Hello. My name is Terry and I'm from the Gulf coast in Texas. I registered for this forum in hopes of expanding my experience of owning a Mini. With that said, a little on my situation. My wife is dead set on a used 2006 MCS she passed at a dealer. They aren't very abundant around here... mainly because the nearest dealer is over 100 miles away. So anyway, she loves this car and has lined up everything to purchase it tomorrow. I usually have a very detailed understanding of the vehicles we purchase but, she sprung this one on me and I don't know anything about them. Are there things that need to be looked for? I've been lurking most of today on the net looking for possible major flaws and noticed the strut towers could be a little stronger. Most of the gripes I see are fairly minor or unique to certain individuals. (typical with any vehicles) The car has 22k miles on the clock. She has them at $17,500 for it now. Could I do any better? Here is the listing for it for details. http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...ealer_id=75716

She dropped off her car and took the Mini home tonight so even if you guys help me discover something major, I doubt I could get her to take it back.
Thanks in advance for any info. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.
T

 

Looks nice in the pictures, do you have access to a service history, carfax. Can you talk with the previous owner?

Lots of variables, but the MINI is a great little car. If it was run hard but maintained all should be good.

They are selling it with the factory warranty? How about a dealer 30 day or 6 month warranty?

I noticed the after market wheels, do you know if they have the original MINI wheels?

From my perspective, I would love to talk with the previous owner. It appears the price is right, if the MINI has a clean history.

 

wow that is a good deal on that MINI!!!

 

You are thinking along the same lines as I am. I was dialing the phone to get my credit card #s from my wife so I can purchase the carfax. ( I got to get those cards from her ) I planned on purchasing an extended warranty plus the factory warranty is supposedly transferable. As for the wheels, I thought they were the R90 Anthracite wheels like on the MINIUSA.COM site. Shows them as being a $3750 option. That can't be right though. I didn't look real hard at them but thought I saw a "mini" emblem in the middle hub. That doesn't mean much these days though. I'm at work until tomorrow morning and hate that I can't "poke" around on it. I'm a firefighter so I may have to get my dispatcher to "run me a plate number" so I can contact the previous owner. Great idea... A lot can be determined just by knowing who owned it before. A pic of the wheels on a different mini site>> http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-w...te-wheels.html

 

Anyone know what body kit is on this car? Is it a factory option or certain year specific, or an aftermarket kit?



Well it got a clean carfax report. It hasn't had any report since 19 miles.... I guess that's good news. >>
Year purchased2006 Type of ownerPersonal Estimated length of ownership
1 yr. 3 mo. Owned in the following states/provincesSouth Carolina Estimated miles driven per year--- Last reported odometer reading19
CARFAX guarantees the information in this section Salvage | Junk | Rebuilt Guaranteed
No Problem Fire/Flood | Hail Damage | Buyback/Lemon
Guaranteed
No Problem Not Actual Mileage | Exceeds Mechanical Limits Guaranteed
No Problem GUARANTEED - None of these major title problems were reported by a state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If you find that any of these title problems were reported by a DMV and not included in this report, CARFAX will buy this vehicle back. Register | View Terms
Not all accidents or other issues are reported to CARFAX Total Loss Check
No total loss reported to CARFAX.
No Issues ReportedStructural / Frame Damage Check
No structural / frame damage reported to CARFAX.
No Issues ReportedAirbag Deployment Check
No airbag deployment reported to CARFAX.
No Issues ReportedOdometer Rollback Check
No indication of an odometer rollback.
No Issues IndicatedAccident Check
No accidents reported to CARFAX.
No Issues ReportedManufacturer Recall Check
Check with an authorized Mini dealer for any open recalls.
No Recalls Reported Basic Warranty Check
Estimated to have 31 months or 49,981 miles remaining. Recalculate warranty
Interested in an extended warranty?

[FONT=Tahoma]Warranty Active[SIZE=+0][/SIZE][/FONT]

 

Looks like a great car and a terrific find!

My wife has wanted a liquid yellow with white top (S model per my recommendations) for a few years now. I looked high and low, but the only thing I could find that seemed "reasonable" were many states away and a high price tag unless it had serious miles (100K+).

We just ordered and will be taking delivery soon of a new 2007 MCS, but mellow yellow, not the liquid yellow she preferred. However, the price (weird paying MSRP) seemed to be what these things go for, and "might as well buy new," as the resale value is very high. That 2006 seems to be well appointed with extras, and at $20K was still a good price. At $17.5 I would have jumped at it, barring it passed "normal," used car looks.

As we are new to the Mini family, not sure on specific failures, if any. But check it out, drive it around, change the fluids once you "own" it, and maybe take it to a regular mechanic to give it a quick once over if the dealer is 100+ miles away.

Not sure if the extended warranty is necessary, as the Mini warranty seems pretty complete, but with the savings, it may be a good idea.

Either way, please your wife, and enjoy the new purchase! The smiles on my wife's face on just the waiting has pretty much made it worth it. I can't imagine when she is actually sitting in the car and we are out motoring!!!

Good luck!

 

http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/

Just briefly read through you post and I thought you might find this helpful. As for the car it looks great! The body kit is the factory aero kit, which was 1250 + installation if I remember correctly. Also, if the wheels and tires were purchased together from the dealer they list for 2800 and here is the link to Morristown's site that has them for 2240 new.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...tegoryID=75821

I know that a set of R90s just sold on the marketplace for 900 shipped with runflats so even if the previous owner got them second hand it would be about a $900-$1000 option including tires. Either way I love the way the R90s look. So if your wife doesn't like the look just let me know

Have a great day!

 

Thanks for the info guys! She's grinning ear to ear now. I should of got her one of these years ago. I might get lucky a little more often for a while.

On another note: How do I find out what all this car is equipped with? Is there a site you can enter the vin and get a list of options? Mini reminds me of the old American manufacturers in the way they offer a couple of packages and literally hundreds of other single options. The ad does say 10 million possible configurations.:impatient

 

I believe that you could call MINIUSA if that information isn't in the MINIUSA owners lounge (miniusa.com in the top right corner).