Sorry you had a bad time, but lots of people here have been happy with buying from South Bay. As a matter of fact we changed our car options several times, the last time the very last minute before the production deadline and it all worked out fine. I agree that it was up to us to follow up and be on top of things calling and faxing to the sales manager directly at times (we live in Norcal, if close though stopping by of course is an even better option) but this has been my experience at any busy car dealer when ordering a car and wanting to make changes/check progress.

 

I'm happy to count myself as one of them.

I went back and forth on my options as well. It really wasn't a problem and they were always glad to confirm for me what they had spec'd in my records (long before things would show up in the owner's lounge).

I guess the important thing to keep in mind with any recommendation is that your mileage may vary, and at least some of that variance may be due to your own approach to handling things. I'll also grant that no dealership is perfect, so from time to time some customers may not be satisfied (then again, having worked sales myself, some people just aren't capable of being satisfied... not saying that's the case here, just pointing out that we need to take things with a grain of salt when we read opinions on the internet).

Having been on this forum since 2002, and read a lot of feedback on a lot of dealers in the process (both inside and outside of SoCal), I would honestly put South Bay MINI Sales in the top tier of MINI dealerships. As it is I'm already on the list with them to purchase a Clubman when it comes out, so yes, I would purchase from them again.

 

Bob Smith is pretty high, but the people in the sales dept. are cool.

Question about Universal? How did it work out that you ended up getting your car at MSRP???

 

Although I didn't buy my current MCS from them, I was going to, until my current pre-owned one kinda fell in my lap.

I've dealt with Long Beach, Nick Alexander, Universal, and SouthBay, and South Bay would easily be my pick by far. Plus they've been huge supporters of c3 in the past!

 

Ouch. Is that for custom order?

Ask them to at least reduce it. In my case, because I bought a showroom model, I negotiated a reduction in the markup of a 2006 JCW last August to just to cover the cost of the clear paint coating and LoJack security system.

 

Bought our 06 MCS from Baron in KC and spoke to Gabe yesterday about pricing on the 07 and he said they are selling them for MSRP.

 

South Bay MINI will not be charging a mark-up on 07's. As a matter of fact we NEVER charge a mark-up! Call Jennifer Osborn the sales manager at 310-939-7151 for any further questions.

 

Hey eVal hope all is well in Northern Cali! Hope you and Marc are well. Happy Holiday's!

 

I'm glad to see that there are some MA's (or SA's) smart enough to read NAM.

 

Hey, Happy Holidays! Nice to see that you remember us It has been awhile and I hope all is going well; bet the dealership looks completely different by now. Best wishes and good job staying MSRP

 

I did buy a new mini at Brecht without a markup. Now granted it was off the lot and not a new order, but it was setup the way my wife wanted except for the seats. So apparently it does happen.

 

For a new 07 MINI... I would recommend South Bay or Long Beach.

Don't take everything you get from MINIUSA as the final word in regards to pricing at the dealership, each dealership can determine their own markup. Irvine MINI had dealer markups of $3K, and if you were lucky you could get a markup of $1500. Expect the markup to be at least $3K at Irvine MINI for the new MINI, but I am sure it's gonna be higher initially. Crevier and Brecht will probably have $5-7K markup initially. I bought two MINIs at Irvine (2005 MC with $3K markup, and 2006 MCS with $1500 markup because I was a repeat buyer). I just bought a new JCW from Crevier with no dealer markup, but if I had waited for a new turbo MINI they would have charged me dealer markup. For GPs, Crevier was charging $5K-10K dealer markup ~ Irvine MINI charged $6K, and Brecht was charging $6K unless it had a VIN issue.

Long Beach and South Bay has never had markups so I will assume they will continue their policies for the new generation MINIs.

Best of luck.

 

Hey, I'm Marc too. Do I get any discounts for that?

 

You'll pay MSRP like the rest of us.

 

Well, maybe no Marc-downs but at least no Marc-ups :D

 

I walked in after e-mailing Jay several times, handed him the spec sheet on my Mini, gave him a 3k dollar deposit for the car, and walked out. Whole process took all of 20 minutes. I specified in my e-mails that I was not paying over MSRP for the car. I requested several add on's, but all of them were denied (Tint, alarm, etc). I ended up just picking the car up and doing all the stuff on my own.

 

Both South Bay and Long Beach MINI told me they were MSRP dealers. I went with South Bay for my '07 MCS because everyone I've talked to there was nice and seemed very motivated to help me. Jennifer and Chris were both friendly and helpful. Long Beach was good too but for me Jennifer at South Bay gave me a better idea of delivery times. Long Beach told me they would call me when a production slot was available for me and I didn't want to wait for the call. Now I just have to wait for my MINI, very exciting!

 

Gonna have to chime in with another vote for South Bay Mini. I just picked mine up tonight.

Some highlights:

- Seventeen emails from my salesperson, Amanda, answering in detail every little neurotic question I had, plus numerous phone calls;

- MSRP with no pressure on dealer installs;

- She sent a driver to pick me up in Hollywood so I could get my car. During rush hour!!

- No high pressure sales tactics. The typical add-ons offered were presented rationally and calmly, I didn't want any, and that was that. No pressure to use their financing, very helpful and cooperative with me using my credit union.

**I HATE HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS** and I want to let everyone know, if you do too, go to South Bay. I hope to go there for the BMW I am sure I will be rich enough to afford once I'm done with this Mini, heh.

- Loaner cars available by appointment with enough notice. Loaner cars!! I am so glad I left Volkswagen behind.

Also, I thought Torrence would be a pain but it's just a little past LAX, I don't dread driving there for future service, especially after 8pm when the evening rush is done. I got home to Hollywood in about 30 minutes.

Will have to post a more comprehensive narrative of my experience. It's a very nice little car! The interior is dimmer than my Jetta was, that will take some getting used to, but damn it's pretty from where I sit.

 

I almost bought at south bay after learning that they don't have markups. But they started behaving unreasonably and I backed out and took my business to long beach, and they treated me very well. They were much more open and forthcoming about the ordering/waiting process and didn't demand that I apply for their financing before ordering the car for me. In fact, when I took delivery, I brought the quote slips for the loan from my credit union and my checkbook for the down payment, and I was in and out in under two hours. Everyone involved was pleasant, courteous, and happy to have my business.

 

I bought my MINI at Long Beach. It was a good experience. I actually ordered over the phone. I liked the fact that there was no deposit required.

 

That is so odd because in our experience with South Bay the ordering/allocation was clear and they didn't bug us at all about financing - we told them we'd take care of the loan elsewhere. When the time came we got the OTD total, flew there and they picked us up at the airport, the car was ready to check over, then we handed the finance dept the check with a few sigs and we were gone in no time