I currently own an 05 Cooper. I have been obsessing about the Clubman ever since they were first announced. I live 200 miles from the nearest dealer.

The dealer has a fully loaded 2008 dk silver Clubman S. It's everything I want and more, they will subtract the dealer charge if I buy it.
My question - why not? Why order an 09 now over buying a new 08?
The 08 has all of the packages, which had more in then than the 09 packages (yes?) and lifetime Sirius Radio and limited slip differential. It doesn't have any JCW.
Since I need to drive 4 hr to do this, I'd love any/all opinions and advice before I take the road trip!

thanks

 

Personally, I'd be on the road at this very moment to elbow anyone else in the eyeball in order to claim it first. (If a deal like that had been available to me before I already ordered, waited, and received my Clubman ...)

 

advice... act quickly if you are going to buy it. It won't last. Even if your dealer doesn't have an immediate buyer, another dealer will have it shipped out in no time.

 

What am I missing here? your getting an 08 (now a year old) and they are just knocking off the dealer markup?

Things have changed dramatically with the economic downturn and there are deals to be had! We just ordered our clubman from Sacramento Mini at zero markup. That was the beginning of October, I'm guessing now you may even get a discount off the sticker price. Our Clubbie is already on the ship heading to the West Coast, we should have it by Thanksgiving.

I know it looks like a bird in the hand but why not order exactly what you want and not have a car that is already a year old?

 

You only live once.

 

+1, unless it's EXACTLY the MINI configuration you want, why not build one and order it? You're not getting any special deal, and your ordered car will be an '09. I'd go for the Christmas present instead of the Halloween treat.

 

I bought a 08 and also live 89 miles from a dealer, I need a larger car and bought a BMW and having a dealer down the street is wonderful

 

Agreed unless you NEED to have it now.

How much is this dealer charge?

 

$595 - guess I'm leaning toward not worth it and might as well order one. Will actually save me some money, as I won't get quite so many options.
Still have the weekend to change my mind again.

 

Probably hasn't sold because it is loaded, ie, more expensive.

Do an online build, take the list into the dealer, and ask him to sell the 08 for the price of your 09 build minus the dealer charge. Basically, only pay for what you want. Make the rest of the stuff a 'gift' for taking the car off the lot.

As said above, why pay extra for an 'older' car when you can have what you want for less by Xmas.

charlie

 

Ah, I inferred that you were fine with the car as configured. portablevcb's advice is worth a shot. If specifications are an issue, then of course you should pay the full tariff for "you-ification." I mostly read the question as were the differences 08 vs 09 sufficient to warrant the wait and possible (depending on configuration) higher price. I had a choice of 08 vs 09 when ordering and did not see any change significant enough to affect my decision one way or the other.

 

If you are trading in your 05 and NW Mini is willing to give you a fair tradin value for it, then why not, remember that in Wa you get the sales tax credit. I would think that if you are a repeat buyer it would be nice to hear if they really try to get you in that Clubman keep us posted.

 

Sounds as though you may now have figured out which way you're going to go with this. Bottom line look at the financial side since you're not desperate for the new Clubman now - figure in trade in, taxes, etc. If you can get a better deal waiting and ordering what you want, then... (Portablevcb has a good idea, if the dealership really wants to move that car and if you like it, it's certainly worth a try.)

 

We just bought our 08 LB/S Clubman S. It is a launch edition. Fully loaded, LSD, all 3 packages, clear bra, tinted windows, leather/cloth seats, blue line interior, brushed alloy dash, threw in the multifunction steering wheel. It has a few thousand miles on it as it was a demo driven only by the MAs. Let's put it this way, we paid only a few K more for it, than what I paid for my 05 MC Cabrio 4 years ago. I built it on the 09 configurator & it priced out at 34K MINI of St Louis gave us a great deal Extended the warranty another 5K. It has exactly what we wanted on it. And they gave me a good trade in on my Cabrio. So if the MINI is what you want, go for it. If not, order one & pay full price.

Lois

 

Many dealers around here are having overstock, People are not buying as many MINIs as before so they are just sitting around :(

 

Still selling well here outside The Big Apple.

 

They are still selling well here in St Louis. The showroom was packed the night we were there. And we had to wait a few days to finalize the deal because they were so busy with deliveries. But they did give us the MINI to drive

The latest reports show MINI, VW & Audi being the only cars that are still selling. Granted ALL car sales are down but overall MINI is still doing well.

And, yes, it is the end of the 08s & the 09s are being ordered & delivered. Last December my brother was able to deal on a 07 at MINI of St Louis.

Lois

 

never pay a dealer markup. in the LA area i found all dealers to have a 2k markup except for one, South Bay MINI. so i bought mine there. why pay 2k for nothing? the downside is the wait is about 10-12 weeks, as opposed to 6-8 if you pay the 2k markup. but i'm willing to wait a month to save 2k. personally.

 

Yes Portablevcb did! I did exactly has suggested and they are "discussing" it. I am comfortable telling them no thanks if they don't accept. If they do, it'll save me nearly $5k, and I'll have the car now - I'm an impatient kinda person.
Also, I have a feeling that I need a new car now - nuts I know, but that talk runs in my family and we believe in it. I have a feeling.

 

You think like I do!

The only thing I'd add is to "never accept a no from someone who doesn't have the power to give it to you!" (meaning take it to the Sales/Fleet Mgr. or GM rather than just the MA.) This has worked for me more times than not (in all areas of life) for years.

Best of Luck!

 

 

So just to clarify things, first option is an 08 well-optioned out at MSRP or second option of what-you-want 09 at MSRP(any mark up should make you go to another dealer-let alone a $500+ dealer fee).

Second option would be my choice. Only way I would go for the first option is if there's a discount. An 08 would have a year's depreciation in 2 month's time and probably options which you might not want. Getting what you want with no depreciation at MSRP is having your cake and eating it too!

Oh but if the dealer is willing to let it go for a lot less than MSRP, I would grab it.

 

Well, I have a new Clubman. Paid 1k under MSRP and got them to throw in the protection package (3M, not stock) and floor mats and didn't pay for the fancy stripes that are on it. (oh, and I got a T-shirt, wish I'd asked for a cap, too).
Love this car!
Ended up costing me just under 1k more than my build would have, and my build would not have had Sirius or Performance package or fancy stripes or a whole bunch of other things I truly wanted but couldn't justify. But, I have it all now.
thanks to you all. Without you, I would have blindly paid more, not what they asked for, but I wouldn't have negotiated nearly as hard/smart.
Did I mention I love this car?

 

congrats, i love hearing a good negotiation story. I got a clubbie s as a loaner now. how long do you think the dealership will wait before they call the cops on me?

 

Excellent! Many happy miles of motoring to you! Now - shoot some photos and post 'em!