[emsumner]

Hi everyone....I'm in the process of doing research into buying a Mini Cooper S and had some questions about the buying process. Do the Mini dealers keep a limited quantity in stock and most often order a custom spec'ed car?
Also, can any local buyers tell me if I should be able to negotiate somewhere between invoice and retail pricing?

Thanks!

[Grimfool]

I was talking to Ben Edwards at MINI Towson the other day and it appears that the MCS is back up to 6 mnths waiting after dropping down to around 3 months at the begining of the year. They do have some MCS's in stock and I know of one young lady who went in and bought one off the shelf but usually you have to order. As to discounts I would think that highly unlikely but they didn't charge me a surcharge which is something that happens on the west coast. The one and only 40 year anniversary model they have is listed as having a $2000 surcharge.

[Paul!]

You have 3 different dealerships to choose from (assuming that you're not too far from the DC Metro area):

MINI of Towson
MINI of Sterling
Tate MINI (near Annapolis)

If you search around the forums, none are perfect, but all are good. I personally bought through Tate (Scott was the MA), and couldn't be happier.

All of the above sell at MSRP, no more, no less. But if I remember correctly, I think that either Sterling or Towson has some 'required' options that you must purchase. A search through the forums or trip to the dealerships could help you with that. As far as I know, the only hope of getting any kind of discount is buying a demo model. Tate did throw in free all-weather mats.

All of the dealerships should have a couple of 'S's in stock. If you can't find one in stock that you're happy with, then make a call to all three and see which has the smallest waiting list, or if they have any incoming that are up to your spec.

Good luck, and keep us posted!


-Paul!

[miniglenn]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul!

You have 3 different dealerships to choose from (assuming that you're not too far from the DC Metro area):

MINI of Towson
MINI of Sterling
Tate MINI (near Annapolis)

If you search around the forums, none are perfect, but all are good. I personally bought through Tate (Scott was the MA), and couldn't be happier.!

I second that! I'm currently buying a MCS through Scott as well and have had no complaints at all, everything's been made very easy for me, no unexpected surprises (so far at least). I'm just waiting to take delivery on it - mine should be arriving in the next week or so - but everything so far has been great at Tate!

[emsumner]

Thanks everyone for the insight so far. I stopped by Tate MINI in Annapolis the other night and they had a couple MCS' in stock and some on the way. They are pretty close to where I live so it would be pretty convenient. Do you know if dealers swap cars around with the MINIs if I find one I like at another dealership?

Thanks, Eric

[1tyb1tyMINI]

As someone who has dealt with ALL THREE dealerships, I have found Tate to be the most forthright and honest with me and the nicest to work with. Glad to hear you are choosing Tate.

The dealers do swap cars, but because the closest dealerships to us are mostly sold out (of 2004's not sure if they are getting many 2005's but those won't be in until sometime in September), it might be a bit difficult for you to find the MINI you want. It was so difficult for me to find what I wanted that I ended up having to order it. The other thing about dealer swap is that you run the chance of having the dealer it's coming from put in dealer-installed options without your knowledge & consent, which was what happened to me at MINI of Towson. Towson didn't want to uninstall all the stuff the other dealer put in, so I would have ended up paying for all of that - which was why I walked away from the deal and went to another dealership. Talk about hard to work with!

Anyway, I hope that helps! Good luck with your search!