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MINI Cooper Prices Paid and Buying Experience

1094 messages,  Last post on Aug 26, 2008 at 1:28 PM

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What is this discussion about? MINI Cooper, Coupe, Hatchback

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#69 of 1094 Re: Did it! [307web] by mfullmer Jul 09, 2004 (1:02 pm)
Replying to: 307web (Jul 09, 2004 12:42 pm) NO. In Atlanta the dealership mostly lump this all into a "Dealer Doc Fee" or "Dealer Prep Fee" One line. Replies to this message: crunch (Jul 09, 2004 3:05 pm)
#70 of 1094 Re: Did it! [mfullmer] by 307web Jul 09, 2004 (1:24 pm)
Replying to: mfullmer (Jul 09, 2004 1:01 pm) So, it is not "over the sticker price" since you don't have to pay sales tax on it, but is an extra fee that goes to the dealer that is not mandatory unless Mini happens to be one of the few manufactures that do not include this cost in the MSRP. I don't know whether Mini is one of the exceptions, so that is why I was asking that question. Someone here should know the answer to that question. The dealer got extra profit and allows the buyer save face to be able to say they bought at MSRP, and the state/county didn't derive any extra tax revenue from it since it was excluded from taxation by being classified as a "fee." It is semantics since you had to write a larger check regardless. So, the Toyota dealers selling the Prius also charge it and that it makes it sound even more like it is just marked up junk fees they charge on "in-demand" cars, just because they can. The only dealer fee I have paid on cars have been the "doc fee" which was been $45 to $55. The rest of the fees on top of the selling price and destination charge listed on the factory sticker are only government fees (tax, license, registration, title etc.), but I haven't bought a car that was in such desperate demand as a Mini or Prius, so the dealers would not be able to get away with it in my case.
#71 of 1094 Re: Did it! [mfullmer] by crunch Jul 09, 2004 (3:05 pm)
Replying to: mfullmer (Jul 09, 2004 1:02 pm) I just checked the contracts on both of the MINIs that I purchased this year, both have a $50.00 doc fee and no other charges other than the usual tax, tag, and title which are exact charges and non-negotiable. No $500+ prep fee so it doesn't appear to be a MINI thing. I did pay over msrp for dealer installed options on one of them but thats how the extra is listed, 'Dealer installed options'.
#72 of 1094 California Consumer Protection by micweb Jul 11, 2004 (8:42 am)
California limites "doc fees" to $50 due to the abuses by dealers discussed above.   A friend bought a car in Nevada fought like hell over a $495 "doc fee" there. They acknowledged it was an additional profit center (finance departments are already more profitable than new cars for some dealers, because of the GAP, alarm, and other services they sell when your guard is down) and they couldn't waive or reduce it (this is called a "negotiation ploy'). However, after another hour of negotiation they dropped the sale price by $500 (but not, technically, the doc fee).   So where the "custom" is to collect a $500 doc fee, MINI dealers outside of California definitely have it better than dealers in California.   As to other cars, you have to add back in the $450 differential on non-California purchases to figure what kind of deal you got ($3,500 in rebates, $2,000 dealer discount, $500 markup in junk fee vs. the rebates, only $1,500 in dealer discount).
#73 of 1094 No "doc fee". by mfullmer Jul 11, 2004 (8:59 am)
I never stated this was a "doc fee". All I am going on is experience and every car I've bought in Georgia - Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Lexus and now MINI has a Dealer Prep fee. They have all ranged around $550 or so.   Am I saying that this cannot be negotiated? No. Am I saying that this isn't a charge that goes directly to the dealer? No.   All I'm saying is that this is not part of the "Purchase Price". Yes, it is part of the "Total Paid" but not the "Purchase Price". My original post, lest it be forgotten, stated that the "Purchase Price" was MSRP.
#74 of 1094 by markjenn Jul 12, 2004 (9:10 pm)
The "dealer prep" fee is a simple dealer profit add-on and is NOT standardized or universally charged at all. It goes by many names:   + dealer prep + doc fee + ADM (additional dealer markup) + market adjustment   and others.   It doesn't matter what they call it, ANY fee above and beyond MSRP + state tax/title/license is an additional dealer profit fee by definition, nothing more, nothing less. You didn't pay MSRP, you paid MSRP + $600. If you're happy with the deal, then that's fine, but you can't say you purchase price was MSRP because it was MSRP + $600.   - Mark
#75 of 1094 I HAVE NOT PAID OVER MSRP!!!! by mfullmer Jul 13, 2004 (11:22 am)
First off, I haven't even gotten or purchased my MINI yet, it is ordered. I fully intend to negotiate that Dealer Prep fee down.   I KNOW MY EXPERIENCE HERE IN ATLANTA SO UNLESS YOU HAVE PURCHASED SEVERAL VEHICLES HERE THEN YOU KNOW SQUAT ABOUT WHAT THE DEALERS TRY AND CHARGE HERE AS A "CUSTOM".   Second, I've been in the car business over 20 years and I know what "purchase price" is and what "dealer add-ons" are, especially where taxes are concerned and how they are calculated.   I thought I was entering the "MINI world" where people weren't quite as uptight as some. I guess not. It's probably typical of most boards. The people who have a few car purchases under their belts think that they have the entire process nailed.
#76 of 1094 by steve_ HOST Jul 13, 2004 (12:09 pm)
fwiw, Edmunds shows MSRP to be the National Base Price without the destination charge. So MSRP for a MINI CooperS 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl S/C 6M) would be $19,899. Destination is $550. link (you have to select a color and go to the next page to see the destination fee).   There's a footnote about ad fees but I don't think that applies to the MINI.   My memory is a bit fuzzy but I think we used to consider that MSRP included destination. The National Base Price stuff is only a year or so old.   My sister is still thinking about one, but she's not rushing into anything.   Steve, Host

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