Yes, it's called bargaining. The other dealers needed to know exactly how much I was quoted so they could counter. The people reading this board do not. A dealer will not contact another dealer expecting them to sell a car for the same amount. People on this board may.

 

....these are MINI salesmen-- and if you've been reading posts on this board over the last few days, you'll have learned that they are among the most caring, feeling human beings on earth. From reading the posts, I'm learning that to them, the sale and profit they make is secondary, and the opportunity to become the buyer's lifelong family friend is a higher priority. As a result, I can understand why it's a moral imperative to match an MA's level of extreme selflessness and compassion by refusing to give in to "buying and telling" when someone else is in the same situation they were in three days ago and inquires about the price. Incredible-- hasn't anyone heard of "Cooperate and graduate"? Talk about misplaced honor...

Kent

 

Yes they will if they feel the other dealer is poaching their territory or not playing by the rules.

I'm not suggesting you tell us what deal you got, but by going to the other dealer with your written quote you exposed your first salesman and dealership to a possible reprimand. I just found your original quote a little odd.

 

What "rules" are they supposed to be playing by? The "rules" of business say if you aren't the lowest price or don't provide service that people are willing to pay extra for, then your customers will go elsewhere. If a dealership decides to sell a car at a price that causes them not to make as much, or even loses them money, that's their choice. If another dealership can't beat their price, or aren't willing to sell for as small of a margin, then so be it. Many of the dealerships I spoke to wouldn't come off their price without a buyer's order from another dealership that proved that they were giving the offer I told them. I don't see what's so wrong with this.

My salesman knew that I brought his quote to another dealer and he was fine with it because he was confident that he had given me a really good price.

FWIW, there are several posts on NAM (and many other websites) that suggest this method of car buying. This is a very common practice.

 

I just dont see whats the big deal about the deal you got for your mini. I have been apart of MANY boards.... People are willing to share the deals they got so that possibly board members could get information... In any case, its totally up to you if you want to share this info.. I just dont see what the big deal is.... Its not a really big deal.....

Cheers

Christian

 

$500 off MSRP. Ordered my car this weekend. Sticker is $30,800. They also wanted me to give them a $1,000 deposit and I told them "no way, I'll give you $500 now and that's it. I'm not going to be out a grand for something I won't have for two months." Needless to say, they took it.

This is a very limited production car, and a limited dealer network. So there are only so many dealerships you can go to play one dealership off another. Most of the MINI dealerships have a "gentleman's aggreement" to charge MSRP so it's difficult getting a good deal on this car. My current car is a 2004 Mazda 3 (great car by the way) and I paid $500 over invoice when I bought it in March 2004. So yes, it was a bit off a shock to me, to "only" get $500 off MSRP. I have since learned that is actually decent, and most people don't even get that.

I knew what I was getting into however, and I don't have a problem with it. They are building a car just for me, and it's a fantastic little automobile and I think the MSRP is fair for what you get. So any discount is gravy, but like many others, I would have bought the car even without a discount because it truly is a special car in a sea of ordinary Honda's, Toyota's, Ford's, Nissan's, Mitshubishi's etc.

 

It's not a big deal. As I said before, I don't want to put undue pressure on my MA to give another person the same deal. If others want to put their MA in that position then that's up to them. I prefer not to.

I gave you the info for who I dealt with. If you want to call them, then call. If not, then don't. It really makes no difference to me. I was just trying to help both you and my MA out.

 

THanks for the info. It was some help. I guess in the world of car sales, quantity of people coming into the door is very important. So I dont think you would be hurting your MA by any means. Dealerships do not feel any pressure what so ever by consumers. They hold the ball. They can say no at any time. Trust me, I have had that said to me many many times. As a consumer we all should try to get the best deal possible. Thats where I was coming from.

Thanks for the info tho...

Christian

 

You will certainly have more wiggle room if you are purchasing a car they have in stock already - which is what I did. If you are custom ordering, then as others have said, they really can't do much for you.

 

I don't yet have a Mini but I'm probably going to get one in the next several months. This thread has helped a lot. I went by my local Mini dealership (the only one in St. Louis BTW) and they told me that there was no negotiating on the sticker price. This thread pretty much confirms that there is very little wiggle-room.

I was ready to buy one on Saturday after the test drive but I couldn't come to an agreement with the dealer on my trade-in. They offered me about $2K less than I wanted...so I basically told them thanks and we'll try again some other time. I didn't expect them to let me just walk off the lot without a deal but they did. I guess they don't have much trouble selling the cars that they have. They sure seemed to have a lot of Minis on the lot though.

I'm still hopeful...

 

we picked our mini up off the lot - destiny baby LOL - we got $500 off, plus free sport stripe/install, free floor mats and a bag of goodies (2 hats, bull dog keychains, etc)

 

Don't give up. Sounds like a similar situation to mine. As I said above, they definitely have more flexibility on cars that are on the lot already. If you guys are about 2 grand apart right now, then they might be willing to split the difference with you.

 

Yep, it's something which takes some getting used to. In my experience most MINI dealers will let you walk off the lot without so much as a backward glance. The fact that they have a lot of stock says nothing. The majority of MINIs are sold built to order.

You'll definitely get a much better deal on your trade by selling it privately. Dealers in general tend to lowball when it comes to trade-ins, and MINI especially seems to be bad with it. Unless you're willing to take a pretty big hi,t you're going to need to find other means of selling your current car.

Best of luck!

Is $500 off + mats what he's offering on an ordered MINI? If so that's a good deal.

 

I thought that once I started to walk out, they'd be willing to make some sort of deal. That's what I was hoping for anyway. They didn't seem all that concerned about making the sale. The salesman told me that I might be better off just selling the car myself...which would be fine, if I had a the right car waiting for me a the dealership but by the time I sold it, who knows what they might have.

I'm definitely not giving up though. If they'd have offered to shave some off of the ticket or given me some freebies, I might have thought about it.

 

Wow. PM someone something on this board and they broadcast it to the world. Last time I ever answer a PM message on this board. Shame on you MCSNorCal.

lukeinjax- you are right not to tell these people anything- they will turn around and F you.

 

Thanks for the good wishes. I'm thinking about putting my car up for sale...I just know what a big headache it is and the timing can be rough to get around. I need a car and can't be without if the dealer doesn't have the car I want in stock. I guess that's how so many dealerships make out so well with trade-ins.

I can understand this particular dealership not being able to work with me on the trade-in. They don't sell used cars at all and don't have any other dealerships in the area they can pawn the car off on. Thus, they need to go through some other dealership or a wholesaler for their trade-ins. However, not offering me any other incentive seemed like a brush off and made it seem to me like they didn't really want/need my business.

It's fine for now, I like my car (Mazda RX-8) just fine and was really debating on whether I should trade it anyway.

 

My dealer offered me sticker and a bad trade-in price. I think that's about par for the course on a Mini. And you know what: I took it! (the trade had some potentially serious "issues". I was glad to leave 'er there).

 

My trade-in has absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's got low mileage (22,000) and has been kept immaculate. I just can't give the thing away. Sure, they offered more than I owe but I checked the blue book trade-in value and what they offered was well below what a car in poor condition is supposed to go for. I know I'd regret it if I let it go for what they offered.

Oh well, guess I'll put it on the market and try to sell it myself.

 

why shouldn't I? i'm not the one spreading false prices here. i'm trying to get a good price like everyone else here. i'm not ashame of anything especially posting the facts. you're the one who should be ashame.

 

I think what you did is the ultimate backstab, and I could care less what you think in return... a PM is just that... PRIVATE

 

+1

 

+2. Pretty F'd up. Although I do hate it when people lie...

 

See- I have >no< reason to lie. So someone asks me a PRIVATE question- I tell them a PRIVATE answer- and what do I get for my trouble? I get called a liar, and my PRIVATE message broadcast to the world, a dealer, and this IDIOT sends the dealer right to this board.

I don't care what you believe. Bunch of jackasses.

 

the dealer that you so called ordered your dream car asked me to prove that someone got 1200 off msrp. they called me i was misinformed. i had to prove them wrong by showing this thread. they said "änyone can post anything on the forums and people can believe anything." he also said "most neighboring mini dealerships are selling these cars at or over MSRP, due to the fact that the demand for these cars are still high." so i asked them what can they do for me? they replied "ï can probably do 500 off msrp for cars we have IN STOCK." So yoú're telling me it's ok for you to lie, but I can't post your lie online. i don't care if it's private, the fact that you lie is what made me post. so there you have it.

 

There's a good chance you will be able to sell at higher than trade-in value even if the car has "issues." My previous car, a '94 BMW 325i with 190,000 miles and specific engine problems disclosed to the buyer (including mechanic's name), sold in 1 day after posting on my husband's company's intranet. For more than book value, BTW.

Quite a few years ago I sold a Fiat 128 with a fried engine (see, I told you it was a while back!), for a reasonable price. As he hooked up the tow chain, the happy buyer said the radio made it worth the deal to him. Hubby and I privately snickered--that particular German brand of radio wasn't worth all that much, and only got a few stations anyway.

The point is, it's worth a try--these days you can always go on Ebay.

Of course, it helps to have a large population base to sell to. Wouldn't work in a town of 200...