Does any have any info on the US base price for the R56 S?

Not having heard any, I decided to do a little speculation similar to what we've done regarding the fuel mileage for the new car.

The UK base price (excluding their VAT tax) of the old car was £13,208
The US base price of the old car is $20,900
This works out to 1.582 times more $'s than £'s

So, If the new UK base price (excluding the VAT tax) is £13,612 (£15,995/1.175), then the new US price should be around $21,535 (£13,612*1.582).

Or, done another way ...
Okay, the UK base price has gone up about 3.06% (£15,995/£15520 - 1), so the US price should be around $21,540.

At least my two calculations are within $5 of each other.

Just over a 3% increase doesn't seem too bad which is $635-$640 increase. I've heard speculation that it would be at least $1000 more.

Anyone have anything more concrete than this?

 

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehi...84.A10963.html

Scroll down in the article. It says the base S would be $25,000. I really hope this is wrong.

 

my MA said 800 up from the 06. he also mentioned that MINIUSA would be demanding dealers charge markup.... sounds like an exscuse for Irvine to charge markup to me. but 800 hundred isnt too bad

 

That was actually the reason I did the exercise. I hope this was just a W.A.G. they through into the article for completeness. It seems reasonable to me that the US price shouldn't increase much more than the UK price did, though, so I'm staying optimistic.

 

I sure hope that MINIUSA isn't demanding a dealer markup. It doesn't sound right. The MA at East Bay MINI is Pleasanton told me they only charge MSRP. It sounds more like the dealer in question is trying to justify their markup (as was said).
I could live with a increase of $1000 or less and the less(er) the better.

 

I've been told 3% on the base price.

The biggie is the HUGE bump in the price of the nav set-up.

 

Run away from the dealer that says miniusa is telling them to charge market. They are jerks, and they're hoping you'll be a sucker. MSRP stands for Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Miniusa would never tell dealers to charge more than that. I'd take my sale to another dealer that only sells at MSRP.

FWIW I have my order in at East Bay Mini also.... in all the docs I signed they said over and over that they are an MSRP dealer. So if EB mini ever tried charging more I'd just get a refund on my deposit. Paying MSRP is high enough.

 

Yep, I didn't trust Irvine after I visited their shop. I mean heck, they were charging $5-7000 over MSRP just two years ago for an S. Same goes for a couple other dealers in the SoCal area. I bought mine from South Bay at MSRP a few months after I visited Irvine. Bunch of crap on the mark up. Why would MINI "demand" a mark up? They would just set the MSRP higher to make that up. In the words of King Arthur, "RUN AWAY...........RUN AWAY!!!"

 

i agree and do not plan to stay with irvine. crevier is very inticing(sp) to me due to the fact that they are MSRP and give loaners when your car is in for service

 

I do not believe you can equate the cost of a car sold in another country to the cost in the US. Some foreign car makers, selling the exact same car, charge FAR more in the UK or Germany than for the equivalent in the US.

Reasoning ... they know where the money is coming from.

I would not expect a huge increase from 2006 US prices as that would just drive prospective customers away as the car would no longer be an entry level vehicle.

 

I think your MA is on crack... the MSRP is just that, MSRP is set by the mfgr. Only the dealer can add a markup, based on supply/demand and/or market conditions or a car's special nature--or if they're simply greedheads. Sheesh. And you believed this?

Sounds like Irvine is trying to lay the groundwork for an obvious markup they'll charge, then falsely pin it on MINIUSA when smart folks attempt to negotiate out the markup. Dickwads.

If BMW/MINI demanded that my dealer charge a markup, he'd tell them to go take a flying ******, pure and simple. He has never charged a penny beyond MSRP, even for hybrids on the Honda end or Z8s on the BMW end, in 65 years of business.

I say the new base MSRP will be roughly $500-700 over what is now, across the board. The car will be cheaper for them to manufacture, so they don't need to jack up the price much further.

 

no no no. I absolutley did not believe him. I knew it was the dealer looking for a reason to justify markup. I walk in. an 18 year old kid. they think i am the easiest to play. I come from a family of salesmen plus the wealth of knowledge from NAM. there is no way he is getting my sale. Even if I did stay at Irvine I would want a new MA. im 18. Im not stupid

 

I didnt think so dude. Teens and women are preyed upon all the time by unscrupulous car salespeople. I knew you'd run like the wind when that bozo laid that on ya.

Long Beach sells at MSRP, try that. And other than EB, I'm not too hip on the CA Mini sales scene except I do know Niello in sac can be a pain with their mandatory accessory paks with stuff marked up 300%.

 

I do know if the "local" (yeah, 75 miles away) MINI dealer wants to mark up over MSRP, I'll go national with the search for a dealer that will deliver (including delivery charges) for less.

-W-

 

Agreed. If you look at the price being charged in the UK and then apply the appropriate exchange rate your heart will stop! I was just speculating on the increase in the US priced based on what we know is the increase in the UK price (which wasn't all that much, really). Just idle speculation to while away the time until the actual US prices are announced.

 

I just talked to my MA at eastbaymini.com, and he says they do NOT know the base price on 07 Minis until the release date. He did not expect much of a change, maybe a few hundred dollars. But that was his GUESS.

 

Too bad Mini is not doing a worldwide release in November. It kinda sucks the USA has to wait for the info(prices/options/packages) and the cars to start delivery.

 

hopefully its not too much!

 

I've gone to two different dealers, Century West and Bob Smith. At Bob Smith I'm told that they will be going over sticker (not a smart thing to indicate to a prospective buyer), I had a hard time understanding their reasoning, but as said the demand for these cars is quite high and there are more than enough consumers willing to pay the premium (not me). Century West didn't really give me too much info as far as how they price their cars. To say the least though, these cars are quite expensive already w/ all of the options. I love everything about the Mini, however I'm not willing to pay anything over $27k out the door (CA T + L is about $2,000). Hopefully they've come up w/ better pacakges that are more comprehensive with appealing features, OR the base price won't go up much. Something has to give though, and it won't be me.