Hey guys (and gals)

Quite excited to be here and I'm hailing from Houston, Texas. I'm a young, sweet, innocent boy in high school and I have my eyes set on a MINI Cooper for my next car (well...besides my dad's accord). However, the *condition* is that it has to be under $10,000.


Uh oh, that's not good. I believe the cheapest used one I have seen costs $14,000 and it's in black.

Very nice, yes, but I'm looking for a MC in Chili Red (I believe that's the color?). Question is, when the next gen of MINI, will dealers cut prices dramatically on used and new ones?

I have my eyes set on a MC and I would rather take it over my dad's accord any day! However, if I have too, I'll be extreamly grateful for the accord, too LOL

Thanks for any info.


Brian

 

Hi, Brian,

Welcome to NAM!

I certainly can't predict what 06 prices will do next year, but wanted to say hi and welcome anyway. I'd expect it depends on whether the 07 is a success--if not, the previous model prices go up. Even if it is a success, I expect there will be enough folks who love the current model and don't like the new one that if it falls, it shouldn't fall much. Of course, I'm biased, since I'm waiting for my 06 as we speak.

Another option is to drive the Accord while you save a bit more and your $10K earns enough interest to cover a MINI...

 

I haven't seen a MC @ $14K, but guess you can find one. I really don't think you will find one (that you would want to drive) for anywhere near $10K.

That's ok, take the accord, Thank Dad, and know your time will come.

The intro of the '07 won't help your cause. The MC are all pretty much sold before they get to the dealer and demand is outstripping supply.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the welcome

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. What sucks is that if I'm stuck with an Accord, I'm stuck with it! LOL

My dad said he'll purchase another new vehicle for himself (it won't be a MINI, I already asked LOL) if I do get the Accord.

Hmm...guess it's time to suck up to some relatives...


I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that I'm looking for a USED MC :D

 

Welcome and good luck with the MC. Looks like work, save, work is in your future.
p.s. great color choice from a fellow chili red owner 06MCA

 

it will have to be *very* used to be that cheap, unfortunately...

 

Welcome....and go CR!!!!!!! The coolest color.

 

Good luck and be patient. Shoulds like you'll be driving a Mini sooner or later

 

Um, at the risk of offending people with four letter words: w o r k

 

Welcome, and good luck on your quest - however, if it doesn't work out, as others have said, "your time will come." I drove a 96 Honda Civic with upwards of 150,000 miles on it back and forth to college until the tire blew up and left me stranded on the side of the interstate. Then I drove (and am driving) a 2001 Hyundai Tiburon. I decided my 2nd year of college I wanted a MINI, and my parents said "When you can buy it, you can have it." I just graduated, got a great job, and lo and behold, here I am - just ordered an '06! The wait is definitely worth it, and she's really mine!

That said, good luck, and it's great if you can find one - but waiting is ok too

 

I know what it's like to really really want a MINI for four years but not be able to afford one. Well, I set up a high-yield savings account, named it my "MINI Fund", and chucked whatever I could in there for the past four years. I patiently enjoyed my current (and first ever since high school) 9 year-old car as much as possible in the meantime, just being glad to have my own set of wheels. Now I'm finally in the position to get the MINI I want, with the options I want.

It may seem like a drag, but just think of all the other people your age who don't even have a car to drive. Decide whether you need instant gratification (and possibly a less-than-desirable vehicle at $10k), or if you can wait for exactly what you want! I personally would be grateful for Dad, drive his Accord for a while and save up, then sell or trade the Accord and put that toward your MINI with the money you've saved up. Just my 2 bits!

 

With that price point I think everyone here understood USED was the key. Since the car is so popular, you will be extremely hardpressed to find a new one for under MSRP which is 18k and up.

Another point is that due to both popularity and quality of the MINI, the resale value is very high. You'd again, be very hardpressed to find a non-wrecked MINI for anywhere around 10k, if not impossible to find. If you do find one for that price, more than likely there's something completely wrong with it....such as flood damage, etc.

Good luck in your quest! :-)

 

Three months ago I was driving a 1987 Volvo 240 with 195,000 miles on it. Now I'm driving an '06 MC. The difference-maker was a college degree. But the time goes a lot faster than you think so I'd wait on it for a while. I highly advise against going too cheap on a MC because you'd probably get one that has gotten the crap beat out of it, even for around $14k.