I'm currently looking to buying a MINI cooper S. i guess i was wondering if MINI has discounts like some american cars have a end of year sale to get rid of the extra stock. Should i just buy a used MINI now? I'm trying to stay under 20k. but want the best bang for buck. I currently drive a 1990 240sx and its officially Effed up and will cost around 2k to fix it and i would rather put 2k as a down payment on a MINI cooper.

 

You can't get a new S under 20K no matter how hard you try. Most buyers pay MSRP and not much less....Mini doesn't need to have an end of year sale. You might be able to get $500 off MSRP if you shop...maybe more but don't count on it. Even with $500 off you are looking at 21K....and thats with no options.

Your best bet for an S is to get a used one. The asking prices on the used cars are ridiculous....I would be prepared to negotiate firmly and walk away until you find a reasonable price. The used prices seem to be almost as much as new prices unless you got back a few model years.

 

There is great debate about getting money off a mini. It seems to really depend on area. If you are in a high demand area most people are not getting any money off. My dealer here in the middle of the country had 07's in stock up till 2-3 months ago. He would work a little on those but you still arent ever going to find a new "S" for anywhere close to $20,000.

According to miniusa.com a base mini "S" with NO options at all is $22,350 with destination and handling. I have NEVER seen a dealer with one that stripped. The lowest sticker, even on the 07's my dealer had, was around $27,000.

Now that the gas crunch is here my dealer isnt dealing at all and it doesnt look like he will have any leftovers either. He has moved an incredible amount of vehicles int he past 2 months. Factor in minis "best resale of any car" and he doesnt need to deal. Also consider Mini is one of the few brands with double digit sales increases this year.

 

Your best bet to get one under 20K is to shop outside of the MINI world. Try other dealers (non-BMW), CarMax, that sort of thing. You might be able to find someone who has a used one that they have depreciated at 'normal' rates. MINIs don't depreciate much, so getting one that someone has depreciated at a rate that would be used for other brands is a deal. Anyone who knows MINIs, knows resale is high, especially now with gas prices up there.

 

Wow, I have to say I chuckled when I saw this subject line.

I would agree - going to another vendor will be your best/only chance at any form of discount/'deal'. Right now dealer stock is low for the new ones and a lot of people are ordering (see the other threads). And, at least here, they've been encouraging trade-ins so they have some used ones on the lot.

 

Eh, good luck outside of the MINI Dealer realm too...

According to the local MINI dealer, they aren't getting used stock because these other used car dealers are going to auctions and snatching up MINIs left and right, bidding 22 - 24K on what is normally bid 20K by a MINI dealer. They've realized the market is demanding MINIs and they're doing what they can to at least have a single one on the lot. Add in their markup, and you can see that you're better off just buying a brand new MINI.

http://www.kiaofgreenwood.com/pages/...5&featureid=-1 - Look at the MINI they are offering. $22,900 and they told me they wouldn't budge on the price when I looked at it. So I went 7K more and ordered a brand new 2008 MCS. Considering they couldn't tell me what packages were on the car, whether or not it had all of its maintenance ("Hey, if we bought it, I guarantee it's good to go"... yeah right.), how the paddle shifters worked (push and pull for down/up instead of left and right for down/up), nor did they know that the MINI had an iPod adapter. I think I made the right choice.

You just don't haggle with a MINI. You either want it or you don't, and if you don't, someone else will. I can't even get ahold to my Motoring Advisor most days because he's busy with other customers. The local lot is down to maybe 10 MINIs, including the three they use for test drives.

Your absolute best bet I'd have to say is private party. Find someone on NAM in the Marketplace that is selling a MINI that fits what you want, and see if you can't come up with a price that works for both of you. Otherwise look through the various auto sales websites and see if anyone is desperate to get out of their MINI. If neither of those work, seriously consider going for a new MINI. You'll get exactly what you want, and what's a few extra thousand spread over a couple of years?

 

There are still deals out there but as other have said not from the dealer. You should be able to find a good used Mini for under 20k. Here's an example that was just listed today in the Austin Tx area:

http://austin.craigslist.org/car/729092355.html

But please note this is a Cooper not a Cooper S

 

there a few cars on www.autotrader.com depend on where u are..

 

Greetings - and wise choice of vehicles to search. I've been talking to dealers and people looking, so....

First, just some tid bits that I didn't see from other posts yet:

* MINI is very close to MSRP as it is (that was pretty much stated before me.) The only "give" in prices is what the dealer's "fluff" is...which means it depends on location and how well that dealership has done, = how much MINI gives them in "free extras" to keep sales up. The most you can do to haggle are get extras, options, etc. that the dealer installs. ANd goodies (floor mats, etc.) These cars only depreciate ABOUT $200 a year...which is why so many pre-owned MINIs are almost as expensive (and hard to find, too) as new.

* MINI's sales year is different than other autos - their "end of year" mark is actually DEC, not AUG or SEP like other auto makers. And if you're hoping for end of year sales...um...yeah...keep holding that breath, sweetie. The closest you can come to doing this is buying one off the lot - IF they still have them. Coopers are selling faster than Cooper S - many folks who drive cars like they're appliances have been catching on to the good MPG instead of the fun.

* If you're going to head towards a used/pre-owned MINI, check out this link. It has good info on the history & recommendations for "best years" of MINI (the new BMW version - if you're looking for a classic, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax). http://www.motoringfile.com/mini-r50r53-buyers-guide/
The key is to be informed, and be agressive in finding a used MINI...they really are scarce it seems!

Anyway...just my little $.02...hope it helps. Happy Hunting!

 

http://www.roadshowbmw.com/vehicle_preowned/?make=MINI - 2007 JustaCooper, and a 2005 Cooper S. 07 still has warranty too.

 

I found my best deal right here on NAM... Goodwood was bought from a NAM member 2 hours from me... he posted it here, I talked with him at length about it, and more or less made up my mind to buy it before I ever even saw it... ( I did have photos to study. ) Being able to talk with him in great detail about the car and it's history with no pressure to buy was great. When I saw it in person, again, no pressure... the guy was as proud of it as he could be, but needed to sell it, and was glad to see it go to a good home.

Best of all, the price was right... he was happy, I was happy, and it was less than any used one on the car lots here in town.

 

Those 2 at Roadshow that wbarnhill listed are right in my back yard... always happy for an excuse to go oggle MINIs... if you want someone to check 'em out, test-drive, etc... happy to help.