Yeah, I expected as much. Half way between invoice and MSRP is fair and reasonable, imo, and leaves them in a position to be around to service me later. It does me no good to extract every last nickle out of them, I don't like it when my customers do that to me and I'm not a hypocrite. 4% is hardly a kings ransom and I am satisfied with the deal and service I received.

Regards, ...Scott

 

Which is still better for the buyer than what some of us have paid in the past. Dealerships believe it or not are still in business to make money and making a grand on a new car sale is fair to both, IMO.

I hate it when last year I bought my car (08) just before the price of gas went up. They simply wouldn't deal.

However, after fudging up my '08, they felt guilty and matched the price of a friend of mine who is the General Manager and was going to sell me my (09) for 500 over his cost.

Mark

 

I wish i had you guys as customers.My customers try to beat me up for Holdback.

 

You know, it's funny... my father was a HELL of a negotiator. He had a price in mind when he went in and after 2 hours of "I gotta go talk to the manager", he would walk out of the dealership.... and I remember one time the sales guy running down a main highway screaming, "okay, okay, we'll do it for that price"

Point is, I'm not much of a negotiator. I know what I can afford and it's not worth my effort or time to sit in a dealership for 4-5 hours trying to negotiate a price.

I've been in the automotive dealerships for 26 years. Except for the last 13 years, the first was spent in dealerships so I see where the money goes and where they make their profits.

As long as I'm not getting ripped off, I expect the dealer to make money on the vehicle so fair is fair and I move on.

It really makes the 30 minute or under dealing much easier. I spend more time in the F&I office signing paperwork than I do negotiating.

Mark

 

Mark

You need a Genesis coupe.I will make you a heck of a deal.

 

Not sure where you are on going with the Factory Aero Kit (or on ordering for that matter) but I thought I would make a case for it. I have it and love it even though it is a bit pricey. In addition to the different bumpers and painted skirt, the kit includes large panels under the car to help with aerodynamics (not sure how much but ...). And, imho, the all PW MCS with this kit is probably my favorite combo. Also, having this kit will make your car even more unique since not many people have it.

Here's a link to a thread with pics of various colors. Keep in mind that the arches definitely come painted on an R56 now.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...o-kit-mcs.html

And here's a pic of mine, just because (see link in my sig for more pics of my car):


One last note: I have the red cloth/leather seats and love 'em. Also, keep in mind that if you get them, upgrading the colorline and dash pieces are no charge!
Good luck.

 

Thanks for the pic, PW with or without body kit is what I'm settled on. I like the look both ways, still trying to decide which way to go. If I can't make a decision I'll probably do without and save the $$. The BBS LM's and non-RFTs I plan to buy immediately ain't gonna come cheap, so saving some money on the kit wouldn't be a bad thing.

I've scoured the galleries here for PW pictures and haven't really come up with that many. If anyone can point me to more, please do.. thanks!

 

PW/PW with the Aero Kit would be the way to go, especially with the Factory Finish and under-body aerodynamic panels included.

Must see in person and in varied lighting, as photos don't do that particular combo justice.

 

I just now read all 4 pages of posts. Lots to comment on, but I'll limit myself to just a couple:

1) JCW Aero Kit: I got it and LOVE it! Really gives the car a distinctive and awesome look, especially when you park it around other MINIs, then you'll really be glad you went with it.

2) I originally had my mind set on Astro Black with a checkerboard roof, even went in with a build sheet to order it. Once I got there, we started inputting the info and the MA got called away for something. I glanced out and saw a Sparkling Silver sitting there and was awestruck! Have you seen a Sparkling Silver in person? I know you originally listed it as a possible choice, and am wondering why you decided against. It looks amazing when clean, and *gasp* even when its dirty (I know, I know!). BTW, PW was originally my 2nd choice, after AB, but after seeing the SS, and getting the SS, I haven't regretted it one bit.

There were other things to comment on, but the only other thing I have to say is: If there's something you want, get it, so you won't look back later and say "Damn, I wish I had gotten <whatever> like I was thinking about getting!" Build the car you want and get it!

 

The sparkling silver was my very first choice 4 minis ago. I really liked it but I'm here to tell you that I don't think there is a color that mini uses that I don't like.

They're all cool. Get the one that floats your boat. I really like silver on a mini.


Mark

 

I'm back. I'm getting close to dropping the hammer and placing my order (finally). The config I've settled on comes in at a migraine-inducing MSRP of $33.2k. That's REALLY hard to swallow and why this decision has been taking some time. Yes, I'm well aware I could go with a much less-equipped car and save a lot of money, and still enjoy it immensely, but this needs to be a "no regrets" purchase, and part of the charm is the ability to load the car up as desired and customize it to my exact preferences, so this is the right route for me to go, despite the painful price tag. I found pictures of the interior I've attached and fell in love with the combo, which should look especially awesome on a monocolor-themed PW sled.

I will order BBS LM's and have them ready to mount when the car hits the ground. That won't exactly be cheap either. One last-minute change I may make is to drop the sports suspension and just add coilovers after the car arrives. Then again, I don't know that I want to mess with it - I'm sure I'd be more than happy with the stock SS handling, and I'm not concerned about dropping the ride height for aesthetics, in fact I'm looking forward to some half-decent ground clearance.

Nav was a last-minute addition. I never thought I'd spring for an overpriced factory nav system on any car - I'm quite happy with my Garmin for when I really need nav functionality. But for me, the dash looks 100x better with it, and the functionality with other aspects of the car (audio system, OBC, function setup, etc) made me bite the bullet. And I've experienced the UI on the stock head unit on my '06 330i, which uses an identical display - and hated it.

As always, comments are most welcomed.. thanks again to everyone for your helpful input to this point.

 

Order the sport suspension(it comes with a larger front bar)that way you can run a 21/22 mm rear swaybar,perfect for cross,kw,ast or moton coilovers.

BBS LM is a great wheel but heavy for what it is and only 7 1/2 wide for the mini(have a set on my Gt3 for road use and they are a ***** to clean)

For the price of the BBS look at Volk,Fikse and CCW for some really nice liteweight low cost rims .Fikse and CCW are handmade custom width and offset .

 

That'll be a nice ride. Ultimately, you're the one that's going to have to drive it every day, so I think as long as you're happy, that's really all that matters. Enjoy. I ordered mine in early Oct. and it's supposed to arrive in port anytime now. I can hardly wait!

 

I agree on the wheels. You can totally tell the difference when you lighten the unsprung weight by getting lighter wheels. I got Kosei K1-TSs: 17X7 @ 15 pounds per wheel. I think they look sweet too. Another possibility is Enkei Racing RPF1s: 17X7 @ 14.6 pounds. Unless you buy the BBSs used, you'll save a ton of $$$ too: a set of four of the wheels I mentioned cost a little more than just one BBS wheel.

 

If you plan to trackday the car or live where the roads are rough and filled with potholes i would recommend to stay away from cast wheels.

 

stig, even with the larger 23.5 mm front bar from the Sport Suspension, I would still not run too large of a rear bar such as the 22mm. I have that combo right now and think it has too much oversteer bias. There is a Whiteline 20 mm bar that may be just the right size.

How much are those Fikse wheels for a Mini? I asked a Corvette a few months ago about his custom Fiske and he told me around $12K just for the rims. Yes I know they are larger but the number just was a little out of the range I was thinking.

 

If you need any convincing, perhaps this will help....



I bought mine last week with 5 miles on it, has the break-in mileage complete two days later (had to go on a biz trip and figured, heck why not!) and got back in time to join some friends of mine on a "cruise" through the countryside.

Trust me, no matter what options you get, I am sure you will love it!

Regards, ...Scott

 

Go with the Sport Suspension. It gives a nice improvement in handling. Slight during moderate driving and more when you are pushing it. Going with the factory option also allows you to take ~$40 to a SCCA SOLO II autocross event and have the time of your life while remaining in a Stock Class.
You can always add coilovers to the Sport Suspension if you need more out of your MINI.

BTW - I wish I had had your attitude when purchasing. I almost bought my dream car. BUT... I saved a bit here and a bit there to keep the price "reasonable". I love my car, but the "why didn't I????" comes to me now and then.

NOW is the time for you to get what you want, in fact, it is the ONLY time for you to do it. (IMO)

Welcome to our obsession!

 

I honestly don't know how you could look at an R56 and think, "That ride height is perfect!"

 

Congratulations. Just to make you feel better, I paid $36K for my MCS and didn't even get leather seats.

Lowering a car changes the suspension geometry. Doing that for cosmetic purposes seems crazy to me. If you can't decide between sport suspension and standard, make sure you test drove both on a variety of roads. You don't want to have regrets about the ride comfort vs. handling.

 

Depends entirely on your use. I agree that dropping it about 1" and adding a read bar would make a huge performance jump over stock, but for a daily driver traveling the US, the stock set up works pretty well. For a DE/track car, yep, stock leaves a bit on the table.

Regards, ...Scott

 

lol!

I agree. It's not. But ride height appearance just doesn't mean much to me at this point, though it would have 10-15 years ago. Who knows, I may take one look at it and order coilovers on the spot. I haven't autocrossed in years and probably won't in the future, so the factory ss setup should be more than adequate for me. If I can stand to look at it.

As for unsprung weight - believe me, it's a big concern to me too. I ran BBS RG-F's on my Scirocco, and those babies run 10.6 lbs in 16", which is just insanely light. It was VERY noticeable on the road, in a very positive way. The LM's are a bit heavy, but not too bad, and they're a strong, 2-pc forged wheel, and drop-dead gorgeous. As for the comment about being concerned about running them on lousy roads - not a concern here at all, the roads here in Phx are like pool tables - best roads I've ever driven in the entire country. Every time I go back to LA it seems like driving in a 3rd world country, the roads are in such disrepair over there. I was in NYC a week ago - don't even get me started on the conditions of the roads in that area!

Thanks again for everyone's input, it's ALL helpful, and the awesome community that you guys all make up is a large part of why I'm jumping into the fray. It's a now done deal - I just placed my order in the last hour. My MA is estimating late December delivery. I went with the $33.2k config that is attached to my earlier message. Can't wait!!

 

Congrats!

 

Congrats and glad you got what you wanted . I dropped about $34k but I don't regret any option that I got (and wish I had ordered the rear fogs to eliminate the blank plates in the rear bumper). I can't believe I have had my MINI since the first of June and still wash it almost every week - by hand - and I have not done this to a car in a billion years. I really enjoy the MINI now even more than I did when I first got it. You will be glad you pulled the trigger.....

 

I decided to add the LSD, which I agonized over previously and had decided to leave out, since I doubt I'll ever track or autocross the car. But I will be screaming through the twisties whenever possible, and I decided I didn't want to do without. And it'll be a rare option on a '10 model, since they're killing it off as of January production (or so I read someplace).