negotiating for a mini

[pucky]

So I wanna get a Mini S with a Works kit. I went on the test drive... I am hooked... I can't wait to open track the car but for now am watching The Italian Job to tide me over.

I live in Kansas City and we have one dealership here. The next closest one is St. Louis, which is FAR away... Baron BMW has no competition at all...

so my question is... do you think I can negotiate price? Did you all pay MSRP for your Minis? I feel dumb paying sticker... but they have no competition, and they are selling so fast they have to custom order them in.

I dunno if there is any incentive for them to negotiate. Sometimes you can get them to throw stuff in... but I don't know if they'd even do that....

Anyone have any pointers, feedback, past experiences.... ??

Thanks
Sarah

[Doctor Wha]

From what I've heard, most dealerships on the East side of the continent are/were selling at MSRP, while many out West were marking them up. Thus, lots of folks out West were ordering from Eastern dealerships, flying out to take delivery, then taking a road trip back home. Midwest, well... I haven't heard much either way, actually.

As for your situation, basically, Free Market Econ 101 says this: If lots of folks want something, especially more folks than "somethings," the seller of the "somethings" can pretty much set their price. I.E., why would they even bother to negotiate, when odds are they can turn right around and sell at the price they want, to someone who doesn't mind paying it?

I don't see any mention of whether or not your dealer is charging MSRP, but hopefully, they aren't the LA/Seattle types who are marking them up. If so, then you're not at all alone in paying MSRP.

And if it makes you feel any better, you can go to Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), search new cars by make and model, and see a side-by-side diplay of the dealer price for certain features, versus their cost (Invoice vs. Retail). When you see that, you'll note the markup BMW/MINI has isn't that astronomical, so it's not like you're getting completely hosed. They've got to make a profit of some sort, after all, to be in business in the first place. So as long as your dealer isn't gouging above MSRP, I wouldn't worry about it.

Now, if you can bargain/negotiate/charm your sales rep (or "Motoring Advisor") out of some additional goodies, well, why not? Go for it. I got some non-stock floor mats and a sunshade, a couple of CDs, among other things.

Good luck!
DW

[psychocandy]

Use your God-given leverage as a woman to bargain the salesperson down. Wear something nice and you can name your own price (unless he is gay).

I have a friend that is travelling with me down to Dallas this coming Friday. He intends to buy a mini-cooper and drive it back home (I am picking up a 528i).

The dealer wants $26k for an 03 model with sport/premium/winter packages and 16k miles, upgraded wheels, racing stripes and spoiler. I guess you can pretty much build an 04 for around $28k. So we are going to go down there and get him down a bit on the 03. Obviously, there will be more room to negotiate on a used car than a new one. But maybe the dealers are so used to selling these cars without any real effort that they are generally non-receptive to bargaining?

We will see.

Good luck with your purchase.

[wludavid]

I just talked to a "Motoring Advisor" in Sterling, VA and he said they were selling all their mini's at MSRP. "But we're not marking them up either, so that's good for you," is what he said next. I suppose so. I've been looking at used minis, and they seem to be just as expensive as new. I think people are willing to pay more (or just as much) for used since they get them Right Now. Besides, I think I'm going to have trouble finding a used MC (non-S) with what I want.