Test drive and negotiation?

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hanyoung99

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Very intrigued by the Mini SE. Has anyone test driven one prior to purchase? Or is everyone putting their faith in online reviews. I'm in AZ and would love to see one in person, but I don't see any in stock at our MINI dealerships.
Also, is price fixed? Or is there markup? I can negotiate locally or in PHX / Scottsdale, but wanted to see what others have found with their 2021s.
Thanks!
 
No markup on mine but I paid full list price. I did get to test drive one first. I love it. Bought in Greenville, SC. I live about 70 miles from the dealer.
 
My local dealer got one in last fall for test drives. I loved every minute of it and hopefully will be ordering one this summer. I'd recommend getting in touch with a motoring advisor vs checking inventory online if you want to get the inside scoop on what's available.
 
I am fortunate enough to live within reasonable driving distance of a handful of dealers.

Test Drives
I was very frustrated to learn in March of 2020 that there was no program available for dealers to have any units on their lot that were not ordered. However, by April or May, two dealers had one on site on a temporary basis, and I went for a test drive then. It was really cool to give it a spin. Drove it on the highway to see how cleanly it accelerates, how it jumps from 40-60 in an effortless flash. I got to do some cornering, but no slalom-like roads where I was. We also tested the Parking Assist feature (creepy, but I like it).

Negotiation
I approached the five dealers within a reasonable drive (even defining reasonable as one that would require a stop for recharging on the way home). Most dealers said the price was not negotiable. However, as soon as one dealer was willing to give me $500 off, another dealer said they'd do $100 cheaper than any other offer. Oddly, I got an email from the sales manager at a dealer who was very flat about it being non-negotiable. I asked in reply if they wanted to win my business, he asked me to name my price. I may have posted this elsewhere, but I told him $1000 off, and they accepted. I did not go back to other dealers who had made offers, as I felt like I had to honor my request. (I know, I really could have, but I chose not to optimize entirely on price.)

I do think if you have multiple dealers you could feasibly choose, you could get at least one of them to discount you at least $500. You can just play them off each other, or, simply view each conversation as "I have another dealer whom I could work with." (The BATNA, in effect).

Oh, and you'll be ordering a 2022 now. I wouldn't expect those to drive any differently from the 2021s, though.
 
My local dealer had one that I was able to test drive. It was a 2021 but it shouldn't drive much different.

@bldxyz Good to not that you got some off. Even though I've already placed my order, it won't hurt to ask if they will make a contribution as I haven't signed anything other than reserving an EV online.
 
No test drive here. But I was currently a Mini driver and knew what to expect from handling. Acceleration and breaking I had to guess on based oj other EVs I test drove.

I got the bonnet stripes free as I did not see them added on my list. Nearest dealers are at the opposite ends of the state and wasn't worth haggling if I risked having to drive 100 miles to get the car. I got an excellent deal on selling my prior Mini so not complaining.
 
@bldxyz Thanks for the info! Usually I negotiate as you did - but this process makes it inherently challenging. Just got off the phone with a local dealer, and they stated that I would put a $500 deposit down, wait in line, then custom build, then purchase. So it makes it hard to discuss with other dealers if I am already "committed" to one for the build, no?
 
hanyoung99 said:
@bldxyz Thanks for the info! Usually I negotiate as you did - but this process makes it inherently challenging. Just got off the phone with a local dealer, and they stated that I would put a $500 deposit down, wait in line, then custom build, then purchase. So it makes it hard to discuss with other dealers if I am already "committed" to one for the build, no?
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Hanyoung99 I am in the process of attempting to purchase a 2022, so no you don't have to put the $500 down. Just use the build-a-car on the Mini website, You will get an email with a quote, attach it to an email and sent to your salesman. That is how I am currently doing it.
We did test drive a 2021 last Friday and loved it. Salesman was wrong when he said $1000 incentive as reported in reply to quote request today. Plus they wanted $600 D+H.
Also website is not up to date on ordering 2022. See following for difference I determined between SIG+ and Iconic levels.
https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm...p-visual-order-guide.10426/page-4#post-126797

And the only ones that are apparently getting a discount are those that can pit dealers against each other.
 
MINI can't seem to make the SE fast enough to meet demand, and any "canceled" orders are snapped up immediately. These cars don't sit on lots. Maybe you could find a deal on a 2021 once the 2022 style starts to arrive.

It's great if you can get a deal, but don't be surprised if you pay list.
 
hanyoung99 said:
@bldxyz Thanks for the info! Usually I negotiate as you did - but this process makes it inherently challenging. Just got off the phone with a local dealer, and they stated that I would put a $500 deposit down, wait in line, then custom build, then purchase. So it makes it hard to discuss with other dealers if I am already "committed" to one for the build, no?
Click to expand...

I neglected to mention that I asked the dealers to make a quote for me before I made the deposit. Many of them tried to get me to make the deposit first, but leverage goes away at that point, so I wouldn't do that (or I would cancel that) if I were in your shoes.
 
Our local dealer had a 21 Iconic edition they had just gotten back in February when we started down the SE path. In fact, when we took it on the first of three test drives, it only had 300 miles on it.

Our price was not negotiable but as another poster mentioned were we able to get a couple of dealer installed accessories thrown in. This included black bonnet stripes, roof rack and the all weather floor matts. Figure that was about $1k.

Btw OP, we spent my teenage kid’s spring break 2019 in Scottsdale and it was fabulous.



Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I found out about the Mini Cooper SE and this forum last August when I googled for the cheapest EVs. After 'hanging out' for a few months in the forum, I called my local Mini dealer in December and asked if they had an SE. I was surprised that they did. It was one of only two SEs they had seen, and the only reason they had it was because the customer decided not to buy it. I only drove for about 20 minutes, but I was hooked by the acceleration, the one pedal drive, the turn response, and the seats that hold on to you as you throw the car around.
 
GvilleGuy said:
I found out about the Mini Cooper SE and this forum last August when I googled for the cheapest EVs. After 'hanging out' for a few months in the forum, I called my local Mini dealer in December and asked if they had an SE. I was surprised that they did. It was one of only two SEs they had seen, and the only reason they had it was because the customer decided not to buy it. I only drove for about 20 minutes, but I was hooked by the acceleration, the one pedal drive, the turn response, and the seats that hold on to you as you throw the car around.
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Were you tempted to buy the one you drove? How accurate was the dealer's estimate about how long it would take to get the one you ordered? How long did the one you drove remain unsold?
 
insightman said:
Were you tempted to buy the one you drove? How accurate was the dealer's estimate about how long it would take to get the one you ordered? How long did the one you drove remain unsold?
Click to expand...

Not at all tempted to buy. It was not the color I wanted. The dealer said 6 to 8 weeks to order one back when I test drove. But I figured that was probably not accurate. I'm looking at around 13 weeks at the moment. And I never heard whether the SE sold or not.
 
We were looking for a no-option Signature SE at 29,900. We have four high volume Mini dealers in Chicagoland but not a single one had a new or used SE to test drive. One dealer is known to only sell at list, one only offers $1K off, and two offered $2K off list. Of course, you negotiate before you place your deposit on the factory website since it locks you into a dealer. In the end, the dealer we liked best offered an additional 500 off without even asking (we just provided the spec sheet another dealer had worked up.)

Even Chevy dealers are now placing C8 orders at $1K under list as opposed to 5K over by eating the $1K March 1st price increase from Corvette to keep the car under $60K. You can now order a 1LT no option C8 AND a no option MINI BEV for the same price (utilizing the Federal tax credit) as a lightly used C8 1LT sold for in 2020.

April 2021 is a good time to buy a new car built to your specifications as opposed to paying for someone else's option list/color after they get cold feet.
 
Chicago said:
Even Chevy dealers are now placing C8 orders at $1K under list as opposed to 5K over by eating the $1K March 1st price increase from Corvette to keep the car under $60K. You can now order a 1LT no option C8 AND a no option MINI BEV for the same price (utilizing the Federal tax credit) as a lightly used C8 1LT sold for in 2020.

April 2021 is a good time to buy a new car built to your specifications as opposed to paying for someone else's option list/color after they get cold feet.
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Just out of curiosity, can you tell me how much off list your Chicago-area Toyota dealers offering on a RAV4 Prime?
 
Chicago said:
You'll have to ask Laurel Coppock! :Op
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I doubt Laurel would have a clue about what RAV4 Primes are selling for in Chicago--she gets them for free! I just wondered because there are so many reports of dealer-gouging on the high-demand, low-supply RAV4 Prime.
 
Trick question. You can't buy RAV4 Primes in Chicago. Illinois is not a CARB state and Toyota is only selling in CARB states (for now). Closest is either NY or CO.
 
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