[gazah]

i'm after stories from aussies [esp. sydney-siders!] on how they went with the final negotiations on their MCS [or MC]!

all the dealers want to say they can sell any MCS they get their hands on @ list price, but i'm sure there must be room to move

any general or dealer-specific tips & techniques GREATLY appreciated!

any difference between recent experiences with haggling over cars with ['02 production & compliance] versus ['02 production & '03 compliance] versus preorder ['03 production & compliance] would be interesting!

cheers

.g

[swamos]

Firstly, welcome to MINI2

If you want to order one to your own spec, you'll probably have trouble getting much off retail. If you aren't too choosy about colour and spec there are some options.

Despite what they say, most dealers are having trouble selling floor stock as they are too expensive. What they seem to be doing is putting them on as "demos", so that they can sell them for a few grand less. Here in Brisbane there are MCS new on the showroom floor that are June 2002 builds. Those cars arrived in Aus in August.

I would think that you should be able to negotiate a bit of a deal on the many 2002 build cars that are around at the moment. Don't be fooled by a 2003 compliance plate. This is a standard trick to leave them on the dock to stop them having to compliance plate them. If the build date and compliance date are more than 2 months out, it's been sitting around somewhere.

Good Luck!!!!

[gazah]

many many thanks!

it seems most dealers down here in sydney have less than 3-4 MCS's in stock, & so the more high-turnover places are pretty confident in their prices! coopers are a different kettle of fish, & they're routinely giving $2k off + a 6-stacker ceedee!

i'm looking @ an october build which is apparently in-transit! [available in 2 weeks they say!]
it'll be '03 complianced, but i'm unsure how this'll go @ sale time!
i'm getting a free alarm, i'm just not sure whether i'm buying an OLD car!

is it standard [& acceptable] practice to advertise such a car as an'03 when i sell it?!? having never bought a near-new car i'm not sure whether people go by the production or compliance or 'first registered' date!

finally, what are some little things [like floor mats etc] that i can work on getting thrown-in @ the end!
??? maybe the extended warranty / free-servicing [?? 'triple 3' package or something similiar!] which is meant to be $1300

finally, what'll they hit me with AFTER i sign - ie. leather treatments etc - i reckon these have gotta be prime targets in the megotiation process! they cost them very little, but seem good as extras thrown-in!

cheers, & thanks in advance for your time - most appreciated!

.g

[gazah]

if i may so intrude on your time!

got any ideas using the euro-style plates "N * ?? ???"

anybody's input appreciated!

taaa

.g

[swamos]

Quote:

Originally posted by gazah
many many thanks!

it seems most dealers down here in sydney have less than 3-4 MCS's in stock, & so the more high-turnover places are pretty confident in their prices! coopers are a different kettle of fish, & they're routinely giving $2k off + a 6-stacker ceedee!

i'm looking @ an october build which is apparently in-transit! [available in 2 weeks they say!]
it'll be '03 complianced, but i'm unsure how this'll go @ sale time!
i'm getting a free alarm, i'm just not sure whether i'm buying an OLD car!

is it standard [& acceptable] practice to advertise such a car as an'03 when i sell it?!? having never bought a near-new car i'm not sure whether people go by the production or compliance or 'first registered' date!

finally, what are some little things [like floor mats etc] that i can work on getting thrown-in @ the end!
??? maybe the extended warranty / free-servicing [?? 'triple 3' package or something similiar!] which is meant to be $1300

finally, what'll they hit me with AFTER i sign - ie. leather treatments etc - i reckon these have gotta be prime targets in the megotiation process! they cost them very little, but seem good as extras thrown-in!

cheers, & thanks in advance for your time - most appreciated!

.g

We pick up our car on August the 20th, and it was a June 10 build. Even if your car was built at the end of october, that means it's had 3.5 months to get here. That seems a lot longer than I've heard of to date.

While the date that is usually used is the compliance date, people will see the oct/02 built when you go to sell it. You should receive some compensation for this. Ask for a discount, or ask for an 03 build. Maybe you can ask for a better trade?

As for mats, they usually throw those in. The +3 you'll have to pay for.

As for all the rest of the things (paint protection, rust protection, leather, blah, blah, blah), I wouldn't. One of the people here has paint protection, and drove under sprinklers, and it still marked the paint. Sure they tried to buff it off, but what the point??? They still sprayed the car with compound. This area is often the most profitable area in a dealership. Gee, I wonder why

[gazah]

all this info sure helps de-cipher stuff going on @ the dealership!

they're throwing in a free alarm [the car in transit didn't have one!]... so i s'pose ~$700 is a bonus! dealer says it's only 2 weeks away, so i'm not sure if that means it's just sitting on a dock, or actually on a boat!

anyways, i'd be most interested to hear ANY other comments/experiences you had!

cheers

.g

[IML337]

are they retrofitting the OEM MINI alarm with red flasher on the indicator stalk, or fitting an aftermarket one?

Which dealer is it?

My dealer had a stock car sitting on a dock that the got shipped to the dealership so they could put it's lapis blue seats in my car before I bought it. If it's a late Oct Build, and had 2 weeks at the dock before it was on a boat (happened with my original order) and then the journey was a long one (seven weeks) and it was ordered as stock so they didn't rush to get it off the docks at Glebe, then it's kind of possible that it could take that long.

I got free floormats and I think they took about $300 off because of complications we recalculating the price of the car I bought with the seat swap then they had to take the GST out as I leased it and blah blah blha...

I paid for my triple three though If you can get that for free you're doing pretty bloody well I reckon!!

Tim

[gazah]

i'm now the proud [soon to be] owner of a BRG/W MCS!

just signed the papers on an 10/02 built, 03 compliance model they had reserved for a dealer in QLD

got climate / cruise / alarm [OEM kit fitted @ the dealership] / interior light [the car happened to have it already] / 5-spoke 16"s / stripes / mini triple 3 = $46,250 on the road!

i've arranged it all through scott butler @ alto bmw @ artarmon - he was fantastic, & was actually willing to talk business [scott @ parramatta told me the same car was 11/02 built [??? hmmm] & would cost $47,100 + triple 3 + mats + stripes [now this was over the phone, but i did find scott @ alto to be the only dealer i approached who was willing to discuss the price on an MCS - they'll all dump >$2k off a cooper without any hesitation, just not an MCS!]

anyways, time to change my avatar from DS to BRG!

i'll take delivery towards the end of next week [maybe]!

cheers y'all - thanks for the help & advice!

.g

[swamos]

Quote:

Originally posted by gazah
i'm now the proud [soon to be] owner of a BRG/W MCS!

just signed the papaers on an 10/02 built, 03 compliance model they had reserved for a dealer in QLD

got climate / cruise / alarm [OEM kit fitted @ the dealership] / interior light [the car happened to have it already] / 5-spoke 16"s / stripes / mini triple 3 = $46,250 on the road!

i've arranged it all through scott butler @ alto bmw @ artarmon - he was fantastic, & was actually willing to talk business [scott @ parramatta told me the same car was 11/02 built [??? hmmm] & would cost $47,100 + triple 3 + mats + stripes [now this was over the phone, but i did find scott @ alto to be the only dealer i approached who was willing to discuss the price on an MCS - they'll all dump >$2k off a cooper without any hesitation, just not an MCS!]

anyways, time to change my avatar from DS to BRG!

i'll take delivery towards the end of next week [maybe]!

cheers y'all - thanks for the help & advice!

.g

Congratulations, and behalf of all of us that had to wait, Lucky B**tard We had to wait 9 months, 5 days !!

Your spec sounds really good. What colour wheels, and what colour interior did you get? Lapis blue, or black.

I'm sure you will LOVE your mini. Please keep hanging around MINI2, as I know you will find heaps of info, and all the guys in Sydney seem really nice (except for that dodgy BOO character ). You should go for a run with them soon :

Have FUN

[gazah]

i went with silver wheels [i really wanted the optional 16"s http://alto.minigarage.com.au/accessories/mcwheel4.swf, but noone had any around!] & a black cloth / leather interior!

i'm VERY excited [as big kev would say!] & simply CAN NOT wait!

will keep in touch!

l8r

.g

[IML337]

excellent news - and a VERY cheap price!

see you on the streets

[gazah]

& here's a sig test!

.g

[swamos]

Quote:

Originally posted by gazah
& here's a sig test!

.g

Mate, there is a whole test area here, where you can blaze away to your hearts content

Test Area

Have Fun

[gazah]

but i'm done now!

sorry to have had 'email notification' make you think the thread had something interestinhg going on!

cheers

.g

[Boo]

Congratulations gazah...
Got a pretty trick BRG MCS myself and would love to go for a drive with you... when are you expecting to pick it up??
I am OS on the 15th so if you pick it up before then would love to meet up....

regards
dodgy Boo character

[warped]

Congratulations gazah!

Drove past MINI Artarmon today and I saw what must have been your new pride and joy out front for all to see

Nice looking car ... will give Boo a run for his money

I unfortunately will not join the Sydney MINI faternity until late April

[Boo]

Quote:

Originally posted by warped
Congratulations gazah!

Drove past MINI Artarmon today and I saw what must have been your new pride and joy out front for all to see

Nice looking car ... will give Boo a run for his money

I unfortunately will not join the Sydney MINI faternity until late April

Complimentary, not adversarial

[gazah]

hah!

anyways, that BRG/W one out the front of alto artarmon is actually used... the guy traded it @ ~2000kms, apparently when his wife got pregnant [happened whiile he was waiting for his order!!!!!] the price simply wasn't good enough to look past a new car with all the options i wanted, but maybe someone else would be interested - "tell scott butler i sent you!"

boo - nice to hear from another local lad into BRG... it's likely the car'll be available late next week, but i'll probably take delviery on saturday! let me know when you're back in town, i'd love to head out to wiseman's ferry or something for a day trip with the missus!

i recognise the SWORKS plate... is it just from pics, or have you had it on a car up around the hills way [we've recently moved from castle hill [rental] to baulkham hills [owner occupied]! let me know, 'cause i'm SURE i've seen it in the flesh!

thanks for all the well-wishing... i'm sure it'll be a hoot!

l8r y'all

.g

[Harry Morant]

Never accept the first price.

When I walked out of the dealership after negotiating mine, I felt that I got the better end of the deal - I let them know that the missus was still hesitant, that it all depended on the price, rejected their offer, gave them mine, which they accepted but withdrew their offer of free stripes and mats. They'd already offered the stripes thrown in when I went for the test drive so I refused to budge on that. "Meet us halfway then for the stripes" they said - "not likely" said I.

Their price was based on not for personal use so when they didn't keep their offer of the stripes I threw that at them which brought it down by $107, I then told them that it would be NSW rego not ACT. At this point they said they were about the same so I rang the RTA on my mobile in front of their manager and guess what, that dropped it by another $200. By this time the price was below that which I said I was happy to pay and because I had reduced the price from which they said they couldn't go below because of their margins they had to give me give me the stripes. I was pretty happy and signed up for my new MCS. Their manager seemed a bit grumpy about the end result but I found them generally to be pretty helpful before and after negotiations although it got a bit tense during me cutting into their profit margins

2 days later I was rechecking the contract sheet and saw that they had charged me $636 for the alarm (price for the MFSW) and not $518 so they had to drop the price by the difference - $118 - all up it was over $2700 off their first price so I think I did alright.

It doesn't matter how hard you negotiate, remember they will never lose money on a deal. You should get at least 5% off their first price because they will have a profit margin of 10-15% minimum.

Good Luck

[IML337]

Quote:

Originally posted by gazah


i recognise the SWORKS plate... is it just from pics, or have you had it on a car up around the hills way [we've recently moved from castle hill [rental] to baulkham hills [owner occupied]! let me know, 'cause i'm SURE i've seen it in the flesh!

surpised you haven't seen my S running around - I live in Baulkham Hills!

I'm driving a silver/black cooper for the next few days though, time for some warranty fixes on my S