One possible reason the Mirage's MSRP is "too high"?

[MetroMPG]

Some people think Mitsubishi should just lower the MSRP on the Mirage instead of offering perma-discounts. Here's one possible reason why they don't...

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For years, Canadians have had sub-$10k MSRP vehicle options in the Nissan Micra (now discontinued) and the Chevrolet Spark.

You have to keep in mind this was mostly a marketing exercise: yes, you could actually buy a sub-$10k car, but not many people want to buy a car without air conditioning or an automatic transmission. I've seen stats for the Micra: roughly 8% sold were base. To get air & automatic required spending another $3500 to go up to the next trim level (where you got a bunch of other options the base cars didn't have). The Spark's trim price difference is similar.

Nissan & GM's little price war generated a LOT of favourable press & light-hearted reviews of those "old school" base model cars with manual locks, wind-up windows and stickshifts.

Mitsubishi never officially joined the game by lowering the Mirage's MSRP.

Instead, for years, they offered significant ($2500) factory cash rebates on the base trim Mirage to effectively make the purchase price around $10k, same as the Micra & Spark.

But Mitsu missed out on a lot of free advertising for the Mirage, whenever the automotive media ran one of their frequent "$10k cars" pieces. Because those articles went by MSRP.

I've heard it said that one reason Mitsubishi never dropped the MSRP is because factory rebates can be used in place of a down payment on a new vehicle. So you could walk in the door of a Mitsubishi dealership and get a new Mirage without having to fork over ANY of your own money up front.

True? Dunno. I've never bought a new car. Seems plausible, though. Do dealers require a deposit when you sign on the dotted line for your new car?

[emdeplam]

Mitsubishi targets lower credit/ financially marginal buyers
- Correct on downpayment = rebate
- also artificially high msrp allows more financing wiggle. Ex. let's you take on a buyer in a negitive equity situation

[Mirageman38]

At any rate it sounds like this is why my car insurance rates went up when I switched

[Mark]

Mitsubishi targets lower credit/ financially marginal buyers
- Correct on downpayment = rebate
- also artificially high msrp allows more financing wiggle. Ex. let's you take on a buyer in a negitive equity situation

Not all Mitsubishi dealerships are the same.

The current MSRP of a Mirage ES manual is $15,290.

Erik (MrFixIt) paid $10,400 OTD for a 2021 ES manual recently, & that price included White Bear Mitsubishi delivering his wife's new Mirage to their home in North Carolina.

I became interested in a Mirage when I realized this in 2017 -

If someone qualified for the $500 loyalty rebate, $500 VIP rebate, $500 military rebate, & $500 cash back for financing $10,000 with Ally, you could buy a brand new 2017 ES manual for $7,500 @ White Bear Mitsubishi. OTD cost would have added about $800 to that price (using Wisconsin sales tax).

Imagine financing $10,000 with Ally to get $500 cash back for a car that will cost $8,300 OTD?

If you didn't qualify for any of the above extra rebates, the price would be adjusted accordingly.

$2,500 rebate is nothing to get excited about. I didn't qualify for loyalty, VIP, or military rebates in 2017, & I still only paid 65.4% window sticker for a new Mirage. If I had qualified for all the extra rebates, I would have paid 54.8% of the window sticker.

My local Mitsubishi dealership is like the one quoted above. I used them for test drive. I had zero interest in them, nor did they have any interest in me when I left. I ordered my Mirage (which they didn't have on their lot & had to find elsewhere) from White Bear the next day, and they delivered it to my home a few days later.

I don't have the patience to waste time negotiating with dealerships. Knowing a dealership's OTD price saves time for both parties.

If I could have bought a brand new Honda Fit for under $10,000 OTD, that would be parked in my driveway instead of my Mirage.

[Mirageman38]

If I could have bought a brand new Honda Fit for under $10,000 OTD, that would be parked in my driveway instead of my Mirage.

If I could have bought a new Ferrari for under $10,000 OTD, that would be parked in my driveway.

I will be happy next time qualifying for the loyalty rebate.

[Mark]

If I could have bought a new Ferrari for under $10,000 OTD, that would be parked in my driveway.

I will be happy next time qualifying for the loyalty rebate.

Wonder what the insurance for a Ferrari would be?