Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I am looking at Cooper in San Diego and have noticed the dealers are tacking on an additional $2800.00 for standard Coopers as a "Dealer Charge. I refuse to pay this kind of fee and would gladly buy one in Phoenix or Vegas to avoid it. Are other people seeing similar charges? I remember when the Cooper first came out dealers in SoCal were charging $4K extra for the S.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I think part of it is the "cherished" part of it so that you have a years warranty and of course their profit to pay for all the nice showrooms!!

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

Wow. I've bought two Mini's in Texas and paid sticker price on both. They don't budge from the sticker, but at least they don't hike it up. Sounds like the CA Mini dealers are pulling the same stunt that all the Harley-Davidson dealers used to do...celebrate their popularity by shafting the buyer!

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

If they're sitting on the lot they'll waive the dealer fee. I bought one from Brecht for sticker.;)

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I bought mine from Rassmussen Minin in Portland, Oregon instead of the much closer Seattle area dealer because the Seattle guys had a "because they can" charge too. Rasmussen sells them for MSRP. When I last checked, The dealer in Salt Lake City also sells them for MSRP, while the dealer in Sacramento adds an Additional Dealer Mark-up. I would travel to a distant dealer to avoid additional fees just as a matter of principle. Heck, the longer drive home is a great way to enjoy your new car!

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

Anything more than a sticker price do not seem to be appropriate. It's not like you are on 3 months waiting list or something.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

Regarding a dealer not budging off sticker, As an ex-BMW Sales employee, I can tell you that BMW and MINI share similar pricing strategies. At full sticker, the dealers are only making 7.5% which calculates to about $1500 on a $20,000 car and $1875 on a $25K car.

Unlike domestic dealers...there is no dealer hold back either.Considering the cost of building and running a dealer facility,....this doesnt seem unreasonable to me,.........however, I can tell you that I saw MANY new BMWs go out the door for Zero profit.........all in the name of meeting monthly sales quotas. Last day of the month still has got to be the best day to buy a car................correction,.....taking delivery of the car by the last day of the month so they can get it on the books.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

So what is so bad about earning "only" $1,500 on a car, especially when they are in such demand you don't even have to make any effort to sell every one you can get your hands on? An absolute moron should be able to sell his quota of Mini's. That is, unless he artificially jacks his price up (which would just make the case that he is a greedy moron). I have a hard time believing hard-times stories from dealers when I see that they have lavish all glass showroom full of expensive Marble and Pewter modern art sculptures setting amongst their precious vehicles with their marked-up sticker prices. They may have a high class image that they feel they to portray and maintain, but I sure don't want to finance it. I work too hard for my money for that. I would much prefer to do business with a modest dealer with a decent service department. I have seen both ends of that spectrum in Mini dealers. I would travel long and far to avoid the former and find the latter, for the principle of it, if nothing else.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

AMG - did you order your Mini at Brecht or was it on the lot? Curious to see if you ordered at sticker, thanks. I'll only be in Hawaii for the next four months and then off to San Diego and have contacted Brecht - but will purchase the vehicle somewhere else if the dealer markup is ridiculous.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

My dealer had some 07's on the lot and they discounted them $750 off of MSRP

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I live near San Diego and I drove to Torrance and bought mine from SouthBay Mini. I tried several times to buy from Brecht but they dont want to move on their marked up price and kepton insisting I needed extras they wanted me to have. I ordered my car on line paid no extra dealer fees or mark-up paid MSRP.
Great dealer talk to Freddie

ALSO note: Brecht is the worst service dealer in Southern California. The technicians are idiots and seem to be bothered by MINI's It seems like a pain but go to Los Angeles area and have your car serviced by any other dealer. AVOID BRECHT

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

Bad Girl! I bought mine on E-Bay from a dealer with 100% approval rate in Phoenix...saved a bunch and got the extreme pleasure of driving it to Missouri! Took much longer than expected due to Grand Canyon and Monument Valley! Highly suggest it!

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

My understanding is that some dealers rely heavily on the satisfaction survey bonus. This is why BMW dealers at least commonly pressure buyers to give them all top scores on the BMW survey. One less than perfect score, and they loss much of the bonus.

I do agree that the margins aren't so large that MSRP is unfair, if the market demand supports it.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I plan on buying a Mini S in the next month or so.

I live in Marin California.

I have 3 dealerships close to me:
San Francisco Mini
Concord Mini
Vallejo Mini

Anyone have any experience w/ any of these dealers? Which is the best to go to for MSRP pricing and not bull-crap mark ups?
My common sense tells me to avoid the big city SF dealership and go to Vallejo (Vallejo is a much poorer city and I am guessing they aren't selling quite as quickly as in SF and hence a better deal can be had for me)???

help/thanks!

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

haha just find a private dealer and bargain:D

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I just picked up my Mini S Convertible at Classic Mini in Mentor OH. Orderd it and paid exactly MSRP with no other charges except 650 destination. Dealer said it would take 4-6 weeks but it came in 4 weeks to the day.

RE: Charging $2800.00 - Because They Can
 

I live in Indianapolis. Drove several Mini's at the dealership on the north side of Indy. Before heading back to the Indy dealership to "make a deal" and order one, I traded emails with Delaney in the sales department at the Cincinnati dealership - working out a deal.

Long story short, I offered to buy/order the car from the Indy dealership - I would pay MSRP plus the $650, but he had to give me free floor mats and boot mat, and two Mini logo shirts. He refused. I asked again. He refused.

So, I called Delaney in Cincinnati from the parking lot of the dealership in Indy, well within earshot of the sales guy and told her to start the paperwork. She agreed to give me the freebies if I orderd the car from her at the same price, and quoted delivery.

I hope to take delivery in late July or early August '08.

We'll see.