Mini Cooper

If you can afford new, go for it. You pay crazy money second hand, and as I said, the new model is a significantly better than the previous one (it was changed earlier this year). Don't forget the tlc pack (see above) too.
 
I've been told that there are no discounts on the mini ?? Is this true and if so anyone any suggestions for bargaining ideas?? Thanks for all the advice so far guys much appreciated
 
ccgirl said:
I've been told that there are no discounts on the mini ?? Is this true and if so anyone any suggestions for bargaining ideas?? Thanks for all the advice so far guys much appreciated
Click to expand...

It's true...we didn't get anything off ours and we shopped around.
I asked all the questions, offered cash etc.
There was a thread about this previously :
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=50128&highlight=mini

The upside is they hold their value better than almost any car.
 

The upshot of my enquiries arising out of the thread referenced was that it's next to (but not completely) impossible to get a discount on one. For all practical purposes the answer seems to be "no".

As it turned out, I didn't get the Mini after all (nothing against the car, but requirements changed at the last minute and I had to get something with four doors).
 
There are a number of cars in which discounts are not offered, the mini range being one of them.
 
Do you know any others, as a matter of interest?

Any car not discounted can expect very low depreciation, I would have thought.

If information on expected discounts for each model was available, there would be a considerable shift in power to consumers from dealers. A pity such an online forum doesn't exist (yet!). In general, the more information a buyer has the better a deal they will get: one reason manufacturers don't like (real) pricing appearing on the Internet.
 
I've tried to discussed discounts for Porsche Boxter and cayman and the dealer just looked at me! There's such demand and waiting time for them that they wouldn't budge.
Also the Golf GTI (my present wheels) wasn't able to get a discount at the time and I went to 3 dealers. They actually told me that VW lose money on every GTI they sell! Apparently the way the golf is assembled made margins very small as it was. Hence the VW overall earlier this year and probably the quicker introduction of the new model Golf probably next year which will be made more economically.
I haven't tried Aston Martin....maybe when I win the lotto!
 
Sunster said:
Also the Golf GTI (my present wheels) wasn't able to get a discount at the time and I went to 3 dealers. They actually told me that VW lose money on every GTI they sell!
Click to expand...

I can say with 100% confidence that this is completely untrue!

Just goes to prove that sales people will say anything to make a sale.
 
ok guys thanks for all the replies so far, its facinating that some cars are almost impossible to obtain discounts on but as a consumer that goes against the grain !! if no discounts are available on certain cars what can the buyer do to get the best deal possible ?? From what I'm hearing the mini holds its value remarkably but a deal has to be made somewhere ??
 
You make the deal when you come to sell it/trade it in when the time comes.

Believe me, it is much, much better to have a car with low depreciation and get no discount when buying than to get a huge discount when buying and be faced with equally huge depreciation.

With a huge amount of time and effort and some luck (i.e. someone with a sales target to meet that day), you may get a couple of hundred off a new Mini, but I wouldn't count on even that.

I'd just take a deep breath, pay list and be thankful you've got one of the better deals going (come time to sell it).

Bottom line is that new Minis, even at list price, are one of the better deals going.

By the way, if you can wait, you may as well spec it exactly the way you want (and there's a huge choice), as you'll be paying list even for cars in stock that mightn't be exactly what you'd like.
 
Sunster said:
Did you get a discount for yours? Which dealer did you get it from?
Click to expand...

My "untrue" comment was referring to the sales person's claim that VW made a loss on each one made. It's the kind of line you get from inexperienced sales people who don't seem to realise the instant evaporation of any credibility they mighht have had before making the claim it causes.

I've no idea if you can or can't get a discount on a GTI: my guess is that you can't, or it would be very little, as they're competitively priced (for once), have had a very good reception (unlike the previous model) and a good general reputation.
 
One further (and final!) comment: check out www.whatcar.co.uk as they give a "target price" (i.e. price you can expect to get for a cash deal with a dealer) for each model on the UK market.

It's not totally applicable, as it is a different market, but it gives a good guide. Not surpisingly the Mini is shown as zero potential discount and the VW Golf GTI near as makes no difference.
 
Seriously, there's no deal to be made in a new mini in terms of price...it's just like you buying something out of Brown Thomas, you pay what the sticker says...you might however sweet talk the sales person into giving small extras such as interior carpets, bags etc.
Remember to purchase the TLC pack...you'll not get such a bargain for servicing again...even though it is just a few oil changes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register