US$1,000 worth of frebbies from my dealer. I got sets of fabric and rubber mats, new iPod adaptor installed, shirts, a cuckoo Clubman clock, etc. But then again I have bought 4 new MINIs from the same dealership since 2002, so I already have VIP status with them (I also have referred tons of business to them over the years). Dealers are not obligated to give you frebbies and their policies vary greatly from dealer to dealer.

 

Last thing... Be glad you are paying MSRP for your Clubman because this ensures their rock solid residuals. If you want to bargain a dealer to death, your nearest GM dealer will be happy to sell you a new GM vehicle for well below dealer invoice. But that same GM car is going to have dismal resale value 24 months down the road.

 

The situation is not necessarily the same in Canada as it is in the US. I had no problem at all getting an excellent discount on my new regular '08 MC, which I leased, and a friend of mine who was close to leasing a Clubman was also offered a discount on the vehicle by the dealer. So don't automatically assume that you can't deal.

That said, I'm located in Ontario, where we have our pick of dealers and the competition is a little stronger than in a province with only one Mini store. But you can still play one dealer off another if you're willing to travel a bit for a better deal.

I received about $1600 under MSRP including the value of freebies (wheel locks, rubber mats, trunk tray, and a discount on clear bra install). Lease residual values are excellent, but the lease finance rates are not. Still, these cars lease out pretty well.

 

Well, I've had a very interesting experience. Yesterday I posted asking about a deal on leasing in Canada, and what sort of "throw-ins" might be available, since MSRP was taken for granted.

When I talked to the salesman on the phone shortly after posting, to finally get around to talking about money, he had faxed me an estimate with about $800 off sticker, rubber mats, locking wheel nuts, and the battery charger for the engine Minis use here in lieu of a block heater. Very nice surprise, for me.

FWIW, in case there are other Canadians out there looking, the deal is $33 315 (incl. freight etc.) as configured, offered for 32 628. The lease (24000 km per year, about 15000 miles) is $568.97 per month with $0 down, or about $32 less per month for every $1000 down.

I may be missing something here, but this seems reasonable. I hope this helps.

 

Make sure your quote includes the new Clubman lease rate for May (dropped from 7.75 to 6.9% yesterday) and that you only pay for the kilometres you need. Each 4000 km reduction per year adds 1% to the residual value.

Good luck.

 

ya the lease rates are better for may and I think the residuals are still as good. I'm puting off the lease of a clubman for the same reason. The dealers in the montreal area are playing hardball and keep saying canada only gets 650 clubmans this year. When do the 09's get into production? has to be soon. I wouldn't mind paying MSRP, but one dealer quoted me about 2000$ in extra dealer fees on top of msrp.