I went to Brecht Mini in Escondido (San Diego area) and I'm seeing similar "Dealer Markups". The Salespeople seemed completely unwilling to negotiate the prices down at all, stating it's a matter of "Supply and Demand". Someone did call me back and wanted to continue working with me and offered to sell one at MSRP (which is still over invoice), but required some additional Dealer "Addons" such as LoJack and some interior exterior coating. I'm pretty sure I can negotiate these out of the deal though.
Too bad you'll have to wait years for the Tiguan Diesel. VW still hasn't really produced the Jetta TDI in big numbers yet either due to some factory fire. They are already selling the Mini Cooper/Clubman D (Diesel) in Europe and I bet the Mini will beat VW to the North American Diesel market.
We bought our mini in Palm Harbor. We were happy with the experience. They gae us $500.00 off of MSRP and mats. We can't wait to get our mini which is in production. The dealership was great. We would have gone to Richmond but they didn't call us back
Like many who venture into these forums, we're considering a purchase of a MINI Clubman S. Does anyone here own one who could share insights as to the pros and cons of the vehicle's features? There are so many choices, it's difficult to know of some of them are worth the extra money. Thanks in advance!
We purchased a Clubman S with Auto, Premium and Cold Weather packages. Averaging 32 MPG even with Auto. So far evrything has been great with one return to dealer for stuck Clubman door latch.
car_girl, I've had my Clubman S since 4/3/08 and now have 5500 troublefree miles on it. I had the center armrest installed to help with storage and just simply for comfort. I have the 6 spd manual and love it. I avg about 29 mpgs around town and 34 on the hwy. I drive pretty aggressively, so I'm sure you could probably do better.
Pros: pickup, handling, cargo space with the rear seats down, ability to carry both of my young boys (5 & 3 yr olds) in the back and the ability to easily load them with the "clubdoor," looks/style, smooth 6 speed tranny, the optional ipod hookup is sweet, sport button.
Cons: tire noise, ride is pretty firm (but I did opt for the sport package with the run flats), weak premium MINI hifi radio, TPMS has gone off twice for just the slightest change in tire pressure (which I guess is a good safety feature, but annoying nonetheless), the radio and HVAC controls look pretty cool to me (which I know is subjective), but they are very poorly laid out (especially the temp control dials and the volume/tuning knobs being in different areas of the center console), low availability (you usually end up ordering one and paying MSRP).
I would certainly recommend this car. Its fun to drive, gets great gas mileage and looks great....just know what you're getting into when you buy a MINI. You can find cheaper, more roomy rides, but they just don't match the "MINI experience" or cache.
aveo, I'm not sure what you mean by "weak," but I can say that the clutch/stick combo in this car is excellent and I've had zero problems with it. Its not quite as slick as the one in the new Civic Si, mainly b/c the throws are a little longer, but the MINI's is near perfect. If you mean long term durability of the clutch, I can't answer that since I've only owned the car 5 months.
I am buying a Clubman S autom, Premium & Cold Weather packages. Regarding various previous posts: Re: Dealer markups - closest one to me is Cincinnati Mini, and there it is strictly MSRP only. Build it on the website, and that's what you'll pay. Re: Harsh ride - there are numerous articles concerning this. I don't know what folks are driving, but I'm moving into the Clubman S from a Tacoma 4WD pickup with off-road suspension...... so when I test-drove, I said "what harsh ride?". I'm 55 yr old, but I can go 10+ hrs banging around on the Tacoma, so no problem with the Clubman S. Re: Difficult AC controls - I dunno. I have a Highlander Hybrid climate control, so the MINI was very similar and it took me all of 10 sec to figure it out. It's more versatile than the Toyota version which got high marks from journalists. So I don't understand the mud thrown at the MINI AC controls. Re: Bad stereo - oh yeah, you must get the optional "Hi Fi" system. Even then, it is only acceptable. Barely. This low quality was a shock to us.
Anyway, one visit took care of the big concerns of bad ride, bad controls, etc (except for the marginal stereo for $500 extra!!), so we are plunking down our money. Really bad interior styling? Yes, but I can't do anything about that! Fortunately, I look OUT the windshield when I'm driving.......
Comments
Oh well.
They are already selling the Mini Cooper/Clubman D (Diesel) in Europe and I bet the Mini will beat VW to the North American Diesel market.
We selected the convenience group option and the silver bonnet stripes.
If we drive conservatively we can get 35-40 MPG on the highway.
The s has plenty of power for us and the sport button is very nice when you want to play. An optional chrome air intake accessory is on back order.
I've had my Clubman S since 4/3/08 and now have 5500 troublefree miles on it. I had the center armrest installed to help with storage and just simply for comfort. I have the 6 spd manual and love it. I avg about 29 mpgs around town and 34 on the hwy. I drive pretty aggressively, so I'm sure you could probably do better.
Pros: pickup, handling, cargo space with the rear seats down, ability to carry both of my young boys (5 & 3 yr olds) in the back and the ability to easily load them with the "clubdoor," looks/style, smooth 6 speed tranny, the optional ipod hookup is sweet, sport button.
Cons: tire noise, ride is pretty firm (but I did opt for the sport package with the run flats), weak premium MINI hifi radio, TPMS has gone off twice for just the slightest change in tire pressure (which I guess is a good safety feature, but annoying nonetheless), the radio and HVAC controls look pretty cool to me (which I know is subjective), but they are very poorly laid out (especially the temp control dials and the volume/tuning knobs being in different areas of the center console), low availability (you usually end up ordering one and paying MSRP).
I would certainly recommend this car. Its fun to drive, gets great gas mileage and looks great....just know what you're getting into when you buy a MINI. You can find cheaper, more roomy rides, but they just don't match the "MINI experience" or cache.
Good luck deciding.
I'm not sure what you mean by "weak," but I can say that the clutch/stick combo in this car is excellent and I've had zero problems with it. Its not quite as slick as the one in the new Civic Si, mainly b/c the throws are a little longer, but the MINI's is near perfect. If you mean long term durability of the clutch, I can't answer that since I've only owned the car 5 months.
Regarding various previous posts:
Re: Dealer markups - closest one to me is Cincinnati Mini, and there it is strictly MSRP only. Build it on the website, and that's what you'll pay.
Re: Harsh ride - there are numerous articles concerning this. I don't know what folks are driving, but I'm moving into the Clubman S from a Tacoma 4WD pickup with off-road suspension...... so when I test-drove, I said "what harsh ride?". I'm 55 yr old, but I can go 10+ hrs banging around on the Tacoma, so no problem with the Clubman S.
Re: Difficult AC controls - I dunno. I have a Highlander Hybrid climate control, so the MINI was very similar and it took me all of 10 sec to figure it out. It's more versatile than the Toyota version which got high marks from journalists. So I don't understand the mud thrown at the MINI AC controls.
Re: Bad stereo - oh yeah, you must get the optional "Hi Fi" system. Even then, it is only acceptable. Barely. This low quality was a shock to us.
Anyway, one visit took care of the big concerns of bad ride, bad controls, etc (except for the marginal stereo for $500 extra!!), so we are plunking down our money. Really bad interior styling? Yes, but I can't do anything about that! Fortunately, I look OUT the windshield when I'm driving.......