Haggling with a Mini dealership

[poprock]

I’m asking on behalf of a workmate: If he wants to buy a brand-new Mini from a dealership, what sort of percentage discount should he reasonably be able to haggle for? Assuming paying in cash, not taking finance.

[AOK]

poprock said:

I’m asking on behalf of a workmate: If he wants to buy a brand-new Mini from a dealership, what sort of percentage discount should he reasonably be able to haggle for? Assuming paying in cash, not taking finance.

Depends entirely on the model etc, and what the preferred spec is (could be that there is a stock car 99% similar to what your friend wants).
Let me know the details, and I'll see what I can do for him

EDIT: I work for BMW/MINI

[mike9009]

Not sure the truth in my next statement, but i read it on the internet so it must be true!

You are more likely to get a greater discount if you take out finance. Then once in possession of the car, cancel the finance within the cooling off period. Not sure if this sours the relationship with the dealer or whether it still 'counts' for them.

Maybe previous poster can shed some light?

Mike

[AOK]

mike9009 said:

Not sure the truth in my next statement, but i read it on the internet so it must be true!

You are more likely to get a greater discount if you take out finance. Then once in possession of the car, cancel the finance within the cooling off period. Not sure if this sours the relationship with the dealer or whether it still 'counts' for them.

Maybe previous poster can shed some light?

Mike

Ello there.
Yep, agreed that cash is no longer King. Definitely much more to be done (in terms of discount) if he's looking to finance. It's only natural as the dealership get a kick back on all the F&I (so same goes for things like Gap insurance etc).
As for the cooling off... interesting! I've never heard of this done and I'm not SURE there is a cooling off period on HP nor PCP finance schemes. If you decide not to finance after financing, you get a settlement... the remaining interest is forfeited, but you will have still paid interest on your first payment. And then there's also the start up fees and the final fees (which you still end up paying)... all this will probably end up costing an extra £800 over paying by cash at the very beginning - and the additional discount given to those funding will be approx £500.

Interesting one though - gonna bring this up with the Business Manager tomorrow to hear his thoughts! I'm sure there must be a catch.

[deeen]

I think there is legally a compulsory cooling-off period (7 days?) within which the customer can change their mind, with no penalty / charges. I would imagine the finance company will only pay commission on the policies still live after that period has finished.

[AOK]

Intriguing matter!

Reading up on it briefly, seems that if the paperwork is signed on collection (in the showroom) then the sale is not classified under 'distance-selling' and so no cooling off period applies.

Other sites suggest that if you do have a cooling-off clause, then yes, you can cancel the agreement but that also means giving back the car... effectively going back to where you were before agreeing.

I suppose this is fair - and in line with similar contracts like mobile phones etc:

iPhone Handset only price: £500
iPhone Pay Monthly price: £200 deposit + 18 monthly payments of £40

Taking the pay monthly and cancelling under cooling off within 14 days does not entitle you to keep the phone for the £200! You either get it back and give the phone back, or pay up the £300 difference!

[CharlieH]

[quote=AOK]Intriguing matter!

Reading up on it briefly, seems that if the paperwork is signed on collection (in the showroom) then the sale is not classified under 'distance-selling' and so no cooling off period applies.

In another life I was a Sales manager for a German manufacture. You are right the sales and business managers will be targeted for the amount of deals they give the finance company and also the amount of money this equates to.

That said there are new consumer credit protection laws which means that you can cancel the finance within the first 14 days but you would have to pay the balance in full. That said it depends how much you paid for the vehicle as balances over £25,000 are treated differently and also if you bouth it in a business or private name.

[poprock]

Cheers guys.

As it turns out, my friend has switched affections to a different marque after all … but that all makes for interesting reading anyway!

[RichyBoy]

So any ideas what discount you'd get on a works mini cooper.

[AOK]

RichyBoy said:

So any ideas what discount you'd get on a works mini cooper.

I recently did one with £2k off (was about £30k list price)... but this was on PCP so more than if you'd be buying cash. General rule of thumb is 5%

[mike9009]

AOK said:

Intriguing matter!

Reading up on it briefly, seems that if the paperwork is signed on collection (in the showroom) then the sale is not classified under 'distance-selling' and so no cooling off period applies.

Other sites suggest that if you do have a cooling-off clause, then yes, you can cancel the agreement but that also means giving back the car... effectively going back to where you were before agreeing.

I suppose this is fair - and in line with similar contracts like mobile phones etc:

iPhone Handset only price: £500
iPhone Pay Monthly price: £200 deposit + 18 monthly payments of £40

Taking the pay monthly and cancelling under cooling off within 14 days does not entitle you to keep the phone for the £200! You either get it back and give the phone back, or pay up the £300 difference!

I am not suggesting that you get the car for free. You simply cancel the finance and pay off with the finance with cash. But by setting up a finance deal in the first place can lead to greater discounts from the dealer. Then simply cancel the finance and pay it back in cash?


Mike

[Jacko 325]

Margins are very tight on MINI product so even 5% is pretty strong. If you look at how low the discounts are on Broadspeed this will give you some idea. To be honest your best bet is to look at a stock or pre-reg car at the end of the month/quarter. Most dealers at any other time aren't going to be too interested in giving you 5% when you have a regular flow of repeat customers with either no or low discounts.

[RichyBoy]

Is there a way to find out which dealers have prereg cars?

[AOK]

RichyBoy said:

Is there a way to find out which dealers have prereg cars?

What is it you're after in particular? I can take a look at our stocklist on Monday to see if there's anything in group that will work. Mon/Tues/Wed will be big pre-reg days (end of the month).

Alternatively, if you have an exact spec you're after, I could always (ahem) influence what they decide to put into build as pre-reg's!!

[p1tse]

if you're mate is still interested there's MINI 50:50 pay 50% and nothing to pay for 2 years

[RichyBoy]

AOK said:

What is it you're after in particular? I can take a look at our stocklist on Monday to see if there's anything in group that will work. Mon/Tues/Wed will be big pre-reg days (end of the month).

Alternatively, if you have an exact spec you're after, I could always (ahem) influence what they decide to put into build as pre-reg's!!

Any jcw in black with the essential options (media/chilli/hifi, vision pack), sports suspension and the rally lights that they all seem to be missing these days. I've been offered one for 24.5k but it doesn't have the lights or the sports suspension.

[johnoz]

RichyBoy said:

Any jcw in black with the essential options (media/chilli/hifi, vision pack), sports suspension and the rally lights that they all seem to be missing these days. I've been offered one for 24.5k but it doesn't have the lights or the sports suspension.

Lights and the JCW sports suspension are dealer fit options, there is a factory fit sports suspension which is upgraded roll bars i think!

[lisa grant]

AOK said:

Depends entirely on the model etc, and what the preferred spec is (could be that there is a stock car 99% similar to what your friend wants).
Let me know the details, and I'll see what I can do for him

EDIT: I work for BMW/MINI

DONT BUY ONE. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR MONEY IN YOUR HAND AND BE GLAD OR A LUCKY ESCAPE.....

[MarsellusWallace]

lisa grant said:

AOK said:

Depends entirely on the model etc, and what the preferred spec is (could be that there is a stock car 99% similar to what your friend wants).
Let me know the details, and I'll see what I can do for him

EDIT: I work for BMW/MINI

DONT BUY ONE. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR MONEY IN YOUR HAND AND BE GLAD OR A LUCKY ESCAPE.....

Care to enlighten us??...

[mike9009]

MarsellusWallace said:

lisa grant said:

AOK said:

Depends entirely on the model etc, and what the preferred spec is (could be that there is a stock car 99% similar to what your friend wants).
Let me know the details, and I'll see what I can do for him

EDIT: I work for BMW/MINI

DONT BUY ONE. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR MONEY IN YOUR HAND AND BE GLAD OR A LUCKY ESCAPE.....

Care to enlighten us??...

There are a few clues within Lisas 'Garage'. I think the power steering pump failed on her 8 year old Mini. Lisa - what size alloys were you running on your Mini One?

Not sure whether the power steering pump has also impacted the CAPS LOCK on her PC as well?

Mike