Bought new silver 2012 SE for $26,250

[jlhiowa]

Just sharing our pricing info; hope it helps someone else because these forums have really helped us Let me know if you have any questions. We really love our MiEV!

Only SE were left, and only 2 of those were non-premium. We were looking at an SE with only premium, no other optional accessories, but it sold.

Window form / Buyer's guide
$31,125 MSRP 2012 SE
+$2,790 premium package
+$275 rear park assist sensors
+$100 cargo net and reversible cargo mat
+$55 wheel locks
+$850 destination/handling
================================
$35,195 total MSRP (can't remember mileage.. Too many numbers and cars.. I think 212.)

Edit for incentive info: Thanks to this forum, we knew about the $10,000 off. So the price we started at was $25,195 (not including taxes).

We negotiated to $26,250 (including 7% sales tax of $2,456). So roughly, $23,794 + tax.

$26,250
-$7,500 federal tax credit (I don't qualify, but we think my boyfriend will based on his estimated taxes.)
-$3,112 Illinois 10% of base MSRP
-$262? town of Normal (EV Town) tax rebate; 1% of ST-556 line 3
===================================================
$15,376 is hopefully close to what we'll end up paying

*Learned from another post, we needed to look into the $221 license and registration because IL only charges $18/year for EL plates.

 

[RobbW]

Was the dealership not offering incentives? My dealership took $11K right off the top as a dealer incentive. Or does your negotiating down to $26K include their incentive? If it does, I technically wouldn't call that part of the negotiating. Anyway, my wife and I were so happy to actually get an i-MiEV and all the effort the dealer went to in order to get it shipped up to us, that when they offered us the $11K incentive, we didn't feel any need to negotiate further. We took it!

 

[RobbW]

Yes, definitely make absolutely sure they register your MiEV correctly in Illinois. It should be the EL plates that are only $35 every two years. The plates are good for two years. They expire every odd year, and the initial registration fee is prorated according to when you purchased during the current two-year period. Since you will be registering in the last part of the second year, your registration should only be $9. That's what mine was. However, I had to make absolutely sure with the salesman and the finance guy that they registered it as an EV.

That $35 two-year registration is a sweet benny on top of all the other bennies we get as EV purchasers in IL!

 

[jlhiowa]

Was the dealership not offering incentives? My dealership took $11K right off the top as a dealer incentive. Or does your negotiating down to $26K include their incentive? If it does, I technically wouldn't call that part of the negotiating. Anyway, my wife and I were so happy to actually get an i-MiEV and all the effort the dealer went to in order to get it shipped up to us, that when they offered us the $11K incentive, we didn't feel any need to negotiate further. We took it!

Hi, sorry my wording was a bit off so I tried to edit it I was trying to avoid writing a wall of text like I normally do!

Initially, the dealer told us there was a $9k incentive from Mitsubishi, but I knew it was $10k from the forums.

Our budget was $15k, so they worked with us, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten the car. After the salesperson had talked to his boss/finance manager a few times, we said 'look it's okay, it obviously can't be sold that low.' It had been 2 hours and we were tired, and it's depressing to go from thinking 'wow, we can get an electric car' to 'nope'. But he went back a final time and got the $26,250 approved!

 

[jlhiowa]

Ooh thanks for providing more details on the EL license plate, this will be helpful when we talk to our sales guy tomorrow I'm so excited to get our MiEV!!

Yes, definitely make absolutely sure they register your MiEV correctly in Illinois. It should be the EL plates that are only $35 every two years. The plates are good for two years. They expire every odd year, and the initial registration fee is prorated according to when you purchased during the current two-year period. Since you will be registering in the last part of the second year, your registration should only be $9. That's what mine was. However, I had to make absolutely sure with the salesman and the finance guy that they registered it as an EV.

That $35 two-year registration is a sweet benny on top of all the other bennies we get as EV purchasers in IL!

 

[Don]

If your boyfriend will qualify for the Federal $7500 tax credit, make sure his name is on the title and registration of the car. We were in a similar 'fix' when we bought ours. Instead of it being titled in mine and my wife's names, it's titled and registered in mine and my brother's names - It helped (I think) that we both had the same mailing address at the time. Worked like a charm and we got the tax credit

Don

 

[jlhiowa]

If your boyfriend will qualify for the Federal $7500 tax credit, make sure his name is on the title and registration of the car. We were in a similar 'fix' when we bought ours. Instead of it being titled in mine and my wife's names, it's titled and registered in mine and my brother's names - It helped (I think) that we both had the same mailing address at the time. Worked like a charm and we got the tax credit

Don

Thanks! Writing this down so we make sure it happens

 

[RobbW]

If your boyfriend will qualify for the Federal $7500 tax credit, make sure his name is on the title and registration of the car. We were in a similar 'fix' when we bought ours. Instead of it being titled in mine and my wife's names, it's titled and registered in mine and my brother's names - It helped (I think) that we both had the same mailing address at the time. Worked like a charm and we got the tax credit

Don

I'm confused. How does titling it in yours and your brother's names enable you to get the tax credit, but titling it in yours and your wife's names doesn't?

 

[lawjds]

let me just say this don't use this as an example of any sort of "deal"

 

[Don]

If your boyfriend will qualify for the Federal $7500 tax credit, make sure his name is on the title and registration of the car. We were in a similar 'fix' when we bought ours. Instead of it being titled in mine and my wife's names, it's titled and registered in mine and my brother's names - It helped (I think) that we both had the same mailing address at the time. Worked like a charm and we got the tax credit

Don

I'm confused. How does titling it in yours and your brother's names enable you to get the tax credit, but titling it in yours and your wife's names doesn't?

Because my brother (who used to live with us and now lives across the street) had enough tax liability to qualify for the tax credit and neither my wife or I did. He and I bought the car and he got the tax credit

Don

 

[jlhiowa]

let me just say this don't use this as an example of any sort of "deal"

Do you think we could have gotten our car for less? We haven't done the final paperwork yet, so we may still have time.

I've seen some people post lower prices, but $15k (provided we get all the tax credits), seemed good.

 

[RobertC]

let me just say this don't use this as an example of any sort of "deal"

MSRP $35,195.
Bought for $23,794. (Plus tax)
That's over $11,000 off.

I call that a deal.

 

[RobbW]

He and I bought the car and he got the tax credit

Hope he split it with you!

 

[jlhiowa]

Yeah, I have a feeling our lack of experience showed

My only other experience with a dealership was in 2001 when my uncle and I purchased the car I have now. This was my boyfriend's first interaction with a dealership.

We paid a $500 non-refundable, good faith deposit. Should we try to get a better deal?

let me just say this don't use this as an example of any sort of "deal"

MSRP $35,195.
Bought for $23,794. (Plus tax)
That's over $11,000 off.

I call that a deal.

 

[RobbW]

Should we try to get a better deal?

Don't worry about it. I think you got a great deal. That's pretty much the same thing my wife and I paid for our SE with premium package. With the huge dealer incentive and the tax credits we will be getting, we didn't feel comfortable trying to haggle the price down anymore. Not sure the dealer would have much room to go any lower. I say if you can comfortably afford it, then go get it and enjoy it!!!

 

[Don]

I agree

You work your best deal with the dealership, make your downpayment and be happy - You can probably always find someone who got (or claims he got) a 'better deal' than you did, but you bargained for your best deal, agreed to it and you should honor your end of the deal

Thank goodness the other 99.9% of consumer products are not marketed and sold the same way cars are in this country. Maybe Tesla can change all that for us . . . . no dealerships at all, no wheeling, dealing, haggling, fibbing or any of that drama - The Tesla has a fixed price. If you want one, you pay the price or you don't get one - Plain and simple!

Don

 

[jz1]

http://www.beasleymitsubishisouth.com/mitsubishi-models/mitsubishi-i-miev-austin-tx.cfml
They have two base SE's for about $20k and an SE with nav for $23k. It would probably cost about $700 to ship the car from Austin to Illinois.

 

[lawjds]

Cmon guys you don't just give in you have to bargain and strive for a great deal help a forum member out and tell them the truth. It's no deal they should try for less and forget about honoring the deal trust me no dealer honors a bad deal for them only the good deals for them.

 

[RobbW]

Cmon guys you don't just give in you have to bargain and strive for a great deal help a forum member out and tell them the truth. It's no deal they should try for less and forget about honoring the deal trust me no dealer honors a bad deal for them only the good deals for them.

To each their own. Some people really enjoy playing "the game". I never have. I'd rather hurry up and get the entire process over with and just start driving my new car. When I go in to buy a car, I have a certain price or payment that I am comfortable with and willing to pay. I will negotiate to get to that price point, but once it is reached, I sign the dotted line. I have no compunction to haggle for an additional two hours just to get a couple hundred more dollars off. Besides, I've worked in retail before and depended on sales commissions. While I enjoy a great deal as much as the next person, I'd rather it not be at the expense of some salesperson's next mortgage payment or meal on the family's dinner table. As long as I get the price I'm comfortable with, I'm not going to be greedy and try to cut it down any more just for the sake of boasting about getting a great deal. Also, I don't go into a dealership trying to get a car that I could ONLY afford if I'm able to negotiate the price down to nearly a loss for the dealership.

 

[RobertC]

Cmon guys you don't just give in you have to bargain and strive for a great deal help a forum member out and tell them the truth. It's no deal they should try for less and forget about honoring the deal trust me no dealer honors a bad deal for them only the good deals for them.

So what would be a "great deal" on $35,195 MSRP?
Have there been any better "deals" on this forum? I have not seen a better "deal" than $11,401 off the MSRP. Hard numbers please.