Mini SE in Houston, TX

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M_Gravity

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Any one here bought the Mini SE in Houston, TX. I am trying to place an order for the SE and not getting much help from the dealers.

If you guys placed an order from Houston, TX dealers, I would appreciate if you guys can share the details regarding the MA and specifics.

I am more interested in the Dealer prep/Fees they charged so that instead of me trying to call multiple people, trying to get info from people who already have that info and placed the orders.

Appreciate any help.
 
M_Gravity said:
Any one here bought the Mini SE in Houston, TX. I am trying to place an order for the SE and not getting much help from the dealers.

If you guys placed an order from Houston, TX dealers, I would appreciate if you guys can share the details regarding the MA and specifics.

I am more interested in the Dealer prep/Fees they charged so that instead of me trying to call multiple people, trying to get info from people who already have that info and placed the orders.

Appreciate any help.
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This link was posted by @CuriousGeorge on another thread this morning. If you narrow it down to MINI's and an electric drive train, it shows two different SE's in dealer stock in Texas -- one in Houston and one in San Antonio, both apparently being offered for MSRP.

If you will register the new SE in TX you could buy these from a TX dealer and get BOTH the federal income tax credit ($7500) and the TCEQ cash rebate grant for EVs ($2500).
 
Thanks for the link. I wont be able to buy this right away. I have to order it and at this point I want 2023 model anyway. I spoke to all the three dealers near my house and I am waiting on them to get back to me with the 2023 pricing info when that is available.

In the meanwhile I am hoping $7500 TAX CREDIT is not taken away. But, some form of BBB will pass for sure anyway.
 
M_Gravity said:
Thanks for the link. I wont be able to buy this right away. I have to order it and at this point I want 2023 model anyway. I spoke to all the three dealers near my house and I am waiting on them to get back to me with the 2023 pricing info when that is available.

In the meanwhile I am hoping $7500 TAX CREDIT is not taken away. But, some form of BBB will pass for sure anyway.
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You may want to think twice about the important uncertainties in waiting to place an order for a 2023 model:
  • Prices of the 2023 model are unknown. Given the general inflation issues, etc., the supply-chain issues, the chip shortage that has rocked the automotive world too, etc., it may be a better choice to see and know precisely what you are getting and that (apparently) at current MSRP. (For example, the MINI dealers in the Dallas area are applying dealer price "market adjustments" of $5,000 or more. I have no idea what the norm is in Houston, however.)
  • If you have a car to sell or trade-in, its value right now is extremely high due to scarcity. In my many years of car buying and ownership, I have never seen a used car market like the present.
  • Even the nature and origin of the 2023 MINI SE itself is unknown. Some members of this forum opine that the car will be manufactured in England and that it will be the "same" car as the freshly updated 2022 model, while others think it may be the new, smaller MINI SE and be built in China.
  • If it is built in China, who knows what the US import tariff situation may be in the future regarding BEVs made in China? Or the build quality, for that matter?
  • The $7500 federal tax credit could go completely away (or sharply reduced) for BEVs with a smaller battery size, such as the MINI SE has. This is a feature in the pending "BBB" bill in Congress.
  • The $2500 TCEQ cash rebate program has a cap of 2000 grants and is generally first-come, first-served until funding is exhausted or the cap reach, whichever is first (although once you order a BEV they say qualifies, your dealer can save you a place in line for the rebate.)
  • Some ordered cars are arriving without some features / options because of the chip shortage. If you find and buy an SE now, you can at least see how it has been equipped at the factory.
All I am saying is we are living in strange times, and perhaps more certainty about prices, incentives, what you are actually buying, etc. could be a very good thing.

That said, I am very glad you have decided on a MINI SE. I am pretty sure you will enjoy owning and driving one, whether a 2022 or a 2023!
 
Many college athletes leave school early for the pro leagues to realize all the benefits of their hard work as soon as possible. You want to get started driving your MINI Cooper SE as soon as possible because you deserve it. Anyone who's spent time reading the delivery thread on this forum knows what agony prospective owners go through, refreshing their MINI Garage screen over and over, checking shipping schedules over and over, calling their MA over and over. For most, it's part of choosing a MINI Cooper SE, but it doesn't have to be that way if it's actually possible to buy one from a dealer's showroom.

Not that staying in college is a bad thing, of course.
 
Texas22Step said:
dealers in the Dallas area are applying dealer price "market adjustments" of $5,000 or more.)
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I agree with this entire post except the line above although it is a worthy warning as your mileage may vary etc...

Our dealer in Plano did not add any market adjustment, prep fee, accessory package or anything else.

This was for a base spec car we ordered last week of Aug (but all we got was the enquiry report with MSRP but no other fees quoted).
Car was delivered and paid for last day of November which is when we saw first saw the full price breakdown.
We didn't get anything off the MSRP of the car, but they didn't try anything on either.

Now as to whether or not they markup cars that customers have cancelled and are now just lot inventory is another matter...

So after the rebates/grants mentioned the car was essentially $20k plus taxes and reg fee which still put us out the door at about $23k iirc.
Absolute bargain.

We specifically were trying to get the base model car (I think the value argument for an Iconic is questionable *for me* given the range and size of the car) and ensure delivery by the end of the year for this reason. We also wanted to be sure we got a good price for our used Soul in case the used market cools, and we actually got more than we paid for it new 2.5yrs ago and more than the SE cost us new (after rebates etc) so we made money switching, it was all about timing.
We sold that Kia to Carmax and didn't get a trade in quote from Mini, but given trade-in at Kia with their desperate monthly letters and calls wanting to buy it back were $3k less than Carmax I can't imagine Mini would have matched them.

The range of course was sufficient for us, but re waiting for the next gen: I was also concerned that not only would the $7.5k rebate be reduced, we wouldn't stand a chance of the $2.5k Texas grant, the car could cost more due to bigger battery, we may or may not like the styling inside and out or build quality, plus inflation may cause all new cars to go up and so on.
So even if the new one was better and we liked it, and if it only went up $5k due to bigger battery and or inflation increase, BBB passed, Texas grant expired, it could cost us ~$34k out the door vs $23k for the current gen. 50%more. Not worth it to us. Only if the range was not sufficient would we have waited. But that is our set of circumstances...
 
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I just purchased an in-transit 2022 SE Signature Trim from a Houston dealership.

They sold at MSRP plus a couple of add-ons that they told us would be included even if we ordered a 2023:
- $259 Phantom Footprints (some kind of VIN stickers they place on random parts of the car)
- $599 Permaplate (Scotchgarde for interior protection)

Additional Fees:
-157.25 Doc Fee
-270.28 Non Tax Fees

Price was non-negotiable which was fine but the salespeople there were just off-putting. At one point when we gave up on trying to negotiate, they told us 'We didn't have to force ourselves and do this deal.' If we didn't need a vehicle soon we would have passed and went somewhere else. This wasn't the first Mini we purchased from this dealership. As a returning customer to receive this type of attitude was really unpleasant.
 
sousvide said:
I just purchased an in-transit 2022 SE Signature Trim from a Houston dealership.

They sold at MSRP plus a couple of add-ons that they told us would be included even if we ordered a 2023:
- $259 Phantom Footprints (some kind of VIN stickers they place on random parts of the car)
- $599 Permaplate (Scotchgarde for interior protection)

Additional Fees:
-157.25 Doc Fee
-270.28 Non Tax Fees

Price was non-negotiable which was fine but the salespeople there were just off-putting. At one point when we gave up on trying to negotiate, they told us 'We didn't have to force ourselves and do this deal.' If we didn't need a vehicle soon we would have passed and went somewhere else. This wasn't the first Mini we purchased from this dealership. As a returning customer to receive this type of attitude was really unpleasant.
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You're missing the pain and suffering most of us went through while waiting for our SEs, glued to our keyboards, updating screens that never seem to give us new information about when we'll get our cars. That should compensate for the brief arrogance of a salesperson who knows they can be as rude as they like without worrying about having the car sitting unsold in their showroom. That rudeness will fade away with the knowledge you won't have to return to that dealership for your first service appointment for two whole years.
 
sousvide said:
I just purchased an in-transit 2022 SE Signature Trim from a Houston dealership.

They sold at MSRP plus a couple of add-ons that they told us would be included even if we ordered a 2023:
- $259 Phantom Footprints (some kind of VIN stickers they place on random parts of the car)
- $599 Permaplate (Scotchgarde for interior protection)

Additional Fees:
-157.25 Doc Fee
-270.28 Non Tax Fees

Price was non-negotiable which was fine but the salespeople there were just off-putting. At one point when we gave up on trying to negotiate, they told us 'We didn't have to force ourselves and do this deal.' If we didn't need a vehicle soon we would have passed and went somewhere else. This wasn't the first Mini we purchased from this dealership. As a returning customer to receive this type of attitude was really unpleasant.
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I would call out the specific dealership here, and make sure you 'force' yourself to give the proper feedback on their sales survey.
 
insightman said:
You're missing the pain and suffering most of us went through while waiting for our SEs, glued to our keyboards, updating screens that never seem to give us new information about when we'll get our cars. That should compensate for the brief arrogance of a salesperson who knows they can be as rude as they like without worrying about having the car sitting unsold in their showroom. That rudeness will fade away with the knowledge you won't have to return to that dealership for your first service appointment for two whole years.
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I've been through the pain of waiting, I owned a Tesla Model Y. Their dates play with your emotions, early then late then later then early then even later.

Funny is that this dealership actually as a Island Blue in the showroom that I test drove for $38K and no negotiation. We didn't think the additional $6K was worth it. Def looking forward to not going into service for a couple years.
 
sousvide said:
- $259 Phantom Footprints (some kind of VIN stickers they place on random parts of the car)
Click to expand...
That seems so dubious to me. There are VINs stamped everywhere on cars these days, and the SE doesn't have "parts" that are easily stolen, like ICE cars.
 
Puppethead said:
That seems so dubious to me. There are VINs stamped everywhere on cars these days, and the SE doesn't have "parts" that are easily stolen, like ICE cars.
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For thieves who strip cars to the bones, the SE offers many saleable body and interior parts. I was happy I didn't have to worry about thieves taking my SE's catalytic converter, but now in the Detroit area (probably other areas, too), they've shifted to steering-wheel theft. It's quicker to take the whole steering wheel than to carefully remove the valuable air-bag while the steering wheel is still in the car. I doubt @sousvide's dealer will put a "Phantom Footprint" on the driver's side airbag, however.

Actually, one of the things I liked about the MINI Cooper SE was that it shares many parts with ICE MINI Coopers, so those parts will be much easier to obtain than those for my gen-1 Honda Insight, of which Honda made only about 14,000 examples in 7 years. I was glad that MINI announced the SE just as I found out that Honda no longer sold the Honda Insight shift linkages--I had to get a used one on ebay. I fixed up my Insight, sold it, and ordered an SE. A mere 51 weeks later, I had transitioned from the first electrified car in the US to the most fun electric car in the US.
 
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M_Gravity said:
Any one here bought the Mini SE in Houston, TX. I am trying to place an order for the SE and not getting much help from the dealers.

If you guys placed an order from Houston, TX dealers, I would appreciate if you guys can share the details regarding the MA and specifics.

I am more interested in the Dealer prep/Fees they charged so that instead of me trying to call multiple people, trying to get info from people who already have that info and placed the orders.

Appreciate any help.
Click to expand...
I've bought two MINIs from Rachel, a manager at MINI of Clear Lake. She's great. PM me for her number.
 
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