I have a question concerning sales and deal promotions on MCS. Do they exist, and if so when do they usually give out promotional deals (4th july, etc/before release of 09s?). I live in the NYC region and have not seen any good deals yet.

As a side question: what do you guys prefer, laser blue or dark silver? Laser blue is nicer in my opinion, but may be too flashy for everyday use....whereas dark silver is still nice though maybe not as cool, but I feel is less flashy and would be better for everyday use...what do you guys think? Still not sure overall which is better however.

 

Whatever you decide, it'll stick with you until your next MINI purchase or exchange or whatnot. Irregardless, you'll be washing the car every other week anyway. So both Laser Blue and Dark Silver will be spiffy and shiny after its wash nonetheless.

With Dark Silver, you can hide in the night in the shadows better than Laser Blue can. That's IF that's what you decide or find beneficial with the color choice.

Otherwise Laser Blue is awesome by daylight. It brightens up peoples' day too because if they see your grin and smile, they'll wave and grin and smile and ask you questions. Also, Dark Silver absorbs light and make the car warmer than the Laser Blue. Not by much, but if that plays a factor during winter for you.

 

I drive my laser blue every and never thought of it as too flashy...well maybe in NY it is.

 

I do not think that Mini discounts at all these days as the cars sell themselves rather quickly and in great numbers.

We drove to the nearest dealer on Saturday and paid MSRP for it. They were down to 1 MCS with a manual transmission, and they were not very motivated to sell it as once it's gone they only have automatics.

The dealer quoted us 6-8 weeks on delivery, which is on the long side, but they don't want their customers being upset so they go with the longer figure.

I like the dark silver color, but the laser blue is also nice. I don't think you will be disappointed with either color.

If they do discount, it may be on a car in stock at the end of the year, but even then I don't think it will be a discount of more than $500.

 

I have a feeling this is going to come up more and more as people move to the MINI.

The answer is short and not-so-sweet: No.

Not trying to be abrasive, just understand that the MINI is in higher demand than usual. Add to this the fact that the MINI already maintains its resale value much better than most cars as well as the fuel savings you can get and you can see that MINI has a winning combination that doesn't need sales/promotions. Heck the last commercial I saw for the MINI was right when the Clubman came out. None since then, and they're still selling like wildfire.

More than likely the only "good deals" you can possibly find will be through a desperate private party, but I think when you really look at it, most of the time you're better off just biting the bullet and buying new. Even at MSRP, the MINI packs a lot of bang for the buck. 4 year 50K bumper to bumper warranty (which includes 24 hour roadside assistance as no charge) plus 3 year 36K scheduled maintenance... you really do get a better deal with a MINI versus other car manufacturers who rely on those special sales.

Good luck in your search, and be sure to post pictures when you find the MINI of your dreams!

 

In Portland, Oregon, the dealer here closed for Memorial Day weekend. They may do the same for the 4th. No need to be open. Customers will come in after the holiday. Do not expect deals because of a holiday. Do not even expect the dealer to be open.

 

Ditto on the deals - Free floor mats only. Delivery if you order will probably be faster if its not a clubman. I got mine here in Dallas 35 days after ordering. NYC would probably trim a couple of days off, but there's a risk that you might sit on the dock in Southhampton for a couple of days. I seemed to almost hit the optimal timing for catching a ship directly to SC. Anyway, 30 to 40 days is probably accurate right now for MC or MCS. The clubmans are backed up way beyond that.

 

I won't even get free mats when I order. Nothing. Nada. It is very clear that the dealers don't have to offer anything at all to fill their production slots. Even with $5-6k of options/accessories, they won't even throw in MINI valve caps ($15.)

That's just the way it is in 2008. Anyone who got anything at all from their dealer should consider him/herself lucky.

 

I got a keychain when I put down my deposit :-) Hopefully, if I'm lucky, there will be some free floormats in my future - but I'm not holding my breath.


Then again, the last car I bought new was a Honda Civic...there was some haggle-room there, but I didn't get anything for free. And though it is a decent car, it's definitely not a Mini!

 

I got my MCS in December 2007 and it is registered as a 2008 model. I dont know if that helps although things may work differently in South Africa. I got a good discount about $2000 if you convert from rands. It was however the lost car on the lot and I think they wanted to clear the showroom. They also threw in floor mats, a MINI cap, a BMW T-shirt and a key chain. As for colour I am biased, I would choose dark silver lol. Although I think all the colours look good.

 

Don't waste your time with a Dealer who won't throw anything in! You should get something free so go elsewhere! I was told that floor mats are always free ... it's supposedly a courtesy that Mini Dealers honor. (Of course, there's always a crappy Dealer who beats to their own drum) I see you're from NH so you have to drive a ways to get a Mini anyway. What's another hour or so drive time to work with a great Dealer who will treat you right?

 

...About the price of the mats.

Mini of Peabody has a decent reputation, but they just don't seem to throw in anything. On a positive note, they seem to have an unlimited number of production slots ('cept Clubman now) because they sell so many cars. I think they sell more than any other dealer in the country.

 

You have a point! I've heard good things about Mini of Peabody as well. Keep at 'em-maybe they'll throw something in for you. Good luck!

 

Mini of Scottsdale charged me 30 grand for 4 floormats and I got them to throw in the Mini free of charge!

 

Wow, I'd thought the bumper to bumper warranty was 3/36, d'oh! Works for me though!

 

While I was looking I came across a car that was a demo. The local dealer was willing to discount that Cooper S which had just under 2000 miles on it a whopping $500. Someone bought it, which speaks to the market demand. With the price of gas and demand I wouldn't expect any discounts.

Separately, I like the dark silver.

 

Apparently San Francisco MINI sells them by the truck load! And this is with $1k+ mark-ups???

 

Well, if you're smart, or lucky, (like me), you don't pay the markup because nobody told you about it until you went in to order (in fact, specifically said there WAS no markup). But yes, MINI SF is selling them very, very fast. In the past few weeks, I've noticed several brand new MINIs on the streets of SF. (Don't know where the others are hiding.)

 

That's a bummer. Maybe I got the free floor mats, free badge holder, and upgraded keychain (got the Sterling silver bulldog) because this is the third MINI we've bought from Jorge in the last two years.

 

HA! That was one hell of a deal- Happy motoring!

 

I bought at Hendrick MINI... even though I could have bought at the 2 dealers here in Atlanta.

Nick was superb and threw in a couple goodies when I got there (floor mats, hat, beach towel and key chain). Maybe that was because I drove 250 miles out of my way to buy from him.

Either way, no dealers will be taking off MSRP unless the car was optioned poorly or if they are overloaded in automatics (which was the case in Atlanta).

-s

 

Things have definitely changed from May 08. I was offered $500 below MSRP at Mini SF, but I choose to go to Mini of Concord who offered it to me at $750 below MSRP with free mats. I am definitely lucky on this one. I just picked it up last Saturday and there were very little cars left (about 14). Mini of SF MA told me they buy allotments from other dealerships outside of California to boost allocation.

 

I went to Concord , and got a good deal (under MSRP) for my MCS.

 

The only other color I considered over the dark silver was the Pepper White. My wife fell in love with the Clubman Brown (what ever color it truly is?) Mine is DS/DS

 

Here's what I did with my Lotus. Similar situation: small dealer network, high demand car, tendency not to budge from MSRP.

I waited until about February when sales were quite slow, and at the last 10 days of the month.

Went to the corporate website and found a state with the most dealers. (Hence dealers that were accustomed to being in competition with each other.)

Contacted all the dealers in the same crowded state via email with the specific configuration of the car, the MSRP, the dealer's invoice amount, and my desire to get the best price. If a salesperson is active on a enthusiast site, try to email them instead of the catchall sales email address.

IF two or more salesmen respond from different dealers, you should be good to go.

Play their prices against each other, and let each dealer know the dealership that you're crossbidding with.

Fundamental rule: Do not, I repeat, do not call them on the phone. Ever. Despite how much they beg. That is their turf. Do everything in email, where you have a log. Also, don't be so quick to reply, often prices would fall in a couple days if they have a chance to stew about it.

When you've arrived at a price that you feel is your best deal, then approach your local dealership with the following offer: Tell them that you've negotiated a very good price elsewhere (don't tell them where), but you would prefer that the sale took place locally. Would they be interested in honoring your order (and boosting their month end allocation) or not? In my case they did, because I had a strong fallback position based on the above negotiations.

Keep in mind you may need to account for the cost of airfare/hotel if you've negotiated far from your home state, so make allowances for that. Transportation services are an other option as opposed to buying on site, but do your homework as there are many horror stories out there.

In my case, I was able to get a fair price near invoice on a low volume, hand made car, built to my specifications, and the dealer still made a decent coin.