robgul
Barry Bucknell is my hero
If you negotiated a deal it wasn't because you were special or you are some haggling genius, it's almost always because the item was overpriced and room for discounting was built in right from the start.
With branded "unique" items like cars this is easy to do and has been that way for years, ask a car salesman (who is willing to talk) and they will tell you that every price has a % leeway they can use at their discretion.
With generic items though that many suppliers can provide, the price you see is pretty much always the lowest price they can offer because it's a cut throat world and they are fighting with other suppliers.
So I am sorry Lons but in reality rather than you getting a 4k "discount", you probably just paid maybe 1k over the rock bottom price instead of 5k that was added on originally. Still a good deal for you, but they saw you coming and were prepared long before you even thought about buying that car
The Mini example is "of the moment" - they are desperate as orders have fallen through the floor - and this very day have announced hundreds of job that are going at the Mini plant.