What's everybody paying?

[Don]

I bought mine from the dealers existing stock also. He took off $1K right up front because that's what Mitsu was offering for preorders and then I negotiated an extra few hundred more off the price . . . . after he added up his 'very best price' and gave me a written invoice, I brought in a cashiers check the next day for what I wanted to pay . . . . and he took it, rather than have me leave with the check in my pocket

I was lucky that he had a car the color I liked best, equipped just as I would have ordered it on the lot with about 350 miles on it - I joked that it was a 'used car' and there was no way I was paying the full price for it

Don

 

[surf4funx]

Hi happy iMiev owners. I bought a Silver ES on 5/30 for $27,267.00 Took about a month of dealing with my So. Cal dealer -- but they were great about the whole transaction and I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

 

[Wee John]

Hi happy iMiev owners. I bought a Silver ES on 5/30 for $27,267.00 Took about a month of dealing with my So. Cal dealer

That's the beauty of not needing a car, you can wait out the dealer for the price you are willing to pay. Congrats and have fun.

 

[fjpod]

Hi happy iMiev owners. I bought a Silver ES on 5/30 for $27,267.00 Took about a month of dealing with my So. Cal dealer -- but they were great about the whole transaction and I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

So, is that about $2k off MSRP?

 

[oahumiev]

That's the beauty of not needing a car, you can wait out the dealer for the price you are willing to pay. Congrats and have fun.

True, except here in Hawaii, a state rebate program for the purchase of an EV of $4500 which was set to expire in November 2012 ran out of money at the beginning of May due to high demand, some unlucky Miev owners actually bought the car thinking they would get the rebate but funds ran out while their paperwork was being processed, fortunately I bought mine back in December!

 

[surf4funx]

Yes, just about $2k under MSRP. I too was nervous about getting the CA $2000 rebate and the commuter lane decal, so instead of waiting a few more months for the 2013 to come out I went hardcore on getting the best deal on the 2012.

 

[fjpod]

Yes, just about $2k under MSRP. I too was nervous about getting the CA $2000 rebate and the commuter lane decal, so instead of waiting a few more months for the 2013 to come out I went hardcore on getting the best deal on the 2012.

Good deal. Enjoy.

 

[danpatgal]

We just bought an ES with quick charge for $29,400 ... which is essentially just MSRP minus the $1000 rebate Mitsubishi promised me eariler in the year for pre-ordering. In PA there is a $3500 rebate (available for the first 500 buyers in PA since last Fall - which as of now there is still funds for another 270), that with the $7500 tax credit brings us to down to $18400 + tax/title . Still expensive compared to an ICE, but cheaper than any other EV out there and much more in line with our lifestyle. (I kept mentioning the Tesla Model S to my wife, and she'd just laugh and dismiss me as having lost my mind.)

We are very excited about it and hope Mitsubishi and other manufacturers continue to roll these EVs out to the public - I can feel the change happening, even if it's not a revolution.

 

[fjpod]

Good luck with it. Enjoy. Wish NY had a program, but they don't.

 

[Logandzwon]

I'm in Florida, so we don't have the pre-order $1,000 off deal.

Raspberry SE with Interior LED Package, Wheel Locks, USB Adaptor, and cargo package. Including destination and dealer fee, not tax, tag, and title. No trade.

MSRP; $32,800
I paid; $31,355

I also got 2.90% financing with $6,000 down. Paper-work is singed, I take the delivery Monday!

 

[fjpod]

I'm in Florida, so we don't have the pre-order $1,000 off deal.

Raspberry SE with Interior LED Package, Wheel Locks, USB Adaptor, and cargo package. Including destination and dealer fee, not tax, tag, and title. No trade.

MSRP; $32,800
I paid; $31,355

I also got 2.90% financing with $6,000 down. Paper-work is singed, I take the delivery Monday!

Ya done good. Enjoy.

 

[oakvilleblake]

Our dealer hasn't budged from MSRP, and to make it worse added thousands of dollars in various "fees" into the price that I found annoying (like $500 for "theft deterence package" (who's going to steal an EV? they won't get far) and various admin fees etc which they claimed were mandatory. They also refused to print out the offer, although they let me write out the details. I said that i would not pay several of them. They still phone regularly to pester me while we get the charging options sorted out... I'm in no hurry except that they have the colour (white) and trim level (base) that we wanted in stock...

While on vacation in Halifax we saw and talked with owners of an I who use it for their restaurant (they use local produce from the farmer's market) and it's also their only car and they only use the regular 110V L1 charger and have found it to be fine...

 

[alexanmh]

I paid MSRP but I did get them to deliver it from Indianapolis IN to Fairborn OH for a few hundred. Rolls Royce service.

 

[Don]

They still phone regularly to pester me while we get the charging options sorted out... I'm in no hurry except that they have the colour (white) and trim level (base) that we wanted in stock...

They WANT to sell you a car, but like almost every dealership on the planet, they want it to be in THEIR terms

Shopping for a new car, every individual needs to remember two things. One, they NEED to sell it much worse than you need to buy it. Two, since #1 is true, you (the buyer) SHOULD BE in total control of the negotiations - Buy it on your terms, not theirs

If you want to buy from this dealer (I'm guessing all others are out of the cars range for you to drive it home?) then the next time they 'pester' you, tell them you have a check in your hand for $XX,XXX.XX and when they decide they can sell it to you for that amount, you'll come down and pick it up. Since they think they are the ONLY dealer you could get one from, they're trying to take advantage of the situation and they'll take control of this deal, if you let them

I guess the third bit of wisdom is . . . . always be ready to walk away. Our dealer had the perfect car for us on the showroom floor. Negotiating for an hour or so, we got what he said was his 'best deal' (in writing) and then we went back the next day with a check for about $300 less than that. The salesman smiled and asked if we had come to pick up our car and I told him maybe - If he could sell it for the amount of the check we brought with us. He didn't want to lose a sale over a piddly $300 (about 1%) so after consulting with the owner, they agreed

The weakest person in any negotiation isn't going to get things his way, which is why dealerships train all their salesmen to always be the dominant party . . . . if possible. The only real 'weapon' the buyer has is his feet - If things do not go the way you like, walk! As soon as you fall in love with whatever they're selling you, you're DONE!

Don

 

[BillThompsonMIEV]

Signed documents yesterday and paid $30,770 for SE trim line. Out the door price after trade was $22,515.

 

[archie_b]

Anyone in the Northeast looking to buy an i?

A Mitsubishi dealer in Silver Springs, MD is going out of business (August 31st) and has 5 is in stock; 3 ES and 2 SE. Prices shown online are discounted a little, but ad states all reasonable offers will be considered. With 5 left to sell in 7 days a good deal is possible.

http://www.saffordautos.com

Good luck. Hope someone can score a great deal.

 

[Brian]

I bought mine on August 22nd. I used the equote online and got a price $2000 under sticker. The only option I went with on the ES was the Quick Charge package. I also got 0% financing for 48 months. First, I went to a different dealer from the one I got the quote from to see if I could get a better deal. I did not show them the email that showed the price, but they were trying to insinuate that any discount above $550, and they would be losing money. While doing research, there were 15-20 available in the Chicago area at the time. The dealer I bought from was actually the closest to home and allowed me to drive home on a full charge without having to recharge.

 

[alohart]

A dealer has offered me a new SE with no options for $29,465 including the destination charge but excluding a $258 registration and licensing fee, a $250 documentation fee (whatever that is), and sales tax. This seems to be around $2,400 below the current MSRP. This seems like a good price even though I'd prefer to pay less for an ES, but this dealer has none. This car isn't shown in the dealer's new car inventory on his Website which seems odd. I've been told that it isn't a demonstrator, has only 118 miles on the odometer, and has no problem that needs fixing or that might lower its value. Unfortunately, I'm half way around the world from the dealer, so I can't inspect this car until I return to the area in two months. There is no one whom I know who knows i's or EV's in general enough to inspect and test drive the car in a way that would provide me with any useful information. The dealer can't promise to hold this car for that long unless I pay a substantial deposit.

The dealer won't sell me an identical SE in a color I prefer for the same price. He told me that he can offer this low price only on this car because it was a pre-order under the original lower pricing, but that the delivery of this car had taken so long that the purchaser cancelled before the car was delivered. Does it make sense to you that two essentially identical cars could not be sold for the same price? Maybe the window sticker price on this car is lower than that on the other car which might make selling the car with the lower sticker price more difficult to sell at a higher price.

Do you know what the original MSRP for an SE was? I've read that pre-orders were rewarded with a $1,000 rebate. Might the lower original MSRP and that rebate allow the dealer to sell this car at a lower price?

I'm a bit concerned about how long this car has sat in the blazing sun on the dealer's lot. I know that the battery pack should be periodically charged when the car is being stored. I'm skeptical that the dealer would have periodically charged the many i's that have been on his lot for many months. Do you think that this is a valid concern?

Please make any other suggestions that might help me decide whether paying a large deposit on a car that I cannot inspect makes sense. With the poor i sales, I expect dealers to offer substantial discounts soon, but I can't be sure of this. Because of the i's limited range, finding a used i has been impossible, and I really don't have any other dealer options. So I'll probably have to buy a new SE from him unless I'm willing to wait for a new shipment of i's to arrive that might include an ES. This dealer has so many unsold SE's that I doubt that he will be receiving any addition i's for many months, if ever.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[JoeS]

Does it make sense to you that two essentially identical cars could not be sold for the same price?

That was exactly the scenario I faced when I purchased my iMiEV, with identical specs but different sticker prices.

I'm a bit concerned about how long this car has sat in the blazing sun on the dealer's lot.

Darn it, that would also be my worry, especially if the battery was left fully charged. Is it a white car, as that would help? Ideal for long-term storage I understand to be about 40% SOC. Perhaps request a battery capacity test with printout for this vehicle as part of the purchase agreement?

 

[Don]

Do you know what the original MSRP for an SE was? I've read that pre-orders were rewarded with a $1,000 rebate. Might the lower original MSRP and that rebate allow the dealer to sell this car at a lower price?

I suspect that's what's happening - Each individual car has a paper trail so it's quite possible they can sell you one car for considerably less money than a seemingly indentical one sitting beside it. The window sticker on an SE shows the factory price to be $31,125 plus any optional equipment, plus a destination/handling charge of $850. It looks like you're correct about the $2400 savings - Good price!

Yes, preordered cars had a $1K discount direct from Mitsubishi, but that seems to be negotiable too - The car I bought was on the dealers lot, never pre-ordered by anyone and he came off that $1K without me even mentioning it . . . . and I WAS going to mention it

Don